their own Order speaketh proposing such Questions which to do is contra naturam and to relate contra reverentiam naturae as a learned Lawyer spake in a late unfortunate Earls case These Ghostly Fathers ofâ—times grievously offending in pleasing themselves with such obscene Questions Qui saepissimè peccant mortaliter dâ—lectando se de hujusmodi interrogationibus propter delectationem saciendo eas Sum. Argel tit Interrog in Confess contriving them upon set purpose for their dâ—light and pastime Such formes of confession you may swear altogether different from the ancient Penitential Canons by whose directions the spiritual Fathers of the last soâ—â—â—ty looking a-squint upon the desires of the flesh inquire af â—r the diffeâ—ence of sins obscene and beâ—stly matters Formulas confessionum quibus sancti illi Pneumatâ—â—â— câ—rca pâ—ccatorum diffâ—rentias obscoena quaedam impudica exquirunt quae sinâ— Interrâ—gâ—ti cujus auribus inauditae turpitudines lasciviae instillantur rubore Interrogâ—ntis inhonâ—sti appetitus titillationâ— vix ullâ—s vâ—rbâ—â— aut ne vix quâ—dem â—nunciari poâ—â—nt Pâ—nt Tyard Episc Cabilon de fratribus Jesu pag. 35. which cannot be mentioned without blushing in the Examinat whose ears tingle at the hearing of unknown lusts and uncleanness and not without the titillation of a dishonest appetite in the Examiner himself that moveth them Oh times that such filthy communication not once named amongst the Heathen should be thus plaied withall these Ghostly Fathers to be so carnal this penitential practice so obscene this pretended Laver of the soul to become the sink of iniquity this Confession of sin a profession of sinning where men learn rather than leave sin displeasing rather than appeasing God and at the end of this exercise become far worse than at the beginning Pardon good Reader the exuberancy of my speech justly occasioned when the most holy pretences are the most fowly profaned Good reason had Canus to tax such Confessors who by their foolish interrogatories becâ—me scandalous to their Penitents Nec eos quidâ—m probo qui imprudenter interrogando Poenitentibus scandaluÌ„ inâ—iciunt atque adeò coâ— peccare docent Qua in re confidenter etiam reprobo summâ—s istas Confâ—ssionem inteâ—rogâ—tionibus plenas quae idiomate vulgari non solùm eduntur sed passim etiam muâ—â—erculis Idiotis conferuntur ut indè discant non Confitendi sed ut ego sâ—ntio peccandi râ—tionâ—m normam Can. Relect. de Poen part 6. pag. 908. so far as to teach them to sin and withall confidently to reprove these summes of Confessions stuffed with Questions of that nature and are not onely put forth in the vulgar tongue but are bestowed abroad upon women and simple people thereby to learn not the manner and foâ—m of confessing but as I suppose of sinning Our last exception against this Specifique enumeration of every sin in Confession Of Venial sins Reservâ—d cases is derived from a practice of theirs in exempting of Venial sins and reserved cases from the ordinary and parochial Ghostly Father Vâ—nialia quamvis rectè utiliter in Confessione dicantur taceri tamâ—n citra culpam multisque aliis remediis expiari possint Concil Trid. c. 5. Those as superfluous and scarce worthy of a Priests skill and notice these as too hainous and desperate diseases exceeding his skill Patribus nostris visuâ— est ut atrociâ—ra quaedam graviora crimina non à quibusvis sed à summis dâ—ntaxâ—t Sacerdotibus absolverentur Conc. Trid. de casuum reservatione cap. 7. therefore reserved for Physicians of higher place and power and in such cases every simple Priest is inhibited to proceed but to send corpus cum causa to such Penitentiaries to whose jurisdiction they are immediately subject Now if all sins that come into a sinners mind must upon pain of the second death and that by Gods law be opened to a Priest by what law are some exempted and more reserved from his audience than others Again if Papal reservations and dispensations be in these sins and cases of validity it will follow that the precise enumeration of all sins is but a Church ordinance or if Divine then no dispensation lieth in such cases it being a ruled case that Papal power cannot dispense with the Divine law but with Ecclesiastical constitutions onely Let the Jesuites try the hornes of this Dilemmâ— Now by the same reason that they take off such sins from Confession may we make bold to leave out such as many such there are that stand not in need of Priestly advise and absolution It will be said venial sins are not here to be reckoned for Venialia ex natura ratione peccati quae non sunt contraria charitati Dei proximi Bellar l. 1. de amiss gratiae cap. 3. because being of their own nature pardonable nor so averse to God as to lose his favour they need not to be remitted this way neither ingage so deeply to hell nor make so great a breach betwixt God and man as to require the Priest to stand in the gap and to make the atonement To the contrary although we acknowledge great distinctions betwixt sin and sin and punishments proportionable yet we affirm no sin so little but it is in its own nature mortal and no sin so great but from the event may be venial The least sin makes a breach upon Gods law and makes the delinquent accessary to the breach of the whole law is an offence against an infinite Deity Doctor Field of the Church Book 3. c. 32. therefore may be punished in the st ictness of his righteous judgement yea with utter anniâ—ilation for that saith a profound Divine there is no punishment so evil and so much to be avoided as the least sin that may be imagined so that a man should rather chuse eternal death yea utter annihilation than commit the least offence in the world Again if all Spiritual wounds must pass thorough the Priests hands of necessity for curation then venial sins also for though thâ—y are not vulnera lethifera with the Cardinal Bellar. l. 1. 1. de Amiss grat c. 2. yet they are plagae leves which slighted by neglect thereof may prove deadly a ship leaking at a little flaw may indanger drowning The want of one naile Pour un clou on pâ—rd un fer pour un feâ— un cheval pour un cheval un Châ—valiâ—r as the French Proverb is may cause the loss of shooe horse and horseman for great weights many times hang upon small wires and however some Roman controversie-men put off venial fin from Confession as in it self not mortal but venial Bishop Fisher dares not like of that avoidance Quòd peccatum veniale solùm ex Dei misericordia venialâ— sit in hoc locum sentio Roffens contr Lath. art 32. p. 317. but professeth his consent herein with Luther That venial sin is onely venial from the mercy of
Disciples and Proselytes In the New Testament the onely pertinent place to prove Confession unto man not circumstantiated with any office quality c. is in the Epistle of Saint James Confesse your faults one to another James 5.17 and pray one for another that ye may be healed 〈◊〉 where the disease is sin the remedy confession and prayer the Physicians and Patients subalternal one another the end curation that ye may be healed wherein mutual prayer is injoyned and mutual confession and as the precept is one to pray for another so is it also one to confesse to another and as not onely the order of Priests may pray for others but other orders of the faithful for them and others also so sin may be detected to men of another rank than Priests onely to Priests I grant principally but not solely and little advantageth Romes clancular confession where the Laity and Clergie hold no correspondency Il ne sait rien pour ceste confession à l'oreille d'un Prestre caricy l'Apostre recommande une confession mutuelle qui ne se sait in cette practique D. Buchan l'histoire de la Conscience p. 173. they confessing to Priests onely and not Priests to People whereas the Apostle by saying Confess one to another prescribeth confession no more to be made to the Priest than to another man Dicendo Consitemini alterurrum non magìs dicit confessionem faciendam esse Sacerdoti quà m alii subdit enim Orate pro se invicem Scot. l. 4. d. 17. Qâ—unic saith Scotus So that without forcing or racking of the words the sense will fall out to be this Confess your sins one to another that being conscious of one anothers diseases you may the better frame your request on one anothers behalf for your recovery Confession of faults serving here for an instruction unto prayer which one (a) Alterutrum i. Aequalibus Gloss interlin Member of the Church maketh for another Then if none can receive Confession of sins but a Priest none but a Priest can pray for another Mutuam confessionem mutuam orationem simul injungit si solis sacrificulis confitendum ergo pro illis solis orandum Calvin Instit lib. 3. c. 4. Sect. 6. Reciprocâ relatione isti pro scinvicem tenentur orare Hug. Card. in loc ergo ad se invicem reciprocè tenentur confiteri But if a Lay-Christian may pray for another yea for a Priest also then may confession be made to a Lay-Christian yea from a Priest also Again if Priests be the onely men to whom confession in this place is addressed then