aliquam negligentiam seu oblivionem vel malevolentiam abscondisti liberet te Deus ab omni malo hic in futuro conservet confirmet te semper in omni opere bono perducat te Christus Filius Dei vivi ad vitam siae fine manentem Confitentium Cerem antâ—q Colon. 1530. present and to come which thou hast committed before him and his Saints which thou hast confessed or by some negligence or evil will hast concealed God deliver thee from all evil here and hereafter preserve and confirm thee alwayes in every good work and Christ the Son of the living God bring thee to the life which remaineth world without end After this form are conceived all the Absolutions prescribed for use in the Liturgy of our Church as savouring of more modesty and less superciliousness and that none of Gods glory might be thought to cleave unto the Ministers fingers for instance In the general absolution upon the confession of sin at the entrance of Gods worship He pardoneth and absolveth all such as truly repent them of their sins Forms of Absolution in the Church of England and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel wherefore we beseech him to grant us true repentance c. And after a general confession of sins premised by the Communicants the Minister or Bishop if present turning himself unto the people saith Almighty God our heavenly Father who for his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all such which with earnest repentance and true faith turn unto him have merey upon you pardon and forgive you all your sins strengthen and confirm you c. And at the visitation of the sick the sick party having confessed any weighty matter wherewith his conscience is troubled the Priest absolveth him after this sort our Lord Jesus Christ who hath left power to his Church to absolve all sinners which truly repent and believe on him of his great mercy forgive thee thine offences and by his authority committed unto me I absolve thee from all thy sins in the Name of the Father c. By all of which it is evident how much the Church attributeth to prayer and Divine authority in this ministration A third Ordinance whereby the Minister remitteth sins 3. By the Sacraments Sacrament a non excludimus quae verbo tanquam sigillo regio appâ—ndi solent Masar de Minister Anglic. l. 5. c. 10. pag. 635. Acts 2.38 Acts 22 16. â—ur Baptizatis si pâ—r hominem peccaâ—a dimiâ—â—i non licet in Baptismo utique remissio peccatorum omaium est Quid interest utrum per poenitentiam an per Lavacrum hoâ— jâ—s sibi datum sacerdotes vendicent unum in utroâ— Mâ—aistâ—rium est Ambr. l. 1. de Poen c. 7. is in dispensing the mysteries of God the holy Sacraments and these added to the word of God render the pardon under seal the more to confirm and quiet a distracted Conscience for of Baptisme it is evident Repent saith Peter and be baptized every one of you in the Name of the Jesus Christ for the remission of sins And now why tarriest thou saith Ananias unto Paul arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins And the Nicene Creed I believe one Baptisme for the remission of sins Upon which ground Saint Ambrose questioned the Novatians that baptized and yet acknowledged no power in the Church to remit sins Why baptize you if sins may not lawfully by man be forgiven assuredly in Baptism there is a pardon for all offences What difference is there whether Priests claim this power as given unto them in the reconciling of Penitents or in the washing of Baptisme The Ministery in both being one and the same So for the holy Eucharist that lively mirror of our Saviours passion wherein Christ is crucified 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Before our eyes wherein the Bread is broken and delivered in token that his body was broken and his merits given unto us wherein the Bloud of the new Testament is shed for many for the remission of sins Matth. 26.28 Now the virtue annexed to these Blessed Sacraments which are seals of the Promises of the Gospel as the Censures are of the threats is from God whose Sacraments they are and not from man who is but the Minister thereof From his side flowed the bloud and water and because both rise from that spring they have both this power Herein is no power for man where the grace of the Divine bounty prevaileth saith Ambrose It is one thing to baptize by the way of Ministery Nulla in his hominis potestas est ubi divini muneris gratia viget Ambr. suprà and another thing by the way of power saith the Oracle of Hippo the power of baptizing the Lord retaineth to himself Aliud est baptizare per Ministerium aliud per potestatem sibi tenuit Dominus potestatem baptizandi servis Ministerium dedit Aug. tract 5. in Joan. the Ministery he hath given to his servants And that School-man argued not amiss that framed this conclusion thence To baptize inwardly and to absolve from mortal sin are of equal power Paris potestatis est interiùs baptizare à culpa mortali