and Mountains of difficulties before he can reach that blissful Crown it is little less than Miracle that all men do not sooner or latter fall and fall from the faith and fear of God What prospect in the World can ravish us with greater pleasuâ—es or raise in us higher admirations of the divine goodness than to behold those that were once as frail and sinful as we are now advanced above Satans malice or Deaths Power and placed in the Regions of Joy and the Bosom of Jesus that we might not tremble or think it impossible to come thither also Doth not their felicity give life to our hopes and become a pledge of our own future glory why should we not then rejoice with them and delight our selves with the very news of our Brethrens happiness what other Communion is there between us and those blessed Spirits but that they in general pitty and wish well to us and we praise God with and for them And by thus meditating of their most desirable estate we shall learn to despise Death and long to be with such inviting Company nay languishing after the happy enjoyment of such noble Society for ever and ever Who can look up to these Mansions and not enquire for the path that leads thither and be strongly attracted to follow the steps of those who have so successfully trodden this way before This makes the pious Soul so passionately beg the divine grace that it may do as they have done live as they lived and die as they died so that what they are now it may be hereafter The Scythians as Lucian relates kept the memorials of their brave Men with great joy that so many might strive to become like unto them d Simus inter exempla quare deficimus quare desperamus quicquid fieri potuit potest Sen. ep 98. Magnorum virorum non minus quam praesentia utilis est memoria idem ep 102. And St. Augustine saith when any duty seemed difficult he was wont to think of the Saints of former times and he imagined they derided his sloath saying Tu non poteris c. Canst not thou do what those Men nay those Women once did that which hath been effected is not impossible Would we make this use of our faithful Brethren departed their memory and example would be as profitable as if we had their bodily presence with us and the remembrance of their glory would strongly excite us to follow their good example till we came with them to partake of that Heavenly Kingdom in the mean time we shall never want matter for to praise God in their behalf since his truth and mercy to them is the confirmation of our Faith the encouragement of our duty and gives us in contemplation an antepast of our happiness before we come to the full enjoyment of it § 13. Grant this O Father for Iesus Christ his sake our only Mediator and Advocate Amen This general Conclusion of all our Prayers we should not remark particularly here but that the Mass hath thrust in the names of the B. Virgin and other Saints e Et omnium Sanctorum tuorum quorum meritis precibusque concedas in Canone Missae Rom. into the Supplications through whose Merits and Prayers they intercede even in this place where there is a lively Commemoration of the Death of Christ our only Mediator which is not only the holding a Candle to the Sun but seems to intimate that to plead in the Virtue of our Lords Passion is not sufficient that that intercession by which the Holy Virgin and all other Saints became accepted by God was not alone forceable enough But we desire no other Mediator nor need no other Advocate 1 Tim. 2.5 but our Lord Jesus Christ who is here represented nor do we doubt to ask all these Mercies for all these Persons since we approach our Heavenly Father with his dear and only beloved Son in our Arms wherefore let us bless the name of God who hath chosen such a Master of Requests to present our Prayers and put such an Argument in our Mouths when we approach unto him Let us look to the holy Symbols and remember our great High Priest while we offer up the Intercessions with a great humility and a sprightly devotion because our God will not nay cannot deny those that thus come unto him The Paraphrase of the Prayer for the whole Church § 14. O Almighty and Everliving God who art able to help all Persons always and in all things We are unworthy to ask for our selves and yet we are incouraged to intercede for others since by thy holy Apostle Saint Paul thou hast taught us in our daily Assemblies to make Prayers to obtain good Intercessions and Supplications to remove evil in behalf of all the World And to give thanks for the Mercies received by all men Believing therefore thy willingness to grant these things which thou commandest us to ask We humbly disclaim our own Merits beseech thee for Jesus sake and by the Vertue of his Passion here set forth most mercifully ** This to be omitted when there is no Collection ** to accept this poor acknowledgment of thy bounty and testimony of our love in these our Alms to the Poor and Oblations to thy Ministers intreating thee also to hear and ** This to be omitted when there is no Collection ** to receive all our former Petitions especially these our Prayers for all People which we offer as the evidence of our Universal Charity most heartily to thy Divine Majesty who art all-sufficient to supply the whole World To thy goodness therefore we come Beseeching thee though miraculous gifts are ceased yet to inspire continually with such grace the whole body of the Vniversal Church spread over all the Earth that it may be quickened with the most holy Spirit which teacheth the Principles of truth and produceth Vnity in the Faith and Concord in the affections of thy people And grant that all the Members of thy Church that do profess thy true Religion and confess to believe in thy holy Name laying aside their animosities may agree all their differences and so fully rest in the infallible truth of thy Holy Word and its determinations of all necessary things that notwithstanding some lesser varieties they may have mutual peace And live as Children of the same Father in Vnity without Schism or Heresie in Charity and godly love without Malice or Envy among them And because thy Church cannot well subsist on Earth without temporal Guardians We beseech thee also in order to the common good to save the Souls and defend the Persons and Rights of all Christian Magistrates who in their several Dominions have or ought to have supream governance of the Church whether they be absolute Kings or free Princes or else Rulers and Governours in popular States But as our duty interest and affection do peculiarly oblige us We pray thee Especially to save and defend Him who
of the World Math. 28.19 It is true our Saviour hath not prescribed any more in this Sacrament neither than the essential and necessary part leaving the Rites and Circumstances of Administration to the Determination of the Apostles and the Church Yet without doubt the form of Baptism was very early agreed upon because all the Christians in the World e Quod universa tenet Ecclesia nec Conciliis constitutum sed semper retentum est non nisi Autoritate Apostolicâ traditum rectissimè creditur August in Donatist l. 4. c. 23. almost do practise it much after the same manner The latter Ages had made some superfluous Additions but our Reformers have removed them and certainly restored this present office to a nearer Resemblance to the antient model than any other Church can shew We have three several Offices of Baptism 1. For Infants in publick 2. For Infants in danger of Death 3. For those of riper years But because the first is now most used and the other two differ very little from it we shall make that the measure of the rest and only treat of that in particular but first we must speak something to each of the three in general before we conclude this Introduction Of the publick Baptism of Infants § 2. As Baptism was appointed for the same end that Circumcision was and did succeed in the place thereof so it is most reasonable it should be administred to the same kind of Persons and as God commanded Infants to be Circumcised Gen. 17.12 so doubtless he would have them to be baptized Nor is it necessary that Christ should particularly name Children in his Commission Math. 28.19 it is sufficient that he did not except them nor forbid to baptize them for that supposeth he intended no alteration in this particular but that Children should be initiated into the Christian as well as into the Jewish Religion Besides if the Apostles had left Children out of the Covenant and not received them as Members of the Church it is certain the Jews who took such care to circumcise them would have made this a great objection to the Religion and have been highly scandalized thereat Wherefore since Infants are a part of all Nations and we read of whole Housholds baptized Acts 16.15.33 1 Corin. 1.16 it is highly probable that the Apostles themselves baptized Infants only the Baptism of Men and Women converted from Paganism being more for the honour of Religion and more illustrious did obscure the Infant Baptism which being done with less solemnity and at the same time with the Parents it sufficed to note it in general words This we are sure of that all Antiquity affirm that the Apostles did teach the Church to baptize Infants f Pro hoc Ecclesia ab Apostolis traditionem accepit etiam parvulis baptismum dare Origen hom in Rom. 6. Idem Hom. 8. in Levit 12.13 Hom. 14. in Luc. 2. Cypr. Epist 59. c. Consuetudo matris Ecclesiae in baptizandis parvulis nequaquam spernenda est Aug. l. 10. de gen c. 23. by Tradition as they did the change of the Sabbath and other things g Quas sine ullius scripturae instrumento solius traditionis titulo deinde consuetudinis patrocinio vindicamus Tert. de Coron Mil. c. 3. which the Church doth observe as Religiously as if there were a written command for them Besides the Antient Constitutions do command it h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Constit Clement And about 200. years after Christ St. Cyprian with 66. Bishops in Council with him determined that the Church had allowed of it and therefore Children had rather better right i Quod cum circa universos observandum sit atque retinendum tum magis circa infantes ipsos recens-natos observandum putamus Cypr. Epist 59. to Baptism than Elder persons And the Orthodox Fathers did press the Pelagians who denied Original Sin in Infants with this Question viz. Why the Church did baptize them The II. Canon of the Council of Milevis to which St. Augustine subscribed finally pronouncing an Anathema against those who denied That Infants were to be Baptized for the Remission of Sins Since which time it hath been universally practised in all Churches until some wild Enthusiasts of late revivers of old Heresies presumed to oppose it But it is not the giddy attempts of such unstable Persons can shake this Holy Practice which is so reasonable and so antient so beneficial to the Infants so comfortable to the Parents yea and so great a security to Religion by binding these future hopes of the Church in early Vows of Piety and that it may be carefully performed and in due time we shall next shew the necessity thereof Of private Baptism of Infants in Cases of Necessity § 3. Our Saviour himself hath said that Except a Man be born again of Water and of the Holy Ghost he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God John 3.5 and Mark 16.16 he makes Baptism as well as Faith necessary to Salvation whereupon the Antient Christians did constantly affirm that there could be no Salvation in an