The reason wherefore I call them signes is this I call them not signes by that reason that men commonly call them signes because they signifie onely as the Brâ—â—d signifies the bodie of Christ the Wine signifies the bloud of Christ I call them not signes because they represent onely but I call them signes because they haue the body bloud of Christ conioyned with them Yea so truly is the bodie of Christ conioyned with that Bread and the bloud of Christ conioyned with that Wine that as soone as thou receiuest that Bread in thy mouth if thou be a faithfull man or woman so soone receiuest thou the bodie of Christ in thy soule and that by faith and as soone as thou receiuest that Wine in thy mouth so soone thou receiuest the bloud of Christ in thy soule and that by faith In respect of this exhibition chiefely that they are instruments to deliuer and exhibite the things that they signifie and not in respect onely of their representation are they called signes For if they did nothing but represent or signifie a thing absent then any picture or dead Image should be a Sacrament for there is no picture as the picture of the King but at the sight of the picture the King will come in your minde and it will signifie vnto you that that is the Kings picture So if the signe of the Sacrament did no further all pictures should be Sacraments but in respect that the Sacrament exhibites and deliuers the thing that it signifieth to the soule and heart so soone as the signe is deliuered to the mouth for this cause especially it is called a signe There is no picture of the King that will deliuer the King vnto you there is no other image that will exhibite the thing whereof it is the image therefore there is no image can be a Sacrament Then in respect the Lord hath appointed the Sacraments as hands to deliuer and exhibite the thing signified for this deliuery and exhibition chiefly they are called signes As the word of the Gospell is a mightie and potent instrument to our euerlasting saluation so the Sacrament is a potent instrument appointed by God to deliuer vs to Christ Iesus to our euerlasting saluation For this spirituall meate is dressed and giuen vp to vs in spirituall dishes that is in the ministerie of the word and in the ministerie of the Sacraments And suppose this ministerie be externall yet the Lord is said to deliuer spirituall and heauenly things by these external things Why Because he hath appointed them as instruments whereby he will deliuer his owne Sonne vnto vs. For this is certaine that none hath power to deliuer Christ Iesus vnto vs except God and his holy Spirit and therefore to speake properly there is none can deliuer Christ but God by his owne Spirit he is deliuered by the ministerie of the holy Spirit it is the holy Spirit that seales him vp in our hearts confirmes vs more and more in him as the Apostle giueth him this stile 2. Cor. 1.22 To speake properly there is none hath power to deliuer Christ but God the Father or himselfe There is none hath power to deliuer the Mediator but his owne Spirit yet it hath pleased God to vse some instruments and meanes whereby he will deliuer Christ Iesus vnto vs. The meanes are these the ministerie of the word and the ministerie of the Sacraments and in respect he vseth these as meanes to deliuer Christ they are said to deliuer him But here ye haue to distinguish betweene the principall efficient deliuerer the instrumentall efficient which is the word SacrameÌ„ts keeping this distinction both these are true God by his word God by his Spirit deliuereth Christ Iesus vnto you Then I say I call theÌ„ signes because God hath made theÌ„ potent instruments to deliuer the same thing which they signifie Now I go to the thing signified and I call the thing signified by the signes in the Sacrament that which Irenaeus that old Writer calleth the heauenly and spirituall thing to wit whole Christ with his whole gifts benefites and graces applied and giuen to my soule Then I call not the thing signified by the signes of Bread and Wine the benefits of Christ the graces of Christ or the vertue that floweth out of Christ onely but I call the thing signified together with the benefits and vertues flowing from him the very substance of Christ himselfe from which this vertue doth flow The substance with the vertues gifts and graces that flow from the substance is the thing signified here As for the vertue and graces that flow from Christ it is not possible that thou canst be partaker of the vertue that floweth from his substance except thou be first partaker of the substance it selfe For how is it possible that I can be partaker of the iuyce that floweth out of any substance except I be partaker of the substance it selfe first Is it possible that my stomach can be refreshed with that meate the substance whereof neuer came into my mouth Is it possible my drought can be slackned with that drinke that neuer passed downe my throat Is it possible that I can sucke any vertue out of any thing except I get the substance first So it is impossible that I can get the iuyce and vertue that floweth out of Christ except I get the substance that is himselfe first So I call not the thing signified the grace and vertue that floweth from Christ onely nor Christ himselfe and his substance without his vertue and graces onely but ioyntly the substance with the graces whole Christ God and man without separation of his natures wiâ—hout distinguishing of his substance from his graces I call the thing signified by the signes in the Sacrament for why if no more be signified by the Bread but the flesh and bodie of Christ onely and no more be signified by the Wine but the bloud of Christ onely thou canst not say that the body of Christ is Christ it is but a part of Christ thou canst not say that the blood of Christ is whole Christ it is but a part of him and a peece of thy Sauiour saued thee not a part of thy Sauiour wrought not the worke of thy saluation and so suppose thou get a peece of him in the Sacrament that part will do thee no good To the end therefore that this Sacrament may nourish thee to life euerlasting thou must get in it thy whole Sauiour whole Christ God and man with his whole graces and benefites without separation of his substance from his graces or of the one nature from the other And how get I him Not by my mouth It is a vaine thing to thinke that we will get God by our mouth but we get him by faith As he is a Spirit so I eate him by faith and beliefe in my soule not by the teeth of my mouth that is a vaine thing Be it that
Sacrament defraud vs of the profite vse thereof these faults are either in the forme or in the person In forme if the essentiall forme be spoyled we get nothing for when the Sacrament is spoyled of the essentiall forme it is not a Sacrament There is an essential forme in Baptisme an essentiall forme in the Lords Supper which if they be taken away ye lose the vse of the Sacrament The essentiall forme of Baptisme is I baptize thee in the Name of the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost Leaue out any of these three or do it in the name of any one of the three persons onely ye lose the essentiall forme of Baptisme In the Lords Supper if ye leaue out the least ceremonie ye lose the essentiall forme and so it is not a Sacrament I speake of the essentiall forme in respect of the Papists who keepe the essentiall forme in Baptisme though they haue brought in trifles of their owne and mixt with it yet in respect they keepe the substantiall forme it is not necessary that they who were baptized vnder them be rebaptized Indeede if the vertue of regeneration flowed from the person it were something but in respect Christ hath this to giue to whom and when he pleaseth the essentiall forme being kept it is not necessary that this Sacrament be reâ—terated Now what are the faults in the person that peruerts the Sacrament The fault may be either in the person of the giuer or in the person of the receiuer I speake not of those common faults which are common to all but of such faults as disable the person of the giuer to be a distributer of the Sacrament and taketh the office from him so when the person of the giuer is this way disabled no question it is not a Sacrament Then againe in the person of the Receiuer the fault may be if their children be not in the couenant but out of it they get not the Sacrament Indeed if the Parents afterward come to the couenant the children though they be gotten out of the couenant may be receiued Euen so in the Lords Supper if a man be laden with any burthen of sin without any purpose to repent he ought not to receiue it So then if ye come without a purpose to repent ye lose the vse of the Sacrament it is onely this purpose to repent that maketh me who receiue the Sacrament to get the fruite and effect thereof therefore euery one who goeth to the Sacrament must looke what purpose he hath in his heart Hast thou a purpose to murder to continue in adultery or to commit any other vile sinne that is in thy heart and art not resolued to repent In shewing thee to be without repentance thou shewest thy selfe to be without faith and consequently thou comest to thy condemnation and not to thy saluation take heed then what your purpose is for if with a dissolute life ye haue a dissolute purpose ye come vnto your euerlasting perdition I had thought to haue entred particularly into the handling of this Sacrament but because the time is past and some of you I doubt not are to communicate onely this Remember that ye addresse not your selues to that Table except ye finde your hearts in some sort prepared The first degree of preparation standeth in contrition in sorrowing for sinne in a feeling of your sinnes wherein ye haue offended to gracious a God If ye be able as that woman was by the teares of a contrite heart to wash the feete of Christ humbly to kisse his feete and â—o get hold of the foote of Christ though ye dare not presume so high as to get him whole ye are in a good case but if thou want all these and hast them not in some measure thou wantest all the degrees or preparation Therefore let none come to this Table except he haue these in some measure But where there is a displeasure for sinne a purpose to do better and an earnest sobbing and sighing to get the thing that thou wantest in that soule where God hath placed this desire of Christ it is the worke of Gods Spirit and Christ will enter there And therefore though that soule be farre from the thing that it should be at let him not refuse to go to the Lords Table but let him go with a profession of his owne infirmitie and weakenesse and with a desire of the thing that he wants Euery one of you that findeth himselfe this way disposed let him go in Gods name to the Lords Table and the Lord worke this in euery one of your hearts that this ministerie may be effectuall in euery one of you at this time and that in the righteous merits of Iesus Christ. To whom with the Father and the holy Ghost be all honour praise and glorie both now and for euer Amen THE FOVRTH SERMON VPON THE LORDS SVPPER IN PARTICVLAR 1. COR. 11.23 For I haue receiued of the Lord that which I also haue deliuered vnto you to wit that the Lord Iesus in the night that he was betrayed tooke Bread c. WE ended the consideration of the Sacraments in generall in our last Exercise welbeloued in Christ Iesus now it remaines that we proceede to the consideration of this Sacrament of the Lords Supper in particular And that ye may the better attaine vnto the knowledge and consideration of the great varietie of matter that is contained in this Sacrament of the Lords Supper I shall endeuour as God shall giue me grace to set downe certaine things for the easier vnderstanding of it And first of all I will let you see what names are giuen vnto this Sacrament in the Bible I will shew you some names that are giuen to this Sacrament by the Ancients Next I will let you vnderstand for what chiefe ends and respects this Sacrament was instituted and appointed by Christ Iesus Thirdly I will come to the things that are contained in the Sacrament how these things are coupled how they are deliuered and how they are receiued And last of all I will answer certaine obiections which may be obiected to the contrarie of this doctrine and as God shall giue me grace I will refute them and so end this present Exercise Now we find sundry names giuen vnto the Sacrament of the Lords Supper in the booke of God and euery name carries a speciall reason with it We finde this Sacrament called the bodie and bloud of Christ. This name is giuen vnto it no doubt because it is a heauenly and spirituall nouriture it containes a nouriture of the soule that is able to nourish and traine vp the soule to a life spirituall to that life euerlasting for this cause it is called the bodie and bloud of Christ. It is called also the Supper of the Lord to put a difference betwixt it and a profane supper for this is the Lords Supper a holy supper not a profane or common
mouth of the soule that is by a true faith Then bring not to the Lords Table one mouth onely for if ye bring the mouth of your body onely it auaileth nothing but bring with you also the mouth of your soule a constant perswasion in the death of Christ for that is auaileable Now concerning the manner how the signes are receiued and the manner how the thing signified is receiued ye may easily know that these corporall and naturall signes must be receiued after a corporall and naturall manner they must be taken with the hand or mouth of the body Againe a supernaturall thing must be receiued after a supernaturall maner And a spirituall thing must be receiued after a spirituall manner So as the signes are corporall and receiued after a corporall manner with the hand or the mouth of the body in like mannner the thing signified is spirituall and receiued after a spirituall manner with the hand and mouth of the soule which is true faith Thus ye haue briefly deliuered vnto you the whole preparation that is necessary for the vnderstanding of the Sacrament Now what doctrine gather I from this Of this last point where I say that Christ is the thing signified caÌ„not be perceiued but by faith cannot be receiued nor digested but by a faithfull soule what kinde of receiuing confirme I in this Sacrament I establish no kinde of receiuing of Christ but a spirituall receiuing he can not be perceiued nor receiued but by faith and faith is spirituall Therefore in this Sacrament I establish onely a spirituall taking of Christ and not a carnall or fleshly receiuing This is the ground Now let vs see what inconuenience can follow vppon this ground The Papists say that vpon this ground this inconuenience shall follow If there be no receiuing of Christ but a spirituall receiuing then say they your Sacrament is in vaine this Sacrament of the Lords Supper was instituted to no end And what is their reason If there be no way to receiue Christ say the Papists but by faith what neede you then a Sacrament Ye receiue Christ by faith in the word by the naked and simple preaching of the word ye get faith So the simple word may serue the turne What neede haue ye of a Sacrament if ye get not some new thing in the Sacrament which ye could not get in the word This is their argument whereof ye see their conclusion to be this We get no other new thing in the Sacrament then we do in the word if there be no receiuing but spirituall Ergo The