due is to deny the Text and to be a Heretick against the fifth Commandment and t is as hard going to heaven for Hereticks against the Decalogue as against the Creed surely Mordecay and Hester would not have appointed the feast of Purim for two dayes by their own authority if the secular Magistrate had been confined by God only to secular affairs and prohibited to intermeddle in Ecclesiastical Wherefore we dare not but say this trust this power is indeed the Princes birth-right and is as inseparable from his Crown by the dictates of God and nature as his Crown is from his head or his head is from his body And t is happy for us it is so for else such is the wickedness and such would be the outrage of headstrong Schismaticks Hereticks and Atheists that we should soon come to have no appearance or shew of a Church and no form or face of Religion For the spiritual power of Preaching exhorting correcting administring praying excommunicating which is all that Church-men can do by vertue of their Orders can only enable them to preserve the purity and the truth but not the outward publick solemnity and practice of Religion that depends very much if not altogether upon the external or temporal power both for its being and for its continuance For if men once turn mad and outragious as t is very easie for those who are out of their honesty to be also out of their wits the fear of Gods Judgements will no more terrifie them then the love of Gods truth will perswade them to consult with their consciences so that neither fear nor love of God is like to bring them to a right order in his worship and service nor to keep them in it wherefore in such a case as this and a mischief that hath already been so often felt ought to be alwayes feared unless the secular arm defend the Church well there may be some private love and desire but there can scarce be any publick practice and exercise of the true Religion This Augustine proves at large Epist 50. Bonifacio comiti de moderate coercendis Hereticis which himself would have us look upon as a full Tractate because in the second of his Retract cap. 28. he calls it a Book Scripsi librum de correctione Donatistarum In which Book he useth many arguments why Kings by their secular power should both defend and vindicate Religion 1. Because those were blamed in the Old Testament who did it not those extolled above all others who did it 2. Because it was the duty of Kings so to do for that else though they might serve God as private men yet not as Kings unless they made Laws to compel others also to serve him Aliter enim servit quia homo est aliter quia etiam Rex est Quia homo est ei servit vivendo fideliter quia vero etiam rex est servit leges justa praecipientes contraria prohibentes convenienti rigore sanciendo Kings serve God as men by being religious but they serve him as Kings by making severe Laws in the defence of Religion 3. Because the Church might lawfully call upon them to do it for though the Apostles desired not the assistance of the Heathen Princes in their dayes because that prophesie was not yet fulfilled why do the Heathen so furiously rage The Kings of the Earth stand up together against the Lord and against his Christ Yet now the Church may desire the assistance of Christian Princes since that is come to pass which followeth in the same Psalm Be wise now therefore O ye Kings be learned ye that are Judges of the earth For now that Kings are called to the knowledge of Religion t is not rational to say they are not called to the defence of it Quis mente sobrius Regibus dicat Nolite curare in regno vestro à quo teneatur vel oppugnetur Ecclesia Domini vestri non ad vos pertineat in regno vestro quis velit esse sive religiosus sive sacrilegus quibus dici non potest non ad vos pertineat in regno vestro quis velit pudicus esse quis impudicus What sober man will say to Kings It is no part of your care to look after the Church of your Lord who do possess it or who do oppose it as if they were not to look after mens piety who are to look after womens chastity as if it concerned them that there should be no bastards not much more that there should be no sacriledge or idolatry in their kingdoms 4. Because Kings by their temporal power might redress many mischiefs which else were not like to be redressed For though the best Christians were moved by love yet the most Christians were awed by fear Sicut meliores sunt quos dirigit amor ita plures sunt quos corrigit timor And to this purpose he applies several Texts of the Proverbs particularly this of Prov. 29. 19. Verbis non emendabitur servus durus A stubborn servant will not be corrected by words Quum dixit Verbis non emendari non eum jussit deseri sed tacite admâ—nuit unde debeat emendari when be said a stubborn servant will not be corrected by words he would not have him left incorrigible but privately intimated the way he should be corrected sc by stripes or blows For God often useth the scourge to his best servants to bring them to himself therefore it is not cruelty but mercy in Christian Kings to scourge his enemies unto him whereas the Donatists object Cui vim Christus intulit quem coegit Whom did Christ force or compell to be a Christian I answer saith he Let them look on S. Paul Agnoscant in eo prius cogentem Christum postea docentem prius ferientem postea consolantem mirum est autem quomodo ille qui poena corporis ad Evangelium coactus intravit plus illis omnibus qui solo verbo vocati sunt in Evangelio laboravit Let them confess that Christ did first compel then instruct Saint Paul first strike him down then raise him up and it is very observable that he who was forced to the Apostleship by the pain and punishment of his own body was more laborious therein then they who were only called by the word of Christ 5. And lastly Because the Donatists used un just violence to oppose and opppress the Church much more should Christian Princes use their just power to uphold and to maintain it Cur ergo non cogeret Ecclesia perditos filios ut redirent si perditi filii coegerunt alios ut perirent Why should not the Church force her lost children to come to the way of life since they force their brethren to go to the gates of death Et ipse Dominus ad magnam coenam suam prius adduci jubet convivas postea cogi for even our Lord himself first appointed guests to be invited but at last to
not justly be condemned by another Church much less opposed or deserted by her own state For that such a Church is without doubt Gods Trustee and hath not been faulty in the discharge of her Trust and may not be hindred or molested in dischaging it SECT VIII The Trust of particular Churches is immediately from God himself both in regard of the Magistrate and of the Minister That Trust much stood upon in the Primitive times and ought to be so still because it is founded on the holy Scriptures And that this Doctrine concerning the Trust of particular Churches doth not canton or disjoynt the Catholick Church T IS no hard matter to prove That particular Churches are Gods immediate Trustees though they have but a limited Trust For else will follow the greatest absurdity that can be imagined and much greater that may be granted viz. That God hath left the blood of his Son the dictates of his Spirit the honour of his name exposed to all the contempts and prophanations and corruptions of perverse and ignorant and wicked men if he hath not entrusted them all with some such persons who are bound to see them neither prophaned nor contemned nor corrupted And who were those his Trustees at first but only his Apostles and who have they been ever since but their Successors Bishops and Ministers Take heed unto the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers Acts 20. 28. O Timothy keep that which is committed to thy Trust 1 Tim. 6. 