committed the Oracles of God Therefore Epiphanius proves Epiph. de menâ— pond the Bookes of Wisedome and Ecclesiasticus not to be Canonicall because they were not kept in the Arke And S. Augustin calls the Iewes our Librarie-keepers who are so zealous of the Old Testament that they will rather loose their life then one line of it So carefull also hath the Christian Church beene of both Testaments that many Martyrs have chosen to give their Bodies rather then their Bibles to bee burnt Neither doth it onely belong to the Church to keepe the holy Bookes but also to discerne betweene true Scripture and false And so shee is the Defender of the Scripture to which purpose the Spirit of Christ is given unto her whereby she knoweth the voyce of the Bridegroome Here the Church of Rome hath abused her power and betrayed her trust inserting into the Canon diverse Apocryphall bookes which were not written by divine inspiration nor received by the Church in S. Ieromes dayes And as she is the keeper and maintainer of the holy Records So she is as a Herauld Common-cryer to publish notifie propound and commend these Records as the Word of God unto all men For this cause is the Church called the Pillar of Truth because shee beareth up the Truth by her publicke ministery and sheweth us the holy Bookes So that the Testimonie of the Church is an excellent meanes to know the Scripture to be from God even the first motive and occasion of our faith The Key which openeth the doore of entrance into the knowledge of the Scriptures The Watchman that holds out the light in open view and presents the shining beames thereof to all that have eyes to discerne it The guide that directs and assists us to finde out those Arguments in Scripture wherby the Divinitie of it is proved And so like the morning starre introduces that cleare light which shineth in the word it selfe But the testimony of the Church is not the onely nor the chiefe cause of our knowledge nor the formall object of our faith As the Samaritanes at first believed for the saying of the woman Ioh. IV. 39. but afterward because of his own word saying Now wee beleeve not because of thy saying for wee have heard him our selves And as Nathaneel was induced to come to Christ by the Testimony of Philip but was perswaded to beleeve that he was the Messias by what he heard from himselfe as may appeare by his confession Rabbi Ioh. I. 45 4â— thou art the sonne of God so men are first induced to beleeve that this Booke is the holy Scripture by the Testimony of the Church but after they receive greater assurance when their eyes are opened to see that light which shineth in the Scripture To use a more familiar similitude If a man bring you a letter from your father and tell you he received it out of his owne hand you beleeve him but are better assured when you consider the seale subscription forme of Characters and matter contayned in the Letters So are we perswaded of the divinity of the Scripture The Scripture is an epistle sent unto us from God our father The Church is the messenger and tells us that shee received it from him Wee give credite unto her Report but when we peruse it and consider the divinity of the matter the sublimity of the style the efficacy of the speach we are fully perswaded that the same is from God indeed In a word the Church commends the Scripture to be Gods word not by her owne authority but by the verity of the thing it selfe and arguments drawne out of Scripture which proveth it selfe to be divine even as the Sunne manifests it selfe to bee the Sunne a learned man proveth himselfe to be learned and as Wisedome is justified of her children for which cause the Scripture is called a fyre a hammer a word that is lively mighty in operation a light shining in a darke place All which sheweth that it hath a certayne in-bred power to prove manifest it selfe without any outward testimony And therefore the Authority of the Scripture in respect of us doth not depend vpon the voyce of the Church And yet is the Church bound to give testimony to the Scripture we are bound to heare her Testimony Further as the Church is to propound Sect. 16. so to expound the Scripture apply them by preaching and administration of the Sacraments Wee are all of us so blinde in heavenly mysteries that we may say with the Eunuch of Ethiopia Act. Vâ—ll â—â—4 How can I understand except I had a guide God hath appointed us guides to expound unto us the Scripture and to apply the same for doctrine for confutation for Correction for Instruction These bee the uses of Scripture II. Tim. III. 16. and it is The man of God that is the minister and Pastor who is to expound the Scripture and apply it unto these ends In the II. of Haggai vers 12. the Lord sayth Aske now the Priests concerning the Law And Malach. II. 7. The Priests lips should preserve knowledge and they should seeke the Law at his mouth To them it belongs to teach preach labour in the word divide the word exhort confute rebuke as the Apostle directs his two Sonnes Timothie Bishop of Ephesus and Titus Bishop of Creta When Christ was to remove his bodily presence he established his ministry upon earth when he ascended up on high he gave gifts unto men He gave some to be Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastours and teachers Eph. IIII. 11. He sent forth his disciples with the like commission as