Sacrament is superfluous We admit the Antecedent to be true we get no other thing nor no new thing in the Sacrament but the same thing which we got in the word I would haue thee deuise and imagine with thy selfe what new thing thou wouldst haue let the heart of man deuise imagine and wish he durst neuer haue thought to haue such a thing as the Sonne of God he durst neuer haue presumed to haue pierced the clowdes to haue ascended so high as to haue craued the Sonne of God in his flesh to be the food of his soule Hauing the Sonne of God thou hast him who is the heire of all things who is King of heauen and earth and in him thou hast all things What more then canst thou wish What better thing canst thou wish He is equall with the Father one in substance with the Father true God and true man what more canst thou wish Then I say we get no other thing in the Sacrament then we had in the word content thee with this But suppose it be so yet the Sacrament is not superfluous But wouldest thou vnderstand what new thing thou obtainest what other thing thou gettest I will tell thee Suppose thou get that same thing which thou hadst in the word yet thou gettest that same thing better What is that better Thou obtainest a greater and surer hold of that same thing in the Sacrament then thou hadst by the hearing of â—he word That same thing which thou possessedst by the hearing of the word thou doest possesse now more largely it hath larger bounds in thy soule by the receiuing of the Sacrament then otherwise it could haue by the hearing of the word onely Then wilt thou aske what new thing we get I say we get this new thing we get Christ better then â—â—fore we get the thing which we had more fully that is with a surer apprehension then we had it before we get â— greater hold of Christ now For by the Sacrament my faith is nourished the bounds of my soule are enlarged and so whereas I had but a little hold of Christ before as it were betweene my finger and my thumbe now I get him in my whole hand and still the more that my faith groweth the better hold I get of Christ Iesus So the Sacrament is very necessary and if it were no more but to get Christ better to get a faster apprehension of him by the Sacrament then we could haue before Now if it were true that the Sacrament is superfluous by the same reason it should follow also that the repetition of the Sacrament is superfluous For when ye come to the Sacrament the second time ye get no other thing then ye did the first time when ye come vnto the Sacrament the third time ye get no other thing then ye did the first time and yet no man will say that the third and the second comming is a superfluous thing And why Because by the second coming my faith is augmented I vnderstand better I grow in knowledge I grow in apprehension I grow in feeling and in getting the growth of all these as oft as I come there is no man will say that the oft coming to the Sacrament is superfluous and if it were euery day once So their first inconuenience auaileth not We get no new thing in the Sacrament Ergo the Sacrament is superfluous Thus far for the first Then there depends another thing on the same ground If Christ be not receiued but by faith then say we no wicked bodie can receiue him he that lacketh faith cannot receiue him He that lacketh faith may receiue that Sacrament of that Bread and Wine and may eate of that Bread and drinke of that Wine but he that wanteth faith may not eate and drinke of the body and bloud of Christ signified by that Bread and by that Wine So this is the ground No faithlesse people can receiue Christ nor eate the bodie of Christ in the Sacrament Against this ground they bring their Argument out of the same words of the Apostle which I haue read the worâ—â— are these He that eateth of this Bread vnworthily saith the Apostle and drinketh of this Cup vnworworthily is guiltie of the bodie and bloud of Christ. There is their ground So that their Argument will suffer this forme No man can be
mouth Marke this That if it were not of Gods speciall grace and mercy that he giueth me an eye to perceiue him a mouth to receiue him I would refuse him as wel as they So this Argument holdeth not Christ is offered to all Ergo he is receiued of all Happy were they if they could receiue him Thus far for the 3. Argumēt What resteth now for the full vnderstanding of the Sacrament These things remaine That we vnderstand the Sacramentall speeches that are vsed in the Sacrament for we vse to speake of them God vseth to speake of them and the Ancients vse to speake of them We vse to say that the soule eateth the body of Christ and drinketh the bloud of Christ. These speeches would be opened to you how the soule is said to eate the body and drinke the bloud of Christ these speeches are Sacramentall yet ye are not the wiser but I will make it plaine by Gods grace They are Sacramentall what is that Ye know it is proper to the body to eate and drinke they are the proper actions of the body onely Now they are ascribed to the soule by a translation by a figuratiue manner of speaking That which is proper to the body is ascribed to the soule and it is said that the soule eateth and drinketh The eating of the soule doth resemble the eating of the body then the eating of the soule is no other thing but the applying of Christ to the soule to beleeue that he hath shed his bloud for me that he hath purchased remission of sinnes for me Wherefore then call you this an eating Thy body eateth when thou appliest the meate to thy mouth If then the eating of the body be no other thing but the applying of the meat to the mouth the eating of the soule is no other thing but the applying of the nourishment to the soule Then ye see what is meant by the eating and drinking of the soule no other thing but the applying of Christ to my soule and the applying of his death and passion to my soule and this is onely done by faith therefore he that lacked faith cannot eate Christ. Thus farre for the eating and drinking of the soule which are Sacramentall speeches There remaineth now of all these great things of al this doctrine which hath bin taught but this one lessō That thou learne to apply Christ rightly to thy soule Thou art a great Diuine if thou hast learned this wel for in the right application of Christ to the sick soule to the wounded conscience and diseased heart here begins the fountaine of all our felicity and the wel-spring of all our ioy And I will tell you what this application worketh Obserue what the presence of thy soule within thee suppose thou want Christ in thy soule doth to this earthly body to this lumpe of clay as by the presence of the soule it liueth it moueth it feeleth as the soule giueth to the body life mouing and senses that same very thing doth Christ vnto thy soule Hast thou once laid hold of and applyed him to thee As the soule quickens thy body so he quickens thy soule not with an earthly or temporall life but with the life which he liueth in heauen he makes thee to liue that same life which the Angels liue in heauen he maketh thee to moue not with worldly motions but with heauenly spirituall and celestiall motions Againe he inspires in thee not outward senses but heauenly senses he worketh in thee a spirituall feeling that in thine owne heart and conscience thou mayst find the effect of this word So by the coniunction of Christ with my soule get a thousand times greater benefits then the body doth by the soule for the body by the presence of the soule getteth onely an earthly and temporall life subiect to continuall misery but by the presence of Christ in my soule I see a blessed life l feele a blessed life and that same life takes daily more and more increase in me Then the ground of all our perfection and blessednesse standeth in this coniunction suppose thou mightest liue Methushelaes yeers and wert euer seeking yet if in the last houre thou get this coniunction thou must thinke thy trauell well bestowed thou hast gotten enough for if we haue obtained Christ we haue gotten al with him Then the applying of Christ to my soule is the fountaine of all my ioy felicity Now let vs see how we get this coniunction This is a spirituall coniunction a coniunction hard and difficult to be purchased obtained gotten of vs. How then is this coniunction brought about which are the meanes of this coniunction on Gods part and which are the means on our part to get Christ to put Christ in our soules and to make Christ one with vs There is one meanes on Gods part that helpeth vs vnto Christ and there is another on our part On Gods part there is the holy Spirit which offereth the body and bloud of Christ to vs and on our part there must be a meanes or else though he offer we will not receiue Therefore of necessity there must be faith in our soules to receiue that which the holy Spirit offers to receiue that heauenly food of the body and bloud of Christ which the holy Spirit offers Then faith and the holy Spirit are the two meanes of this spirituall and heauenly coniunction By these two meanes by faith and by the holy Spirit I get the body of Christ the body of Christ is mine and he is giuen to my soule Now here comes in the question How canst thou say that the body of Christ is giuen or deliuered to thee seeing the body of Christ is sitting at the right hand of God the Father and looke how great distance is betwixt heauen and earth as great distance is there betwixt the body of Christ and thy body how then say ye that the body of Christ is giuen to you The Papists vnderstand not this and therefore they imagine a grosse and carnall coniunction Except the Spirit of God reueale these things they cannot be vnderstood The Spirit of God must illuminate our mindes and be planted in all our hearts before we can come to the vnderstanding of this Then wouldest thou vnderstanding of this Then wouldest thou vnderstand how Christ is giuen thee This ground is true that the body of Christ is a◠the right hand of the Father the bloud of Christ is at the right hand of the Father yet notwithstanding though there be as great distance betwixt my body and the body of Christ as is betwixt heauen and earth yet Christs body is giuen to me because I haue a title to his body giuen to me the right and title which is giuen to me of his body and bloud makes me to possesse his body and bloud The distance of the place hurteth not my title nor my right for if any of you haue a peece of Land
worketh that same operation in my soule which the carnall head doth in my bodie therefore he is called a spirituall head therefore he is called the head of his Church because he furnisheth her with spirituall motion and senses which is the life of the Church So to be short there is nothing in this coniunction carnall there is nothing grosse in it there is nothing that may be compassed by our naturall iudgement and vnderstanding And therefore whosoeuer would attaine to any small in-sight of this spirituall coniunction betweene Christ and vs of necessitie he must humble himselfe earnestly pray for the Spirit otherwise it is not possible to get any vnderstanding no not the least apprehension how the flesh of Christ and we are conioyned except we haue some light giuen vs by the Spirit that is except our hearts be wakened by the mighty working of the Spirit of Christ this shall remaine as a dead closed letter vnto vs. So ye are to craue that the Lord in his mercie would waken you illuminate your vnderstandings and make you to haue a spirituall light to discerne of these spirituall things Next ye must studie and be carefull to remoue all vaine cogitations earthly fantasies when ye come to heare so high a matter ye must cast off all filthie thoughts ill motions and care of the world and ye must shake off all things that clog your hearts Thirdly ye must come with a purpose to heare the word to giue diligent eare to the word with a sanctified heart to receiue it with a purpose to grow and increase in holinesse as well in bodie as in soule all the daies of your life And coming with this purpose no question the holie Spirit shall reueale those things to you which ye want And though this word passe and bring no commoditie for the present yet the holie Spirit hereafter shall reueale to thee the truth of that which thou hast now heard This then is the end of all Be present in your hearts and minds and let your soules be emptied of all the cares of the world that they may receiue that comfort which is offered in the hearing of the word Now I come to the defining of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper I call this Sacrament An holy Seale annexed to the couenant of grace and mercie in Christ. A seale to be ministred publikely alwaies according to the holy institution of Christ Iesus that by the lawful ministery thereof the Sacramentall vnion betweene the signes and the thing signified may stand and this vnion standing Christ Iesuâ— who is the thing signified is as truly deliuered to the increase of our spirituall nourishment as the signes are giuen and deliuered to the body for our temporall nourishment Now let vs examine the words and parts of this definition First of all I call this Sacrament a Seale because this Sacrament serueth to the same vse to our soules that a common seale doth to a common Euidence As the seale which is annexed to the Euidence confirmes seales vp the truth contained in the Euidence so this Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ confirmeth and sealeth vp the truth of mercy and grace contained in the couenant of mercy and grace for this respect it is called a seale It is called An holy Seale Why Because it is taken from profane vse whereunto that bread serued before and that bread is applyed to an holy vse There is a power giuen to that bread to signifie the precious body of Christ Iesus to represent the nourishing and feeding of our soules And in respect it serueth now in the Sacrament to so holy an vse therfore I call it an holy seale This is not my word it is the Apostles Rom. 4.11 where he giueth the Sacrament the same name and calleth it a seale And further if the wisedome of Christ in his Apostle had bene followed and if men had not inuented new names of their owne for this Sacrament but had contented satisfied themselues with the names which God hath giuen by his Apostle that Christ himselfe hath giuen to this Sacrament I am assured none of these controuersies and debates which neuer will ceasse had fallen out but where men will go about to be wiser then God and go beyond God in deuising names which he neuer gaue vpon mens owne inuention such debates haue fallen out A lesson by the way that no flesh presume to be wiser then God but let them stoupe keepe the names which God hath giuen to this Sacrament Thirdly I say annexed to the Couenant annexed and hung to the Charter because it cannot be called a seale properly except it be hung to an Euidence What it is by nature the same it remaineth and no more if it be not annexed to some Euidence it is onely the hanging of it to the Euidence that maketh men account it a seale not being esteemed except it be hanged to the Euidence Euen so it is here if this Sacrament be not ministred and ioyned to the preached word to the preaching of the couenant of mercy and grace it cannot be a seale but what it is by nature it is no more As by nature it is but a common peece of bread so it is no more if it be not annexed to the preaching of the word and ministred therewith as Christ hath commanded Therfore I say the seale must be annexed and hanged to the Euidence to the preaching of the word for the confirming of the Euidence otherwise it is not a seale But it is not so with the Euidence which is the word of God for ye know any Euidence will make faith though it want a seale and it will serue to make a right if it be subscribed without a seale but the seale without the Euidence auaileth nothing Euen so it is with the word of God though the Sacraments be not annexed to the word yet the word will serue the turne it serueth vs to get Christ it serueth to ingender and beget faith in vs and maketh vs to grow vp in faith But the seale without the word can serue vs to no holy vse therefore I say the seale must be annexed to the word preached to the couenant of mercy and grace Now it followeth in the definition that this seale must be ministred publikely Wherefore say I publikly To exclude all priuate administration of this Sacrament For if this Sacrament be administred to any priuately it is not a Sacrament Why Because the Apostle calleth this Sacrament a Communion therefore if ye administer it priuately ye lose the Sacrament For this Sacrament is a Communion of the body and bloud of Christ therefore of necessity it must be by way of communication and so the action must be publikely ministred Secondly this Sacrament must be publikely ministred because Christ Iesus who is the thing signified in this Sacrament is no such thing as pertaineth to one man
