the work operated by them grace is conferred: that there were the same number of sacraments of the ancient law. Baptism, confirmation, the eucharist, and repentance have been treated of above. ON THE SACRAMENT OF EXTREME UNCTION: That it is founded on the epistle of James, chap. v. 14, 15; that it is to be administered to the sick at their lives' end, whence it is called the sacrament of the departing; that if they recover, it may be applied again; that it is to be performed with oil consecrated by the bishop, and with these words: 'May God grant thee his indulgence for whatsoever offence thou hast committed through the fault of the eyes, of the nostrils, or of the feeling.' ON THE SACRAMENT OF ORDER: That there are seven orders in the ministry of the priesthood, which differ in dignity, and all together are called the ecclesiastical hierarchy, which is like the order of an encampment; that inaugurations into the ministry are to be effected by unctions, and by transferring of the Holy Spirit upon them. That the secular power or consent, calling or authority of the magistrate is not requisite for the ordination of bishops and priests; that they who ascend to the ministry only by the appointment of their calling, are not ministers, but thieves and robbers, who do not enter in by the door. ON THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY. That a dispensation of degrees and divorces belongs to the church. That the clergy are not to contract matrimony. That all of them may have the gift of chastity, and if any one saith he cannot, when nevertheless he had made a vow, let him be anathema, because God doth not refuse it to those who ask it properly, and doth not suffer any one to be tempted beyond what he is able to bear. That a state of virginity and celibacy is to be preferred to the conjugal state; besides other things. of the same nature.

"VIII. ON THE SAINTS. That the saints reigning together with Christ offer up their prayers to God for men; that Christ is to be adored, and the saints to be invoked; that the invocation of saints is not idolatrous, nor derogatory to the honor of the one Mediator between God and men; it is called Latria. That images of Christ, of Mary the mother of God, and of the saints, are to be revered and honored, not that it is to be supposed they possess any divinity or virtue, but because the honor which is paid to them is referred to the prototypes which they represent; and that by the images which they kiss, and before which

6

DOCTRINES OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIGION.

they kneel and uncover their heads, they adore Christ and venerate the saints. That miracles of God are performed by the saints.

"IX. ON POWER. That the Roman Pontiff is the successor of the apostle Peter, and vicar of Jesus Christ, the head of the church, and the universal bishop; that he is superior to councils; that he hath the keys for opening and shutting heaven, consequently the power of remitting and retaining sins; that therefore he, as keeper of the keys of everlasting life, hath a right at once to earthly and heavenly empire; that moreover bishops and priests have such a power from him, because it was given also to the rest of the apostles, and that therefore they are called ministers of the keys. That it belongs to the church to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the sacred scriptures, and that they who oppose them are to suffer punishments established by law. That it is not proper for the laity to read the sacred scriptures, because the sense of them is only known to the church: thence its ministers boast that it is known to them."

X. The above doctrinals are selected from their councils and bulls, particularly from the council of Trent, and the papal bull confirming it, wherein all who think, believe, and act contrary to what was there decreed, which in general is as above adduced, are condemned to be excommunicated.

A COMPENDIUM

OF THE

DOCTRINES OF THE REFORMED CHURCH AND RELIGION.

THE members of the Reformed Church being much treated of in the Apocalypse, in its spiritual sense, it is expedient, before entering upon its explication, to unfold their doctrines in the following order: On God; on Christ the Lord; on Justification by Faith, and on Good Works; on the Law and the Gospel; on Repentance and Confession; on Original Sin; on Baptism; on the Holy Supper; on Free-will; and on the Church.

"I. ON GOD. Of God they believe according to the Athanasian creed, which, as it is in the hands of every one, is not here inserted. That they believe in God the Father as the creator and preserver; in God the Son as the saviour and redeemer; and in the Holy Spirit as the illuminator and sanctifier, is also well known.

