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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02461	A sermon principally entreating of the crosse in Baptisme wherein also it is proued, against the vnaduised reprouers, that it is no popish error, to say; that Austine sent from Gregorie the Great, was the conuerter of the English in this iland: and further that the Britaines did not receiue their first faith from the Church of Rome. By R. H. D.	Hacket, Roger, 1559-1621.	1606 (1606)	STC 12591; ESTC S117906	24,790	63

herein we suspect our contrarying thoughts suppose that we may be deceaued that they may being nearer the times of Christ and his Apostles in things of this nature better see the truth Nay since the Crosse is a rite meerely in the generall indifferent since it may serue to decency and order as a badge of our profession how may I or other of the like mind and conscience with my selfe in this refuse the order of our Church vpon our priuate spleene and fansies let not him that vseth it not cōdemne him that vseth it If not to thee yet to mee except I would giue the lye vnto my cōscience it is indifferēt Surely Chemnisius writing of the rites which in the Sacraments are vsed for order and decency sake of those outward things indifferent saith It must not be permitted to euery man without the iudgement and consent of the Church of his own wātonnes wil to leaue out or alter any rite or ceremony that is vsed in the Church For although other Churches doe not vse to baptise with the Crosse yet are we in things of this nature to follow the rites and orders of the Church in which we liue not the orders of those to whom wee are not subiect except we will become troublers of the peace of our Church an offence vnto other and cause other to be offēded with vs. The seueral Churches of God without blemish or derogation to other may in these rites vse their liberty according to the rule of Paul as Chemnisius in the same place speaketh And as Linwood inferred when in some Churches the baptised was dipped vnder the water in some had water sprinckled or powred on that it was not of the necessity of Baptisme that the child should bee dipped so maiest thou in that some Churches doe signe the baptised with the signe of the Crosse others do not hereby vnderstand that the Church of God doth not repute the Crosse to be of the necessity of Baptisme Yet doth the Church in which we liue for order sake cōmand the vse of the Crosse vnto vs. Should we for this forsake the people of our charge and leaue the ministrie vnto which God hath called vs by what warrant this was not the coūsell of Beza Cartwright and other impugners of this the like ceremonies but rather to walke in our calling and in patiēce to beare the burden of these dislikes If this had bin absolutely euil this they might not nor would not haue perswaded And if they thought it lawfull but not expedient nor conuenient our Gouernours in their great experience should better know what is fitting the state of our Church than they If they do not as thou supposest yet how maiest thou leaue thy lawfull and needful duty which God hath enioyned and requireth of thee in that thou wilt not vndergoe with the good of many that which thou thinkest is not expedient If thou farther saiest that the Crosse hath bin most superstitiously abused we say the same yet being freed from superstition and the opinion of merit holines and necessity why may it not be continued with vs especially since that which is vsed of vs is far vnlike that which is vsed of the Papists For they make the Crosse in Baptisme a needfull ceremonie wee a conueniēt they signe the baptised and the water oftē we once they put some religion and holines in the signe wee put none they crosse the baptised before he receiueth his Christendome we after and after he is receiued as a member in the Church they to driue out the diuell and by that signe to feare him from returning wee that it might be an honorable badge to remember vs with all boldnesse to confesse Christ crucified and to repute the cause of all our happines the merit of Christs Passion endured on the Crosse Well may therfore the Crosse be vsed of vs which hath been most superstitiously abused by them And so much the rather because that by this signe thus remaining with vs since all other vse of the crosse is in no vse with vs wee may stop the mouthes of the slaundering Papists which say that wee are enemies to Christ and to his Crosse because our Rulers haue broken downe his Crucifixes and Crosses and because the people do not as their Fathers did signe themselues with the sign of the Crosse For this signe thus vsed in Baptisme sheweth that wee are not enemies to Christ nor to his Crosse but to their Idolatry superstition And although we do not liue among the Iewes and Pagans which seeke to shame vs because we put our trust in him that was hanged on a tree by this Crosse to shew them that that which they reproch wee repute our glory yet since this is a doctrine needfull for all sorts to learne that not in the minister