Against Symbolizing with Antichrist in Ceremonies, Part · Chapter 2 · Section 26 [i.e. 25] – Section 27 [i.e. 26]
#Sect. 26. Though the deviſing of new ſignes corrupt the ſimplicitie of Sacraments ordained by Chriſt: yet it hindreth not but ſomething is left to the Church concerning circumſtances, as time, place, order, &c.
THirdly, the deuiſing of newe ſignes corrupteth the ſimplicitie of the Sacraments which are perfectly ordained by Chriſt: What (then) is there nothing left to the Church? Yes, the diſpoſing of theaZepper de politia. eccleſ. c. 12 circumſtances of Gods ſeruice, as time, place, order of doing with the like: and of the particulers of thoſe things which the word commandeth in generall: as the profeſſion and preaching of faith & repentance at Baptiſme, & the applying of the element with praiers fit, beyond which there muſt nothing bee added as one of our Writers ſaith, who after he had rehearſt all theſebZanch. in. epheſ. 6. lect de bapt. ca. 7. hoc eſt primum rituum genus (ſaith he) quod & neceſſarium eſt, & ſolum ſufficit. Indeed when Chriſt ſaid, hoc cTheodor. Baeza. epi. 8facite, he tyed his church to his owne ſignes, and to them onelyonly, as one thus ſheweth,dChemnit. examp. p. 2. de rit. p. 37 Mat. 19.8. 1 Cor. 11.23 Cumfilius Dei ſacramenta ita inſtituerit, vt ea certis à ſe inſtitutis ritibus praeceperit administrari, valde ardua eſt quaeſtioan hominibus permiſsum ſit alios praeterea quocun que praetextu ſuperaddere. Fourthly, aske the Fathers of the primatiue Church, whether any ſignes were vſed in their dayes beſides them which the Lord ordained. For it ſufficeth againſt eueryevery vpſtart ſigne that ab initio non fuit ſic: becauſe nothing muſt be receiued in a Sacrament, but that which the Lord ordained as Paul wrote once to Corinth & it was xxvj. yeres after the aſſention that he thus wrote. Wherby it appeareth,eBulling. de orig. error. lib. 2. ca. 5. Neijs quidem vnquam veniſſe in memtem auctiorem ritum Eccleſijs profuturum. Now we are recalled to the ſimplicitie of theſe firſt times well neare by all ourfPhillip. Moruae. de Euchariſt. lib. 1. ca. 1. D. Willet. cont. 2, q. 4 p. 2. writers. SomegD. Pilkin. epiſt ad comit. Leiceſt. Ann. 1578. of them wiſhe that the glory of Chriſt may ſhine nakedly of it ſelfe as in the beginning when it was pureſt: when all theſe deuiſes of men were vnknowne;hChemnit. vt ſupra. Bucer. in Cenſur. Others will, that it be now as it was then, when in Baptiſme there was no ceremony, but that which had expreſſe cōmaundement or enſample in the Scripture. As a man runneth to the fountaine (ſaith Cyprian) when the channels are defiled, ſolCypr. cont epiſt. Stephan. muſt we repaire to the practiſe of the firſt Church which is themAnton. Sadeel. cont. Mon. Burdegalenſ. art. 1.3 fountaine of all piety. All cuſtomes which are growne vp ſince, we are to reiect, be they neuer ſo ancient, not ſparing the ſignes which the Fathers themſelues did vſe; whoſe ceremonies aroſe frō annIbid. p. 98. euill roote, which was indeed a fond deſire to pleaſe the Pagans & the Iewes, proceeded with a mind not humble nor obedient, and ended in an euill euent. For God accurſed this their preſumptiō, & ſuffered Satan tooTheodor. Baeza cont. Balouin. work out of it euen Antich. defection it ſelf frō the faith. Fiftly, to bring in ceremonies & to giuegive them a ſignification, is topHamburg. epiſtol. ad Phillip. melanthon conficere nouū rationale diuinorū officiorū, to the iuſtifying of Durand, yea of the whole church of Rome in all her ſymbolicall ſignes deuiſed, if not in all (the worſt of which is not worſe then the Croſſe) yet in the white garment, the taper in Baptiſme, and the head vayle ſith theſe were not abuſed by them to operation, but were vſed for ſignificatiō only, as we pretend we vſe the croſſe. OurqD Willet. de bapt. q. 8. error. 