The Covenant Sealed, Treatise · Chapter 1
CHAP. I. Of the word Sacrament.
THe mutual relation between the Covenant of God entred with man, and the Sacraments by him inſtituted and appointed, is generally acknowledged. Sacraments are in that way bottomed on the inſtitution, that both Sacrament and inſtitution have reſpect to the Covenant; Though ſome to keep back ſuch from all intereſt in any Sacrament, that they know not how to deny to be in Covenant, have made it their buſineſſe (had it been feaſable) to have made a divorce between them: Having therefore by Gods aſſiſtance, publiſhed a Treatiſe of the Covenant, I would willingly adde ſomewhat (the ſubject being of ſo near affinity) of the nature and uſe of the Sacraments, of which I know much is already ſaid, by men of all parties and intereſts. Though few have written induſtriouſly of the Covenant, (and ſeveral books that carry that title have very little of the thing) yet they are almoſt above number that have treated of the Sacraments. He that would have a Liſt of names may conſult Chamierde Sacramentis, pointing the authours out, as they have dealt in the ſeveral heads of this Controverſie; as alſo Vorſtius, Enchirid. Controverſiarum: and to compleat the Catalogue (eſpecially in the addition of Engliſh Writers) Dr. Wilkins his Eccleſiastes: yet notwithſtanding this plenty, (in which abundance of more light by Gods mercy hath been brought forth) I ſuppoſe I may ſay, That much is left to be further ſpoken, eſpecially in the particulars in our times moſt in agitation, where I think there is leaſt need, I ſhall be more brief; and if in any thing I ſhall have hopes to adde any ſtrength to the truth, or light where it is not ſo clear, I would be more large. And before I come to ſpeak of the thing it ſelf, it may be expected that I ſhould premiſe ſomewhat of the name by which theſe Ordinances are ordinarily known.The word Sacrament vindicated. In which Papiſts (ſaith Chamier) have diſputed much, Catholiques little, giving the reaſon, Becauſe the myſteries of Divinity are not contained in words. Some have manifeſted their diſlike of the word, ſeeing it is not a name given of God, nor to be found in Scripture with application to theſe Ordinances. Bellarmine will have it to be the ſame with Myſtery, foreign in Greek (ſaith he) is to be tranſlated Sacramentum in Latine, but confeſſes, That though the word Mystery be frequent in Scripture, yet it is only once uſed in Scripture in reference to any of the Sacraments, and that is, Epheſ. 5.32. in reference to Matrimony. But neither is Matrimony a Sacrament, (as hereafter may be ſhewen) nor yet hath the word Myſtery in that place reference to it, (in which according to Durand there is no Myſtery) but to the Conjunction of Chriſt with his Church. And upon this account that Scripture uſeth it not in this ſenſe, (as is confeſt by Proteſtants) ſome lay aſide all uſe of it, as we find in the practice of our Diſſenting brethren. As they differ from us in the ſubject of the Sacraments, ſo they differ from us in the name. One with them is dipping, the other is breaking of bread, but neither of them with them is a Sacrament, to both of which terms, I have ſpoken ſomewhat. Bellarmine lib. 1. De Sacrament. Cap. 7. layes the diſlike of this name, to the charge of many of our Divines, as Luther, Melancthon, Zuinglius, Calvin; But falſely, ſaith Whitaker Praelect. De Sacramentis, pag. 4. And Chamier dealing with him about it, entitles the firſt Chapter of his firſt