he receaved from his father saying As my father sâ—â—t me even so I send you And agayne Goe teach all Nations baptizing them c. Matth. XXVIII 19.20 That this is the office of the Pastors is manifest and acknowledged by all but they must remember that they expound Scripture by Scripture and according to the meaning of the Law-giver comparing spirituall things with spirituall things and adding nothing of their owne Herein the Church of Rome hath abused her power assigning unto Scripture what sense she pleaseth even that which will make most for her owne turne This is ingenuously confessed by Cusanus Apud Illyâ— Clav. Script p. â— Tract 7. that the Church may expound the Scripture one way at one time another way at an other time still fitting the sense of the Scripture to the practise of the Church As they have done touching these words in the institution of the Sacrament Drinke yee all of this which by the auncient Church sayth he were so vnderstood that even the people were to receave the cup By the moderne Church in another sense But howsoever they have betrayed their trust let us not despise the Iudgement of the Catholick Church in expounding the Scripture For as the Scripture is the perfect rule of faith so the Iudgement of the Church
for preserving the peace of the Church that they ordayned that in every Province once every yeare the Bishops should assemble in Councell The same afterwards was injoyned by the Emperour Iustinian And so it was observed in the Church and by the sentence of Councells generall or particular all heresies arising were condemned Those Assemblies being lawfully called and proceeding orderly are great and awfull representations of the Church Catholick the highest externall Tribunall which the Church hath on Earth their authoritie is immediatly derived and delegated from Christ their decrees binde all persons within their Iurisdiction to externall obedience And it is not lawfull for any private man to oppose his judgement to the publicke He may offer his contrary opinion to be considered of so he doe it with evidence of Scripture and reason and very modestlie But if he doe factiously advance his own conceit and despise the Church so farre as to cast off her communion as many of you have done hee may bee justly branded and condemned for a Schismaticke In the IV. sect 19 place wee are to consider the Churches power for making of Lawes to direct us in the order that is to be observed in the outward administration of God's worship This is the thing which I must principally endeavour to prove for if the Church may make Lawes of things Indifferent and appoint matters of Order Decencie and Politie then are you bound even for Conscience sake to submit your selves unto the Orders of our Church which you now so violently oppose I will therefore joyne issue with you in this point and prove as I hope by arguments unanswerable that the Church hath such a power I. sect 20 All things lawfully incident to the outward worship of God are not expressed in the Scripture as sayth Tertullian Harum aliarum ejusmâ—di disciplinarum si legem expostules Scriptu rarum nullam invenies De Corona â—â—il If you looke for a Law in Scripture for these and such other like matters of discipline you will finde none And therefore certainly they are left to be ordered at the discretion of the Church Doe wee therefore derogate from the perfection and sufficiencie of Scripture God forbid You shall understand there is great difference betweene matters of Faith and matters of Order The Apostle hath distinguished them Col. II. 5. Beholding your Order and the stedfastnesse of your Faith T.C. first Reply p. 26. Your great master Cartwright compares matters of Faith unto garments which cover the Churches nakednesse matters of Order unto chaynes bracelets rings and other Iewells to adorne her and set her out which no man will say are of that necessitie as the former Now matters of Faith and whatsoever is essentiall in the worship of God are plentifully set downe in Scripture but besides there are other matters of Order concerning the circumstances of Time Place and Person the outward forme of Gods worship all which are not expressed in the Scripture for albeit these things be not altogether omitted in Scripture yet are they not taught so fully as the former Matters of Faith are so perfectly taught in holy Writ that nothing ever can neede to be added nothing ever cease to bee necessary But as for matters of Order and Politie both much of that which the Scripture teacheth is not alwayes needfull and much the Church of God shall alwayes neede which the Scripture teacheth not And this doth nothing derogate from the perfection of Scripture For we count those things perfect which want nothing requisite to the end for which they were ordayned Now the end for which God delivered the Scripture was to bee the Canon of our Faith and guide unto salvation within the compasse whereof those matters of Order Ceremonie and Circumstance doe not come for they respect not Credenda but Agenda or rather modum agendi Not points of doctrine but matters of practice or rather the manner of performing of outward duties And as it is no disgrace for Nature to have left it to the wit of Man to devise his owne attire no more is it any disgrace for Scripture to have left a number of such things free to be ordered at the discretion