Priests onely pray one for another for if none can confess one another but Priest and Priest they are the Men then that can only pray one for another furthermore the Confession Saint James speaketh of passeth to and fro from one to another now if none may hear confession but a Priest Hic exigitur reciproca Confessio atqui hoc soli sacrifici sibi vendicant ergò ad eos solos ableganda est confessio Calvin in Jac. cap. 5. none may make confession but a Priest for with the Apostle those onely must make confession that may receive confession and they onely confess that may be confessed unto This discourse is grounded upon the mutual and reciprocal injunction of Confession and intercession on the behalf of others as duties of equal latitude and extent The Reason standeth thus Bar. All such as may make supplications for others may receive the confessions of others Ba. But all Christians may make their supplications for others Ra. Therefore all Christians may receive the confessions of others There are that limit the Apostle to speak onely of that Confession which tendeth to Brotherly reconciliation Sentit de quotidianis offensis Christianorum inter ipsos quos continuò vult reconciliari alioqui si de confessione sensisset quam dicimus partem Sacramenti poenitentiae non addidisset 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. vobis invicem sed sacerdotibus Erasm annot in Jac. 5. pag. 744. whereby the offender humbly submits ingeniously acknowledgeth and thereby deprecateth the offence and pacifieth the party offended as if he should have said the faults you commit one to another confess one to another and be reconciled for had he meant Sacramental confession he would rather have said confess to the Priests than one to another This note of Erasmus had been worth the noting if the words following and pray one for anoâ—her did not follow which argue the fellow-servant not to be the party grieved but the Lord to whom he is to intercede on his fellows behalf q. d. Confess one to another the sins committed against God and pray one for another to God for them Others understand by sins the sins against God by the Confessors Haec omnia intelliguntur de Confessione secundùm quod ipsa est praeceptum sicut praecepta quoad coâ—fessionem mortalium consilium verò quâ—ad confessionem venialium Hug. Card. Expos in Jac. cap. 5. not Priests alone but others also in some cases and the confession as a duty to be performed by way of 1. Precept and of 2. Counsel If mortal sins be the subject then the Confessor is to be a Priest and the confession necessary and under command but if the sins be venial the Confessor may be a Lay-man and the Confession free and under counsel onely This later confession then being an Evangelical counsel belongeth onely to such perfect men as Monks and Friers and then a Lay brother may serve at a turne to receive the Confessions of a Cloyster which rather than those religious Cloysterers will admâ—t this cardinal exposition shall be turned off the hinges But it will be said a Priest may take notice of such Atomes and Peccadillo's too if his leisure serve him or if not may make them over to one of the Laity as not worthy of his ears I see now a mysterie and method observed in reserved cases moats and lesser sins are reserved for a Lay-audience sins of a middle magnitude for Priests ears but beams soul and heynous offences for the Penitentiaries themselves at Rome And truly I think Saint James was as well acquainted with venial sins as with Evangelical counsels and with reserved cases as much as with reserved confessions So as touching this interpretation all that I have to say is to put my Reader in mind that this Scripture is from an Apostle and this glosse from a Cardinal But he and I both must take notice of what Bâ—de saith because he was our worshipful Countrey-man who willeth that daily and trivial faults like should confesse to like one to another of the same rank In hac sententia debet esse illa discretio ut quotidiana lâ—viâ— peccata invicem coaequâ—libus consiteamur eorúmque quotidianâ credamus oratione salvari Porrò gravioris lâ—prae immunditiâ—m juxta lâ—gem Sac rdoti pandamus atque ad ejus
1. diminishing and 2. aggravating the offence and these latter are again two-fold 1. either which change the species of sin as to rob the Church is not theft but Sacrilege 2. or else which aggravate onely as to steal a 100. l. or a 100. s. is theft alike though not alike was stollen and an example of 1. diminishing circumstances 2. or changing mortal sin into venial as to communicate ignorantly with a person excommunicate that word ignorantly shews the offence to be but venial 1. Circumstantia quae ità minuit peccatum ut ex mortali faciat veniale debeat omninò explicari 2. Si circumstantiae minuant peccati malitiam intra tamen latitudinem peccati mortalis non est necessarium illas confiteri 3. Circumstantiae mutantes speciem ex nova specie novam peccato mortalem malitiam adjicientes sunt omninò explicandae ut stuprum cum virgine Deo sacra Can. Rel. de Poen part 6. p. 906. Now their rules herein are these 1. Circumstances abating the sin from mortal to venial are to be expressed 2. Circumstances diminishing the sin yet leaving the same to be mortal are not so much to be stood upon in confession 3. Circumstances adding new malice and changinâ— the species of sin are precisely requisite in confession as the rape of a Nun or cloistred Virgin a Frier-like sin Now in good earnest what are such circumstantial distinctions to the people but scruples to perplex their Consciences or rocks to grind them to powder and if their Casuists alwayes versed in these points are restless in their resolutions how shall the vulgar but little or nothing at all studied in such cases discern what circumstances are fit to be put in and out in their Confessions This is the publick doctrine of the Church of Rome and which her adherents and followers with no less superciliousness averre If any of the Saints saith Bishop Fisher had wittingly concealed the least mortal sin that came into their mind at the instant of Confession Si sancti vel minimum mortale quod mâ—nti occurrisset tempore confessionis sponte subtiâ—uâ—ssent ausim dicere nec sanctos eos esse nec justificatos immò si quam antè justitiam habuissent jam propter hypocrisin penitùs amiserunt Roffens Contr. Luther art 8. I dare be bold to say they were neither Saints nor justified yea if they had attained to any Righteousness before to have wholly lost it through their hypocrisie Great grace is conferred no doubt by this noble Sacrament environ'd with so many scruples and difficulties that the Penitent is in greater danger to lose the good he hath than in hope to augment it It is not certainly without cause that Luther who knew the practice thereof cried out upon it as Carnificina cruentissima Ista est Carnificina cruentissima quâ hactenus tot miseras conscientias torserunt omnium singulorum pâ—ccatorum discussionibus confessionibus cùm pro se non iota habeant ullius Scripturae tyrannide propriâ haec oncra importabilia hominibus imponentes Luther art 9. wherewithal popish shavelings have tortured so many consciences by the discussions and confessions of all and singular offences imposing importable burdens upon men through their tyranny without any jod or particle of holy Scripture Summa est Confessionem auricularem per multiplices Pontificiorum abusus saepe factam jam esse ex necessitate circumstantiarum perplexitate conscientiarum Carnificinam ex formulis interrogationum illecebram lenocinium voluptatis ex istac lege non prodendi futura peccata proditionum flagitiosarum latebram atque sigillum Reverend Episc Dunelm in Caus Regia cap. 7. Sect. 2. And a Reverend Prelate of our own these tyrannous abuses considered to censure Romish confession for the necessity and perplexity of circumstances the rack of the Conscience for and he formes of interrogatories therein adminstred the bait bawd of voluptuousn sse and for silencing of future sins the den and seal of prodigious treasons Thus he and how sharp soever this censure be sad experience justifies the truth hereof and a no less Reverend and learned personage to stile this particular and circumstantial enumeration of sins that Engine whereby the Priests of Rome have lift up themselves into that heighth of dâ—mineeâ—ing Bishop Ushâ—r's Answer â—o the Jesuites challenge p. 124. and tyrannizing over mens consciences wherewith we see they now hold the poor people in most miserable aw and lest these Men be thought to be more rigid in their judgments than Rome in her confession let a moderate man an Angel that fled through the midst of heaven leaving the Reformed Church above him Quod subjiciunt Augustanae confâ—ssionis Authores enumerationem omnium delictorum non esse necessariam quadam ex parte rectè habâ—t vâ—z si intelligatur de ignotis non occurrentibus peccatis item si intelligatur de nimis anxâ—a inquisitione omnium circumstantrarum quae in multis conscientiae carnificinam gignit quam nemo moderatus approbat Verùm si referatur ad eam