absolvere sed Deus non debuit potestatem baptizandi interiùs communicare ne spes poneretur in homine Ergo pari ratione nec potestatem absolvendi ab actuali Alex. Halens sum part 4. Qu. 21. Memb. 1. But God ought not to communicate the power of baptizing inwardly lest any hope should be placed in man therefore by the like reason ought he not to commit the power of absolving from actual sin unto any To conclude this point touching the Sacraments Cyprian or the Author of the XII Treatises De Cardinalibus operibus Christi writeth thus Forgiveness of sins Remissio peccatorum sive per baptismum sive per alia Sacramenta daretur propriè Spiritûs Sancti est ipsi soli hujus efficientiae privilegium manet Cypr. tract de bapt Chr. whether it be given by Baptisme or by other Sacraments is properly of the Holy Ghost and the privilege of effecting this remaineth unto him alone So much for the third mean wherein the power of the keys is exercised viz. in the due administration of the Sacraments 4. By excommunication ecclesiastical censures The fourth and last thing wherein the power of the keys is discerned consisteth in the interdictions and relaxations of publick Censures Therefore Divines refer the promise of the keys made unto Peter Matth. 16. to the Ministery and Preaching of the Gospel Illa deligando solvendo Petro facta promissio non aliò debet râ—sâ—â—â—i quâ—m ad vâ—â—bi ministerium locus Matth. 18. ad disciplinam excommunicatioms pâ—rtinet quae ecclesiae promissa est Calvin Instit lib. 4. c. 11. Sect. 1 2. and the mention of the keys to be granted again Matth. 18. to Ecclesiastical discipline and excommunication The censure of the Church is
thing with this protestation That the Graecians since their departure from the Church Respondeo posito quòd non sit apud eos talis consuetudo mult as ali as laudabiles consuetudines omiserunt quò ab Ecclesia recesserunt ità istam non solùm laudabilem sed necessariam potuerunt omittere 2. sed nec notum quòd non confiteantur nec hoc alicubi aliquis Doctor scribens contra eorum abusiones exprimit Scot. lib. 4. dist 17. that is since they disclaimed all agreement with Rome have omitted many laudable customes and might leave out confession though laudable and necessary but tells us withall that it is not certainly known how they use not confession neither any Doctor taxing their abuses reprehended the want thereof in particular All which might well be as reputing that want in those dayes of so small a trespasse as not to be taken notice thereof or not deserving any reprehension to which later conjecture Canus consenteth Theodorus delivereth saith he that the Graecians held sins to be confessed unto God alone Theodorus dicit Graecos existimare soli Deo esse confitenda peccata quemadmodum itaque Baptismus non statim à passione Christi coepit esse medium necessarium omnibus ad salutem sed post sufficientem Evangelii Baptismi evulgationem ità Confessionis Sacramentum ex co tempore coepit omnibus hominibus esse necessarium etiam de peccatis secretis quo sufficientâ—r promulgatum est Quo sit ut Graeci ante plenam evulgationem sine peccatorum confessione occultorum salvari potuerint Canus Relect. de Poen part 5. p. 897. even as Baptism began not immediately upon Christs death to be a necessary mean to salvation but at such time as the Gospel and Baptisme were sufficiently divulged So the Sacrament of Confession for secret sins from that time forward began to be necessary for all men when it was sufficiently promulgated whence it comes to pass that the Graecians before plenary publication might be saved without confessing their secret sins The Greeks without all peradventure are beholding to Melchior Canus for this excuse that they may be dispensed and born withall for not frequenting of Confession because the necessity of that practick hath not yet been sufficiently cleared unto them But is it not ill done of the Jesuits those Apostolical men that take upon them the conversion of Nations so far to neglect their neighbour Christians all this while as not to clear unto them a point of such importance for the Nestorians a wild slip of that tree know not yet extreme unction Purchas Pilgrim part 3. pag. 38. Brierwood Enquiry pag. 153. or confession and the Jacobites in Syria Palestina c. of which sect is the present Patriarch of Jerusalâ—m confess their sins unto God onely and not unto the Priest and as others record but very seldome so that maâ—y communicate without auricular confession and how much it is prized by a principal member in that Church at this day may be in part discovered under the hand of Cardinal Bardini to a Jesuited Greek bred in the College at Reme named Cannachi Rossi concerning the Patriarch Cyrill Anno Dom. 1627. whose deposition the Jesuites laboured for not acknowledging the Româ—n Supremacy wherein amongst other accusations charged upon him the fourth instruction is Of him we are advised that he denieth