ordinary way without Baptism k Tertul de bapt cap. 12. Ambros de Vocat gent. l. 2. c. 8. and whosoever died without it their Estate was believed doubtful unless it were in such a Case as that of Valentinian the Emperour whom St. Ambrose hopes might be saved l Ambros de obitu Valentin by the desire of Baptism because he had no opportunity Upon the stock of this Principle grew that great care that no person might die unbaptized insomuch that it was allowed in danger of Death to baptize them who had not past through all their Preparations Provided that they should answer more fully if God restored them m Qui in agritudine constituti baptisma perceperunt facti sani Fidei symbolum dâ—ceantur ut noverint quâ donatione digni sunt habiti Concil Laodicen Can. 47. Anno 364. The like care hath our Church taken of little Children for though the require according to the 59. Can. of the 6. Council at Constantinop That they should be speedily and publickly Baptized in the House of God yet in Cases of extremity she admitteth of that which is done in private Houses even without Ceremony upon condition there may be added more of the solemnity afterwards when it is published in the Church And that it may not be neglected we are taught That it is certain by Gods word that Children baptized dying before they commit actual sin are undoubtedly saved For it is certain by Gods word that Baptism is appointed for remission of sins Acts 22.16 Chap. 2.38 and it is also certain that all they whose sins are forgiven are undoubtedly saved Psal 32.1 But Infants have no other sin but their Original Corruption which being remitted in Baptism they are undoubtedly saved And it is plain the first Christians believed the same Doctrine For if the most notorious offenders
2. The World with all its Pomps and Vanities 1 John 2.16 for who so loveth these cannot love God The sinful fashions and inticing gayeties the gaudy splendor of Riches and all the Magnificence which ministers to Pride and Vanity these a Christian must renounce He must not desire them greedily nor delight in them at all nor use them so as to make him forget God or neglect the solid glories of a better World if he be in Place and Dignity and be obliged to somewhat of Gallantry or Grandeur to distinguish him and bear Proportion with his Quality he must be humble in the midst of all and learn to despise it and to understand the Vanity thereof and must not exceed the bounds of Moderation Thirdly The Flesh that is all the desires after filthy or unlawful pleasures all thoughts that do allure to wantonness or debauchery The Christian must not strive to please his Appetite his Palate or his Concupiscence but doth here vow he will not please them but please God and in order thereto that he will confine his Carnal as well as Covetous desires within the bounds of Reason Innocence and Moderation And this is a brief Account of the first part of the Baptismal Vow which together with the Answer I renounce them all is so exactly Primitive that it is very pleasant to compare ours and the Antient forms together and thereby we shall perceive that although they somewhat differed among themselves yet we have extracted the marrow and substance of them all u 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Constit Apost l. 7. c. 42. ita Dionys Areop Aquam adituri sub Antistitis manu contestamur nos renuntiare Diabolo pompae Angelis ejus Tertul. Coron Militis Repete quid interrogatus fis recognosce quid responderis Renuntiasti Diabolo operibus ejus mundo luxuriae ejus voluptatibus Ambros de init c. 2. Quando te interrogavit Sacerdos Abrenuncias Diabolo operibus ejus Quid respondisti Abrenuncio Abrenuncias seculo voluptatibus ejus Abrenuncio Ambros de Sacram. l 1. c. 2. Seculo renuntiaveramus cum baptizati sumus Cypr. ad Rogat ep 7. Primum interrogatur si Abrenuntiat Diabolo omnibus damnesis ejus operibus fallacibus pompis Raban Maur. instit cler l. 1. c. 27. The only remaining part of our Care is that we do this with a Primitive Spirit that is That we make this renuntiation with all sincerity for we are obliged to it upon our own Account and that we perform it couragiously remembring that the Powers of Hell tremble to see their designed Vassals thus pass into the Tents of Jesus their invincible Adversary and let us together with this promise unfeignedly wish in our hearts that this poor Infant may never retract this beneficial Engagement nor become a Slave to so Cruel a Master any more for his work is deceitful and his Wages Death and Jesus hath now freed it from this Bondage into which it can never return till it renounce him who hath made it free indeed Quer. II. III. After the deserting and renouncing the Old Master the next act is to embrace Jesus Christ and to declare him to be our new Master w 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Const Apost l. 7 ca. 47. For he hath made Faith to be a necessary Qualification for Baptism Mark 16.16 and before St. Philip would baptize the Eunuch he asked him if he did Believe with all his heart and received his Answer That he Believed Jesus to be the Son of God Acts 8.37 From which remarkable President the Church doth ever since demand of all those who do enter into the Christian profâ—ssion if they believe all the Articles which Constitute that Profession and this was done either by way of Question and Answer x 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril catech 2. Credis in Deum patrem omnipotentem dixisti Credo Ambr. de sacr l. 2. c. 7. Solenne sit in lavacro post Trinitatis confessionem interrogare Credis in S. Ecclesiam credis in Remissionem c. Hieron in Luciferian Vid. Cypr. Ep. 70. ad Januar. Ambros in Luc. or else the party baptized if of Age was made to repeat the whole Creed y Qui gratiam baptismatis aditurus est symbolum fidelium populo audiente recitat Augustin But even a Child cannot be made a Christian unless he be engaged to believe as Christians do believe which here by his Sureties he doth promise And they may very well promise that the Child shall believe these divine truths since they were all revealed from Heaven confirmed by Miracles sealed by the blood of holy Martyrs and attested by the constant consent of the Universal Church This Child is not left at random to take up its Religion by chance or interest but is here fixed in the true and unquestionable Verity which will lead it unto Everlasting Life and it hath confessed that Rule which God hath given us to unite us in one Bond of Peace But it is not only necessary that the party Baptized do believe the Christian Faith but he must desire to be joined to that Society by the solemn Rite of Initiation Wherefore it is demanded 3. Whether you will be baptized in this Faith because God will have no unwilling Servants nor ought men to be compelled by Violence unto Religion z Nemini deinceps ad credendum vim inferre liceat Concil Toletan Nec religionis cogere religionem Tertul. ad Scapul Nemo se ab invito coli volet ne homo quidem Id. Apol. c. 24. And yet the Christian Religion is so reasonable so sweet and easie so profitable both as to this World and the next that the Godfathers may presume to Answer They will for doubtless if the Child could understand the excellency of this Religion and speak its mind it would say the same Words and if it be early instructed in the Principles thereof it will soon come to know how much it owes to those who have brought it into so happy an Estate Quer. IV. Finally We are taught that we are delivered out of the Hand of our Enemies to the end that we may hereafter live a godly righteous and sober life Luke 1.74 75. Titus 2.11 12. and that every one who is a Christian must Depart from all iniquity 2 Timoth. 2.19 so that none can be admitted into this Holy Society unless they do promise to live according to Gods Commandments a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Justin Mart. Apol. because Baptism is an Engagement to live purely as Greg. Nazianzene speaks and St. Paul saith they that are Baptized ought to walk in newness of life Rom. 6.4 before any can be enrolled a Souldier of Jesus Christ he must vow in the Words of this Sacrament to observe the Commands of his General b Recordare Tyrocinii tui diem quo Christo consepultus in sacramenti verba jurasti Hieron ad Heliodor
of the Fathers who disallow that practice and certainly it is a great presumption for an ordinary Person to invade the Ministerial Office without any Warrant and as to the pretence that a Child may be in danger I suppose the Salvation of the Child may be as safe upon the stock of Gods mercy without any Baptism as with a Baptism that is not commanded by God nor hath he made any promises unto it So that where God gives not opportunity of a Person who may do it aright it seems better to leave it undone 2. The Words I Baptize thee c. were always the form of the Western Church and cannot be pronounced Emphatically by Midwives or such as the Romanists sometimes permit to baptize but do suppose a lawful Priest one to whom Christ hath given Power to do this The Eastern Church use a little variation Let N. be Baptized c. but the sense is much the same howsoever in the next words In the Name of the Father c. all Orthodox Christians ever did agree because it is of Christs own appointment and unalterable wherefore when the Hereticks presumed to vary from this form they were censured by the Church and those Baptisms declared null which were not ministred in the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost I confess there were words put in to explain not to vary the sense x 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Constit l. 7. c. 23. fusiùs ap Justin Martyr Apol. 2. And the Orthodox took liberty to mingle a Paraphrase with them yet surely it is more prudently done of our Church to preserve the Words of our Lord intire without any Addition or Diminution Now by Baptizing in the Name of the Three Persons is not only meant we do it by the Commission and Authority of God the Father Son and Holy Ghost But that we do baptize them into the Faith of the Holy Trinity and do receive them into that Society of Men who are distinguished from Jews and Turks Heathens and all false Professions in the World by believing Three Persons and one God This is the great fundamental Article on which all the rest depend and to which they may be referred so that our very being Baptized into the Trinity is an Argument we are Christians and a Profession of the Religion which Jesus taught And the more to illustrate this St. Ambrose tells us that when Men come to full Age were Baptized they asked them three several times if they did believe in each of the three Persons and put them into the Water first when they professed their belief in the Father and again when they declared their Faith in the Son and a third time when they said they believed in the Holy Ghost Ambros de sacram l. 2. cap. 7. We may add that this solemn naming of the three Persons is a kind of calling them to Witness from Heaven that we may as it were profess before these three Witnesses our unfeigned Faith 1 John 5.7 And so we have the same for Witnesses of our Faith y obsignata in Patre Filio Spiritu Sancto nam si in tribus testibus stabit omne verbum quanto magis dum habemus per benedictionem eosdem arbitros Fidei quos sponsores salutis Tertul. de bapt c. 6. who make us the promises of Salvation and sure we shall never dare fall off who have sealed our Profession in the Presence of the Father Son and Holy Ghost