20. The Minister whether Bishop or Priest is immediately intrusted with the care of souls and with those truths and administrations which directly concern the soul For the civil Magistrate though he be Christian yet is not capable of discharging the spiritual part of this Trust being not called of God as was Aaron to do the office of a Priest though he be called of God as was Moses to have power and dominion over Priests For in that he is governour of the State he is also governour of the Church which is in and within the State and in that he is governour of the Church he must needs have his share in the Trust of the Church concerning Religion as far as Religion is liable to the government of the State sc to be ordered protected and defended by it For as God at first used the extraordinary power of miracles to maintain his word and Sacraments and to strike the opposers and profaners of them either with death or with other corporal punishments as S. Paul saith of the Corinthians For this cause many are weakly and sick among you and many sleep 1 Cor. 11. 30. sc because of your profaning the blessed Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ So in process of time he was pleased to use the ordinary power of the Civil Magistrate for the same purposes never leaving himself without witness having given a directive and spiritual power to the Ministery a coactive and external power to the Magistracy for the suppressing of wickedness and vice and for the promoting of true Religion and Virtue Therefore both Magistracy and Ministery have the immediate Trust of Religion and God hath commanded both to assist hath allowed neither to oppose the other in the execution of his Trust Both are obliged to see there be a right exercise of Religion the one to perform it the other to countenance and protect it And both have their Trust immediately from God and this is that which I call the Trust of particular Churches nor is it to be imagined That if God had given the Trust of all Churches to some general Vicar of his who derived his power immediately from him and was to derive the same to others but that he would have given some notice of this universal Trustee that others might not invade this Trust without his leave much less manage it without his Authority yet this he was willing to plead for who said Petrus Paulo dedit licentiam praedicandi Gl. in Grat. Dist 11. cap. 11. that Saint Peter gave Saint Paul a licence to preach and that Authoritate Domini by Gods own command who said Acts 13. Sepatate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereto I have called them He will needs bring Saint Peter from Jerusalem to Antioch of purpose to lay his hands on Saint Paul though the Holy-Ghost reckons up these particular men who were bid do that work and reckons not Saint Peter among them nay though Saint Paul himself plainly tels us that he had Preached full three years before he once saw Saint Peter Gal. 1. 17 18. and then was fain to go up to Jerusalem not to Antioch to see him and only to see him not to receive commission or Instruction from him So Saint Chrysostome upon the words Gal. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He wanted Peter for nothing but being equal in honour with him that I may say no more now yet he went up to him as to his Superiour and his Ancient And he tell us this of purpose saith he that we should not think the ensuing reprehension proceeded either out of hatred or envy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for it is plain he loved the man and respected him more then any other of the Apostles for he saith Other of the Apostles saw I none Yet he did but go to see him not to learn of him much less to receive spiritual power from him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I did but see him I did not learn of him saith the same Saint Chrysostome And indeed it is scarce imaginable that Saint Paul was rapt up into the third Heaven the proper dwelling place of God to hear unspeakable words to be Tongue-tied on earth by any man so as not to be able to preach without his License Nay on the contrary it is clearly evident from the Holy Scriptures and from all Antiquity that not only Saint Paul but also all the other Apostles did Preach the Gospel found Churches ordain Bishops excommunicate offenders without any delegation from Saint Peter only by their own immediate Authority And it is also evident that they all derived their Authority to their several Churches after them and that those several Churches did very much insist upon that authority which they could not lawfully have done had it not been derived to them by the Apostles Thus Saint Cyprian pleads for his Church of Carthage Ne quisquam se Episcopum Episcoporum constituat aut tyrannico terrore ad obsequendi necessitatem collegas suos adigat quando habeat omnis Episcopus pro licentia libertatis potestatis suae arbitrium proprium tanquam judicari ab alio non possit quà m nec ipse possit alterum judicare Neither let any man make himself a Bishop of Bishops nor by his tyrannical threats seek to compell his collegues to be his Vassals since every Bishop hath his own native liberty and power to determine for himself as one that may neither Iudge his fellow-Bishop
the difference of opinion concerning this sacrifice such was also the difference in the ordination of those men who were appointed to offer it For the manner of ordination in the Greek Church supposed the man ordained only as a Minister to the administration of the sacrament for the Bishop that ordained him put the consecrated bread into his hand saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Take this holy thing committed to your charge and keep it till the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ when he will call you to an account how you have disâ—osed of it This man so ordained had delivered to him the Trust and charge only of a Sacrament But the manner of ordination in the Latine Church supposeth the man ordained as a Priest to the offering of a Sacrifice for the Bishop that ordained him put the Communion plate and chalice into his hand saying Accipe potestatem offerre Sacrificium Deo Missamque celebrare tam pro vivis quam pro defunctis in nomine Domini c. Receive the power of offering a Sacrifice to God and of celebrating the Mass both for the quick and the dead in the name of our Lord c. And agreeable to this is the benediction of the Presbyters after this ordination in the same Church Benedictio Dei omnipotentis Patris filii spiritus Sancti descendat su er vos ut sitis benedicti in ordine sacerdotali oâ—feratis placabiles hostias pro peccatis atque offensionibus populi c. The blessing of God the Father Son and Holy-Ghost descend upon you that you may be blessed in the order of Priests and offer acceptable sacrifices for the sins and offences of the People Pontifical Rom. Venetiis editum An. 1561. This man so ordained had delivered to him the trust and charge not of a Sacrament but of a sacrifice But in the ordination of the Church of England and some other Protestant Churches the Bishop saith to him that he ordains Receive the Holy-Ghost whose sins you forgive they are forgiven whose sins you retain they are retained but be thou a faithfull dispencer of the word of God and of his holy sacraments in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy-Ghost This man so ordained hath delivered unto him the trust and charge of no sacrifice but only of the Sacraments and also of the word and it were to be wished that those whom it nothing concerns would neither invade nor disturb this trust especially since it is so exactly agreeable with the Text which in all the new Testament hath not recommended to the Church the trust and charge of a Sacrifice but only of the Word and Sacraments And it can be no shame for us to confess that in the judgement of our Church the holy Eucharist is a Sacrament not a Sacrifice unless it be in a mystical sense a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving or in a figurative sense a commemoration or representation of a sacrifice but by no means a repetition of Christs corporal sacrifice since the Apostle hath expresly said concerning that We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all Heb. 10. 