the necessity of Auricular confession Di lui siamo avisati che nega la necessita della confessione auriculare lo Spiegare in essa li peccati della mente Che in loco di lei havesse introdotto una certa confessione furta ae Dio publicamente con parole generali Turkish Histor p. 1500. and the ein to display the sins of the mind and that he hath brought into the place thereof a certain kind or forme of confession made puâ—lickly unto God in general words It seemeth by this passage that the modern Churches of Greece bear no good will to auricular confession The necessity then cannot be so forcing as Rome imagineth what then The necessity of Confession stated will you leave it to each mans discretion to be used or forborn as he shall think fit So to leave it were in effect to leave it off Our corrupt natures restrained and kept in set but at a little liberty become licentious The bending twig no sooner up but declines unto the other side and there can be no reason why a natural man is so much in the extremes but bâ—cause virtue stands in the middle The experience of our times shews how ill a keeper mans discretion hath been of Confession as quite and clean to loose the trust reposited he had good reason therefore that said Such as go about to make this law free endeavour to remove the same altogether out of the Church Qui legem hanc liberam facere contendunt eam penitus de Ecclesia tollere moliuntur hac enim libertate creditâ receptâ quis sibi obsecro hanc sarcin am imponant ultrò etsi sarcina non sit sed saluberrima animae languescentis medâ—cina M. Vehe Asserr sacr Axiom tr 6. c. 1. for if once this freedom be believed and received what man will submit his shoulders willingly to this burden although burden it is none but a wholsome medicine for a languishâ—ng soul I cannot think this duty hangs so loose as to depend upon the meer motion of every Penitent and yet am far from imagining the law thereof to be so tyrannical as to be obtruded upon the consciences of all men upon little or no occasions To let bloud in some diseases saith an eloquent Physician is no new thing but that there should be scarce any disease wherein we should not bleed is saith he a strange and new fashion The soul-Physician may take aim by him for the body and heal some sins as he doth not all maladies by letting out of bloud and corruption and if repentance be the Antidote against sin and confession one of the ingredients the use must depend as much at least upon the advice of the Spiritual Physician as upon the voluntary inclination of the sick patient God gave a command to confess unto the Priest that we have heard nor that it wâ—â— ceremonial are we able to prove The Ministers of the Gospel are enabled with power to remit and retain sins and their lips preserve the word of Reconciliation for distressed consciences that 's clear and as they are to prescribe the remedy so is the penitent to open the disease The Apostle heard sins confessed unto him and rebuked not those that made them The ancient Fathers stood much for the same as a profitable mean at the least to procure remission and pardon And shall a duty so commanded so advanced so extolled be of so thin and poor esteem as to be blown away upon each mans fancy as we are taught better things so we hope for better And although
shame under foot An melius est damnatum latere quam palam absolvi In asperitudine sacci horrore cineris oris de jejunio and prefer open absolution before secret guilt And though our bodies are for the time besmear'd with dust and wrapp'd with hair-cloth though our visages be pale and lurid with fasting our hair dischiveld not platted nor crisped and no fucus no frication applied to revive a decayed complexion the soul Christs spouse never appears in a better dress nor more lovely chaste to her husband than when the body is less adorned Surely the tinkling ornaments Es 3.18 19 20 Num ergo in coccino Tyrio pro delictis supplicare nos convenit Poeniten iam ministe ium ejus exomologâ—sin Cyprian and caules the round tires like the moon the changeable suits of apparel the wimples and the crisping pins the glasses and hoods and veiles are very unmeet furniture for repentance even Tyre it self had the means been offered had laid aside the Tyrian robe for sack-cloth and ashes This was the discipline up in Tertullians days which is the ministery and act or exercise of Repentance rather than the virtue it self After the Master let his Scholar take place Saint Cyprian with whom the conversation of a Penitent is thus expressed He must saith he be very intent upon prayers and supplications Orare oportet impensiùs rogare diem luctâ—â—transigere vigiliis noctes fletibus ducere stratos solo adhaerere cineri in cilicio volutari sordibus post indumentum Christi perditum nullum jam velle vesttum post Diaboli cibum malle jejunium justis operibus incumbere quibus peccata purgantur Eleemosynis frequenter insistere quibus