wherefore let our words be established for ever 3. We are to consider the Sacred Actions in Baptism which are the Dipping or Sprinkling of the Party with Water It is indeed very probable that at the first Institution of Baptism in those hotter Regions where it was ordinary to bath daily the Rite might be performed commonly by Immersion but the Prudence and Charity of the Church knowing this not to be Essential to the Sacrament did even there appoint that Clinick Christians that is such who by weakness kept their Beds should only be sprinkled with Water which St. Cyprian determines to be a lawful Baptism z In sacramentis salutaribus necessitate cogente Deo largiente indulgentiam suam totum conferunt Divina◠Compendia Cypr. ad Magn. ep 76. And therefore for the same reason it may very well be indulged to tender-infants in these Northern Countries For God will have mercy and not Sacrifice and the divine grace is not measured by the quantity of Water used in the Administration And yet because the way of immersion was the most antient our Church doth first prescribe that and only permits the other where it is certified the Child is weak although Custom have now prevailed to the laying the first wholly aside but it is not a matter worth contending for since sprinkling is sufficient As for the Custom of Dipping or sprinkling three times Once at the naming of the Father again at the naming of the Son and a third time at the naming of the Holy Ghost it is very likely a Non semel sed ter ad singula nomina in personas singulas tinguimur Tertul. advers Prax. cap. 26. Cyril catech 2. it was the general use of the Church of old and they supposed it did very well express the Mystery of the Trinity But our Church hath not enjoined it wherefore if it be used by any it must not be urged as necessary for when some in Spain began to press and strain this Trine Immersion too far it was Decreed in a Council b Caeutum est ne in Hispania fiat baptismus nisi una mersione Concil Tolet. 4. Can 5. That it was sufficient to do it once because this did as well set out the one God as the other did the Three Persons To conclude we ought not to be so much concerned for these outward and ritual parts as for the Devotion of our Hearts Wherefore let the Priest minister herein with all possible Humility Reverence and Sincerity remembring that God is doing his work within while he is exercised without and let the People behold the mystery with gravity and wonder thankfully remembring the like mercy once shewed to them And finally let the Priest and all the People heartily say Amen when the mystery is ended both to shew they believe the Child to be rightly baptized and to desire God may ratifie that in Heaven which we have done upon the Earth Amen so be it §. 5. The Reception of the Child into the Church We receive this Child into the Congregation of Christs flock and do sign him with the Sign of the Cross c. Baptism is by the appointment of Christ himself the Sacrament of our initiation and admission into his Church wherefore when any one is Baptized it is requisite they should be solemnly declared members of the visible Church and when God hath received them into his favour and sealed them with his Spirit as he ever doth in this mystery where
his Interest and his Children beloved of God De vitâ Constant l. 4. c. 45. And sure it is prudent to ask our greatest mercies often and especially then when by the commemoration of this All powerful Sacrifice we may be most likely to prevail Yet it is not necessary to disturb the Prayer of Consecration with this and the following General Intercession as the Roman Missals do but is much more conveniently set here in the first place I shall only add that these Reasons are given not so much to satisfie inquiring Curiosity as to shew how reasonable and fit it is that we should again fall upon this Duty with a fresh Devotion To stir us up whereunto here is new fewel in these varieties of Forms laid upon the Altar which will help us to break forth into holy Flames if the good Spirit but please to blow upon us The Analysis of the first Collect for the King Sect. 2. This Collect hath three Parts 1. Of whom we ask God dedescribed by 1. His Name Almighty God 2. His Supremacy Whose Kingdom is everlasting 3. His Might and Power infinite 2. For whom we ask 1. In general for the Church Have mercy upon the whole Church 2. In particular for 1. The King that he may be Pious intimating 1. The Cause And so rule the heart of thy chosen Servant CHARLES our King and Gouernour 2. The Effect that he knowing whose Minister he is may above all things seek thy honour and glory 2. The People that they may be loyal shewing 1. The Branches 1. Fidelity And that we and all his Subjects duly 2. Honour considering whose Authority he hath may 3. Obedience faithfully serve honour and humbly obey him 2. The ground of it in thee and for thee according to thy Blessed word and Ordinance 3. In whose name we ask Through Iesus Christ our Lord who with thee the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever one God World without end Amen A Practical Discourse on this Collect. § 3. Almighty God whose Kingdom is Everlasting and Power infinite have mercy upon the whole Church The entrance into this Prayer is a Confession of Gods Eternal Supremacy and Omnipotence in the very words of Scripture Psal 145.13 Dan. 4.34 Psal 147.5 thereby to lift up our hearts above the mutable glory and limited power of all Earthly Kingdoms to him that reigneth for ever and doth whatsoever he pleaseth Our Princes are many and not suffered to continue by reason of death Heb. 7.23 Be they never so great or so good so dear or so useful they must be taken from us But our Supream King is always one and Reigns throughout all Ages So that Gods Church can never want a Patron to secure it in all the changes of this World especially since his power is as infinite as his Dominion is endless and his might hath no limits but his will e Deo non posse nolle est posse velle Tertul. in Prax. Upon the serious meditation whereof we may with hope and chearful expectations ask for the Kings Majesty who is the Head of this Church and for all the Members of the same For this Everlasting and Almighty King is able to furnish them all § 4. And so rule the Heart of thy chosen Servant CHARLES our King and Governour that he knowing whose Minister he is may above all things seek thy honour and glory The blessings which are bestowed on the single members of a Church are the comfort and advantage only of a few but if it may please God to direct the King always to seek his glory herein he shews mercy to the whole Church and blesseth all the Nation at once For the Princes Piety doth put such discouragement upon Vice and cast so great a reputation and lustre upon Religion that good men out of love will follow and evil men for fear will pretend to comply with so excellent an example And thus vertue becomes publick encouraged and prevailing but wickedness infamous and obscure and loseth many of its followers which is curiously expressed in the 72. Psalm Nor is there any one Earthly thing that the truly pious Christian doth more heartily desire We beg with daily Supplications saith Lanctantius concerning the most Excellent Emperour Constantine that the Divine Majesty will always preserve you whom he hath chosen to preserve us all and that he will inspire you with a heart always to persevere in the love of God which will be advantageous and salutary to all and will procure your endless happiness and the peace of all your Subjects Lact. instit in fine Kings are the choicest of Gods Servants and in Scripture peculiarly stiled his chosen Psal 89.3.19 So that we may presume to beseech him to bestow more than ordinary Grace upon our dear Soveraign whom God hath so wonderfully restored to us and so mercifully preserved over us that no Prince in the World hath had such signal testimonies of the favours of Heaven to him We may pray therefore with much hope and we ought to beg with great Devotion that God would rule over him who governs us and guide him by whose Counsels we are ordered in such wise that he may ever have in his Eye the Power and Goodness of his great Master and always know that is consider f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 13.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 6. by whom he is deputed and bear himself continually as the Vicegerent of God by whom all Kings Reign and in all his actings and Consultations that he may aim at nothing so much as the advancing of the Divine Glory from whence all his honour is derived And surely herein our gracious King will firmly establish his own Throne and make all his Subjects happy For that Wisdom and Piety Justice and Equity which doth set for Gods glory and make so many join in magnifying him that hath set so excellent a Prince over us will be both his and our extraordinary benefit We will therefore ever Pray that our Soveraign Liege may be above all concern'd to continue his care to defend the Church and execute Justice that we may be happy under his shadow and after-Generations may call him blessed to which every loyal heart and pious Soul will most affectionately say Amen § 5. And that we and all his Subjects duly considering whose Authority he hath may faithfully serve honour and humbly obey him in thee and for thee according to thy blessed word and Ordinance We must not only look at the Kings duty but also be mindful of our own For the happiness of a Nation consisteth not only in a Religious Prince but also in Obedient people And therefore we are taught in the next place to pray that not only we but all that are under his Majesties Dominion may be loyal and faithful humble and obedient revering his Authority observing his Laws and opposing all his and our Enemies That we may serve him with our Estates and Persons if
