Commissioners Petitioning for Review of Book of Common Prayer, Commentary 2 · Topic 9
Visitation of the Sick.
FOrasmuch as the condition,Sect. 1. p. 7▪ &c.) All which is here desired, is already presumed, namely, That the Minister shall apply himself to the particular condition of the person; but this must be done according to the rule of prudence and justice, and not according to his pleasure; therefore if the sick person shew himself truly penitent, it ought not to be left to the Ministers pleasure to deny him Absolution, if he desire it. Our Churches direction is acc…rding to the 13. Can. of the venerable Council of Nice, both here, and in the next that follows.
Rep. But the question is, whether he shew himself truly penitent or not; if we have not here neither a judgement of discretion, for the conduct of our own actions, what do we with reason? Why are we trusted in the Office? And whose judgement must we follow? The Bishop cannot have leisure to become the Judge, whether this man be penitent. It must then be the Minister, or the man himself. And must we absolve every man that saith he repenteth? Then we must believe an incredible profession, which is against reason: Some are known Infidels, and in their health profess that they believe not the Scripture to be true, and make a mock at Jesus Christ, and perhaps in a sickness that they apprehend no danger in, will send for the Minister in scorn, to say, [I repent] and force him to absolve him, that they may deride him and the Gospel. Some of us have known too many of those that have for twenty or thirty years been common drunkards, seldome sober & week together, and still say when they came to themselves, that they were sorry for it, and did un…eignedly repent, and as they said in health, so they said in sickness, dying within a few dayes or weeks after they were last drunk: Must we absolve all these? Some dye with a manifest hatred of an holy like, reviling at those that are careful to please God; yet saying, they hate them not as holy, but because they are all Hypocrites, or the like; and yet will say, they repent of their sins. Some forbear not their accustomed swearing and cursing, while they profess repentance. Some make no restitution for the wrong which they say they repent of: And must we take all those for truly penitent? If not, the Minister must judge. What you mean by your saying, [Our Church's direction is according to the 13th Canon of the venerable Council of Nice both here and in the next that follows] we know not; The second Council of Nice you cannot mean (its Canon being uncertain) and the 13th of no such sense. And the 13th. Canon of the first Council of Nice, is onelyonly, that lapsed Catecheumens shall be three years inter and ientes, before they pray again with the Catecheumens. This shews they then took not up with every word of seeming penitence, as true repentance; but what it is to your purpose, we know not, nor is there any other Canon in that Council for you: The eleventh Canon is sufficiently against you: The lapsed that truly repented, were to remain among the penitent for three years, and seven years more, if they were fideles, &c. ab omnibus vero illud precipue observetur ut animus eorum, & fructus poenitentiae attendatur, quicun que enim cum omni timore, & lacrimis perseverantibus, & operibus bonis Conversationem suam, non verbis solis sed opere, & veritate demonstrant, cum tempus statutum etiam ab his fuerit impletum, & orati…nibus jam coeperint communica…e, licebit etiam Episcopo humanius circa res aliquod cogitare:) We know this rigor as to time, was unjust, and to the dying it was abated; but you see here that bare words that were not by seriousness, and by deeds made credible, were not to be taken as sufficient marks of penitence, of which it was not the person himselfe that was to be the Judge.
The form of absolving in the Liturgy,Sect. 7. Answ. is more agreeable in the Scriptures then that which they desire, it being said in St. John 20 Whose sins you remit, they are remitted; not, Whose sins you pronounce remitted; and the condition needs not to be expressed, being alway necessarily understood.
