vita lib. 4. cap. 24. magistrate can not giue what himselfe hath not the power of orders to administer the Word and Sacraments But where it pleaseth n Isai 49.28 God to raise vp Kings and Queenes to be nursing Fathers and nursing mothers to his Church they may and will giue leaue to such as are ordained to exercise their ministry in their dominions assisting them and providing for their maintenance o 1 Cor. 9.14 worthy the Gospell of Christ Iesus And they can p Quandò Imperatores veritatem tenent pro ipsa veritate contra errorem jubent qued quisque contempserit ipse sibi judicium acquirit August ep 166 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist pol. l. 3. c. 11. command their people to heare them to q 2 Chron. 34.32 enter covenant with God by their ministery and to keepe the same at least in the outvvard act and they will not be negligent by all meanes to prouide for the peace of the Church r Rex nolentibus praeest episcopus volentibus ille terrore subijcit hic servituti donatur ille corpora custodit ad morrem hic animas servat ad vitam Hieron ad Heliodor in Epitaph Nepotian The Ministers of the Law haue power ouer mens goods the Ministers of the Gospell haue power to dispense the good things of God They can banish cast out of their coūtryes dominions These can excōmunicate out of the Church of Christ Iesus ſ Mat. 10.28 Iohn 19.10.11 They can kill the body hauing povver giuen them from aboue t 1 Cor. 5.5 These can deliuer ouer vnto Satan the lewde and vngodly such as loue not the Lord Iesus Yet both Civill and Ecclefiasticall Ministers and ouerseers are to doe Scripture the absolute canon of Faith and Life u In his quae apertè in Scriptura posita sunt inveninntur illa omnia quae continent fidem moresque vivendi August de doct Christ lib. 2. cap. 9. Adoro Scripturae plenitudinem Tertul. adversus Hermogen all according to the expresse will of GOD concerning vs in Christ Iesus Whose word in Scripture is the absolute x Sacra Scriptura regula credendi certissima tutissima Bellarm. lib. 1. de verbo Dei cap. 2 § 13. rule and cannon both of faith and life * 2 Tim. 3.16 17. The Apostle saith that all Scripture which then was only the olde Testament being giuen by inspiration of God was x Divinus sermo habet in publico vndè parvulos nutriat servat in secreto vndè mentes sublimium in admiratione suspendat Quasi quidam quippe fluvius planus altus in quo agnus ambulet elephas natet Greg. in praefat in lib. Moral ad Leand c. 4. profitable for doctrine for reproofe for correction for instruction in righteousnesse that the man of God might be perfect throughly furnished to all good workes By it y Iohn 5.39 Christ himselfe was content to bee tryed and the z Act. 17.11 1 Cor. 15.3.4 1 Tim. 6.3 Apostles by the same and by the Gospell of Christ which they preached Nay the Law it selfe before they had the Prophets was the perfect will of God in respect of parts a Ps 19.7.8 The Law of the Lord saith the holy King is perfect converting the soule the testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple And therefore the Prophets themselues were to be tryed thereby b Is 8.20 To the Law and to the testimony if they speake not according to this truth it is because there is no light in them Insomuch that if their doctrine were not agreeable therevnto c Deut. 13.1.2.3 though they confirmed it with a signe and with a miracle that came to passe yet the people had warning not to harken to such for it was but to trye them and to proue them whether they loued the Lord their GOD with all their heart and with all their soule And since it pleased GOD once to expresse his Will by writing d Spiritus Sanctus ita Scripturas sacras modificavit vt locis apertioribus fami occurreret obscurioribus autem fastidia detergeret Nihil enim feré de illis obscuritatibus eruitur quod non asibi planissimè dictum reperiatur Aug. l. 2. de Chr. doct c. 6. the Holy Ghost hath so ordered the matter that almost euery seuerall booke in Scripture is a perfect modell of GOD his Will in respect of parts howsoeuer it pleased God by degrees to reveale his grace euer more and more vntill all was consummate in Christ Iesus as now wee haue it in the New Testament e Gal. 3.15 If it bee but a mans Testament yet if it bee confirmed no man disanulleth it nor addeth thereunto And shall any now f Rom. 12.3 thinking of himselfe more highly then hee ought or g Aeternam igitur legem mundis animis fas est cognoscere judicare non fas est Aug. de vera religione c. 31. presuming to know more then is meete dare to vsurpe authority aboue the Testament of Christ in the Scripture to prescribe against it or to dictate any thing h Lacte gypsum malè miscetur Irenaeus l. 3. adversus haeres c. 19. Quod de Scripturis authoritatem non habet eâdem facilitate contemnitur quâ probatur