need be and never desert his interest either for cost or peril which Prayer we must not only make with respect to our temporal felicity but as duly considering that the Almighty and invisible Governour of the World doth not Rule us immediately by himself but by Kings to whom he hath delegated his Authority So that they bear his Name and act by his Power g Exod. 22.28 Psal 82.1.6 Dii i. e. Judices qui potestatem Dei exercent Ab. Ez. And such as Rebell h Quicunque obfirmat faciem suaem contra Regem perinde est ac si obfirmaret faciem contra Divinam Majestatem Midr. Cohel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Const do fight against God Act. 5.39 oppose his word and resist his Ordinance Rom. 13.2 Wherefore we desire grace to obey not only for fear of wrath but for the Lords sake 1 Pet. 11.13 that is for Conscience sake Rom. 13.5 And this will produce the firmest and readiest obedience to all the Commands of our Governours when we observe them as subordinate to the Laws of God Eph. 6.1 in the Lord i Sed intra limites Disciplinae Tertul. Quia poterant aliquid imperare perversum ideo adjunxit in Domino Hieron in Eph. 6. Superiorum imperia Dura Declinanda sensim relinquenda magis sunt quam Respuenda Aul. Gell. Noct. At. l. 2. c. 7. as far as they do not contradict the plain will of the Almighty and for the Lord Rom. 13.1 that is because of his Authority vested in them And thus the best Christian will be the best Subject Let us therefore most fervently beg that we may all be conscientiously obedient and if we desire that heartily we shall not only obtain grace from God to be so but this Petition is an evidence we are already loyal And were it sincerely put up by all there could be no Treason nor Rebellion harboured in our Breasts but we should live in peace and please God adorn the Gospel Tit. 11.10 oblige the King and declare to all the World that it is not only the Duty but the Interest of Princes to defend the Religion of this Church which makes the best men and loyallest Subjects in the World § 6. Through Iesus Christ our Lord who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever one God World without end Amen It was a false and malicious calumny of the Jews that the Kingdom of Iesus was inconsistent with the Empire of Caesar for Obedience to Kings was never so enjoined and asserted before as it was by Christ and his Apostles And he himself hath told us that he is a King but no Rival to the Monarchs of this Earth For his Throne is in Heaven And his proper Subjects Saints and Angels k John 18.36 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euseb He reigns but it is with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever For his sake therefore we may pray for the welfare of Temporal Kingdoms who hath power both to dispense them on Earth Math. 28.18 and to command blessings from Heaven on them especially on such Princes who are the Guardians of his beloved Church who own his Supremacy and daily confess and praise Him that liveth and Reigneth for ever The Paraphrase of the first Collect. § 7. Almighty God who art always ready to help us since thou art that King whose Kingdom is Everlasting and All sufficient to relieve us since thou art in Power infinite We beg not single or small Mercies of so great a Majesty but beseech thee to Have mercy upon all the Members of thy whole Church And especially that part thereof planted in these Nations which will be truly happy if it may please thee so graciously to direct the Counsels and so constantly to rule the heart of thy chosen and anointed Servant CHARLES by thy Providence and his undoubted right our King and Governour That He always remembring his Authority to flow from thee and knowing whose Minister and Vicegerent he is even the Deputy of thy Heavenly Majesty may above and before all things seek by defending Religion executing Justice and shewing mercy to advance thy honour and glory for he in so doing will ingage us all to praise thee for setting so wise and gracious a Prince over us And to compleat his and our happiness Grant that we and all others whom thou hast placed in the condition of his Subjects seriously and duly considering that for thy sake whose Authority he hath we owe him all duty and Allegiance may faithfully serve him with our Prayers Lives and Fortunes and also honour him in his person with our hearts and humbly obey him in his Laws by our whole Conversation so far as is possible in thee by the help of thy grace and for thee and for thy sake by a conscientious and exact Obedience according to the Commands of thy blessed word the appointment and Ordinance of thy Supream Providence O Lord let us be so happy to obtain this through the Merits of our great High Priest Iesus Christ who hath enjoined this Obedience and is our Lord who sets up Christian Princes on Earth to rule under him who with thee the Father and the Holy Ghost most gloriously liveth and reigneth in Heaven ever one God in that World which is without end and yet not forgetting us that are his Members in this changeable and uncertain World for his sake be it so Amen Of the second Collect for the King § 8. This Prayer is only added to help our Devotion with a greater variety but being as to the main so little different from the former it shall suffice to remark that the Petitions are here grounded on a never failing l Matth. 24.35 Foundation the word of God viz. Prov. 21.1 The Kings heart is in the hand of the Lord as the Rivers of Waters he turneth it whithersoever he will Although the Kings heart be unsearchable to men Prov. 25.3 and his purposes seldom to be alter'd by any of his Inferiors Yet Almighty God hath shewed many instances m Ezra 1.1 7.28 9.9 Neh. 1.11 Dan. 3.28 Rev. 17.17 that he can change the Decrees of the greatest Monarchs and as the Gardener n See Hammond on Psal 1.3 by opening certain Sluces can direct the streams of his Water-courses to which part of his Plantation he pleaseth So can the King of Kings direct the Counsels and turn the designs of all mortal Princes to his own glory and the prosperity of his Church To increase our wealth at home to secure us against foreign Enemies and defend us in the Exercise of the true Religion is the care of our gracious King the Prayer of all good Subjects and the end of government it self o See 1 Tim. 2.2 Vt placidam quietam vitam degamus cum omni pietate honestate Quid enim aliud est imperium nisi cura salutis alienae Ammian Mercellin and therefore let us rejoice that we have
our Lord Jesus in that rare pattern of his present Intercession in Heaven the last Prayer he made upon Earth for his Church did pray That all of his Religion might be preserved in Truth and Unity John 17.17.21 so that we are assured we beg the same here that he intercedes for above and therefore if it should not be compleatly granted yet he that hath asked this with a great Devotion and endeavoured it to his power shall have satisfaction in the Testimony of a good Conscience and hath testified his unfeigned Charity to the Church and his love to all the Members thereof § 7. We beseech thee also to save and defend all Christian Kings Princes and Governours especially thy Servant CHARLES our King that under him we may be godly and quietly governed We have often prayed for the King already but principally respecting his Authority in the State so we prayed for him alone but now we consider him as a Principal Person in the Church of which he is under Christ i Nutritii patres Ecclesiae Jesai 49.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aristot pol. 3. as the Bishops of Rome of old confessed the supream Head and so are other Christian k Christus Imperatori omnia tribuit dominari eum non solum Militibus concessit Greg. Mag. Epist 64. ad Theodor. Princes in their several Countries wnom we therefore here do pray for also as St. Paul commands 1 Tim. 2.2 and as the Antient Church ever did in the time of this Mystery There are now three sorts of Rulers in the Christian World which are here expressed by three words First Kings that is such as have absolute Monarchies Secondly Princes who have Royal Authority in lesser Dominions though not without paying some homages Thirdly Governours who preside in Aristocracies and Common-wealths these and each of these are or ought to be supream Presidents over Ecclesiastical as well as Civil Affairs in the several Jurisdictions and since their Power is imployed to save and l Deus Op. Max. pietatis justae Actionis quoddam quasi vinculum nos esse voluerit Theodos Imp. Ep. ad Cyril defend the Church she is obliged to desire the King of Kings to save and defend them all from Invasions and Rebellions Treasons and all Mischiefs that they may not be hindred in the exercise of their most useful and pious Authority And if we prevail many Millions will receive benefit thereby and every Christian Nation shall have its share in this Blessing It happens I confess sometimes contrary to the wish of all pious Men that even Princes of the same Religion have differences with each other but then we must at this Holy Sacrament forgive our Enemies and with the welfare of the whole Church only we must pray for the safety of other Kings no further than is consistent with the welfare of our natural Liege for whom we must pray especially because under him we enjoy our Liberty and Religion our proprieties and our Peace and if it please God to defend him we doubt not but we shall have under him Quiet and peaceable lives in all Godliness and Honesty 1 Tim. 2.2 that is in two words we shall be godlily and quietly governed and thus our own interest may move us earnestly to intercede for the safety of our Soveraign for the benefit is ours more than his § 8. And grant unto his whole Councel and to all that are put in Authority under him that they may truly and indifferently Minister Iustice to the Punishment of Wickedness and Vice and to the maintenance of thy true Religion and Vertue When Justice is purest in the King the Fountain thereof it is often corrupted in the streams the subordinate Dispensers for Mortal Princes cannot see all with their own Eyes m Numb 10.31 Heb loco oculorum h. e. Confiliarius 70. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ut oculus nobis charus necessarius Fag Grot. in loc nor Act all things with their own hands though they be said to judg the Nation Psal 72.2 yet the Mountains or higher Magistrates and the little Hills that is inferior Officers do bring this Righteousness to the people who can seldom receive judgment immediately from the Princes mouth ver 3. Wherefore since we must be more particular in our desires for the welfare of these Kingdoms it is necessary that we pray for all that advise in the making and assist in the executing of good Laws viz. for the Kings Council at large in Parliament as the old Christians prayed pro Senatu or more strictly for the Lords of his Privy-Council who besides their Examination of Causes in those places and their influence upon the Royal Determinations are usually Persons enjoying the highest Dignities and weightiest Offices of the Nation And because by them and the lower Orders of Magistrates all Causes are decided we are bound to pray heartily for them that they may judge by the Rules of Equity truly and indifferently without mistake or partiality and have before their Eyes the great end of all Laws which is the punishment of evil Doers and the incouragement and reward of them that do well u Leges improbos supplicio afficiunt ac defendunt tuentur bonos Cicer. de leg 2. Pius IV. Pont. R pingebat laures cum Virgis cum hoc lemmate Praemium Poena pro sumbolo suo Nic. Cauâ—sin 1 Pet. 2.14 Rom. 13.3 4. And surely happy are the people that are in such a Case when their Counsellors are faithful and prudent their Judges deliberate and upright their Officers careful and without rigour for then the profession of Religion shall be guarded and the practice of Virtue incouraged Innocence shall be safe and wickedness punished nay all Vices made infamous according to the Will of God the desire of our gracious Soveraign and the wishes of all this people especially those who now at this Sacrament come to dedicate themselves to Piety and Devotion they have peculiar Reason to pray that they may be secured in their rights and encouraged in their holy purposes by the due Administration of Justice and the punishment of all that would harm or hinder them because their innocence doth more expose them to the designs of evil men § 9. Give grace O Heavenly Father to all Bishops and Curates that they mat both by their life and Doctrine set forth thy true and lively Word and rightly and duly Administer thy Holy Sacraments The greatest gifts that the divine goodness hath bestowed upon the Sons of Men saith Justinian in his Authenticks are the Royal Power and the Office of Priesthood Both of which are so contrived that they are necessary not only for the Conservation of the World but for the mutual support of each other o Christus voluit ut Christiani Imperatores pro vitâ aeternâ Pontificibus indigerent Pontifices pro cursu temporalium rerum Imperialibus legibus uterentur Rom. leg c.
