The Badges of Christianity, Book 1 · Chapter 5
Chap. 5. Of the second outward part of a sacrament.
THe second outward part of a Sacrament aThe word of institutiō, a necessary part of the Sacrament.is the word, necessarily required to the substance of a Sacrament: for bAugust. in Ioh. 13. Tract. 80.the word is added and ioyned to the element, and there is made a Sacrament. This sacramentall word, is the word of institution, which God in each Sacrament hath after a speciall manner set downe; consisting partly of a commaundement by which Christ appointeth the administration of Sacramēts, and partly of a promise annexed, whereby God ordaineth that the outward elements shalbe instruments and seales of his graces, As for example, when Christ saith, cMath. 28. 19Go, teach al nations & baptize them, there is a commaundement to warrant the vse and practise of Baptisme: the promise likewise is in the next words, Into the name of the father, and of the sonne, and of the holy-ghost. So touching the other Sacrament of his supper, when he saith, dMath. 26. 26 27.Take ye, eate ye, drinke ye, do this in remembrance of me, Ioe there is the commaundement, cōmaunding the continual vse therof vntil the second comming of christ. the promise is, this is my body which is giuē for you, this is my blood of the new Testament shed for you & for many for remission of sins. Whatsoeuer signs of holy things god gaue to strengthen the faith of his childrē, we may see and descern that god alwaies added the worde to the seale, the voice to the signe, and doctrine to the sight, so that when the signe was seene, the word was heard. When one of the Seraphims, beating an hot coale in his hand which he had taken from the alter, eEsa. 6. 6. 7.touched the mouth of the prophet, he said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity shall be taken away, and thy sinnes shall be purged. Now, we know a coale hath not power and force to take away sinne, but the word vttered by the Angell did assure him that he should be purged by the holy ghost, which was signified by, the …. Againe, when Christ gaue to his disciples the Holy-ghost, he breathed on them and said, fIoh. 20. 22.Receiue the Holy-ghost. The corporal blast and breathing was not the Holy-ghost, but he added his word and promise with the outward signe, to assure them that with the breathing, he bestowed a blessing. Thus wee see, that the Sacramentes hauehave the word alwaies ioyned with them: and without the word, whereby their institution and vse is declared, they are as a dead body without life, as a dumbe shew without voice, as an empty cloud without water, and as a barren tree without fruit.
Let vsus apply this doctrine to our selues, First it teacheth, Vse. 1.that they partake not the Sacraments aright, that hauehave not the knowledge of the word, that are ignorant both of the ordinance and institution of God, and of the promise annexed to the institution of god: of which sort there are many in the world, that neuer labour to know what he hath appointed and commaunded them to do. If they do as others of the church do, therein they rest and seeke no further to be able to warrant their owne worke. If they heare the word spoken, if they see the body washed, the bread broken and the wine poured out and receiue the outward signes, they regatd no more, they go no higher, they imagine they hauehave done enough gVnderstanding of the institution, required of althey neuer desire to vnderstand the meaning of the words which are necessary to be knowne, comfortable to be vnderstood, and profitable to be marked. If a man hauehave goods befallen, or legacies bequeathed vntounto him by any wil or Testament, wil he not resort to his learned counsel, to be careful to vnderstand the Testament, and know the meaning of the Testator? Christ Iesus before his death made his wil, he hath made his children heires of his promise, he promiseth to them forgiuenesse of sinnes in this life, and eternall life in the world to come. Doth it not now behooue eueryevery faithfull Christian to search into it, and know what is promised and bequeathed vntounto him? Men of this world for the most part make their eldest and first borne heire of all, and leaue little to the other: but ha great comfort to all gods childrē, whether rich or poore.eueryevery child of God is as the eldest and as the iExod. 4. 22.first borne most deare to him, he shal receiue his double portion, the second shal hauehave no lesse then the first, nor the third lesse then the second, nor the younger then the elder, the first shallbe as the last, and the last as the first, for he may do with his owne as he list. Againe, if a man doe leaue all his sonnes heyres and rich inheritors, for the most part lesse is … on the daughters: but all the childrē of God, both his sonnes and daughters kRom. 8. 17. Gal. 4. 7.shalbe heyres, euen the Heires of God, and heyres annexed with Christ Iesus, their share shalbe as great as the portion of sonnes. Moreouer, when a man hath passed all the daies of his life in carke and care, what can he giuegive to his pofterity but earthly riches, & transitory possession, a fading inheritance, leauing them inheritours as well of his sorrow as of his substance? It is not so with the children of God. Christ by his last wil and Testament hath promised to make his people sound in faith, rich in hope, blessed in the pardon of their sinnes, and heires of the kingdome which hee hath promised to them that louelove him. This is a great and vnspeakable comfort to al Gods children, whether high or low, whether rich or poore. So then we ought to be much more careful and earnest to know throughly and vnderstand perfectly the will of Christ, then any naturall child is to search the meaning of the will of his naturall father. And if men were not wholly carnall, they would be thus farre fpiritually minded.
