Imatges de pàgina
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he look to be delivered by man's intercessions? Hath God more respect to man on earth, than he hath to Christ in heaven? "If any man sin," saith St. John, (1 John ii. 1, 2.) “we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins." Hom. xix. 3.

Q. But God doth to our salvation use the service of angels, that wait upon us, and therefore do hear us? A. That is true. But yet it appeareth no where in the word of God, that God would have us pray to angels, or to godly men deceased. And sith faith resteth upon the word of God, and what is not of faith is sin, I said rightly it is a sure token of infidelity to forsake God, to whom alone the Scriptures do send us, and to pray to, and crave help of angels, or godly men departed this life, for calling upon whom there is not one word in the holy Scriptures.- -Q. But seeing charity never falleth out of the hearts of the godly, even while they be in heaven they are careful for us, and do desire our salvation? A. That cannot be denied; yet it doth not follow that we must therefore call upon them, unless we think that we must call for the help and succour of our friends, be they never so far from us, only because they bear us good-will.That were to give to them an infiniteness to be present every where, or to give them, being absent, an understanding of our secret meanings, that is, as much as a certain Godhead, and therewithal partly to convey to them our confidence and trust, that ought to be set wholly in God alone, and so to slide into idolatry. But forasmuch as God calleth us to himself alone, and doth also, with adding an oath, promise that he will both hear and help us; to flee to the help of other were an evident token of distrust and infidelity. And as touching the holy men that are departed out of this life, what manner of thing, I pray you, were this, forsaking the living God, that heareth our prayers, that is most mighty, most ready to help us, that calleth us unto him, that in the word of truth promiseth and sweareth, that with his divine power and succour he will defend us; forsaking him, I say, to flee to men dead, deaf, and weak, which neither have promised help, nor are able to relieve us, to whom God never gave the office to help us, to whom we are by no Scriptures directed, whereupon our faith may surely rest, but are unadvisedly carried away, trusting upon the dreams, or rather dotages, of our own head. Nowell, p. 78, 79.

XXIII. Of Ministering in the Congregation. 'IT is not lawful for any man to take upon

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the office of public preaching, or ministering the Sacraments in the Congregation, before he be lawfully called, and sent to execute the same. And those we ought to judge lawfully called

We believe that there be divers degrees of ministers in the Church whereof some be deacons, some priests, some bishops: to whom is committed the office to instruct the people, and the whole charge and setting forth of religion. Jewell.

Sith the duties and offices of feeding the Lord's flock with God's word, and the ministering the sacraments, are most nearly joined together, there is no doubt that the ministration thereof (of the latter) properly belongeth to them to whom the office of public teaching is committed. For as the Lord himself at his supper, exercising the office of the public minister, did set forth his own example to be followed, so did he commit the offices of baptizing and teaching peculiarly to the Apostles. Nowell, p. 113.

Further we say, that the minister ought lawfully, duly, and orderly to be preferred to that office of the Church of God, and that no man hath power to wrest himself into the holy ministry at his own pleasure. Jewell.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who hast purchased to thyself an universal Church by the precious blood of thy dear Son; mercifully look upon the same; and at this time so guide

b No man taketh this honour to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an High Priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee. Heb. v. 4, 5. Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever. Numb. xxiii. 13. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil ways and from the evil of their

doings. Jer. xxiii. 22. How shall they preach except they be sent? Rom. x. 15. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. Matt. x. 38. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. John xx. 21. Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matt. xxviii. 18-20. God hath set

and sent, which be chosen and called to this work, who have public authority given unto them in the congregation, to call and send ministers into the Lord's vineyard.

and govern the minds of thy servants, the Bishops and Pastors of thy flock, that they may lay hands suddenly on no man, but faithfully and wisely make choice of fit persons to serve in the sacred ministry of thy Church. And to those which shall be ordained to any holy function, give thy grace and heavenly benediction; that both by their life and doctrine they may set forth thy glory, and set forward the salvation of all men, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Occasional Prayers.