or water but in the blood of Iesus they attaine the washing away and remission of their sinnes since of this many of the people are very ignorant not only by the word and Sacraments the blessed meanes of God but by this signe also the people may be remembred as thought the anciēt Fathers that Christ died for them on the Crosse Neither lacketh this cause the approbation of many reuerend of our moderne writers For although Beza to Grendal did there reiect the Crosse because it opened a gap to that great superstition and Idolatry which among the Papists ensued and would haue it therefore with the brasen Serpent vtterly abolished yet the fame Beza in his after thoughts writing vnto Francis Ba●dwin I know that some hauing taken away the adoration of the Crosse haue yet retained some vse of the signe of the Crosse Let them vse as it is fit their liberty and to the same in an● place there was a time in which there was some vse of the signe of the Crosse against the contemners of Christ crucified and let it be long and willinglie vsed of Christians for an outward signe of their religion Where marke he saith that it is meet that they should vse their liberty in the vse of the Crosse 2. That it was of good vse against the contemners of Christ crucified 3. that hee would willingly haue it long cōtinued as an outward professiō of true religiō Likewise Bucer speaking of the Crosse this signe not only because it hath been of auncient vse in the Church of God but because it is a very plaine signe presentlie remembring the Crosse of Christ I iudge it not vndecent or vnprofitable if it bee purely vnderstood and religiously taken without any superstition or seruitude of the element or of common custome To the same purpose Chemnisius such rites we do not without cause love and reteine in the action of Baptisme which do signifie and illustrate the doctrine deliuered in Scripture concerning Baptisme In another place we ought to oppose our selues against those rites which fight with the word of God Or when

although they be not of the Papists reputed to bee of the substance of Baptisme but rather de solemnitate for his better grace and credit that so the people might conceiue better and more reuerētly of it as exorcising and blowing on the baptised the giuing to him salt the touching his nose and eares with spittle the anoynting of his brest and shoulders the oyling of the crown of his head the often crossing the giuing to him a white garment a burning taper and such like Yet because these much haue corrupted the simple pure and naked institution of Christ made the people to haue in greater reuerence these deuised ceremonies then Christs blessed Sacrament such superstitious fansies of men were worthily abandoned out of the Church in the ministring of this Sacrament not thought fit to be continued And yet since many of the fauorits of Rome haue not reputed these rites to bee of the substance or necessity of Baptisme but that only which our Sauiour in his Gospell instituted declaring in many their writings that there was a time when in Baptisme these were not vsed diuers times when these diuers rites were brought into the church for they were not all borne and hatched in one day it hath been the iudgement of the Church of God that they which haue been baptised in the Church of Rome notwithstanding those her many superstitiōs in this Sacrament vsed haue in respect of the substāce of Baptisme been truly baptised and ought not againe to bee baptised of vs so Zanchius They do impiously and vnskilfully which either in the Church of Rome or in our Churches hee meaneth the reformed do cause them that are rightly baptised againe for to bee baptised Thus then you see that the Crosse in Baptisme is not of the substance of Baptisme for Christ remembreth it not in the institution of Baptisme neither is it mentioned in the story of the Actes where yet many are said to bee baptised but added after as a conuenient rite This therefore if any wanted yet were they fully baptised if any had it yet then had they nothing more of the substance of Baptisme then the other and therefore they both were rightly fully reputed to be baptised Now are we in the second place to shew vnto you that the auncient Fathers in their times vsed to signe with the signe of the Crosse them that were baptised For the proofe of this you shall haue not two or three witnesses but a full Iury not forced to speake that which they neuer meant but freely deliuering their owne meanings nor speaking at randome of the Crosse in generall but properly in particular of the Crosse in Baptisme of whom the first is Basil surnamed the Great who seeking to proue that some rites were to be receaued from the tradition of the Apostles which are not expressely set downe in the letter of the word and yet then were in vse in the Church of God amongst other nameth this first In Baptisme to signe with the signe of the Crosse those which haue their hope in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ. In which marke first that he saith that to signe with the