xercise lordship over the consciences of those whom Christ hath made
free,--to abolish the monuments of by-past and badges of present idolatry;
yet are those and other necessary duties shut quite out of doors by our
needless ceremonial service.

_Sect._ 5. 5th. The ceremonies are not free of superstition, inasmuch as
they give to God an external service, and grace-defacing worship, which he
careth not for, and make fleshly observations to step into the room of
God's most spiritual worship. Augustine(444) allegeth that which is
said,--"The kingdom of God is within you," Luke xvii. against superstitious
persons, who _exterioribus principalem curam impendunt_. The Christian
worship ought to be "in spirit, without the carnal ceremonies and rites,"
saith one of our divines;(445) yea, the kingdom of God cometh not _cum
apparatu aut pompa mundana, ita ut observari possit tempus vel locus_,
saith a Papist.(446) Carnal worship, therefore, and ceremonial
observations, are (to say the least) superfluous in religion, and by
consequence superstitious.

_Sect._ 6. 6th. Worship is placed in the ceremonies, therefore they are
most superstitious. To make good what I say, holiness and necessity are
placed in the ceremonies, _ergo_, worship. And, 1st, Holiness is placed in
them. Hooker(447) thinks festival days clothed with outward robes of
holiness; nay, he saith plainly,(448)--"No doubt, as God's extraordinary
presence hath hallowed and sanctified certain places, so they are his
extraordinary works that have truly and worthily advanced certain times,
for which cause they ought to be, with all men that honour God, more holy
than other days." He calleth also the cross an holy sign.(449) Dr
Burges(450) defendeth that the ceremonies are and may be called worship of
God, not only _ratione modi_, as belonging to the reverend usage of God's
prescribed worship, but also _ratione medii_, though not _medii per se_,
of and by itself, yet _per aliud_, by virtue of somewhat else. Now, do not
Papists place worship in their cross and crucifix? yet do they place no
holiness in it _per se_, but only _per aliud_, in respect of Christ
crucified thereby represented, and they tell us,(451) that _creaturae
insensibili non debetur honor vel reverentia, nisi ratione rationalis
naturae_; and that they give no religious respect unto the tree whereon
Christ was crucified, the nails, garments, spear, manger, &c., but only
_quantum ad rationem contactus membrorum C