Hieron in Mat. 23. besides it as the absolute will of GOD to binde the conscience with necessity to i 1 Pet. 5.3 domineere ouer GODS heritage to smite his fellow-seruants and to vsurpe dominion ouer the faith k Deut. 17.18.19.20 The King sitting vpon his throne was bound to haue a copy of the Law of GOD with him and to reade therein all the dayes of his life that hee might learne to feare the Lord his God to keepe all the words of his Law and his Statutes to doe them that his heart might not bee lifted vp aboue his brethren and that hee might not turne aside from the commandement to the right hand or to the left And for the Ministers of the Gospell l 1 Tim. 6.3.4.5 if any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholesome words euen the wordes of our Lord IESVS CHRIST and the doctrine which is according to godlinesse he is proud knowing nothing and is destitute of the trueth supposing that gaine is godlinesse from such vvithdravv thy selfe m Gal. 1.8.9 Nay if any preach any other Gospell though an Angell from Heauen let him bee accursed n Revel 22.18.19 I testifie to euery man saith S. Iohn for conclusion of all his testimony is true that if any man shall adde vnto these things God shall adde vnto him the plagues that are vvritten in this booke Canon amussis neque additionem patitur neque ablationem Theophilact in 3. c. ad Philipp and if any man shall take avvay from the vvords of the booke of this Prophesie God shall take avvay his part out of the Booke
Hallowed be thy thrice glorious name O thou holy one as thou hast commanded That the name of God may bee knowne The Christian sabbath of the holy Catholike Church and worshipped as by euery man in priuate so by all of vs in publike God hath appointed the sabbath for the holy assemblyes representing the holy catholike Church in acknowledgement of his kingdome attending his grace in holy exercises and Christian duties and expecting his glory Which day may not be otherwise imployed farther then necessity enforceth which is god his dispensation and hath no law or then mercy to our selues others requireth n â—at 12.7 which God will haue and not sacrifice Of which duty some question hath beene made of late whether it bee of faith I suppose for these reasons principally First because in nature there is little or no appearance of reason for the sabbath that it should bee morall Secondly because it seemes not to be any where expressely recognised in the new testament as the other commandements are but rather to bee slighted both by Christ and his apostles Thirdly because in keeping the sabbath the Iewes were to obserue certaine ceremonies which are now abolished by the Gospell And lastly because Christians haue neuer kept that day which the Iewes did the commandement seemes to prescribe Which doubts if they may be cleared I hope the ten commandements will holde together and not breake company being all of the same kinde and o Exod. 31.18 c. 34.38 written with God his owne finger He spake these ten words and added no more vnto them For the naturall reason of the sabbath somewhat hath already beene said in the proper place thereof concerning the p I book ch 5. law of nature But may not a law be morall for the vse thereof vnlesse it be naturall in respect of the cause Christ hath promised that where two or three are gathered together in his name he will bee in the midst of them Now although God be euery where at all times yet for our r Ne inordinata congregatio populi fidem minuoret in Corste proptereà dies aliqui constituti sunt vt in vnum oomes pariter veniremus Hieroniad Gal. 4. meetings there must needs be a set time which it is iust that God who appoints the meeting should designe and not wee There may be holy assemblyes as that of Å¿ Acts 10. Cornelius vpon any day to heare the word to praise God and to pray vnto him as occasion is offered inseason and out of season the Lord will be found in them But on the Lords day the holy assemblies must bee and that weekely because hee hath commanded and hath giuen vs the reason which we haue belecued Now for that which Christ said or did we may bee well assured that his intent was not to violate the law of the sabbath The sabbath not abrogated by Christ who came not to breake the law but to fulfill it and was therein so punctuall and exact u Mat. 3.15 to performe all righteousnesse that if it were but a ceremony he would haue obserued it because all was to continue vntill the vaile of the temple his body was rent Hee often tooke occasion indeed by their greatest assemblies on the sabbath daies to doe some miracles workes of mercy in their sight to confirme the truth of what he taught namely that hee was the Lord of the sabbath and the mercifull sauiour of the world This lesson hee first read vnto them out of the * Luk. 