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THE Heart and the Eye are lift up to God to bring Blessings from him, and so is the Hand too; but this also falls upon the People, and rests there, to apply the descending blessing to the
proper and prepared suscipient. God governed the People of Israel by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Et calidae fecére silentia turbae Majestate manus, and both under Moses and under Christ, when ever the President of Religion did bless the People, he lifted up his hand over the Congregation; and when he blessed a single person he laid his hand upon him. This was the Rite used by Jacob and the Patriarchs, by Kings and Pro∣phets, by all the eminently Religious in the Synagogue, and by Christ himself when he blessed the Children which were brought to him; and by the Apostles when they blessed and confirmed the baptized Converts; and whom else can the Church follow? The Apostles did so to the Christians of Samaria, to them of Ephesus; and St. Paul describes this whole mystery by the Ritual part of it, calling it the foundation of imposition of hands. It is the solemnity of blessing, and the solem∣nity and application of Paternal prayer. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉; said Clement of Alexandria; Upon whom shall he lay his hands? Whom shall he bless? Quid enim aliud est impositio manuum, nisi Oratio super hominem? said St. Austine. The Bishop's laying his hands on the People, what is it but the solemnity of Prayer for them? that is, a prayer made by those sa∣cred persons, who by Christ are appointed to pray for them, and to bless in his Name; and so indeed are all the ministeries of the Church, Baptism, Consecration of the B. Eucharist, Absolution, Ordination, Visitation of the Sick; they are all in genere orationis; they are no∣thing but solemn and appointed Prayer by an intrusted and a gracious Person, specificated by a proper order to the end of the blessing then designed; and there∣fore when Saint James commanded that the sick
Persons should send for the Elders of the Church, he adds, and let them pray over them; that is, lay their hands on the sick, and pray for them; that is, praying over them: It is adumbratio dextrae, (as Ter∣tullian calls it) the right hand of him that ministers o∣ver-shadows the person for whom the solemn Prayer is to be made.
This is the Office of the Rulers of the Church; for they in the Divine Eutaxy are made your Superiours; they are indeed your servants for Jesus sake; but they are over you in the Lord, and therefore are from the Lord appointed to bless the People; for with∣out contradiction, saith the Apostle, the less is blessed of the greater, that is, God hath appointed the Superiours in Religion to be the great Ministers of Prayer, he hath made them the gratious Persons, them he will hear, those he hath commanded to convey your needs to God, and Gods blessings to you, and to ask a blessing, is to desire them to pray for you; them, I say, whom God most respecteth for their piety and zeal that way, or else re∣gardeth, for that their place and calling bindeth them a∣bove others to do this duty; such as are Natural and Spi∣ritual Fathers.
It is easie for prophane persons to deride these things, as they do all Religion, which is not conveyed to them by sense, or natural demonstrations; but the Oeconomy of the spirit, and the things of God are spi∣ritually discerned; the spirit bloweth where it listeth, and no Man knows whence it comes, and whether it goes; and the Operations are discerned by Faith, and received by Love and by Obedience, Date mihi Christianum, & in∣telligit quod dico: None but true Christians understand and feel these things; but of this we are sure, that in
all the times of Moses Law, while the Synagogue was standing, and in all the dayes of Christianity, so long as men loved Religion, and walked in the Spirit, and minded the affairs of their Souls, to have the prayers and the blessing of the Fathers of the Synagogue, and the Fathers of the Church, was esteemed no small part of their Religion, and so they went to Heaven: But that which I intend to say is this, That Prayer and Im∣position of Hands was the whole procedure in the Chri∣stian Rites; and because this ministery was most signally performed by this ceremony, and was also by St. Paul called and noted by the name of the Ceremony, impositi∣on of hands; this name was retained in the Christian Church, and this manner of ministring Confirmation was all that was in the commandment or institution.
