be reputed the Ministers of Christ who enter by Simony WHAT is here proposed is a Case upon the Resolution whereof dependeth the Satisfaction and Tranquility of the Conscience both of the Priest and People of the Pastor and of his Flock in reference to their respective Concerns in the Administration of the Ministerial Duties For when he who by Simony hath procured an Entrance into the Sacred and Spiritual Office receives Ordination Collation Institution and is invested with the Charge of a Flock he Preacheth the Word he Administrateth the Sacraments he Exerciseth the Power of the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven he bindeth he looseth and in a word dispenseth all things that belong to the Ministery The People see him clothed with Orders and Authority from the Church and set over them as their Pastor from whose Hands they are invited to expect those Spiritual Benefits which God hath promised to convey to Souls by the Ministery of the Gospel in those Divine Ordinances Now if he be the lawful Minister of Jesus Christ all is secure enough on both hands he may confidently Exercise the Acts of the Evangelical Priesthood and by a good Title Administer the Sacred Things belonging thereto and they may confidently promise to themselves the gracious Effects of his Ministration But if he be not then doth he but boldly usurp and intrude himself and hath no right to Dispense these Mysteries and may expect as little Thanks from God for his medling 1 Sam. 13.12 13. as Saul had for presuming upon a Burnt-Offering and as Vzziah 2 Chron. 26.18 19. for attempting to offer Incense in the Temple Nor can the People derive any Spiritual Benefit from his Ministery who never received what he pretends to give and whose Administrations can have no more Vertue than the Exorcisms of the Sons of Sceva Acts 19.14 15 16. For the Resolution of this Doubt it is seriously to be considered What it is that constitutes a Man in the Ministerial Office And I lay it down as a sure Hypothesis uncontroverted amongst the Orthodox That Ordination according to the Divine Rule of Ecclesiastical Oeconomy is the ordinary Way and Means appointed by God for Constituting of Men in any Degree of the Sacred Hierarchy and for Consecrating them to the Priestly Office in the Church and making them the Ministers of Christ and that thereby Authority and Power is conveyed upon the Person thus Consecrated of Dipensing the Mysteries of the Gospel and Administring the Ordinances of God Wherefore we must consider That in Ordination there is a Divine Spiritual Power and Authority and there is a Ministerial Ecclesiastical Seal And howsoever this Power and Authority be conveyed by the hands of Man as the external Agent and Instrument in conferring the Ecclesiastical Seal yet these external Rites of Ordination perform'd by Man do not give the Power but are only Declarative of that Spiritual Power and Grace which is deriv'd from God alone and flows from the influence of his Blessed Spirit as the Internal and Principal Author and Efficient upon the Person call'd by him thereto And therefore Dionysius Areopagita or whosoever else is the Author of The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy says of the Person that confers Orders That he is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Proclaimer or Declarer of the Divine Election De Eccles Hier. Cap. 9. Who says he by his own Gift doth not advance those who are Consecrated unto the Honour or Power of Ecclesiastical Order This he ascribes only to God whom he calls there 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Prince of Consecration or chief Ordainer and pleads the Authority of Jesus Christ for ascribing this Power to God alone and his Holy Spirit Nor can it be rationally suppos'd to be otherwise for if a Spiritual Power be necessary as is undeniable to the Ministration of Spiritual and Sacred Things then this Power can be derived from no other Fountain than the Divine Spirit And therefore did our Lord and Saviour both by his Words and Actions intimate the same to flow from him upon the Persons of his Apostles whilst at the giving of their Commission he told them That the Authority and Power which he transmitted unto them was but an emanation of that Power which he had received from above saying Matth. 