〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sayth S. Paul quem effudit whom God powred out abundantly vpon vs Caietan in locum tam abundè saith Caietan vt in alios deriuetur so abundantly that they could ministerially and by certaine effects giue him to others too as when they not onely receiued the holy Ghost to worke miracles to speake with tongues c. but to giue that miraculous power to others likewise by their ministery as also those admirable effects which attend Confirmation and Orders which haue euer beene giuen by the Apostles and the Bishops their successors since our Sauiours ascension 91 But to conclude this matter the holy Ghost is giuen not onely in Baptisme and after that in Confirmation c. but sometimes also before Baptisme so that it cannot seeme to be tyed to it as plainely appeares Act. 10. For when Cornelius the Centurion Act. 10.44 46. and his family were feruent with the heate of faith and beleeued in God with all their hearts the Holy Ghost fell on them and they praised God with diuers tongues and languages which was before they were baptized by S. Peter but as soone as it was euident that the gift of the Holy Ghost was powred vpon them Apostolica magisteria saith Saint Cyprian the Apostles Cypr. Epist 76 ad Steph. or the Apostolicke magistracie which are now the Bishops per omnia diuini praecepti atque Euangelij legem seruabant obserued the Euangelicall law Act. 10.48 and diuine precept in all things both in baptizing and confirming those Gentiles And thus much is spoke by the way yet much to our purpose that no offence may be taken at the saying of Cornelius who wondered how Nouatus could haue the holy Ghost Euseb hist Eccles l. 6. c. 42 seeing he was neuer confirmed by the Bishop 92 And now Illuc vnde abij redeo I returne to my proposed course viz. to shew that as the vse of Confirmation according to the Church Historie was continued by many particular chiefe Bishops so it hath beene likewise confirmed by many particular and famous Councels I will passe ouer many later and instance in one or two of the more ancient the former is Conciltum Elebertinum the Councel of Eliberis which was about the time of the first Nicene Councel There we reade in the 38. Canon Fidelis aliquis Concil Eleber Can. 38. c. qui lauacrum suum integrum habet A Christian that hath perfit Baptisme I thinke it meanes Confirmation after Baptisme posse baptizare in necessitate infirmitatis positum Catechumenum may baptize a new conuert in case of necessitie but so that after Baptisme if the partie baptized recouer Ad Episcopum eum perducat hee must bring him to the Bishop And why so vt per manus impositionem perfici possit that by Imposition of hands hee might receiue perfection as in those daies it was called not that Baptisme should receiue perfection thereby but the baptized which verie phrase the Fathers sometimes vsed as also this Councell doth in the alledged Canon and Canon 77. Si quis Diaconus regens plebem â—t Can 77 c. If a Deacon hauing cure of soules shall baptize any without a Bishop or Priest Episcopus eos per benedictionem perficere debebit the Bishop must perfit them by his blâ—ssing that is by Câ—nfiâ—mation 93 My second instance shall be in the Councell of Laodicea held either in the time of Liberius or of Damasus Bishops of Rome where we reade thus Oportet baptizatos c. Concil Laod. Can. 48. They who are baptized must receiue holy Chrisme that is Confirmation as appeareth by the circumstances of that place and become partakers of the kingdome of heauen Aug. trac 118 in so Euang. This name of Chrisme both Councâ—â—s and Fathers giue to Confirmation but we vse neither name nor element because we finde neither in the booke of God 94 From Historie and Councels wee descend to Fathers and in their writings we finde the vse and continuance of Confirmation very frequent whether we consult the Greeke or Latine Fathers We haue touched vpon diuers of them in this passage it shall suffice therefore now to vrge a place of Saint Ierome onely because many of the circumstances fit this present text and occasion 95 Saint Ierome speaking in the person of a Luciserian saith An nescis Ecclesiarum hunc esse morem Hieron ad vers Lucifer c 4. vt baptizatis postea manus imponantur Knowest thou not that it is the custome of the Church after Baptisme to vse Imposition of hands and to inuoke the H. Spirit for those that haue bin heretofore baptized Will you haue authority for it Act 8 and Act. 19. Turne ouer the Acts of the Apostles saith he there is authority sufficient and yet if there were no text of Scripture for it the consent of the whole world in this case instar praecepti obtineret were in stead of a precept and sufficient to approue it And though this were the speach of an hereticke concerning the practise of the Church in those daies yet the Orthodoxe who beares the other part in the Dialogue allowes of it with a Non quidem abnuo I deny not but this is the custome of the Church that the Bishops