Book de Sacramentis in genere, aDe Sacramenti nomine Calumnia.The Calumny about the name of Sacrament, in which he acquits theſe Authours, and with Whitaker admits the uſe of the word, as it is commonly received. So alſo Voſſius, Theſ. 13.14. De Sacrament. Efficacia; and Vorſtius ſpeaking in the name of Proteſtants in general, in the entrance of this Controverſie, taking notice of Bellarmine's defence of the uſe of the word, ſaith;bNoſtri hic facile aſſentiuntur, licet id quod de Graecae vocis aequipollentia dicitur non omnino admittant: uti nec ca omnia, quae de etymologia Hebraea & Latina dicuntur. Here our Divines willingly aſſent, onelyonly he ſaith they make ſome animadverſions on ſome paſſages of his making Myſtery and Sacrament to be equipollent, as alſo his Etymologie of the Hebrew word Razi, and the Chaldee word Raza. cFallit ergo & fallitur Bellarminus, cum Luthero, Zuinglio litem movet, quaſi abſoluté à vocibus illis abhorruiſſent.Bellarmine is deceived, and doth deceive (ſay the Leyden Profeſſors, Diſput. 43.) when he contends with Luther, Zuinglius, as though they had abſolutely condemned thoſe words. And their unanimous practiſe ſpeaks their opinion; In Treatiſes, Catechiſmes, Sermons, conſtantly making uſe of the word, without the leaſt ſcruple about it. Religion not conſiſting in words, but things; when there is conſent in the thing, there is not contention to be raiſed about the word. In caſe we had a word in Scripture from the Pen of the Holy Ghoſt fitted to the thing it ſelf, and comprizing theſe ordinances, in that generality as the word Sacrament doth, in the common uſe of it, I ſhould then quit this name, and take to that. But ſeeing there is no ſuch word, And Tertullian the moſt ancient of all the Latine Fathers, (whoſe works are extant) uſing it, as Voſſius obſerves, Theſ. 6. De Sacrament. and ſince his time in the ſucceſſive ages of the Church it is continued, and now generally received; it were too much affectation of ſingularity to recede from it; yet I would put this caution upon the uſe of it; That it muſt ſerve onelyonly to denote the thing, that we treat about, and that no argument from the word, be drawn to hold out the nature of theſe Myſteries.The reaſon of the word enquired after.
But thoſe that upon this, and the like grounds, do freely admit the uſe of the word, cannot ſo eaſily agree of the reaſon of it; how it comes to paſſe, that theſe Ordinances came to have this term, or name put upon them; why Baptiſme and the Lords Supper ſhould be called by the name of Sacraments. There are onelyonly three opinions, that I meet withall, that are worthy to be taken notice of; and theſe drawn from three ſeveral acceptations of the word Sacrament, in prophane Authours.
Firſt, The depoſiting of money by men ſtriving for Maſteries, in Conſecrated places, (upon thoſe terms, that he that conquered ſhould take away his part; and he that was conquered ſhould leave his with the Prieſt) according to Varro was called a Sacrament. They collected therefore, that the Sacrament ſignifies our depoſiting of our ſelves (as I may ſay) with God, or our yielding up of our ſelves to him. As they that ſtrive for maſtery, did leave for a pledge a ſumme of money, ſo we leave our ſelves as a pledge with God. But this uſe of the word Sacrament, I ſuppoſe is more obſcure; and the analogy not ſo clear, and therefore Divines in ancient times, would ſcarce borrow this word from thence, ſo few underſtanding the alluſion, or the application of it.
