ART. and therefore we do not reckon it a Sacrament, not XXV. finding in it any of the characters of a Sacrament. 4 Later. Seff. 14. C. 5. The matter that is affigned in the Church of Rome, are the acts of the penitent; his confeffion by his mouth to the Prieft, the contrition of his heart, and the fatisfaction of his work, in doing the enjoined penance. The aggregate of all thefe is the matter; and the form, are the words, Ego te abfolvo. Now befides what we have to fay from every one of thefe particulars, the matter of a Sacrament must be fome vifible fign applied to him that Innoc. 3. in receives it. It is therefore a very abfurd thing, to imagine that a man's own thoughts, words, or actions, Can. 21, 224 Con. Trid. can be the matter of a Sacrament: how can this be fanctified or applied to him? It will be a thing no lefs abfurd to make the form of a Sacrament to be a practice not much elder than four hundred years; fince no ritual can be produced, nor author cited for this form, for above a thousand years after Chrift; all the ancient forms of receiving penitents having been by a bleffing in the form of a prayer, or a declaration; but none of them in these pofitive words, I abfolve thee. We think this want of matter, and this new invented form, being without any inftitution in Scripture, and different from fo long a practice of the whole Church, are fuch reafons, that we are fully juftified in denying Penance to be a Sacrament. But becaufe the doctrine of Repentance is a point of the highest importance, there arife feveral things here that ought to be very carefully examined. 6. 1 Tim. v. 20. 14. 1 Cor. v. 11. As to Confeflion, we find in the Scriptures, that fuch as Matth. iii. defired St. John's baptifm, came confeffing their fins; but that was previous to baptifm. We find alfo that fcandalous perfons were to be openly rebuked before all, and fo to be put to fhame; in which, no doubt, there was a confeffion, and a publication of the fin: but that was a matter of the difcipline and order of the Church; which made it 2 Theff. iii. neceffary to note fuch perfons as walked diforderly, and to have no fellowship with them, fometimes not fo much as to eat with them, who being Chriftians, and fuch as were called Brothers, were a reproach to their profeffion. But befides the power given to the Apoftles of binding and loofing, which, as was faid on another head, belonged to other matters; we find that when our Saviour breathed on his Apofiles, and gave them the Holy Ghoft, he with that told them, that whole foever fins they remitted, they were remitted; and chofe foever fins they retained, they were retained. Since a power of remitting or retaining fin was thus given to them, they infer, that it feems reafon John xx. 23. able, XXV. able, that, in order to their difpenfing it with a due caution, ART. the knowledge of all fins ought to be laid open to them. Acts viii. Some have thought that this was a perfonal thing given to the Apostles with that miraculous effufion of the Holy Ghoft; with which fuch a difcerning of fpirits was communicated to them, that they could difcern the fincerity or hypocrify of those that came before them. By this St. Peter difcovered the fin of Ananias and Acts v. Sapphira; and he alfo faw that Simon of Samaria was 3, 9. in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity: fo they 23. conclude that this was a part of that extraordinary and miraculous authority which was given to the Apoftles, and to them only. But others, who diftinguish between the full extent of this power, and the minifterial authority that is ftill to be continued in the Church, do believe that these words may in a lower and more limited fenfe belong to the fucceffors of the Apoftles; but they argue very ftrongly, that if thefe words are to be understood in their full extent as they lie, a Prieft has by them an abfolute and unlimited power in this matter, not reftrained to conditions or rules; fo that if he does pardon or retain fins, whether in that he does right or wrong, the fins must be pardoned or retained accordingly: he may indeed fin in ufing it wrong, for which he muft anfwer to God; but he feems, by the literal meaning of thefe words, to be clothed with fuch a plenipotentiary authority, that his act must be valid, though he may be punished for employing it amifs. An Ambaffador that has full powers, though limited by fecret inftructions, does bind him that fo empowered him, by every act that he does, pursuant to his powers, how much foever it may go beyond his inftructions; for how obnoxious foever that may render him to his mafter, it does not at all leffen the authority of what he has done, nor the obligation that arifes out of it. So thefe words of Chrift's, if applied to all Priefts, muft belong to them in their full extent; and if fo, the falvation or the damnation of mankind is put abfolutely in the Prieft's power. Nor can it be answered, that the conditions of the pardon of fin that are expreffed in the other parts of the Gospel, are here to be understood, though they are not expressed; as we are faid to be faved if we believe, which does not imply that a fingle act of believing the Gofpel, without any thing elfe, puts us in a ftate of falvation. In oppofition to this, we anfwer, that the Gofpel having fo defcribed faith to us, as the root of all other graces and virtues, B b XXV. ART. virtues, as that which produces them, and which is known by them, all that is promifed upon our faith, muft be understood of a faith fo qualified as the Golpel reprefents it; and therefore that cannot be applied to this cafe, where an unlimited authority is fo particularly expreffed, that no condition feems to be implied in it. If any conditions are elsewhere laid upon us, in order to our falvation, then, according to their doctrine, we may say that of them which they fay of contrition upon this occafion, that they are neceffary when we cannot procure the Prieft's pardon; but that by it the want of them all may be fupplied, and that the obligation to them all is fuperfeded by it and if any conditions are to be understood as limits upon this power, why are not all the conditions of the Gofpel, faith, hope, and charity, contrition and new obedience, made neceffary, in order to the lawful difpenfing of it, as well as confeffion, attrition, and the doing the penance enjoined? Therefore fince no condition is here named as a reftraint upon this general power, that is pretended to be given to Priefts by thofe words of our Saviour, they must either be underflood as fimple and unconditional, or they muft be limited to all the