ride abroad to confirme to Bishop those who haue beene heretofore baptized by Priests Chemnit Exam Concil Trid. l. 2. and Deacons And Chemnitius speaking of this custome out of this place of Saint Ierome saith that it was absque dubio bona vtilis consuetudo without all doubt a good and profitable custome In like manner Cartwr T. C. p. 197. in effect confesseth that Confirmation is very ancient and that it hath beene well instituted for he saith that it now differeth and is degenerate from the first institution 96 This holy Canon or Custome of the Church hath continued inuiolable since the Primitiue times vntill our age in all Churches where the Hicrarchie of Bishops hath continued Theod. haeret fab l. 3. in Nouat onely I finde in Theodoret an obseruation worthy the remembrance The Nouatians the Puritan heretickes of those times vsed not Confirmation Concil Load Can. 7 and therefore the Fathers of the Laodicean Councell enacted in their seuenth Canon that all those Nouatians who returned to the Church Symbolum fidei docerentur et sancto Chrismate inungerentur should be taught the Creede and then Confirmed and so admitted to the holy Communion Howeuer then these Heretickes neglected Confirmation yet if they returned to the Church the Church euer made this Canon good vpon them and confirmed them 97 If Confirmation haue beene depraued if it haue receiued any superstitious Ceremonies or additions from the Church of Rome wee renounce the abuses and reforme Confirmation according to Caluins desire to the first Apostolicall practise and institution Caluin Instâ—â— l 4. c 19. § 13 Comment in Heb 6.2 that is to Prayer and
Imposition of hands For there is no reason why the holy ancient Ecclesiasticall Apostolical constitutions should vtterly be abolished for some abuses crept in By this heady preposterous course the Church would rather become deformed then reformed by this meanes we should not haue so much as a Sacrament left vs. 98 When therefore some one or other of the Reformed Churches who haue pulled downe the Aristocracie of Bishops and haue erected the Anarchie of a confused lay-presbyterie and so consequently cast off the sacred vse of Confirmation which cannot stand without a Bishop shal resolutely tell vs whom in this point and many other they esteeme no better then Papists etiamsi vetustissimam hanc esse obseruationem multorum saeculorum consensu firmatam ostendatis nihil tamen efficitis though this obseruation and practise be neuer so ancient though it be confirmed by the consent and continuance of neuer so many ages it is to little or no purpose then cauete take heed I pray you Aug. tract 6. in Euang. Iohannis excipite verba contradicentium respuenda non transglutienda et visceribus danda and entertaine these speeches of contradicting Spirits as words to be reiected not to be chewed much lesse to be disgested Do as Christ did when they offered him the bitter potion He tasted it and spit it out so do you Heare these words loath them and thus it seemes hath the Reformed Church of Bohemia done For in that Church after Baptisme gratiam Harmon Confess p. 94. quam Baptismus complectitur impositione manuum in ipsis testatam faciunt the Gouernours of the Church testifie vnto the world by Imposition of hands the grace which is giuen in Baptisme ad militiaÌ„ fidei eos confirmant marke I beseech you they confirme strengthen and arme them for the warfare of faith and so in a conuenient and holy manner by the vse of pure and significant ceremonies ad Sacramentum coenae domini adducunt they bring them to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper which is one and the same practise with the Church of England as you may see it expresly set downe by way of Canon or Constitution in the Booke of Common Prayer where wee reade that None shall bee admitted to the holy Communion Common prayer booke vntil such time as he can say the Catechisme and be confirmed This is the constitution of the Church of England I say and confirmed by Act of Parliament with the rest of the Booke and stands in full force still if it should please our Prelates to exact it If you require Antiquitie for it we shall finde this Canon as ancient as Saint Austine for hee tels vs that this was dogma Ecclesiasticum an Ecclesiasticall Canon in his time Manus impositione Aug. de Eccles dogmat 〈◊〉 Chrismate communiti Eucharistiae mysterijs admittantur Let those who are confirmed by Imposition of hands be admitted to receiue the blessed Eucharist And this Canon we haue seene approoued Concil Laod Can. 7. and confirmed by the Councell of Laodicea 99 So then neither we nor this Reformed Church of Bohemia borrow this practise of Confirmation as some falsely giue forth from the Papists or Popish decretalls no T. C. l. 1. p. 199 but as our Communion Booke truly sayes Common prayer Booke It is agreeable with the vsage of the Church in times past This was the custome of the olde the Primitiue Church Tertul aduers valent c. 4. Eâ—â—lesia authenticae