haue said is not appointed for the Time but the Time is appointed for the worship So it is not absurd to remember Christs Natiuitie so oft as occasion is offered with all conuenient solemnitie as it may serue to his honour and the edification of the Church Thus wee haue seene that according to the Doctrine of the reformed Churches Anniuersarie dayes are and may bee obserued though not for any mysterie or holinesse that is in them more then in other dayes but for order and policy onely Against this all the Reasons which Bellarmine or yee haue brought or can inuent shall neuer preuaile more then the barking of a dogge against the Moone PP ANS The conclusion agreeth not with the premisses for if it be Gods souereigâ—tie to make or ordayne a thing to bee holy how may the Church make a thing holy by appointing an occasionall feast or fast as yee grant shee may doe The instinct of nature and that command out of Ioel is a generall warrant onely The particular calamitie or benefit wherefore a fast or feast should be proclaymed is not expressed neither is the time particularly determined whereupon the solemne festiuitie or fast should be kept but the one is left to the estimation and the other to the determination of the Church So by that warrant libertie is giuen to the Church to consider and define the causes for the which a fast should bee proclaymed and to determine the time when the same should be obserued and to separate that time from common businesse and consecrate the same to the spirituall exercise of preaching hearing praying fasting c. as our Church hath vsed to doe very often Now if the Church hath power vpon occasionall motiues to appoint occasionall fasts or festiuities may not shee for constant and eternall blessings which doe infinitely excell all occasionall benefits appoint ordinary times of commemoration and thanksgiuing Ye say that this hath no warrant but yee speake without warrant for there is as great warrant to appoint such dayes as is for any other point of Ecclesiasticall policie touching the determination of times places formes and order to be obserued in the worship of God according to these generall gâ—ounds Let all things bee done to the glorie of God 1. Cor. 10. to edification 1. Cor. 14. with order and decencie 1. Cor. 14.16 The whole policie of our Church touching the vse of these circumstantiall things is ordered by these rules and according to these did our Church in the first booke of Discipline which yee cite often ordayne for the purpose now in hand That in euery notable Towne a day beside the Sonday should bee appointed weekely for Sermon that during the time of Sermon the day should be kept free from all exercise of labour as well by the Master as by the seruant That euery day there be either Sermon or prayers with reading of the Scriptures That Baptisme be orderly ministred either on the Sonday or after Sermon and the dayes of prayer That at foure seuerall times of the yeere the Sacrament of the Lords Supper be ministred viz. on the first Sonday of March on the first Sonday of Iune first Sonday of September and the first Sonday of December That in euery towne where Schollers are and learned men repaire a certaine day euery weeke be appointed for the exercise of Ministers in prophecie And the said booke affirmes The dedication of times and houres for such generall and particular exercises of the Word and Sacraments and Prayer to appertayne to the policie of the Church If the Church hath power after this manner to appoint times for Doctrine and diuine Seruice and Doctrine and diuine Seruice for times as the doctrine of the Catechisme on Sonday at afternoone reade the 9. Chapter of the said booke it cannot be denyed but the Church hath also power to appoint a certaine time day and houre for commemoration of Christs Natiuitie Passion c. For what more power had our Church at that time to appoint the Sacrament to be ministred the first Sondaies of March Iune c. then she hath now to appoint a Sermon to be made of Christs resurrection vpon Easter day and a Sermon of the sending downe of the holy Ghost vpon Whitsunday and does not the light of Nature teach vs that rare and great benefits should be remembred with more then ordinary thankefulnesse Hereby it is cleere that it is not the Lords soueraignty onely to make or ordayne a thing to be holy but it is a prerogatiue that God also hath giuen to the Christian Church But to the end this matter may be fully cleered it is to be obserued as we said before that times are made holy and places two manner of wayes so things are made holy either by some inherent qualitie of holynesse or by consecration of them to holy vses After the first manner Angels and men were made holy in the creation sinners are made holy by regeneration and sanctification of the holy Ghost and of this holynesse God onely is the author Next things are made holy by consecration of them to holy vses which vses are either mysticall or politicall The consecration of things to holy mysticall vses as of water in Baptisme to be a signe of the bloud and Spirit of Christ the elements of Bread and Wine in the Supper to be the Sacrament of his Bodie and Bloud the Sabbath to bee vnto the Iewes a memoriall of the Creation a type of signification and a badge of their profession the Temple the Altars the Sacrifices and Priests to bee shaddowes of things to come all these and such like are made and ordayned holy by God but the consecration of things to holy vses for policie as for maintayning religion or for order and decency to be obserued in the worship of God is not onely Gods prerogatiue but a priuiledge and liberty granted by him to the Church for example to build and consecrate places to be Temples houses to bee Hospitals to giue rent lands money and goods to the Ministry poore to appoint Vessels Vestures Instruments for the publike worship as Tables Table-clothes Napkins Basens Cups and Lauers for the holy Sacraments these things and the like are made holy by the dedication and consecration of men After this last manner the Church hath power to consecrate the fiue Anniuersary dayes to the commemoration of our Sauiour his benefits to separate them from all other ordinary workes and so to make them sacred and holy dayes It was I grant a part of Idolatry to proclaime a holy day vnto the golden Calfe or to any Idol or Creature as ye affirme but it will not follow that it is Idolatry to proclaime a holy day for the honour and worship of the true God And as it was one of Ieroboams sins to despise the Festiuities appointed by God for his worship and instead of these to ordaine a Feast after the deuise of his owne heart so if we should