10. According to which our Church doth believe and profess in different words the very same truth saying That Christ made upon the cross by his one oblation of himself once offered a full perfect and sufficient sacrifice oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world and I will ever rejoice in this belief and profession since he that hath made a full satisfaction for the sins of the whole world hath not left his father unsatisfied only for my sins CAP. IV. Christ admired in his Application SECT I. Christ in his Propitiation and Satisfaction doth not benefit us without a particular Application TRuly to know Christ is truly to know the whole Christian Faith as hath been said For truly to know Christ in his person is to know the Christian Faith in the ground or substance of it And truly to know Christ in his Propitiation Satisfaction Application is to know the Christian Faith in the power or vertue of it Accordingly Saint Paul is not content to know Christ only in his Person saying that I may know him but he will also know him in his Propitiation Satisfaction and Application saying and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable to his death Phil. 3. 10. To know Christ in the power of his resurrection is to know him in his propitiation for he was delivered for our offences and raised again for our Justification Rom. 4. 25. To know Christ in the fellowship of his sufferings is to know him in his satisfaction whereby he slaked body for body soul for soul in our stead that he might satisfie for all the sins both of our bodies and of our souls And to know Christ so as to be made conformable to his death is to know him in his Application for we cannot apply the merit of his death till we be conformed to it by dying unto sin and rising again to newness of life for the Application of Faith doth no less require that man apply himself to God by holâ—ness of conversation then that he apply God unto himself by strength of perswasion And truly the one cannot be without the other since it is impossible for that man to lay hold on Gods promise of mercy who looks not after the conditions on which it is promised to wit a hearty repentance of his sins and an amendment of his sinful life for Gods promises of mercy are not made to all sinners but only to penitent sinners so that where is no true repentance there can be no true faith and where is true repentance there cannot be too much for if man perform his part of the Covenant of grace he may assure himself that God will perform his part nay he must assure himself so unless he will remain in the state of infidelity For a true and lively faith is a full perswasion of the heart grounded upon the promises of God that whatsoever Christ hath done or suffered for the salvation of man he hath done and suffered for me as well as for others And I must never be satisfied with my self nor think I am in a good state or condition till I have gotten such a faith as will give me such a perswasion For the satisfaction of Christ in general will afford me but little comfort without the application thereof in particular to mine own soul Wherefore my labour must be to put my self in such a condition that though I cannot but think my self unworthy of the invaluable blessing of this satisfaction yet I may not think much less make my self uncapable of it SECT II. The ground of that application iâ— Christs threefold conjunction with us in his person in his nature and in his office from which proceedeth the marriage of the soul with Christ I
Disciples who were in Jerusalem at S. Peters first Sermon were but 120. He is afraid of an imaginary miscief but fals into a real inconveniency the mischif was meerly imaginary as if S. Paul to the Corinthians had clashed with S. Luke in the Acts whereas Saint Luke saith not there were then in Jerusalem but 120. disciples only there were but one hundred and twenty of such note as the Apostles had called together to consult about the election of a new Apostle accordingly he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the number of the names that is such as were notorious and eminent in the Church not denying but there might be many hundreds of the inferiour sort of people which are called by the Poet sine Nomine turba the common sort that are without a Name who were at that time reckoned among the disciples though they had not been called to the election of Saint Matthias Thus the mischief he feared was meerly imaginary but he fell into a real inconveniency For this supposition that it is possible there should have been such chopping and changing in the Text tends directly to the enervating of the Authority of the Scriptures and the fidelity and veracity of the Catholick Church for both Greek and Latine Churches do now read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 five hundred and if they read not now as they found it delivered to them they are defective in their Veracity if it was not delivered to them as it was at first written their forefathers were defective in their Fidelity for this is too great a change to come in by the mistake of a writer though it is very improbable that the whole Church should be so careless as to suffer any such mistakes However in this particuler Eusebius will justifie our present reading of the Text against all conjectures whatsoever for he lib. 1. Histor Eccles cap. 12. setteth down this very apparition of our blessed Saviour totidem verbis not by numeral letters but in so many several express words as Saint Paul had before saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is an undeniable argument that these words were so writ at large from Saint Pauls own hand Having given this hint only out of zeal to Gods holy word which must sway my faith against the practice of whole Churches much more against the phansies of private men I pass to the words which our blessed Saviour spake immediately before he ascended for without all question he then again repeated them though he had spoken them several times before Saint Luke records them as spoken on the very day of his Resurrection Luke 24. 47. Saint John records them as spoken also on the very same day John 20. 19 20 21 22. Saint Mathew records them as spoken after that day sc on the mountain in Galilee Mat. 28. 16 19. And Saint Mark records them as spoken both on the day of his resurrection for so was the Apparition to which he annexeth them and also on the day of his Ascension for such is the manner of his annexion So then after the Lord had spoken unto them he was received up into heaven For what was it that the Lord had spoken unto them but these words concerning the discharge of their Apostolical Office or Function Go ye therefore and teach all Nations c. which is yet more evidently attested by Saint Luke Acts 1. 9. where it is said when he had spoken these things that is those things which concerned their Function whiles they beheld he was taken up For Saint Matthew's Go ye therefore and teach all Nations And Saint Mâ—â—k's Go ye into all the world And Saint Lukes ye are witnesses of these things And Saint Johns As my Father sent me even so send I you do all of them concern one and the same office of preaching the Gospel and administring the Sacraments and whatever else the Apostles were bound to do in order to the gathering or preserving or governing the Church of Christ And we cannot deny but these same words or at least words to this effect were solemnly spoken at three several times by our blessed Saviour to his Apostles that is to say On the day of his Resurrection and afterwards again in Galilee and yet a third time also after that immediately before his Ascention to shew what a necessity was laid upon them to discharge that sacred function when he thought it necessary so often to repeat their charge as if it had been his only business from his Resurrection to his Ascention And doubtless if we seriously consier the words themselves we shall easily see and willingly confess that as they did concern the constitution of the Church at that time so they do concern the constitution of the Church at this day and will concern both its constitution and conservation to the worlds end I will accordingly explain them briefly as I find them in the Evangelists yet so as to make Saint Matthew the standard for the rest having already explained the words as they are recorded by Saint John And thus Saint Matthew records the words All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth our blessed Saviour had all the power of heaven and earth given to him from the