28.18 19. All Power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth go ye therefore and teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost And Joh. 20.21 22 23. As my Father hath sent me so send I you And when he had said this he breathed on them and saith unto them Receive ye the Holy Ghost Whosesoever's Sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whosesoever's Sins ye retain they are retained And telling them Acts 1.8 Ye shall receive Power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you And ye shall be Witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost Parts of the Earth Whereby he meaneth That they have both the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both the Authority and the Power of their Ministery from the Holy Ghost And not only did our Saviour ascribe this unto him in the Persons of these extraordinary Ministers whom he immediately Ordained and sent forth but the Apostle Paul ascribes it also to him in the Persons of the ordinary Pastors of the Church who were Called and Ordained mediately by the Hands of Men saying unto them Acts 20.28 Take heed unto your selves and unto all the Flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you Overseers Wherefore from so clear Premisses we cannot but conclude That to a right and sufficient Ordination to constitute a Man a true Minister of Jesus Christ and to endow him with a lawful Ministerial Power there must be with the external Instrument a concurrence of the internal Principal Efficient as it was in the Out-sending of Barnabas and Saul who received their Power and Authority from God and the external Seal thereof from the Church the Holy Ghost gives the Command and calls them Acts 13.2 3. and their Brethren gave them Imposition of Hands And therefore Ambrose proposeth the Question Lib. De Dignit Sacerdot Cap. 5. Who gives the Gift or Grace of Ordination And he answered Sine dubio Deus without doubt God Sed tamen says he per hominem dat Deus but notwithstanding God gives it by Man Homo imponit manus Deus largitur gratiam Sacerdos imponit supplicem dextram Deus benedicit potenti dextra Man lays on the Hands God bestows the Grace The Priest lays on the right Hand of Prayer and God blesseth with the right Hand of Power And without this the external Seal Administred by the Hands of Men signifies nothing Hence then the Collection is easie and the Conclusion evident That he who enters by by Simony upon the Sacred
dividing to every Man severally as he will Some things again are reckoned Spiritual because they are such by the Ordinance and Appointment of God and that two ways Some things are such as being Instruments and Means appointed by God for working spiritual Effects Thus the Word and the Sacraments and the Offices in the Church and the Vocation Ordination and Authority to dispense the same and to exercise these Sacred and Spiritual Offices are set apart as things Sacred and Spiritual and these are call'd the Gifts of God because they are given of God and his Spirit as Instruments whereby he worketh as our Saviour said to his Father of his Disciples I have given them thy Word It is his Gift And as the Apostle saith of him Joh. 17.14 When he ascended up on high he led Captivity captive and gave Gifts unto Men. Eph. 4.8 11 12. And he gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the Body of Christ Some things again are by God's Appointment reckoned Spiritual as being conjoin'd and annexed to Sacred and Spiritual Things as Ministeries and Helps thereto Thus things set apart and dedicated to Holy and Spiritual Uses and for the support and maintainance of Spiritual Offices with the Rights and Titles thereto though in their own nature they be things Temporal yet in regard of this connexion to Spiritual Things they become Sacred and Spiritual And these things God lays claim to and seals them as his peculiar Gifts Thus the Lord calls the Oblations Tythes First-Fruits and Devoted Things set apart for the Priests and Levites his Gifts saying expresly more than once I have given them unto you Numb 18. Now all these Spiritual Things whether they be such of their own nature or such by the Ordinance and Institution of God are as the Canonists say Indebitae materia emptionis venditionis an improper Matter for buying and selling being the peculiar Gifts of God which cannot be subjected to Merchandise and the buying or selling whereof hath such affinity with and comes so within the predicament of the Sin of Simon Magus that whosoever is guilty thereof may be said to be guilty of buying or selling the Holy Ghost in regard he buys or sells these Gifts which are of so near a relation to the Holy Ghost and wherein whosoever offers to bargain offers to put an Affront upon God and his blessed Spirit whose peculiar Gifts they are and whose Privilege it is to give them so as Bonaventure says rightly In Sent. Lib. 4. Dist 25. Art 1. q. 4. Donum Dei impretiabile sub pretio ponens facit contumeliam Spiritui Sancto He that subjects the invaluable Gift of God to a Price doth put a Reproach upon the Holy Ghost 2dly It is a known Rule That in expounding the Law of God under the prohibition of any one Sin it is to be understood that all Sins of the same kind whether more or less hainous and also all things which are the proper Ministries Helps Occasions Accessaries and Inducements thereto are prohibited and condemn'd As in the seventh Commandment under the Prohibition of Adultery Fornication and all kind of Whoredoms are forbidden and moreover the company of Whores unclean Communication Surfeiting Drunkenness