4.16.17.18 Prophet Isaiah in one of their Synagogues as his custome was on the sabbath day Which they should now haue taken forth by him being the chiefe and principall end of their sabbath But when they perversely misconstrued his doings he iustifying the same as also his Disciples plucking the eares of corne to satisfie their hunger tooke occasion to teach them better what was the right vse of the sabbath Not a x Cui septima quaeque fuit luâ— Ignava Invenal Sat. 14. Sat. 6. Observant vbi festa mero pede sabbata reges De itinere sabatico Quos etiam irridet Plutarch libel de superstitione superstitious cessation from worke but a spirituall attention to the workes of God euer admitting our workes of mercy and of necessity And if Christ thereby abrogated the sabbath then did hee abolish the other commandements also whereof he said y Mat. 5. So and so it hath beene said vnto you of old but I say vnto you thus and thus shall yee doe and then was the Sabbath abrogated long afore by the Prophet Isaiah in the name of the Lord. z Isa 1.13 The new moones and sabbaths the calling of solemne assemblies I cannot away with But this Christ hath taught vs concerning the sabbath a Mark 2.27 That it was made for man not man for the sabbath as indeed the whole law was made for man not to breake but to keepe it for his owne good This especially was a provisionall statute for his benefit b Quian durabile non est quod requie caret oâ— tium quoddam sanctum Deus praecepit vt insatiabilem hominum cupiditatem fraenaret qui tam seipsoâ— quam servos suos nimijs laboribus exhauriunt modo lucrum faciant Gualterus homil 56. in Luc. partly in regard of his body whose worldly heart would else giue him no rest but would make him out-worke Gods curse if God did not allow vs a rest supplying vs the while with necessaries by his ordinary prouidence c Exod. 16.24 as he did the Israelites by miracle but principally for his soules good that he might attend and receaue the d Homini non ante septimum laetalis inaedia est Plia hist nat l. 11. c 53. Plerique ex his qui septem diebus nihil edere aut bibere volunt in his moriuntur quod si quidam eos super averint nihilominus tamen moriuntur Hyp. l. de carn ad sinem Non possunt boni mores ne secundum naturam quidem ipsam apud eos homines constare qui vnum de septem diebus non observant sanctificant domino Iun. de Pol. Mosis c. 8. spirituall food thereof vnto eternall life As for the Apostles The Sabbath not abrogated by the Apostles St Paul writing to the Galatians condemnes the superstitious e Gal. 4.10 obseruing of daies and months and times and yeares in generall whereof the Iewes accounted some more holy the Gentiles some more happy But to the Colossians he speakes of Sabbaths by name reckoning theÌ„ amongst shadowes he saith f Coloss 2.16 let no man iudge you in respect of the Sabbaths a phrase which he vseth g Rom. 14.4.10.13 elsewhere forbidding all censuring contending about things indifferent amongst which he reckons the obseruing of a day and it may bee that set day for the Sabbath for he saith h V. 6. he that
of life and out of the Holy City and from the things that are vvritten in this booke BOOKE II. CAP. I. THE STIPVALATION of Faith by â—â—e Sacraments The answer of a good conscience toward God The Creed The Sacraments Baptisme Poedobaptisme Anabaptisme Confirmation and penance Communion No transubstantiation Participation by faith Communion in loue The law conditioned The covenant indissoluble How is the covenant transacted betwixt God and vs BY the word of God on his part The Answere of a good conscience as hath beene declared in the two Testaments which being accepted on our parts by faith that worketh by loue and resteth in hope is mutually sealed and confirmed on both sides by two Sacraments a Heb. 4.2 The word preached profiteth not vnlesse it be mixed with faith in them that heare it nor faith professed vnlesse it worke by loue in them that haue it nor haue we then attained but rest still in hope of the glory of God to be revealed in vs. Faith in a larger sense and not vnvsuall implieth the other graces being a full assent to the word of truth accepting the grace offered in the Gospell vpon trust answering the law by loue which is the fulfilling of the law and the end there of For b 2. Tim. 1.5 the end of the commandement is loue out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith vnfaigned Which when all is done expecteth the full accomplishment of the promises but of the law and of the Gospell in hope a Heb. 10.36 waiting with patience that after we haue done the will of God we may receaue the promise Thus we stipulate with God b Rom. 12.2 proue his will what is that good that acceptable and perfect will of God and c Ioh. 3.33 set to our seales that God is true * Rom. 1.17 And