man But Christ Iesus hath locked vp and reserued the ministery of this heauenly thing to himselfe onely therefore there are two giuers in this Sacrament the Minister giueth the earthly thing Christ Iesus the Mediatour giues you the heauenly thing in this Sacrament For Christ in giuing the earthly thing wil not vse his owne ministery immediately nor the ministery of an Angell but only the ministery of an earthly man And as for the dispensation of his owne body bloud he will not giue it either to heauenly creature or earthly man but he keepeth this ministery to himselfe and he dispenseth his owne body and bloud to whom and when he pleaseth And why If any man in the world had power to giue Christs body bloud no question this man should haue power to clense the heart conscience for the bloud of Christ hath this power with it and consequently should haue power to forgiue sins Now it is onely God that may forgiue sinnes and therefore it is not possible that the ministery of the heauenly thing can be in the power of any man Example we haue in Iohn the Baptist Math 3.11 Saith he not The ministery that I haue is of the element I am commanded to minister the element of water onely but as for the ministery of fire and of the Spirit Christ hath reserued it vnto himselfe Therfore looke not to get the Spirit at mans hands but at the hands of Christ himselfe onely And without this inward ministerie the outward ministerie is not worth a straw For my outward ministerie yea suppose it were the ministerie of an Angell and suppose Christ were present in the flesh to minister vnto you these outward things except he conioyne the inward ministerie of his Spirit therewith it auaileth nothing it may well be as a processe against you in the day of that generall assemblie but to your saluation it will neuer profit you Therfore this ye ought alwaies to pray for that the Lord would water your hearts by his holy Spirit as he watereth your eares by the hearing of his word Then there are two offerers the Minister offers the signe Christ Iesus offers himselfe the thing signified The three persons one God offer the Mediatour or the Mediatour offers himselfe and that by the power and vertue of his owne Spirit As there are two offerers two persons that offer and giue the Sacrament and thing signified by the Sacrament so these two are offered and giuen in two actions Christ who is the heauenly thing is offered and giuen vnto you by an inward secret and spirituall action which is not subiect to the outward eye The signe againe is offered and giuen in an outward action after a corporall and visible manner As there are two sorts of actions so there are two sorts of instruments whereunto the signe and the thing signified are offered for the thing signified that is Christ is neuer offered to the mouth of my bodie the bloud of Christ the flesh of Christ whole Christ or the Spirit of Christ is not offered either in the word or in the Sacrament to the mouth of my bodie Let the Aduersaries find me that in any part of the Bible that there is any other manner of receiuing Christ then by faith and let them haue the victorie So there is not an instrument as I told you neither hand nor mouth to receiue Christ but faith onely As Christ who is the thing signified is receiued by the hand and mouth of faith so the signe which signifieth Christ is receiued by our owne naturall mouth and hand Ye haue a mouth in your heads and in your bodies as proper to receiue the signe as faith is to receiue Christ. So the signe and the thing signified are offered and giuen not to one instrument but to two the one to the mouth of the bodie the other to the mouth of the soule Now marke by what way these things are offered and giuen by the same way they are receiued as the signe is corporall and naturally offered to a corporall instrument so is it receiued after a corporall and naturall manner for thou must take the Bread and Wine either by thy hand or by thy mouth The thing signified is not taken after a corporall manner but after a secret and spirituall manner and as it is offered so it is taken There can be nothing clearer then this the one is taken after a naturall manner the other after a secret and spirituall manner So in this last part ye haue these things to marke to distinguish betweene the outward action and the inward betweene the signe and the thing signified and to keepe a proportion and analogie betweene the inward and the outward actions ye may surely perswade your selues that if ye be faithfull Christ is as busie working inwardly in your soules as the Minister is working outwardly towards your bodies looke how busie the Minister is in breaking that Bread in pouring out that Wine in giuing that Bread and Wine vnto thee as busie is Christ in breaking his owne bodie vnto thee and in giuing the iuyce of his owne bodie after a spirituall and inuisible manner So keepe this distinction and ye may assure your selues that by faith Christ is as well occupied towards your soules to nourish thē as the Minister is outwardly towards your bodies Keepe this and ye haue the whole Sacrament Then from this discourse and deduction you may learne a double matter whereof the Sacrament consisteth It standeth on two sorts of materials that is of an earthly matter and of an heauenly matter the signe and the thing signified And as there is a double matter in the Sacrament so the Sacrament must be handled after a double manner by an outward action and an inward action keepe the distinction in these things betweene the signe and the thing signified and ye shall not easily slip in the vnderstanding of the Sacrament This being said concerning the generall consideration of the Elements for all this yet appertaineth to the Elements it resteth that we speake somewhat concerning the word which I call the other part of the Sacrament I meane and vnderstand by the word whereunto the Elements are annexed that thing which quickneth this whole action which serueth as it were a soule and giueth life vnto the whole action For by the word and appointment of Christ in the word the Minister knoweth what is his part the hearer knoweth what is his part euery one is prepared how to deliuer and how to receiue the Minister how he should deliuer and the hearer how he should receiue So the Institution of Christ is the quicking of the whole action for all the action is warranted from the Institution set downe in his word In the Institution of Christ there are two things chiefly to be considered a Command and a Promise The Command is this where he saith Take eate The Command requireth obedience There is a Promise also
supper a supper appointed for the increase of holinesse for the foode of the soule in holinesse to feede the soule vnto life euerlasting Not a supper appointed for the bellie for he had ended that supper that was appointed for the bellie or euer he began this Supper which was appointed for the soule A supper no doubt hauing respect to the circumstance of time by reason it was instituted in that very same time when they vsed to sup It is called also in the Bible The Table of the Lord. It is not called the Altar of the Lord but the Apostle calleth it a Table to sit at and not an Altar to stand at a Table to take and receiue at and not an Altar to offer at It is called also the Communion and participation of the bodie and bloud of Christ we haue these names giuen vnto it besides some others in the Scriptures of God The Ancients of the Latine and of the Greeke Churches gaue it sundrie names for sundry respects They called it a publike action this was a very generall name Sometimes they called it a thanksgiuing Sometimes they called it a banquet of loue and sometimes they gaue it one name sometimes another And at last in the declining estate of the Latin Church in the falling estate of the Romane Church this Sacrament began to be peruerted and with this decay there came in a peruerse name and they called it the Masse They trouble themselues much concerning the deriuation of this name sometime they seeke it from an Hebrew originall sometime from a Greeke and sometime from a Latine originall but it is plaine that the word is deriued from the Latine and it is a word which might haue bene tollerable when it was first instituted for no doubt the Sacrament at the first institution of this word was not then wholly peruerted but now in processe of time corruption hath preuailed so farre that it hath turned the Sacrament into a sacrifice and where we should take from the hand of God in Christ they make vs to giue This is plaine idolatrie and therefore whereas the word was tollerable before now it ought not to be tollerated any way it ought not to be suffered And certainly if we had eaten and drunke as oft the bodie and bloud of Christ in our soules as we haue eaten that bread and drunke that wine which are the signes of his bodie and bloud we would not haue suffered this word of the Masse much lesse the very action of it to be so rise in this Countrey But because we haue but played the counterfeits defrauded our soules of the bodie and bloud of Christ and tooke only the outward Sacrament therefore it is that our zeale decayeth therefore it is that our knowledge and light decayeth and for want of zeale loue and knowledge the word of the Masse is become customable vnto you not onely the word but the very action I will not runne out herein I onely tell you what cometh of the abuse of the hearing of the word what iudgements follow vpon the abuse of the receiuing of the Sacraments Now I come to the ends wherefore the Sacrament was appointed This Sacrament was instituted in the signes of Bread and Wine and was appointed chiefely for this end to represent our spirituall nouriture the full and perfect nouriture of our soules that as he who hath Bread Wine lacketh nothing for the full nourishment of his bodie so he or that soule which hath the participation of the bodie and bloud of Christ wanteth nothing for the full and perfect nourishment of the soule To represent this full and perfect nourishment the signes of Bread and Wine in the Sacrament were set downe and instituted The second end wherefore this Sacrament was instituted is this That we might testifie to the world and to the Princes of the world who are enemies to our profession that we might openly avow and testifie vnto them our Religion and our manner of worshipping in the which we avow and worship Christ and that we might also testifie our loue towards his members our brethren this is the second end wherefore it was instituted The third end wherefore it was instituted is this to serue for our speciall comfort and consolation to serue as a soueraigne medicine for all our spirituall diseases as we find our selues either readie to fall or prouoked to fall by the diuell the flesh or the world or after that we haue fallen and are put to flight by the diuell and would faine flie away from God God of his mercie and of his infinite pitie and bottomles compassion hath set vp this Sacrament as a signe on an high hill whereby it may be seene on euery side farre and neere to call all them againe that haue runne shamefully away and he clucks to them as a Henne doth to her chickens to gather them vnder the wings of his infinite mercie The fourth end wherefore this Sacrament was instituted is this that in this action we might thanke him for his benefits and render to him heartie thanks that he hath come downe so familiarly to vs bowed the heauens as it were and giuen vs the bodie and bloud of his owne Sonne that we might render vnto him heartie thanks and so sanctifie his benefits vnto vs for this thanksgiuing this Sacrament was also instituted Thus far concerning the ends briefely Now I come to the things contained in this Sacrament Ye see with your eyes there are corporall things visible things as the Bread and Wine There are againe hid from the eye of your bodie but present to the eye of your mind spirituall things heauenly and inward things both these are in the Sacrament The corporall visible and outward things are the things which are appointed to signifie the spirituall heauenly and inward things And why Nothing without a reason These corporall signes are appointed to signifie the spirituall things because we are corporall we are earthly bodies we haue our soule lodging within a carnall body in a tabernacle of clay a grosse tabernacle which cannot be wakened nor moued except by the things that are like to it selfe It cannot be induced to the consideration of heauenly things except by grosse temporall and corporall things If we had bene of the nature of the thing signified that as the thing signified is spirituall and heauenly so we had beene spirituall heauenly we had not needed a corporal thing so if the thing signified had bene as we are corporall earthly visible we had not needed a signe to leade vs to consider of it But because the thing signified is spirituall we are corporal therfore to bring vs vnto the sight of these spirituall things he vseth a corporall meanes an outward signe This is the reason wherfore these corporall signes are appointed to signifie the spirituall thing The spirituall thing in both the Sacraments is one and the selfe same Christ Iesus