pro Vener tit de Feudis so that Princes as Constantine doth exprese it are Bishops without and the Ecclesiasticks within the Church They guard and direct the Externals while these Order and Administer the Internals of Religion Wherefore since God hath joined them in his Providence we must not separate them in our Prayers nor by any means omit to pray for our spiritual guides in this spirirual Sacrifice where the Antients did particularly remember all the Orders of the Church But having spoken of this before Comp. to the Temp. Sect. 17. § 2. we shall only note the comprehensiveness of the Petition here made for them which takes in the main part of their office viz. First To set forth the holy Word of God both as it is the Truth Joh 17.17 for the direction and instruction of the ignorant and as it is the lively Power of God unto Salvation p Acts 7.38 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hellenis pro. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Grotius Deut. 32.47.70 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ad Psal 19. ver 7 8. for the Conversion of those that are dead in sin which is to be done as is here intimated not only by plain and affectionate preaching but also by holy and unblamable living which doth better explain Gods will and more vigorously excite the People to observe it than the most learned Commentary or the molt eloquent Oration q Habent opera suam linguam habent suam facundiam etiam tacente linguâ Cypr. de dupl Mar. Hic est qui quale habet verbum talem habet vitam quoniam quae docet agit quae agit docet Christiani de Origene ap Euseb Ec. hist l. 5. c. 3. The second part of their Duty is rightly according to the Institution of Christ and duly as the necessities of the Church require to administer those two Sacraments which are of Divine Ordination viz. Baptism and the Lords Supper which no other Order of men can lawfully dispense so that if Ministers should neglect the Celebration of them or do it unduly it would be a great dammage and discomfort to the Church of Christ Let us therefore beg large measures of Grace for our Bishops and Pastors that their Preaching may convert us their lives invite us to imitation and their dispensing of the Sacraments may comfort and strengthen us in all goodness Let the Clergy pray heartily one for another for they understand the weight of this charge and let the people supplicate affectionately for their Ministers because the grace given to them is for their sakes and the benefit thereof finally descends upon the Congregation Especially let us all when this most holy Sacrament is to be Administred join our Petitions for those who officiate here or elsewbere that they may perform so grand a Mystery to the glory of God their own comfort and the benefit of all that partake thereof § 10. And to all thy People give thy Heavenly Grace especially to this Congregation here present that with meek hearts and due reverence they may hear ano receive thy holy Word truly serving thee in Holiness and Righteousness all the days of their life We have done well to pray for our spiritual Pastors but we must add this Petition also for the Sheep of their Pasture because the excellent gifts of Ministers do not profit unless the people also be indued with Heavenly Grace Hebrews 4.2 though all the Seed was good yet it prospered according to the condition of the ground on which it fell and where the soil was not prepared it came to no perfection though it were sowed by Jesus himself Math. 13. And sure it is a great pity that the Gifts and Graces the Time and Pains of so many learned and laborious Ministers should be all in vain and made ineffectual by the wickedness of those among whom they live which consideration makes the Priest here as Theophylact observes r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 stand up as a common Father of the whole Church and pray that all Congregations of Christian People may increase in true Piety in imitation of the God he serves who takes care of all And yet he doth intercede with particular affections and regard for his own Auditory praying that they may profit by the present duties and live holily ever after But see how rarely withal the means of improving by the Word of God is couched in this request viz. to receive it with a meek and lowly heart free from pride and self-conceit Å¿ James 1.21 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ser. 1. Philosophus quaerenti quid primùm discipu is praecipere voluit Resp Fastum depâ—nere ap Arrianum and to hear it with an awful Veneration as believing it to be the word of God For he that is meek will be guided by its directions and amended by its reproofs he that is reverent will tremble at its Summons and give respect to all its Laws Let us then devoutly beg for all our Congregations these necessary Graces of humility and godly fear that so our Preaching may make them holy and pure from all sin Righteous and abounding in all good works when they hear it with reverence and obey it with meekness And that not only now for our present comfort but all the days of their life to their own endless happiness And let us think how happy it were for the Christian Church if this Petition might prevail to the total removal of that pride and irreverence stubborness and contempt which make many Ministers preach and more people hear in vain § 11. And we most humbly beseech thee of thy goodness O Lord to comfort and succour all them who in this transitory life are in trouble sorrow need sickness or any other Adversity Besides the spiritual wants for which we have craved a supply in the former Petition we know that many of our Brethren are labouring under temporal Evils in this miserable World and therefore we must remember them as St. Paul teacheth Hâ—b 13.3 as being our selves also in the body that is both by our nature and our sins liable to the same Calamities And where can we so properly commemorate the afflicted as at this Sacrament of Mercy wherein God is moved by the representation of his dear Sons sufferings to pitty all Mankind especially those who by suffering are made conformable to his Image and in which Mystery we must express more pity and Charity than our Alms can convey which is to be done by bringing in a greater Arm to their assistance for our gift may bring some present allay to the distressed but if we can obtain the divine favour for them they shall be constantly supported or speedily delivered if that be best for them At this Sacrament therefore our Church enjoins us to pray for all in misery and so do the best and most antient Liturgies t Vt infirmi convalescant Liturg. S. Jacob. Pro aegrotis pro afflictis in summâ
doth acknowledge himself to be thy Servant even CHARLES our King and Soveraign Liege Help him so to defend Religion execute Justice and subdue his Enemies that under him we and all his Subjects may be religiously and godly peaceably and quietly Governed and accordingly be obedient unto as well as happy in so gracious a Prince And that his excellent Laws may not be perverted in their Administration O Lord Grant such grace unto his whole Council with whom he adviseth in making Laws and to all Magistrates and Officers that are put in Authority to execute them under him That they may deliberately weigh every cause and truly and indifferently determine it so as to make it appear they do minister Iustice and imploy their Power To the punishment of wickedness and greater Crimes the correction of lesser enormities and Vice And the maintenancâ— and defence of the Profession of thy true Religion together with the Practice of all Equity and Vertue which is the endeavour of all Righteous Magistrates But that Piety and Justice may be taught by the Ministers as well as outwardly incouraged â—iâ—e grace O Heavenly Father for the same thy Son Jesus Christs sake to all whom thou hast made Bishops and Governours or Pastors and Curates over thy Flock Assist them so in those sacred offices that they may both by the holiness of their life and the purity of their Doctrine declare and set forth the excellencies of thy true quickening and lively Wâ—rd so that many may be won to live according to it And grant that they may also orderly and rightly frequently and duly Administer both Baptism and the Lords Supper which are thy Holy Sacraments And let them be particularly assisted in the Celebration of the present mystery And that all their labours be not in vain Do thou to all thy People throughout the Christian World â—ive thy Heavenly Grace to dispose their hearts rightly to receive divine things Especially grant to this Congregation and every person here present before thee that with meek hearts from a sense of their own ignorance and due reverence from the apprehension of thy Authority they may hear attentively and receive by Faith the directions of thy Holy Word O Lord let them be converted by it and become real Christians truly serving thee in all the duties of Piety and Holiness Charity and Righteousness and continue in this Obedience all the days of their life especially after this solemn renewing of their Covenant with thee And further reflecting upon thy pitty towards all afflicted persons for the sufferings-sake of thy dear Son We that yet are spared do most humbly beseech thee that though we and our Brethren deserve to suffer yet of thy goodness thou wilt be pleased O Lord effectually at present to comfort and speedily to deliver and succour not those distressed Creatures alone which we particularly love or know but all them who are capable of the benefit of our Prayers even all who in this transitory life the Scene of sorrows are in trouble and fear of some approaching Evil or in sorrow for some Calamity already sustained All that are in need and want as to their outward Estate or in pain and sickness as to their body Or who are visited with some or all of these or any other Adversity Oh pitty and relieve them all And Finally as we praise thee for all the Mercies which thou minglest with the Miseries of this life so we also bless and chiefly praise thy holy Name for those who have no mixtures of sin or sorrow in their Cup of pure and perfect joy even for all thy Saints and holy Servants who were once as frail as we but by thy grace are now departed out of this life but who did live in thy Faith and die in thy fear never forsaking Religion nor a good Conscience We rejoice in their happiness and though we need not pray for them yet we cannot forbear beseeching thee for our selves who are yet upon the Waves that thou wilt please to give us also the same grace which thou gavest them That we may be able so to follow their good Examples in all Piety and Charity while we live that with them and in that glorious Society we may when we die be Partakers by the like Mercy of thy Heavenly Kingdom and its unspeakable felicities Hear us we beseech thee and Grant this and all the rest O Father to thy poor Children who make not our Requests in our own Name or trusting in our own merits but for Iesus Christ his sake and through the most prevailing Sacrifice of his Death here Commemorated Nor do we need or desire to use any other name since he is Our only Mediator to make our peace and Advocate to plead our cause who also joins with us in these Petitions and therefore we hope thou wilt say to him and to us Amen and then it shall be so SECT VIII Of the warning before the Communion § 1. IT is fit that great Mysteries should be ushered in with the solemnities of a great preparation for which cause God gave the Israelites three days warning of his design to publish the Law Exod. 19.15 and ordered their Festivals to be proclaimed by the sound of a Trumpet some time before Levit. 