making provision for the Flesh and all things whatsoever may occasion or directly minister to such a sin are prohibited and condemned So then whilst Simon Magus is condemned by the Apostle for offering Money for the Gift of the Holy Ghost not only under this is to be understood the buying or felling of that extraordinary Gift of the Holy Ghost for which he intended to bargain but also all bargaining for other Sacred and Spiritual Things and for what are the Instruments and Ministeries thereto as being upon that account Spiritual is here condemned as being in the same Predicament with the sin of Simon in subjecting these Spiritual Things to buying and selling which are the improper Matter of Merchandise Thus having seen what the sin of Simon Magus was and having considered and cleared from the Words of the Apostle what is comprehended under the same we may the more easily come to define what Simony is The common Definition thereof given by the School-men and Canonists is That it is Thom. 22ae qu. 100. Art 1. Studiosa voluntas seu cupiditas emendi vel vendendi Spiritualia vel Spiritualibus annexa Bonavent in lib. 4. Sent. Dist 25. Art 1. qu. 3. A studious or earnest Will or Desire of buying or selling Spiritual Things or Things annexed to Spiritual Things But Bernard Compost in Decret Gregor 9. De Simonia cap. 1. because this defines Simony only as it is in the Affection though it may indeed by consequence reach it in the external Action and Effect yet in regard it expresseth not the same I find the Canonists therefore give also another Definition thereof calling it Decret Greg. 9. De rerum permut cap. 5. Pactio circa Spiritualia aut Spiritualibus annexa A Paction or Bargain about Spiritual Things or Things annexed to Spiritual Things But this again reacheth only the Effect whilst the Guilt of Simony may be incurr'd in the Affection and Endeavour though it never come in Effect to a Paction or Bargain as it was in the case of Simon Magus himself who was guilty in the Thought of his Heart and in the Offer of his Money but did effectuate nothing Wherefore it may more fully be defined thus Simonia est peccatum circa Spiritualia quo impretiabile Dei Donum sub pretio ponitur Simony is a Sin about Spiritual Things whereby the unvaluable Gift of God is put under a Price or subjected to Merchandise And this Definition doth include both the former because whether it be by a real Paction that one buys or sells Spiritual Things or whether it be in Affection or that by Endeavour he expresseth his Affection to do so whether it be by Deed or whether it be by Desire he prostitutes to Merchandise the Gifts of God which cannot be priz'd As likewise under the name of Spiritual Things this comprehendeth these which the former Descriptions call Things annexed to Spiritual Things because by Virtue of that Annexation or Connexion as I have shewed they become through God's Appointment Sacred and Spiritual And this Definition may be well gathered from the Text which holds out that the Sin of Simon was about a thing Spiritual The Gift of the Holy Ghost And that his Trespass thereabout was That that Gift of God which could not be valued nor purchased with Sums of Money he would have subjected to a Price and offered Money for it And all Simony being but the transcript of his Sin it may then rightly be thus defined And hence it is evident That all buying or selling or bargaining about Spiritual Things whether they be such in
what is his own and what others have neither just Title to nor can lawfully possess yet is he not to be reputed mercenary for all that because the end of his Labours is not these things but the Edification of the Church and only he requires his Wages or Stipend as the matter of his Maintainance that he may attend without Distraction to the Duties of his Calling But he whose design is Gain and not the Glory of God nor Edification of Souls but only exerciseth the Office that he may have the Benefice is the mercenary Man that makes Merchandise of his Office Homil. 14. in Evang. Mercenarius quippe est says Gregory qui locum quidem Pastoris tenet lucra autem animarum non quaerit sed terrenis commodis inhiat He truly is the mercenary Man who holds indeed the place of a Pastor yet seeks not the benefit of Souls but gapes after earthly Commodities And so much the more mercenary is he if besides the Allowance of that Maintainance which is set apart for him as a Steward in God's House he make also his Advantage of those Spiritual Things which are committed to his Dispensation and gives not to every one their Portion in due season but limits it to the seasons and measure of his Gain nor doth dispense the Bread and Water of Life indifferently to all but keeps back or lays out impairs or augments the Portion of the Children according to the expectation of either the Benefit or Favour he may reap thereby Such a one is indeed but a base Simoniacal Pedler making Merchandise of the Gifts of