signified in both the Sacraments yet in diuerse respects he is the thing signified in Baptisme and he is the thing signified in the Lords Supper This Christ Iesus in his bloud chiefly is the thing signified in the Sacrament of Baptisme and why Because that by his bloud he washeth away the filth of our soules because that by the vertue of his bloud he quickneth vs in our soules with a heauenly life because that by the power of his bloud he ingrafteth and incorporateth vs in his owne body For that Sacrament is a testimonie of the remission of our sinnes that is of the cleanenesse of our consciences that our consciences by that bloud are washed inwardly It testifieth also our new birth that we are begotten spiritually to a heauenly life It testifieth also the ioyning of vs in the body of Christ. As it is a testimonie so it is a seale it not onely testifieth but sealeth it vp in our hearts and maketh vs in our hearts to feele the taste of that heauenly life begun in vs that we are translated from death in the which we were conceiued and ingrafted in the body of Christ. Marke then Christ in his bloud as he is the washing of our regeneration is the thing signified in Baptisme In this Sacrament of the Lords Supper againe this same Christ is the thing signified in another respect to wit in this respect that his body and bloud serue to nourish my soule to life euerlasting for this Sacrament is no other thing but the image of our spirituall nourishment God testifying how our soules are fed and nourished to that heauenly life by the image of a corporall nourishment So in diuerse respects the same thing that is Christ Iesus is signified in Baptisme and is signified in the Lords Supper In this Sacrament the fruites of Christs death whereof I spake the vertue of his sacrifice the vertue of his passion I call not these fruites and vertues onely the thing signified in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper but rather I call the thing signified that substance and that person out of the which substance this vertue and these fruites do flow and proceede I grant and it is most certaine that by the lawful vse participiation of the Sacrament thou art partaker of all these fruites yet these fruites are not the first and chiefe thing whereof thou art partaker in this Sacrament but of force thou must get another thing first It is true that no man can be partaker of the substance of Christ but the same soule must be also partaker of the fruites that flow from his substance yet notwithstanding thou must discerne betwixt the substance the fruits that flow from the substance and thou must be partaker of the substance in the first roome then in the next place thou must be partaker of the fruites that flow from his substance To make this cleere in Baptisme the fruites of Baptisme are remission of our sinnes mortification the killing of sinne and the sealing vp of our adoption to life euerlasting The substance out of the which these fruits do flow is the bloud of Christ. Ye must here of force discerne between the bloud which is the substance and betweene remission of sinnes washing and regeneration which are the fruites that flow from this bloud so in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper the fruits of that Sacrament are the growth of faith and the increase in holinesse The thing signified is the substance that is the body and bloud of Christ is the substance out of which this growth in faith and holinesse doth proceede Now see ye not this That you must discerne betwene â—he substance and the fruites and must place the substance in the first place So that the substance of Christ that is Christ himselfe is the thing signified in this Sacrament For your owne experience will make this plaine vnto you Before your stomacke be filled with any foode ye must eate the substance of the food first before you be filled with bread ye must eate the substance of the bread first before your drowth be quenched with any drinke ye must of necessity drinke the substance of the drinke first Euen so after this manner before the hunger of your soules be satisfied the thirst thereof quenched ye must eate the flesh of Christ and drinke his bloud first and that by faith So consider the one by the other looke to what vse bread and wine serue to thy body to the same vse the body and bloud of Christ serue to thy soule and he that appointed the one to serue for thy body the same God appointed the other to serue for thy soule So looke how impossible it is for thee to be fed with that food that neuer cometh into thy mouth or to recouer health by those drugs which neuer were applyed it is as impossible for thee to be fed by the body of Christ and to get thy health by the bloud of Christ except thou first eate his body and drinke his bloud Then ye see that the thing signified in the Lords Supper is not the fruites so much as the body and bloud and Christ Iesus which is the fountaine and substance from which all these fruites do flow and proceed Then I say suppose Christ who is the thing signified remaine alwaies one and the same in both the Sacraments yet the signes whereby this one Christ is signified in the Sacraments are not one nor of an equall number For in Baptisme the thing that representeth Christ is Water In the Lords Supper the things that represent Christ are Bread Wine Water is appointed to represent Christ in Baptisme because it is meetest to represent our washing with the bloud of Christ for what is fitter to wash with then water So there is nothing meeter to wash the soule then the bloud of Christ. In this Sacrament he hath appointed Bread and Wine why Because there is nothing more meete to nourish the body then bread and wine so the Lord hath not chosen these signes without a reason As the signes in the Sacrament are not alwayes one so the same in both are not of one number For in Baptisme we haue but one element in this Sacrament we haue two elements Now what is the reason of this diuersity that the Lord in the one Sacrament hath appointed two signes and in the other but one signe I will shew you the reason He hath appointed onely one signe in Baptisme to wit Water because Water is sufficient enough for the whole If water had not beene sufficient to represent the thing signified he would haue appointed another signe but in respect that Water doth the turne and representeth fully the washing of our soules by the bloud of Christ what need then haue we of any signe Now in this Sacrament one signe will not suffice but there must be two And why Wine cannot be sufficient alone neither can Bread be sufficient alone for he
that hath Bread onely and Wine onely hath not a perfect corporall nourishment therefore that they might represent and let vs see a perfect nourishment he hath giuen vs both Bread and Wine for the perfect corporall nourishment standeth in meate and drinke to represent the full and perfect nourishment of the soule Marke how full and perfect a nourishment he hath to his body that hath store of Bread and Wine so he that hath Christ lacketh nothing of a full and perfect nourishment for his soule Then you see the reason wherefore there are two signes appointed in this Sacrament and onely one signe in Baptisme There remaineth yet concerning these signes two thing to be enquired First what power hath that Bread in this Sacrament to be a signe more then the bread which is vsed in common houses from whence cometh that power Next if it haue a power how long endureth and remaineth that power with the bread For the first concerning the power which that bread hath more then any other bread I will tell you That Bread hath a power giuen vnto it by Christ by his institution by the which institution it is appointed to signifie his bodie to represent his body and to deliuer his bodie That Bread hath a power flowing from Christ and his institution which other common bread hath not so that if any of you would aske when the Minister in this action is breaking or distributing that Bread pouring out and distributing that Wine if you would I say aske what sort of creatures those are this is the answer They are holy things Ye must giue this name to the signes and seales of the body and bloud of Christ. That Bread of the Sacrament is a holy Bread and that Wine is an holy Wine Why Because the blessed institution of Christ hath seuered them from that vse whereunto they serued before and hath applyed them vnto an holy vse not to feede the bodie but to feede the soule Thus farre concerning the power of that Bread it hath a power flowing from Christ and his institution Now the second thing is how long this power continueth with that Bread how long that Bread hath this office In a word I say this power continueth with that Bread during the time of the action during the seruice of the Table Looke how long that action continueth and that the seruice of the Table lasteth so long it continueth holy Bread so long continueth the power with that Bread but looke how soone the action is ended so soone endeth the holinesse of it looke how soone the seruice of the Table is ended so soone that Bread becomes common bread againe and the holinesse of it ceasseth Then this power continueth not for euer but it continueth onely during the time of the action seruice of the Table Thus far concerning the Elements There is besides the Elements another sort of signes in the Sacrament there is not a ceremonie in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper but is a signe and hath it owne spirituall signification with it as namely looking to the breaking of that Bread it representeth vnto thee the breaking of the bodie and bloud of Christ. Not that his bodie and bones were broken but that it was broken with dolour with anguish and distresse of heart with the weight of the indignation and furie of God that he sustained for our sinnes which he tooke vpon him Then the breaking is an essentiall ceremonie the pouring out of the wine also is an essentiall ceremonie For as ye see clearely that by the Wine is signified the bloud of Christ so by the pouring out of the Wine is signified that his bloud was seuered from his flesh and the seuering of those two maketh death for in bloud is the life and consequently it testifieth his death The pouring out of the Wine then telleth thee that he died for thee that his bloud was shed for thee so this is an essentiall ceremonie which must not be left out Likewise the distribution giuing and eating are essentiall ceremonies And what doth the eating testifie vnto thee The applying of the bodie bloud of Christ vnto thy soule So that there is none of these rites but haue their owne signification and there cannot one of them be left out but ye shall peruert the whole action Thus far concerning the signes Now what profit can ye make of all this discourse Learne this lesson and ye shall make profite by these things In respect that euery signe and ceremonie hath it owne spirituall signification so that there is not a ceremonie in this whole action that wanteth it owne spirituall signification consider this and thinke with your selues at that time especially when ye are at the Lords Table and in the sight of that action that looke what thou seest the Minister doing outwardly what euer it be Is he breaking that Bread is he dealing that Bread Thinke assuredly with thy selfe that Christ is as busie doing all these things spiritually vnto thy soule he is as busie giuing vnto thee his owne bodie with his owne hand he is as busie giuing to thee his owne bloud with the vertue and efficacie of it So in this action if thou be a faithfull Communicant looke what the mouth doth and how the mouth of the bodie is occupied outwardly so is the hand and mouth of the soule which is faith occupied inwardly As the mouth taketh that Bread and that Wine so the mouth of thy soule taketh the body and bloud of Christ and that by faith For by faith and a constant perswasion is the onely way to eate the bodie and drinke the bloud of Christ inwardly and doing this there cannot but follow a fruitfull eating Thus far for the consideration of the signes Now cometh in the matter wherein greatest difficultie standeth whereof I spake the last day as God gaue me the grace yet in the particular I must speake as well as in the generall but somewhat more shortly Then ye haue to vnderstand for the better information of your consciences for the better preparation of your soules ye haue to vnderstand how that Bread and that Wine which are signes are coupled with the body and bloud of Christ which are signified thereby What sort of coniunction is this and from whence this coniunction floweth I shall be briefe because I haue already in my last Lecture spoken of it at large Take heede for if ye giue not good attention it is not possible that ye can conceiue this coniunction Concerning this coniunction would you know how these two are coupled Then must you first marke the nature of the signes and the nature of the thing signified ye must obserue both their natures And why Because nothing can be coupled nor conioyned with other but so far as the nature of it will suffer if the nature of it will not suffer a coniunction they cannot be conioyned Or will the nature of it
suffer a coniunction looke how farre it will suffer a coniunction so far are they conioyned Seeing then ye must obserue the nature of the things that are conioyned first marke the thing signified what the nature thereof is marking that ye shall see that the thing signified is of a spirituall nature or a heauenly and mysticall nature Then may ye conclude that this spirituall thing will suffer a spirituall coniunction a mystical and secret coniunction Againe obserue the signe The signe of his nature as I haue told you hath a relation vnto the thing signified and the thing signified of his nature hath a relation vnto the signe So then the signe and the thing signified will suffer to be conioyned by a mutuall relation both the signe and the thing signified in respect they haue a mutuall relation the one vnto the other they will suffer themselues to be conioyned by a relatiue coniunction Now if ye aske me what sort of coniunction is betweene that Bread and Wine and the bodie and bloud of Christ to tell you in a word I say it is a secâ—et and spirituall coniunction such a coniunction as standeth in a mutuall respect betwixt the Bread and the bodie of Christ and betwixt the Wine and the bloud of Christ then I say it is a secret and a spirituall coniunction Ye would not be so inquisitiue of this coniunction if it were corporall visible or locall if you saw them both before your eyes you would not aske how they are conioyned or if thou didst see them both in one place But because you see but the one with your eyes and the other is hid this maketh the coniunction the more difficult to be vttered and vnderstood And how is it possible that ye can conceiue this secret hid coniunction except you haue the eyes of your mind illuminated by the Spirit whereby ye may come to the right vnderstanding But if ye haue any insight into these spirituall matters that come by faith this coniunction will appeare as clearely by the eye of your faith as the physicall coniunction doth to the eye of your body Now to haue this matter made more plaine there is another coniunction which serueth to make this coniunction very cleare namely the coniunction betwixt the word which I speake and the thing signified by that same word As if I speake to you of things in this language which ye vnderstand be it of things past though neuer so long since of things to come though neuer so farre off of things absent though neuer so farre distant yet so soone as I speake the word whether it be of things past or to come the thing it selfe will come into your mind The word is heard no sooner by your eare but the thing signified by the same word cometh into your mind What maketh the thing signified though absent to come into my mind This could not be except there were a coniunction betweene the word and the thing signified by the word As for example if I speake of the King who is now a great way distant from vs I pray God