the resolution we take at this time touching the Articles propounded will giue to the world a testimonie what manner of men wee are whether such as rule their proceedings by iudgement or are carried head-strong with conceits and opinions that wee bee nor misse-led by ignorance for that is the fault of many amongst vs wee inquire not of matters nor take paynes to vnderstand what hath beene the iudgement of the most wise and learned but follow vpon trust the opinions we haue beene bred with and of such as we affect to helpe this I say I will with your patience spend some time in the question of Ceremonies see what warrant they haue and how they should bee appointed then from the generall descend to speake of our particulars touching which I shall freely deliuer my owne minde and so conclude First then concerning Ceremonies howsoeuer some haue imagined them to bee superfluities which might well bee spared and that the Church of Rome hath made the very name of them hatefull aswell because of the multitude of them wherewith she oppressed Christians as for the ridiculous choice she made of most of them are such things as without which no publike action either Ciuill or Ecclesiastique can be rightly performed To this purpose a Politike Writer hath said well That as the flesh couereth the hollow deformity of the bones and beautifieth the bodie with naturall graces so Ceremonies such specially as ancient custome hath made reuerend couer the nakednesse of publike actions and distinguish them from priuate businesse that otherwise should not bee so well knowne The neglect of this in any State breedes confusion and with confusion the ruine and abolishment of the State it selfe whereof the examples were easie to be giuen in the Romane Republike and others if that were our subiect But wee are speaking of Church-Ceremonies concerning which no man will deny this generall truth That in euery publike dutie which God craues at our hands there is besides the matter and forme wherein the substance of the dutie consists a certaine externall forme required to the decent administration of the same As for example God hath commanded his Word to bee preached and the holy Sacraments to be ministred Baptisme by the Element of Water and in a prescript forme of words such as you know wee vse and the Sacrament of his blessed Body and Bloud in the Elements of Bread and Wine with certaine mysticall words added thereunto heere is the dutie to bee done and the substance of it yet for the ministration of the same in a due and decent manner there is place time and other circumstances moe required The substance of the dutie God hath giuen vs in the Word from which we may not goe but for these things that belong to the outward administration Ecclesiasticall wisedome hath to define what is conuenient what not Neque tamen permisit Dominus vagam effrae namque licentiam sayes Caluine sed cancellos vt ita loquar circūdedit That is God hath not giuen his Church an illimited power to establish what Ceremonies she lists but hath enrayled her authoritie within borders which she may not passe and these are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let all things bee done honestly and by order Honestly that is after a good fashion in a decent sort and to the right ends namely the aduancement of Gods honour and the edification of his Church This is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Then they must be done 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by order that is appointed with deliberation and by such as haue the authoritie to ordaine them and being once appointed and concluded by Constitutions they must bee kept and performed by all that are subiect to the same This as one speakes well is that great Ecclesiasticall Canon by which all other Canons must bee squared this is the true Touch-stone of trying Ceremonies and the ballance wherein all Church Orders must be weighed The Ceremonies of the Church must be decent and comely without vanitie without all meretricious brauerie not superfluous but seruing to edification They must also be done to Gods honour and not be idolatrous or superstitious Generally in the Church all things must be done in order and no confusion be either of persons or proceedings for order hath proceeded from the Throne of the Almightie This fabricke of the World that wee see is vpholden by it States and Kingdomes are maintayned by it and without it nothing can flourish or prosper And if Order should haue place in all things sure the Church of God should not be without Order for our God whom wee serue is the God of Order and not of Confusion as the Apostle speakes These things will be easily condescended vpon I meane that religious duties cannot bee performed without externall Rites that these Rites should bee qualited as I haue said established by Lawes and after they are established obeyed by such as are subiect Si enim velut in medio positae singulorum arbitrio relictae fuerint quoniam nunquam futurum est vt omnibus idem placeat breui futura est rerum omnium confusio This is Caluines saying in the fourth Booke of his Institutions and tenth Chapter which Chapter I would earnestly recommend to your reading for these matters chiefly In such generals it may bee wee all agree but when wee come to particulars Tanta moribus hominum inest diuersitas tanta in animis varietas tanta in iudicijs ingenijsque pugna Such is the varietie of mens minds and opinions that scarce shall they euer bee brought to agree vpon any one thing For the Ceremonie which to one will seeme decent and comely will to another appeare not to be so Now in this case what is to bee done Some would haue vs search into the Apostolike times examine what then was in vse to bee done and follow that But this cannot well be the rule seeing the Apostles haue not deliuered in writing all that they did and diuers of the formes vsed by them which by occasion wee haue recorded are vnfit for these times and inconuenient such as the assembling of people in close and secret meetings their Christnings in Riuers the ministring of the Lords Supper after meate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Church-Feasts the abhorring of leuened Bread abstayning from Bloud and that which is strangled the arbitrary maintenance of Ministers and other more particulars which to bring againe in vse were to alter and change in a sort the state of Christianitie it selfe So it being to vs vncertaine what the formes of the Apostles were in euery thing and the dissimilitude of their times and ours being so great they giue no sure direction that send vs to seeke the resolution of our differences in matters of this nature from them Reade Beza his eight Epistle written to that Reuerend Bishop Edmond Grindall then Bishop of London and you shall finde this to bee his iudgement His words are Scio duplicem esse de Ecclesiarum
discourse touching the relatiue worship which Papists giue to their Idols I call it confused because hee makes no distinction therein betweene the proper accidentall and improper honour which Papists professe to giue to their Images without the knowledge whereof the disputation following cannot be vnderstood Therefore it must be cleared in the owne place I call it idle because he takes paines to proue that which is not controuerted namely that it is idolatry to kneele to the elements or fo◠reuerence of the elements which we deny not yet hee confesseth that a religious honor which he calleth veneration should bee giuen to the elements and thereupon moues and answeres an obiection touching this point pag. 47. as followeth PP It may be obiected that holy things ought to bee reuerenced Answer True but not worshipped veneration is one thing adoration another adoration belongeth to persons veneration to things pertaining to persons and is nothing else but a religious respect or reuerent estimation of things pertaining to the vse of Religion a preseruation of them that they be not lost and a decent vsage of them according to their kinde this veneration or reuerence is a respectiue or relatiue reuerence giuen to them for Gods sake kneeling for reuerence of senselesse creatures is to take the proper gesture of relatiue adoration and apply it to relatiue reuerence for religious kneeling in all the Scripture is a gesture of adoration and soueraigne worship c. ANS This all is sound and touching it wee agree fully with you that reuerence which is done to the Sacrament should