25.9 Numb 10.2 The Paschal Lamb the Type of Christ in this Sacrament was to be chosen and kept by them four days to mind them to prepare for the Celebration of the Passover Exod. 12.3.6 And Christians having more and higher duties in order to this Holy Feast must not have less time or shorter warning whereupon as good Hezekiah published by particular expresses his intended Passover long before 2 Chron. 30. so hath our Church prudently ordered this timely notice to be given that none might pretend to stay away out of ignorance of the time or unfitness for the duty but that all might come and come prepared also It is needless to expect a President for this in the antient Church their daily or Weekly Communions made it known that there was then no solemn Assembly of Christians without it and every one not under censure was expected to Communicate But now when the time is somewhat uncertain and our long omissions have made some of us ignorant and others forgetful of this duty most of us unwilling and all of us more or less indisposed for it it was both prudent and necessary to provide these large Warnings and Exhortations Cautions and Instructions For the Composures themselves they are exact and rarely fitted to be the Harbingers to this blessed Sacâ—ament and if we duly weigh and carefully improve them they will exceedingly help towards our Preparation as will be evident enough without a Paraphrase in the succeeding Analysis and Discourse The Analysis of the Warning before the Communion § 2. This Warning consisteth of three principal Parts 1. Information concerning 1. The Time Dearly beloved on next I purpose c. 2. The Persons to administer to all
who were Baptized which is also the meaning of those in St. Cyprian l Ea parte corporis notatur Ozia sc offenso Domino ubi signantur qui Dominum promerentur Cypr. de unit Ecc. Vide Chrys hom 54. in Mat who were signed when they were admitted to Christ but most clearly St. Augustine * Credit Catechumenus in cruce Christi quâ ipse signatur August in Gal. 6.14 who tells us expresly that the Catechumens were signed with the Cross of Christ in which they had believed There is it may be some difference in the time of making the sign of the Cross for the Antients seem to have used it before the Act of Baptizing whereas we use it afterwards the better to content our scrupulous Brethren who cannot justly charge us with making it essential to Baptism because the Rite as to the substance of it is finished before we make the Cross and we esteem Baptism in Cases of haste no worse as to the effects where it is celebrated without it If it be alledged that it is a signifying sign of humane institution and so ought not to be annexed to a Sacrament of divine appointment I desire it may be remembred that the putting white Garments upon the Baptized and the Receiving the Infant into the Church with a kiss m Cyprian l. 3. epist 8. as now become one of our Brethren n 1 Thessal 5.26 with many others were signifying Signs and instituted and used by the best Christians and yet never any offence was taken at them and a good Mythologist will make every action and gesture to be significant But I am now beside my purpose wherefore I will return to consider with how innocent intentions the Church doth use the Cross in this Office When we receive any into the Society of our Religion it is certainly as lawful to declare it by a o In nullum nomen Religionis seu verum seu falsum coagulari homines possunt nisi aliquo signaculorum vel sacramentorum visibilium consortio colligentur Aug. in Faust l. 19. c. 11. sign as by words And surely there is no Character or signature so universally known to be the mark of a Christian as the sign of the Cross which makes St. Paul to put the Cross for Christianity it self 1 Corinth 1.17 18. Galat. 5.11 Philip. 3.18 because the belief of a Crucifyed Saviour is the proper Article of this Faith distinguishing the Christians from Jews Turks and all kinds of Religion in the World Wherefore when the Emperour was Converted immediately the Cross became the most usual badge p Vexilla militum crucis infignia sunt Regum purpuras ardentes diadematum gemmas patibuli salutaris pictura condecorat Hieron ep 7. ad Lat. and of publick use as a testimony of his being a Christian Hence it is called the Sign of the Faithful the Seal to make us known by our Master and the Seal of Christ q 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Catech. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 idem 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epiphan haeres 30. signum Dei Cypr. ep 56. Wherefore to sign with the sign of the Cross is to declare the party to be Christian and as the Custom was of old for Servants to have their Masters name in their Forhead Caelius Rhodig l. 5. c. 31. so we set the mark of Christ there to shew they have taken Christ Jesus for their Lord or if as the Church directs we like the military application better St. Chrysostome tells us that the Roman Souldiers would sometimes in love to their General burn his Name upon their Skin and Procopius affirms that the devotion of some Christians made them in like manner imprint the sign of the Cross upon their Arms Com. in Jesai 44. but we by an easier Rite do sufficiently publish to what General they belong Baptism is the solemn Oath which we take r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril praef ad Catech Vocati sumus ad militiam Dei vivi jam tunc cum in Sacramenti verba spospondimus Tertul. ad Mart. Sacramentum verae religionis accipere Lact. Instit l. 1. when we are entred Souldiers of Jesus Christ and then we first put on his Badge which is like the Ring that the Aegyptians gave unto their new listed Souldiers ſ Aelian histor animalium l. 10. cap. 15. with a device to mind them to fight manfully And what more auspicious sign could we chuse than the Trophy of the Cross since our Victorious Redeemer did triumph over those Enemies which we have renounced by it yea upon it Coloss 2.15 t Ver. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ver. 14. so that it is a terrour to the Devils u 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Cateches 13. and a great encouragement to the Christian to remember he fights under that Triumphant Banner which hath been so successful it is a shame to follow such a Leader x Malus miles est qui imperatorem gemens sequitur Senec. ep 107. with a faint heart or to fly from these happy Colours when we have so good assurance that if we keep close unto them In this Sign we shall overcome the Cross doth shew our Captain died for us and therefore it doth incite us to follow him unto the Death striving against Sin and if we die in this service that Death shall be to us as it was to him the way to a glorious and everlasting life Let the World deride a Crucified Lord and Atheism mock at the Cross of Jesus we are so far from being ashamed of our Faith that we glory in nothing more than in the Cross of Christ and therefore we print it upon the proper seat of blushing y 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril catech 4. Nec nos pudet crucifixi sed ubi pudoris signum est crucis ejus signum habemus August in Gal. 6.14 To conclude the Ceremony is exceeding proper and very innocent used by most Christians approved by all the Antients and by some of the most eminent Reformed Divines expresly z Bucer Zanchy and condemned by no Church so that if this Ceremony be rejected by any they ought to consider that the fault is in a Scandalum ni fallor non bonae rei sed malae Exemplum est aedificans ad delictum bonae res neminem scandalizant nisi mulam mentem Tertul. de veland Virgin cap. 3. themselves not in the thing at which offence is taken but none justly given if the Church be but rightly understood so that it will be much more profitable for us all to join against real Idolatry and Superstition than to contend about the shadows of it and we shall do better to live like him whose seal is set upon us and to fight against our spiritual Enemies than for so small an occasion to fall out with an excellent Church and be at enmity with our
the Phrase is frequently used by the Fathers in this Case The sum of them is to desire that whatsoever is shadowed in the Outward part and signified in Rite may in Substance and reality be fulfilled o Baptismus salutaris est si perfectum est in corde quod factum est in Corpore Augustin and that whatsoever the Scripture affirms to be the duty of all baptized Persons may be particularly performed by this Child That as this Child hath in figure imitated Christs Death and Resurrection so it may hereafter live as one dead unto sin and all the desires of it but alive unto righteousness and ready to execute all the commands thereof That as it is baptized into the Faith of Christ Crucified for Sin so it may mortifie and kill all its corrupt affections until it have utterly abolished all the powers of Lust and Concupiscence and brought the flesh in subjection to the Spirit We pray that it may not renew the guilt that is remitted nor fall back into the bondage from which it is delivered that it may not defile what God hath cleansed nor expel what he hath given but when it comes to understanding that it may make use of the Grace that is offered unto it and improve the beginings planted in it and live like one of Gods Children and one of the Society of Saints and then we are assured that it shall not only have an Interest in the merits of Christs Death but feel the power of his Resurrection and finally it self also shall rise again in the Resurrection of the Just of which this Mystery is a pledge p Baptismus itaque resurrectionis pignus est imago Ambros in Rom. 6. We do most ardently therefore desire this Infant may lead a holy life for if it live like Jesus on Earth it shall live with him in Heaven if it be an obedient Son it shall not fail of the Inheritance if it follow the steps of holy Saints it shall go whither they are gone and with them at last sing Hallelujahs in Everlasting Glory And oh what pity is it that when this Child is set in the right way thither when it is put into such a state that neither former Guilt nor future power of Sin can stop its passage if it hold fast the Grace received what pity is it I say that it should fall off and lose all again And yet too many do thus Apostatize and exchange Life for Death Liberty for Bondage and Heaven for Hell whose sad Catastrophe doth stir us up most heartily to pray that this poor Infant may never do the like but through the Continuance of the grace of God may lead the rest of its life according to this blessed beginning for Jesus sake and let all the People say Amen §. 