regulae sic tenuit the Church of the ancient and authenticke rule held thus and thus hold we Tertullian thought this a sufficient answere to stoppe the mouth of Valentinus that grosse giddie Hereticke and the Church of Bohemia labouring to preuent all obiections giues this reason onely for her doings Harmon Confess p. 94. Huius rei in prima Ecclesia indicia atque exempla etiam extant manifesta there are manifold testimonies and examples of Confirmation yet extant in the Primitiue Church And whereas some say that the practise of the Primitiue Church is nothing to vs vnlesse we proue it out of Scripture the same Church of Bohemia auerres Ibid. that Prima Ecclesia est posterorum vera optima magistra et praecundo ducit nos the Primitiue Church is the true and most excellent Mistresse of all later Churches and leades vs the way and wee may fafely follow her for she followed the Apostles steppes and borrowed this practise from my Text as before I noted out of Saint Cyprian Saint Ierome and Saint Austine 100. If their authoritie be denyed and some new-fangled interpretations bee lately fancied framed and receiued by a few vaine-glorious nouelists to make voide the honour and priuiledge proper to the Bishops the Fathers and Gouernors of the Church whom they would shoulder out with them almost all good order the question must no longer be Whether Confirmation bee found in Scripture but Whether the ancient Fathers of the Primitiue Church were more likely to interpret the Scriptures truly or some late Nouelists who to maintaine some odde fancies of their owne braine haue forged new and strange glosses contrarie to Antiquitie the vnderstanding of Fathers and other Reformed Churches for those Churches that follow Luthers reformation vse Confirmation with so many of these circumstances as that Discipline can admit 101 Certainely our Church hath taken the safer course for we professe manente forma Confirmationis in suo ordine so long as that forme and order of Confirmation is obserued and no other then was vsed in the Apostles times and by the Apostles themselues quantumlibet quaerant Tertul. de Praescript c. 14. tractent omnem libidinem curiositatis effundant to vse Tertul. phrase let their braines work and their teeming wits bring forth some rare inuentions such as were neuer heard of neuer dreamed of before such as may discouer their various itching curiosities yet we hope the Church of England will as hitherto it hath euer continue constant in the same course wee doubt not but it will onely imitate the practise and embrace the enterpretations of those ancients who by the confession of the whole Church of God were gratia scientiae donati endowed with an extraordinary grace and gift of knowledge to vnderstand and interpret the will of God deliuered in the Scriptures 102. For as there was in the law before Christ liber Propheticus as Saint Ambrose cals it the booke of the Law and the Prophets Ambr. de Fide ad Gratianum l. 3. c. 7. which contained the types and prophesies of Christ which booke was signatus sealed vp so firmely at that time that neither Elders nor Powers nor Angels nor Archangels durst offer to vnfold it the prerogatiue of opening and explayning it being reserued onely to Christ himselfe so was there also in the primitiue times succeeding Christ Liber Sacerdotalis that is the Scriptures and the receiued sence of Scriptures penned by the Fathers Doctors
and Bishops in their seuerall ages of so great authority in the Church that Saint Ambrose speaking of them sayth Quis nostrum resignare audeat What man amongst vs is so hardy as to offer violence vnto them Who dares breake open those Seales or infringe the credite and authority of this Sacerdotall booke seeing it was signatus à confessoribus multorum iam martyrio consecratus signed by the reuerend confessors of Christianity and sealed vp with the blood of many a worthy Martyr 103. And yet after so many hundred yeares behold there was one of late amongst vs who aduentured himselfe so farre as to confront the Fathers in this doctrine T. C. l. 1. p. 119. l. 3. p. 232. to oppose his fancie against the iudgement of the Church to call the practise of the Apostles into question to set a new construction a strange glosse vpon a manifest text that so he might rase out a fundamentall point of religion wherein both Fathers and Church and Apostles and Scriptures haue agreed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with one ioynt consent for fifteen or sixteen hundreth yeares together If any man be left amongst vs of his temper or rather of his distemper I will onely say to this new-bred doctrine Tertul. adâ—â— Valent. â—8 what Tertullian sayes to Valentinus new brood of Gods 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whether it be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I know not well my selfe for I am much in doubt whether I should more wonder at their pride or laugh at their folly 2. Cor. 11.16 104 Sure I am Non habemus