not bee expressed by kneeling which you truely call a gesture of adoration and soueraigne worshippe Therefore should it neither bee giuen to the booke of the Euangell nor to the elements of the Sacrament but to him only who is the Author and matter of both And yet if men fall downe and worship him at the hearing of the Gospell or after at the receiuing of the Sacrament or after and before it be receiued being moued thereto by contemplation of his grace and glory in the one and other this religious worship no man wil deny to be lawfully performed as well by the worthy receiuer of the Sacrament as by the reuerent hearer of the Word for as we bow not to the letters and syllables and sounds of the words of the Gospell but to him whose minde and will is declared therein So doe wee not bow to the elements of bread and wine in the Sacrament but to him whose body and bloud we receiue thereby But you to make the world beleeue that the Churches of Scotland and England kneele to the elements of bread and wine in the Sacrament at least haue ordained so to be done you alledge against the Church of England the Ministers of Lincolne their defence in the third part thereof referring the Reader to their proofes touching which part I only reply this that there be sufficient answeres made to these proofes by learned and reuerend men in that Church whereto also I remit the Reader Against our Church you lay a false imputation and frame thereupon all your discourse against kneeling as it is a breach of the second Commandement which we will now examine PP In the late act wee are ordained to kneele for reuerence of the diuine mysteries I see not wherein this differs from the Bishop of Rochesters argument that great and reuerend dreadfull mysteries must be receiued with great and dreadfull humilitie of soule and humiliation of body therfore in the act of receiuing we must kneele if this argument were good then the Sacraments and sacrifices of the old Law should haue been thus worshipped and if we will measure by the sight the Sacraments and sacrifices of the old Law were more dreadfull then are the Sacraments of the new for the slaughter of beasts and shedding of blood was more dreadful then the powring out of wine The Ancients held the sight of this Sacrament not only from Pagans but also from the Catechumenists this doing was not commendable it made the mysterie of this Sacrament both darke and dreadfull Augustine saith they may bee honoured as matters religious but wondered at as matters of maruell they cannot But to returne to the purpose to kneele for reuerence of the mysteries is nothing else but to worship the mysteries ANS Heere you set your selfe against three parties the Bishop of Rochester the Ancients and the Assembly at Perth For the Bishop of Rochester I answere shortly That he takes the mysteries with Chrysostome for the body and blood of Christ represented in the Sacrament by the elements of bread and wine In which sense they are truly called great and dreadfull and ought to bee receiued with great humility of soule and humiliation of body Non enim peccatur adorando carnem Christi sed peccatur non adorando We sinne not saith Saint Augustine in adoring Christs flesh but we sinne if wee adore it not in the Sacrament That which you blame in the Ancients of withholding the sight of the Sacraments not only from Pagans but also frō the Catechumenists Chrysostome iustifies with great reason Hom. 7.1 Cor. on these words We speak the wisdome of God which is hid Alia videmus saith he alia credimus aliter afficior ego aliter infidelis Infidelis si lauacrum audiat aquam simpliciter cogitat c. ideo fidei arcana non sunt temerè apud indignos evulgāda We see one thing saith Chrysostom we beleeue another I who beleeue am otherwise affected then an Infidel is if an Infidel heare of washing in Baptisme he thinkes there is nothing there but water c. For this cause the mysteries of our faith ought not rashly to be divulgate to the vnworthy This iudgment of Chrysostomes is not crossed by S. Augustines testimony but confirmed rather for if the Sacraments should be honoured as matters religious then as Chrysostom saith Pretiosa margarita est à contemptu vindicanda that is a pretious jewel ought to be preserued from contempt Where you alledge against the Assembly at Perth that in the late act therof we are ordained to kneele for reuerence of the diuine mysteries you are guilty of manifest falshood for in reciting the words of the act you blot out some change others and thereby corrupt purposely the whole sense and meaning of the act You blot out these words of God and in due regard you change the word mystery in mysteries these you interpret to be the elements whereas in the act the word mystery signifies not the elements but the receiuing of the blessed body and blood of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ. But that your deceit may be manifested I will set downe the act as it is extracted forth of the Register of the Assembly vnder the hand of the Clerke thereof Since we are commanded by God himselfe that when we come to worship him we fall downe and kneele before the Lord our Maker and considering
the act of faith and contemplation the heart may bee lifted vp yet that eleuation of the heart requireth not the most humble and reuerent gesture of the bodie as kneeling In the ancient Church they were not accustomed to kneele when they made confession of their faith but to stand as Christian souldiers Our act insinuateth such a meditation and lifting vp of the heart as is vsed in actions of deuotion such as prayer and thankesgiuing which are practised by all who giue obedience to the act or doe worthily communicate But put the case that by the act no such thing were ordained expresly yet vpon this antecedent which yee vse namely wee are not ordained by any act of our Church to pray at the receiuing this conclusion will not follow Therefore we may not pâ—ay at the receiuing For wee are not ordained by any act of our Church expressely to discouer our heads in the act of receiuing May wee not therefore discouer our heads But any shew of reason is good enough to deceiue simple people PP But let the words be interpreted of mentall prayer euen mentall prayer is not the principall exercise of the soule in the act of receiuing the sacramentall Elements the minde attending on the audible words the visible Elements the mysticall actions and making present vse of them men should not be diuerted from their principall worke and meditation vpon the analogie betweene the signes and the things signified ANS The meditation vpon the analogie betweene the signe and the thing signified cannot be the principall worke of the soule it being nothing else but the consideration of the similitude that is betweene the natuall vse of the signes and the spirituall vse of the thing signified Namely that as the Elements seâ—ue to nourish the outward man so the body and the bloud of Christ hath a vertue to nourish the inward man and by eating and drinking the Elements are applied to feede the body So by faith the body and the blood of Christ are applied to feed the soule Such a meditation an Hypocrite and Reprobate may haue at the Table therefore it cannot be the principall worke of the minde which distinguisheth the worthie from the vnworthie Receiuer When we heare and reade the Word the principall work of our mind should not be a meditation vpon the forme of the characters the sound of the letters the coniunction of them their sounds in the syllables the syllables in the words or the force