4. The concluding Exhortation to the Sureties Forasmuch as this Child hath promised by you that are his Sureties to renounce c. The Church hath always had an especial care that this Vow of Baptism may be conscientiously performed And in regard that nothing tends more directly to the securing of Holiness and Religion here is added endeavours to our Prayers for the fulfilling thereof In the first Ages when those of riper years were Baptized the Exhortation q Alloquimur recentèr baptizatos ut animos accendamus sive ad virginalem integritatem sive ad continentiam vidualem sive ad ipsius thori conjugalis fidem Aug. de Civ dei l. 1. cap. 27. was directed to the Persons themselves and there are many excellent Tracts of the Fathers made upon that occasion But now that Children are most commonly the Subjects of Baptism who are not yet capable of Admonition here is a serious and earnest Exhortation made unto the Sureties Which if it be well considered will shew how base it is for any to undertake this Trust meerly in Complement how absurd to put little Children whose Bond is not good in humane Courts upon this weighty Office and also how ridiculous for those who have taken this duty upon them to think they can shake off this Charge again and assign it over to the Parents which are the evil Customs of this Licentious Age It is sure that if this Institution of Godfathers and Godmothers were prudently undertaken and well performed there could not be a more effectual means to repair the decay of Christian Piety and therefore it is very lamentable to behold how slightly men enter upon it and how little they do regard it afterwards For remedy whereof I wish that all Sureties would well weigh this Excellent Exhortation which contains First A review of what they have done Secondly A direction concerning what they are to do Thirdly A reason why it is so necessary that these things should be done by them 1. They have engaged for a Minor unto Almighty God the God of truth and the Judge of all Men they are become Sureties and Bondsmen r Quicunque viri quaecunque mulieres de sacro fonte filios spiritualiter exceperunt cognoscant se pro ipsis fide-jussores extitisse August de Temp. Serm. 136. for this Child unto the Majesty of Heaven and it is a hainous Crime to deal falsly with him ſ Eccles V. 2.4 Quam gravia vincula promittere Deo non solvere Ambros in Luc. 20. and he will in no wise be mocked You have undertaken that this Infant shall renounce the Devil believe in God and serve him and though the Childs wilful Apostasie doth not forfeit your Bond yet your own negligence may if you do not endeavour to instruct and amend him God knows it is not in your power to give the Childs Grace but it is in your power to teach and to admonish and if you will not do so small a matter the Child is lost through your default and it is apparent you care not what you promise to Almighty God for the least that a Bondsman can do is to call upon the Debtor to discharge what is owing nor can there be a more easie condition than that the Surety shall be free if he do but often admonish him that he is bound with to pay the Debt Consider therefore all you that are concerned what you have done and then it is easie to gather from thence what you are obliged unto 1. To teach these Children the nature of their Baptismal Vow and this was of old appointed even as to grown Persons when they had been baptized in haste in Cases of imminent danger they were to be taught afterwards what favour God had done them and what duty they owed for the same t Qui in aegritudine constituti baptismum perceperunt facti sani fidei symbolum doceantur ut noverint quâ donatione digni sunt habiti Concil Laodicen Can. 59. Much more is it necessary in the Case of Infants wherefore The Godfather or Godmother saith an antient Author ought to signifie to those whom they have received from the
that we may be wise and apprehensive prudent and couragious discreet in our choice devout in our duties and pious in our Lives and if these can be obtained we may be assured all graces will spring from these Roots Charity and the love of God Humility and Watchfulness Faith and Holiness Meekness and Patience Temperance and Chastity and what not Let us therefore kneel reverently and join devoutly with the Holy Man let us open our hearts by earnest desires and stretch out the hands of Faith and Hope to receive these so much needed these so inestimable gifts and let us not doubt but God will hear his own Servant and gratifie our desires Christ hath promised to give these gifts to us and others have received them in the use of this very means so that if we ask heartily and believe firmly God will by the same means give them unto us also §. 5. The laying on of Hands The imposition of Hands is one of the most antient Ceremonies in the World observed by Jacob in the giving of his blessing Gen. 48.14 and by his Example ever after practised among the Jews in Benedictions in conferring of all holy Offices Numb 27.18 and to many other purposes in their Religion whereupon our Lord Jesus used it also when he blessed little Children Math. 19.13 as well as when he healed the sick Math. 8.15 and the Apostles adopted it to be the Rite for Communicating the Spirit in Confirmation Acts 8.17 which was so regularly observed that it gave name to the whole Office which is called Laying on of Hands Hebrews 6.2 as we noted before and not only St. Augustine l August in Donat. de Baptis lib. 3. cap. 16. but most of the Latine Writers call it usually Imposition of Hands nor was Confirmation ever Ministred without Laying on of Hands m Dehinc manus imponitur advocans invitans Spiritum Sanctum Tertul. The Roman Church of late hath left it out and instead thereof use anointing and giving the party a Box on the Ear But our Church hath restored this Essential and Apostolick Rite and as upon Moses laying his Hands upon the Seventy Elders God put his Spirit upon them Numb 11.17 so we hope he will impart it to us when the Bishop lays his hand upon us See Numb 6.27 and therefore we kneel most humbly that we may receive it It was antiently the manner for the Bishop to lay both his hands a-cross on the head of the confirmed not only in imitation of Jacob Gen. 48. but with allusion to the Death of Christ in whom we believe and from whom we receive the Holy Ghost But this is now laid aside It may seem more strange to some how our Reformers came to omit the Ceremony of anointing with Oyl used so antiently in the Latine Church and in the Greek also that it hath caused the whole Office to be called Chrism or Anointing and by that name it is called in some very antient Canons But it must be considered that this Oyl or Chrism is not of Apostolical Institution nor use in Confirmation but was added after their times in allusion to that Oyl unto which the Holy Spirit is compared for its healing and flaming qualities and I am apt to believe this anointing was first added to the office of Baptism but not used in Confirmation till afterwards which hath occasioned divers to mistake who apply many places of Antiquity where the Baptismal anointing is mentioned as if they belonged to Confirmation However this Chrismation is accompanied with much superstition in the Roman Church and hath excluded the more antient Rite of laying on of hands so that our Reformation hath restored the Primiâ—ive Ceremony and rejected the Anointing well-knowing it was not essential to this Office nor used by the Apostles so that if any shall object there is a deficiency in our Confirmation he may say there was a defect in that of the Apostles also since we do all that it is recorded they did Nor is our Church more careful to keep to the Apostolick pattern in the Ceremony than in the Person who performs this Rite appointing it only to be done by a Bishop because though Philip had libeâ—ty both to preach and to Baptize yet the Apostles only could confirm Acts 8.14 15. Chap. 18.6 and thereupon the Antient Church did ever reserve the honour of dispâ—nsing this Administration to the Bishops their Succâ—ssors as all the Fathers with one consent testifie n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · Dionys Eccl. hier cap. 5. Ad confirmationem unitatis in Ecclesiâ Christi à Pontificibus fieri solet Ambros in Heb. A solis Episcopis August quaest 44. in N.T. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · Chrysost homil in 18. Act. and though St. Ambrose mention the Presbyters in Aegypt who consign in the Bishops absence o Ambros Comment in Ephes 4. yet we may gather from St. Augustine p August Quaest 101. in Vet. Nov. Test that is meant of their Consecrating the Elements and if any where else we read of the Priests Anointing it is usually meant of the anointing in Baptism For that of Confirmation was ever thought to be the Bishops Prerogative But then as the Bishops have the sole honour so they have also the whole Charge of this Duty q Non est dignum ut inde exigis honorem unde refugis laborem Bern. Ep. 87. See the Lx. Canon of our Church and since it must be wholly undone if they perform it not the Church hath enjoined the frequent Administration thereof unto those Reverend Fathers whose peculiar priviledge of Confirming is apt to beget a greater Veneration of it in the minds of devout people and to make them expect nobler effects from that Office which none but the highest Minister of Religion can Celebrate §. 6. The Benediction Defend O Lord this thy Child or this thy Servant with thy Heavenly Grace that he may continue thine for ever c. The present Church of Rome is very Magisterial in the Words of this Rite for the Bishop saith I seal thee with the sign of the Cross and I Confirm thee with the Oyl of Salvation the Greek is something more modest saying only The Seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost Eucholog But ours is the humblest form of all being an earnest supplication to shew that the Bishop doth not pretend to give the Spirit from himself r Deus dat Spiritum Sanctum non enim humanum hoc opus neque ab homine datur sed qui invocatur à sacerdote à Deo traditur in quo Dei munus est ministerium sacerdotis Ambros but he begs it of God whose Steward he is and the instrument to convey it to us It is probable also that it was most antiently done by Prayer since St. Augustine saith Imposition of hands was a Prayer made over a person Å¿ Manûs autem impositioâ— quid est aliud nisi oratio