God But such is not he who requires but his Allowance of these due Accommodations which the diligent Attendance to his Duties call for wherein he exerciseth himself without any base design giving unto every one their portion in due season nay this is the faithful and wise Steward Luke 12.42 43. and blessed shall he be when at the coming of his Lord he shall be found so doing CHAP. IV. Of the hainousness of the Sin of Simony IF the hainousness and impiety of this Sin of Simony were seriously considered it could not but beget a perfect detestation and abhorrency thereof in the Heart of any true Christian Wherefore having shewed what Simony is and the several ways whereby the Guilt thereof may be incurr'd I proceed now to set it forth in its own Colours and to shew how great and hainous a Crime it is And this I hope to make appear by Arguments of good and solid Reason from the grievous Characters put upon it and Evidences of God's Wrath against it set down by the Holy Ghost in the Scriptures and from the Sentiments the Holy Fathers and Church of Christ have had thereof and Censures they have judged it lyable to First How great and hainous a sin Simony is may appear by these Reasons following 1st Because Simony is a kind of Theft and that of an high nature We justly account him a Thief who being a Steward and put in trust with his Lord's Substance giving charge to dispense the same for the Provision and Maintainance of his Houshold and Authority freely to fill all the places of Office in the Family with worthy and faithful Fellow-servants if he should so abuse this Power and Trust as either to embezzle his Master's Goods or convert them to his own use by selling of Offices and putting Men in charge for Bribes without consideration of their Worth and Fidelity and by making Merchandise of his Master's Wealth for his own private Gain we justly I say account such a one a Thief and guilty of a Theft of the highest nature as being Fur in Officio A Thief in his Office and Calling betraying his Trust and selling away as his own that whereof he is not the Lord or Owner but the Steward and as ensnaring others also into the guilt of his Crime by making as many Thieves as he hath Receivers of his Theft Now such Thieves are Simoniacal Persons who sell and make Merchandise of Spiritual Things which are not the proper subjects of Buying or Selling but the free Gifts of God whereof they are not Lords but Stewards to whom the free Dispensation of these things is committed and of whom it is required 1 Cor. 4.1 2. that they be found faithful And if that flying Roll of the Curse as the Lord of Hosts hath said by the Prophet Zech. 5.4 shall enter into the House of the Thief and shall consum it with the Timber thereof and the Stones thereof Their Houses I 'm sure are in a tottering state who are guilty of this Simoniacal Theft of making Merchandise of the Offices of God's House and converting the Spiritual Things committed to their Trust to their own private Gain whereby they are not only Thieves but murthering Thieves whilst by such Merchandise they make Merchandise also of the Blood of Souls And so much the greater is their Danger as the Matters are Sacred which they thus embezzle and in so much as that Lord to whom they betray their Trust is not Man but that God who is a consuming Fire Heb. 12.29 2dly By Simony Men incur the hainous guilt of great Ingratitude and contempt of God in setting his Spiritual Gifts at a low rate If some great Prince or Royal Person should fall in love with the Daughter of a Beggar and should bestow upon her some rich Jewels as the Pledges and Tokens of his love and such Gifts as might raise her to and support her and such Servants as were requisite for her Attendance in a grandeur suitable for a Person of such high Pretensions as the Mistress or future Spouse of a King and then this Woman should esteem so light of all those Jewels and Gifts as out of a base covetousness to sell them or out of some carnal Respect to throw them away upon some base Relatives or lewd Paramours or Favourites of her own might she not justly bear the Character of a Person of monstrous Ingratitude and foolishly to have contemned such a Royal Lover in prizing so lightly all his Presents And did she not deserve to be cast off with disgrace as one unworthy ever for the future to pretend to any Interest in him Now such is the Dealing of these Simoniacal Persons with Jesus Christ This great King of Glory out of his transcendent Love hath come down from the Throne of Heaven to purchase us an Off-spring of Beggars and Mushrooms of the Dunghill to be his Royal Spouse and for preparing and fitting us for our eternal Marriage with him hath bestowed upon us as Pledges of his Love the Celestial Jewels of these free Spiritual Gifts wherewith he hath endowed his Church Eph. 4.12 for the perfecting of the Saints for the Work of the Ministery for the edifying of the Body of Christ Wherefore those who sell away these inestimable Gifts or any way prostitute them to Merchandise for any Temporal Thing in