and vertue of the words to signifie the matters but the chiefe work of our mind should be to conceiue vnderstand and consider rightly what is spoken So when we come to the Sacrament the chiefe employment of our minde should not be to consider the proportion that is betweene the naturall vse of the Elements and the spirituall vse of Christs body and blood but a meditation and spirituall action correspondent and analogicke to the externall sacramentall actions As therefore the principall externall sacramental actions are to take eate and drink reuerently the symbolick Elements the bread and wine so the principall worke of the soule correspondent by analogie thereto is to remember the sacrifice of Christ the breaking of his body and shedding of his blood to consider the benefit that we haue thereby to put our confidence therein and for all to praise and magnifie his name with thankfulnesse This worke and meditation is proper to the worthy Receiuers and stirreth vp in the soule that most reuerent estimation and affection towards our Sauiour with an humble submission of our minds vnto him which we call adoration whereof the outward testimonie and signe is the humble and reuerent gesture of the body prescribed in the act which is also a gesture most conuenient for prayer So this gesture prescribed in the act doth not only attend the prayer vttered by the Pastor and conceiued by the people in the act of receiuing but is proper to that which is indeed the chiefe and principal exercise work of the mind in al worthy receiuers PP The soule may send forth in the meane time some short eiaculations and darts of prayer to heauen to strengthen her owne weakenesse and returne to her principall worke of meditation and application of the benefits represented These short eiaculations of the minde are onely occasionall as a Christian feeleth his owne present estate and are incident to all our actions both ciuill and religious in the act of receiuing our earthly food in going on the way in hearing the Word If a man bee moued inwardly when he heareth that the Word was made flesh shall he kneele as they doe in the Romane Church If a man should kneele at euery inward motion of the minde when hee heareth the Word what confusion would there be in the Congregation ANS The verball prayer vttered by the Pastor and the mentall conceiued by the people in the act of receiuing is not an eiaculation but necessary to be vsed in the action by the worthy Receiuers for no man can receiue the body and the blood of Christ worthily without a spirituall hunger and thirst after the righteousnesse and life that is in him which spirituall appetite and desire being declared by the Pastor in these or the like words when he deliuereth the bread Grant Lord that by the vertue of thy body which we receiue we may haue life eternall and be raised vp at the last day And when hee deliuereth the Cup Grant Lord that by the vertue of thy blood which we receiue we may be purged from our sinnes and filled with thy Spirit And the Receiuers conceiuing and confirming the same by saying with their mouthes as the custome was in the ancient Church or in their hearts Amen They send not vp occasional eiaculations but necessary and ordinary prayers such as the nature of the action requires Therefore as I said before although occasionall secret prayers may be offered to God without any externall gesture or with such as the worshipper thinks meetest for the time yet these which are purposely conceiued in the ordinary and solemne act of diuine worshippe should be presented to God with such a gesture as is conforme to the order prescribed and receiued in the Church PP A man looking occasionally to a Crucifixe may remember Christ and send vp some ejaculations shall hee therefore kneele The three children prayed mentally no doubt when they were brought before the golden Image but lawfully they might not kneele before it ANS Here yee affirme againe that which yee falsely alledged before namely that the Sacrament or any other creature differs not in the case of adoration from the Papists Images and therefore as it is vnlawfull to kneele before the Crucifixe or Nebuchadnezzars golden Image albeit wee may pray mentally before them so is it vnlawfull to kneele and pray at the Sacrament that is hauing the sacramentall elements before vs or obiect to our senses This comparison is odious false for there is no
because it lacked your employment of sitting or table gesture In all Reformed Churches of Europe our Church and very few excepted the Communion Tables haue no employment but only to hold and sustaine the elements This is to be seen in the Churches of France Germany Hungary Pole and England And in the Greeke Church Causabone obserues that there are two Tables one whereupon the elements are set before the Consecration and another wherupon they are Consecrate Thus haue I sufficiently declared that the only or chiefe vse at least of the Communion Table is for the setting and disposing of the elements and the consecration of them with the distribution of the same Now that by kneeling in the act of receiuing the vse of the Communion table is not taken away I proue by this reason Whatsoeuer gesture taketh not away the comely placing and decent consecration of the sacramentall elements on the Communion Table from which they may bee giuen and receiued that taketh not away the vse of the Communion Table But kneeling is a gesture that taketh not away the comely placing and decent consecration of the sacramentall â—lements on the Communion Table from which they may be giuen and receiued Therefore kneeling taketh not away the vse of the Communion Table PP The third breach of the Institution made by kneeling is the taking away of that mysticall rite representing Christs Passion to wit the breaking of the bread c. ANS If your meaning be that the Pastor breaketh not the bread before he giue it yee bely vs. Wee know that it is the Pastors part in the action to represent Christ the breaking of his body on the Crosse with the sorrowes of death for our sinnes therefore we obserue that rite religiously But if your meaning be that the people breakes not euery one with another in reuerence and sobrietie as is prescribed in the second Chapter of the first Booke of Discipline set foorth 1560. that shall be discussed in the answere to the sixth breach PP The fourth breach of the Institution made by kneeling is the change and restraint of the commandement giuen to many in the plurall number Eate yee drinke yee to one in the singular number Eate thou drinke thou ANS This is a calumny we neither change the command nor so much as a iot contained in the institution For first wee consecrate the Elements vsing the words of Saint Paul and the Euangelists without altering a sillable Thereafter when we giue the Elements seuerally to euery person wee apply the generall command to euery one in particular which if we did not euery worthy receiuer ought to apply vnto himselfe else he cannot communicate in faith for he that esteemes not that command to belong to himselfe in particular hath no warrant for his taking eating and drinking This application therefore made by the Pastor to euery communicant is not a breach but a meane seruing to the right and precise obseruation of the Institution PP The fift breach of the institution made by kneeling is the altering of the enunciatiue words of Christ This is my body which is broken for you This is my bloud which is shed for you in a prayer To blesse our body and soule saying The body of our Lord Iesus Christ c. ANS