à morte anâ—mae liberantur Cyprian passing away the day in heaviness the night in watching and weeping lie prostrate he must upon the ground bespread with ashes rolling in sack-cloth and mire he must away with no garment having lost that of Christs preforring fasting having fed upon the Devils dish and be imployed upon good works by which sins are cleansed and given to alms-deeds whereby souls are delivered from death See Christian Reader the strictness of those times how hardly sinners were taxed True Converts stuck not at such penances to purchase Gods favour the loss whereof they he 'd dearer than their lives and for whose sake they shed bloud as weâ—l as tears marvel not at the rigid Penitents of that age which was so pregnant of faithful Martyrs and let not those passages trouble thee viz. Good works cleanse from sin that is they sanctifie not justifie the doers and purge out sin (c) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clâ—m Al. Peccata bonis operibus purgantur quia contrario habitu expelluntur El emosynae nou liberant à morte sed in ipsis Eleemosynis Dâ—us Hostieus as one contrary doth another and almes deliver from death that is God delivereth from death such as are rich in almes and good works far be it from this B. Martyr to intitle good works of what kind soever to the virtue of that bloud which only ran in our Saviours veines Now the order observed in this discipline may be collected from a passage in the same Father blaming the preposterous reconcilement of some where the same was omitted thus The penance as yet not performed Non dum poenitenti â factâ nondum exomologesi fiaitâ nondum manu eis ab Episcopo clero impositâ Eucharistia illis datur Cypr. lib. 3. Epist 14. the publick confession not perfected the hands of the Bishop and Clergie not being imposed upon them and for all this they are admitted to the Euchaâ—ist The order then as B. Rhenanus collects was in this manner First the penitents resorted to the Priests and made their sins known unto them Discimus hunc olim in Ecclesia servatum ordinem ut 1. sieret confessio criminum apud sacerdotes Dei 2. hanc sequebatur Poenitentia quae praecesserat 3. Poenitentiam excipiebat exomologesis 4. quam subsiqu batur impositio manûs Episcopi ac Cleri hâc factâ dabatur Eucharistia sic reconciliatio B. Rhen. annotat ad Tertul. de Poenit. 2. Then was their penance prescribed 3. Next the publick denunciation of their offences in the face of the assembly 4. Afterwards their reconcilemâ—nt by imposition of hands from the Bishop and the Clergie and their admittance to participate of the blessed Sacrament Saint Basil writing upon those words of the Psalme Basil M. He loveth mercy and justice demonstrateth how God is inclined to both of these virtues that all his acts are mixt and composed of them both and how he practiseth the one upon Penitent the other upon obdurate sinners 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil in Ps 32. sub fins gr pag. 84. Basilcae An. Dom. 1551. and withall describeth the behaviour and carriage of a Penitent to obtain mercy If God shall find thee humble and bruised for thy sin there 's the inward contrition of a wounded heart the first and principal ingredient in this Medicinal Penance lamenting very much and bewailing thy evil works there 's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 howling and weepâ—ng the expressions of inward sorrow Publishing without shame the things that were done in secret there 's Exhomologesis solemn and open Confession petitioning the Brethren to further and labour thy safety and recovery there 's supplication to make the Church thy advocate and when he shall behold thee thus wholly miserable and pensive he will confer upon thee his abundant mercy there 's the Penitents reconciliation and absolution there go then inward grief outward sorrow open confession humble supplication all these fore-runners unto mercy and reconciliation In Ambrose you shall meet with frequent mention of Ambrose this Disciplius especially where repentance is his theme If a man have sinned secretly Si quis occulta crimina habens propter Christum tamen studiosè poenitentiam egerit quomodo istic repetit si ei communio non refunditur volo veniam reus speret petat eam lacrimis petat gemitibus petat populi totius fletibus ut ignoscatur obsecret cùm secundò tertiò fuit dilata ejus communio credat remussiù◠se supplicasse fletus augeat c. Cognovi quosdam in poenitentia sulcasse vultum lacrimis exarasse continuis flâ—tibus genas stravisse corpus suum calcandum omnibus jejuno ore semper pallido mortis speciem spiranti in corpore praetulisse Ambr. lib. 1. de poen c. 10. and shall for Christs sake have â—ndergone penance what ben fit reapeth he if not restored to the communion of Saâ—nts my desiâ—e is the guilty person hope well intreat for his state with weeping with\ sighing with the tears of the people that he become a suiter for pardon and although his request be once and again deferred let him imagine he hath been toâ— remiss and cold in his prayers and forthwith