enumâ—rationem peccatorum quâ graviora omnia peccata diligenter expenduntur tanquam spiritualia vulnero spirituali Medico revelantur de ea quoque retinenda dubitandum non est Cassand Consult art 11. Lugd. 1612. and the Roman below Cassander speak Whereas the Authors of the Augustane Confession add that an enumeration of all sins is not so necessary in some sense it is well namely if unknown sins and such as occur not be understood also if that same anxious inquisition into all circumstances be meant which in many begets a torture of conscience which no moderate man can approve of But if it be referred to that enumeration of sins wherein the more grievous offences are diligently weighed and are revealed as spiritual wounds to a spiritual Physician there can be no question but that it ought to be retained Hereunto may be added Quam confessionem saluberrimam esse nemo possit inficiaâ—i si morositatem scrupulositatem nimiam amputes B. Rhen. prefat ad Tert. lib. de Poenit. B. Rhenanus who could not away with this morosity and scrupulosity as he calls it though otherwise the duty it self those abuses cut off is by him highly exalted 1. Enumeration of all sins before the Priest a burden importable and besides Gods word Our exceptions against the same follow and first we challenge them for shutting the kingdome of heaven before men and imposing harder conditions than the most indulgent times under the Gospel and grace approve of We live under a continual Jubile and may have access unto the mercy-seat with confidence but by this doctrine the Gospel is turned into the Law and the light yoke become a heavy burthen and the condition of the second covenant of Grace more precise then the first of works it being possible alike to perform all the precepts of the Law and circumstances thereof as distinctly to confess all
A TREATISE OF THE CONFESSION OF SINNE And chiefly as it is made unto the Priests and Ministers of the Gospel Together with the power of the KEYS and of ABSOLUTION JOHN 20.23 Whose soever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whose soever sins ye retain they are retained Tantum relevat confessio delictum quantum dissimulatio exaggerat Confessio enim satisfactionis consilium est dissimulatio contumaciae Tertul. LONDON Printed by J.G. for Andr. Crook at the Green Dragon in St Pauls Church-yard M.DC.LVII The Principal CONTENTS OF THE WHOLE BOOK CHAP. I. THe names of things exemplifie their nature The Authors purpose Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth Repentance and Consolation which is variously rendred by the Septuagint Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Confession or a casting off by the same Interpreters is translated to give thanks and to praise Exagoreusis a forinsecal word an Indictment Exhomologesis Metanoea and Metameleia usuall in the New Testament Resipiscence and Penitude their difference and several uses pag. 1. CHAP. II. Repentance a Conversion and wherein it consisteth The Fathers define it from the sensible effects and signs thereof The Schoolmens errour in placing it in bodily corrections rather than in mental change The Reformed Divines seat it in the humiliation of the heart requiring also outward expressions of sorrow Conversion is the essential form of Repentance Self abnegation godly sorrow a Penitents practice and endeavour p. 10. CHAP. III. Discipline of penance wherefore enjoyned by the Church Exhomologesis divers kinds of Confession publick penance of Apostolical practice The austerity thereof in the Primitive times Order thereof prescrib'd in the dayes of Cyprian and Ambrose Divers examples of publick Penitents The solemn practick thereof in Records of the Church Sinners admitted but once to solemn Penance Actual reconciliation denyed by the Church to lapsed sinners No renewing unto Repentance how understood in the Epistle to the Hebrews Four stations observed by the ancient Penitents The restoring of this Discipline much desired p. 16. CHAP. IV. Confession of sin addressed unto God chiefly and to Man also with considerable relations grounded upon the Law of Nature with God himself a necessary antecedent to pardon Adam and Cain interrogated to extract Confession Sundry precedents of Penitents recoursing to God in Confession There is shame in confessing to God as well as unto Man Penitential Psalmes composed by David for memorials and helps to Confession The Rabbins doctrine of Confession of sin before God practised in the time of the Gospel preached and urged by the Ancient Fathers and so far by Chrysostome as a tribute due to God onely for which the Pontificians are jealous of him Confession before God is not destructive of Confession before man in a qualified sense though preferred before it and especially called for by the old Doctors although that be of singular use also p. 43. CHAP. V. Of Confession to Man The Confession of sin under the Law before the Priest at the Altar and the Sacrifice Special enumeration of all sins not required of the Jews The Law commandeth the acknowledgment of sin and restitution Jobs friends confessed their errours unto him who sacrificed for them Davids confession unto Nathan Rabbins affirming sins to be confessed unto the Fathers and Levites The place in St James chap. 5. Of mutual Confession explained and vindicated Testimonies of the Fathers for Confession unto man The opinion of the Schoolmen that sin in case of necessity and in way of Consultation for a remedy not in way of Absolution for reconcilement may be detected to a Lay-man and of the Reformed Divines That sins may be confessed to a Believing Brother for advice and to a Minister of the Gospel p. 65. CHAP. VI. Divers Offices and administrations in the Church The peoples Confession unto John at Jordan wherein they were particular The Confession of the Believers at Ephesus to St Paul Proofs from the Fathers for Confession to the Priests of the Gospel Such Confession withdraweth not from God but leadeth to him Testimonies of the worthiest Divines of the Church of England for Confession seconded with Divines of the Reformation from the Churches beyond the seas p. 90. CHAP. VII Concerning the Institution necessity and extent of Confession and is divided into three Sections p. 111. SECT I. The Decrees of the Tridentine Council for Divine right and authority of Confession The Anathema's hâ—ld too severe by some moderate Romanists Publick Exhomologesis vilipended by those Fathers The Schoolmens faintness in reasoning for the divine institution of Auricular Confession The Canonists plant the same upon the universal Tradition of the Church Divines siding with the Canonists Oppugners of Auricular Confession in former ages Pretences of Divine authority from places of Scripture examined Different proceedings in the Court of Conscience from earthly Tribunals Special cognizance of all sins not a necessary antecedent at all times to Priestly Absolution God pardoneth many sins immediately never spoken of to a Priest Differences of Popish Divines concerning the matter and form in Penance prove to be no such thing as Sacramental Confession which reacheth not higher than the Lateran Council Confession of sin of the same institution as Repentance is Divine institution manifold In what sense Confession may be said to be of Divine institution p. 113. SECT II. The abusive necessity of Confession Tyrannical inquisition into mens consciences distasteful Confession left at liberty in Gratians time Schoolmen leaning to the necessity thereof Confession not the onely Necessary means for absolution and remission The Ends aimed at in Popish confession unnecessary No express precept in Scripture for the absolute necessity thereof Confession an heavy burden upon fleshly shoulders Private Confâ—ssiâ—n not practised from the beginning Established in the place of the publick by an Edict from Leo I. The fact of Nectarius abrogating confession with the several answers and expositions of Roman writers expended Confession deserted in the Greek Church Divers kinds and forms of Necessity Confession in what cases necessary and the necessity thereof determined p. 144. SECT III. Scrupulous enumeration of all sins decreed in late Councils Circumstances aggravating and altering the property of sin Mill-stones to plain people Anxious inquisition into each sin with every circumstance a perplexed peece Particular reckonings for every sin an heavy load to the Conscience and without expâ—ess warranty from God implying difficulty and impossibility and tending to desperation No urgent necessity to be so superstitious in casting up of all sins and the circumstantial tails thereof Romish closets of confession Seminaries of sin and uncleanness Venial and reserved sins exempted by Rome from the ears of ordinary Priests upon what grounds Strict and specifick enumeration of sins but of late standing in the Church General Interrogatories proposed at the hour of death from Anselme Some sins are specially and by name to be rehearsed in confession The nature and quality of those sins described and determined p. 179. CHAP.
