Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: called Sacraments,—because under a covert of corporal things, the power of God worketh more secretly our salvation signified by these Sacraments: whereupon, also, for their secret and holy virtue, they are called Sacraments." This Rabanus Maurus was famous about the year of our Lord eight hundred, and thirty: so that even by this we may gather, that the ancient Apostolic Church had no more than two Sacraments. I make no mention here of Ambrose,—although he, in his books of Sacraments, numbereth not so many as the company of Schoolmen do,—because some of those works set forth in his name, are not received of all learned men, as of his own doing: so, I little force the authority of the works of Dionysius, which of what price and estimation they be among learned and good men, it is not needful to declare. But however the case standeth, the holy scripture, the only and infallible rule of life and of all things which are to be done in the church, commendeth Baptism and the Lord's Supper unto us, as solemn institutions and Sacraments of Christ. These two are, therefore, sufficient for us; so that we need not be moved whatsoever, at any time, the subtle invention of man's busy brain bring against, or beside these twain. For why I God never gave power to any to institute Sacraments. In the mean while we do not contemn the wholesome Rites, and healthful Institutions of God; nor yet the religious observations of the church of Christ. We have declared elsewhere touching Penance and Ecclesiastical Order: of the residue, which later writers do authorize for Sacraments, we will speak in their convenient place. So have we, also, elsewhere, so far forth as we thought requisite, entreated of the likeness, and difference of Sacraments of the people of Old, and New Testament. " Now let us see ...