Secondly, The oath which anciently Souldiers took, when they liſted themſelves to the Emperour; for faith and obedience, was called by the name of Sacrament. Therefore others judge it very probable, that theſe Ordinances are called Sacraments; in that in them every Chriſtian Souldier doth tye himſelf to his Captain Chriſt Jeſus. This is far more probable, for three Reaſons. 1. The uſe of the word in this ſenſe, was more common and received, and therefore more apt to give occaſion to the like uſe of it in theſe Sacred Ordinances. 2. The application is more clear, ſeeing our Sacraments (as God willing ſhall be ſhewn) are engagements. 3. Heathen Writers make ſuch alluſion;dDeo oportebat & nos jurare & milites Caeſar. It behoves us (ſaith one of them) to ſwear to God, and Souldiers to Caeſar. And the Fathers uſed the word Sacrament with this alluſion, as Voſſius out of Tertullian quotes two paſſages,eVocati ſumus ad militiam Dei vivi jam tunc, cum in Sacramenti verba reſpondimus. We are at that inſtant called to the warfare of the true God, when we anſwer in the words of the Sacrament; and elſewhere,fUt Sacramento benedictionis exauctoretur, nunquam in caſtra Eccleſiae reverſu…us. That he may be diſbanded and ſhut out from the bleſſings of the Sacraments, never more to return into the tents of the Church. To which may be added a third quoted by Bellarmine; The Devil imitates the very things of Divine Sacraments, in idol-Myſteries, he waſhes ſome, and ſignes other of his Souldiers in their foreheads. And Auſtine in his Preface to the 181 Sermon De tempore ſaith,gNotum eſt dilectiſſimi quod beneficia temporalia a temporalibus Dominis accepturi, prius Sacramentis militaribus obligantur & Dominis ſuis fidem ſe ſervaturos profitentur. Quanto magis ergo aeterno Regi militaturi & aeterna praemia percepturi debent Sacramentis coeleſtibus oligari & fidem per quam ei placituri ſunt publicè profiteri. It is known, Beloved, that the Souldiers being to receive temporal rewards from their temporal Maſters, do first tye themſelves with military Sacraments, and profeſſe faithful ſervice to their Lords. How much more ſhould thoſe that war under an Eternal King, and are to receive rewards from him, bind themſelves with heavenly Sacraments, and publickly profeſſe that faith whereby they may pleaſe him. In this Rivet reſts ſatisfied, as appears in his Cathol. Orthodox. Tract. 3. Quaeſt. 2.hVox Latina Sacramentum deducta eſt à verbo Sacrare, & à Scriptoribus Eccleſiaſticis Latinis à militia deſumpta fuit, in qua juramentum quo milites duci obſtringebantur, vocabatur Sacramentum. Refert Clariſ. Ed. Leigh. Crit. Sac. pag. 270. The Latine word Sacrament (ſaith he) is borrowed from the verb Sacrare, and by Eccleſiaſtical Latine Writers, is taken from proceedings in war, in which the Oath wherewith Souldiers were tyed to their Captain, was called a Sacrament.
Thirdly, There being ſo great affinity between Mystery among the Greeks, and Sacrament among the Latines, Mystery ſignifying that which is ſecret of any kind whether ſacred or prophane, of which there are many inſtances given; and Sacrament ſignifying that which is made ſacred, or conſecrate, words ſeldome long holding their ſignification; Myſtery began to be taken more ſtrictly for holy ſecrets; and ſo Sacraments for Sacred ſecrets; afterwards the word Myſtery and with it Sacrament began to be uſed for ſacred things held forth in outward ſignes. The viſion of the ſeven Candleſticks ſetting out ſeven Churches, are called Myſteries, Revel. 1.20. The conjunction in marriage of man and wife, ſetting forth the union between Chriſt and his Church, is called a Myſtery, Epheſ. 