Beveridge on Article XXV: Of the Sacraments

Pee seen what language it is that the sacraments are to be administered in, we have here determined what be those sacraments which are to be administered in such a language. That they are signs, it-is here acknow- ledged ; but that they are no more than signs, is the thing that is here denied. They be indeed such signs whereby a Christian is distinguished from a heathen; but that is not all they are; for besides that, they be also sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace and God’s will toward us, by which -he works invisibly in us, and confirms our faith graciously in himself, as we read how circumcision was the seal of the righteousness by faith, Rom. iv.11. And what cireumcision was to the Jews, other sacraments are to the Christians; not bare signs, but sure seals of the righteousness by faith, whereby God doth not only signify his grace to us, but con- firms our faith in it; and our faith being confirmed in the sacraments, the sacraments do thereby prove so advantageous to our souls. So that the apostle saith, FYor.as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, Gal. iii. 27. Such as apply to themselves by faith what is sealed in the

“Arr. XXV. Of the Sacramenis. 435

satraments by God, are made partakers of Christ, and all the benefits of his death and passion ; and the sacraments being themselves a means whereby this our faith is confirmed in God, and God’s love is confirmed to us, they must needs be more than bare tokens, and marks of distinction betwixt Christians and other men; yea, no less than sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, whereby God is pleased to work grace in us, and to enable us better to act faith in him.

And that the sacraments are not mere tokens or badges, but effectual signs and means of grace, we may read it fre- quently asserted by the Fathers: #“The baptism of Christ- ians,” saith Optatus, “made in the name of the Trinity, con- ferreth […] saith Justin Martyr, “they are brought to the place where water is, and they are regenerated after the same manner of regeneration that we-are regenerat- ed withal.” ¢‘* And we in the water are made partakers of the forgiveness of our sins before committed.” And in the Constantinopolitan Creed itself it is said, 4‘* We confess one baptism for the remission of sins.” Nay St. Gregory saith, e“ He that saith that sins in baptism are not wholly forgiven, may as well say that the Egyptians were not truly dead in the Red Sea.” And St. Augustine also cried out, f* Whence comes there so much virtue into the water that it should touch the body and wash the […] as Gregory Nyssen saith, % “ the water itself doth not afford that virtue, for of itself it is the weakest of all creatures; but the in- stitution of God and the coming of the Holy Ghost, mystically working our liberty: but the water serves for the signification

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id.

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€ Qui dicit peccata in baptismate funditus non dimitti, dicat in mari

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f Unde tanta virtus aque ut cor+ pus tangat, cor abluat? Aug. in Johan. tract. 8o. [3. vol. ILI. par. ii. ]

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436 Of the Sacraments. Art.

of that purging.” But the principal thing to be considered in this article is what follows.

There are two sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the gospel, that is to say, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Those five commonly called sa- craments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for sacraments of the gospel, being such as are grown partly of the corrupt following of the apostles, partly are states of life allowed in the scriptures; but yet have not the like nature of sacraments with Baptism and the Lord’s Supper,

for they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God.

Lombard “saying, that Baptism, Confirmation, the Blessing of Bread, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders, and Matrimony, are sacraments of the New Testament, the papists have thence gathered, and ever since held, that there are seven sacraments instituted by Christ, truly and properly so called: insomuch that in the council of Trent they determined, ‘that whosoever said there were more or less should be accursed. Now our church, not much fearing their curse, hath here declared, that only two of them, to wit, Baptism and the Eucharist, are properly sacraments of the New Testament, and that the other five are not to be accounted so: not but that, as the word sacrament was anciently used for any ‘sacred sign or

h Ad sacramenta nove legis acce- damus, qu sunt baptismus, con- firmatio, panis benedictus, id est eucharistia, poenitentia, extrema unc- tio, ordo, conjugium. Lomb. 1. 4. dist. 2.V. Allat. de consens. 1256, &c.

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mam unctionem, ordinem et matri- monium, aut etiam aliquid horum septem non esse vere et proprie sa- cramentum, anathema sit. Concil. Trident. sess. 7. can. 1. [Hard. vol. XO panes

k Sacrificium ergo visibile invisi- bilis sacrificii sacramentum, id est, sacrum signum est. Aug. de civ. Dei, 1.10. ¢. 5. [vol. VII.] Signa cum ad res divinas pertinent sacramenta ap- pellantur. Id. epist. [138. vol. II.]