Father both as he was the Son of God and as he was the Son of man as he was the Son of God so this power was given him by eternal generation as he was the Son of man so the same power was given him by free donation partly at his first conception by vertue of his union with the God-head but more fully after his resurrection for the merit of his death and passion So that though he exercised this power in his life time by choosing Apostles and instituting the Holy Sacraments yet after he was risen again he exercised the same much more eminently in a threesold respect Quoad modum quoad statum quoad usum First because he was possessed of it after a more excellent manner as having merited it by his death Secondly because he was possessed of it in a more excellent state as now being past all fear and danger of dying Thirdly because he was possessed of it for a more excellent end as being how to use it not for the conversion of one people but of all the world as it follows Go ye therefore and teach all Nations Go ye therefore relying upon my authority which is founded upon all power both in heaven and in earth whereas any authority that can forbid you to go is founded only upon the power in earth And teach all Nations This the Apostles could not do no more then they could continue to the end of the world in their own persons Therefore our Saviour Christ speaks these words to their Successors as well as to them And so this Precept was given to make good that Promise Mat. 24. 14. The Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all Nations and then shall
the end come For the Apostles themselves did not could not preach the Gospel in all the world and unto all Nations therefore they were to ordain others to preach it after them nor may we suppose the Ministers of the Gospel to have been a Temporary calling or oppose them in their Ministry unless we will resist the fulfilling of Cbrists promise and do what we can to make Truth himself a lyar Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost The Apostles were commanded to baptize in this form for three reasons 1. To distinguish Christians from Jews for they worshipped God only in the unity of essence as their Creator but the Christians are to worship him in the Trinity of persons as their Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier 2. To shew that here was nothing of humane invention or power to be given or received in baptism which was in the name of God only 3. To shew that there was great vertue and efficacy in Baptism even such as did concern our re-union with God by remission of our sins and sanctification of our souls or why else should we be baptized in the name of God And also that all that vertue and efficacy did wholly depend upon God alone in whose name only we are to be baptized And this efficacy of Baptism is more fully expressed by Saint Mark saying He that believeth and is Baptized shall be saved Mark 16. 16. where it is plain that the Apostles are required to invite men to the Christian Faith and Baptism by the promise of salvation and consequently are forbidden to preach salvation upon any other terms then those of believing and of being baptized And those men who make so slight account of Baptism will one day find the Heathens and Infidels of Syria to rise up against them in judgement who said to their Master Naaman My Father If the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing wouldst thou not have done it how much rather then when he saith to thee Wash and be clean 2 King 5. 13. For they dare not deny but they are as unclean as Naaman was in his leprosie unless they will deny themselves to be of the same mould and make with other men for David hath spoken in the person of every man that is born of a woman Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me Psalm 51. 5. And they cannot deny but that God since Naamans time hath most eminently sanctified the flood Jordan and in that all other waters by the Baptism of his well beloved Son Jesus Christ to the mystical washing away of sin And yet moreover That not only the man of God but also the Son of God hath said unto them Wash and be clean unless they will divide the precept wash from the promise and be clean since the words have been in our Saviours mouth which the Infidels durst not do when they were only in Elisha's mouth For it is most certain that Baptism is necessary to salvation as commanded wash and it is most probable that it is also efficacious thereunto and be clean because it is commanded For he that hath commanded it was able to make it so nay rather hath made it so to shew that he delighteth not in unnecessary or unprofitable commands What need we then to say That Baptism is necessary only as a profession of our faith or as an outward sign or testimony of Gods grace whereas we may with much confidence and without any inconveniency acknowledge it to be moreover an instrumental cause whereby our blessed Saviour is pleased to work Grace and Salvation For who can hinder the first cause to work by what instrument he pleaseth and sure we are the word of God doth plainly ascribe unto Baptism the operation of an instrumental cause in working the effect of grace when Saint Paul calleth it The washing of Regeneration Tit. 3. 5. which was the language he had been taught by God himself at his first conversion saying to him by Ananias Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins Acts 22. 16. Wherefore we will conclude that both Faith and Baptism may be rightly called instrumental causes of our salvation but in different respects Faith as instrumental on our parts whereby we prepare our selves for Christ Baptism as instrumental on Christs part whereby he prepareth us for himself This being granted which can scarce reasonably be denyed we shall not delay our childrens Baptism because t is instrumental to salvation on Christs part though not on their own and yet not tie God to outward means because we acknowledge Baptism to be instrumental to salvation only upon his own choice and appointment and therefore he can save without it if himself so pleaseth Nor shall we need fear a falling away from the state of salvation any more in the baptized Infants then in the believing men since our blessed Saviour in saying he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved doth suppose or rather include the same condition as alike necessary to both to wit of leading their lives according to their good beginnings For the promise of salvation upon a mans believing and being baptized is not absolute but conditional that is to say If he lead his life answerable to hâ—s faith and to the grace given him in his Baptism as if it had been said his faith and his Baptism shall save him as far forth as is possible for instrumental causes or as far forth as belongs to them that is they shall really and effectually conduce to his salvation unless he himself be in the fault and hinder their working either by forsaking his Faith or by polluting and prophaning his Baptism and not returning back again to God by his repentance This interpretation must be given of our Saviours words as appears from the foregoing part of his speech Go and preach the Gospel for t is most certain that he would not have his Apostles preach any other Gospel then what himself had preached and that was Repent ye and believe Mar. 1. 15. Wherefore Repentance must also come in as a necessary condition to salvation no less then faith and Baptism because all men do fall away from the purity which they had through their Faith and through their Baptism by their daily sins and there is no promise of salvation to any man that continueth and abideth in his sins so that they must rise again by repentance or they cannot be saved Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you After you have made them my Disciples by Baptism then keep them so by right doctrine for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is no more then Discipulate omnes gentes baptizantes eos make all nations my Disciples baptizing them so the command is to make Disciples unto Christ and the manner is explained how they are to be made even by baptizing not by preaching according to that of John 4. 1.