of the Church But indeed it is a great commendation to the Scripture to have omitted those things which neither needed nor could bee particularly expressed They needed not because they are so obvious And they could not both because they are so numerous and because so chaungeable I. They neded not sect 21 because they are so obvious for what need is there of any high consultation about such things as are easie and manifest to all men by common sense As a great councellour of state whose wisedome in weighty affaires is admired would take it in scorne to have his Councel solemnely asked about a toy which a poore plow-man could resolve So the meannesse of these things is such that to search the Scripture for ordering of them were to derogate from the reverend authority and dignity of the Scripture The Apostle speaking of a matter of this kind touching being bare or covered in Church assemblies using long haire or being shorne hee brings an Argument from Nature Doth not even Nature it selfe teach you II. Cor. XI 14. As nature that is Custome which is an other nature had taught the Corinthians that it is not comely for a man to have long haire So nature it selfe doth teach us that when a man commeth to present himselfe before the Lord by prayer he should doe it with al humility of mind and humiliation of body as the Psalmist sayth Ps XCV 6. Worship and fall downe kneele before the Lord our maker So likewise when wee make confession of our sayth or lift up our voyces to praise God that we should use a gesture sutable to expresse our resolution And diverse things of this kind hath the Church appointed ex ductamine rationis for albeit the substance of the service of God being above the pitch of naturall reason may not be invented by men as it is amongst the heathens but must be receaved from God himselfe yet in matters of lesser moment especially concerning outward behaviour in performance of Church-actions De Resur carnis Luminis naturalis ducatum repellere non modó stultum est sed impium Lib. IV. de Trin c. VI. wee may bee directed by naturall reason as saith Tertullian Wee may even in matters of God bee made wiser by reasons drawne from the publick perswasions which are grafted in mens minds And St Austin It is not onely foolish but impious to refuse the guydance of naturall light And if nature direct us in any thing then certainelie in this what gestures are fittest for Gods worship for gestures are naturall in so much that one of your owne Authors speaking of gestures Treatise of Divine worship p. 30. sayes that Nature stands sn stead of a direction and that they are not to be esteemed
to their husbands and testifie their subjection by this significant Ceremonie in comming alwayes to Church with their heads covered II. From Comelinesse vers 4. 5. 6. for it is even one very thing namely for a woman to bee bare-headed as though she were shaven And if it be shame for a woman to be shaven let her be covered and vers 13. Iudge in your selves Is it comely that a woman pray uncovered III. From nature vers 14. Doth not nature it selfe teach you But he saw the nature of the question would affoard no Arguments but such as a contentious spirit would elude Therefore to make short worke he finally resolves all into the Churches custome If any man be Contentious we have no such custome nor the Churches of God As if he should say If any man be so contentious that he will not be satisfied with these reasons Let him know that the Churches custome is otherwise We have no such custome c. Whence wee may inferre first that the Church hath her customes and had them even in the Apostles dayes for this Negative Wee have no such custome includes an affirmative A Custome they had but no such Custome as that men should be covered women bare but the contrary II. That the Church may alledge her Customes to stop the mouthes of the contentious III. That custome is warrant enough for a Rite as whether to be covered or bare whether to sit or to kneele whether to weare a blacke garment or a white in the administration of God's service IV. That whosoever opposeth the Churches customes in matters of Order are to be reputed contentious as hazarding the Churches peace for matters of no more weight Thus have I proved at large sect 28 that the Church hath power in things Indifferent to make Lawes and appoint Orders to be observed in the administration of Gods worship And that obedience is due unto such Lawes or if there be no certaine constitution that the received custome of the Church hath the force of a Law But here I know what you will say that the Church may appoint Circumstances not Ceremonies This was your Plea at the last visitation and a very strange one For this distinctioÌ„ is unknown vnto the Schooles not used by any Protestant divines except some late Libellers against the government whose unsavory bookes I never thought worthy of my reading Sure I am that your chiefe advocate Not that we say as you charge vs that no Ceremonie may be in the Church except the same be expressed in the word of God but that in making Orders and Ceremonies of the Church it is not lawful to doe what men list T. c. Reply p. 27. Mr Cartwright the only learned man who ever lifted up his hand against the Orders of our Church did not deny all Ceremonies but excepted against ours that they are not agreeable to the simplicity of the Gospell and to the practice of the Apostles that they are borrowed from the Papists give scandall to the weake and are different from the Orders of other reformed Churches And when these silly exceptions have been answered to the full his wise followers have devised a way to cut the Gordian knotte to-deny all Ceremonies except the Sacraments which are of Christs Institution And since that is the maine ground of your opposition I wil take some paines to discover unto the world the weakenesse of it And first I thinke it will puzle you all sect 29 to shew the difference betweene Circumstances Determinatio divini cultus pertinet ad ceremoniaâ— Aquin. 