This also is a calumny for these words wee vse not in stead of the sacramentall words because then there should be no Sacrament at all for by the sacramentall word This is my body the bread is made the Sacrament of Christs body and by this word This Cuppe is the New Testament in my bloud the Cuppe is made the Sacrament of his Bloud and without this word whereby the will of our Sauiour is declared which makes the Sacrament all our prayers and wishes should serue to no vse It is true after the Sacrament is made by the sacramentall word these or the like words are vttered by the Pastor at the deliuery of the Elements whereby the generall prayer and blessing wherewith the action beginnes is applyed particularly to euery Communicant and they admonished and instructed to apply it to themselues This is the dutie both of the Pastor and of the people for as in the prayer it is our duetie to wish in generall that all who are to participate the bodie and bloud of Iesus may be preserued thereby to euerlasting life so it is our duetie to wish the same to each one seuerally at the instant when he is receiuing And as it is the Peoples dutie when the prayer is conceiued for all to wish that Christs body and bloud may preserue all the receiuers thereof so when they receiue seuerally to wish that themselues in particular may be preserued thereby For if this be one of the principall ends wherefore they come to receiue can they receiue worthily without this or the like wish No man without blasphemie can call this an idle battologie PP The sixth breach of the Institution made by kneeling is the taking away of the distribution that ought to be amongst the Communicants When Christ sayd Take yee eate yee he insinuates that they should take and diuide amongst themselues A little after In the first Booke of Discipline penned Anno. 1560. it is ordained that the Minister break the bread and distribute the same to those that bee next him commanding the rest euery one with reuerence and sobrietie to breake with other because it is neerest to Christs action further we haue a plaine precept Luke 22.17 Diuide it amongst you c. ANS If yee stand to that which yee alleadge out of Scaliger was the custome of the Iewes and vsed by our Sauiour in the Institution yee haue no cause to quarrell the distribution of the bread for the Master of the feast vsed to breake the bread in so many peeces as the number of the Feasters were giuing to euery one a peece neither did each person measure his owne portion giuing the rest to his neighbour according to our custome But leauing this if we shall consider by the Institution what part is proper to the Pastor and what to the People wee will finde that as it is the Pastors part to take bread to blesse and giue thanks so is it his part first to breake the bread then to giue it with this precept Take eate and so that it is the Peoples part not to breake it but to take it broken for as it was the part of Christ first to giue his flesh for the life of the World when he did offer himselfe in a sacrifice for our sinnes which he will haue represented in the Sacrament by the Pastor in breaking the bread so it was his part to giue his flesh to the faithfull not to be broken and sacrificed by them but to bee eaten after it was once broken sacrificed by himselfe If therefore it be not the part of the people either to represent the oblation of Christs body or the donation thereof to vs but the part
withall that there is no part of diuine worship more heauenly and spirituall then is the holy receiuing of the blessed body and blood of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ like as the most humble and reuerent gesture of the body in our meditation and lifting vp of our hearts becommeth well so diuine and sacred an action Therefore notwithstanding our Church hath vsed since the reformation of Religion heere to celebrate the holy Communion to the people sitting by reason of the great abuse vsed in the idolatrous worship of Papists yet now since all memory of by-past superstition is blotted out of the hearts of the people praised be God in reuerence of God and in due regard of so diuine a mysterie and in remembrance of so mysticall an vnion as wee are made partakers of thereby the Assembly thinkes good that that blessed Sacrament bee celebrated hereafter to the people humbly and reuerently kneeling vpon their knees This is the true copie of the act differing in many things from that which you sette downe Pag. 34. in the narratiue thereof the reasons are set downe wherefore the people should kneele when they receiue the Sacrament which are repeated orderly in the conclusion as the causes of the same The first reason is Since we are commanded by God himselfe that when we come to worship him wee fall downe and kneele before the Lord our Maker Relatiue vnto this we haue in the conclusion Therefore in reuerence of God the Assembly thinkes good that the Sacrament be giuen to the people kneeling The second reason in the narratiue is And considering withall that there is no part of diuine worship more heauenly and spirituall then is the holy receiuing of the blessed bodie and blood of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ. Relatiue to this wee haue these words And in due regard of so diuine a mysterie Wee say not in regard of the diuine mysteries which you interpret the elements but Mysterie that is the holy receiuing of the body and blood of Iesus Christ mentioned in the narratiue Our third reason is the correspondence which ought to be betweene the outward gesture of our body and the meditation and lifting vp of our hearts when we remember and consider the mysticall vnion betweene Christ and vs and amongst our selues whereof we are made partakers by receiuing of Christs blessed body and bloud This is expressed in these words Like as the most humble and reuerent gesture of the body in our meditation and lifting vp of our hearts becomes so diuine and sacred an action Relatiue to this in the conclusion we haue these words And in remembrance of so mysticall an vnion as we are made partakers of thereby for this remembrance is a part of our meditation So to conclude we come to worship at the Sacrament the Lord our Maker who hath not onely made vs by creation but who by redemption hath made vs his people and the sheepe of his pasture Psal. 95.7 Psalme 100.3 that is God manifested in the flesh We come to receiue his flesh and bloud and in reuerence of him wee are commanded by the act to kneele As yee then inferre vpon your forgery and falshood that to kneele for reuerence of the mysteries is nothing else but to worship the mysteries so I inferre vpon the very words wherein the act is conceiued That to kneele for reuerence of God in due regard of the diuine mysterie that is the receiuing of Christs body and bloud in remembrance of the mysticall vnion whereof thereby we are made partakers first with our Head and Sauiour and next through him with God and amongst our selues to kneele I say at the Sacrament for the reuerence and respects aforesayd is to worship God rightly and that is the due obseruation of his commandement PP Wheresoeuer the publike intent of a Church is to worshippe the Sacrament euery priuate man following that intent is formally an idolater If his priuate intent be diuerse from the publike yet he is still materially and interpretatiuè an Idolater c. ANS Yee begin now to manifest your selfe yee peruerted the words of the act to draw vpon our Church the vile imputation of idolatry and now yee seeke to diuide the Church and perswade