Againe, is the word an outward part of the Sacrament? Vse. 2.Then the Sacraments must neuer be separated and set a part from the word. They are not dombe shewes and idle signes, but hauehave alwaies the doctrine of God adioyning vntounto them, to shew the end, vse, & profit of them, and the purpose of God in them. This appeareth in all places, wher God gaue signes to confirme and assure the truth of his promises. When he gaue in mercy to Noah and all his posterity the lGen. 9. 11.Rain-bow imediately after the flood as a signe of his couenant, he addeth his word vntounto the signe, My couenant will I establish with you, that from hencefoorth all flesh shall not bee rooted out by the waters of the flood, neither shall there be a floode to destroy the earth any more. This is it the Apostle mHeb. 13. 4meaneth, 1. cor. 11. Ye shew the Lords death till he come. Where he teacheth, that the Lordes Supper cannot be truely deliuered and rightly administred, vnlesse there be a declaration & shewing forth of the death of christ. Wherefore it is no sacrament, except the word and doctrine be ioyned vntounto it, by way of explication and exposition of the outward signe.
Lastly, those Sacraments are proued heereby to bee no Vse. 3.Sacraments, which are foisted and brought in without the warrant of the word. For take away the word, and what is the outward Element but a bare signe? What is the water in baptisme but common water? What is the bread in the Lords Supper but common bred? What is the wine but common wine, such as men vse, and all men may take at their ordinary tables? Seeing therfore such signs & Sacraments as hauehave not Gods commandement for their institution: nor promise of grace and saluation annexed vntounto the vsing of them, are voide and nothing worth: heerby the imagined & deuised Sacraments of the church of Rome are condemned, which deliuereth that it hath not receiued of the Lord, and imposeth that to be beleeued which it neuer learned in the word. Heereby the last anoyling or extream vnction is excluded, wanting the word to warrant the continuall practise of it. Also their confirmation hath neither word to institut the practise, nor elemēt to assure any grace, nor promise to approue any vse. True it is, they hauehave words to administer it, but they are words of men, not of God; vnwriten, not written: of tradition, not of scripture. The like might be saide of mariage, though we confesse and acknowledge it to be an holy ordinance and mHeb. 13. 4honourable institution of God, yet was it made no Sacrament, hauing no word of institution, no promise of sanctification and saluation annexed vntounto all the faithfull vsers thereof: neither is it an instrument, whereby God applyeth Christ and his sauing benefits to the comfort and consolation of his children. Wherefore to conclude this point, we affirme, that neither the sonnes of Romulus at Rome, nor of Remus at Rhemes shall euer be able to shew and proue, that they are to be acknowledged and receiued as Sacraments of the church, which hauehave no warrant of the word to commaund them, nor promise annexed to assure the sauing graces of Christ to the worthy receiuers. But such are their fiue pretended Sacraments of confirmation, penance, orders, matrimony, and extreame vnction, wanting either the word, or promise, or both: and therefor we cannot receiue, we cannot acknowledge, we cannot beleeue them. Thus much of the second outward parte, namely, the word of institution.