conditions that are expreffed in the Gofpel; for there is not the colour of a reason to reftrain them to fome of them, and to leave out the reft: and thus we think we are fully juftified by faying, that by thefe words our Saviour did indeed fully empower the Apoftles to publifh his Gospel to the world, and to declare the terms of falvation, and of obtaining the pardon of fin, in which they were to be infallibly aflifted, fo that they could not err in discharging their commiffion; and the terms of the Covenant of Grace being thus fettled by them, all who were to fucceed them were alfo empowered to go on with the publication of this pardon and of thofe glad tidings to the world: fo that whatfoever they declared in the name of God, conform to the tenor of that which the Apoftles were to fettle, fhould be always made good. We do alfo acknowledge, that the Paftors of the Church have, in the way of cenfure and government, a minifterial authority to remit or to retain fins, as they are matters of fcandal or offence; though that indeed does not feem to be the meaning of thofe words of our Saviour; and therefore we think that the power of pardoning and retaining is only declaratory, fo that all the exerciles of it are then only effectual, when the declarations of the pardon are made conform to the conditions of the Gofpel. This doctrine of ours, how much foever decried of late in the Roman Church, XXV. Church, as ftriking at the root of the priestly authority, ART. yet has been maintained by fome of their beft Authors, and fome of the greatest of their Schoolmen. Thus we have feen upon what reafon it is that we do not conclude from hence, that auricular confeffion is neceffary; in which we think that we are fully confirmed by the practice of many of the ages of the Chriftian Church, which did not underftand thefe words as containing an obligation to fecret confeffion. It is certain, that the practice and tradition of the Church must be relied on here, if in any thing, fince there was nothing that both Clergy and Laity were more concerned both to know, and to deliver down faithfully, than this, on which the authority of the one, and the falvation of the other, depended fo much. Such a point as this could never have been forgot or miftaken; many and clear rules must have been given about it. It is a thing to which human nature has fo much repugnancy, that it muft, in the first forming of Churches, have been infufed into them as abfolutely neceffary in order to pardon and falvation. A Church could not now be formed, according to the doctrine and practice of the Church of Rome, without very full and particular inftructions, both to Priests and People, concerning confeffion and abfolution. It is the moft intricate part of their divinity, and that which the Clergy must be the most ready at. In oppofition to all this, let it be confidered, that though there is a great deal faid in the New Teftament concerning forrow for fin, repentance, and remiffion of fins, yet there is not a word faid, nor a rule given, concerning confeffion to be made to a Prieft, and abfolution to be given by him. There is indeed a paffage in St. James's Epiftle relating to confef- James v. fion; but it is to one another; not reftrained to the Prieft; 16. as the word rendered faults feems to fignify thofe offences by which others are wronged; in which cafe confeffion is a degree of reparation, and fo is fometimes necessary: but whatever may be in this, it is certain, that the confeffion, which is there appointed to be made, is a thing that was to be mutual among Chriftians; and it is not commanded in order to abfolution, but in order to the procuring the interceffions of other good men; and therefore it is added, and pray for one another. By the words that follow, that ye may be bealed, joined with thofe that went before concerning the fick, it feems the direction given by St. James belongs principally to fick perfons; and the conclufion of the whole period fhews, that it relates only to the private prayers of good men for one B b 2 another; ART. another; the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man XXV. availeth much: fo that this place does not at all belong to auricular confeffion or abfolution. Nor do there any prints appear, before the apoftafies that happened in the perfecution of Decius, of the practice even of confeffing fuch heinous fins as had been publicly committed. Then arofe the famous contefts with the Novatians, concerning the receiving the lapsed into the communion of the Church again. It was concluded not to exclude them from the hopes of mercy, or of reconciliation; yet it was refolved not to do that till they had been kept at a diftance for fone time from the holy communion; at laft they were admitted to make their confeffion, and fo they were received to the communion of the Church. This time was fhortened, and many things were paffed over, to fuch as fhewed a deep and fincere repentance; and one of the characters of a true repentance, upon which they were always treated with a great diftinction of favour, was, if they came and first accufed themselves. This thewed that they were deeply affected with the fenfe of their fins, when they could not bear the load of them, but became their own accufers, and difcovered their fins. There are feveral canons that make a difference in the degrees and time of the penance, between those who had accufed themselves, and those against whom their fins were proved. A great deal of this ftrain occurs often in the writings of the Fathers, which plainly fhews that they did not look on the neceffity of an enumeration of all their fins as commanded by God; otherwife it would have been enforced with confiderations of another nature, than that of shortening their penance. The firft occafion that was given to the Church to exercife this difcipline, was from the frequent apoftafies, into which many had lapfed during the perfecutions; and when thefe went off, another fort of diforders began to break in upon the Church, and to defile it. Great numbers followed the example of their Princes, and became Chriftians; but a mixed multitude came among them, fo that there were many fcandals amongst that body, which had been formerly remarkable for the purity of their morals, and the ftrictness of their lives. It was the chief bufinefs of all thofe Councils that met in the fourth and fifth centuries, to fettle many rules concerning the degrees and time of penance, the cenfures both of the Clergy and Laity, the orders of the Penitents, and the methods of receiving them to the communion of the Church. In fome of thofe |