Reply Against Gilbert Brown, Section 17
Maiſter Gilbert Browne.
6. Our doctrine is, to make the Prieſts of the Kirk to annoint the ſeike with oile, in the name of our Lord, and to pray ouer him, becauſe it is the doctrine of the Apoſtles, as we hauehave in Saint Iames in theſe words, Iacob. 4.15 Auguſt. tom. 4. ſuper Leui. queſt 84.Is any ſeik amongst you, let him bring in the Prieſts of the Kirk, and let them pray euer him, annointing him with oile in the name of our Lord, and the prayer of faith ſhall ſaue the ſeik, and our Lord ſhall lift him vp, and if he be in ſinnes, they ſhalbe remitted him. And becauſe we find heir an externall forme, whilk is the annointing with oile, of an internall grace, whilk is remiſſion of ſins: therefore we ſay it is a Sacrament. Nowe take from theſe places the vaine ſubterfugies of our new men, that will hauehave him a Mediciner for the bodie in this, and not for the ſoule, the matter will be plaine of it ſelf.
Maiſter Iohn Welſche his Reply.
As to your doctrine of annointing of the ſeik with oile, & that not by eueryevery man, but by a Prieſt: not in all ſeikneſſes, but in the extremitie of death: not with euerie oile, but with oile conſecrated by the Biſhop: Cap. 7. de ex…. vnctione(whilk Bellarmine makes eſſential to this Sacrament) and that not all the parts & members of the bodie, but the fiue organes of the ſenſes, and the reines, and feete: and that by this forme of words, Let God forgiue thee whatſoeuer thou hes ſinned, by the ſight, hearing, ſmelling, &c. by this holy vnction, and his moſt godlie merciemercy. The whilk you will hauehave to hauehave two effects. The one, the health of the bodie, if it be expedient for the ſoule: the other remiſsion of the relicts of ſinnes that remaines: and this ye make to be one of your Sacraments, And for this purpoſe ye onlie bring one teſtimonie of Scripture. So that all the ſhewe of warrand you can picke out of the Scripture, is this onlie place of Iames For I trowe with Bellarmine, & ſundrie others, you hauehave ſeene that that place of Marc. 6.13. whilk is alſo alledged by the councell of Trent for the confirmation of this doctrine, would carrie no ſhew to make any thing for you, and therefore it may be you hauehave omitted it. But this place ſerues nothing for your purpoſe. For, firſt I ſay, this was a ceremonie annexed to the miraculous gift of healing, Marc. 6.13as is plaine both by the text vſing the worde foreign and the Lord will lift him vp whilk is properlie ſpoken of the health of the bodie: and alſo by that place of Mark, where it is written, that the Apoſtles annointed many ſ…ik with oile, and they healed them. The whilk gift was not onelie giuen to the Apoſtles, but alſo to the verie Churches, as is plaine of the 1. Corinth. 12. VntoUnto another is giuen the gift of healing, &c. Now ſeing this extraordinary gift is ceaſed in the Kirk of God, wherefore will you ſuperſtitiouſlie vſe the ceremonie? So either avowe (Maiſter Gilbert) that your Prieſts hes this miraculous gift of healing, whilk I trow ye will not, or els leaue off the ceremonie?
Secondlie, by this argument ye may aſwell make all the reſt of the ceremonies, (whilk our Sauiour and his Apoſtles, Peter and Paule, and the beleeuers in the primitiue Kirk, vſed towards the ſeik, blinde, lame, and dead) ſacraments. As the (a)Marc. 16.18laying on of hands, whilk had both a command & a promiſe ioyned with it, (b)Ioh 9.6annointing of the eies of the blinde with clay, c)Ioh 5 Mat. 9 29. Act. 3.6. Act. ….…waſhing in the poole of Shiloam, &c. For why ſhould not their examples be aſwell followed, as the example of the Elders of the primitiue Kirk? & ſeing you vſe not theſe ceremonies, becauſe ye want the miraculous gift, whilk was ioyned with them, why doe ye vſe this ceremonie ſuperſtitiouſlie, ſeeing ye want this gift alſo?