name of the Father c. thereby distinguishing them from those who are not my Disciples even by Baptism Here is such a commission for the Minister to execute his calling both for Word and Sacraments as all the Magistrates in the world can neither give nor take away For they have a power only from Christs power in earth but this calling of the Ministry is founded upon the power of Christ which he hath also in heaven And they who make it their business to discountenance and oppose the Ministers of the Gospel whilst they preach and pray and administer the Sacraments according to the appointment and command of their Master do but in effect strive to justle Christ out of the heads and hearts of men and to thrust him away from the right hand of God Surely he that hopes to be set one day at the right hand of Christ will now willingly acknowledge and reverently adore Christs sitting at the right hand of God And they who do not willingly now put themselves under his power shall at last be brought under it against their will for he must reign till he hath put all his enemies under his feet and though he shall still reign after that for his Kingdom shall have no end as being an everlasting Kingdom 2 Pet. 1 11. yet he shall not after that exercise his government so visibly by the cooperation of his humane nature as now he doth but only by the essential power and presence of his Godhead in which respect it is said And when all things shall be subdued unto him then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him that God may be all in all 1 Cor. 15. 28. For the office of his Mediatorship will then be at an end no less as King then as Priest and Prophet when he shall have brought all men either to his Father or under him though the Majesty of his person be immortal and everlasting And therefore as the Man Christ Jesus did not actually sit at the right hand of God till he was exalted into heaven and yet was potentially there that is in right and power by virtue of the hypostatical union even from the first instant of his incarnation so when he shall have exalted and drawn all his mystical body thither after him though he shall still sit there in the same person yet not in the same respect or to the same end for not Man but God shall then administer the Kingdom of the Father that as from all eternity so also to all eternity God may be all in all Excellently Saint Augustine Ipsam Dexteram intelligite potestatem quam accepit ille homo susceptus à Deo ut veniat judicicaturus qui prius venerat judicandus Non enim Pater judicat quenquam sed omne judicium dedit Filio ut omnes honorent Filium sicut honorant Patrem By the right hand of God understand the power which that man hath received who is taken into God that he may come to judge who at first did come to be judged For the Father judgeth no man but hath comâ—… all judgement to the Son that all men should honour 〈…〉 As they honour the Father So that this 〈…〉 at the right hand of God is to be expounded of ouâ— blesâ—ed Saviour not according to his Divine but according to his humane nature as the Apostle hath fully declared Eph. 1. 21. When he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Saint Chrysostome These words cannot be spoken and therefore may not be understood of God the word for he was never dead and therefore t is not said of him that he is set on Gods right hand So likewise Saint Cyprian Dominus ascendit in coelum non ubi verbum Dei prius non fuerat quippe qui erat semper in coelis manebat in Patre sed ubi verbum caro factum ante non sedebat The Lord ascended into heaven not where the word was not before for he was alwayes in the bosome of the Father but where the Word made flesh never sate before But let Saint Augustines determination decide this controversie who purposely handleth it lib. 3. de Symbolo cap. 8. Quis est qui sedit ad dexteram patris Homo Christus Nam in quantum Deus semper cum Patre ex Patre quando ad nos processit à Patre non recessit Who is it that sitteth at the right hand of the Father The Man Christ For as God he was alwayes with his Father and of his Father and when he came to us did not depart from him Therefore Christ was alwayes at the right hand of his Father as God but since his ascension he is there also as Man SECT III. That to sit at the right hand of God is proper only to Christ and therefore invocation of or adoration to the blessed Virgin is not agreeable with this Article of our Christian Faith And that the Author of no Religion but only the Christian is said to be at the right hand of God and to administer his Kingdom and therefore no Religion to be compared with it and no power to prevail against it IF it be demanded whether to sit at the right hand of God be proper only to Christ it must be answered Yes For none else is none else can be there but only he For by this argument doth the holy Apostle prove him to be the Son of God Heb. 1. 13. But to which of the Angels said he at any time Sit thou on my right hand And if he hath not said so to the Angels much less hath he said so to any man And â—ow then shall we say unto either sit thou on the right hand of God by our invocation and adoration placing the creature in the throne of the Creator God blessed for ever And what else do they who thus invest a Bishop saying Accipe pallium plenitudinem sc pontificalis efficii ad honorem omnipotentis Dei gloriosissimae Virginis Mariae genitricis ejus Beatorum Apostolorum Petri Pauli Take this pall and with it the fulness of Episcopal power to the honour of Almighty God and the most glorious Virgin Mary his Mother and his blessed Apostles Peter and Paul for to joyn the blessed Virgin and the Apostles in the same honour and glory with Almighty God is in effect to joyn her and them in the same Kingdom and power with him since they all go together For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever Therefore Laus Deo Virginique Matri Mariae used by Bellarmine at the end of each general controversie must needs beget a new controversie were all the rest amicably concluded among those Christians who love not to think but to know they do God good service in their prayers and praises For such a form of worship
it a most disconsolate and doleful prayer yet it begins with praise I will magnifie thee O Lord for thou hast set me up and it ends with praise O my God I will give thanks unto thee for ever And it is the peculiar observation concerning the 88. Psalm nullâ consolatione clauditur saith Musculus that it hath in it no clause of comfort and consolation and yet even this Psalm hath in it some shaddow or dark representation of Abba Father in that it is said O Lord God of my salvation and O let my prayer enter into thy presence even as our blessed Saviour when he thought himself most forsaken of God yet even then laid hold on him by a true and lively Faith saying My God my God why hast thou forsaken me This we are sure It is the same Spirit of adoption that inditeth the most uncomfortable prayer and the most comfortable praise Only the prayer proceedeth from the great apprehension and constant necessity of our own manifold wants and imperfections even in our best condition But the praise proceedeth from the comfortable enjoyment of Gods undeserved goodness in mercies received and more comfortable assurance of his everlasting mercies in blessings promised So that the uncomfortableness of the prayer is from the testimony of our own spirits concerning our miseries and sorrows in our selves but the comfortableness of the praise is from the testimony of Gods Holy Spirit concerning the blessings and joys treasured up for us in our Redeemer Accordingly there is no gift or comfort of the Spirit which we can now pray for in our distresses which was not prayed for by the Psalmist in his greatest distress Psal 51. Renew a right spirit within me take not thy holy spirit from me stablish me with thy free spirit He prayeth for a right spirit against the perversness for an holy spirit against the profaness and uncleanness for a free spirit against the dulness and deadness of his heart And what can we say more of that spirit which teacheth us to cry Abba Father but that it is a right spirit to rectifie us when we are out of order but that it is an holy spirit to sanctifie us that we may be kept in order and that it is a free spirit to testifie unto us that being rectified and sanctified we shall doubtless be accepted as beloved in the beloved Accordingly Saint Hierom thus translateth the words Et spiritu principali confirma me and confirm or stablish me with thy principal spirit which in Saint Pauls phrase is the spirit of thy Son or the spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father So that we find these Psalms of David as necessary and as useful devotions for us Christians as they were for the Jews for that one and the same spirit cryed Abba Father in them which cryeth Abba Father in us Wherefore he so prayeth as that he also praiseth and so praiseth as that he also prayeth He praiseth for the joy of his Saviour he prayeth for the joy of his salvation Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui restore unto me the joy of thy salvation So restore it when it is lost as also preserve and increase it when it is restored This is a joy which all the delights of this world cannot give and therefore sure all the sorrows of this world cannot take away Although the figg tree shall not blossom neither shall fruit be in the vines the labour of the Olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls yet I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation Hab. 3. 