talem consuetudinem nec Ecclesiae Dei We haue no such custome nor the Chuches of God nor may we I pray God euer grow to that height of madnesse as to preferre our owne fond conceits before the practise of the Apostles the consent of Fathers and custome of the Church We desire to be of no new cut but with the Fathers of the First Nicene Councell Concil Nicen Can. 7. our prayers are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that the old custome may stand that it may euer preuaile 105 Seeing then Confirmation is of such Antiquity in the Church of God that it hath the vniuersall Catholicke Church Fathers Councels Apostles and Scripture text it selfe to grace to vphold to settle it in the Church let vs honor Confirmation and the Ministers of Confirmation let vs haue them in that reuerence which we owe and they deserue and desire of God that they may euer continue of full force to the glory of God and the good of his Church 106 I should passe on to the parts eusuing but I feare I haue beene too too troublesome already and I shall haue diuers occasions to speake of the other parts euery one of them being sufficient to yeeld matter for a seuerall Sermon but lest I should seeme to leaue vnperfect what in my diuision I proposed may it please you to perfect the other circumstances out of that whieh hath beene spoke for from thence may be deduced sufficient proofe for the remainder of my text 107 The next point I obserued were the Ministers of Confirmation Apostoli Apostles they were 2. part and their successors the Bishops and no other So you heard from Clement Epist 3. Saint Cyprian Epist 73. Cornelius apud Euseb hist Eccles l. 6. c. 42. Melchiades Can 2. de Consecr Dist 5. Concil Eleber Can. 38 Saint Ambros in Heb. 6. Saint Ierome aduer Lucifer c. 4. Saint Chrysost Homil. 18. in Act. Apost Saint Aust de Trin. l. 15. c. 26. And Quaest 42. in Non. Test Leo Epist 37. c. 2 Caluin instit l. 4. c. 19. § 4. 108 And S. Ierome giues a good reason Hieron aduers Lucifer c. 4. Bucer in Eph. 4 Tract Quid fit Eccles why the Bishops are the only Ministers of this blessed action The power of this blessing saith he is giuen to the Bishops only in honoreÌ„ sacerdotii for the honor of their Prelacy fitly saith Bucer do the Bishops only confirm vs in our Faith since vnto the Bishops is committed the chiefe care of the Church and so consequently the mayne charge of our soules And if Confirmation be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who so fit to confer it as the chiefe of Priests 109 The third circumstance was the Persons that were Confirmed 3. part super illos vpon them And who are these that are capable of Confirmation surely such onely as are baptised This was the custome you heard of the Apostles Act. 8. and Act. 19. to confirme thoe onely that were baptised and the whole Church hath euer since carefully obserued the same practise as you haue seene sufficiently manifested by Saint Clem. Epist 3. Tertul. de Baptismo cap. 6. 8. Cypr. Epist 73. Ambros in Heb. 6. Ierom. aduer Lucifer cap. 4. Aust quaest 42. in N. Test Emiss Homil. in Pentecost Coucil Laod. Can. 48. Bohem. Confess p. 94 4 part 110 My fourth obseruation was the forme and that is Prayer and Imposition of hands my text tels you so much and the practise of the Church hath euer retained this forme No blessing is bestowed at any time in by the church without prayer neither is the H. ghost giuen ad robur to confirme vs I speake of the ordinary meanes without Imposition of hands For this you haue had good euidence Act. 8. and Act. 19. Heb. 6. Clem. Ep. 3. Tertul. de Bapt. cap. 8. Cypr. Epist 73. Melchiad Can. 2. de Consecr Dist 5. Concil Eleber Can. 38. Ierome aduer Lucifer c. 4. Aust quaest 42. in Nou. Testament And Aust or Gennadius de Eccle. dogmat c. 52. Leo Epist 37. Confes Bohem. p. 94. Caluin Instit l. 4. c. 19. § 4 Comment in Heb. 6.2 111. The effect which is my last part is the receiuing the holy Ghost in obsignatorem 5. Part. Eras Sancer apud Marlor in Act. Apost 8.17 confirmatorem as Erasmus Sarcerius saith to seale our religion and to strengthen vs in the true faith and feare of Christ besides many other gifts and graces as he affirmeth of the holy Ghost which we receiue in Confirmation 112 This the Fathers it seemes considered Tertul. de Bap. c. 8. and therfore they had this blessing in so high and reuerent estimation that Tertullian saith that by this blessing the hand doth inuite and call downe the holy Ghost and this being done sanctissimus spiritus super emundata et benedicta corpora libens descendit the holy ghost descends willingly vpon those cleansed and blessed bodies cleansed by baptisme and blessed by Confirmation and in his book de Praescriptionibus he tels vs Tertul. de Prae. c. 36. that the Church by this meanes doth cloth vs with the holy Spirit as before you heard Neither is this to be vnderstood of an outward clothing no Infunditur saith Saint Cyprian hee is powred into vs Cypr. Epist 73. ad Iubai and hee is powred