thus the righteousnesse of God is revealed from faith to faith From the truth of God a faithfull creatour to our faith in him his vnworthie creature And in vs from one degree of faith to another vntill we receiue the end of our faith euen the saluation of our soules The faith more especially is that whereof we make confession THE CREED saying I beleeue in God c. according to the Apostles Creed So it is called not only because it agrees with the Apostles doctrine being the very summe and substance thereof and might happily be d Russinus in Symbol Isiod l. 2 de Eccl. officiis c. 23. Aug. ser 131 Ambr. ser 38. agreed vpon by themselues as the absolute e 2. Tim. 1.13 forme of sound words and the rule of the f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Athan. erat 4. coutrà Arianos analogie of faith but principally because it is the very forme of the g 1. Tim. 6 3. words of our Lord Iesus Christ the great h Heb. 3.1 Apostle and high Priest of our calling Which besides his generall doctrine he seemes to haue expresly committed in trust to the Apostles in the very same order instituting the two Sacraments to bee administred by them and their successours in his Church for euer i Eph. 2.20 Which is built vpon the foundation of the Apostles Prophets Iesus Christ himselfe being the head corner stone a Regulam veritatis immobilem per baptismum accepimus Iraen adv heres l. 1. c. 1. Baptisme in the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost takes vp the former part of the Creed to the holy catholique Church which is holy being b Eph. 5.26 sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the word And it is catholike admitting all commers by baptisme as the Lord appointed saying c Mat. 28.19 Goe teach all nations baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost * Vid. Martin procatech tract 4. Which part of the Creed being at first expressed in those few words and aunciently so vsed in baptisme was after enlarged with more articles especially concerning the second person by occasion of heresies that did arise The supper of the Lord which the Apostle calls d 1. Cor. 10.16 the Communion beginning with the communion of saints includes it and the articles following For Christ instituting this sacrameÌ„t cals e Mat. 26.28 the cup the blood of the New Testament saying expresly that it was shed for many for the remission of sinnes and for the other two benefits of communion in the body and blood of Christ namely the resurrection of our bodies and life everlasting St Iohn reports them plainely from Christ his owne mouth saying a Ioh. 6 5â— whosoever eateth my flesh drinketh my blood hath euerlasting life and I will raise him vp at the last day as he doth in like manner speak of our regeneration by baptisme c. 3. For S. Iohn onely of all the Evangelists doth not expresly report the very institution it selfe of the Sacraments but insteed thereof as it seemeth the spirituall graces intended by them Christ therefore himselfe is the author and finisher of our faith Who gaue vs his word by the Apostles wherevpon we beleeue according to their Creed the b In ea regula incedimus quam ecclesia ab Apostolis Apostoli à Christo Christus â— Deo tradidit Tertul. de praes c. 14. badge and cognisance of the Church catholike and Apostolike for ever c 2. Cor. 4.13 So they beleeued and therefore so spake and wee hauing the same spirit of faith doe also beleeue therefore so speake And so it must bee in the couenant of grace for God will write it in our hearts Euery man must haue as it were by heart the copy of grace the evidence of his saluation the charter of life the counterpane of the couenant betwixt God vs as it were a duplicate of the proued will of God to produce the same for himselfe in his owne person assenting to the truth and consenting with the Church rather then barely to alledge God his word for it although the word of God be the ground of our faith for hee may alledge the word that never beleeues it or else perverts it as they that are d 2. Pet. 3.16 unlearned and vnstable doe to their owne destruction But the iust shall liue by his faith Vpon these tearmes the couenant passeth by a Sacramenta mutuambabent relationem 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mutuall stipulation The sacraments betwixt God and vs in the sacraments which are certaine b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fidelia seu pignora b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ipsasacrificia per quae faedera intercedente iureiurando sanciebantur b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Homer Iliad 2. mysticall acts and deeds thereof on his part by his word and institution and on our parts by faith and acceptilation As in ciuill contracts besides the bookes drawen and agreed vpon there