single-life in the Clergy and clancular confession are observed in the Lâ—â—in Chuâ—ch upon like grounds viz the positive Laws of the Occidental Church 4. That the obligation of single-life and confession are of force in the Ponentiâ—e Churches onely where they have formerly been admitted 5. That as the Greek Priest sinned not in contracting marriage because Coelibate in Priests is but de jure positivo onely no more did the Graecians in not confessing because the institution thereof is but de jure positivo only and both restrained to particular Churches and they remaining without the compass of those ordinances 6. That a member of the Latin Church sinneth mortally in abstaining from Confession because in that Church the general tradition therof hath been received By all of which it appeareth that Canonical obedience was required only to Confession as an useful constitution of the Church and of such persons and places onely as had consented thereunto The succeeding Canonists have sailed by this compass All of them if credit may be given to impetuous Maldonate following their first interpreter Omnes Juris Pontificii periti secuti primum suum interpretem dicunt confessionem tantùm esse introductam jure ecclesiastico Maldon disp de Sacram. Tom. 2. c. 2. de Confes orig say that confession was onely brought in by the law of the Church And in truth the Gloss of Semeca upon Gratians decrees and the handling of that gloss by the late Roman Correctors clearly shew the wind to be in another corner with them than at Rome Gloss de Poenit initio dist 5. in poenitentia for John Semeca a Glossator upon Gratian approving that opinion which setled Confession upon Church tradition is checked by one Frier Maurick appointed by Pius V. to oversee such Glosses with this Marginal note Nay Confession was ordained by our Lord Imò Confessio est instituta à Domino est omnibus post Baptismum lapsis in mortale peccatum tam Graecis quà m Latinis jure divino necessaria Rom. Correct ib. in margin and by Gods law is necâ—ssary to all that fall into mortal sin after Baptisme as well Greeks as Latins The Council of Trent had said Amen to this and Anathema to that opinion therefore all Glosses decrees and determinations Theological must be calculated according to that Latitude Then were the Canonists put to silence but the Divines keep a muttering still Peresius Aiala derives the lively expression thereof from tradition for however saith he this confession might be shadowed forth in the old Law Quamvis Auricularis haec confessio in lege veter fuit adumbrata per praecursorem Christi inter partes poenitenâ—iae commâ—ndata tempore Apostolorum etiam usitata tandem ab Jesu Christo Redemptore videatur esse instituta tamâ—n nuda clara hujus Sacramentalis instituti ratio quantum ad substantiam circumstantias ejus divinâ traditione solùm constat Peres consid 3. de tradit Auric Confes might be commended by the fore-runner of Christ amongst the parts of Repentaâ—ce might be used by the Apâ—stles and at last seem to be instituted by Jesus Christ our Redeemer yet the naked and evident reason of this Sacramental institution in respect of the substance and circumstances thereof is onely manifest from divine tradition His Countrey-man Canus a Divine of some judgment but more freedome than usually is amongst men detained in servitude having sifted those texts vulgarly recited for this purpose concludes of that in Saint James Alia quae solent afferri ut est illud Jacobi 5. Confitemini alterutrum c. illud Luc. 17. non adeò firma videntur adversùs Haereticos testimonia tametsi dici etiam facilè poterat quòd licèt ex sacra Scriptura hujusmodi praeceptum non haberetur habetur tamen ex traditione Christi Apostolorum quemadmodum alia pleraque naturae fidei documenta Canus part 5. Relect. de Poenit. pag. 900. Confess one to another c. that other of Christ shew your selves to the Priests as of testimonies too weak to incounter Hereticks and betakes himself to this last refuge Although it may be easily said that let it be granted there is not extant any such command in holy Scripture notwithstanding it is received from the tradition of Christ and the Apostles as many other doctrines of the nature of faith are Add hereunto a Provincial Synod assembled at Pertcrovia in Poland where the Fathers conclude thus From hence it may be collected that Auricular confession was without doubt delivered from Christ by word of mouth Ex quo colligere licet quòd viva voce procul dubio fuit à Christo tradita cujus multò maxima dictorum factorum pars mandata Scripturis non est Confes Syn. Prov. Perter habit 1551. c. 47. de confes p. 253. 2. edit Dilingae 1557. the greatest part by far of whose sayings and doings were never committed unto any writing In the opinion then of this Conventicle Christ instituted the same but where and when tradition can best inform This want of Proof in Scripture and Resolution in Divines occasioned some in those times to be otherwise minded The Waldenses of Provence and Daulphine Anno 1535. amongst sundry other Articles of their Belief as had been taught unto them from Father to Son for many hundred years sent to Oecolampadius and Bucer this seventh Auricular Confession is not commanded by God History of Waldenses collected by I.P.P. L. p. 59 60. edit London 1624. and it is concluded according to the holy Scriptures that the true Confession of a Christian consisteth in the confessing of himself to one onely true God to whom belongs honour and glory There is another kind of confession when a man reconcileth himself unto his neighbour whereof mention is made in the fifth of Saint Matthew the third manner of confession is when a man hath sinned publickly and all men take notice of it so he confess and acknowledge his fault publickly Cepit confessionem Sacramentalem apâ—rtè oppugnare asserens cam non in Scripturis fundari sed ex sola institutione papali introductam fuisse Tho. Walden Tom. 2. de Sacr. cap. 135. Our Countrey-man John Wickliffe began openly to oppose Sacramental confession affirming the same not to founded upon the Scriptures but to have been brought in onely by Papal institution saith his Antagonist Tho. Walden and not unlikely for in that ridiculous pack of heresies amassed by the Council of Constance and laid unto his charge this we find for one If a man be duly contrite Si homo fuerit debitè contritus omnis confessio exterior est sibi superflua inutilis Conc. Const Sess 45. Error Jo. Wâ—ckl à Martino 5. damnat all external confession is superfluous and unprofitable And in a declaration of Walter Bruit Arch-B Abbot of visibility of the Church p. 72. edit Lond. 1624. An. Dom. 1175 containing divers positions by him
asserted Anno Dom. 1393. this is one that auricular confession is not prescribed in the Scripture Add unto these how in the Province of Tholouse a certain People called Boni homines a branch of the Waldenses if not the tree it self being questioned by the Bishop of Lyons Interrogavit Episcopus si deberet unusquisque confiteri peccata sua Sacerdotibus Ministris ecclesiae vel cuilibet laico vel illis de quibus dixit Iac. Confitemini alterutrum c. Qui respondentes dixerunt infirmis sufficere si confitentur cui vellent de Miâ—itibus vero dicâ—re noluerunt quia non dixâ— Jacobus nisi de infirmantibus Quaesiâ—it etâ—am ab eis si sufficiâ—bat sola cordis contritio 〈◊〉 Confessio vel si erat necesse ut faâ—â—r â—t sâ—tisfactionem pâ—st datam poenitentiam â—â—juniis eleâ—mosâ—nis â—â—â—lâ—ct 〈…〉 sua lâ—g â—â—es si supâ—â—tâ—ret eis sâ—cuâ—â—â—â— Eâ—sponâ—e 〈◊〉 dicâ—ntes quia Iacâ—buâ— diceâ—â—t Confitemini alterutrum peccata vestra ut salvemini per hoc sciebant quòd Apostolus aliud non praecipicbat nisi ut consiterentur sic salvarentur nec volebant mâ—liores esse Apostolo ut aliquid de suo adjungerent sicut Episcopi faciunt Rog. Hovedon Annal. pars post Henrici secundi R. p. 319. edit London If every man ought to confess his sins unto the Priests and Ministers of the Church or else to a Lay-man or to those of whom Saint James saith confess your sins one to another They answering said for them that are sick they may confess to whom they please Of others they had nothing to say because Saint James spake onely of infirm pâ—rsons The Bishop further demanded of them if contrition of the heart and confession of the mouth were sufficient or if satisfaction after penance injoyned was necessary in bewailing their sins in fasting afflictions and almes-deeds if they were able They answered saying Saint James saith Confess your sins one to another that you may be saved and by this they perceived that the Apostle commanded nothing else but that they should confess and be saved neither would they be better than the Apostle as to add any thing of their own heads as Bishops do So hath Roger Hovedon related their tenet in the process of their condemnation Afterwards Anno Dom. 1479. there issued a commission from Rome to Alphonsus Carillus Arch. Bishop of Toledo authorizing him to assemble a Synod at Salamanca and convent the Professor there Petrus Oxoniensis for teaching these conclusions 1. That mortal sins in respect of the offence Conclus 1. Peccata mortalia quantum ad culpam poenam alterius seculi delentur per solam cordis contritionem sine ordine ad claves