ecclesia Christi cùm sit ipsa afflictis conscientiis unicum remedium Luther cap. Babyl tom 6. fol. 109. our Church hath ever most soundly maintained the truth of this doctrine And again Verily there is not any means more excellent to humble a proud heart nor to raise up an humble spirit then this spiritual conference betwixt the Pastor and his people committed to his charge Pag. 766. if any sin trouble thy conscience confesse it unto Gods Minister ask his counsel and if thou doest truly repent receive his absolution and than doubt not but in foro Conscientiae thy sins be as really forgiven on earth as if thou didst hear Christ himself in foro judicii pronouncing them to be forgiven in heaven Luke 10.16 Qui vos audit me audit try this and tell me whether thou shalt not find more ease in thy conscience than can be expressed in words Reformed Churches of Germany did profane men consider the dignity of this divine calling they would the more honour the calling and reverence the persons Nos confessionem retinemus praecipuè propter absolutionem quae est verbum Dei quòd de singulis authoritate divina pronunciat potestas Clavium quare impium esset ex Ecclesia privatam absolutionem tollere neque quid sit remissio peccatorum aut potest is Clavium intelligunt si qui privatam absolutionem aspernantur Augustan Confess Thus is the doctrine of the Mother justified by her children and lest any should think our Church and Divines stand here alone I will adjoyn some forraign testimonies The Doctrine of the Protestants in Germany is related in the Augustan Confession thus We retain confession chiefly for absolution which is Gods word that the power of the keys denounceth by authority divine of each person in particular wherefore it were wickedly done to take private absolution out of the Church nor do they understand what remission of sins or the power of the keys meaneth if so be they contemn private absolution And the manner observed in the German Churches is set forth by Chemnitius thus The use of private Confession is with us preserved Privatae Confessionis usus apud nos servatur ut generali professione peccati ex significatione poenitentiae petatur absolutio cumque non sine judicio usurpanda sit clavis vel solvens vel ligans in privato illo colloquio Pastores explorant Auditorum judicia an rectè intelligant de peccatis exterioribus interioribus de gradibus peccatorum de stipendio peccati de fide in Christum deducuntur ad considerationem peccatorum explorantur an seriò doleant de peccatis an iram Dei ti meant cupiant illam effugere an habeant propositum emendationis interrogantur etiam si in certis quibusdam peccatis haerere existimantur traditur ibi doctrina exhortatio de emendatione quaeritur vel consilium vel consolatio in gravaminibus conscientiae tali confessioni impartitur absolutio Exam. Conc. Trid. part 2. pag. 195. that upon a general confession of sin and intimation of Repentance absolution may be desired and since that the keys whether binding or loosing may not be used without judgment in that private conference the Pastors sift into the discretion and judgment of their Auditors whether they rightly understand betwixt internal sins and external as also the degrees in sin and the wages thereof and of faith in Christ they are brought into a consideration of their offences they are tried if they truly repent them of their sins and stand in awe of Gods wrath and desire to flie from the same If they have any purpose of amendment they are further interrogated if any particular sins stick upon them the doctrine and exhortation to amendment is there delivered counsel and consolation is there sought for overburt boned consciences and upon such a Confession there is granted an absolution Beatus Rhenanus B. Rhenanus a great Secretary to ancient learning treating of private confession and from whence it derived its original Quà m saluberrimam esse nemo potest inficiari si morositatem scrupulositatem nimiam amputes Quid enim per Deum immortalem utilius habere possit Ecclesia ad continendam disciplinam Quid commodius quà m privatam istam confessionem ad populum in necessariis crudiendum ubi horulae spatio plüs proficit Laicus quà m triduanâ concione Mihi libet disciplinae encomium apud Cyprian accommodare confessioni ut dicam eam retinaculum fidei ducem itineris salutaris fomitem nutrimentum bonae indolis magistram virtutis B. Rhen. praefat ad Tertull. de poenit falls into these words Which no man can deny to be very wholesome if too much austorenesse and scrupulosity therein were cut off for in the name of God what can be more profitable to uphold Ecclesiastical discipline what more fit than private confession to instruct the people in points necessary to be known where a Lay-man shall be more edified in an hours space than at a