XXV. Of the Sacraments. 437

ceremony, it may in some sense be applied to these also; but, as it is here expressed, those five have not the like nature of sacraments with Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They may call them sacraments if they please, but they are not such _ Sacraments as Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are, and there- fore not sacraments properly so called. For that these two are sacraments properly so called is acknowledged on both sides ; and therefore whatsoever is a sacrament properly so called must have the like nature with them, so as to. agree with them in all those things wherein their sacramental nature consisteth, that is, in such things wherein they two most nearly agree with one another: for that wherein the species do most nearly agree with one another must needs be their generical nature. Now there are several things wherein these two do so agree: for they are both instituted by Christ ; they have both external signs and symbols deter- mined in the gospel, which represent inward and spiritual grace unto us; yea, and they have both promises annexed to them. Whereas the other five agree with these in none of these things, or howsoever, none of them agree in all of them, and by consequence cannot be sacraments properly so called.

First, they do not agree with them in their institution from Christ. That Baptism and the Lord’s Supper were instituted by Christ, they cannot deny; but that the other were, we do. As, first, for Confirmation, which we confess was a custom anciently used in the Church of Christ, and still ought to be retained, even for children after Baptism to be offered to the bishop, that they might receive the Holy Ghost by prayers, and the laying on of hands. But ‘some of the papists themselves acknowledge, that this was never instituted and ordained by Christ as the other sacraments were; neither did the Fathers use this as any distinct sacra-

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438 Of the Sacraments. Art,

ment, but as the ™perfection and consummation of the sacra ment of baptism; and the nehrism or ointment which they used was only a ceremony annexed to baptism also, as the cross and other ceremonies were.

And as for penance, which they define to be a sacrament of the remission of sins which are committed after baptism, I would willingly know where or when Christ ever instituted such a sacrament. What though he commanded all men to repent, is every command of Christ an institution of a sacra- ment? Or is it outward penance that is here commanded ¢

or rather, is it not inward and true repentance? And what though Christ said, Those sins that you forgive they are for- given ; what matter, what form, what signs of a sacrament were appointed and instituted in those words? And so for orders, or the ordination of ministers, I know it is a thing instituted by Christ ; must it needs be therefore a sacrament ?

m Nune quoque apud nos geritur, ut qui in ecclesia baptizantur per prepositos ecclesiz offerantur, et per nostram orationem et manus impositionem Spiritum Sanctum con- sequantur, et signaculo dominico consummentur. Cyprian. epist. 73. [p. 202.] Peregre navigantes, aut si ecclesia in proximo non fuerit, posse fidelem (qui lavacrum suum inte- grum habet, nec sit bigamus) bapti- zare in necessitate infirmitatis posi- tum catechumenum, ita ut si super- vixerit, ad episcopum eum perdueat, ut per manus impositionem perfici possit. Concil. Eliber. can. [38. vol. I. p. 254.] Quod si ab heereticis baptizatum quempiam fuisse consti- terit, erga hunc nullatenus sacra- mentum regenerationis iteretur, sed hoc tantum quod ibi defuit con- feratur, ut per episcopalem manus impositionem virtutem Spiritus S. consequatur. Leo, epist. 37. V. et concil. Arel. r. can. 8. And thus we read of Novatus, how being bap- tized when sick, od py oddé Trav dot- map Ervxe, Siauydy riy vdcov, Sv xpi peradapBavew Kata roy THs exkAnolas kavdva, TOD On opayicOjvat bd Tod

emtoxorov. Euseb. hist. 1. 6. c. [43, vol. I. p. 275.], which word Ruffinus translates, Nec reliqua in eo que baptismum sequi solent solenniter adimpleta sunt, nec signaculo chris- matis consummatus est.

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XXV. Of the Sacraments. 439

or instituted as a sacrament? Because Christ ordained that bishops, priests, and deacons should be ordained, doth it therefore follow that he intended and instituted their ordina- tion as a sacrament? And as for matrimony, I know their corrupt translation hath it, And this is a great sacrament, Eph. v. 32, instead of This is a great mystery or secret, °as the Syriac and Arabic read it; and shall their false translation of the scripture be a sufficient [ground] for Christ’s insti- tution of a sacrament? And lastly, for extreme unction, which Bellarmine tells us P“is truly and properly a sacra- ment, wherein the organs of the senses, the eyes, nostrils, lips, hands, feet, and reins in those that are about to die, are anointed with exorcised oil ;” what institution have we for this sacrament in the gospel? Yes, say they, the apostles anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them, Mark vi. 13. It is very good; it seems the apostles’ practice and example was the institution of a sacrament. By this rule, whatsoever the apostles did must be a sacrament; and so plucking of the ears of corn must be a sacrament too at length. But certainly if examples may be the ground of institution, anointing the eyes of the blind with clay and spittle must be much more a sacrament than the anointing of the sick with oil; for it was the apostles only that did this, but it was our Saviour himself that did that, John ix. 6. But the apostle saith, [f any one be sick amongst you, let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, James v. 14. It is true; but what analogy is there betwixt this anointing of the apostle and the extreme unction of the papists? This was to be applied to any that were sick, Js any one sick amongst you? but theirs only to such as are past 4 all hope of recovery; the apostles’ was to be done by several elders, the