blesse him ye will no sooner heare the word but the King who is the thing signified by the word will come into your mind If I speake of things past though they be already expired yet the thing signified will presently come into your mind so there is a coniunction ye see betweene the word and the thing signified by the word Marke this coniunction and ye shall get the nature of the coniunction and coupling of the signe which is the thing signified in the Sacrament For obserue what sort of coniunction is betweene the word and the thing signified by the word the same sort of coniunction is betweene the Sacrament which is seene to the eye of your body and the thing signified by the Sacrament which is seene to the eye of your soule onely As for example so soone as thou seest that bread taken in the hand of the Minister thou seest it not so soone but incontinent the body of Christ must come into thy minde these two are so conioyned that they come both together the one to the outward senses the other to the inward senses This is not enough now because in the institution ye are commanded to go further and not onely to looke to that bread and that wine but to take that bread and that wine incontinent as your hands take the one so your heart takes the other as your teeth eates the one so the teeth of your soule which is faith eates the other that is applyeth Christ vnto your soule So ye see there is a coniunction here secret and mysticall and therefore Christ cannot be conioyned but by a secret and mysticall coniunction The coniunction betweene Christ and vs is a secret and mysticall coniunction which the Apostle in the fift of the Ephes. calleth that spirituall coniunction full of an high mystery this coniunction cannot be taken vp at the first So seeing the coniunction is secret and spirituall and not perceiued but by the spirit of God all is as nothing except ye haue some portion and measure of his Spirit All that is taught in the word and Sacraments will neuer do you good will neuer carry your soules to heauen except the Spirit of God illuminate your mindes and make you to finde in your soules the thing that ye heare in the word Then learne this seeing the word cannot be vnderstood but by the spirit of God craue that the Loâ—d would illuminate the eyes of your mindes by his Spirit and be you as carefull to get the Spirit as ye are carefull now in the hearing of the word Thus farre concerning the coniunction Now ye haue heard how the signe is conioyned with the thing signified what remaineth for you to know This rests yet to know how the signe is receiued how the thing signified is receiued whether they be both receiued with one mouth or not whether the signe and the thing signified be receiued after one fashion and maner or not And marking the diuerse maner of receiuing the diuersity of the instruments ye shall not easily erre in the Sacrament The signe and the thing signified are receiued by two mouthes for ye see the signes that is that bread and wine whereunto they are giuen they are giuen to the mouth of the body Then the mouth of the body is the instrument that receiueth that bread and that wine which are the signes As that bread and that wine are visible and corporall so the mouth and instrument whereby they are receiued is visible and corporall The thing signified by the bread and wine is not receiued by the mouth of the body no the Scripture denieth that plainely but it is receiued by the mouth of the soule Then there are two mouthes that bread and that wine which are the signes are receiued by the mouth of the body Christ who is the thing signified is receiued by the
guiltie of that thing which he hath not receiued they haue not receiued the bodie and bloud of Christ therefore they cannot be guiltie of the body and bloud of Christ but so it is that the Apostle saith they are guiltie therefore they haue receiued the bodie and bloud of Christ. I answer vnto the Proposition and say it is very false They could not be guiltie of that bodie and bloud except they had receiued it for they may be guiltie of that same bodie and of that same bloud suppose they neuer receiued it But marke the Text the Text saith not that they eate the bodie of Christ vnworthily but it saith that they eate that Bread and drinke that Wine vnworthily and yet because they eate that Bread drinke that Wine vnworthily they are counted before God guiltie of the bodie and bloud of Christ. Now wherefore is this Not because they receiue him for if they receiued him they could not but receiue him worthily for Christ cannot be receiued of any man but worthily but they are accounted guiltie of the bodie and bloud of the Sonne of God because they refused him For when they did eate that Bread and drinke that Wine they might if they had had faith haue eaten and drunke the flesh of Christ Iesus Now because thou refusest the body of Christ offered to thee thou contemnest his bodie offered vnto thee if thou haue not an eye to discerne and iudge of this bodie that is offered For if they had had faith they might haue seene his bodie offered with the Bread by faith they might haue taken that same bodie and by faith they might haue eaten that same bodie Therefore lacking their wedding garment wanting faith whereby they should eate the bodie and drinke the bloud of Christ wanting faith which is the eye of the soule to perceiue and the mouth of the soule to receiue that bodie which is spiritually offered they are counted guiltie of that same bodie and bloud Now let vs make this more cleare by a similitude Ye see among worldly Princes their custome is not to suffer their maiestie to be impeached in the smallest thing that they haue What meaner thing is there that concerneth the maiestie of a Prince then a seale for the substance of it is but waxe yet if thou disdainefully vse that seale and contemne it and stampe it vnder thy feete thou shalt be esteemed as guiltie of his bodie and bloud as he that laid violent hands on him and thou shalt be punished accordingly Much more if thou come as a swine or a dog to handle the seales of the bodie and bloud of Christ much more I say mayest thou be reckoned guiltie of his bodie and of his bloud Thus farre of the eating of the bodie of Christ The wicked cannot eate the bodie of Christ but they may be guiltie of it The Apostle maketh this more plaine yet by another speech which I haue sometimes handled in this place In Hebr. 6.6 it is said that Apostates they that fall away crucifie the Sonne of God againe and their falling away maketh them as guiltie as they were who crucified him He is now in heauen they cannot fetch him from thence to crucifie him yet the Apostle saith they crucifie him Why Because their malice is as great as theirs that crucified him because they match in malice with them that crucified him so that if they had him on the earth they would do the like therefore they are said to crucifie the Son of God So in Heb. 10.29 there is another speech the wicked are said to stampe the bloud of Christ vnder their feete Why Because their malice is as great as theirs that stamped his bloud Now they are accounted for this reason to be guiltie of the bodie and bloud of Christ not because they eate his bodie but because they refused it whem they might haue had it Now the time remaineth yet wherein we may haue the bodie and bloud of Christ. This time is very precious and the dispensation of times iâ— very secret and hath it owne bounds if ye take not this time now it will away This time of grace and of that heauenly foode hath bene dispensed vnto you very long but how ye haue profited your liues and behauiours testifie Remember therefore your selues in time and in time make vse of it for ye know not how long it will last craue a mouth to receiue as well the foode of your soules that is offered as ye do the food of your bodies take this time while ye may haue it or assuredly the time shall come when ye shall cry for it but shall not get it but in place of grace and mercie shall come iudgement vengeance and the dispensation of wrath They will not leaue this matter so but they insist yet and they bring more Arguments to proue that the wicked are partakers of the bodie and bloud of Christ That bread say they ye will grant which the wicked man eates is not naked bread but is that bread which is the Sacrament Thus then they make their Argument The Sacrament hath euer conioyned with it the thing signified But the Sacrament is giuen to all therefore the thing signified is giuen to all What if I grant to them all this Argument There should no inconuenience follow For the thing signified may be giuen to all that is offered to all as it is offered to all men and yet not receiued of all Giuen to all therefore receiued of all it followeth not I may offer you two things yet it is in your owne will whether you will take them or no but ye may take the one and refuse the other and yet he that offers offered you the thing that ye refused as truly as the thing which ye tooke So God deceiueth no man but with the word and Sacraments assuredly he giueth two things if they would take them By his word he offers the word to the eare he offers Christ Iesus to the soule By his Sacraments he offers the Sacraments to the eye he offers Christ Iesus to the soule Now it may be that where two things are truly and conioyntly offred a man may receiue the one and refuse the other He receiueth the one because he hath an instrument to take it he refuseth the other because he wanteth an instrument I heare the word because I haue an eare to heare it with I receiue the Sacrament because I haue a mouth to receiue it with but as for the thing which the word and Sacraments represent I may refuse it because I haue not a mouth to take it nor an eye to perceiue it and therefore the fault is not on Gods part but on our part The wicked get the body and bloud of Christ offered to them conioyntly with the word and Sacraments but the fault is on their part that they haue not a mouth to receiue him and God is not bound to giue them a
lying in the farthest part of England if ye haue a good title to it the distance of the place cannot hurt your title so I say the distance of place hurts not my title and my right that I haue to Christ. But though he be sitting at the right hand of the Father yet the title and right that I haue to him makes him mine so that I may say truly this Christ is my property Then Christ is not made mine because I fetch him out of the heauens but he is mine because I haue a sure title and right to him and hauing a sure title and iust right to him the distance of place how farre soeuer it be can no wayes hurt my title nor right but where-euer he be he is mine because I haue a right and title to him Yea not onely haue I a title to him but this title is confirmed to me For as I get a title to him in the word and if I got not that title to him in the word I durst not come to the Sacrament so in the Sacracrament I get the confirmation of my title I get the Seale which confirmes my title Then to come to the point Christs body is sitting at the right hand of the Father and yet he is mine and is deliuered to me because I haue right to his body be it where it will he was borne for me giuen to mee and deliuered to me So distance of place hurts not the surety of my title as propinquity of place helpes not the surety of the same Though Christ would bow the heauens and touch thee with his body as he did Iudas yet this could not helpe thee for if thou hast not a title to him thou darest not call him thine So it is not the neerenesse nor proximity of place that maketh Christ mine It is onely the right that I haue to him I haue right to him onely by faith So by faith onely Christ is made mine But they thinke they haue gotten a great vantage of vs if we be so farre from Christ as the heauen is from the earth but this shall be answered by Gods grace I haue a title to his bodie his bodie is distant from my bodie yet his bodie is not distant from me that is from my soule I say his bodie and my soule are conioyned It is a strange ladder that will reach from the earth to the heauens yet let me tell you there is a cord that extendeth from the earth to the heauens and coupleth me and Christ together and this is onely true faith By true faith Christ though he be in the heauens is coupled and conioyned with me who am here on earth I will shew you this by a similitude Is not the bodie of the Sunne in the firmament It is impossible for you to touch the bodie of the Sunne yet the bodie of the Sunne and ye are conioyned How By those beames that shine on you by that light that shineth vpon you Why may not the bodie of Christ then though it be in the heauens be conioyned with me that am on earth namely by the beames by the light and gladnesse that floweth from his bodie My bodie and Christs bodie are conioyned by the vertue and power flowing from his bodie which vertue and power quickneth my dead soule maketh me to liue the life of Christ to begin to die to my selfe and euer the more I die to my selfe the more I liue to Christ. This coniunction now is the ground as I told you of all our felicitie and happinesse and I haue made it cleare to you at this time so far as God hath giuen me insight Alwaies ye see this coniunction is brought to passe by two speciall meanes by the holy Spirit by faith If there be no other meanes but these two what needest thou a carnall or a visible coniunction Faith is inuisible and the Spirit is inuisible therefore thou canst not see it nor take it vp with the eye of thy bodie The power of the holy Spirit is so subtile secret and inuisible that thou canst not perceiue it nor take it vp with the eye of the bodie and it will worke great effects in thy soule or euer thou perceiuest his working In respect therefore that the meanes of this coniunction are so subtill secret and spirituall why thinkest thou to get a sight of this coniunction with the eye of thy bodie why imaginest thou such a carnall coniunction as this which would do thee no good if thou hadst it Knowest thou not that the Spirit that coupleth vs and Christ is infinite so that it is as easie for the Spirit to couple vs and Christ how far distant soeuer we be as it is easie for our soules to couple our head and the feete of our bodies though they be distant Then seeing this coniunction is the ground and fountaine of all our happinesse and seeing this ground of happinesse is so substill and so spirituall what is your part Remoue all your outward senses remoue all your naturall motions remoue your naturall discourses and your naturall reason and follow the sight and information of the Spirit of God Craue that it would please him to illuminate your vnderstanding that by the light of his Spirit ye may see clearely the spirituall coniunction Except the eye of the Spirit be giuen you to perceiue this spirituall coniunction it is not possible that ye can get any insight in it But if the Lord of his mercie will bestow some measure of his holy Spirit vppon you out of question ye shall soone come to the vnderstanding of it and ye shall thinke the time happie that euer ye heard this word Except ye haue some part of this Spirit it is not possible that ye can be spirituall That which is borne of flesh and bloud will remaine flesh and bloud except the Spirit come in and make it spirituall Therefore ye must be borne againe of the Spirit ye must be borne in the bodie of Christ his Spirit must quicken you This is called the quickning and liuing Spirit of Christ by Iohn And so soone as the Spirit cometh what doth it It chaseth away darknesse out of the vnderstanding whereas before I knew not God now I see him not onely generally that he is a God but that he is my God in Christ. What more doth the holy Spirit It openeth the heart as well as the minde and what doth it there Those things whereon I bestowed the affections of my heart and imployed the loue of my soule are by the working of the holy Spirit made gall to me he maketh them venome to me and to be as deadly hated of me as poyson He worketh sâ—ch an inward disposition in my soule that he maketh me to turne and flie from those things whereon I imployed my loue before and to imploy it vpon God This is a great perfection Alwaies in some measure he makeâ—h me to loue God better then any other thing