5.32. And when Divines found no word in Scripture, to ſet out theſe Ordinances of the Old and New Teſtament, Circumciſion, Paſſeover, Baptiſme, the Lords Supper, they gave them the name of Sacraments, further reſtraining their ſignification to holy ſecrets, held forth in outward ſignes, and ſealing ſpiritual grace to us. This Voſſius takes to be moſt ſatisfactory. Though I profeſſe my ſelf ſcarce ſatisfied with the reaſon that he gives, Theſ. 16. and comparing it with what he hath ſaid in his 6th. Theſis, it may ſeem to ſpeak as much in favour of the ſecond opinion, which he rejects, as this third which he followes. The reaſon that he aſſignes as taking with him is,iLatinos in variis Sacramenti notionibus, ſecutos eſſe Graecos, qui & ipſi foreign nunc rem arcanam appellant; nunc rem arcanam ſacram; nunc rem arcanam ſymbolicam; nunc deni que rem arcanam ſacram ſymbolicam, gratiae ſpiritualis ſignificativam. That the Latine Fathers in the uſe of the word Sacrament, had much reſpect to the uſe of the Greek word Myſtery. And ſo in ſeveral places by him produced they had reſpect unto the military uſe of it in like manner. Here it is not for me to interpoſe, I ſuppoſe none is able to ſpeak any more then conjecture, In which I leave the Reader to uſe his own liberty, aſſenting to Voſſius, that thoſe are weak arguments that are drawn from the uſe of the word, either in the firſt or ſecond acceptation; and concluding that they are as weak, that are drawn from the uſe of it according to the third opinion; There muſt be a better bottom for an argument, then the bare denotation of the word, eſpecially when it is of humane, not of Divine impoſition. And the uſe of the word being thus taken up by man, the acceptation or uſe of it upon that account hath been very various, and ambiguous, inſomuch that when Writers ſpeak of Sacraments, the Reader is often at a ſtand what they mean by them.The various acceptation of the word. Sometimes every thing that is ſecret is called by the name of Sacrament; therefore the vulgar Latine (which appears to be more ancient than their number of ſeven Sacraments) doth not onelyonly render the word foreign, Sacramentum, in Eph. 5.32. (upon which they take advantage to bring in marriage into the number) but frequently elſewhere, when nothing towards a Sacrament by their own confeſſion is intended. Having made known to us the Sacrament of his will, Eph. 1.9. By revelation he made known to me the Sacrament, Eph. 3.3. To make all men ſee what is the fellowſhip of the Sacrament, Eph. 3.9. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this Sacrament, among the Gentiles, Col. 1.27 Great is the Sacrament of godlineſſe, 1 Tim. 3.16. The Sacrament of the ſeven ſtarres, Rev. 1.20. I will tell thee the Sacrament of the woman, and the beaſt that carries her, Rev. 17.7. And Tertullian ſpeaking of Chriſtianity, calls it,kReligionis Chriſtianae Sacramentum. The Sacrament of Chriſtian Religion: and Jerom ſaith,lSacramenta. Dei ſunt praedicare, benedicere, confirmare, communionem reddere, viſitare infirmos, orare. Refert Gerardus de Sacram. cap. 1. The Sacraments of God are to preach, to bleſſe, to ſtrengthen, and eſtabliſh, to hold communion, to viſit the ſick, and pray. Allegorical interpretations of Scripture alſo are called by the Ancients, by the name of Sacraments. Sometimes every outward ſign of any thing that is holy is called by the name of Sacrament. And as they began to borrow rites from the Jews in Baptiſme, they called them by the name of Sacraments. Their Ointments and Chriſmes (yea the Croſſe it ſelf, which the Church of Rome makes no more then a ceremony in Sacraments) are called by the name of Sacraments. But theſe acceptations of the word are grown obſolete, and are ſo far from holding out the nature of thoſe Ordinances, which now paſſe under the name of Sacraments, that men cannot be brought to any miſtake in reading of them. The word Sacrament is ordinarily now taken in that ſenſe as Auſtine doth define it. An outward viſible ſign of an inward ſpiritual grace, that is a ſign inſtituted of God to hold out and ſeal ſaving grace to the ſoul, as afterward (God willing) may be more largely held forth. Now in every Ordinance of this nature, there is, firſt, an outward ſign open to the ſenſes; ſecondly, there is a ſpiritual grace; thirdly, an order eſtabliſhed and declared between the ſign and the thing ſignified, and ſome of theſe ſtill give the denomination. Sometimes the outward ſign is taken for the Sacrament, and