people to disobedience vnder that colour But the publike intent of our Church was neuer to worship the Sacrament but was and is to worship the Lord Iesus of whose flesh and bloud wee are made partakers in the Sacrament And they who follow the Church in this are neither formally nor materially idolaters but true and sincere worshippers of God PP Kneeling directed to the bread and wine in the hands of the Minister is idolatry howbeit the inward motion of the minde and affection of the heart be directed onely to God or his Sonne Christ as the onely obiect of adoration ANS Still you build vpon the false ground you haue layd that kneeling is direct to the bread and wine in the hands of the Minister which is a manifest calumny for the act doth appoint no such thing To direct our knees to the signes and the affection of our heart to the thing signified is not onely idolatry but a kinde of hypocrisie and mixture of worship which God abhorres Neither did our Church euer allow it in our doctrine prayers and exhortations which are vsed at the Ministration this is condemned and the very act ordayning that we should kneele before the Lord our Maker forbids the same PP This immediate conuoy of worship to the principall obiect is nothing else but that finer sort of idolatry and relatiue worship which Durandus Holcot Mirandula Alphonsus Petrus Cluniacensis and others giue to their Images ANS If wee did kneele to the Sacrament that by it our worship might bee conueyed to God our kneeling were such a relatiue worship as yee affirme but we kneele at the Sacrament and not to the Sacrament as wee kneele at prayer and not to the words and oration of the prayer but to God to whom wee direct our prayer When God spake Abraham fell on his face not to the sound of words which he heard but to the Speaker When the fire came downe at Elias prayer the people fell on their faces not to the fire which they saw but to God who wrought the myracle This kneeling and falling on the face before God in the act of prayer in the act of seeing in the act of hearing is a worship done to God immediately and so it is in the act of receiuing the Sacrament PP They say Images are not otherwise adored then that before and about them are exhibited the externall signes of honour The inward affection is directed onely to the principall obiect as the seruices done at a Funerall shew to an empty Coffin as if the corps were present ANS To make it appeare that there is no difference betweene our kneeling at the Sacrament and the kneeling of the Papists to their Idols the Pamphleter such is
to them In this sense it is a lye to affirme that we kneele before the Elements Next to kneele before any thing signifieth to kneele hauing some things before our eyes or in our sight or obiect to our senses either by casuall position as you say or purposely To kneele to God before any thing standing or set casually before you you doe not condemne but to kneele to God hauing any thing purposely before vs as the sacramentall Elements that yee insinuate to be idolatrie but I hope you shal neuer proue it for a Penitentiary kneeles to God purposely before the Congregation and with a respect to the Congregation namely that they may concurre with him in prayer he may testifie to them his vnfained repentance and they being satisfied therewith may receiue him againe into their fellowship Heere is a kneeling to God before something purposely and with respect which is not idolatrie When wee come to our common tables before we eate either sitting with our heads discouered or standing or kneeling we giue thanks and blesse with a respect to the meat which is purposely set on table yet this is not idolatry And to draw somewhat nearer to the purpose The Pastor when he begins the holy action hath the bread and the cup set before him purposely vpon the table and with respect to them hee giues thankes to God for that it hath pleased him to institute the Sacrament in these Elements that hee might thereby communicate to vs the body and the blood of Iesus And thus hee ought to blesse the Elements for which the Apostle saith The Cup of his blessing which wee blesse is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ Heere is a praying a blessing a thankesgiuing to God before the Elements purposely set before vs and not by casuall position And it is true that if any may bee said to kneele before the Elements it is the Pastor in this part of the action and not the people For when they receiue they do not set the bread before them as Papists doe the Crucifix but presently they put it in their mouthes and whilest they are eating they continue still kneeling not before the bread which is not then before them but before the Lord Iesus vnto whom they only kneele In all this the Pastor doth imitate our Sauiour himselfe who first tooke the bread and hauing it purposely before him or holding it in his hands Gaue thankes and after Supper tooke the Cup which he did blesse also So to kneele or adore God before the Elements that is hauing them in our sight or obiect to our senses as ordinary signes means memorials to stirre vs vp to worship God and our Sauiour directly immediatly onely and not the Elements either in his stead or coniunctly with him is no idolatry but the right and true forme of Gods worship The cause of all this errour is you make no distinction betweene the abuse of Idols in the worship of God and the right vse of his workes Word and Sacraments To pray or giue thankes to God before an Image with respect to it is idolatry but to pray and giue thankes to God hauing his creatures or Sacraments before our eyes and mindes and being mooued by the respects that we consider in them is a most lawfull and religious forme of adoration For we can neither pray to God nor thank him nor praise him but euer there must bee before the eyes of our minds at least something of his works Word or Sacraments if not before our externall senses and that we must respect consider and be mooued thereby Contrariwise to set before the eyes of our minds or bodie any Image as a meane or motiue of adoration is idolatrie For although the worship were abstracted which is occasioned by the Image and were not giuen vnto it as neuer any hath said except your selfe of the externall adoration yet it is damned because no true worship can be properly occasioned by an Image which is a Doctor of lyes teaching nothing of God but falsehood and vanities But the blessed Sacrament being instituted by Christ to call to our remembrance his death and the benefit we haue thereby giues vs so oft as we receiue it a most powerfull and pregnant occasion of thankesgiuing and praise which if wee should neglect and not adore we should bee guilty of the breach of the first Commandement because we did not adore when Christ purposely did offer the greatest occasion that can be presented so to doe Therefore when by that occasion we adore our Sauiour both on the knees of our soule and body we are no breakers but due obseruers as well of the first as second Commandement PP It is true likewise that God directed his people vnder the Law to bend and bow themselues towards the Arke and the Temple wherein the Arke was and the mountaine whereon the Temple was situate partly lest that rude people should turne their worshippe another way partly because of his promise to heare them when they should pray towards the Temple or Arke partly because of his singular manner of presence in the Arke He was said to dwell betweene the Cherubins the Arke is called his foot-stoole and sometimes the face of God