three-dayes Sermon May it be lawful for me to bestow the praise Cyprian hath of Discipline upon confession and to call it the retentive of faith the guide of a saving journey the seed and nursery of good behaviour and the mistress of virtue I am not ignorant that the Treatise it self containing this passage is by express order from Index Expurgatorius taken off the file Argumentum libri de poenitentia totum expungatur nam commodè repurgari non potest Ind. expurg Madriti 1584. as a discourse not capable of a Roman salve but needing the spunge throughout with a deleatur Their handling of Authors old and new is much like the Turkish policy in depriving Christian Parents of their Children and those infants of their virilities by castrating them and training them up to be Janizaries and persecutors of their own unknown bloud and Religion Such are their dealings with the Doctors of the Church cutting off their masculine expressions and setting them against themselves in their own tenets also Calvin hath left his mind behind him thus Although Saint James hath not named any man into whose bosome we may empty our selves Tamet si Jacobus neminem nominatim assignando in cujus sinum nos exponeremus liberum permittit delectum ut ei confiteamur qui ex Ecclesiae grege maximè idoneus suerit visus quia tamen Pastores prae aliis ut plurimùm judicandi sunt idonei potissimùm etiam nobis eligendi erunt dico autem ideò prae aliis appositos quia Ministerii vocatione nobis à Deo designantur quorum ex ore erudiamur ad subigenda corrigenda peccata tum consolationem ex vemae fiducia percipiamus Id officii sui unusquisque fidelium meminerit si ita privatim angitur afflictatur peccatorum sensu ut se explicare nisi alieno adjutorio nequeat non nâ—gligere quod illi à Domino offerturremedium
they might be coheirs with him as learned Bâ—za conjectureth Add hereunto another reason to make the guilt of sin better known which is an obligation to punishment and an obstacle unto happiness now the key in opening the door doth put back the bolt and bar wherewithall it was held and God by the ministery of his Priests removes this bar and pardons this guilt which hath shut up the kingdome of heaven against us Absolution presupposeth binding as enlargement restraint Viâ—â—â—â— 1 Pecâ—â—â— 2 Proâ—â—â—â—â—â—â—catum we are then in the first place to distinguâ—sh betwixt the bonds of sin and the bonds for sin for with the bonds of his own sin is a sinner captiv'd this is the bondage and desert of sin and so is he bounden for his sins by the doom and sentence of Gods Ministers which is the punishment and Ecclesiastical censure 'T is the grace of God onely which looseth the bond of sin Dâ—us ipse soâ—â—â—t à pâ—â—â—ati mâ—â—uâ—a in â—tis caligiâ—◠〈…〉 biâ—â— Magistr lib. 4. dist 18. Esay 5.18 Prov. 5.22 and the power of the keys that absolveth from the censure The Prophet acquaints us with the cords of vanity and a cart-rope of sin implying the worse than Egyptian bondage of a sinner and the wise man who had great experience of these bonds saith his own iniquities shall take the sinner himself and he shall be holden with the cords of his sin God shall not greatly need any Lictors or Tormenters or to say bind him hand and foot Domino vinculis alioqui apparitâ—â—â—â—â— vel torto ibus qui cum ad suppliâ—â—◠〈◊〉 nil est opus 〈◊〉 suis ipse 〈…〉 â—â—â—tringatur quò minus poenam essâ—â—â—at Meâ—cer Comment in Prov. 5. for the sinners own offences shall perform that office and the knot fastening these bonds is the habit and custome the sinner hath gotten to do evil Non potest facilitâ—r opâ—rari bâ—â—â— proâ—â—â— habitum viâ—â—â—sum inclinantâ—m ad 〈◊〉 Lyra in Prov. 5. fast binding and fettering him from all good actions the weight whereof presseth so sore and the Chaines are so strong that the arme of God onely must alleviate the one and break the other in sunder These bonds Richardus maketh of two sorts culpable and penal by the first a sinner is bâ—und with the bonds of Captivity â—st oblâ—gâ—tion per quam hâ—â—o obligatur ad culâ—â—m 〈…〉 â—â—â—am in uno 〈◊〉 vâ—â—culo captiviâ—â—tâ—◠〈◊〉 altâ—â—â— debito damnaâ—â—◠〈…〉 potest qui 〈◊〉 â—â—â—ipotens â—â—â—tia potest Rich. de Clav. c. 2 3. and by the latter he is liable to the debt of eternal death both these oâ—ligations are upon him because sin is an offâ—nce against an eteâ—nal and infinite Deity and both these obligations he onely cancelleth that is omnipotent and can do all things Anoâ—â—er laiâ—th a threefold bond upon a sinner the bond of sin the bond of eternal punishment and the bond of satisfaction Peccans mortaliter statim ligatur 1. vinculo culpae ab hoc absolvit eum solus Deus 2. Vinculo poenae aeternae ubi Sacerdos absolvit id est absolutum ostendit 3. Vinculo satisfactionis ubi commutat poenam aeternam in temporalem Expos cum Gloss in Matth. 