signe of the Crosse was from the tradition of the Apostles secondly that it was then in vse in the Church of God The second is Iustin Martyr who to the question why Christians when they prayed turned to the East gaue for answere because that in the opinion of men the Sun there rising was the more worthie part as saith he with the right hand in the name of Christ we consigne those that need this signe because it is more honorable then the left Where marke 1. That the Minister did signe the baptised 2. With the right hand 3. That hee reputed this signe somewhat needfull The third is Tertullian whom Cyprian honored as his Master he speaking of Baptisme and the Lords Supper saith The flesh is washed that the soule may be clensed the flesh is anoynted that the soule may bee consecrated the flesh is signed that the soule may be sensed the flesh is shadowed by the imposition of hands that the soule may be illightned by the spirit the flesh is fedde with the body and blood of Christ that the soule may be satisfied with God In which you may obserue that the party that was baptised with water was also signed with the signe of the Crosse The next is Origen who in an exhortation he maketh to his hearers to liue a godly life saith Let not Sathan say this man was called a Christian was signed with the signe of the Crosse in his forehead but he doth my will and he hath my seale in his heart behold he which renounced me and my workes in Baptisme hath againe made himselfe a seruant in my workes and againe obeyeth my lawes Where most plainely Origen sheweth that the baptised in his time were signed with the signe of the Crosse in their foreheads About the same time Arnobius reuerend amongst the Christians of renown among the Gentiles saith Since Christ is risen from the dead and ascended vp to heauen wee his Apostles and Disciples with all that beleeue haue the signe of the Crosse in good so that our visible and inuisible enemies may see in our foreheads his signe and bee ashamed In which we may obserue that all that beleeued were signed in their foreheads with the signe of the Crosse secondlie that the Apostles Disciples and all the faithfull reputed it as good lastly that by it the enemies of Christianity since Christ was risen and ascended were done to shame The like witnesseth zealous Cyprian who sheweth that they which were baptised in the Church were offered to the Church by their gouernours and by prayer and imposition of hands enioyed the holy Ghost and were consummated by the Lords signe Where note hee calleth the signe in Baptisme the Lords signe Secondly that in the end or after the Sacrament of Baptisme it was administred To the same purpose Athanasius whom Basil calleth the Physition of the Church diseases who hath perswaded the barbarous nations in their sauage countries to lay aside their cruelty and to thinke of peace but the faith of Christ and the signe of the Crosse Where note that by their Baptisme the barbarous nations were conuerted from their sauage crueltie vnto peace In like manner Ambrose Hee cānot be holden of the second death which is signed with the signe or mystery of the Crosse For the preaching of the Crosse of Christs is an argument that death is conquered A little after He cannot therfore bee holden of death because hee hath the signe that death is conquered for him Where hee sheweth that the baptised cannot be holden of the second death except they make themselues vnworthy Christs merit because they haue the Crosse in Baptisme a signe that death is conquered for them So Chrysostome hauing before spoken of the

great superstition will-worship fansied by man but not approued by God did after follow accompany the Crosse Thus haue you heard that both these kinds of crosses haue bin sinfully abused and by whom that although the aereall Crosse was rightly vsed by the Fathers at the first yet that now they haue multiplied one into many filling euerie place and euery act full of needlesse and superstitious crosses Now it followeth that we shew vnto you that since the Crosse hath been so foulie abused that therefore they of our Fathers and other reformed churchers did not ill which haue wholy abandoned the Crosse that in former ages hath been so sinfully abused For if Ezechiah be commēded for commanding the brasen Serpent to be broken which yet God had appointed to be made after it was continued seuen hūdred yeares why may not with their praise vpon the same reason of Idolatrie Christian Magistrates remoue out of the Church and houses of God those crosses crucifixes which were deuised and fansied by man Surely not so commaunded of God as was the brasen Serpent If here they shall insist for their excuse that they do not worship the Crosse or Crucifixe but Christ which in the Crucifix is remembred what do they in this alledge for themselues but that which the Iewes might for their calfe and the Gentiles did for their Idols For vnder the forme of the calfe the Iewes thought to worshippe that God which brought them out of the land of Aegypt therefore to the calfe they