exchange are guilty of most high Ingratitude and of hainous contempt of Jesus Christ as undervaluing the Pledges of his Love and setting them at a more disproportionable rate than is betwixt the smallest Farthing and the most pretious Jewel that the richest Mines of this World can yield and therefore deserve to forfeit his Love whose Gifts they have set so light by 3dly Is it not an hainous Offence and fearful sin to give occasion of Blasphemy against God and of bringing up an evil Report upon his Church That it is so we may easily conclude from the severe Anger of God against David upon this account 2 Sam. 12. 2 Sam. 12.14 Because he had given great occasion to the Enemies of the Lord to blaspheme And so indeed do they who practise Simony and make Merchandise of Spiritual Things give occasion of blaspheming God and of reproaching him of Partiality as if he had more respect to the Rich as more capable of his Gifts and Graces than the poor and as if his Church were a Shop or Ware-house where they speed best who have most Money And how alas doth it open the Mouths of many when they see these Sacred Things dispensed to the rich whereof the poor are depriv'd because of their Penury and Bribes making an easie Passage for some into the Church whilst the doors are shut against those that want Money and Wealth and not worth the Argument of Promotion to Spiritual Offices How doth it I say open the Mouths of many to cry out in the Words of that old Satyr Cuncta vaenalia nobis Templa Sacerdotes Altaria Sacra c. All things are to be sold amongst us Churches Priests Altars Holy Things c. and what not And whether it be a light thing to give such occasion of Reproach against God and his Church those who do so will find in the day of their Reckoning 4thly It is no small sin to expose Sacred and Spiritual Things to contempt and to give occasion to have them vilified and despised as Matters of little worth It was upon this account that it was said of Hophni and Phinehas 1 Sam. 2.17 that the Sin of the Young Men was very great before the Lord because they gave occasion for Men to abhor and set light by the Offering of the Lord. And so do they who by their Simoniacal Bargains make Merchandise of Spiritual Things For they give such Scandal by setting these things to Sale as makes the multitude have them in the less esteem and to account them no more worth than the Price that is laid out for them or the visible Benefit that is reaped by them and less worth than these Temporal Things which stand them at a dearer rate nay and in end altogether to contemn and despise them reckoning them as Matters of no moment but only as Artifices of Gain and Advantage to Spiritual Pedlers And whilst they give such Scandal and occasion of Offence how they shall escape that Woe which the Lord Jesus hath denounced against those by whom Offences come Luke 17.1 I see not Secondly The hainousness of this Sin may appear from the grievous Characters and Evidences of God's Indignation against it which he gives in the Scriptures Let us but again reflect upon the Words of the Apostle Peter unto Simon Magus that first Parent of this Sin in the Christian Church and upon the account thereof we find he gives such a Character of him as might affright any Christian from following his footsteps therein Act. 8. 21. whilst he tells him Thy Heart is not right in the sight of God Ver. 23. And Thou art in the Gall of Bitterness and in the Bond of Iniquity And that his Sin was such as that he could but doubtfully promise to himself pardon thereof in that he says Repent therefore of this thy Wickedness and pray God Ver. 22. if perhaps the Thought of thine Heart may be forgiven thee And in all our Saviour's Life we read not that ever he took the Rod in his hand but when he was to express his Indignation against this Sin and his zeal for the Purity of his Church and then we find in the Gospel that he made a Scourge of small Cords Matth. 21.12 and drove therewith the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple and overthrew the Tables of the Money-changers and the Seats of them that bought and sold Doves Joh. 2.15 Thereby intimating with what Wrath he would set his Face against those who would in his Church make Merchandise of Spiritual Things And what Character he gives of such we may read in his Words saying It is written Matth. 