and tasted in their hearts what it is And if they had tasted and felt in their soules what faith brings with it alas they would not call that spirirituall Iewell and onely â—ewell of the soule an imagination They call it an imagination and the Apostle describing it Heb. 11.1 calleth it a substance and substantiall ground Marke how well these two agree An imagination and a substantiall ground They call it an vncertaine opinion fleeting in the braine and fantasie of man He calleth it an euidence and demonstration in the same definition See how directly contrary the Apostle and they are in the nature of faith Vpon this they infer that as it is true in generall he can not be deliuered nor giuen but that same way that he is receiued and looke what way any thing is receiued the same way it is giuen and deliuered So as they say he being receiued by way of imagination he is also in their fantasie giuen and deliuered by way of imagination For if he be not giuen say they to thy hand to thy mouth nor to thy stomack corporally he cannot be giuen but by an imagination and fantasticall opinion The reason that moueth them to thinke that Christ cannot be theirs nor giuen to them truly in effect and really except he be giuen carnally is this That thing which is so far absent and distant from vs as the heauen is from the earth cannot be said to be giuen vs nor to be ours But by our owne confession say they to vs Christ his body is as farre absent from vs as the heauen is from the earth Therefore Christ his body nor his flesh cannot be giuen vnto vs except by way of imagination and so not truly nor in effect This argument framed in this sort would at the first sight seeme to be of some force But let vs examine the proposition of it The proposition is this That thing which is so farre absent from vs as the heauen is from the earth cannot be said to be deliuered to vs to be giuen to vs or any wayes to be ours Now whether is this proposition true or false I say this proposition is vntrue and the contrarie most true A thing may be giuen to vs and may become ours though the thing in person it selfe be as farre distant from vs as the heauen is from the earth And how proue I this What maketh any thing to be ours What maketh any of you esteeme a thing to be giuen vnto you Is it not a title Is it not a iust right to that thing If ye haue a iust right giuen vnto you by him who hath power to giue it and a sure title confirmed to you by him who hath the power though the thing that he giueth vnto you be not deliuered into your hands yet by the right and title which he granteth to you is not the thing yours There is no doubt of it for it is not the neernes of the thing to my body to my hand that maketh the thing mine for it may be in mine hand and yet not belong to me Neyther is it the distance nor absence of the thing that makes it not to be mine but it may be farre absent from me and yet be mine becaue the title is mine and because I haue gotten a right to it from him who hath the power to giue it So then this ground is true It is a sure title and a iust right that maketh a thing though it be far distant from vs to be ours But so it is that a liuelie and true faith in the bloud and death of Christ maketh vs to haue a sure title and a good right to the flesh and bloud of Christ and to his merites looke what he merited by his death shedding of his bloud vpon the crosse all that together with himselfe also appertaineth to me and that by a title and a right which I haue gotten to him of God which is faith And the surer that my title is the more sure am I of the thing that is giuen me by the title Now this Sacrament of the Lords Supper was instituted to confirme our title to seale vp our right which we haue to the bodie and bloud to the death and passion of Christ and so the bodie of Christ is said to be giuen to vs the bloud of Christ is said to be deliuered to vs when our title which we haue of him of his death of his bodie and bloud is confirmed in our harts For this Sacrament is instituted for the growth and increase of our faith for the increase of our holinesse and sanctification which faith the greater that it is in our hearts the more sure are we that Christ his death appertaineth to vs. I grant as I haue said that the flesh of Christ is not deliuered into my hndes his flesh is not put into my mouth nor entreth into my stomacke Yet God forbid that thou shouldst say He is not truly giuen although Christs flesh be not put into thy hand nor mouth of thy body and wherfore should it Hath he not appointed bread wine for the nourishment of the bodie may not that content you Are they not sufficieÌ„t to nourish you to this earthly temporall life Hath he not appointed Christ to be deliuered to the inward mouth of thy soule to be giuen into the hand of thy soule that thy soule may seede on him and be quickned with that life wherewith the Angels liue wherewith the Sonne of God and God himselfe liue So the flesh of Christ is not appointed to nourish thy bodie but to nourish thy soule in the hope yea in the growth of that immortall life and therefore I say though the flesh of Christ be not deliuered into the hand of thy body yet it is deliuered to that part that it should nourish the soule is that part that it should nourish therefore to the soule it is deliuered Yea that Bread and that Wine are no more really deliuered to the bodie and to the hand of the bodie then the flesh of Christ is deliuered to the soule and to the hand and mouth of the soule which is faith therefore craue no more a carnall deliuerie nor thinke not vpon a carnall receiuing Thou must not thinke that either God giueth the flesh of Christ to the mouth of the bodie or that thou by the mouth of thy bodie receiuest the flesh of Christ For ye must vnderstand this principle in the Scriptures of God our soules cannot be ioyned with the flesh of Christ nor the flesh of Christ cannot be ioyned with our soules but by a spirituall band Not by a carnall band of bloud and alliance not by the touching of his flesh with our flesh but he is conioyned with vs by a spirituall band that is by the power and vertue of his holy Spirit And therefore the Apostle saith 1. Cor. 12.13 That by the meanes of his holy Spirit all we who are faithfull men
to whom the Priest applieth that sacrifice And as for the rest of the Church who are absent they obtaine this remission of their sinnes by this worke generally These three things are necessarie to the substance of the Masse As for the accidents that must concurre to the making of a Masse they are of two sorts Some of them are alwaies necessarie without the which that action cannot be againe some are not necessarie and the action may be without them but not without a deadly sinne These things that are necessarie concerne partly the Priest and partly the action it selfe The accidents that are necessarie to the Priest are of two sorts One sort are such as without the which he cannot be a Priest The other sort such without the which he cannot be free from deadly sin The things without the which he cannot be a Priest are these Except he haue a power giuen of his Bishop to consecrate which power is iustified by the vnction and shauing of his crowne Except againe he haue power to speake and that the roofe of his mouth be whole that he may speake he cannot be a Priest These two are alwaies necessarie and concurre to the person Other things againe are not so necessarie as that the Priest must be free from suspension from cursing deadly sinne and all Ecclesiasticall paine and censures These things are necessarie to the person There are againe two things necessarie to the action One sort without the which the action cannot be without the Lords prayer it cannot be without the fiue words of the institution it cannot be Other things againe are not so necessarie as the consecration of the place where the Masse is said the Altar stone the blessing of the Chalice the water the singing he that should helpe to say Masse and the rest So they and we in no sort agree concerning the word what is meant by it The second point is how this woâ—d ought to be intreated wherein we are as farre asunder we say the word taken as hath bene said for the whole institution ought to be intreated after this manner First there ought to be a lawfull Pastor who hath his calling of God to deliuer it And this Pastor ought to deliuer the word lawfully what is that he ought to preach it to proclaime it publikely with a plaine speech to denounce it he ought to open vp and declare all the parts of it what is the peoples part what is his owne part how he ought to deliuer and distribute that Bread and that Wine how the people ought to receiue at his hands that Bread and that Wine to informe their faith how they ought to receiue Christs bodie and bloud signified by that Bread and Wine As also he ought to teach them how they should come with reuerence vnto that Table and communicate with the pretious bodie and bloud of Christ. This he ought to do in a familiar language that the people may vnderstand him that they may heare him that they may perceiue and lay vp in their hearts the things that he speaketh For what auaileth it you to heare a thing whispered and not spoken out or if it be spoken out what auaileth it you to heare it if ye vnderstand it not For except ye heare Christ in a familiar and plaine language ye cannot vnderstand and except ye vnderstand it is impossible for you to beleeue and without beliefe there is no application of Christ and except ye beleeue and apply Christ to your selues your coming to the Sacrament is in vaine So of necessitie if â—his Sacrament be lawfully handled the Pastor must preach the institution of Christ that it may be heard and in a familiar language that it may be vnderstood in such sort that the faithfull people may be informed how to receiue and the Minister may know his part how to deliuer and distribute This I say should be the right handling of the holy institution of this Sacrament Now what do they In place of a Minister Pastor or Bishop call him as you please who is lawfully called of God they substitute a priest surrogate an hireling who hath no calling or office now in the Church of God For the office of a priest as they vse their priesthood is no other thing but the office of Christ Iesus the office of the Mediatour betwixt God vs for they make their priests daily to offer vp Christ Iesus to the Father Now this is the Mediatour Christ his office and he did it once for all once for euer saith the Apostle so that they haue no entrance to do this ouer againe and in respect that their priests do this againe which Christ hath done already they do it without command they haue no warrant in the word of God And if they had warrant for their calling in the word of God yet they handle the Sacrament amisse for whereas they should speake forth cleerly they whisper and coniure the elements by a certaine kinde of whispering Whereas they should speake it in a knowne language that the people may vnderstand they speake in an vnknowne language and though they spake it in a knowne and familiar tongue yet in that they whisper it the people cannot be the better And what shall I say Seeing they thus handle the word though it be the very institution it selfe yet they so spoyle it in the handling that it is not an holy Sacrament Then we differ as much in the second poynt how that word ought to be handled and intreated Now the third poynt is what vertue this word hath how farre the vertue of this word extendeth it selfe In this point we grant and acknowledge that the word hath a vertue the word taken as hath bene said worketh some what euen toward the same elements of bread and wine for we acknowledge that those element by the vertue of this word are changed not in their substance and naturall properties but we grant that the elements are changed in a quality which they had not before in such sort that these elements are taken from the common vse whereunto they serued before and by the institution of Christ they are applyed vnto an other holy vse Marke how farre the holy vse differs from the common vse there is as great difference betwixt the elements this day in the action and the thing that they were yesterday For I grant that the elements are changed and yet this change proceedeth not of the nature of the elements from an inclosed vertue supposed to be in the words nor from the whispering of the words but it proceedes from the will of Christ from the ordinance and appointment of Christ set downe in his owne institution for that thing is holy which God calleth holy and that thing is profane which God calleth profane To let you vnderstand how these signes are made holy it is necessary that these two things be considered First what he is that makes them holy