17 18. The Prophets festival doth not depend upon the joy and mirth of the times his good chear doth not hang upon the fig-tree nor upon the vine it ariseth not out of the fields nor out of the flocks God may sequester all these from man or man may sequester them all from Gods Prophet yet still he will keep his solemn feast he will rejoyce in the Lord he will joy in the God of his salvation and the reason is because God will not and man cannot sequester the true Prophet from his God Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword as it is written For thy sake we are killed all the day long we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter nay in all these things we are more then conquerors through him that loved us Rom. 8. 35. And as this joy of the good Christian is unsequestrable not to be taken from him so is it also unspeakable not to be expressed by him thus saith Saint Peter speaking of our blessed Saviour Whom having not seen ye love in whom though now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory 1 Pet. 1. 8. You that love him from your soul cannot but rejoyce in him from your soul If your love of him be with all your soul with all your might with all your strength your joy in him will be so too you love him with all your might because he is your Saviour you rejoyce in him with all your might because of his salvation Who can sufficiently admire the goodness of God in giving the gift of faith unto men thereby in some sort to antedate the beatifical vision and to let us into heaven whiles we live here on earth For the Apostle describes to us such a faith as is to be known not by its pretences but by its power and that power is threefold A power of believing in Christ yet believing A power of loving Christ whom having not seen ye love A power of rejoycing in Christ in whom ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable Whosoever hath not this threefold power of believing of loving and of rejoycing in Christ hath not true Faith in Christ but a phansie in stead of Faith So inseparable are these three Sisters the three Theological vertues Faith Hope and Charity that whosoever hath one hath All whosoever doth believe doth also love whosoever doth love doth also rejoyce rejoyce in hope of the glory of God Rom. 5. 2. A joy not to be expressed to others by our speaking but by our doing not by our words but by our works It is fit they should see us offer the sacrifice of righteousness and from thence know that we put our trust in the Lord Psalm 4. 4. For we Christians also have an Altar Heb. 13. 10. and we have a two fold sacrifice to offer upon that Altar 1. A Sacrifice of thanksgiving let us offer the Sacrifice of praise to God continually v. 15. 2. A Sacrifice of Almsgiving to do good and to communicate forget not for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased ver 16. These our sacrifices as they do express our joy in Christ so they should also answer it
grounded upon the infallibility of the thing or of the prayer for that faith cannot rest but upon infallibility and the people as well as the Priest ought to pray in Faith wherefore this assurance is not only very just and reasonable but also very necessary and religious since we all know we must pray in the merit of Christs intercession if we hope our prayers should find admittance to God and acceptance with him and we are sure he will not intercede with us in such prayers as we have not learned from him For which cause the Church also teacheth us to conclude all our prayers after this manner Per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum through Jesus Christ our Lord as if we were bound to believe that Christ then prayeth for us when we are praying for our selves according to the rules of his word and that we have hopes to be heard not by virtue of our own but of his intercession And t is observable that Saint Paul saith of those who worshipped Angels that they held not the head Col. 2. 19. because in such worship Christ who is the head could not joyn with them nor they with him accorcordingly Saint Chrysostome thus expostulates with such a worshipper 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Why do you let go the head to lay hold on the members whilst you think to come to God by the Angels he might have put in Saints too by the same reason if that worship had been then in fashion and not immediately by Christ For if you fall from him you are certainly lost and the way to fall from him is not to lay immediate hold on him for he that layes not immediate hold of him cannot lay fast hold of him T is holding of the head not of the body that gives the nourishment whereby we encrease with the encrease of God and Angels are of the body no less then men Accordingly the Fathers of the Council of Laodicea give this reason why they accurse them who called upon Angels in their worship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Can. 35. because such men have forsaken the Lord Jesus and are guilty of idolatry And it is a pitiful evasion of Baronius to say that the Council spake of false Angels which the Heathen called Genii for besides that no Christians ever worshipped them and the Canon only concerns Christians t is too great an absurdity to be pinned upon a Council to say they spake of Angels when they meant Divels For our parts we must conclude that praying to Saints and Angels is a very unwarrantable a very unsafe a very uncomfortable way of praying because we are sure we cannot have communion with Christ in such prayers For though he can doth and will join with us in saying Our Father yet he cannot will not saying Our Brother Though he doth join with us in our intercessions to the Creator God blessed for ever yet he doth not cannot joyn with us in our intercessions to any creature And therefore since the Church requires our communion only by authority from Christ it is evident that no Church can justly require our communion in this or any other practice wherein it self doth not communicate with Christ For in such prayers as these we can only hold of the body or rather some corrupted member of the body but we cannot hold of the head and consequently in such prayers as these there can be no true Christian communion for that so beginneth with the Church as that it endeth with Christ so beginneth in earth as that it endeth in heaven Saint Johns determination may best decide this controversie for some mens perversness hath made it so who in very few words thus sets forth to us our Christian communion That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ 1 John 1. 3. Where we may see that God imparted not the knowledge of Christian truths to his Church that she might reserve them to her self but that she might publish and declare them to his people That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you God hath declared them to us that we should declare them to you And the reason why the Church is bound to declare these Christian truths to the people is to establish them in the true Christian communion that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ where we plainly see that Christian communion begins with the Church and ends with Christ nor would the Apostle seek to draw them to have fellowship with him but that with him they might also have fellowship with Christ he desires not to magnifie this communion from himself but from his Saviour He therefore exhorts them to have communion with the Church that they might have communion with Christ For indeed there are at least two degrees if not parts of our Christian communion the first is our communion with Christs Church as with the body that ye also may have fellowship with us The second is our communion with Christ himself as with the head and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ and this communion is or ought to be the end of all preaching that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship c. This is or should be the intent of all preaching even the communion of the people with the Priests and the communion both of Priests and people with Christ so likewise saith Saint Peter speaking of our blessed Saviour His Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue whereby are given to us exceeding great and precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the Divine nature 2 Pet 1. 3 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not only partakers of but also communicants in or with the Divine nature as if he had said the end of your communion with us is that you may thereby have communion with God His Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of himself And we are desirous to impart to you this knowledge that you may have part in the same life and godliness He hath given to us exceeding great and gracious promises and we desire to publish them ro you that by these you also with us might be partakers of the Divine nature But because this communion is or should be the only task of our whole life and is the only comfort of our death I will yet alledge one more testimony for it and that shall be his who was wrapt up into the third heavens that he might the better shew us the right and the straight way thither and he bids us Follow peace with