21.13 My House shall be called The House of Prayer but ye have made it a Den of Thieves And whoso lists to read the Antients who have Commented upon these Words or written upon this Subject shall find them applying these Words of the Gospel to this purpose and expounding it to have been the design of our Saviour by that Act to intimate with what displeasure he would have the Buyers and Sellers of Spiritual Things driven out of his Church But let us also look back and see under the Old Testament what Evidences of his Wrath God hath given against such Persons Numb 22. And there we find That when Balaam would have made Merchandise of his Prophetical Gift and would have sold the Exercise thereof for Money and Promotion God was so incensed against him that he sent an Angel with a drawn Sword against him in the way and made the Ass he rode upon reprove his Folly We find also 2 Kings 5. how God's Anger was expressed against Gehazi upon this account who would needs take Money and Rewards from Naaman for the miraculous Cure wrought upon him which his Master Elisha had refused to receive for the Dispensation of that Gift of God who therefore made the Leprosie of Naaman the Syrian cleave unto Gehazi and from him to be propagate to his Seed whom the Lord would set up as Monuments of his Displeasure to warn others of the danger of making Merchandise of the free Gifts of God or of using them as means of dishonest Gain I might bring also divers Passages from the Prophets to this purpose but I think these already mentioned may be sufficient to shew how hainous a sin Simony is in the sight of God who will not have Men to serve themselves and their worldly Ends of him and his Blessed Spirit Thirdly The hainousness of this sin may appear also from this That the Holy Men of God and Church of Christ have always entertain'd grievous Sentiments thereof and have judg'd it a Crime lyable to the severest Censures and Punishments It were an infinite Work to bring the manifold Testimonies of the several Fathers and Church-men whereby they have expressed their abhorrency of this Sin and given such black Characters thereof as they have not only called the Practisers and
Transactors in this execrable Merchandise the Disciples of Balaam Gehazi and Simon Magus But some have set it forth as more hainous than the Heresie of Macedonius in regard that the Macedonians supposing the Holy Ghost a Creature made him only a Servant to God But the Simoniacks acknowledging the Holy Ghost to be God yet make him a Servant to themselves and to their own covetous or ambitious Designs nay as their very Slave they buy and sell and make Merchandise of him And some again have parallel'd it with the Treachery of Judas in regard that as he sold and made Merchandise of Jesus Christ the Son of God so do they of the Holy Ghost the Spirit of God But I desire neither to be at the pains to set down in writing nor to put others to the pains to read the several Passages in their Works Commentaries Epistles and Homilies wherein they paint it forth as a Sin of the deepest Dye The multiplicity whereof would make this Treatise swell to a greater Bulk than I design But having given this short hint I shall proceed rather to shew how by the Judgment of the Catholick Church and joint Suffrages of many Fathers together Simony hath been accounted a Crime deserving and Laws and Canons have been made for inflicting the highest Censures upon Persons guilty thereof who according to their different Qualities whether Ecclesiasticks or Laicks have been decreed lyable to Deposition or Excommunication and to be stigmatiz'd and branded with a mark of Infamy Let us then look first upon these commonly called The Canons of the Apostles which of how small Authority soever they may seem to be in regard of their supposititious Title yet may in regard of their Antiquity claim some Veneration And thus against Simony do they decree Si quis Episcopus Can. 30. aut Presbyter aut Diaconus c. If any Bishop or Presbyter or Deacon obtain this Dignity by the help of Money let him be Deposed as likewise he who gave him Ordination and be separated from the Communion as Simon Magus was by Peter More also I might thence cite but I proceed to what is of more certain Authority Let us look upon the Sentence of that famous General Council of Chalcedon pronounced by the joint consent of Six hundred and thirty Bishops and there we find Can. 2â— Si quis Episcopus per pecunias c. If any Bishop for Money or for the filthy benefit of Lucre Ordain either Bishop or Presbyter or Deacon or any of these who are numbered amongst the Clergy he shall undergo the danger or punishment of the loss of his own Degree And he who is Ordained shall reap no benefit by his Ordination but let him be driven from that Dignity which he hath acquir'd by Money And if any Man interpose as a Mediator in such vile and wicked Bargains if he be a Clergy-man let him be turned off from that Degree which he holds but if he be a Laick Person or Monk Anathematizetur let him be Excommunicate Behold also what the Second Council of Bracar says Ne aliquo pretio gratia Dei c. Let not the Grace of God and Imposition of Hands be sold for any Price because the Antient Sentence of the Fathers have defin'd saying Anathema Danti Anathema Accipienti Cursed be the Giver Cursed be the Receiver Behold also the Sentence of the Eighth Council of Toledo Decernentes omnino c. Art 3. We altogether decree That if