the glory of God It is reason where God is present after an extraordinary manner as when he spake out of the bush and the cloud that adoration be directed to the place of his extraordinary presence The Altars the offrings and other holy things wanted the like presence and promise The Arke and the Cherubins vpon the Arke were not seene therefore could not be readily abused to idolatry ANS You make heere an exception and confesse that it was lawfull to kneele before the Temple the Arke and Gods holy Mountaine because of Gods direction promise and presence Likewise yee acknowledge that adoration may bee directed to the place of extraordinarie presence And hereby it is manifest that to worship God before a creature or before the testimonies of his presence although we haue these things before vs purposely and not occasionally onely doth not import a communion of his worship with the creatures or meanes before the which men may worship for it is certaine that if the people vnder the Law by bending as you say and bowing of themselues towards the Temple Mountaine and Arke had communicated any part of Gods worship with the Temple Mountaine and Arke as the Papists doe with their Idols their worship had beene idolatry and a breach of the second Commandement which God would neuer haue appointed for whatsoeuer respect eyther of his ordinary or extraordinary presence Where yee say That the Altars and Offerings and other holy things wanted the like presence that before these they might not bow in that respect it is vtterly false For Salomon first stood and after kneeled before the Altar and prayed 2. Chron. 6.12 And hee stood before the Altar of the Lord in presence of all
the Congregation of Israel and spread forth his hands For SALOMON had made a brasen scaffold of fiue cubits long and fiue cubits broad and three cubits high and set it in the middest of the court and vpon it hee stood and he kneeled downe vpon his knees before all the Congregation of Israel and spread forth his hands towards heauen and said c. Likewise it is manifest by the Prophet Micha 6.6 That the people bowed when they offered their Oblation Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow my selfe before the most high God Heere we haue Salomon kneeling before the Altar and the people kneeling when they offered their oblations Where you say that the Arke and Cherubins were not seene towards which they bowed 〈◊〉 makes nothing for your purpose for the Temple was seene and the Mountaine was seene towards the which they also bowed So was the Altar and the Oblations Therefore this is but a dreame that you haue fancied to your selfe to say it is idolatry to bow our knees to God before his creatures or holy mysteries if so we vse them only as meanes and instruments and memorials to stirre vs vp to worship God PP The Sacramentall Elements haue neither the like presence the like promise nor the like commandement ANS If yee doe maintaine this it is an absurde heresie for the holy Sacrament hath farre more euidence and excellent promises presence and command then any type vnder the Law Our Sauiour before his Ascension when he commanded his Apostles to teach and baptise promised that whilest they taught his people that which hee commanded them He would be with them to the end of the world Amongst the obseruations which hee commanded them to teach this is one of the first and principall Doe this in remembrance of mee Is not Christ present then with Pastor and people according to his promise in this holy action And in another place he saith Where two or three are mette together in my name there am I in the middest of them Where so many Communicants are met together is not our Sauiour in the middest of them Further when he saith of the bread This is my Body and of the Cup This is my Blood doth it not import a coniunction betweene his Body and the Elements and a spirituall presence of his Body in the Sacrament And should not his body and blood be as present to the eyes of thy minde thy knowledge and vnderstanding and to the hand of thy heart thy faith and confidence as are the Elements to thy externall senses and bodily hand Haue we not taught our people to this day and yet should teach them that in this action there is an internall and externall receiuer the hand and the heart that there is an earthly and spiritual gift the Elements of the Sacrament and the body and blood of Christ And should we not beleeue that Christ God and Man is as really present in the Sacrament according to his Diuinity as we beleeue him to bee bodily present in heauen giuing and applying the selfe-same bodie which is in heauen as really to the inward man as the Pastor is giuing the Elements to the outward How dare you then affirme that the Sacrament hath not such a presence of Chrst as the Arke the Propitiatory and the Cherubins had O but he said that he would dwell betweene the Cherubins That dwelling was typicall but Christ hath promised to dwel spiritually and really in the hearts of the worthy receiuers The bread which we breake is it not the communion of the body of Christ The cup which we blesse is it not the communion of the blood of Christ And saith he not of this communion Hee that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood remaineth in me and I in him God called the Arke his foot-stoole but Christ calleth the sacramentall Elements his body and blood Sometime hee called the Arke his face and glory because it was a type of his face and glory but the Sacrament is not a bare type but a powerfull instrument whereby Christ is communicate vnto vs that wee may bee made partakers heere of his grace and hereafter of his glory Finally when we are commanded to doe this in remembrance of him we are commanded to adore him for according to the interpretation made in the Confession of Faith confirmed by act of Parliament which yee professe your selfe to haue sworne To doe this in remembrance of Christ is to magnifie declare extoll and praise his death till his comming againe And this is a reall act of adoration PP Worship is tyed no longer to any certaine thing or or place on earth ANS That is true yet worship stands in certaine actions which must bee performed in some conuenient place as Prayers Supplications Intercessions Thankesging and Praises whersoeuer these actions are performed in these places God must bee worshipped and if the blessed Sacrament bee an action of that kinde in it God must bee worshipped and in the place where it is celebrated PP Adoration is tyed in the new Testament to the Manhood of Christ the true Arke and Propitiatory and is carried to that place in which wee certainly know the said Manhood to exist substantially saith Perkins and therefore it is that wee lift vp our eyes to the heauens where hee is and direct our very externall worship to him ANS We doe fully agree with Perkins in all this for wee neither direct our internall nor externall adoration to the sacramentall Elements nor to the place where they are but to the Manhood of Iesus which wee acknowledge and beleeue to be locally only in heauen Therfore in the ancient Church when the people came to the Sacrament the Deacon cried Sursum corda Lift vp your hearts and the people answered Habemus ad Dominum Wee haue our hearts lifted vp to the Lord. But what is this to the purpose in hand For the question is not in whom God should bee worshipped or in what place Christs Manhood is wherin God should be worshipped but the question is whether at the Sacrament in the act of receiuing the sacramentall Elements externally and the body and blood of Iesus Christ internally we may bow our knees and lift vp our hearts and adore that Manhood by reason of the personall vnion that it hath with the Godhead and the Godhead dwelling in the Manhood corporally This is the only true relatiue worship acceptable to God in the Humanitie to worship the Diuinitie and the Humanitie with the Diuinitie in one Person the inuisible God in his owne essentiall and incarnate Image the Lord Iesus That such worship may and should bee performed in receiuing the blessed Sacrament neuer any Diuine ancient or moderne hath doubted to this day except Anabaptists and Arrians who deny Christs Diuinity and will neither adore him in the Sacrament nor any other action of Diuine worship PP It is obiected and said that we may pray in the act of receiuing Therefore