take no delight in God For if he had delighted himself in the Law of God he would have delighted himself in the Church to which God committed and with which God intrusted his Law But he would not take delight in God and therefore God by way of retaliation will not take delight in him And this he may be sure of if God take no delight in him what ever he may do for a while in this world yet certainly in the next world he will take no delight in himself For he will then be so out of joint as never to be set again Behold all ye that kindle a fire that compass your selves about with sparks walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks that ye have kindled This shall ye have of mine hand ye shall lie down in sorrow Isa 50. 11. A text that is to be expounded of Schismaticks in Iarchies opinion who thus begins to gloss it Behold all ye because saith he they did not hear the voice of his Prophets So we see that in his judgement the words concern those who would not hear the Church and we may read in them The sin and the punishment of Schismaticks Their sin is twofold they kindle a fire and compass themselves with sparks that is they are Incendiaries in Church and State and they love to be so And their punishment is also twofold 1. That in this life they are suffered to walk in the â—ight of their own false fire walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks that ye have kindled q. d. Quum non acquiescaâ—â—â— igâ—â— sacro pergâ—tote in prophano vestro sed perituri tamen ut filii Aaronis Levit. 10. saith Trem. since you will not acquiesce and rest satisfied with the holy fire that came from God and with the true light thereof that is in his Church go walk in your own strange fire and after your own false lights but know you shall certainly perish as did the Sons of Aaron Lev. 10. where Nabad and Abihu for offering of strange fire were devoured by fire 2. That at the end of this life they are punished with everlasting death This shall ye have of mine hand ye shall lie down in sorrow as if he had said because ye will needs stand up in sin ye shall be sure to lie down in sorrow and ye shall so lie down in sorow as that ye shall never rise up in glory And we have little reason to wonder at this grievous punishment but less to doubt of it for every Schismatical spirit by putting it self out of the communion of Gods Church doth also put it self out of the communion of God himself For Christs Church requires our communion by the authority of Christ the eternal Son of God And if you ask what Church it must be answered That Church which is his body for that only can act by power and vertue of the Head If you farther ask what Church is his body It must be answered the Catholick Church that is to say the whole congregation of Christian people dispersed over the face of the whole earth For so doth Saint Paul plainly answer for us saying And he is the head of the body the Church Col. 1. 18. Not naming this or that particular Church but taking the whole body of Christian people for the body of Christ or for his Catholick Church For they are all united together in one communion and fellowship by the spirit of Christ even as all the members of the body are united in one communion by the soul So Aquinas Sicut in uno homine est una anima unum corpus tamen sunt diversa membra ipsius Ita Ecclesia Catholica est unum corpus habet diversa membra Anima autem quae hoc corpus vivificat est spiritus sanctus in opusc de symbol As in one man there is but one soul and one body although there be very may several members because they are all made one body by vertue of the soul which gives life to all so is the Catholick Church but one body although it consist of divers particular Churches as of so many members because they are all made one body by the spirit of God which quickens and enlivens them all So that no man can say any one particular Church is the Catholick Church excluding other Christian Churches without confining the spirit of God and dismembring the body of Christ which is little less then damnable blasphemy against the Spirit for he is infinite and therefore unconfinable and as damnable Schism against the Son of God for he hath made himself one with his Church and therefore to cut off any part of his Church from him is to cut him off from himself Let me rather rejoice that the spirit of God is not to be confined and the body of Christ is not to be dismembred for why should my eye be evil because he is good Why should I deny that mercy to others which God hath undeservedly bestowed on me Will he not say to me as Moses to Joshua Enviest thou for my sake Numb 11. 29. for what is it to deny the Holy Spirit to other Christians that are not of our own profession but enviously to wish that God would deny his spirit unto them Or what is it to say they are not of Christs body but malitiously to wish they were not so We may not then labour to bring back so much of Judaism into the world as to say now He hath not dealt so with any Nation neither have the heathen knowledge of his Laws Psal 147. 20. for we cannot say he hath restrained his Church to any one Nation or People since himself hath said that in every Nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him Acts 10. 35. Be it therefore taken for granted that all the Christian Churches in the world do make up the Catholick Church of Christ and that it is so called not only for its accidental Catholicism which is universality of time place and person because it comprizeth all times all places all persons that is all conditions of men But also and much rather for its Essential or Substantial Catholicism which is universality of doctrine which all they do hold and maintain that are reputed or called Christians and that doctrine is called by Saint John This confession That Jesus Christ is come in the flesh Every Spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God 1 John 4. 2. The Apostles scope and intention in that place is briefly to teach us how to try or examine the spirits that is the several doctrinâ—â— of religion that we may know who are true and who are false teachers and he tells us that whosoever teacheth that Jesus is the Christ that is the only founder and governour of the Church and Saviour of the world that mans doctrine is of God for it is not to be doubted
Halleluiah doth not close a part of a Hymn but breaks off a doctrinal exhortation surely not to distract our attentions but to enflame our affections and to possess our souls wholly with the joy and love of Christ without which neither our praying nor our preaching is acceptable unto God or available unto us And the Church seemeth to have borrowed this practice from the Apostles for it is much to be observed that Saint Paul delivers not any one Doctrine of the Christian verity without his Halleluiah that is without a peculiar doxology to God in Christ So in his Epistle to the Romans 1. 8. First I thank my God through Jesus Christ So to the Corinthians 1. 1. 4. I thank my God alwayes on your behalf So to the Galatians 1. 5. To God and our Father be glory for ever and ever Amen So to the Ephesians 1. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ And so in the rest of his Epistles Nay he doth not only prefix his Halleluiah and lay it as the foundation and bottom of his work but he doth also familiarly interweave it whilst he is working as it were some choice and eminent thred to checquer and adorn the whole piece Thus in the Doctrine of Christian regeneration Rom. 7. 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord speaks little or nothing to the argument but more to the soul of him that earnestly desires truly to understand it then the tongue of men and Angels is able to express Thus also in the Doctrine of the resurrection 1 Cor. 15. 57. Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ are such words as do more then perswade the belief they do also enforce the love of that Christian truth which of it self is able to make not only one Foelix but also all mankinde to quake and tremble For Christ raising us from the death by vertue of his resurrection will also uphold us in the judgement by vertue of his satisfaction Lastly thus also in the Doctrine of Christian patience and preseverance concerning our being strengthned with might by the Spirit of God in the inward man and Christs dwelling in our hearts by faith and our own being rooted and grounded in love Ephes 3. He begins with prayer to God before it ver 14. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and he ends with praises after it ver 21. Vnto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end Which manner of teaching by prayer and praise must needs make a deeper impression upon the soul then all the arguments of Logick or perswasions of Rhetorick that have been or can be invented by the art of man And indeed the same is also the Method of Saint Peter and of the rest of the Apostles to intermingle prayers and praises to God in all their writings and may not unfitly be called the Method of grace And Alensis gives this reason for it Alius est modus scientiae ad informationem affectus secundum pietatem Alius ad informationem intellectus secundum veritatem Alex. Ale qu. 1. mem 4. There is one method of teaching the will how to embrace piety another method of teaching the understanding how to embrace truth For the understanding is best informed by the evidence of demonstration but the will is best enflamed by the power of devotion And again sunt principia veritatis ut veritatis sunt principia veritatis ut bonitatis There are principles of truth which are to be learned as they are true and there are principles of truth which are to be learned as they are good other sciences proceed from principles of truth which are to be learned as they are true because their truth is most notoriously evident But Divinity proceeds from principles of truth which are to be learned as they are good because their goodness is more notoriously evident then their truth Vnde hec scientia magis est virtutis quam Artis sapientia magis quam scientia magis enim consistit virtute efficacia quam in contemplatione notitia Alen. ibid. in respon 2. Therefore is Divinity rather a science of power then of Art and consequently rather a Sapience then a Science for both in its being and in its knowing it consists more of virtue and power then of contemplation or knowledge Accordingly the Apostle himself saith Alensis professeth that his preaching was not with enticing words of mans wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power 1 Cor. 2. 