1â— 2ae q. 103. Art 1. â—on and Ceremonies If you say that a Ceremonie determines the manner of Gods worship a Circumstance onely the time place and person to be used in Gods service which are of absolute necessity in regard that his service must be performed at some time in some place by some person This distinction will not hold for it falleth out often that in the choyce of one time rather then another and of one person too there is something Ceremoniall I am sure that some of the Reformed Churches See harmon of confess Sect. 17. amongst the Ceremonies which they retaine and approve reckon festivall dayes set Lessons which are circumstances but Ceremoniall circumstances Secondly as it is necessary that there be some place and time appointed for Gods Service So also it is necessary that there be some outward forme besides what is expressely commaunded used in the Service of God And albeit the substance of religious actions be prescribed by God himselfe yet the outward forme required to the decent administration of the same and for the greater solemnity of the action is not expressed in the Scripture As for example Christ hath commaunded us to baptize with water in the name of the Father Sonne and holy Ghost here is both the matter and the forme wherein the essence of baptisme consists but what other words and actions we should use in the administration thereof we have no direction And yet if one should doe no more but sprinkle water upon a childe and pronounce the words of baptisme howsoever the baptisme were good yet the action would seeme bare and the Sacrament quickely grow into contempt Therefore the Church hath appointed prayers Lessons interrogatories exhortations and some visible signes also to bee used in the administration of that Sacrament These outward expressions of Gods worship whether by words or actions which are not essentiall unto the duty as not being expressely commaunded we call Ceremonies without which no publicke action can be rightly performed for as the flesh covereth the hollow deformity of the bones and beautifieth the body with naturall graces So Ceremonies cover the nakednesse of publicke actions both civill and religious and procure reverence and esteeme unto them in so much that no nation in the world did ever suffer publick actions which are of weight whether civill or sacred to passe without some visible solemnity So that there is a ground in nature for Ceremonies in generall for all nations by naturall instinct have observed them and for some Ceremonies in particular for Nature doth teach us that God is to be worshipped not only with the inward devotion of the heart but also with the outward reverence of the body And therefore all men by the inditement of reason have used to bow themselves to the ground in token of reverence at the sensible signes of Gods presence or when they have received any message from the Lord. It is therefore an error to thinke Ceremonies in the generall to be things merely indifferent for howsoever every particular Ceremony be indifferent and alterable yet that there should be some Ceremonies is absolutely necessary forasmuch as no outward worke in God's worship can bee performed without Ceremoniall Circumstances some or other more then a body can be without dimensions And since some Ceremonies must be used it is also necessary for preserving serving of Order and uniformity
example of Christ in ceremonies and circumstances then we are able to imitate him in his miracles Christ wore a seamelesse coat christened in rivers preached in the fields answered nothing for himselfe before the Iudge when hee was questioned I hope none of you holds himselfe bound to follow his example in these things Matâ—h XIV 19. c. XV. 35.26 Mat VI. 40. Luk. XXIV 30. Christ alwayes caused the people to these things Christ alwayes caused the people to sit downe before he blessed the meat And yet you commonly stand in blessing especially before meate Yea if wee were bound to imitate Christ in the gesture which he used in holy duties wee should bee bound unto impossibilities for Christ in the same dutie used diverse gestures at diverse times he kneâ—â—ed downe and prayed Luk. XXII 41. He fell on his face and prayed Matth. XXVI 39. He caused the people sit downe and prayed for a blessing Matth. XIV 19. All these gestures he hath sanctified in that Ordinance and commended unto us by his example yet we can not use them all in one act at the same time therefore we are free to pray in any gesture provided wee have respect to decency conveniencie and peace Now if wee bee not bound to Christs example in any ceremony circumstance or gesture were it not strange if we should be tyed to imitate the example