Fides Catholica, or, The doctrine of the Catholick Church in eighteen grand ordinances referring to the Word, sacraments and prayer, in purity, number and nature, catholically maintained, and publickly taught against hereticks of all sorts : with the solutions of many proper and profitable questions sutable to to [sic] the nature of each ordinance treated of / by Wil. Annand ...

Quest 1. Whether those places may be consce∣crated?

When it is affirmed that Christian Churches may be consecrated or dedicated, it is not granted that the Walls of it are to be sprinkled with holy water, or that crosses are to be ma••e on the pavement with Salt, Ashes, Water and Wine mingled together, with many other Fopperies used in the Church of Rome; But a solemn publick setting apart, that building for holy uses, and no other by preaching and praying; which practise is lawfull.

• 1. From the practice of Salomon, and other pious Princes, 1 King. 8.63. having builded the Temple of the Lord at Ie∣rusalem, he and his people did consecrate or dedicate the same, that is, separated it from all secular or civil uses, and ap∣propriated the same unto God, by prayer and sacrifice, de∣siring that God would own it for his house, and hear the prayers that should be made in it, or towards it, ver. 9. which service was accepted, and God promised so to do, 1 Kings 9.3. the

• like did Zerubbabel at the building of the second Temple, Ezra 6.16. The like did Iudas when he had raised a new Altar in the Temple of Ierusalem, the heathens having pol∣luted the other for three years, 1 Mac. 4.59. which dedicati∣on was owned, countenanced, and graced by our Saviour him∣self, Iohn 10.22. He was not it seems so scrupulous in his judgement, as some in our generation are: but that they value not, Christ and they differing often in point of practise, well may they differ in point of judgement: The like we read, 2 Kings 12.18. 1 Kings 15.15.
• 2. From the Law or rule of proportion, if all along we find in the Scripture things that were appointed for the service of God consecrated, and that service approved of, counte∣nanced and owned by him, whether done to persons, things, or places; what should hinder but that things and places set apart now for his worship and service might be also so de∣••icated: were it a pulpit that God would bless the doctrine taught in it: a Church that he would bless, and cause to pros∣per the souls of such as delight in it, and so of any other thing.
• 3. From the practise of people in their several dwellings; they will when they have finished a house, set one room apart for a Parlour, another for a Bed-chamber, which is a civil de∣dication, setting them apart for their use, and the very al∣tering of those uses, hath a piece of unseemliness attending it: a sink in a Parlour, and a jack in a Dineing-room, were not comely, and therefore not used, because of the civil de∣dication. Now is it not therefore as proper, that that house in a parish builded for the Lord, have its sacred dedication, and separated by some holy service for that end and purpose; which may put a kind of sham upon any that would out of cros∣ness or wickedness alienate it from its proper use: but this bra∣zen sacred age hath quitted shame, and our upstart noble men and Gentlemen, would be loath to have their grooms litter, or curry their horses in their Halls, yet these sacrilegious and prophane Saints, could approve, ye command them to do it in Churches.

• ...

  Hear this, ye old men, and give care all ye inhabitants of the Land; hath this been in your days or even in the dayes of our Fathers, 1 Joel 1.

  O Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Aske∣lon, Kings 1.20.

• 4. From that holy and generall rule of the Apostle avouch∣ing, All things to be sanctified by the word and prayer, 1 Tim. 4.5. It is these two by which our meat, our drink, our beds be sanctified, that is that these things are fitted for their use for which they were appointed designed and created: the like may be said of Churches, that may serve for the use and purpose for which they were designed, framed and ere∣cted.
• 5 For the greater terrour to the enemies of Christianity, or indeed of regularity, when they shall know that this place, this table, hath been set apart for Gods worship for, prayer, Preaching and the Sacraments, and seeing from Scripture that both God and Christ allowed of the like ••practises in for∣mer ages, they may be affraid of alienating or thwarting the first institution of the same.