But because in Confirmation we receive the Unction from above, that is, then we are most signally made Kings and Priests unto God, to offer up spiritual sacrifi∣ces, and to enable us to seek the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness of it, and that the giving the holy spirit is in Scripture called the Unction from above, the Church of God in early Ages made use of this Allego∣ry, and passed it into an External ceremony and repre∣sentation of the mystery, to signifie the inward Grace.
Post inscripta oleo frontis signacula, perque Vnguentum Regale datum est, & Chrisma perenne.
We are consigned on the fore-head with Oyl, and a Royal Unction, and an Eternal Chrisme is given to us; so Prudentius gives testimony of the ministry of Confir∣mation in his time, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉,
said S. Cyril. Preserve this Unction pure and spot∣less, for it teaches you all things, as you have heard the blessed S. John speaking and philosophying many things of this holy Chrism. Upon this account the H. Fathers used to bless and consecrate Oyl and Balsome, that by an external signature they might signifie the inward Unction effected in Confirmation. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. This Chrism is not simple or common when it is blessed, but the gift of Christ, and the presence of his H. Spirit, as it were effecting the Divinity it self; the body is in∣deed anointed with visible Oyntment, but is also san∣ctified by the holy and quickning Spirit; so St. Cyril, I finde in him, and in some late Synods, other pretty sig∣nifications and allusions made by this Ceremony of Chrisms, Nos autem pro igne visibili, qui die Pentecostes super Apostolos apparuit, oleum sanctum, materiam nempe ig∣nis ex Apostolorum traditione ad confirmandum adhibemus, This using of Oyl was instead of the Baptism with Fire, which Christ baptized his Apostles with in Pentecost; and Oyl being the most proper matter of Fire, is there∣fore used in Confirmation.
That this was the ancient Ceremony is without doubt, and that the Church had power to do so hath no question, and I add, it was not unreasonable; for if ever the Scripture expresses the mysteriousness of a Grace conferred by an exteriour ministry, (as this is, by imposition of hands) and represents it besides in the Expression and Analogy of any sensible thing, that ex∣pression drawn into a ceremony will not improperly sig∣nifie the Grace, since the Holy Ghost did chuse that for his own expression and representment. In baptism we
are said to be buried with Christ. The Church does ac∣cording to the Analogy of that expression, when she immerges the Catechumen in the Font; for then she re∣presents the same thing which the Holy Ghost would have to be represented in that Sacrament, the Church did but the same thing when she used Chrism in this mi∣nistration. This I speak in justification of that ancient practise, but because there was no command for it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 said St. Basil, concerning Chrisme there is no written word, that is, of the Ceremony there is not, he said it not of the whole Rite of Con∣firmation; therefore though to this we are all bound, yet as to the anointing the Church is at liberty, and hath with sufficient authority omitted it in our mini∣strations.
In the Liturgy of King Edward the VI. the Bishops used the sign of the Cross upon the fore-heads of them that were to be confirmed. I do not find it since for∣bidden, or revoked by any expression or intimation, sa∣ving onely that it is omitted in our later Offices; and therefore it may seem to be permitted to the discretion of the Bishops, but yet not to be used, unless where it may be for Edification, and where it may be by the consent of the Church, at least by interpretation, con∣cerning which, I have nothing else to interpose, but that neither this, nor any thing else, which is not of the nature and institution of the Rite, ought to be done by pri∣vate Authority, nor ever at all but according to the Apo∣stles Rule, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, whatsoever is decent, and whatsoever is according to Order, that is to be done, and nothing else; for prayer and imposition of hands for the invocating and giving the holy spirit, is all that is in the foundation and institution.
Hebr. 6. 2.
Paedag. l. 3. c. 11.
Hebr. 7. 7.
Hooker. Eccl. Pol. lib. 5. ••. 66.
Prudent. in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
A. D. 400.
Catech. My∣stag. 3.
Synodus Bitu∣ricensis, apud Bochel. l. 1. de∣cret. Eccl. Gal. lit. 5.
Lib. de Spir. S. cap. 17.