agreeable to the nature of the action For wee cannot deny that CHRIST in this action is to be adored and of that wee giue euident testimony euen when wee sit at Table for our sitting bare-heaâ—ed is a signe of adoration as well as kneeling and is no lesse idolatrous if it be done for adoration of the bread That to conclude if wee remoue noâ— the euill opinion the superstition remaines and poâ—â—tâ—s the action but if the opinion be taken away neither doth the action pollute the gesture nor the gesture the action both of them being religious and of diuine Institution sorting and agreeing naturally one with another PP The fourth breach of the second Commandement made by kneeling is the continuall danger and occasion of idolatry We are forbidden all occasions and prouocations of Idolatry There is a naturall pronenesse in all men to idolatry great ignorance in the common people and superstition rooted in the hearts of men Papists daily encrease the idoll of the breadie god is still in great account in the Romane Churches round about vs in priuate corners amongst vs and yet men are not ashamed to say that all memory of former superstition is past and no perill is to be feared againe The Virgins in Cyprians time granted they walked with yong men talked with them went to bâ—d with them but when it came to the act they abstained Cyprian answeres Non est locus dandus Diabolo nemo diu tutus periculo proximus Place should not be giuen to the Diuell no man is long safe who is neere the point of danger The Belgick Churches in their Synods permitted not libertie of kneeling for the same respect of bread worship as may be seene in the harmonie of their Synods set forth of late by FESTVS HOMMIVS Liberum est stando sedendo vel â—undo coenam celebrare non autem geniculando ob artolatrias periculum If a lawfull vse could be deuised yet this danger cannot be eschewed Information by preaching is a sufficient remedie meate doth not nourish so fast as poyson doth corrupt The watchmen are sometime ignorant or negligent many want doctrine it is better to fill vp the pit then to set one beside it to warne the passengers that they fall not in such ceremonies ought to be appointed which by their goodnesse and edification may helpe the preaching of the Word and not such as the Word daily must haue need to correct the strength of many poore Christian soules should not bee tryed by bringing them to the very brinke of danger ANS Your fourth breach is the occasion and danger of idolatry But kneeling imports no more danger nor occasion of idolatry then sitting doth of prophanation and contempt of the Sacrament and with vs there be many moe prophane Christians then idolatrous Papists and people are farre more ready by sitting to take occasion of despising the Sacrament their senses leading them to esteeme basely of it then by kneeling to thinke the bread and wine to be the body and blood of Christ materially the same being against sense and reason and the doctrine of the Word which teacheth them the contrary The Virgins in Cyprians time by walking and talking and lying with yong men did expose themselues to vncleannesse and as Cyprian saith gaue place to the Diuell but the lawfull vse of a religious ceremony can neuer be the occasion of idolatrie nor can the vse of it giue place to the Diuell Res bonae neminem scandalizant saith TERTVLLIAN de velandis Virginibus nisi malam mentem That is good things giue offence to none but an euill minde The iudgement of the Belgick Churches we reproue not because they know best what serues to the edification of their Churches nor will they I hope reprooue our iudgement concerning kneeling which is grounded vpon reasons as expedient for our estate as any can be alledged by them for their owne but the liberty which they giue to celebrate the Sacrament with the gesture of sitting standing or passing condemnes â—latly your opinion of the necessity of sitting which neuer any Church or Diuine ancient or moderne did hold except your selfe yet pardon me for reckoning you amongst the Diuines As to the feare of Bread-worship it will neuer be caused by the religious vse of kneeling but by some peruerse disposition of the Receiuer which nothing can remedie sufficiently but right information made by sound doctrine It is true that to the vncleane all things are vncleane a soule that is euill disposed may like a Spider conuert into poyson the iuyce of the same flower which the Bee turneth into hony out of the sacramentall Word This is my body which is broken for you the Papist draweth the poyson of Transubstantiation but the true Christian the sweet and spirituall participation of the body of our Lord. The word giues not to the Papist an occasion of his errour but he takes occasion at the Word because of the peruerse disposition of his minde so kneeling being a religious ceremonie and commanded by God when it is lawfully vsed at the receiuing of the Sacrament can neuer giue occasion of Bread-worship although superstitious men hauing corrupted their mindes may make it an occasion of that and worse The gesture of sitting is at this day abused by Arrians and made a signe of their deniall of the God-head of Christ and prophane Christians haue taken and daily take occasion thereby to fall into the pit of contempt and prophanation of this Sacrament from which inconuenience no ceremonies that can be chosen will preserue them except they be warned daily and directed by the Word how to carry themselues and if we neglect this committing their safetie to the ceremonies of sitting standing walking or kneeling we shall not only bring them to the brinke of danger but shall drowne them in the depth either of prophanenesse or of superstition and idolatry Now if you thinke that there is greater danger of idolatrie to be feared from kneeling then of prophanenesse from sitting you are much deceiued for if wee consider the disposition of our people amongst whom some I confesse haue vnderstanding yet are inclined to superstition idolatry the greater company are simple ones that neuer did nor euer will as it is to be supposed take occasion by kneeling to thinke the bread the bodie of Christ or yet to adore it for his body This errour was brought in by the Clergie and Scholastickes wherof the people could neuer haue dreamed if it had not been daily inculcate into their eares and they perswaded so to thinke by the false interpretation of the words This is my body The right exposition of the same hath remoued that error and must still debarre it not the gesture of sitting for thereby simple ones are ready by their owne inclination to take occasion as wee haue knowne in time past of contemning the holy Sacrament and so from superstition to runne into a profanation of the Lords Body from eyther