Against Symbolizing with Antichrist in Ceremonies, Part 2 · Chapter 5 · Section 11
#Sect. 11. Thirdly, Iuſtice borrowed temper from Equinanimitie which diſpenſeth on iuſt cauſe. Fourtly, from forbearance, which paſſeth by a ceremoniall tranſgreſsion.
THe third goodnes, from which iuſtice is contented to borrow temper, is that equinanimitie, which diſpenſeth vponupon iuſt cauſe, and accepteth a iuſt excuſe, which yet the croſſe would neuer. The doctrine of the firſt Biſhopp of this lande, when this controverſie firſt brake forth, was this,aThe treatiſe whether it bee mottall fin to tranſgreſſe a civill precept A man without ſinne, may tranſgreſſe a civill lawe vponupon iuſt excuſe. No marvaile, the very papiſtes teach the ſame:bTho. Aquin. 2.2. queſt. 147. art. 4. in concluſ. & reſpōſ. ad 1 ſtatuta eccleſiae, non ſunt per ſe, de neceſsitate ſalutis, ſed ſolum ex inſtitutione eccleſiae. & ideo non obligant ſi affuerit rationabile impedimentum. Nam legiſlator in ijs ſtatuendis attendit id quod communiter habetur, & in pluribus accidit; ſi quod. a. ſit impedimētum, non intendit legiſlator tum obligare. Another:cBellar. de Pontific. lib. 4. c. 18. Impeditus iuſta de cauſa, non tenetur Miſſam audire. An other:dNauar. Enchirid. praelud. 9. Num. 8. A man may breake the lawes of the Church, Quando habet iuſtam cauſam non parendi. Yea, they ſo enlarge our libertie herein, as that not onlieeSilueſt. ſum. verb. …obedien. vera rationabilis cauſa excuſat (ſaye they) ſed etiam aeſtimata. Nowe, hauehave wee not cauſe to forbeare the ceremonies? Is there not an impediment? are we not able (I ſay not to excuſe, but alſo) to defende our cauſe? Suppoſe we were not able to giuegive cauſe reaſonable, to giuegive cauſe vera cauſa aeſtimata, iniuſtice her ſelfe cannot deny vsus, who hauehave on our ſides the common eſtimate of all the reformed Churches of God, that are in Chriſtendome, beſides our owne. As for our private eſtimation, David thought the feeding of his body, was cauſe ſufficient to breake the lawe of the ſhew-bread. Chriſt thought the ſatisfying of the Diſciples hūger to be cauſe ſufficient to breake the ceremonie of the Sabboth▪ He thought alſo that the healing of the Leapers bodies, was a iuſte excuſe, to breake the lawe that forbad the touching of them. Much more (then) may we think now in our eſtimation that the feeding of other mens ſoules, the ſatisfying of our owne conſciences, together with the conſciences of other men, & the healing of mens ſpirituall leaproſie and ſuperſtition, are cauſes ſufficient to breake the lawe of the ceremonies and of the croſſe, which are not Gods, but mens. The fourth goodnes by which iuſtice ſuffreth her ſelf to be couſelled & directed, is that Forbearāce which paſſeth by a ceremoniall tranſgreſſion, becauſe it is of ſmall conſequence in compariſon, and taketh no forfeiture of it. This a Reverend Biſhop once awarded to vsus, whoſe wordes are theſe:fI…wel. art. …. deuiſ. 9. fol. 117. Ceremonies ſhould be vſed freely, & not with rigour, as Cyprian ſaith; why (then) are they ſo preciſe and earneſt in ceremonies, that be the abuſe of them neuer ſo great, they will remit nothing? This he ſpake vpō occaſiō of the Trin-immerſion, which though it were in Cypri. time, a traditiō & order of the church, yet doth hegCypr. lib. epiſtola. 4. epiſt. 7. allow the omitting of it, & the vſing of Aſperſion. And out of him, an Harding him ſelf cā iuſtifie a Cōpēdious baptiſme, though al the ceremonies of the church be not obſerved: and our baptiſme, whē we do not vſe the croſſe, what is it but ſuch a cōpēdious baptiſme? &hHarding. anſw. to Maiſt. lew. Challeng. art. 2. diuiſ. 9. Harding giveth this toleratiō euen after that canon of Trent was giuen, which maketh the omiſſion of any rite which the church of Rome cōmandeth in any Sacrament, to be no leſſe thē damnable ſinne. ſo that, excuſe who can the ſeveritie now ſhewed to vsus, againſtlChemnit. exam. p. 2. pag. 37. our writers affirming the ſervitude of this canon to be heavie in that it taketh away al libertie of omiſſion. For this ſeveritie, as it is practiſed in viſitations, not onelyonly denyeth libertie to vsus, to omit the croſſe in baptiſme, but alſo to adde, omit, alter, any one worde of the whole Leiturgie; a plaine renewall of the Germane Adiaphoriſme, which was, that the booke ſhould be keptmReſponſ. Nichola. Galli. & Flac. Illiric. ad concion. Miſniae. ad verbum, and n ad amuſsim: at a word,oHambur. epiſt. ad P. Melanc. h. abſque omni violatione whatſoeuer. The late famous Maria de la Anuntiada