Conclus 2. Quòd confessio de pâ—ccatis in specie fuerit ex statuto aliquo universalis Ecclesiae non de jure divino Conclus 3. Quòd pravae cogitationes confiteri non debent Prelates latin sed solâ displicentiá delentur sine ordine ad claves Conclus 4. Quòd confessio non debet esse secreta Canus part 6. Relect. de poenit p. 899. and punishment of the other world are blotted out onely by the contrition of heart without relation to the keyes 2. That confession of each particular sin was grounded upon some statute of the universal Church and not upon divine right 3. That evil thoughts ought not to be confessed and are blotted out by a dislike and displeasure thereof without reference unto the keys 4. That confession ought not to be held in secret All of which were condemned at that meeting and that condemnation ratified at Rome and that Ratification inserted for the worth thereof into the Extravagants by Sixtus IV. This opinion then could no sooner peep out but it was cut off by such as in those ages struck the stroke It remaineth now that we examine the grounds of such Censures and condemnations Some of the Theologues that stand for divine institution alleage Christs direction to the Lepers Luke 17.14 Go shew your selves unto the Priests I say some not all for the more judicious have laid aside this leaden weapon But that some which gape more after the froth of allegories than the clearer streames of the literal and genuinous sense have somewhat esteemed thereof as Haymo for that not onely sins must be confessed to the Priest Quia non solùm Sacerdotibus peccata sua confiteri debent sed etiam secundum eorum consilium poenitentiam satisfactionem veniae suscipere rectè dicitur Ite ostendite c. vice enim Dei peccata Sacerdotibus pandenda sunt juxta illorum consilium poenitentia agenda Qui ergo habet lepram peccati in anima debet venire ad Sacerdotem ei humiliter peccata consiteri Haym Domin 14. post pentecost p. 401. but moreover that by their advice penance and satisfaction of pardon must be obtained it was well said Go shew your selves unto the Priests for unto the Priests instead of God are sins to be opened and penance at their discretion to be imposed And a little after The man that hath the leprosie of sin in his soul ought to resort unto the Priest and humbly make confession of his sins Thus Haymo hath laid a weak load upon a weak back yet such is the weakness of our Rhemist Rhemists Annot in Luke 17.14 judgments that they think it worthy to furnish an Annotation and in good sadness tell us that by leprosie is meant sin to be healed by the Ministery of the Priests and by shewing Confession and to that purpose quote a book of Saint Austins as truly his as their note is unto the text Such allusions may serve to stuff a Postill but not to back an argument as a French-man cries out upon his Auditory Shew your consciences good people unto your Priests Monstrez vos Consciences aux Prestres leur declarez vos Pechâ—z si en voulez estre guarentis Serm. pour le 14. Dimanche apres la Pentecost A Roven chez D. Laudet 1634. and declare your sins unto them if you will be healed However the Pulpit may flourish with such Clerk-like collations the Polemical writers are squemish therein The Cardinal likes the allegory but not the pillar that sustaines it for we do not affirm saith he that the Lepers were dispatched by Christ unto the Priests to confess their sins unto them Nâ—que nos dicimus missos leprosos à Christo ad Sacerdotes ut illis peccata sua confiterentur sed ut in lege veteri cognitio lâ—prae corporalis ità in nova cognitio leprae spiritualis ad Sacerdotes pertinet Bellar. lib. 3. de poen c. 3. but as in the old Law the leprosie of the body was of Priestly cognizance so in the new Spiritual-leprosie is to be taken notice of by our Priests likewise Mittit Christus nè calumniarentur Sacerdotes Calv. Nâ—c repudiavit penitùs Christus Judeorum presbyterium cùm
and by the same authority be abolished by which it was at first prescribed and for the second how far necessary as an Ordinance Divine and in what sense it may be said to be ordained by God I must send back my Reader to the former Section where the point is stated We will tread the footsteps of necessity in the Schoolmens path and see what will result from thence Necessitas Praecepti Medii with them necessity is twofold 1. As a necessary Precept 2. or a needful mean Now every just command is grounded upon some reason and every lawful mean conduceth to some good In Divine Precepts we are not scrupulous to enquire after the Cause or Reason thereof but where Gods pleasure is to set it down for with us his will passeth for a cause all-sufficient So then it is necessary to salvation to obey all Gods commands or to repent for the disobedience although all his divine Precepts conduce not necessarily thereunto Josh 6.18 At the sacking of Jericho the spoils were devoted to the Lord and the Israelites might reserve nothing to themselves a necessity there lay in obeying the same though the commandment it self was not so necessary In the old Law as I shewed before there was a precept for Confession and in the new a president for the same why should it not then be thought necessary But take this along with you Positive Precepts contained in the Scripture are not to be extended further than the written Word or intention of the Law-giver direct for example God intendeth pardon upon sincere confession of the sin committed which Pardon when it may be had upon confession made unto God himself we extend it not unto Man So again if it may be procured upon a general confession before man we urge not the Delinquent to be particular but if the Conscience cannot be pacified except the pungitive sin be discovered in that case we require a special detection of that sin by name So then if the intended pardon may be compassed by any of these wayes that way is to be reputed necessary for that penitent which served the turn If by none but by all of these all of these then are necessary Moreover Gods word commandeth sins to be discovered to the Priest in termes absolute without further circumstance we dare not therefore extend that precept to the manner thereof whether it should be publick or private of all sins or some followed with remorse of Conscience and whether with the addition of aggravating circumstances or no. I say we lay no necessity of these cases upon any because we have not any express word for our warrant we counsel onely that no man permit sin to lie still in his bosome so long as he feels pain but complain still to his Physician till the cure be perfect Thus for the necessity of Precept The second branch is necessitas medii And we are to judge of that necessity by the end for no mean can be of greater necessity than the end for which it serveth and if the end be found necessary the mean must be thought to be so and in means we are to enquire if the proposed end may be attained by one onely mean or by divers some means may be useful but not necessary as a horse for a journey or simply necessary as wings to flie To apply remission of sins is the end a Penitent proposeth to himself which to compass we say that confession to a Priest is not of absolute necessity as the adequate only mean for faith in Christ who onely hath deserved it is also required nor a necessary concurrent mean for of faith I read but never of Auricular Confession that without faith it is impossible to please God but onely a conditional mean and so the necessity thereof hypothetical in some cases of Conscience to be instanced hereafter for sin in no case may be remitted without God in many without man But if we take confession as a medium utile in that sense we shall ever approve thereof although we resolve confession in it self not to be of absolute necessity for all but a precept binding some sinners and for some special sins onely As the holy Eucharist is a Sacrament of divine institution and singular benefit necessary to some Christians and at some times and the contempt thereof at all times damnable though in it self not simply necessary nor at all times nor to be imposed upon all persons without discretion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then for all that can be said this Confession challengeth not any such necessity in it self as inherent in the same or any way belonging of soveraign virtue and necessary use but as a condition supposed for the acquiring of some necessary good Necessitas conditionalis seu necessitas consequentiae non est absoluta nec competit subjecto ex natura rei sed solùm consequitur ad talem suppositionem vel conditionem ex qua necessariò infertur id quod ex tali conditione dicitur necessarium necessitate secundum quid lic èt absolutè secundum se est liberum contingens Alvarez de Auâ—il l. 3. Disp 22. n. 40. viz. forgiveness of sins and reconciliation a penitent taking all good courses to ingratiate himself into the favour of God and this is onely conditional necessity and by way of consequence and so far to be urged as we shall find it a cause to promote the same and further we neither require nor urge it And amiss it cannot be that shall promove so good an end nor superfluous that advanceth such a purpose nor a heavy burden that brings so happy a benefit SECT III. The Contents Scrupulous enumeration of all sins decreed in late Councils Circumstances aggravating and altering the property of sin Mill-stones to plain-people Anxious inquisition into each sin with every circumstance a perplexed piece Particular reckonings for every sin a heavy load to the Conscience and without express warranty from God implying difficulty and impossibility and tending to desperation No urgent necessity to be so superstitious in casting up of all sins and the circumstantial tailes thereof Romish closets of Confession seminaries of sin and uncleanness Venial and reserved sins exempted by Rome from the ears of ordinary Priests upon what grounds Strict and specifick enumeration of sins but of late standing in the Church General Interrogatories proposed at the hour of death from Anselme Some sins are specially and by name to be rehearsed in Confession The nature and quality of those sins described and determined WE are now come unto the Contents of Confession namely sins and hence a difference springeth betwixt us and Rome about the extent and latitude thereof Whether forsooth all and every sin committed after Baptisme together with every aggravating circumstance following every sin be to be laid at the Priests feet and whether such an institution of such a Confession comprising all sins together with their remarkeable circumstances to
