A dispute against the English-popish ceremonies, obtruded upon the Church of Scotland Wherein not…A dispute against the English-popish ceremonies, obtruded vpon the Church of Scotland Wherein not…

He would possibly allege that place. Psal 95, 6. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. Which is cited in the Canon of Perth about kneeling. But I answer; whether one expound that place with sCalvin, ¹in this sence, ut scilicet ante arcam faederis populus se prosternat, quia sermo de legali cultu habetur: Whereupon […] should follow, that it commendeth kneeling, only to the Jews in that particular case: or whether it be taken more generally, to commend kneeling, (though not as necessary, yet as laudable and beseeming,) in the solemn acts of Gods immediate worship, such as that, praise and thanksgiving, whereof the beginning of the Psalm speaketh, whether I say it be taken in this, or that sense, yet it commendeth not kneeling, ⟨p. 28⟩except in a certain kind of worship only. And as for kneeling in the general nature of it, it is not of Divine institution, but in it self indifferent, even as sitting, standing, &c. all which gestures are then only made good, or evil, when in actu exercito they are actuated and individualized by particular circumstances. 3. If so be, the Ceremony be abused to Idolatry, it skills not how, for as I have showed before, the reasons and proofs which I have produced for the proposition of our present Argument, hold good against the retaining of any thing which hath been known to be abused to Idolatry, and only such things as have a necessary use are to be excepted. 4. The nature of an action, wherein a Ceremony is used, can not be the cause of the abuse of that Ceremony, neither can the abuse of a Ceremony proceed from the nature of the action wherein it is used, as one effect from the cause, for ^dnihil potest esse homini causa sufficiens peccati, except only propria voluntas. 5. The abuse of kneeling in the Idolatrous action of elevation, proceedeth not from the nature of the action, but from the opinion of the agent, or rather from his will, (for principium actionum humanarum, is not opinion, but will choosing that which opinion conceiteth to be chosen, or voluntas praeeunte luce intellectus.) It is the will of the agent only, which both maketh the action of elevation to be Idolatrous, and likewise kneeling in this action to receive the contagion of Idolatry.

He would possibly alledge that place. Psal 95, 6. O come, let us worship and bowe downe: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. Which is cited in the Canon of Perth about kneeling. But I answer; whether one expound that place with sCalvin,