Thirdlie, I ſay, this place can make nothing for your doctrine: for this place ſayes, Call the Elders of the Kirk, and let thē, &c. but you call for a ſacrificing Prieſt. This text ſayes in the plurall nomber, Call for the Elders: your doctrine ſayes, one Prieſt is ſufficient. This place ſpeakes of oile, not mentioning a ſillabe of conſecration, bliſsing of it by the Biſhop, and that nyne-folde ſalutation that ye giuegive vntounto it, Haile, ô holy oyle, with the bowing of the knee, and other ceremonies. There is not a ſillabe in this, nor in any other Scripture that ſpeakes of theſe things, and yet your doctrine will hauehave all theſe ceremonies. This place ſayes, And the prayer of ſaith ſhal ſaue the ſeik: and you attribute it to the ointment. This place puts no differences of ſeikneſſe: but your doctrine is, that none be annointed, but he who is lying in the bed, & at the pointe of death. This place only ſpecifieth the annointing of the ſeik, ſome of you reckons, as the councel of Florentine ſeuen parts: ſome, the fiue ſenſes, as neceſſarie. Lib. 4 ſent 4 diſt. 23. queſt.And therefore this mooued Thomas of Aquine to ſay, That the forme of this Sacrament is not exſtant in the Scripture. Now if it be not exſtant in the Scripture, what to do hauehave we with it? ſeing the Scripture is able to make a man wiſe vntounto ſaluation, and to make the man of God perfite in eueryevery good worke?
Fourthlie, Beda, Oecumenius, and Theophylactus in their commentaries vponupon theſe places and (a)2. de ſacram.Thomas Waldenſis & (b)de hereſibus.Alphonſus de caſtro, two arch-papiſts affirmes, that in the 6. of Marke, & 5. of Iames, the ſelfe ſame vnction and annointing is meaned. But (c)de extern. vnct.Bellarmine & (d)In Marc. 6lanſenius two other papiſts affirmes and proues by firme reaſons, that that annointing in Marke is no Sacrament: therefore neither is this annointing in Iames a Sacrament, ſeing (as ſaid is) in both the places the ſelfeſame vnction is meaned.
Fifthlie, I ſay, all the Sacraments the Lord hes inſtituted, are publick, and not priuate: but this Sacrament of yours is priuatlie miniſtred: therefore not a true Sacrament.
Sextlie, all the Sacraments of the newe Teſtament ſhould be miniſtred by them who hauehave the preaching of the Goſpell concredited vntounto them, and not by priuate Chriſtians. In his epiſtle 1. cap. 8But Innocentius the firſt, a Pope ſayes, Priuate men may miniſter this, in their owne and others neceſsities: as alſo Thomas Waldenſis a Papiſt. And yet the councell of Trent accurſes them that ſo ſayes: Therefore it is not a Sacrament.
Seuenthlie, Pope Innocent in that ſame epiſtle cited before calles it but genus Sacramenti, a kinde of Sacrament: therefore it is not properly a Sacrament. But you are more bold to cal it a Sacrament.
Eightlie, all the Sacraments of Chriſt hes their warrand from the written worde: But Petrus a Soto calles this a tradition whilk hes not the warrand in the written worde: In his booke againſt …ll.therefore it is not a lawfull Sacrament of Chriſt.
And as to your argument: That it hes an externall forme of annointing with oile, of an internall grace whilk is remiſſion of ſinnes: I anſwere: this forme or ceremonie was extraordinarie, as I prooued before, annexed to a miraculous gift of healing. The whilk ſeing it is now ceaſed, the ceremony alſo ſhould ceaſe. And this promiſe is not made to the annointing (if ye will beleue the Apoſtle) but to the prayer of faith. The prayer of the faith, ſayes the Apoſtle, ſhall ſaue the ſcik. And whereas ye ſay that we make him a Mediciner only for the bodie in this, and not for the ſoule: we anſwere: That this ceremonie as ſundrie others, was onlie annexed to the extraordinarie gift of healing of the bodie, and was not ſeals of grace. And yet with the health of the bodie, the healing of the ſoule was oftentimes ioyned, as our Sauiour ſayes to the Paralytick man: Matth. 9.2.6Thy ſinnes are forgiuen thee, take vp thy bed & walke. Now whether theſe be our vaine ſubterfuges, or cleir grounds out of the Scripture, let the reader iudge. And wher as ye call vsus newe men: let them be newe and moſte recent, whoſe doctrine is moſt new. But, as hes and ſhall be proued by Gods grace, our doctrine is not new, but Ieſus Chriſts in his olde and new Teſtament, and yours deuiſed ſince. Therfore this title of noueltie moſt iuſtlie belongs vntounto you. This for the 6. point of your doctrine.