sange These are thy Gods which brought thee out of the land of Aegypt and Austin speaking of the Gentiles The Heathen say that they do not worship that which is visible but the Godhead which there inuisibly dwelleth In this therefore the Papist Iew and Gentile agree But to thē all not I but ●asil replieth How ridiculous a thing is this to beleeue that the heauenly godhead is fastned to an image and there vnder an Image to worship it When it was obiected by the heathen that Christians did worship crosses Arnobius replieth We doe not worship crosses neither doe we aduise you so to do In like manner Cyril to Iulian we deny that the signe of the Crosse is worshipped and adored of Christians The reason of their answere appeareth because as Gregory Nyssen speaketh hee which adoreth a creature although he do it in the name of Christ yet hee is a worshipper of images hauing giuen the name of Christ vnto an image By the same reason Basil proueth Arius to be an Idolater because he worshipped Christ and yet reputed him to bee but a creature he that shal call the only Son of God the worke of God and a creature and shall after worship him in that they worship a creature and not a Creator graecismum inducunt they bring in the Idolatry of the Gentiles Thus then by the iudgment of these Fathers none may in the name of Christ or for Christs sake worship a Crucifix worship a Crosse for it is but a creature neither is the diuine Godhead fastned to an Image as the Iew and Gentile thought neither can it be shewed that Christ would haue himselfe in a Crosse or Image to bee worshipped Wherfore our Rulers did well by taking away the causes of the peoples error to reduce them to the worship of the true and only God and by defacing the Crosses with which the blinded world committed spiritual whoredome to take away the reproch of our faith for which both Iew Turke well affected Christians were offended with vs. This in this very case Athanasius approueth saying lest any of the vnfaithfull Iexes doe reproue that in vs that we worship the Crosse wee may the two peeces of the wood being seuered the forme of the Crosse vnformed cast them away from vs as vnprofitable wood In like sort as the world may see in our liturgy and Sacraments and in the common vse practise of the people the aereall Crosse in a manner is abandoned The reason of this Zanchius alledgeth propter introduct as superstitiones opinionem necessitatis because they were superstitiously abused and thought so necessarie that without thē many thought nothing well done When the Hemerobaptists did euery day wash thē to wash away their sins Epiphanius laughed at their folly and shewed that al the water in the springs riuers and sea was not able to do away their sinne the reason of his speech he there giueth because it was not done according to reason nor by the command of God euen so we say to them which are so deuoted to their many crosses these shall not be able to driue away the diuell or do away your sin because they are not done according to reason nor by the command of God Lest therefore they should beare the blame of the deceiued people and heare from the Lord for their often crossing What euill hath this people done that you should suffer nay bring so great a sin vpon them in an holy obedience to God they caused them to leaue this superstitious practise of the deceaued world Thus thē as diuers ancient rites sometime vsed in baptisme were put out of vse that by the Fathers which liued in the first six hundred yeares as the tasting of milke hony wine mentioned in Tertullian so may also this of the Crosse aswel as they by Che●nisius iudgement be disused if either by reason of circumstāces it be not found so profitable as it was or that the reason ceaseth for which it was ordeined or the cōtrary to the purpose for which it was ordeined it be abused to superstition Yea although it were a grāted truth that it came not frō man but frō the tradition of the Apostles for as other rites either instituted or put in practise by the Apostles thēselues as the feasts of loue the receauing the Sacramēt after supper the greeting one another with a kisse haue long discontinued left to be vsed in the Church euē so may this of the Crosse although it were vsed of the Apostles thēselues but of this too much because it is a doctrine receaued of all Now let vs come to that which in the sixt place wee proposed that wee of the ministrie since it is so enioyned by the Gouernours of our Church well may as did the Fathers notwithstāding the contrary vsage of other Churches signe our baptised with the signe of the Crosse For since the Fathers in their times signed their baptised with the signe of the Crosse that vpon good and approued causes why may not that which was lawfull for them be lawfull for vs keeping our selues within the same bounds and limits Surely that which the first and renowned Fathers in all their seuerall Churches put in practise as though it came from the Apostles themselues we cannot reiect as superstitious or disauow as vnlawfull and naught Nay rather