tolde her confeſſor, that Chriſt her huſ band did dayly come downe, and in his owne perſon helped her to ſay her canonical prayers. Her cōfeſſor beleueeth it, yet being tolde, that becauſe Chriſt himſelfe was preſent, ſhe vſed to ſay Gloria Patri, & tibi, & ſpiritni ſancto, he condemned her vponupon this reaſon, there muſt nopCyprian. Valera. in hiſtor. eius. word of the churches vſe be altered: and therfore enioyned her to ſay & Filio. Leo the 9.qAlbert. Crantz li 4. hiſtor. Saxō. c. 45. Pope of that name, being with Henry the 3. at Maſſe on a Chriſtmas day at Wormes, deprived a Subdeacon, & that forthwith, becauſe he ſonge the Epiſtle vnconformably, not to the tune of the church of Rome. The Archbiſhopp refuſed to goe forward in the Maſſe till he were reſtored againe. Such hurries about conformitie, if they had neuer viſited this Church of ours, it had neuer been depriued of ſo many Godly and profitable Paſtors, as are depriued nowe. Tertullian miſlikethrTertul. de preſcript. aduerſ. haereſ. Rhenā, in annotat. ibid. moroſitatem Iudeae, when any Church doeth imitate the ſame in a precize and ſtrickte obſeruing of ceremonies. Nowe what ſhould I ſtande to proue that by vsus it is imitated, when our Leiturgie is more preſte, then the booke of God it ſelfe: and the prayers thereof, ſo ſtricktly obſerued, as that (in a maner) they be turned into a charme: We may not alter a worde of the Leiturgie, and yet make bolde to alter I knowe not howe many wordes in our Church-tranſlation of the Bible, and that of them to a contrarie ſenſe; which is the onelyonly corrumpentsBellar de pontific. B. 4. cap. 17. altering that can be named: and compell men by ſubſcription to approoue it when we hauehave done. And we muſt not adde any thing to the Leiturgie, and yet we are bolde to adde to the Baptiſme of the Lorde, a ſigne to his ſeale, a croſſe to his water, which is additio ad opus praeceptum: as if the Iewes in their paſſeouer in ſteade of one Lambe, had eaten two, that which atBellar. ibid Bellarmine himſelfe condemneth: to omit that our addition of croſſe to water, is not an addition eiuſdem generis, as when a lambe to a lambe is added, but an addition of a ſigne of a diverſe kinde, which yet as we adde it, is made to be of the ſame vſe, thē which,uFran. Lun. controuerſ. 3. lib. 4. ca. 17. nota. 4. Apoc. 11.8. Exo. 32.3.4 no addition can be worſe. whereas then the treaſure-houſe of our prayers, hath Iewells in it which hauehave been borrowed from the ſpirituall. Aegypt of Rome, which are thus enhaunced, we may well divine that Iewells from without borrowed, will neuer ſcarce thriue well, ſith euen at firſt when Iewells were borrowed frō Aegipt bodily, they proued but matter at laſt, for the making of a calfe. Doe not the Evangeliſtes them ſelves alter in their citations the words of the old texte often, as Act. 7.43. Heb. 10.5. & 1.6.7.?wA. Willet. controuerſ. 11. queſt. 1, appendic. ad pag. 2. affirme we not the wordes of the Lords prayer & of the Sacram. may be altered without fault? Condemne we notxBellar. de ſacram. in gen. ca. 21. papiſtes on the other ſide when they will not permit ſo much as an accidentall change in the word of the Sacram. and thinke their peeviſhnes in this reſpect, not only worſe thē that ſcrupuloſitie which Augu. yAuguſt. cont. Donatiſt. de Bapti. lib. 6 ca. 25. & de Doctr. Chriſtian. lib 4. ca. 5cōdemneth in cleauing too much to the words thēſelues of ſcripture, but alſo to be a kind of charme? And how is the popiſh charming in our praying ſpread abroad by this our ſervilitie to the words of the leiturgie? For let the miniſter chang but ſome words for explanatiō, (which Rome it ſelf holdeth to be lawful, and no church euer yet condemned except thezCeuſur. Orient. eccleſ cap. 1. Staniſla. Socolon. ibid. Greeke, in our adding to the Nicene Creed; filio que , to expreſſe the proceeding of the holy ſpirite) and ſuch a ſturre preſently followeth, as iuſtifieth the auncient proverbe, There is much duſt rayſed, when an olde wiſe daunceth. In deed they can no more pray to God many of the common people, when the wounted Idea of their common Leiturgie is taken from them, thē could one Serapion once (as I remember) when his Anthropomorphitiſhe and his carnall Idea of God was taken from him. Alas (ſaith he) I hauehave loſt my God, how ſhall I now pray? And thus hauehave we hitherto miſſed of iuſtice as it is overlooked by charitie, and counſelled by goodneſſe. Come we now to conſider her as ſhee walketh in her owne equalitie for diſtribution of good and evill.