Almighty God, the giver of all good gifts, who of thy divine. providence hast appointed divers orders in thy Church; Give thy grace, we humbly beseech thee, to all those who are to be called to any Office and Administration in the same; and so replenish them with the truth of thy doctrine, and endue them with innocency of life, that they may faithfully serve before thee, to the glory of thy great name, and the benefit of thy holy Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Occasional Prayers. See also Art. XXXVI.

some in the Church, first Apostles, secondarily Prophets, thirdly Teachers. 1 Cor. xii. 28. He gave some, Apostles; and some, Prophets; and some Evangelists; and some, Pastors and Teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Eph. iv. 11, 12. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Eph. iii. 8. He is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. Acts ix. 15. God hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 2 Cor. v. 19, 20. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the

Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia. Acts xiii. 24. When they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. Acts xiv. 23. Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure. 1 Tim. v. 22. Neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 1 Tim. iv. 14. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 2 Tim. ii. 2.

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XXIV. Of speaking in the Congregation in such a tongue as the people understandeth.

*IT is a thing plainly repugnant to the word of God, and the custom of the primitive church, to

M. Dost thou think that the word of God is to be read in a strange tongue, and such as the people understandeth not? S. That were grossly to mock God and his people, and shamelessly to abuse them both. For whereas God commandeth that his word be plainly read to young and old, men and women, namely, to the intent that all may understand and learn to fear the Lord their God, as he himself in his own word expressly witnesseth, it were a very mockery that the word of God, which is appointed by God himself to teach his people, should be read to the people in a tongue unknown to them, and whereof they can learn nothing. Nowell, p. 5.

We make our prayers in that tongue which all our people, as meet is, may understand, to the end they may (as St. Paul counselleth us) take common commodity by common prayer, even as all the holy fathers and catholic bishops, both in the Old and New Testament, did use to pray themselves, and taught the people to pray too. Jewell.

It is sufficiently proved of our part, that the fourteenth chapter to the Corinthians must of necessity belong to the use of common prayers; and that in the primitive church the service was every where ministered in the vulgar tongue; and that the priest and the people prayed altogether. I have proved, not only that the nations that understood Greek or Latin had their service in the Greek or Latin tongue, but by Theodoretus, Sozomenus, St. Ambrose, and St. Jerome, that the Syrians had their service in the Syrian tongue; but by St. Basil, that the Egyptians had their service in the Egyptian tongue: the Lybians, the Thebans, the Palestines, the Arabians, and the Phoenicians, each of them in their own tongue : by Origen, that all barbarous

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have public prayer in the church, or to minister

people had their services in their several barbarous tongues: by Sulpicius, that the people of France, then called Gallia, had their service in the French tongue. St. Jerome saith, Vox quidem dissona, sed una religio. Tot pene psallentium chori, quot gentium diversitates. To be short, I have proved by St. Chrysostom, and by Lyra, and others, that there can no manner of profit redound unto the people of prayers made in a strange tongue. Jewell's Reply to Harding, Art. III.

Although reason, if it might rule, would soon persuade us to have our common prayer and administration of the sacraments in a known tongue-both for that to pray commonly, is for a multitude to ask one and the self-same thing with one voice, and one consent of mind; and to administer a sacrament is, by the outward word and element to preach to the receiver the inward and invisible grace of God; and also for that both these exercises were first instituted, and are still continued, to the end that the congregation of Christ might, from time to time, be put in remembrance of their unity in Christ, and that, as members all of one body, they ought, both in prayers and otherwise, to seek and desire one another's commodity, and not their own without others—yet shall we not need to flee to reasons and proofs in this matter, sith we have both the plain and manifest words of the Scripture, and also the consent of the most learned and ancient writers, to commend the prayers of the congregation in a known tongue.

If ever it had been tolerable to use strange tongues in the congregation, the same might have been in the time of Paul and the other Apostles, when they were miraculously endued with gifts of tongues. For it might then have persuaded some to embrace the Gospel, when they had heard men, that were Hebrews born and unlearned, speak the Greek, the Latin, and other languages. But Paul thought it not tolerable then and shall we use it now, when no man cometh by that knowledge of tongues, otherwise than by diligent and earnest study? God forbid. For we should by that means bring all our church exercises to frivolous superstition, and make them altogether unfruitful.

As touching the times before the coming of Christ, there was never man yet that would affirm, that either the people of God, or other, had their prayers or administrations of the sacraments,

If the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?Let all things be done unto edifying. If any man speak

in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course, and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church. 1 Cor. xiv. 9, 11, 14-16, 19, 23, 26-28.

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