16. MS. in the first case God onely granteth absolution in the second the Priâ—st absolveth that is sheweth whom God hath absolved in the third the Priest absolveth by binding or by commutation freâ—ing the sinner from eternal pain and obliging him to satisfactory Penance The two former wayes we well allow of but are scrupulous concerning the latter by reason of the too much abused handling of satisfactions and commutations as not ignorant who it is that hath pacified his Fathers wrath and by whose stripes we are healed and that we receive not the grace of God by way of exchange but from the free charter of mercy though we hold it very reasonable that where any person is wronged or the Church scandalized satisfaction may justly be imposed and herein we distinguish betwixt the satisfaction of revenge and of expiation 1. Satisfaction expiatory is Satisfaction expiatory vindictive and propitiatory in Christ probatory in Christians when the sin is blotted out the sinner pardoned and God reconciled 2. and vindictive when the guilt remaineth the sinner is punished and God revenged the expiation was performed by him who trod the wine-press alone Christ Jesus The Revenge if eternal is executed upon such whose sins are not washed in the bloud of that Lamb. If temporary upon the Lords own servants not thereby to make an amends to the justâ—ce of God but to make an amendment in the Penitent For instance in David God put away his sin but not the sword that was unsheathed all his time Now this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or tâ—mporary penance inflicted upon any either by the censure of the Church or voluntary by the delinquent himself In foro mundano peccata quatenus sunt contra bonum pacis publicae sub iciuntur potestati politiâ—ae per quam judicâ—ri poenis publicis puniri â—d beant in foro Ecclesiastico quatenus sunt offensa Dei saluti spirituali nocent subsunt potestati Ecclesiae Apol. pro jure Princip pag. 178. no more prejudiceth that plenary and expiatory satisfaction made by Christ to his Father for believing sinners than the just infliction of temporary punishment by the Magistrate upon Malefactors where a pardon may come from God and judgment be executed by the Magistrate for one and the same offence God himself both ratifying the temporal punishment and remitting the eternal Thus we have seen the obligations let us now come to the absolutions And herein we must carefully distinguish what God doth by himself and what he doth by his Minister what God hath in his own power from that power given by him to his Priests and the better to keep this distance we will lay down these assertions To forgive sins efficienter that is Assertion 1. to be the true and proper cause of Remission is a pretogative appertaining to God onely Absolution from sin then directly cometh from him alone Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity therefore when Christ made bold with this power Esay 43.15 claiming the same by virtue of his Godhead the Scribes said within themselves Matth. 9.3 4. this man blasphemeth by usurpation upon the privilege of the most High for they held it no less than blasphemy for man to forgive sin which our Saviour denied not intimating withall that he might without blasphemy exercise that power who sustained in one person both God and man thereby saith Irenaeus did Christ both cure the man Peccata igitur remittens hominem quidem curavit semetipsum autem manifestè ostendit quis esset Irenae l. 5. adv haer cap. 7. and manifestly discover who he was And Chrysostome observeth that hereby Chrâ—st shewed himself to be God equal to his
ne peut estre violé P. Bess Caâ—esme Tom. 2. pag 736. and preacher in the Court of France being in the place of God hath no mouth to reveal what he knoweth in Confession and for proof hereof he alleageth that of the Psalmist They have mouthes but speak not By his words setting him in the place of God but by his proof making him an Idol the seal of confession saith he is so important and religious that it may not be violated for any thing in the world And so great is the religion of the seal of confession saith a Jesuite that in no case Tantam esse sigilli confessionis religionem ut in nulla casu propter nullum finem etiam pro tuenda tota republica ab ingenti malo temporali vel spirituali violare illud liceat Eudaemon Joh. Apol. pro Garnet p. 335. and for no end yea though it were to protect the State from any great mischief be it Temporal or Spiritual it may not be violated They are the words of Eudaemon or rather Kacodaemon Johannes and addeth withal that this is a received principle amongst men of his rank with whom the keeping of this seal is preferred before the keeping of the Princes safety and State Yea a deep silence is herein required that if our Lord Jesus Christ should again be conversant on earth Perpetuum silentium praestare licet cum Regis Reipublicae internecione conjunctum vel certissimo Salvatoris nostri interitu si nobiscum hic denuò versaretur in terris Jacob. Rex