difficult and extraordinary is promised, Mark 11.22, 23. Matth. 21.21. and of which the Apostle speaks, saying, If I had all Faith so as to remove Mountains, 1 Cor. 13.2. and by which they healed the Sick, even by Faith in his Name, Acts 3.16. and therefore this is here promised, that where the Prayer of the Elders was attended with such a Faith, it should be still successful for the healing the Sick, or the raising him up again from the Bed of Sickness; for, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, will save, is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, he will raise him up.
And if he hath committed Sins.] i. e. Such Sins for which God was pleased to inflict this bodily Disease upon him, as he did on the Members of the Church of Corinth for their disorderly celebrating the Lord's Supper, for which cause, saith the Apostle, many are weak and sickly among you, 1 Cor. 11.30. they being thus chostned of the Lord. ver. 32. And where the Sickness is by way of Chastisement, the healing it is a testimony of God's Forgive∣ness of it. Hence thy sins be forgiven, is our Lord's usual Expression when he healed the Sick, Matth. 9.2, 6, 7. See the Note there. According to those Words of the Prophet Isaiah, The Inhabitants shall not say they are sick, the People shall be forgiven their Iniquity, Chap. 33.24. Hence it is evident, that here is no Foundation for the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, called by the Roman Church the Sa∣crament of the dying, and administred for the Purgation of their Sins, when they seem past hopes of Recovery; for how can they gather a Sacrament of Extreme Unction from an Un∣ction that is not Extreme, or a perpetual Or∣nance from an action that was not extraor∣dinary and miraculous, and is long since cea∣sed? How can they prove a Sacrament that is proper to dying Persons, from a Rite used only upon Persons who were not to die, but to be raised up from Sickness? or promise to him Forgiveness of his Sins, to whom they cannot promise that Recovery which was the token of it? Moreover, the things observ'd already afford us a sufficient Answer to the Objections of Esthius against our Exposition, which are these:
Object. 1. First, That the Grace of Miracles extended not to Spiritual Effects, as the For∣giveness of Sins, but Temporal.
Answ. This is said in flat contradiction to our Lord, who doth so often Preface his mi∣raculous Cures of the Sick with this Expres∣sion, Thy Sins are forgiven thee, Matth. 9.2. Nor was this Forgiveness so much a Spiri∣tual Effect as Temporal, it being only the Remission of a Temporal Punishment of Sin, viz. Sickness inflicted for it.
Obj. 2. Had the Apostle spoke of miracu∣lous Cures, he would only have advised them to call those who had the Gift of Healing, whether Presbyters or not, not all the Pres∣byters, and them only.
Answ. He reasonably adviseth to call them, and them only to pray over the Sick, who were by Office appointed for that Work, and doth here only tell them what they might expect from it, when that miraculous Faith was raised in them, which often, in those Times of Miracles, accompanied their Pray∣ers.
Obj. 3. The Apostle speaks of a sick Chri∣stian Brother to be anointed by a Faithful Presbyter, whereas the use of Miracles was chiefly for converting Infidels, and hence this Unction was not used towards Trophimus left at Miletum sick, 2 Tim. 4.20. or to Epaphro∣ditus, sick near unto Death, Philip. 2.27.
Answ. If it were not used by St. Paul to them, and especially to Epaphroditus, 'tis cer∣tain that he knew nothing of this Sacrament. 2. Esthius hath no cause to assert that of Mi∣racles in General, which the Ap••stle saith on∣ly of the Gift of Tongues, that they were only for Believers; the Gift of Healing, for ought he knows to the contrary, might be still exercised upon Believers, but only under the Conduct of the Spirit, raising up this mi∣raculous Faith which assured them of it in respect to some, and not to others, as he saw fit. See Note on Philip. 2 27.
Obj. 4. That had the Apostle intended mi∣raculous Healing, Oil had not been prescri∣bed, Christ having said, they should lay their hands on the sick only, Mark 16.18.
Answ. One Ceremony excludes not the o∣ther; moreover laying on of Hands is there prescribed in Preaching to the Gentiles, anoin∣ting with Oil here to the Jews as being cu∣stomary in case of Sickness.
Obj. 5. All the other things delivered in this Epistle belong the Christians of all Ages, this therefore must do so too.
Answ. As if this hindred the Apostles, as they had occasion, to give Rules touching the Spiritual Gifts proper to their own Times, that, when they spake of other Mat∣ters not to cease, their Precepts reach unto all Times. St. Peter in his following Epi∣stle hath one direction concerning those Spi∣ritual Gifts, 1 Pet. 4.10, 11. though the o∣ther Precepts contained in that Epistle do con∣cern all Ages.
Ver. 16. Confess (therefore) your sins one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed, the effectual fervent (Gr. the inspired) Prayer of a Righteous Man availeth much.
Ver. 17. Elias was a Man subject to like Passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not Rain, and it rained not upon the Earth by the space of three Years and six Months.
Ver. 18. And he prayed again, and the Heaven gave Rain, and the Earth brought forth her Fruit.
〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the inspired Prayer.] As