place of the Scripture Thirdly it is opposite vnto the end wherefore this Sacrament was instituted and this is most euident for the end of the Sacrament is spirituall as the effect that floweth thereof is spirituall and the instrument whereby this spirituall food is applyed to vs is also spirituall But from a naturall and corporall presence a spirituall effect can neuer flow therefore the corporall and naturall presence of the body and bloud of Christ Iesus repugnes directly the end of this Sacrament for the corporall presence must haue a corporall eating of this eating followeth a digestion in the stomacke and the thing that is digested in the stomacke is neuer able to feede my soule to life eternall So this corporall presence must euer tend to a corporall end which is directly contrary vnto the end wherfore the Sacrament was instituted Further if the bread were transubstantiate it should become the thing signified if it become the thing signified this Sacrament should want a signe and so it should not be a Sacrament for euery Sacrament as ye haue head is a signe Now to say that the accidents of true bread as the colour and the roundnesse of it may serue as signes that is more then folly for betwene the signe and the thing signified there must be a conformity but there is no conformity betweene the accidents and the body and bloud of Christ Iesus For if that were so the accidents behoued to nourish vs corporally as the body and bloud of Christ Ie pointed to nourish vs spiritually Againe if the bread become the body bloud of Christ Iesus it should follow that he had a body without bloud for he hath instituted another signe besides to represent his bloud Also if there had bene â—uch a wondefull thing as they speake of in this Sacrament there would haue bene plaine mention made thereof in the Scripture for God himselfe neuer works a notable worke but he declares it either openly or more secretly in the Scripture that thereby he may be glorified in his wonderfull workes As ye may reade in the Euangelist Iohn 2.8 where the water was changed into wine Gene. 2.22 where the rib of Adam was changed into Heua Exodus 7.10 where Aarons rodde was turned into a Serpent there ye see that changing is manifestly expressed Therefore I say if there had bene such a monstrous change in these elements of â—he Supper as they affirme the Scripture would not haue concealed it but expressed it but in respect there is no mention made of this change in the Scriptures therefore there is no such change in this action Further if there were such a change as they say either it is before these words of consecration be spoken or followes after the same words be spoken If the change be before the words of the consecration be spoken the consecration is superfluous and their Proposition is false if the change be after the words be spoken This bread is my body their Proposition is false also because the word bread is spoken before the last syllable of their fiue words is pronounced These and infinite more absurdities follow of this doctrine And yet they obstinately perseuer and vrge vs with the letter affirming that the words of Christ are so plaine that they admit no figure They would haue spoken more aduisedly if they had sought counsell of Augustine to haue discerned betwene a figuratiue speech and a proper speech for he in his third booke and 16. chapter of Christian doctrine speakes after this sort If the speech saith he seeme to command a wickednesse or mischiefe or to forbid any happinesse or any welfare it is not proper it is then figuratiue And he addes for an example a place out of Iohn 6.53 Except saith our Sauiour ye eate the flesh of the Sonne of man and drink his bloud ye haue no life in you Whereunto Augustine addeth This speech saith he seemeth to commande a mischiefe therefore it is a figuratiue speech whereby we are commanded to communicate with the sufferings of Christ Iesus and with gladnes to keepe in perpetuall memory that the flesh of the Lord was crucified and wounded for vs. For otherwise it were more horrible as the same Augustine maketh mention in the second booke against the Aduersaries of the law to eate the flesh of Christ Iesus really then to murther him and more horrible to drinke his bloud then to shed his bloud Yet notwithstanding they are not ashamed still to hold maintaine that those words ought to be taken properly So that it appeareth that of very malice for contradiction sake to the end onely that they may withstand the truth they will not acknowledge this to be a sacramentall speech For they are compelled will they nill they in other speeches of the like sort to acknowledge a figure as Genes 17.10 Circumcision is called the couenant and Exod. 12.11 the Lambe is called the Passeouer and Math. 20.22 the Cup is called his Bloud and Luke 22.20 the Cuppe is called the new Testament and 1. Cor. 10.4 the Rocke is called Christ. All these speeches are sacramentall and receiue a kinde of interpretation yet they maliciously prease to deny vs this in these words Hoc est corpus meum which they are compelled to grant in the rest as especially where Paul calleth the rocke Christ. Now when they are driuen out of this Fortresse they flie as vnhappily to the second namely That God by his omnipotency may make the body of Christ to be in heauen and in the bread both at one time Ergo say they it is so If I denied their consequent they would be much troubled to proue it But the question standeth not here whether God may do it or not but the question is Whether God will it or not or may will it or not And we say reuerently that his Maiestie may not will it for though it be true that he may many things which he will not yet it is as true that there are many things which he may not will of the which sort this is and these are reduced to two sorts First he may not will those things which are contrary to his nature as to be changeable as to decay such others for if he might will these things they should not be arguments of any puissance or of any other power but rather certaine arguments of his impotency and infirmity And therefore though he may not will these things he ceasseth not to be omnipotent but so much the rather his constant and inuincible power is knowne Secondly God may not will some things by reason of a presupposed condition as such things whereof he hath concluded the contrary before of the which sort is this which is now controuerted For seeing that God hath concluded that a humane body should consist of instrumentall parts and therefore to be comprehended and circumscribed within one and the owne proper place and also seeing he hath appointed Christ
I beseech them seeing that reason failes them that they fight not against God for maintenance of a lie how old soeuer it be for the diuell is old enough and yet he could neuer change his nature But let them rather glorifie God in confessing these speeches to be Sacramentall Then what is the reason and ground wherefore the Papists pull downe the substance of the body of Christ and the bloud of Christ and make the very substance to be corporally really and substantially in the Sacrament The reason is this Because they cannot see by their naturall iudgement nor can vnderstand by their naturall wit the truth of this to wit how Christs flesh and bloud caâ— be present in the Sacrament except he be present to their corporall mouth and stomacke If they had the light to informe them that Christ might be present in the Sacrament and not to the hand to the mouth or stomack they would neuer think of such a monstrous presence as they imagine to be there But being destitute of the spirituall light they follow their naturall reason and make a naturall and carnall presence So that ye haue this lesson to nore from hence There is no man that hath not the spirit of God to vnderstand this word This is my body but out of question he will do as the Papists do that is he will vmderstand it carnally And so they misknowing the right meaning of it it is no marueile though and we differ in this matter For will you aske of a Papist first if the true body of Christ be there or if the true flesh and bloud of Christ be there he will say it is there will you aske him wherein he will say in and vnder the accidents of the bread and wine vnder the hew and roundnesse of the bread will you aske him againe by what instrument it is receiued He will tell you by the mouth and stomacke of the body So this is their grosse vnderstanding of the body and bloud of Christ. Will you aske of the Vbiqueter if the true body of Christ be present he will say it is will you aske if it be in with or vnder the bread he will answere It is in the bread contentiuè that is the bread containes it will you aske him to what instrument it is offered he will answere that the bodie of Christ is offered to the mouth of our bodie and that the bloud of Christ is offered to the mouth of our body as the Papists do Will you know of vs how Christ Iesus his true body bloud is present We wil say that they are spiritually present really present that is present in the Lords Supper and not in the bread we will not say that his true flesh is present to the hand or to the mouth of our bodies but we say it is spiritually present that is present vnto thy spirit and faythfull soule yea euen as present inwardly vnto thy soule as the bread and wine are present vnto thy body outwardly Will you aske then if the body and bloud of Christ Iesus be present in the Lords Supper We answer in a word They are present but not in the bread and wine nor in the accidents nor substance of bread and wine And we make Christ to be present in this Sacrament because he is present to my soule to my spirit fayth Also we make him present in the Lords Supper because I haue him in his promise This is my body which promise is present to my faith and the nature of faith is to make things that are absent in themselues yet present And therefore seâ—ing he is both present by faith in his promise and present by the vertue of his holy Spirit who can say but that he is present in this Sacrament But yet the word would be explained what we meane by the word present how a thing is said to be present and absent And knowing this ye shall finde all the mater easie I say things are said to be present as they are perceiued by any outward or inward sense and as they are perceiued by any of the senses so are they present and the further they be perceiued the further present and by what sense any thing is perceiued to that sense it is present As if it be outwardly perceiued by an outward sense that thing is outwardly present As for exaÌ„ple if it be perceiued by the outward sight of the eye by the outward hearing of the eare by the outward feeling of the hands or taste of the mouth it is outwardly present Or if any thing be perceiued by the inward eye by the inward taste and feeling of the soule this thing cannot be outwardly present but it must be spiritually and inwardly present to the soule So I say euery thing is present as it is perceiued So that if you perceiue not a thing outwardlie it is outwardly absent and if ye perceiue not a thing inwardly it is inwardly absent It is not distance of place that maketh a thing absent nor propinquity of place that makes a thing present but it is onelie the perceiuing of any thing by any of thy senses that makes a thing present and the not perceiuing that makes a thing absent I say though the thing it selfe were neuer so farre distant if thou perceiue it by thine outward sense it is present vnto thee As for example my bodie and the Sunne are as farre distant in place as the heauen is from the earth yet this distance stayeth not the Sunnes presence from me why because I perceiue the Sunne by mine eye and other senses I feele it and perceiue it by the heate by the light and by his brightnesse So if a thing were neuer so farre distant if we haue senses to perceiue the same it is present to vs. Then the distance of place makes not a thing absent from thee if thou hast senses to perceiue it likewise the neerenes of place makes not a thing present be it neuer so neere if thou hast not senses to perceiue it As for example if the Sunne shine vpon thine eyes if thou be blinde it is not present to thee because thou canst not perceiue it A sweete tune will neuer be present to a deafe eare though it be sung in the eare of that man because he hath not a sense to perceiue it and a well told tale will neuer be present to a foole because he cannot vnderstand it nor hath no iudgement to perceiue it So it is not the nearenesse nor distance of place that maketh any thing present or absent but onely the perceiuing or not perceiuing of it Now the word being made cleare aske you how the bodie of Christ is present To giue our iudgement in a word as ye haue heard from time to time he is present not to the outward senses but to the inward senses which is faith wrought in the soule For this action of the Sacrament and
zeale or of force we shall be spoyled of it Thus farre concerning the second cause As to the third I shall touch it shortly and so I shall end The third cause is this he sayth he shall see man no more among the inhabitants of the earth Now what a cause is this This appeareth to be a very slight cause that he should be grieued at his death because he should see man no more For I am assured there were men in his daies whom he tooke no pleasure to see and whom he could not see without great griefe euen such monsters as are now in our dayes This generall must be restrained to this as if he would say I shal not see men that is faithfull men honest and obedient subiects to God and their King of whose company I had delight and whose protection I was I shall see these good men no more He had such a care of the Church and of the Christian subiects vnder him that in the very houre of his death he sheweth his compassion toward them and is grieued that they should lacke his protection in time coming Well the country is exceeding blessed that hath such a Prince who is endued with the care of his subiects and specially of the Church that in his death he is sorrie that they should be depriued of his protection And turne it ouer againe As cursed and vnhappy is that countrie who hath a King that hath no kind of care or respect of his subiects much lesse of Gods Church which is the best part of his subiects Therfore it is euery one of your duties that heare me see what it is to lacke this blessing to craue of God that he would distill his grace into his Maiesties heart which may moue him to take vp another manner of protection then hitherto he hath done Oh would to God it were so Thus farre for the exposition of the causes shortly In all these causes some things are worthy of praise and some things are worthy of dispraise for I stand not to iustifie him in them all They are worthy of commendation so far as they flowed from faith and tended to the glory of God and weale of his Church They are worthy of reproofe so far as they flowed from the foolish affectioÌ„ corruption of nature without the which none can be so long as we be in this life Then ye see the best goods that we haue to carry with vs of our owne is this corruption foolish affection No question Kings haue not this power to carry their iewels magnificencâ— with them but surely they carry their vices faults of their gouernment with them which shall meete them And surely if this good King caried any of this stuffe with him much more shall other Kings And as it is in Kings so is it in euery of vs we shall all carry with vs vertues or vices If we cary vertue with vs then shal we haue a good conscience to meete vs there Then to end this matter prepare your hearts and make both hand and heart voide of the loue and affection of the world that your hearts being busied onely with the loue of good things ye may cary your hearts with you when the Lord calleth And as your eares are bent to receiue this word so let it be digested in your hearts that in your death I may see the fruites and effects thereof And seeing we must either cary with vs vertues or vices the fauour of God to mercy or the fauour of sathan to iudgement should not our whole indeuour be that these foule vices may be remoued out of our hearts and should not our whole study be that our soule which is holden so fast bound in the chaines of wickednesse may be set at freedome and liberty That we may haue melting hearts acknowledging that by the bloud of Christ our sins are forgiuen that through a stedfast faith in his bloud sure hope in his mercy we may seale vp that peace which floweth from the pacification purchased by the offering vp of his owne body Now when I see mine owne conscience pacified and my soule so washed from the spots of corruption that all my sinnes are forgiuen me am I not happy and this can neuer be except in your hearts ye be as attentiue as with your eares ye are to heare me But if this matter as it is heard by the eare so it were learned remeÌ„bred by the heart we should see greater profite in sanctification and newnesse of life this day then we do and death would not be so fearefull to many as it is For the ready way to eschue the feare of death is not to delay your repentaÌ„ce but let the whole course of your life be a continuall repentance Happy is he that learneth this lesson and more then happy is he that followeth it and as vnhappy he that neuer practiseth it The Lord worke so with vs grant vs such increase of his Spirit that we may follow it and study to practise it in our life and conuersation The Lord grant this for the righteous merits of Iesus Christ to whom with the Father and the holy Spirit be all praise honour and glory for now and for euer Amen THE NINTH SERMON VPON ISAIAH CHAPTER 38. 12 Mine habitation is departed and is remoued from me like a shepheards tent I haue cut off like a weauer my life he will cut me off from the height from day to night thou wilt make an end of me 13 I reckoned to the morning but he brake all my bones like a Lion from day to night wilt thou make an end of me 14 Like a Crane or Swallow so did I chatter I did mourne as a Doue mine eyes were lift vp on high O Lord it hath oppressed me comfort me IN our last sermon welbeloued in Christ Iesus the Prophet assureth the King of his health by a wonderfull signe which was giuen to him The manner and forme of the manifesting of the signe was this The King seeketh a signe and the Lord granteth a signe vnto him and after the same manner that he sought a signe it was giuen to him Thirdly the Lord manifesteth this signe by his owne power and vertue without the support of any creature The King seeketh a signe not that he is distrustfull of Gods promise nor yet to tempt God as the wicked do but he seeketh a signe to strengthen his beliefe in the Lords promise He belieueth the promise yet his beliefe was weake and to strengthen his weake faiâ—h he seeketh the signe The thing that weakeneth his beliefe was this The Prophet in an houre and shorter space cometh to the King and proposeth two contrarie sentences Fiâ—st he saith to him Make thee readie thou must die in an instant of time he pronounceth the plaine contrarie and saith Thou shalt liue both these two could not stand Therefore he seeketh a signe to strengthen