attended with miraculous effects which have been ceased above twelve hundred years though it impart no gifts yet it communicates Graces which are much more desireable if hereby we gain the Defence of Gods peculiar protecting hand and the influence of his Spirit that we may understand our duty and practise it so as to go on safely to the possession of Eternal Life we shall have cause to rejoice that we came to it and be obliged to give glory to Jesus who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever one God World without end Amen §. 9. The general Collect and final Blessing Both these Parts of this Office are expounded in the end of the Communion Service The Collect is added here because the Antients believed that Confirmation was a Preservative to both Body and Soul a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · Cyril Catech. mystag 3. so that after it we may fitly pray That God may direct sanctifie and govern both our Souls and Bodies so that we may not stray from his Commandments and we make it a new Prayer if we say it with a new Devotion and apply it to this Occasion The Blessing concludes all Offices and particularly ought to end this in regard it is the Epitome of the whole Administration which is only a more solemn Benediction and therefore we must most humbly receive it and most firmly believe it that it may be made good unto us Amen The Conclusion Thus we have represented a Rite in it self Primitive and Pious in its Administration pure and separate from all that Superstition had added to it in its End so excellent that it is commended by Christians of all perswasions and yet alas however it comes to pass too much neglected to the grief of all good Men the scandal of the Church and the great detriment of Religion Wherefore we cannot leave it till we have pressed the constant observation thereof The Romanists indeed pretend to prefer it before Baptism b Hoc sacramentum perfectivum esse Baptismi asserit Aquin. sum 3. p. qu. 72. art 9. majori veneratione venerandum tenendum quam Baptismus Dist 5. de consec can de his but must we give it no honour because they give it too much It is not in our Church set to vye with Baptism but as of old appointed to pursue the same design and ordered to make the Baptismal Vow more solemn and more regarded We do not absolutely deny Salvation to all that want it but we judge it a great sin to despise it or wilfully to neglect it And we think it highly concerns the Church and every particular Person to be careful it be not omitted and that for these Reasons I. Because it tends very much to advance the knowledge of Christian People who are more obliged to teach and to learn when so solemn an Account is to be given II. It conduceth to the encrease of Piety also and lays fresh engagements upon every one to avoid Evil and to do good obtaining withal the Spirit for their assistance therein III. It is an excellent means to preserve the Churches Peace and may prevent many from falling into Schism and Heresie by laying a good foundation at first and by rescuing the younger from the dire misfortune of Evil guides IV. It doth effectually confute the clamours of Anabaptists against our custom of baptizing Children before they can understand for if this be added we have the benefit of Baptism against the danger of Death and yet the same security they pretend to who defer it till riper years V. Hereby we shall agree with the Apostles with the Catholick Church in all Ages with all those wise and holy Men who have enjoined and practised this Rite and believed great benefits were received thereby Which Considerations I hope will have their due effect upon all that are concerned And I. That the Reverend Fathers of the Church will imitate the Piety of the Primitive Bishops and not esteem it a trouble to go into the Country to confirm c Non quidem abnuo hanc esse Ecclesiarum consuetudinem ut ad eos qui longe in minoribus urbibus per Presbyteros Diaconos baptizati sunt Episcopus ad invocationem Sancti Spiritûs manum impositurus excurrat Hieron since they will thereby bring so much good to the Church beget in the minds of the People a singular affection to their Persons and a great Veneration of their Office II. That Parents and Godfathers who stand obliged by the Baptismal Vow will be careful to obtain a discharge from the Bonds they have entred and when they have done their Duty in fitting their Charge for Confirmation I hope they will not repine at a little trouble and charge but rather go to the Bishop than want so great a benefit to themselves and to the Child III. I hope that Ministers will be ready to promote it considering that when they have fitted their Catechumens for this Office and brought them to it they are excellently prepared to receive the benefit of all their after labours and may well hope to give a good account to God of them Finally I wish this serious Advice may encourage all persons who want Confirmation of what Age or condition soever to desire it and wait for an opportunity of it and that it may direct those who come to it to perform their part acceptably and so as to gain the benefits of it And also that it may warn all who have been Confirmed To keep the grace thereof as St. Cyril speaks intire and without spot in their heart daily encreasing in good works and walking in all well-pleasing to the Author of their Salvation Christ Jesus to whom be glory for ever and ever d Cyril Catech. mystag 3. For nothing can more adorn this excellent Rite than the holy Conversation of those who have been partakers thereof FINIS A TABLE Of the chief Heads in the Communion Office Of the Communion Office in general the Analysis of the whole Office PART I.  SECT Parag. Page Of the more general Preparation to the Holy Communion    Of the Lords Prayer I. § 1. 1 the Paraphrase  2 2 Of the Collect for Purity II. 1 3 the Analysis  2 4 the Practical Discourse  3 c. 4 c. the Paraphrase  6 8 Of the Ten Commandments III. 1 9 the Analysis  2  the Practical Discourse containing directions and heads of Self-Examination  3 c. 11 Of the two Collects for the King IV. 1 32 the Analysis of the first  2 34 the Practical Discourse  3 c. 35 the Paraphrase  7 39 the Analysis of the second  9 42 the Paraphrase  10 ib. Of the Epistle and Gospel V. 1 43 and of the Nicene Creed  2 46 the Paraphrase of it  4 50 Of the Offertory and Sentences VI. 1 53 the Analysis of the Sentences  3 58 Discourses
there is no impediment we may then very justly receive them into our Communion and sign them with the cognizance of Christs Religion as we do in this present Form 1. By Words 2. By a Sign concluding Thirdly with a practical Application 1. The Words are a solemn Proclamation made by a Sacred Herald according to the Custom in humane Creations Investitures and Admissions to Honourable Orders declaring the party is now and ought to be reputed a Christian and this ought to be spoken with a loud voice that all the Congregation may rejoice in beholding one more listed under Jesus Christ Now if we seek any Precedent for this in Scripture methinks it may very well be deduced from that solemn Proclamation made by God the Father immediately after the Baptism of Jesus Christ Math. 3.17 This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased As he by the Master so we by the Servant are declared to belong to God He as his own only-begotten Son we as adopted by him into the Family of our Heavenly Father Again St. Paul speaking of the Ephesians who were baptized which is meant by their being raised up together in Christ c Ephes 3.6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylac in loc he declareth that whereas they were before Aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and Strangers to the Covenant of Promise ver 12. they were now become fellow Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God ver 19. Our Lord Jesus hath rescued this poor Soul from the Bondage of Satan he hath found this strange and straying Sheep and hath sent it home wherefore let us joyfully receive it The Church on Earth is compared to the Moon daily diminishing and encreasing we see many of our Brethren do die and are parted from us but God hath now filled the vacant places and by these continual accessions the visible Church shall be continued to the end of the World Our Saviour himself is the great Shepheard but under him the Pastors of the flock of Christ are to admit the Sheep into his Fold and accordingly the Priest here saith We receive c. and withal sets the mark of Christ upon the new Baptized Person declaring by Actions as well as Words the self-same thing Even that this Person is of the Religion of Jesus Christ and one of the Society that do profess the same But because this Signing with the sign of the Cross hath been scrupled by some and reviled by others as abominable superstition c. I will endeavour somewhat more fully to vindicate the Church in this particular and to give satisfaction to those whose prejudice hath not made them inflexible 2. The Sign which is Ordered to be annexed to the foregoing Words is the Sign of the Cross which seems designed from the beginning to some great mystery for not to mention that it is the figure of Mans Body when the Arms are Extended we find that God did chuse it to be the mark which should be set upon those who should be saved from a common Destruction Ezek. 9. ver 4. And though the Rabbins the sworn Enemies of the Cross do expound the Hebrew word Tau there to signifie a mark I see no reason why the Christians should follow them having Translators d Omnem autem super quem videris Thau non occidetur Vulg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aquil. Theod. ita Explicat Tertul. in Marcion l. 3. c. 22. Origen Homil. de Epiphan Hieronym in loc c. and the most learned Fathers against them particularly St. Jerome affirming that it signifies the letter Thau which in the old Samaritan Alphabet had the form of a Cross even as Τ among the Greeks which it may be from thence was the mark of the Living and Τ was set in the Muster-roll after a Battel against the names of the living e Sixt. Senens bibliothec l. 2. Thau as θ was against the names of the slain And further it is very remarkable what is related in the Church History f Ruffin Eccl. Histor l. 11. cap. 29. Socr. l. 5. cap. 17. Sozom. l. 7. cap. 15. Niceph. l. 21. c. 16. Isidore l. 1. Orig c. 3. and observed by others g Hor. Apollo Hieroglyph cum notis Nicolai Caussini That one straight line upright and another transverse was an Eminent Hieroglyphick among the Aegyptians and signified sometimes the one upholder of all things sometimes Eternal Life which was so well known to the Worshipers of Serapis at Alexandria that when they saw this Figure of the Cross so often used by the Christians they did many of them believe by remembring the Antient signification of the Cross among them supposing it was a mysterious prediction that the Christians were the Servants of the one true God and were in the right way to Eternal Life But to come nearer when our Blessed Redeemer had expiated the Sins of the World upon the Cross the Primitive Disciples of his Religion who as Minutius Foelix affirms did not worship the Cross yet they did assume that figure as the Badge of Christianity and long before material Crosses were in use they did with their finger make this sign either in the Air or upon their Foreheads or Breasts in their rising up and lying down going out and coming in in washing eating c. as might abundantly be proved out of Tertullian St. Basil Cyril and many others but only that it is too evident to be denied wherefore we must condemn the purest Ages of the Church if we shall censure the making this sign to be idolatrous or superstitious and it may be become injurious to the Spirit of God who did work many Miracles in the first Centuries by the sign of the Cross as is apparent to all that are versed in the History of those Times All this is confessed by many who yet pretend that it was not used in Baptism although they alledge no sufficient reason why they might not have used it there as well as upon all other occasions But as to the matter of fact it seems to me very plain that the sign of the Cross was used in Baptism also for Lactantius speaking of the Converted Heathens saith They came under the Wings of Jesus and did receive his great and noble sign upon their Foreheads which like the blood on the Lintel causeth the destroying Angel to pass over h Lactant. Instit l. 4. c. 27. yea he calls a Christian one with a signed forehead And Tertullian i Mithra signat illic in frontibus milites suos Tertul. de praeser adv haer c. 40. saith that Satan not only imitated the Christians in the washing but the signing his Souldiers in the forehead which shews it to have been then a known rite of Christianity St. Basil also affirms it to be an antient tradition to sign those with the sign of the Cross who had placed their hope in Christ k Basil de Sp. S. c. 27. that is