God and in that respect may all other sins be venial too as capable of Divine mercy So venial sin hath no prerogative that way nor may for that cause be justly exempted from auricular Confession For reserved cases wherin sins of the greater magnitude are made over to the Pope and whereby they shut up the kingdom of heaven before men without being opened by a golden key we have little to say save considering the great expences tedious journies continual delaies whereby much treasure was exhausted forth of this Land and many of the better sort of the Inhabitants made slaves we are to bless our God that this Antichristian yoke is cast off the tyrannie overthrown and our selves delivered from a more than Egypâ—ian servitude And while the matter was proposed and scan'd at Trent Rom non esse perspicuae veritatis à nullo Patrum mentionem ejus factam immò Durandum Gersoneni Cajetanum magni nominis viros affirmare non peccata sed censuras modò Pontificis judicio reservatas Colonienses Theologi affirmantes neminâ—m ex antiquis Scriptoribus reservationis mâ—minisse nisi in casu publicorum peccatorum certè haereticos eos accusare tanquâ—m pecuniarum aucupes Hist Concil Trid. l. 4. p. 283. the Divines of Lovain objected that it was not a point of evident verity mentioned not by one of the Fathers that Duâ—and Gerson and Cajâ—tan affirmed not sins but censures to be resâ—rved for Papal Judicature The Divines of Colen added how none of the ancient Writers mentioned Reservation but in case of publick sins and that the Hereticks would for certaine accuse them for contriving how to squeeze and empty mens purses and coffers So then if those men that stand so much for detection of all sins unto the Priest have made so bold as to cut off the two extremes vâ—z the greatâ—st and the least offences I see no reason but that we may use the like liberty Auricular's Câ—nsâ—ssiâ— prout in Ecclâ—sia Rom. usurpatur niâ—â—l sâ—rè â—st â—l uâ— qâ—â—m â—â—â—â—culâ—m ad hominâ—m sâ—creta arcana â—xâ—isâ—â—nda artificiosè contextam Quod quidâ—m non sit ut aegrès Mâ—dâ—cina vulâ— ratis câ—nsciâ—ntiis opobâ—lsâ—â—â—â— contritis solâ—tium solidum adhiberi possâ—t 〈◊〉 ut auâ—um argâ—ntum in lè conflâ—nâ—uâ— omâ—iaâ— ad ipsoâ—um lucâ—um convertantur Mason de Minister Anglic. lib. 5. c. 12. but upon far more likely and better reasons I shall conclude these exceptions with the saying of an able Divine at home Auricular Confession as it is used in the Church of Rome is almost nothing else but a Net artificially woven to fish after and comprehend the secret and hidden things of men nor is it so used as to afford Physick to the diseased or pretious balme for wounded consciâ—nces or sure comfort for broken and contrite hearts but thereby to compass Gold and Silver and to convert all into their own purses There are some Stories or rather superstitious Lies as Sir Tho Mâ—ore calls them devised to uphold this doctrine The one is of a Woman who having committed adultery could never in eleven years space be brought to utter the same in any Confession Two Priests whereof one was the Popes Penitentiary and another as holy as he Ad quamlibet expressionem unius pâ—â—cati Buho exibat de ore ejus Illi Bubones cum uno alio majoris enoâ—mioris formae turmâ—tâ—m ingrâ—ssâ— sunt in os mâ—licris ventrem coming into those parts and both being in the Church about their Priestly affaires the woman approached to the Penitentiary to be shriven at every sin she confessed the other Priest standing within view but not within hearing saw an Owle flutter out of her mouth and after the flight of many Owles she stopped it seemeth at her concealed sin and was no sooner absolved of the rest confessed by her and risen up then the same Priest saw all those Owles reenter into her mouth with another more ugly than any of the former The Priests proceeding onwards in their journey the one told unto the other what he saw The Penitentiâ—ry guessed that the woman had kept back some sin in Confession Spec. exâ—mplor d. 9. Sect. 31. Quo libro miraculorum monstra saepiùs quà m vera miracula legas Can. loc Theol l. 11. c. 6. pag. 540. Dist 3. Sect. 46. De omnibus pâ—ccatis quae modò protuli et quae non protuli culpabilem mâ— fateor coâ—am Deo vobis he returned therefore but at his return found her suffocated and dead to whom her soul appear'd tortured in a fearful manner and all for burying of that sin in silence and being questioned by the Penitentiary for what sins those of her sex were usually damned For Fornication said she wanton dressing and Painting and for shame in not confessing Hereby it is intimated that Confession en partie is of no validity and one sin concealed hinders all the rest from pardon But another Woman though faulty in the same kind yet had better success of whom the relation passeth thus She was otherwise very religious but in her younger dayes had fallen into a sin of that nature as she could not for shame utter the same unto the Priest but used to conclude Of all the sins which I have opened or not I confess my self to be guilty before God and you and could never be brought to specifie the same after her death and before her burial she revived and spake to this effect that she had committed one sin which for shame she could not confess but with many tears was wont to utter the same before the Altar and image of the blessed Virgin Coram ipsius altari vel imagine and desire her intercessions that she might not be damned for this concealed sin and told withall that after her death she was seised on by evill spirits Constituit in S. ecclesia nominem sine confessione salvari posse but rescued by the blessed Virgin and by her means to her Son restored from death to life to confess and be assoyled of that sin which was no sooner performed but she again yielded up the ghost Here three Popish tenets are confirmed at one blow 1. necessity to confess every sin 2. worshiping of Saints and 3. before Images and their Altars As this woman made her confession at the blessed Virgins altar so Gregory Turonensis relateth that Clotharius King of France confessed his sins at Saint Martins shrine Clotharius ad Sepulcrum Sancti Martini cunctas actiones quas fortassè negligenter egerat replicans orans cum grandi gemitu ut pro suis culpis B. Confessor Domini misericordiam exoraret Hist lib. 4. Sect. 21. and became an earnest suiter to that Confessor to become a mean for mercy for him but whether Saint Martin took that course with that Prince as the blessed Virgin did with her penitent to send him back after death to be shriven by a Priest or tendred