in the end And therefore it is that the Lord delayeth his deliuerance that partly these hastie men may be ashamed and that his glory might be the greater in the deliuerance of his owne In the fift verse the Lord is praised from the publike experience of the Church for the number of his blessings which he bestoweth is to bestow vpon his Church caÌ„not be expressed There is no heart able to conceiue nor mouth able to expresse the infinite number of his blessings The eare hath not heard saith the Apostle the eye hath not seene nor hath it entred into the heart to coÌ„ceiue the ten thousandth part of the ioy prepared for the children of God for if this heart of ours were able to coÌ„ceiue any part of that ioy we should possesse more of it here then we do The little sparkes of that ioy and the feeling thereof haue such force in the children of God that they carrie their hearts out of their bodies as it were and lift them vp to the very heauens then how great shall the full ioy be I pray you when the whole soule shall be possessed fully As for the greatnesse and excellencie of the blessings of God the heart of man is no way able to conceiue or the tongue to expresse Albeit how euer we are not able to conceiue them let euery one trauell to make a further and a greater progresse in this knowledge for the more we profite in this exercise the more thankfull may we be to God Thus much concerning the first part of the Psalme In the second part I shall be short by Gods grace for this his experience which he hath found he offereth his seruice freely to God he offereth himselfe most voluntarily as one who delighted in the law of the Lord as one who hath proclaimed his mercie and iustice and the rest of his vertues in time past And he confesseth in the 6. verse that this obedience flowed not out of himselfe but of the piercing of the eare of his heart It pleaseth the Lord to prepare and open the eares of his heart that he might obey him for as to outward sacrifice and externall worshipping when it is disioyned from the inward seruice of the heart the Lord hath no liking of it Therefore it pleased the Lord to pierce the eare of his heart And of this it cometh to passe that he cometh and offereth his seruice willingly saying I heare thee crying on me Lord in thy booke In the first word of thy booke hearken and take heede ô Dauid and here he saith I am coming If we follow the literall meaning of the words this is the effect and meaning but if we follow the mysticall sence there is here a cleare prophecie of the Messiah For the Apostle to the Hebrewes Chap. 10.5 bringeth in Christ Iesus speaking these same words of himselfe which Dauid here speaketh in the 7.8 and 9. verses And for the better vnderstanding of this prophecie the Apostle in that place setteth downe the circumstance of time when he spake these words to wit when he came into the world when he tooke on our nature and was clothed with our flesh he spake these words contained in the 7.8 and 9. verses As to the words the Apostle applyeth them otherwise to Christ then Dauid here doth to himselfe for in the words which the Apostle citeth there is a clause changed for where Dauid saith thou hast pierced mine eare the Apostle saith thou hast giuen me a bodie There appeareth to be a great difference here yet I say the sentence remaineth one howsoeuer the words differ And to let you see that the sentence is one this is my reason As the boring of the eare was a signe of obedience of the seruant to the master Exod. 21. so the taking on of our body and of our flesh in Christ is a perfect signe of his obedience to his Father And looke how sure a signe of seruice the boring of the eare was to the master as sure a token is the assuming of our flesh of the obedience of Christ to his Father So obedience is signified by the one and obedience is signified by the other as for Christ he tooke not on this seruile forme for his owne cause but for our cause and for vs was his eare bored soule and bodie sustaining that full wrath which we should haue endured eternally And yet notwithstanding so vnthankfull are we that except he bore our eare afâ—er another sort that is bore our hearts and soules as Lydias was Act. 16. we can neuer thanke him nor know him for this benefit Then the effect and summe of the Prophecie may be this Christ would testifie to vs that he is now by the benefit of the Father become our high Priest not to offer legall sacrifices the bloud of lambs and goats as before but to offer his owne bodie which was the veritie of all other sacrifices that by this sacrifice our conscience might be purged We haue the abolishing of the old Testament set down in the 6. verse the establishing of the new Testament in the 7. verse the office of Christ in the 8. verse Now as to the lessons I marke two or three shortly and so I shall end The first lesson riseth out of the 6. verse he saith in the 6. verse it is not the worthinesse of externall worshipping it is not the worthinesse of legall sacrifices that made the prayers of the ancients to be heard It was not the worthinesse of their ceremonies that made their deliuerie to be purchased It is not the worthinesse of our merits and satisfactions that maketh our prayers to be heard it is onely the bloud of the Lambe that made Dauid to be heard at that time and vs to be heard now that purchased his deliuerance then and our deliuerance now Accursed therefore is that religion that mixeth any other merits with the merits of Christ and double accursed is the religion that derogateth any thing from the honour of this merite This for the first lesson The second thing that I marke is the end why Dauids prayer is heard and our prayer is heard The end is not to abuse the goodnesse of God to the wantonnes of the flesh not to take occasion of the grace of God to prouoke him the next time to anger but the end is to consecrate soule and bodie to his seruice and to make a publike protestation euery one in his owne calling to be thankfull to him in all time to come This is the end wherfore the Lord deliuereth vs and heareth our prayers I grant there is none of vs but in one measure or other we abuse the grace of God but there is an abusing with a fighting or reluctation and there is another with a loose reine And whosoeuer abuseth the grace of God with a loose reine he casteth himselfe into the hands of God and who so casteth himselfe oft into the hands
himselfe is neuer disappointed of his expectation Exhortation Faith is the free gift of God Certaine effects whereby we may know if we haue faith Our faith must be coÌ„tinually nourished because it is ioyned with doubting Doubting faith may lodge in one soule 1 Cor. 4. A doubting and weake faith is faith and shall neuer decay The spaâ—kles of faith though they be smothered they are not wholly put out nor are idle Similitudes shewing that the sparkles of faith though they be couered are not extinguished A sure retreat to repose on in highest tentations A lesson Of loue which is the secoÌ„d point of our triall How the word loue is taken in the Scripture The definition of loue Of our loue toward God Of loue towards our neighbour Conclusion with an exhortation The diuerse taking of the word Sacrament Ephes. 3.9 Ephes. 5.32 The heads to be entreated of in this Sermon 1. The signes in the SacrameÌ„t Why they are called signes 2. What is the thing signified in the Sacrament Question Answer The thing signified must be applyed How the signe the thing signified are ioyned together This coniunction is made cleare by the coniunction betwixt the word and the thing signified thereby How the signe and the thing signified are giuen and receiued Considerations thereof The signe the thing signified are offered in two actions by two instruments and after two manners Of the other part of the Sacrament which is the word Anâ—wer 1. By the Sacrament we possesse Christ more fully then by the simple word 2. They serue to confirme the truth contained in the word Exhortation Faults whiâ—h peruert the Sacrament Conclusion with an exhortation Of the Supper of the Lord in particular Heads to be intreated of First head generall Of the names giuen vnto this SacrameÌ„t both in the Bible and by the Ancients Second head generall Of the ends why this Sacrament was instituted Third head generall Of the things contained in this SacrameÌ„t outward and inward wherin sundry heads are intreated The thing signified in both the Sacraments is one the signs are not one Why in Baptisme there is but one signe and in the Lords Supper two Two questions What power the bread hath to be a signe in this Sacrament And how long that power endureth 1. Answer That bread hath that power from Christs institution 2. Answer That power continues during the seruice of the Table An obseruation How the signes the thing signified are coÌ„ioyned in the Sacrament How the signe and the thâ—ng signified iâ— receiued What kinde of receiuing Christ is established in the Sacrament Inconueniences cast in by the Papisâ—s against the spirituall â—eceiuing of Christ in the Sacrament First inconuenience That the Sacrament is supeâ—fluous Refutation of the first Inconuenience Second incoÌ„uenience Refutation of the second inconuenience obiected wherein are sundrie reasons giuen why the wicked are counted guiltie of the body and bloud of Christ. Exhortation Third inconuenience Refutation of the third inconuenience How the soule is said to eate the body and drinke the bloud of Christ. Obseruation Faith is that which couples vs and Christ. Similitude taken from the Sunne Conclusion with an exhortation How we are said to eate the flesh and drinke the bloud of Christ. Our vnion with Christ by one and the same Spirit Exhortation The definition of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Why this Sacrâ—ment is called a Seale Why it is called an holy Seale Why the seale is said to be annexed to the couenant Why the Sacrament should be ministred publikely First reason Second reasoÌ„ Why this seale must be ministred according to Christ his institution None hath power to institute a Sacrament but God onâ—ly We call the word in the Sacrament the whole institution Word and element must concurre in the constitution of a Sacrament What we meane by the word in the Sacrament What the Papists vnderstand by the word in the SacrameÌ„t The third head in controuersie How the elements are sanctified The word of blessing and thankâ—giuing vsed indifferently expressed by the other How the Papists sanctifie the outward Elements Refutation of the doctrine transubstantiation by three sorts of arguments The first sort of argument Second sort of argument Third sort of argument Other arguments vnto the same effect Their last râ—fuge The reason that moues the Papists to thinke thâ—t Christs body cannot be present in the Sacrament except it be really carnally and substaÌ„tially present Obseruation The diuerse opinions coÌ„cerning the presence of the body of Christ in the Saâ—rament How a thing is said to be present and absent How the bodie of Christ is present The last point in controuersie betwixt vs and the Papists Conclusion with an exhortation Heads to be intreated in this Sermon First lesson Second lessoÌ„ The time when the King fell into this disease Obseruation Doctrine The Prophet visiteth the King and inioyneth two things to him The dutie of the Pastor toward his diseased brethren The first omission that appeareth to be in this denunciation The second omission The third omission The King behauiour in this disease The Kings behâ—uiour makes vs certaine of his faith and repentance The Kings gesture in his disease The words of his prayer Dan. 6.23 1. Cor. 4. A wonderfull thing to haue recourâ—e vnto the same God who smiteth â—esson Recapitulation Diâ—isâ—on First lesson 2. Lesson 3. Lesson Doctrine The circumstance of peace Third circumstance The comfort that the King receiued Why mention of Dauid is here made Why Dauid is called Hezechias Father What maketh vs the sonnes of God 1. Lesson 2. Lesson A fault to be eschued in Ionas person Application to the King A vertue to be followed in Esaiahs person Doctrine Application The points of the comfort that the King receiued Obseruation Application Obseruation Exhortation to the Kings Maiestie Recapitulation The heads of doctrine to be intreated of The cause why he sought a signe How the wicked seeke signes Some refuse signes when they are offered How the signe was shewed Why the signe was wrought in the diall Why it was wrought in the body of the Sunne What profite is to be gathered of signes By whose power this signe was wrought The force of prayer in procuring this signe Why the Lord willeth vs to pray Application The Kingâ— thankfulnes for the beneâ—ite receiued The parts of the Kings Song A short sum of the Kings life A Christians chiefe exercise The first part of the song The diuersity of seeking death in the wicked and godly The way to eschue the feare of death Application The reason why deaâ—h was grieuouâ— to him Application The second reaâ—on why death was grieuous to the King How God was said to be seene of old Application The third reaâ—on why death was grieuous to this King Applicatâ—on What is worthy of praise or reprofe in these reasons Conclusion with an exhortation Recapitulation The heads to be treated of in this SermoÌ„ The manner of the transportation of the