^ ' yEtate seuiorcs in quavis vicinia aut socictate Iklelium.' — Aret. in locum.
JaS. V. 14.] UPON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 447
number ; as we say, Send liim to the schools, that is, to some school; so Call for physicians, that is, go to men of that rank, &c. This sense is considerable, though I do believe the apostle speaketh plurally, be- cause in every church there were many, and as they were associated in all acts of superiority and government, so in all acts of courtesy and charity ; and indeed visiting of the sick is an act of such great skill ; I mean to apply ourselves to them for their comfort and salvation, that it should be done with joint consent.
And let them pray over Jdm. — Here is the first duty of the ciders, over him, that is, for him say some; but eV avrov doth not easily bear that construction. It either implieth that ancient rite of covering the diseased body with the body of him that prayed, as Elijah did one child, 1 Kings xvii. 21, and Elisha another, 2 Kings iv. 24, Paul did Eutychus, Acts xx. 10, ' he went down and fell on Eutychus,' pray- ing for life, a rite that expressed much fervency, and a desire that the dying party might, as it were, partake of his own life ; or by prayer over him he meaneth laying on of hands on the sick, which was used by the apostle in cures ; see Mark xvi. 17, 18. So Paul healed the father of Publius by laying hands on him. So Cyril on Leviticus, citing this place, instead of ' that they may pray over him,' readeth id imponant ei maniis, that they may lay their hands on him. The ceremony had this significancy : they did, as it were, point at the sick man, and present him to God's pity, as you know present things do the more stir affections, as Christ would not pray for Lazarus till he could pray over liim ; for when the stone was taken away, and the ob- ject was in his sight, then it is said, ' Jesus prayed,' John xi. 41.
Anointing him ivith oil. — There is but one place more in the scrip- tures that speaketh of using oil in the healing and cure of diseases, and that is Mark vi. 13, ' They cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.' Oil among the Hebrews was a usual symbol of the divine grace, and so fitly used as a sign of that power and grace of the Spirit which was discovered in miraculous heal- ing ; it was an extraordinary sign of an extraordinary and mu'aculous cure. It was the error of Aretius to think that the apostle meant some medicinal oil ; he rendereth it salubria medicamenta non neglicjant ; he was not the first that was in that mistake. Wicldiff before him held those oils in Palestine excellent and medicinal, and therefore used. But this I say is a mistake, for oil was not used as an instru- ment, but as a symbol of the cure. The apostle doth not mention what kind of oil it should be, probably oil-olive, as wine is put to signify the wine of the grape, which is the most common. Therefore, by the way, that extreme unction used by the Papists is but a ridicu- lous hy|30crisy, and carrieth little proportion with this rite ; for they reriuire oil-olive mixed with balsam, consecrated by a bishop, who must nine times bow the knee, saying thrice, Ave, sanctum oleum, and thrice more Ave, sanctum chrisma,and thrice move, Ave, sanctum balsa- mum. But of this more anon.
In the name of the Lord ; that is, either by his authority, calling upon him to operate by his power according to the outward rite, or in his stead, as his ministers, or to his glory, to the honour of Christ, signified here in the term Lord, that being his proper appellation as
448 AN EXPOSITION, WITH NOTES, [JaS. Y. 14.
mediator. All tlieso miracles and cures were wrought in his name : Mark xvi. 17, ' In my name shall they cast out devils : ' so Acts iii. G, ' In the name of Jesus of Nazareth arise and walk,' and ver. 16, ' His name, through faith in his name, hath made the man strong.'
Having opened the phrase.s, I come now to open the controversy, whether this anointing with oil he a standing ordinance in the church ? The Papists make it a sacrament, which they call the sacrament of ex- treme unction; others in our days would revive it as a standing ordinance for church members, expecting some miraculous cure, therefore I must deal with both. I know that the intricacies of dispute are unpleasant to a vulgar eai-, therefore I shall not traverse arguments to and fro, but cut the work short by laying down some propositions, that may pre- vent both the error of the Papists and the novelism of those that would revive this rite in our days. The propositions are these : —
1. In the very apostles' time, when it was most in use, it was not absolutely necessary, nor instituted by Christ. Some Protestants, I confess, say that it was instituted by Christ as a temporary rite, which is denied even by some among the Papists, as Lombard, Cajetan, Hugo, who all found it upon apostolical practice. For my part, I think it was only approved by Christ, and not instituted, and taken u]) as a usual practice among the Heljrews. As I remember, Grotius, in his commentary on the Evangelists, proveth that it was a usual rite among that people, it being their custou} to express everything inward and spiritual by some hieroglyphic and visible symbol ; and therefore God, in a condescension to them, appointed so many rites and figures suitable to the genius of that nation ; and therefore, when they prayed for the sick, they would anoint them with oil, as a token of that ease and joy which they should obtain from God. This right was imitated by the apostles, and by the primitive Christians, with such preciseness and constancy, that they would never give or take any medicine with- out anointing with oil, so that I think, verily, it was nothing but an imitation of a Jewish rite which Christ approved, but never instituted ; for when Christ sent out the apostles, antl the power of healing was so solemnly conferred upon them, we hear of no such commands of anointing with oil. He bid them ' heal sicknesses,' Mark xvi. 18, but prescribeth not the manner. This you will grant, at least, that it never had that solemn ratification, till the Lord come, which other standing ordinances have. Yea, I find it to be a mere arbitrary rite in the apostles' practice, oil being seldom used ; they healed by touch, by shadow, by handkerchief, by laying on of hands, by word of mouth, &c. So that was an arbitrary rite which the Lord approved so far as thereby to discover his ])Ower. Something may be objected against this, as why then doth James press the elders to anoint with oil ? I answer — That they might not neglect the grace of God, wliich in those times was usually dispensed in a concomitancy with this rite ; as long as the gift remained, the accush^med rite and symbol might be used. But you will say he coupleth it with a moral duty, with prayer, which is an act of perpetual worship. I answer — It is not unusual in scripture to couple an ordinary duty with an extraordinary rite — prayer and lay- ing on of hands ; baptism and laying on of hands ; and so here, prayer and anointing with oil. But }ou will say, God honoured it with a mu-