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 is a sacrament?

Seeing that a sacrament is not some simple subiect, not yet a compound, or some whole thing consisting of forme and matter, or bodily & materiall: or else some third substance compounded of twoe substances; but a diuine institution, it must be defined by the scope, and the end wherefore, that is mention being made of the end, wherefore the sacrament is instituted.

* 1.1It is then, Paul being the definer of it, a signe or seale of the righteousnes which is of faith, that is to say, whereby the righteousnes of faith, and the communion of the faithfull in Christ the head and with all the members of the same misticall bodie, I say the communion, incorporation, coniunction, is not onely signified, but also sealed; to witt so farre forth as the ho∣ly ghost doth performe that inwardly in deede, which the out∣ward ceremonie doth represent. For although we cannot right∣ly reason from the speciall to the generall, but on the contrarie, yet notwithstanding that is rightly attributed to the generall, that is to say to a sacrament, which is common to all the specials, as namely to circumcision, and to the other sacramentsa 1.2.

Or else, it is an holy action, inioyned of God vnto the church wherein as God, by a fit proportion of the outward Elements, & the things signified, doth as it were offer by the hands of the minister the signes of things which belong to our saluation in

Christ, to the senses of the bodie: So hee doth offer and apply these selfe same heauenly things to the minde by the Holy Ghost, to the intent that they might be more and more spiritually sealed vp in them, through faith.

Or else, it is a visible signe of inuisible and sauing grace of God, instituted of God, to seale and confirme that grace in vs.

Or a Sacrament is a testimony of the grace of God toward vs in Christ, confirmed by a visible signe, with the mutuall testifi∣cation of our faith and religion towards himb 1.3.

Notes

• * 1.1

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
• a 1.2

  Rom. 4.11 1 Cor. 10.16 〈◊〉〈◊〉 12.13
• b 1.3

  Gen. 17, 7 10.11 1 Cor. 11, 23