Medit. in Orat. Dom. p. 63. and Judas and the Priests conspiracy to do again and the same delivered under seal of Confession to save our Saviours life it must not be detected as our late Dread Soveraign hath observed from the writings of some of that society No marvel then at those that â—each the seal must not be broken to save a Kings life Non debet manifestare quae audivit in confessione etiamsi aliquod gravissimum malum non revelando immineret ut â—ccisio Regis vel civitatis ruina Armil Au. 5. Confes n. 5. or City from ruine that will not break it to save the life of the Son of God Could it ever be imagined that reasonable men should broach such fearful paradoxes prejudicial to Church State God and man King and subject making the office of Confession the den and cave of villanies and treason and the keys of heaven the keys of hell to lock up sulphurious treasons and to keep in that fire and brimstome that it should not break forth except the Prince flower of the kingdom be born up before it Inconveniences attending the popish seal of confession The holy Eucharist the seal of Grace is with such Fiends the seal to fold up horrid treasons sealing them up with the receiving of that Sacrament silencing their confessions with the pretended seal of another Yea in some cases the preservation of this seal may prove of much detriment to the Confessor himself as they put the case Two men conspire to draw their Priest into a wood and there to murder him as they are in the way one of the Conspirators repenteth and revealeth the same to him in confession what must he do in this case Debet plus timere Dâ—um se offerre Martyrio quà m transgredi Dei legem Ecclesiae revelando confessionem Gabr. l. 4. d. 21. Q. 1. ad primum not go back for that were to break the seal but proceed rather and die a Martyr so sealing this seal with his bloud It causeth a necessary connivency and toleration of sin As if a man confess unto his Priest that he hath married in other Countreys two wives already and in his parish intendeth the marriage of a third the former yet living the resolution is rather than to break the seal the Priest is to marry him and to give the Benediction It is also a stop and bar to the proceedings of justice If a Confessor be examined upon oath concerning a truth detected unto him in Confession under the seal he may safely forswear it that he knoweth nothing thereof for that the same was made known unto him not in the person of man but in the person of God as the Angel in the bush said to Moses in the person of God I am the God of thy father c. But Scotus liketh not this evasion Sacerdos non audit confessionem ex persona Dei sed Ministerialiter loqui autem ex authoritate alterius loqui in persona sua propria ex commissione alterius Scotus because the Confessor speaketh not in the person of God but as a Minister of his put in authority under him therefore he adviseth him to flie in his answer to equivocations And lastly it may prove the * E Seminariis missi Sacerdotes ad intestinas seditiones sub Confessionis sigillo concitandas Cambd. Elizab. ad An. MDLXXX p. 298. School and nursery of treason A Traytor may first feel his Confessor let it be F. Garnet with general notions if he be fordable Another may crave his advice by way of Consultation what course may best be taken to promove the same and in case it take effect he may be questioned who shall succeed in the Crown and because these detections consultations and questions were proposed under the veil and shadow of Confession Cave verò ne contrà odiosa magis fiat si soveat in sinu scelera talia tam odiosa perniciosa Tortura Torti pag. 292. be sure of the Confessor his mouth is stitched up not a word for a world because these things relate to confession the seal and confession would wax odious should the seal be ripped up But as a Reverend Prelate replied Take heed if it grow not more odious if it cover and nourish in its bosome crimes so odious and pernicious And because there may be security given on both sides the Confessée or Penitent is obliged to keep close what the Confesseur or Ghostly Father shall say or do at that time also Non solùm Confessor celare tenetur acta dicta Confitentis sed etiam Confitens ad ipsum tenetur quantum ad acta dicta Saâ—erdotis Gabr. l. 4. d. 21. Q. 1. Concl. 3. so that in this vault Trayterous plots may be conferred upon and banded to and fro without fear of any discovery Gen. 49.6 O my soul come not thou into their secret unto their assembly mine honour be not thou united Yet for all their close dealings sometimes mischief will come out yea hath when such hellish projects have come before loyal Priests Sundry Examples of conspiracies confessed and detected Bodin de Repub lib. 2. c. 5. that have made more Conscience of the safety of their Anointed Soveraign than of the secrecy of this seal A Gentleman in Normandy confessed unto a Franciscan how he had a purpose to have