Rep. It is a controversie amongst the learnedst Expositers, how much that of John 20. was proper to the Apostles, and such others as were then to have the Spirit in an extraordinary manner, who did remit sins effectually by remitting the punishment of it, by casting out Devils, healing the sick, &c. according to that of Jam. 5. 14, 15. Is any sick among you, let him call for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray for him, and annoint h…m with Oyl in the Name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. If besides this remitting them effectually, the rest be no other then a Ministerial pronouncing them so given by God according to his Covenant in the Gospel, then you cannot plead the phrase of a Text, which respecteth another way of remission then we pretend to but must phrase it according to the nature of the thing, and the sence of other Scriptures also that fullier open it: There are three wayes of pardoning; 1. By grant or gift (whether by a general act of pardon, or a particular.) 2 By sentence. 3. By execution, that is, preventing, or taking off the penalty. The first of these is done already by God in the Gospel. The second God doth principally, and his Ministers instrumentally, as his Messengers. The third, (the taking off the penalty) they can do no otherwise in the case before us, then by praying that God will take it off, and using his ordinary means. So that it is most evidens, that this Absolution that Ministers are to perform, can be no other then to pronounce the penitent Believer to be absolved by God according to his Covenants: And if there be no other should we not speak as intelligibly as we can? Indeed there is more in absolving the Excommunicate, for then the Church both judiciously▪ and executively remitteth the penalty of Excommunication, (to which also the Text, John 20. may have much respect) but the penalty of damnation can be no otherwise remitted by us, than as is expressed; and indeed, the thing is of such exceeding weight, that it behoveth us to deal as intelligibly and openly in it, as we can. And therefore we admire that you should say, The condition needs not be expressed, being always necessarily understood; Necessarily! do you mean, Necessitate n…turali, & irresistibili? So that all the wicked men in the world cannot chuse but understand us to speak conditionally? Surely this is none of your meaning; if it were, it were far from truth: Or do you mean not, de necessitate vel certitudine eventus, but de debito ex obligatio…e? no doubt but it is necessary as a duty, and also ad finem, as a means: And therefore it is, that we desire it may be expressed. And doubtless you think not that all men do their duties, and understand all that they ought to understand, no not in this particular. If you mean that all sick men may be rationally supposed to understand it, this can never be believed by us that are …acquainted personally (and have been) with so many, of whom it is not true. How many think the Ministers absolution, and the Sacrament, will serve turn, with their unsound hypocritical repentance? How easily is that understood absolutely, or as bad, while they take you to take it for granted▪ that they have the condition which is absolutely expressed.
Is it not fit the Minister should have power to deny this viation,Sect. 3. p. 34. Exc. …. or holy Communion, to any that humbly desire it, according to the Rubrick, wh…ch no man disturbed in his wits can do; and whosoever does, must in charity be presumed to be penitent, and fit to receive.
Rep: There is no condition mentioned in the Rubrick, but that he be desirous to receive the Communion in his house humbly is not there▪ And why may not a man disturbed in his wits, desire the Communion? You deny things that ordinarily fall out, and yet lay the weight of your Cause on that denial. But why must we give the Sacrament to those that have lived in gross ignorance, infidelity and prophaneness and never manifested credibly, that they repent? You say, that whosoever desireth the Sacrament, according to the Rubrick, must in charity be presumed to be penitent: But where hath God commanded or approved so blind and dangerous an act as this, under the Name of Charity? The ordinary observations of out lives is not to be confuted by mens assertions: We know by sad experience, that there's abundance of the worst of men among us, that are desirous to receive this Sacrament when they are sick, that give no credible evidence of true repentance; but some in the ignorance and deceit of their hearts, and some as conscious of their impiety, for which they seek any shifting remedy to quiet their Consciences for the time, are much more eager for this Sacrament in their sickness, then many better and more penitent persons. And must we …udge all these penitent, and give them the Sacrament as such? We must needs profess, that we think this course would not be the least effectual service unto Satan, to deceive poor sinners, and keep them from knowing their misery, and seeking aright after the true remedy in time; pardon us while we lay together the parts of your Doctrine as we understand it here delivered, and leave it to your consideration, what a Church, and what a Ministry it would make. 1. All Infants of any Parents in the World that we can baptize are undoubtedly regenerate, and in a state of life, and sh…ll be saved if they so dye. 2. The Holy Ghost and forgiveness of sin being then given them, it is charitably presumed that they have not totally lost this, notwithstanding the frailties and slips of their child-hood; and so when they can say the Catechism, they are to be confirmed. 3. Being confirmed, they are to be admitted to the Lords Supper. 4. All that marry, and others, thrice a year must receive the Lords Supper, (though unfit.) 5. The Minister must absolve all the sick, that say they repent; (if we understand you, for we suppose you allow not the Minister to be judge.) 6. This Absolution must be absolutely expresly, I absolve thee from all thy sins, without the condition, If thou repent and believe. 7. Whosoever desireth the Communion in his sickness, must in charity be presumed to be penitent and fit to receive. 8. The Minister must not have power to forbear such baptizing, absolving, or delivering the Communion as foresaid. (We now omit what's said of the dead at burial.) And if this be not the ready way to hinder thousands from the necessary knowledge of their unrenewed hearts and lives, and from true repentance, and from valuing Christ as the Remedy, and from making a necessary preparation for death, and also the way to lay by abundance of faithful and conscion…ble Ministers, that dare not take such a deceiving dangerous course; we must confess our selves much mistaken in the nature of mans corrnpeion and misery, and the use of Gods Ordinances for his recovery.