make capitâ—l and mortal of equal latitude and both which despoyls the sinner of the ornament of Charity but some more heynous than ordinary and which by name are expressed in the Canons and decrees of Councils and to which several and distinct penances were allotted and belonged Other sins also there were of an inferiâ—ur alloy and burthen and of them the Penitential Canons took no notice saith their great Antiquary Petavius So then as of old not all sins but selected ones were assigned for publick exomologâ—sis the like may be said that there is no necessity of revealing all but some offences which press deepest upon the Conscience to the Ministers of Reconciliation Moreover we may learn by the Church-Censures what sins properly appertain to Confession Absit ut quoties peccatum fuit toties excommunicationis sâ—ntentiam exhibâ—ndam esse aut publicum râ—sipiscentiâ—e testimonâ—â—m à singulis personis efflagitari Qâ—â—m enim â—â—â—ltâ— nobis solis consciis in dies horas admiâ—timus quae privata coram Deo confessione adjunctis precibus condonantur Quorsùm etiam erant quotidianae preces cum Sacrificiis matutinis vespertinis instâ—tutae sub lege Quorsùm nunc quoque sacros conventus à reatus nostri confessione auspicamur nisi ut quotidiana peccata absque ulla alia cognitione nobis condonentur de solis igitur gravioribus peccatis cum offendiculo Ecclesiae conjunctis publicae satisfactiones intelligendae sunt Beza de Presbyt excom pag. 42. edit Genev. 1590. God forbid saith Beza that the Church should fulminate her excommunication for every sin or that publick testimony or repentance should from all persons be exacted though in extremity every sin incur Gods displeasure the sinner is exiled his presence and needeth to be reconciled by repentance for how many sins do we daily and hourly commit which are pardoned upon private confession before God with prayers annexed To what end served the daily prayers the morning and eveniâ—g Sacrifices under the law To what purpose do we in our sacred assemblies begin and enter into our solemn prayers with confession of our guiltiness but that our daily sins might be forgiven without any further acknowledgment Publick satisfactions therefore must â—e understood of such sins as are hainous and scandalous to the Congregation Hitherto Beza The objection of Erastus was All sins deserve excommunication therefore the censure was to be served either upon all or none Beza denies the consequâ—nt and sheweth good reasons why all sins are not subject to the Censure and which serve also to shew why all sins are not to be stood upon in Confession because sins of a lesser magnitude may be otherwise blotted out by private Confession and tears or by the general and publick acknowledgment of the Church and as notorious and scandalous were onely liable to the Churches censure and penance So not all sins but such as afflict the Conscience and suffer the sinner to take no rest are necessary to be confessed And this doctrine our Church maintaineth and wisheth all her children to take it to heart carefully distinguishing the same from the so much abused Popish Auricular Confession which they thrust upon the souls of Christians as an expiatory sacrifice and meritorious satisfâ—ction for sin racking their Consciences to confess when they feel no distress and to enumerate all their sins which is impossible that by this means they might dive into the secrets of all hearts which ofttimes hath proved pernicious not onely to private persons but also to publick States To conclude then Gravioris leprae immunditiae with Bede Bed in Jac. 5. Bernard hom 16. in Cantic Calvin Instit p. 339. the unclean and more grievous leprosie Omne quod remordet conscientiam with Saint Bernard every sin that biteth the Conscience Quando quis ità angitur afflictatur peccatorum sensu ut se explicare nisi alieno adjutorio nequeat with Calvin The sins that gore or prick the conscience and out of which without and from without the sinner cannot wind himself when a man cannot quiet his own Conscience as the Church prescribeth Rubrick at the Communion Bishop Morton Appeal lib. 2. cap. 14. Bishop Montagu Appeal pag. 299. or is burdened with sin so the Bishop of Duresme Or in the case of perplexity for the quieting of men disturbed in their Consciences as the Bishop of Norwich In all of which we are injoyned to shew our selves unto the Priest and to seek at his hands both the counsel of instruction and hope of Gods pardon as Bishop Morton To receive Ghostly comfort advice and counsel and the benefit of absolution to thâ— quieting of his conscience as our sacred Liturgie admonisheth Remember good People this Medicine is for your diseases this Balme for your griefs advancing your safety more than shewing forth the Ministers power the treasure of absolution is yours he keepeth but the key to open the same for you upon a Penitential knock A pious Priest delighteth not in the sad story of your infirmities Condolere norimus peccantes affectu intimo Quotiescunque alicujus lapsi peccatum exponitur compatiar nec supeâ—bè increpem sed lugeam defleam Ambr. l. 2. de poen cap. 11. nor blames you with reprochful words but embalmes you with many tears weeping with such as weep and sighing with those that are in distress his crown and rejoycing is like the good Samaritan to pour oyl and wine into your gaping wounds Despise not Gods ordinance it is powerful and to those that use it right efficacious Neglect not the benefit of the keys for the Priest beareth them not in vain slight not his Ministery it is the word of Reconciliation Keep thy conscience waking and the eyes thereof open the case is fearful where the Conscience slumbreth and the soul is dark where that light is extinguished Oh preserve the voice of this Turtle Vox Turturis vox gementis Bern. stop not thine ears at this Charmer it is Gods Deputy and Watchman Thou hast just reason to fear he hath yielded up thy fort unto the enemy when it no longer keâ—ps Centinel Keep this jewel alive Preserve it with a meditation of Gods Judgments and thy deserts feed it with the promises of the Gospel and yet it will inform thee when this Physick must be used It will send thee to the Minister as the voice in the vision did Paul to Ananias Act. 9. It will open thy cause without flattery spur thee on to seek comfort without delay and comfort thee more in the remission and pardon than the terrour of the sin could afflict thee Make the Conscience thy Examiner and thou shalt the better discern in what cases the Priest must be thy Judge and his Ministery thy relief and comfort CHAP. VIII The Contents Of the Confessary or Priest that receiveth Confessions and his authority for the same Divided into two Sections ANd thus much for Confession of sin in
it proceeded from the Priest himself thus Almighty God be mercifull unto thee and forgive thee all thy sins past Miscreatur tui omnipotens Deus dimittat tibi omnia peccâ—ta tua praeterita praesentia futura quae commisisti coram eo Sanctis ejus quae confessus es vel per aliquam negligentiam seu oblivionem vel malevolentâ—am abscondisti liberet te Deus ab omni malo hic in futuro conservet confirmet te semper in omni opere bono perducat te Christus Filius Dei vivi ad vitam sine fine manentem Consitentium Cerem antâ—q Colon. 1530. present and to come which thou hast committed before him and his Saints which thou hast confessed or by some negligence or evil will hast concealed God deliver thee from all evil here and hereafter preserve and confirm thee alwayes in every good work and Christ the Son of the living God bring thee to the life which remaineth world without end After this form are conceived all the Absolutions prescribed for use in the Liturgy of our Church as savouring of more modesty and less supercâ—tousness and that none of Gods glory might be thought to cleave unto the Ministers fingers for instance In the general absolution upon the confession of sin at the entrance of Gods worship Forms of Absolution in the Church of England He pardoneth and absolveth all such as truly repent them of their sins and uâ—feignedly believe his holy Gospel wherefore we beseech him to grant us true repentance c. And after a general confession of sins premised by the Communicants the Minister or Bishâ—p if present turning himself unto the people saith Almighty God our heavenly Fâ—ther who for his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all such which with earnest repentance and true faith turn unto him have mercy upon you pardon and forgive you all your sins strengthen and confirm you c. And at the visitation of the sick the sick party having confessed any wâ—ighty matter wherewith his conscience is troubled the Priest absolveth him after this sort Our Lord Jesus Christ who hath left power to his Church to absolve all sinners which truly repent and bâ—lieve on him of his great mercy forgive thee thine offences and by his authority committed unto me I absolve thee from all thy sins in the Name of the Father c. By all of which it is evident how much the Church attributeth to prayer and Divine authority in this ministration A third Ordinance whereby the Minister remitteth sins 3. By the Sacraments is in dispensing the mysteries of God the holy Sacraments and these added to the word of God render the pardon under seal Sacramenta non excludimus quae verbo tanquam sigillo regio appendi solent Masar de Minister Anglic. l. 5. c. 10. pag. 635. Acts 1.38 Acts 22 16. â—ur Baptizatis si per hominem peccata dimitti non licet in Baptismo utique remissio peccatorum omâ—ium est Quid interest utrum per poenitentiam an per Lavacrum hoc jus sibi datum sacerdotes vâ—ndicent unum in utroque M nistâ—rium est Ambr. l. 1. de Poen c. 7. the more to confirm and quiet a distracted Conscience for of Baptisme it is evident Repent saith Peter and be baptized every one of you in the Name of the Jesus Christ for the remission of sins And now why tarriest thou saith Ananias unto Paul arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins And the Nicene Creed I believe one Baptisme for the remission of sins Upon which ground Saint Ambrose questioned the Novatians that baptized and yet acknowledged no power in the Church to remit sins Why baptize you if sins may not lawfully by man be forgiven assuredly in Baptism there is a pardon for all offences What difference is there whether Priests claim this power as given unto them in the reconciling of Penitents or in the washing of Baptisme The Ministery in both bâ—ing one and the same So for the holy Eucharist that lively mirror of our Saviours passion wherein Christ is crucified 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before our eyes wherein the Bread is broken and delivered in token that his body was broken and his merits given unto us Matth. 