5.1. cor. 11.2 3. Mat. 28.19. Act. 10.47. writers vſe to alleadge that of the Apoſt. What I hauehave receiued, that doe I deliuer: that of our Lord: Goe & baptize, teaching to obſerue all that I hauehave cōmanded. That of Peter: Can any forbidde water that theſe may not be baptized, againſt the oyle, the ſalt, & the ſpittle, & the reſt of that ragged rewe. I aske, are theſe ſcriptures forcible againſt theſe? then they exclude the croſſe [as well] which is worſe then theſe. And whenrBellar. de bapt. ca. 24 Bellarmine biddeth vsus ceaſe to teach, we muſt hauehave no other ſignes in Baptiſme then ſuch as the ſcripture warrāteth, or elſe leaue out our croſſe, what ſhall we anſwer him? Sixtly, we hauehave on our ſide, all the Proteſtantes downe frō Wickliefe, not one of them but hath fled to this bulwark: No ſigne muſt be receiued in Baptiſme, which hath ben deuiſed by man. It wassTho. Waldenſ tom. 3. de ſacra. tit. 5. ca. 45. Wicklief himſelf that ſett it on foote;tIoh. Criſp. Cronolog. an. 1400. Iohn Huſſe continued it:uIoh. Calu. inſtit. li. 4. c. 15 ſec. 19. Mr Caluin reſumed it:wHarm. cōf. ſect. 17 whole Churches confeſſe it:xMagdeb. cent. 1. li 2. ca. 6. & cent. 2 c. 6. D. Willet. de bapt. q. 8. error. 5. All Writers make it good againſt the Papiſtes. When Bellarmine excuſeth the ſignes of his Church, and ſayeth, they are not advmbrations, becauſe the thinges that are ſignified by them, are res ſpirituales preſentes, and not things that be to come: hee receiueth anſwere from vsus.yLambert. Danae. cont Bellar. de cult. ſanct. lib. 3. ca. 7. It is blaſphemie to thinke, that any outward thing may be made a ſigne in the Church of any thing that is ſpirituall, vnleſſe it be expreſly ordained in the word, and commaunded by God himſelfe to be vſed to that end. When the Monkes of Burdeaux affirme the ſignes which are added to Baptiſme, are an ornament to it, we thus reply:aSadeel. cont. Monach. Burdegalenſ. art. 12. Num igitur ſunt, &c. Are they wiſer then Chriſt Ieſus, who hath ordained his Sacrament in ſo great puritie and ſimplicitie, and who knoweth better then all the men in the worlde, what ornament was fitteſt for it? If it be but the couenant of a man when it is confirmed, no man abrogateth it, or addeth any thing to it: what arrogancy is it then to adde to the inſtitution of Chriſt?bBucer. in Cenſur. cap. 25. Maiſter Bucer condemneth them that deuiſe, vllum ſignum invſum religionis. cAct. & monu, in hiſt. ciusMaiſter Hawkes (holy Martyr) I denie (ſaith he) in Baptiſme all things deuiſed by man, as your oyle, ſalt, ſpittell, &c. Iohn dIbid. in hiſt. ciusDenlie (a Martyr likewiſe) the Punuch (ſaith he) ſaid to Phillip: Loe here is water; we doe not read that he asked for Oyle, creame, ſpittell, or any thing elſe. Hereby it appeareth, that the ancient Religion of the Proteſtants is with vsus, that libertie to deuiſe new ſignes is but a young wanton nouice, which the licentious Adiaphoriſme hath begotten.
#Sect. 27. Though it were lawfull for the Church to deniſe new ſignes, yet not for religious vſe, eſpecially where God hath ordained ſignes for the ſame purpoſe already.