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vo esa) od Hoc secretum

magnum est; not, Hoc sacramentum magnum est. p Est vere et proprie sacramen-

tum, &c. in quo organa sensuum, oculi, nares, labia, manus, pedes, et renes oleo exorcizato in morituris inunguntur. Bellarm. de sacram. ex- treme unctionis, c¢. I.

qd Unctionem extremam non esse adhibendam, nisi illis qui tam gra- viter egrotant, ut de vita pericli- tentur. Ibid. c. 9.

440 Of the Sacraments. Arr.

papists’ only by one priest ; the apostles’ was to be performed with simple oil, the papists’ with consecrated and exorcised oil. So that the papists’ extreme unction cannot possibly lay claim to any institution from that place, as Cajetan’ himself acknowledged.

And as for external signs and symbols analogically repre- senting inward spiritual grace, which constitute the very form indeed of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, it is in vain to look for the like in the other sacraments, - falsely so called, as is observed in the article. For as for example, what is the sign in penance? Or if there be a sign, what is the grace that is analogically represented by it? I know they cannot agree among themselves what is the form or sign in this sacrament. Some say the words of absolution, others absolution itself, others imposition of hands; but whichsoever of these we take, they cannot be such signs and symbols as are in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. For there is water, and bread, and wine, all substances ; whereas these are all actions and accidents. The like may be said also of confirmation and orders, which have no such visible sign, howsoever not appointed by Christ. And so for matri- mony too. There is no such sign of any invisible grace can possibly be fastened upon it. To say that the priest’s words, or the party’s mutual consent, is the form or sign, is a mere evasion: for the party’s consent is an invisible thing, and therefore cannot be a visible sign; the words of the priest are mere words, which may be heard indeed, but cannot be seen, and so cannot be any visible sign. Neither are words sig- nificative elements, as bread and wine are, and therefore cannot be the signs of such sacraments as they be. And as

Nec ex his verbis, nec ex effectu loquitur; cum extrema unctio non

colligi potest, quod hee verba lo- quantur de sacramentali unctione ex- trema, sed magis de unctione quam instituit Dominus Jesus in evangelio, a discipulis exercendam in egrotis. Textus enim non dicit, Infirmatur quis ad mortem, sed absolute, In- firmatur quis? Et effectum dicit in- firmi alleviationem, et de remissione peccatorum non nisi conditionaliter

nisi prope articulum mortis detur, et directe, ut ejus forma sonat, ten- dit ad remissionem peccatorum. Preeter hoc quod Jacobus ad unum egrotum multos presbyteros tum orantes tum unguentes mandat vo- cari, quod ab extreme unctionis ritu alienum est, Cajetan. in Jac. 5. [p. 419.]

XXV. Of the Sacraments. 441

for extreme unction, there is, I confess, an external sign in it, even unction ; but what analogy hath this external sign to any internal grace? Two things, they say, is (are?) represented by it, bodily health, and forgiveness of sins. But is bodily health an inward grace? or, suppose it was, what similitude is there betwixt that and oil, or unction? Forgiveness of sins, I know, is a spiritual grace ; but none of them durst ever yet under- take to shew the analogy betwixt the visible sign and this invisible grace. And seeing there is no analogy betwixt the oil and remission of sins, that cannot be looked upon as any sacramental sign or symbol, as water and wine is (are?) in the other sacraments, exactly representing the inward spiritual grace that it signified by them. To all which we might add also, that it is of the nature of a sacrament to have promises annexed to them, promises of spiritual things. And what promises do we find in scripture made to matrimony, con- firmation, to orders, and the rest?

But whatsoever other things the papists would obtrude upon us as sacraments, it is certain that we find our Saviour solemnly instituting two and but two sacraments in the New Testament, to wit, those here mentioned, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. And therefore, when the apostle compares the law with the gospel, he instanceth in these two sacraments only, and none else; And were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat ; 1 Cor. x. 2, 8. And he again joins these two together, saying, For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free ; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit, chap. xu.13. And thus do the Fathers observe, how when one of the soldiers pierced our Saviour’s side, and there came out blood and water, John xix. 34, tthe two sacraments of the New Testament are thereby intimated to us.

s Si sacramenta quandam simili- tudinem earum rerum quarum sa- cramenta sunt non haberent, omnino sacramenta non essent. Aug. epist. [98. 9. vol. II.]