26.28 wherein the Bloud of the new Testament is shed 〈◊〉 many for the remission of sins Now the virtue annexed to these Blessed Sacraments which are seals of the Promises of the Gospel as the Censures are of the threats is from God whose Sacraments they are and not from man who is but the Minister thereof From his side flowed the bloud and water and because both rise from that spring they have both this power Herein is no power for man where the grace of the Divine bounty prevaileth saith Ambrose It is one thing to baptize by the way of Ministery Nulla in his hominis potestas est ubi divini munâ—ris gratia viget Ambr. suprà Aliud â—st baptizare per Ministerium aliud per potestatâ—m sibi tenuit Dominus potestatem baptizandi servis Ministerium dedit Aug. tract 5. in Joan. and another thing by the way of power saith the Oracle of Hippo the power of baptizing the Lord retaineth to himself the Ministery he hath given to his servants And that School-man argued not amiss that framed this conclusion thence To baptize inwardly and to absolve from mortal sin are of equal power Paris potestatis est interiùs baptizare à culpa mortali absolvere sed Dâ—us non debuit potestatem baptizandi interiùs communicare ne spes poneretur in homine Ergo pari ratione nec potestatem absolvendi ab actuali Alex. Halens sum part 4. Qu. 21. Memb. 1. But God ought not to communicate the power of baptizing inwardly lest any hope should be placed in man therefore by the like reason ought he not to commit the power of absolving from actual sin unto any To conclude this point touching the Sacraments Cyprian or the Author of the XII Treatises De Cardinalibus operibus Christi writeth thus Forgiveness of sins Remissio peccatorum sive per baptismum sive per alia Sacramenta daretur propriè Spiritûs Sancti est ipsi soli hujus efficientiae privilegium manet Cypr. tract de bapt Chr. whether it be given by Baptisme or by other Sacraments is properly of the Holy Ghost and the privilege of effecting this remaineth unto him alone So much for the third mean wherein the power of the keys is exercised viz. in the due administration of the Sacraments The fourth and last thing wherein the power of the keys is discerned 4. By excommunication ecclesiastical censures consisteth in the interdictions and relaxations of publick Censures Therefore Divines refer the promise of the keys made unto Peter Matth. 16. to the Ministery and Preaching of the Gospel Illa de ligâ—ndo solvenâ—o Petro facta promissio non
that season with admonitions tending to unfeigned repentance Prohibemus ne ullus sacerdos lapsus in peccatum mortale ad altare praesumat accedere celebraturus antequam confiteatur nec puto ut quidam errantes credunt quod mortalia deleantur per confessionem generalem Lindw l. 3. de celebr Mis cap. Lintheamina The same Arch-Bishop also forbad Priests that had fallen into mortal sin to approch unto the Altar there to celebrate without making their confession adding that he could not suppose as some others erreneously believed that mortal sins could be washed away by a general confession Where by the way note that Parenthesis good Reader as some believe intimating that there were in those dayes some that so believed viz. that general Confession might procure remission of sins and were not perhaps so punctual for private particular confession whose belief that Prelate censured for erroneous By the same man are Ghostly Fathers under a great penalty conjured to secrecy and silence Nullus sacerdos irâ odio metu etiam mortis audeat detegere quovis modo alicujus confessionem signo motu vel verbo generaliter vel specialiter Et si super hoc convictus fuerit sine spe reconciliationis non immeritò debet degradari Lin. l. 5. de poen remis c. Prohibemus That if at any time or by any means or upon pâ—ssion of hatred or fear of death shall lay open by signs motions or words either generally or specially what hath been privately deposited in Confession and shall be convicted thereof he shall be degraded without hope of reconciliation Also another Constitution of the same mans doing for the reviving of Publick penance for notorious scandalous offences Ut peccata graviora vulgatissimo suo scandalo totam commoventia civitatem sint solenni poenitentiâ castiganda Lindw l. 5. de poen remis c. Praeterea complaining that by the neglect of the ancient Canons the same hath been long buried in obliviâ—n whereby heynous sins have been the more frequented and the reynes and rigour of Christian discipline too much remitted And a * Lindw lib. 5. de poen remiss c. Licet fourth for the substitution of a grave and learned Penitentiary in every Deanry to take the Confessions of the Clergy residing within the same John Stratford Arch-Bishop of Canturbury MCCCXXXIV A. D. 1334. made a Provisional Law that Priests should not be cited juridically and thereby forced either to detect such arcana Et illis ex tunc Parochiani peccata renuunt confiteri Lind. l. 2. de Judiciis c. Exclusis infra as they received under the seal of Confession or else offer violence to their consciences lest thereby Parishioners might refuse to come to confession It seems equivocations mental reservations and such juglings devised to cheat justice were not up nor thought on when this course was taken that Judges should forbear to examine them The last of these Metropolitans that made any law for Confession is Simon Sudbury who was preferred to that eminency A. D. 1375. An. MCCCLXXV Confessiones mulierum audiantur in propatulo quantum ad visum non quantum ad auditum Moneantur Laici in principio Quadragesimae â—ito post lapsum consiteri ne peccatum suo pondere ad aliud trahat Lind. l. 5. de poen remis c. Confessiones mulierum He ordained women to be shriven in an open place where they may be seen of all but not heard And to admonish the Laity to repair unto Confession every year about the beginning of Lent and whilest their sins are green in their memory lest the weight of one sin press them upon another He ordained likewise to confess and communicate three times a year viz. at the three solemn Feasts of Christmas Easter and Whitsontide And to prepare themselves with such abstinence as the Priest should prescribe Prius tamen se praeparent per aliquam abstinentiam de consilio sacerdotis faciendam vivens ab ingressu ecclesiae arceatur moriens christianâ careat sepulturà Lind. l. 5. de poen remis c. Confessiones And all and every such Persons as should not come to confession and to the communion once a year at the least to be debarred from entring into the Church in his life time and after death his body not to be interred in Christian Burial By which constitutions we see how other times were appointed for Confession as well as Easter but then chiefly required for four causes and at those times is Confession required 1. Ratione sacramenti sc si vult celebrare vel communicare vel sacrum ordinem suscipere c. 2. Ratione periculi si est in periculo mortis 3. Ratione conscientiae ut si dictet sibi conscientia quod statim teneatur consiteri 4. Râ—tione dubii ut si nunc habeat confessoris copiam caeterum per totum annum non habiturum Lindwood supra saith Lindwood 1. In respect of the Sacrament whensoever the same shall be celebrated and received so upon admission into holy Orders c. 2. In respect of the danger or dread of death 3. In respect of the Conscience if a mans heart shall tell him that he hath present need of Confession 4. If it be doubtful a Confessor cannot be had within a year to take him while we may Some of these Canonical reasons we have before examined and censured A. D. 1533. A book of Religion entituled Articles devised by the Kings highness set forth an Reg. Henrici 8. 28. These were Ecclesiastical Constitutions made by several Church-men in their times But when Henry VIII had wrested the Supremacy of Spiritual causes from forraign Usurpation and annexed it to the Crown then for essayes of that new authority was substituted a Vicegerent for the Clergie Articles of Religion set forth and said to be devised by his Highness which caused the commotion of the * April 28. an RR. Hen. 8. 31. Hall Chron. p. 228. Lincoln-shire men And in a Parliament held at Westminster was established (a) Hall fol. 224. the act of the six articles which was named the bloudy statute and the whip of six strings which drew so much bloud upon poor Christians and whereof Auricular Confession was one of the strings The procurer of that Draconical law together with the occasion thereof is particularly described by our Ecclesiastical Annalist Mr John Fox whoever was the chief doer therein Ecclesiastical persons were the chief sufferers The King upon some distaste to his Clergy was willing to sharpen the edge of the Law against them and his minde being known there wanted not abbetters to whet him thereunto So fearful is the condition of the Church if once removed from under the shadow of the Crown and wings of the Royal Scepter and would soon become a prey to the little foxes if the Kingly-Lion should not protect And as in that Princes