SEcondly, though it were lawfull to deuiſe new ſignes, yet not where and for what God hath ordained ſignes already in vſe religious, as the Croſſe (wee know) ſignifieth that which Baptiſme hath already ſigned by the ordinance of the Lord. Exod. 30.38. Leuit. 17.3. Leuit 10.1. Eccles. 3.14. Pſal.For firſt it beſeemeth vsus to acknowledge God ſo wiſe, in the ſigne that he hath choſen, as to hold it preſumption for any to imitate him in deuiſing of the like. For enſample, None muſt deuiſe an Oyle like his, none an Altar beſides his, none a fire like the fire which he hath choſen. Yea in his workes themſelues he is not magnified as he deſerueth till we confeſſe none is able to come after him: and till wee ſay, who is able to doe the like? Secondly, when man deuiſeth newe ſignes, the ſignes of God areaCaiet. in Thom. p. 3 qu. 6. art. 5. vilified, as if they alſo were but from an humane ſpirit. Yea, as if they werebChemnit. exam. p. 2. tit. de rit. p. 37. minus idoneae & ſufficientes: in particular, as if the water were not inough euen as our ownecHomil. for Witſon. p. 2. Law ſpeaketh. Thirdly, whereas man is carnall, blinde and impotent, and yet a louer of his owne deuiſes (no leſſe then Pigmalion of his owne picture) if he ſhould bee ſuffered to inuent newe ſignes, they would be carnall and not ſpirituall; dead hauing no power, they would be darke alſo, vayling the brightneſſe of the Sacrament, and yet more loued and delighted in, then the Sacraments themſelues. For enſample, Gedcon ſetteth vp an Ephod and other ceremonies like them in the Tabernacle. For the Ephod as a principall one includeth all the reſt (ſaithdAuguſt. in Iudic. li. 8. Auguſtine) which made it not Ophra in very ſhort time more famous then the Tabernacle? So a Temple built oneIoſeph. Antiquit. It. 15. ca. 8. Garezim (like the Temple at Ieruſalem) ouertoppeth the Temple, and to what fame ariſeth a Temple which Onias builtfAegeſip. li. 2. ca. 13. in Heliopolis, like to that of the Lords in Iurie, abuſing to his purpoſe Eſay 10. I will ſet vp an Altar in the middeſt of Aegypt. What need we goe further then to the very ſigne in hand? For no ſooner was it added to Baptiſme and made a ſigne like to the Lords, (there being abuſed to his commendation. Ezech. 9.4. Apoc. 7.3.) but he preſently becamegPerk. problem. in verb. Chriſ. greater then the water which was Chriſts ſigne, and that in the eyes of thoſe who ſo aduaunced him. Fourthly, we hauehave here the iudgement of the learned with vsus.hIoh. Brent. in confeſſ. Witemberg. art. 35 What ſay we to him that condemneth all the ceremonies of the Maſſe that ſignifie Chriſts paſſion, the ſame that the Supper ſignifieth?lBucer in Cenſus. cap. 9. What to him that condemneth the ſtaying of the child at the Church doore, to ſignifie originall ſinne, becauſe Baptiſme ſignifieth this well inough without it? Laſt of all, what to allmD. Willes de confirmat. p. 4. our writers, who condemne confirmation for that ſignifying the ſame that Baptiſme ſignified before, it robbeth the Sacrament of his honour? Let there be conſidered what ournIohn Wolph. in 2. Reg. 17.10.11. writers hauehave againſt the Altars of the high places, becauſe they were ſet vp for the ſame vſe which the Altar had in the Temple. As for the croſſe, he is an Altar fetch from Damaſcus and ſet in the Temple cheeke by ioule with the Altar of the Lord, which what is it elſe, quam Ethnicam ſuſcipere religionem (ſaithoIdem in ca 16. ver. 15. one?) but to partake, ſay I, with the religion of that Damaſcus from which wee borrowe him?