"II. ON CHRIST THE LORD. Concerning the person of Christ, the same doctrine is not taught by all the reformed; the Lutherans teach that the Virgin Mary not only conceived and brought forth a real man, but also the real Son of God, whence she is justly called, and truly is, the mother of God. That in Christ there are two natures, a divine and a human, the divine from eternity, and the human in time; that these two natures are personally united, altogether in such a manner, that there are not two Christs, one the son of God, and the other the son of man,

but that one and the same is the son of God and the son of man, not that these two natures are mixed together into one substance, nor that one is changed into the other, but that both natures retain their essential properties, which are also described as to their qualities: that their union is hypostatic, and that this is the most perfect communion, like that of the soul and body; that therefore it is justly said, that in Christ God is man and man God: that he did not suffer for us as mere man only, but as such a man, whose human nature hath so strict and ineffable a union and communion with the son of God, as to become one person with him; that in truth the son of God suffered for us, but yet according to the properties of human nature; that the son of Man, by whom is understood Christ as to his human nature, was really exalted to the right hand of God when he was taken into God, which was the case as soon as he was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of his mother; that Christ always had that majesty by reason of his personal union, but that, in his state of exinanition, he only exercised it so far as he thought proper; but that after his resurrection he fully and entirely put off the form of a servant, and put his human nature or essence into a plenary assumption of the divine majesty; and that in this manner he entered into glory; in a word, that Christ is, and remains to all eternity, perfect God and man in one indivisible person; and the true, omnipotent, and eternal God; being also, with respect to his humanity, present at the right hand of God, governs all things in heaven and upon earth, and also fills all things, is with us, and dwells and operates in us. That there is no difference of adoration, because by the nature which is seen, the divinity which is not seen, is adored. That the divine essence communicates and imparts its own excellences to the human nature; and performs its divine operations by the body as by its organ; that thus all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ

bodily, according to Paul. That the incarnation was accomplished that he might reconcile the Father to us, and become a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, as well original as actual; that he was incarnate of the substance of the Holy Spirit, but that his human nature was produced from the Virgin Mary, which, as the Word, he assumed and united to himself; that he sanctifies those who believe in him, by sending the Holy Spirit into their hearts, to guide, comfort and vivify them, and defend them against the devil

and the power of sin. That Christ descended into hell, and destroyed hell for all believers; but in what manner these things were effected, he doth not wish them to scrutinize too curiously, but that the knowledge of this matter may be reserved for another age, when not only this mystery, but many other things also shall be revealed." These particulars are from Luther; the Augustan Confession; the Council of Nice; and the Smalcalden Articles. See the Formula Concordiæ.

"Some of the Reformed, who are also treated of in the Formula Concordiæ, believe, that Christ, according to his human nature, by exaltation, received only created gifts and finite power, therefore that he is a man like any other, retaining the properties of the flesh; that therefore as to his human nature he is not omnipotent and omniscient; that although absent he governs, as a king, things remote from himself; that as God from eternity he is with the Father, and as a man born in time, he is with the angels in heaven; and that when it is said, in Christ God is man and man God, it is only a figurative mode of speech: besides other things of a like nature.

"But this disagreement is adjusted by the Athanasian Creed, which is received by all in the Christian world, where these words occur; The true faith is, that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man: God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the world, and man of the substance of the mother, born in the world; perfect God and perfect man : who, although he be God and man, yet these are not two but one Christ; one, not by conversion of the divine Essence into body, but by the taking of his manhood into God; One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person; for as the reasonable soul and body is one man, so God and man is one Christ.'

“ III.

ON JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH, AND ON GOOD WORKS. The justifying and saving faith of the clergy is this; that God the Father turned himself away from the human race by reason of their iniquities, and so, from justice, condemned them to eternal death, and that he therefore sent his Son into the world to expiate and redeem them, and make satisfaction and reconciliation; and that the Son did this by taking upon himself the damnation of the law, and suffering himself to be crucified, and that thus by obedience he entirely satisfied God's justice, even to becoming