4. which is such a demonstration as is more fitted to the will then to the understanding because it hath more of piety then of evidence mans wisdom teaching the understanding but Gods wisdom rather teaching the will and affections The one working more upon the head but the other working more upon the heart And therefore the Method which Gods wisdom useth in teaching man is not unfitly called the Method of grace For it is a Method that neither nature nor Art can teach us but only the Spirit of Grace and is accordingly used in no other science but only in Divinity In teaching other sciences he that should break out into a prayer or ejulation would either forget his principle or mistake his conclusion But in teaching Divinity this is the only way to strengthen both our memories against forgetfulness and our judgements against mistakes Here it is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod demonstrandum erat nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod faciendum erat but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod orandum erat Not what we can shew nor what we can do but what we can pray makes us the best proficients in the School of Christ For doubtless we may best learn soul-saving Divinity in the way the Apostles taught it that is by intermingling prayers and praises with our endeavours since this is the only way to learn Christ for Christ cannot be learned till he be received and cannot be received in a soul not prepared by piety and devotion to entertain him This occasioned that expression of Saint Paul As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in him Col. 2. 6. In other sciences we need learn but the Doctrine that is taught no matter for the author that teacheth it But in Christian Divinity we must learn and receive Christ the author or we cannot rightly learn and receive the Doctrine Haec cloquentia quaedam est Doctrinae salutaris movendo affectus discentium accommodata saith Saint Augustine Epist 119. ad Januarium Whence we may gather the true definition of Christian eloquence It is that which most moveth our affections and raiseth them up to Christ this is the reason why the Apostles used this new kind of method in their writings not for the want of knowledge but for the abundance of love and charity which was wholly enamored on Christ
the good behaviour and God himself hath in effect told us as much in giving us so many set forms of prayers in the holy Bible SECT XIV The third and last part of the Churches trust concerning Religion is touching the holy Sacraments wherein our Church is not faulty either in the number or in the administration of them as exactly following our Saviours institution nor in the manner of administring as following it with reverence REligion being above the light of nature to understand it must needs be above the power of nature to command it Hence the acts of the Theological vertues are prescribed by the positive Law of God because they belong properly to Religion But the acts of moral vertues are prescribed by the Law of nature because they belong to Reason yet are they in truth injurious to Religion who will allow nothing to be moral but what they can prove to be natural For the positive Law of God doth constitute moralities to the Christian as well as the inbred Law of nature doth constitute moralities to the Man This appears plainly in the Sacraments which are not to be accounted as Ceremonies because they come not under the authority of the Church either for their institution or alteration or abolition and must therefore be accounted as moralities though they are not at all commanded by the Law of nature but only by the Law of God That these Sacraments are a part of the Churches trust is unquestionable because the Gospel is For the vocal word and the visible word Verbum Vocale verbum visibile both alike are duties of the Christian Religion for the glory of God and of the Christian Communion for the edification of man but all the duties both of Religion and Communion are committed to the Churches trust God having appointed his own Ministers as his special Trustees both for preaching his word and for administring his Sacraments So that no man can administer a Sacrament but in the person of God and he hath not licensed every one that will to take upon him his person but only such to whom he hath given his special deputation And this is more peculiarly manifest concerning the two Sacraments properly so called that is Baptism and the Lords holy Supper For our blessed Saviour said only to his Apostles Go ye therefore and baptize in respect of the one and do ye this in remembrance of me in respect of the other As for the five additional Sacraments they were never looked upon as integral parts of Gods ordinary publick worship and therefore though they could be proved Sacraments yet they would not come under our present discourse But in truth they cannot be proved Sacraments according to the proper definition of a Sacrament which is this A Sacrament is an outward visible sign of an inward spiritual grace given to us and ordained by Christ himself as a means to convey that grace and as a pledge to assure us thereof Let us examine this definition by its causes and we shall easily perceive that it belongs only to Baptism and the Holy Eucharist and therefore they two only are to be called Sacraments First by its efficient cause Given and ordained by Christ himself which is clear of these two for they were instituted by him and have his precept and promise in the very words of their institution which cannot be asserted concerning any of the other Secondly by its material cause outward visible sign inward spiritual Grace which are both manifestly known in Baptism and the Holy Eucharist but neither in any of the rest For Pennance hath no outward visible sign at all and Matrimony Orders Confirmation Extream unction have no outward visible signs of Christs appointing And much less have any of these that inward spiritual Grace which is annexed to Baptism and the Holy Eucharist To wit Christ with all his merits and mercies whereby of God He is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption 1 Cor. 1. 30. For we dare not say that any man is by any of these five either born and initiated or nourished and confirmed in Christ Thirdly by its formal cause An outward visible sign of an inward spiritual Grace Whereby it appears that the internal and proper form of a Sacrament is the necessary conjunction or connexion of the sign and the thing signified which conjunction is so undeniable in our two Sacraments that Baptism is called the washing of regeneration Tit. 3. 5. And the holy Eucharist the Communion of the body and blood of Christ 1 Cor. 10. 16. For that these two are not only signs and seals but also conveyances of grace unto the soul whereas the other five though they have something of the sign yet they have nothing at all of the seal or of the conveyance of grace Lastly by its final cause As a means to convey Grace and as a pledge to assure us thereof The end of a Sacrament is partly our Communion with Christ and partly our acknowledgement of that Communion This twofold end is very apparent in Baptism and in the holy Eucharist which doth procure our Communion with Christ and also require our acknowledgement of that Communion but in the rest either the one is without the other or there is a want of both For either there is no Communion with Christ or there is no acknowledgement of that Communion whereas a Sacrament is a seal of Gods Covenant and therefore in its own nature is a double pledge to wit of Gods grace and favour to man and of mans duty and thankfulness to God For as it is a sign of Gods grace to us so it should be a sign of Gods grace in us For in the very signification of a Sacrament there is a mutual respect one on Gods part offering grace another on mans part promising obedience If either of these be wanting the holy rite may be a mysterie but it cannot be a Sacrament properly so called since a Sacrament is the seal of a Covenant and a Covenant is a mutual engagement of two parties which in this case are God and Man Therefore a Sacrament is from the very end of its institution perpetual in its continuance and common in its use Perpetual in its continuance because Gods Covenant is not for a day but for ever t is an everlasting Covenant And common in its use because Gods Covenant is not for one but for all t is a general an universal Covenant Non enim propter unius seculi homines venit Christus sed propter omnes qui illius membra futuri sunt saith Irenâ—us lib. 4. adver haereses cap. 39. Christ came not into the world for the men of one age or of one order but for all that should be his true and faithful members in all ages and all orders of men whatsoever And upon this ground we cannot but say that the Sacraments which do exhibit and convey Christ do alike belong to men of all ages