t Percussum est enim latus ejus, ut evangelium loquitur, et statim

manavit sanguis et aqua, que sunt ecclesie gemina sacramenta; aqua in qua est sponsa purificata, sanguis ex quo invenitur esse dotata. Aug. de symb. ad catech. [15. vol. VI. p- 502.] Dormit Adam, ut fiat Eva, moritur Christus, ut fiat ecclesia;

Art,

442 Of the Sacraments.

And if we look into the Fathers, we shall find them, when speaking of the sacraments of the New Testament, still men- tioning neither fewer nor more than two, even Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. As St. Augustine: %“ At this time, after that the judgment of our liberty was made most manifest by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, neither were we burdened with the heavy performance of those signs which we now understand ; but the Lord himself and the apostolical doctrine delivered instead of many but some few things, and those most easy to be performed, most noble to be under- stood, and most chaste in their observation, such as are the sacrament of baptism, and the celebration of the body and blood of the Lord.” And so St.Chrysostom: * “If,” saith he, “no one can enter into the kingdom of heaven unless he be born again of water and the Spirit ; and he that doth not eat the flesh of the Lord, nor drink his blood, is cast out of eternal life, &¢.” Where we see they mention these two sacraments, but not a word of penance, not a word of orders, not a word of any of the rest. So Fulbertus Carnotensis ; y“There are three things requisite to the proficiency of

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Pdpevor” evredoev a dpxny AapBaver Td ~

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u Hoc tempore postquam resur- rectione Domini nostri Jesu Christi manifestissimum judicium nostra libertatis iluxit, nec eorum quidem signorum que jam intelligimus operatione gravi onerati sumus, sed quedam pauca pro multis, eademque et factu facillima et intellectu augus- tissima, et observatione castissima, ipse Dominus et apostolica tradidit disciplina, sicuti est baptismi sacra- mentum, et celebratio corporis et sanguinis Domini, Aug, de doctrina Christ, 1. 3- [13. vol. TI.)

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y Tria sunt ad profectum Christi- ane religionis proposita. Horum primum est intelligere et firmiter tenere mysterium Trinitatis, et unius veritatem Deitatis. Secundum

XXYV.

Of the Sacraments. 443

Christian religion: of which the first is, to understand and firmly to hold the mystery of the Trinity, and the verity of one Deity: the second, to know the reason or cause of the saving baptism: the third is, in what the two sacraments of life, the body and blood of the Lord, are contained.” And Algerus, 2“ Christ conforms one body of Christ and the church by a double sacrament,” not a sevenfold. And Pas- chasius saith, #“* The sacraments of Christ in the church are baptism and chrism, as also the body and blood of the Lord.” Where by chrism we must understand that ceremony, which, as we saw before, was used in the church at the administration of baptism. Thus do we see the ancients in their enumeration of sacraments still reckon upon no more than two. So that Rupertus Abbas Tuitiensis propounds the question; ®“* What,” saith he, “and how many are the principal sacraments of our salvation?” And he answers, * Holy baptism, and the holy eucharist of his body and blood, the double gift of his Holy Spirit.” As if he should have said in the words of this article, 7here are two sacraments ordained of Christ in the gospel, that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord.

The sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about, but that we should duly use them. And in such only as worthily receive the same they have a wholesome effect or operation; but they that receive them unworthily purchase to themselves damnation, as the apostle St. Paul saith.

In this the latter part of this article are contained three

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a Sunt autem sacramenta Christi

in ecclesia baptismus et chrisma, corpus quoque Domini et sanguis. Paschas. de corp. et sang. Domini, ¢. [10. ]

Que ergo et quot sunt precipua salutis nostre sacramenta? sacrum baptisma, sancta corporis ejus et sanguinis eucharistia, geminum Spi- ritus Sancti datum. Rupert. abbas Tuit. de victor. verbi, 1. 12. c. 11.

[vol, II.]

444, Of the Sacraments. Arr. XXV.

things ; first, that the sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or carried about, which, concerning the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper especially, is repeated again in the XX VIIIth article. The second is, that such as worthily receive the sacraments, the sacraments have a wholesome effect or operation in them, of which I shall have occasion to speak when treating upon the sacraments par- ticularly. The third is the words of the apostle Paul, They that receive them wnworthily purchase to themselves damnation, 1 Cor. xi. 29. But of this I shall speak also particularly, art. X XIX. and therefore need not insist upon any of them here.

Notes

• As Alexander Alensis and Bona- ventura; the first holding, Quod confirmatio nec a Christo, nec ab apostolis, sed per concilium Mel- dense sit instituta. p. 4. [quest. 9.] memb. 1, The other, that chrisma
• . vol. VI.]