Institutions of Christian religion framed out of Gods word, and the writings of the best diuines, methodically handled by questions and answers, fit for all such as desire to know, or practise the will of God. Written in Latin by William Bucanus Professor of Diuinitie in the Vniuersitie of Lausanna. And published in English by Robert Hill, Bachelor in Diuinitie, and Fellow of Saint Iohns Colledge in Cambridge, for the benefit of our English nation, to which is added in the end the practise of papists against Protestant princes.

What manner of coniunction or vnion of the signes and the things signified is in the Sacraments?

Not naturall by the touching and knitting together of sub∣stances, or the vnitie, and vnion of the accidents and subiect, to make one and the same indiuiduum, or locall, without distance, or existing of one in the other. Neither is it to bee called spirituall, as if it should giue life to the signes themselues, which is against diuinitie: But such as hath conueniencie and relation, or Sacra∣mentall, and significatiue, whereby things inuisible, in a fit propor∣tion are represented by visible, and in some sort are made one, for the mutuall respect which they haue betweene themselues; as the Scepter, and the Romane Empire. Such is this vnion, as is betweene the true Relatiue, and his Correlatiue: as betweene the father and the sonne the vnion is not naturall and substan∣tiall, but of Relation, which consisteth not in transubstantiation, or consubstantiation, not in conuerting, or including; but in the naturall respect, & affection one vnto the other. So then as the fa∣ther is therefore a father, not because hee is either conuerted to the sonne, or because hee conteineth his sonne in himselfe essen∣tially, but because hee hath relation to his sonne: euen so it is a

signe or Sacrament, not because it is conuerted in to the thing sig∣nified, or conteineth it, as a sack doth corne or a cuppe of wine, but because the signe and the thing signified are vnited by the vnion of relation, as the sonne with the father and the seruant is ioyned with the master: or else as the vnion is betweene the voice of the preaching of the Gospell, and the thing promised in the Gospell, not reall, but intelligible and apprehended by faith.

But in respect of vs, and of the things signified, the coniunction is not in trueth essentiall and personall but mysticall. and yet in its kinde reall, to wit spirituall by the power of the holy Ghost alone, who bringeth to passe, that Iesus Christ, who now as he is man hath his being in heauen, and yet is no lesse truely giuen to vs which are in earth, then the signes themselues, namely so farre forth as our faith beholding him in the Sacraments, doth clime vp into the heauens, that we may more and more truely imbrace him, and he may liue and abide in vs. For the holy Ghost know∣eth to ioyne most nearely, together by the bond of faith, those things which if you respect the distance of the place are farthest asunder, which is done after a heauenly and spirituall manner, (and not naturally: not by the ioyning & touching of substances) after which manner the beleeuers are most nerely ioyned together one with another: as also the husband and the wife are knit to∣gether by the bond of mariage, although they bee farre asunder, in regard of the distance of places.