of his gesture in the Sacrament II. If Christ sate at the Sacrament it was only once Matt. XXVI 55. but in preaching hee sate often as hee sayth I sate daily teaching in the Temple and yet you hold not your selves bound to preach sitting Now were it not strange if Christs once sitting in one ordinance should be exemplary and not his often sitting in another III. There was never any gesture essentiall to any Sacrament either under the Law or under the Gospell for wee know not what gesture was used in Circumcision and in Baptisme and it is manifest that the gesture of the Passeover was varyed from standing to lying I say further there was never example of gesture in any ordinance or holy service which bound the Church absolutely but so as it might be chaunged upon occasion We have examples in Scripture of all gestures used in praying in thanksgiving in hearing of the Word in offering of sacrifice And I doe here challenge you all to shew me but one example of gesture in any Sacrament or any other part of God's service that did absolutely bind the Church under the Law or under the Gospell to the imitation thereof and I will yeild that Christs gesture in the Sacrament bindes us to imitation but if none such was ever knowne then you must shew some reason why the gesture used in the Sacrament should binde us to imitation rather then in any other Sacrament service or worship for it must seeme strange to any reasonable man that one onely gesture and that of all others the most unfit in one only ordinance should become necessary without any speciall commaund IV. God hath fully expressed what is necessary to bee observed in any of his Ordinances But in all the Booke of God there is not one word expressing what gesture wee should use in the Sacrament all the Evangelists are silent in this matter so is S. Paul though he professe to deliver all things necessary and essentiall to the Sacrament And on the contrary it is very probable that our Saviour had no intent to honour us with the gesture of sitting at the Sacrament for even while hee sate with his Disciples at the Passeover hee schooled them for looking for honour in sitting at the table Luk. XXII 26. Let the greatest among you be as the least and the chiefest as he that serveth for who is greater he that sitteth at table or he that serveth Is not he that sitteth at table and I am among you as he that serveth Now you doe presse us to shew expresse warrant out of Scripture for things which we acknowledge to bee in their owne nature free and indifferent and so need no particular warrant of the Word they being left to the discretion of the Church And yet you presse sitting at the Communion upon the consciences of people as a thing necessary and are not able to shew for it any warrant in the Word generall or particular If you say that you have the example of Christ and of his Disciples that will not serve your turne for you know not what gesture they used and albeit wee were certaine that they had sate as you doe yet that would not binde us to imitation without some other direction for doubtlesse if Christ had meant that his gesture in that Sacrament should be exemplary unto us hee would have put upon it some marke of immutabilitie considering that from the beginning of the world no gesture in any Sacrament or service was obligatory unto God's people by example V. If the gesture which Christ used in the ministration of the Sacrament was sitting or lying the same was occasion all from the Passeover as were many other circumstances which you your selves doe not observe Indeed if Christ had ministred that Sacrament without the conjunction of another meale and had purposely made choice of sitting rather then of kneeling or standing then there might have been more force in his example and yet no absolute necessitie of imitation But seeing it is manifest that if hee used that gesture it was to conforme himselfe to the custome of the Iewes as hee did in many other ceremonies and circumstances no reasonable man can thinke that gesture to be exemplary to us In the VI. place sect 34 I will consider your owne practise where I find that you follow not the example of Christ in many other circumstances which are of as great consequence and some of them greater too then is the gesture Christ ministred the Sacrament onely unto twelve or rather Eleaven you give it unto the whole congregation Christ gave it onely unto men you both to men and women They to whom Christ gave it were all ministers you give it unto the people Christ instituted the Sacrament at night after a full meale you in the morning fasting Christ ministred the same in a private chamber you in a publicke Church Christ used unleavened bread you leavened Christ was the sole minister of the Sacrament blessing and distributing both the Elements you commonly have one to assist you Christ blessed the Elements severally first the bread and afterward the cup you blesse both together Christ and his Disciples too used the same gesture in blessing and distributing which they did in receiving if they sate at one they sate also at the other you doe not so for howsoever you sit in the act of receiving yet the minister sits not when he blesseth the Elements and gives thanks but eyther stands or kneeles exhorting the people to humble themselves Now were it not strange if wee should be bound to imitate the