any henceforth be discovered to have offered any Gift for attaining the Dignity of the Priesthood from thenceforth let him know himself to be condemn'd with the Reproach of Anathema or a Curse and to be separated from the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ c. And these who upon this account have received Bribes if they be Clergy-men let them be punished with the loss of that Honour but if Laicks let them be condemned into a perpetual Curse or Excommunication I coud cite more Acts and Canons of later Times whereby it is evident That notwithstanding of the growing Corruptions in the Church yet against Simony She hath still in Her Doctrine kept an Harmony with the more ancient and purer Times But for these the Decrees and Sentences of the Canon-Law may sufficiently serve wherein we find these Determinations Decret Gregor 9. De Simon Cap. 6. Sicut Simonia pestis c. As the Plague of Simony is greater than other Diseases therefore how soon the Signs thereof are made to appear by any Person it is without delay to be banish'd and driven out of the Church And a-again De Simon Cap. 10. Convictus de Simonia c. He that is convict of Simony is to be Deposed The same is to be said of him who is under the Scandal or Defamation thereof and cannot purge himself And again Cap. 23. Si contradicens c. If he who opposeth in an Election be made to forbear by Money given with the Will or Consent of him who is Elected he who is thus Elected or Chosen is holden to Renounce And again Cap. 38. Tam ementes quam vendentes c. Both the Buyers and Sellers of Offices and of the Administration of Spiritual Things are to be condemn'd as Simoniacks and thrust out of the Church Thus it may apappear That Simony in all Ages of the Church hath been judged a most hainous Sin and to deserve no less punishment than Deposition and Excommunication Moreover as if these were scarce sufficient Censures for such a Crime they who should be found guilty thereof have been also judged to deserve to be stigmatiz'd with an indelible Character of Infamy And therefore King Athalaricus by his Confirmation of the Edict of the Marble Table contain'd in that Letter which I have mention'd before decrees Simoniacal Persons to be branded with a Note of Infamy And it is Enacted in the Second Aurelian Council Can. 4. Si quis Sacerdotium per pecuniae nundinum c. If any Man should aspire to the Priesthood by the Merchandise of Money that he be thrust away as a Reprobate And what greater Infamy and Disgrace can be put upon any Man than to pass under the Character of a Reprobate And it was decree'd by that Lateran Council under Innocent the Second Five hundred and forty Years ago which yet is by near half the time later than any I have formerly mention'd Vt emptor venditor c. That the Buyer the Seller and the Medler in these Simoniacal Transactions should be dashed with a Mark of Infamy Now let any serious Man say Whether what hath been here said from Reason Scripture and Authority of the Church be not sufficient to make Simony to be abhorred as a most hainous and execrable Crime And whether it be not a most dangerous Thing to meddle with that which is hateful to all good Men and whereupon God hath put such Marks of his Displeasure CHAP. V. Whether they are to
the Catholick Church which She daily putteth up in the behalf of all Her Members For He who hath said Matth. 18.20 Where two or three are gathered together in my Name there am I in the midst of them And James 5.16 that the effectual fervent Prayer of a righteous Man availeth much And Psal 112.4 that to the Vpright there ariseth Light in Darkness He who hath said so and made these and many other gracious Promises to his Church and to the Prayers of his Saints and to the Devotion of the Upright will not frustrate them of the Fruits of their Religious Performances upon the account of his Administration whose Guilt in intruding upon the same is none of theirs whilst they do not Communicate with him therein either by Knowledge Connivance or Consent And this is all I can warrantably say to this purpose CHAP. VI. A Warning to Young Men in reference to their Entry upon Spiritual Offices in the Church SUCH is commonly the heat of Youth in posting towards Preferment that it out-runs the consideration not only of the proper Ends but also of the disproportion of its own Abilities for the discharge of the great and weighty Duties of the high Office and Imployment to which it aspires For as Calvin says truly Contigit omnes fere juvenes turgidos esse fastuosos tanquam nubes transvolare possent It is incident almost to all Youths to be big of Self-conceit and proudly to raise their Feathers as if they could Mount above the Clouds So that like Phaeton they must needs be set in their Father's Chariot though the Event of their preposterous Undertaking should be to precipitate themselves to their own Ruine and to hazard to set the World on fire And through such preposterous