therefore the diſtinction is ordinary between Sacramentum and rem Sacramenti. And it can be no more than a bare ſign, when the thing ſignified is apart conſidered and put in oppoſition to it. Sometimes the outward ſign and the thing ſignified, conſidered joyntly, are called by the name of a Sacrament, and this Gerard ſayes is the moſt proper and moſt uſual acceptation. Sometimes the order or analogy that is betwixt the ſign and the thing ſignified, is called by the name of Sacrament; and therefore Keckerman defines a Sacrament to bemSacramentum eſt ordo ſanctus inter rem externam in ſenſus incurrentem, et viſus imprimis objectum tanquam …gnum, et inter rem ſpiritualem, tanquam ſignatum, à Chriſto Mediatore inſtitutus ad obſignandam fidelibus redemptionis certitudinem et ſimul beneficia quae ex redemptione fluunt, tum ſignificanda tum confirmanda. an holy order between the outward element obvious to the ſenſe, eſpecially to the ſight and the ſpirituall grace as the thing ſignified, inſtituted of Chriſt the Mediatour to ſeal to Believers the aſſurance of redemption, and with it all benefits that flow from redemption. So that he makes neither the outward ſign, nor yet the thing ſignified apart conſidered to be the Sacrament in that definition, nor yet the outward ſign and thing ſignified joyntly conſidered, but the order or analogy that is held between them. Laſtly, the word Sacrament is taken for the outward ſign, with relation had to the thing ſignified, leading to it, and by way of ſeal confirming it, and in this ſenſe it is taken by Divines when they treat exactly about it. And in that ſenſe the Apoſtle takes circumciſion, when he defines it to be A ſign and ſeal of the righteouſneſſe of Faith, Rom. 4.11. The uſe and office of the cutting off the foreskin of the fleſh, as by way of ſign and ſeal it ſtands in relation to the righteouſneſſe of faith is there held forth. This therefore we may well judge to be the moſt proper acceptation of it. Keckerman therefore as ſoon as he had defined a Sacrament, as before, preſently tells us, thatnSacramenti vox per ſe concreta eſt, et ſignificat rem ſive ſubjectum, cum modo rei, id eſt, cum rel tione rei additâ: interim tamen poteſt etiam uſurpari pro Ipſo abſtracto, id eſt, pro relatione ut nos quidem in definitione uſurpavimus. the word of it ſelf is a concrete, and ſignifies the thing or ſubject with the manner of it, that is, ſaith he, with the relation added to it: yet it may be taken for the abſtract, that is, for the relation as (ſaith he) we have put into the definition. But ſeeing the word of it ſelf, by our Authors confeſſion, is no abſtract, but a concrete, and the Apoſtle in his definition doth ſo conſider it, we have juſt reaſon in that ſenſe to ſpeak to it; and ſo in this whole Treatiſe I ſhall take it. And before I proceed in any further Enquiry, the Reader may juſtly expect ſuch a definition as may ſerve as a thred through the whole Diſcourſe. But my intention being to enquire ſomething into the nature of Sacraments in mans integrity, (that ſo the Work may anſwer the Title) A Treatiſe of the Sacraments, but mainly to inſiſt on thoſe that are appointed by God for his people in the Covenant of Grace, I am neceſſitated to put off the enquiry after ſuch a definition that may give ſatisfaction, till I come to that which I intend as my principal Subject. Yet that by the way he may not be wholly left unſatisfied, I ſhall here offer ſuch a definition that may comprehend all Sacraments as well in the Covenant of Works, as in the Covenant of Grace; intreating him to forbear any ſtrict enquiry into the reaſons of it, untill he come into the full Body of the Diſcourſe, where by the definition, which (God willing) ſhall be given of Sacraments in the Covenant of Grace, and from Scripture at large confirmed, he may eaſily judge of the definition of Sacraments in general, and thus I ſuppoſe it may be held out. A Sacrament is a ſign inſtituted of God for the uſe of his people in Covenant, to ſignifie and ſeal his Promiſes upon Terms and Propoſitions by himſelf preſcribed and appointed.