Indiscretion doth it come to pass that many Young Men aspiring to the Holy Calling of the Ministery do both in their Entry thereto and afterwards in the Exercise thereof stumble into those Errours which bewray misplaced and disordered Affections and are suitable neither to the Dignity nor Divine Ends of that Sacred Function Mistake me not Dear Brethren as if it were my design to reproach Young Men or by reflecting upon others to purchase an Opinion of the innocency of mine own past Youth from those Infirmities and Errours which are incident to others nay I desire rather to be humbled in the sight of God for the least Errour or Irregularity whereunto I am sensible that the Folly of my Youthful Affections have betray'd me But what I speak is out of compassion and for precaution that you may the more attentively watch against those Dangers into which the temerarious Fervour of that imprudent Age may drive you headlong For thus it is I fear that many are led into the Snare of Simony And therefore I desire to warn all who are aiming at this Holy Calling that they would take heed how they enter thereupon Wherefore as I have sufficiently shewed before how great and hainous a Crime this sin of Simony is so now I adjure thee in the fear of God whosoever thou art that designest to undertake the Sacred Office of the Ministery in the Church of Christ as thou wouldst wish to avoid the formidable Guilt of that Sin and to enter upon that Holy Function and serve him with a good Conscience therein who fees in secret and searches the Hearts and Reins and will render unto every one according to their ways that thou seriously consider what thou art doing and before thou presume to meddle therewith strictly examine whether thou be Call'd of God thereto For the Lord will have none to serve him in his House but those who are called by himself And therefore the Apostle Paul hath told us Heb. 5.4 That no Man taketh this Honour to himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron And it is this that he so often pleads for the Authority of his own Ministery Rom. 1.1 1 Cor. 1.1 Gal. 1.15 That he was called and set apart of God thereto Whereupon Chrysostom says In Rom. 1. Vbique se vocatum commemorat ostendens quod non ambiendo adeptus sit sed vocatus accesserit He all ways mentions him-himself to be called shewing That he had not courted that Office by indirect Means but that being called he came thereto And without this Call and Commission from God none hath right to Administer the same For Rom. 10.15 How shall they Preach says the same Apostle except they be sent And therefore although God hath been pleased for preventing that confusion which vain pretensions to a Divine Call might introduce into his Church to appoint an Ordinary way for the confirmation of his own Call by the Seal of Ecclesiastical Ordination yet when that Seal is procured from the hands of Men where the Call is wanting from the hands of God it is of small significancy it is but the setting up of a Man in an Office in the House without the Master's consent Therefore again I warn thee strictly to examine before thou presume to enter upon this Office Whether thou be Called thereunto by God For if without his Call by indirect means thou thrust thy self into it what wilt thou Answer in the Day when the Master of the House shall call his Servants to an account and finding thee amongst them shall put home this Question to thee Amice quomodo huc intrasti Friend how camest thou in hither Whatsoever thou may'st devise to say now for thy self before Men I fear then thou shalt be speechless and what the end thereof shall be thou may'st easily presage Now when I warn thee to examine thy Call from God I do not bid thee search after it by any extraordinary Signs or wait upon any immediate Revelation from Heaven to assure thee thereof but I would have thee seriously to consider Whether thou findest a concurrence of these things upon thine own Heart which God worketh by his Spirit as things which he necessarily requireth in those whom he calls and thereby thou may'st come to know whether thou be Call'd of him or not First Consider then the End thou proposest unto thy self in this Holy Function For whom God calls he sets their Eye upon the right End Now the great End of the Ministery of the Gospel is The Glory of God and the Salvation of Man That this was the End of God's sending forth Ministers to preach the Gospel that for his Glory they should make manifest the transcendent Riches of his Grace in Christ and be Instruments by dispensing the Means of Grace for the Conversion of Souls and for advancing them by Faith in the Lord Jesus to the participation of eternal Life and Happiness is clear from the Words of the Apostle Paul who speaking to the Ephesians of his Ministery in the Mystery of the Gospel says whereof I was made a Minister Eph. 3.7 8. that I should Preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable Riches of