Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	aaron_n	bid_v	eat_v	20	3	6.7914	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02359	Three rare monuments of antiquitie, or Bertram, priest, a French-man, of the body and blood of Christ, (written 800 yeares agoe) with the late Romish purging thereof: Ælfricus, Arch-bishop of Canterburie, an English-man, his sermon of the sacrament, (preached 627 yeares agoe:) and Maurus, abbot, a Scots-man, his discourse of the same (820 yeares agoe:) all stronglie convincing that grosse errour of transubstantiation. Translated and compacted by M. VVilliam Guild, minister at King-Edward; De corpore et sanguine Domini. English. Abridgments	Ratramnus, monk of Corbie, d. ca. 868.; Guild, William, 1586-1657.; Aelfric, Abbot of Eynsham. Sermo de sacrificio in die Pascae. aut; Rabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mainz, 784?-856. De sacramento Eucharistiae. aut	1624 (1624)	STC 12492; ESTC S103528	49,280	152

the invisible might This mysterie is a Pledge and a Figure Christes bodie is Trueth it selfe This Pledge wee doe keepe mysticallie vntill that wee bee come vnto the Trueth it selfe and then is this Pledge ended Truelie it is so as wee before haue saide Christes bodie and his blood not bodilie but ghostlie But now heare the Apostles wordes about this mysterie Paul the Apostle speaketh of the olde Israelites thus writing in his Epistle to faythfull men All our Fore-fathers were baptized in the Cloude and in the Sea and all they did eate the same ghostlie Meate and dranke the same ghostlie Drinke They dranke truelie of the Stone that followed them and that Stone was Christ. Neither was that Stone then from which the Water ranne bodilie Christ but it signified Christ who calleth thus to all believing and faythfull men Who-so-ever thirsteth let him come to Me and drinke from his bowels shall flow liuely water This hee saide of the holie Ghost which they received who believed in him The Apostle Paul saith that the Israelites did eate the same ghostlie Meate and dranke the same ghostlie Drinke because that heavenlie Meate that fed them fourtie yeares and that water which from the Stone did flow had signification of Christs bodie and his blood which now are offered daylie in Gods Church It was the same which wee now offer not bodilie but ghostlie Wee saide vnto you ere-while that Christ hallowed bread and Wine to housell before his suffering and said This is My Bodie and My Blood yet he had not then suffered but so not-with-standing he turned thorow invisible might that bread to his owne bodie and that wine to his owne blood as hee before did in the Wildernesse before that he was borne to be a Man when hee turned that heavenlie meat to his flesh and the flowing water from that Stone to his owne blood Verie manie did eate of that heavenlie Meat in the Wildernesse and dranke that ghostlie Drinke and were never-the-lesse dead as Christ saide and Christ meant not that death which none can escape but that ever-lasting death which some of that folke deserved for their vnbeliefe Moses and Aaron and many others of that people which pleased God did eate that heavenlie Bread and they died not that everlasting death tho they died the common death They saw that that heavenlie Meate was visible and corruptible but they ghostlie vnderstood by that visible thing another Meate and ghostlie received it Our Saviour saith Hee that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood hath ever-lasting Life Now hee bade them not eate that bodie where-with hee was inclosed nor drinke that blood which he shed for vs but hee meant by these words that holie Housel which ghostlie is his bodie and his blood and hee that tasteth it with a believing heart hath that eternall life In the olde Law faythfull men offered to God diverse Sacrifices which had fore-signification of Christs bodie which for our sinnes hee him selfe hath since offered to his heavenlie Father for sacrifice Certainlie this Housell which wee hallow now at Gods Altar is a Remembrance of Christs bodie which hee offered for vs and so him selfe commanded Doe this in My remembrance Once suffered Christ by him selfe but yet never-the-lesse his suffering is daylie renewed at this Supper thorow the mysterie of the holie Housel Therefore wee ought to consider diligentlie how that this holie Housel is both Christs bodie and the bodie of all faithfull men after ghostlie mysterie as wyse Augustine saith of it If yee will vnderstand of Christes bodie heare the Apostle Paul thus speaking Yee truelie be Christs bodie and his members Now is your mysterie set on Gods Table and yee receiue your mysterie which mysterie yee your selues bee Bee that which you see on the Altar and receiue that which yee your selues bee Againe the Apostle Paul sayeth Wee beeing manie are one Bread and one Bodie Vnder-stand now and rejoyce Manie bee one Bread and one bodie in Christ Hee is our head and wee are his limmes And as the Bread is not of one Corne but of manie nor the Wyne of one Grape but of manie So also wee all should haue one vnitie in the Lord as it is written of the faythfull Armie howe that they were in so great an vnitie as tho all of them were one soule and one heart So Christ hallowed on his Table the mysterie of our peace and of our vnitie Hee which receiveth that mysterie of vnitie and keepeth not the band of true peace receiveth no mystery for him selfe but a witnesse against him selfe It is verie good for Christen men that they goe often to housell if they bring with them vnto the Altar Vnguiltinesse and innocencie of heart if they bee not oppressed with sinne To an evill man it turneth to no good but to destruction if hee receiue vnworthilie that holie Housell Holie Bookes commaund that water bee mingled with that wine which shall bee for housell because the water signifyeth the people and the wine Christes blood And there-fore the one with-out the other shall not bee offered at the holie Housell that Christ may bee with vs and wee with Christ the head with the limmes and the limmes with the head Wee would before haue intreated of the Lambe which the olde Israelites offered at their Easter time but that we desired first to declare vnto you of this mysterie and after how wee should receiue it I. That signifying-Lambe was offered at the Easter and the Apostle Sainct Paul sayeth in the Epistle of this present day that Christ is our Easter or Passe-over who was offered for vs and this daye rose agayne from death II. The Israelites did eate the Lambes flesh even as GOD had commaunded them with vnleavened bread and wilde Lettuice So should wee receiue that holie Housell of Christes bodie and bloode with-out the leaven of Sinne and Iniquitie For as Leaven turneth the creatures from their nature so doeth Sinne also change the nature of Man from Innocencie to Vncleannesse And the Apostle hath taught howe wee should feast not in the Leaven of Evilnesse but in the sweete Dough of Puritie and Trueth III. The Hearbe which they shoulde eate with the vnleavened bread is called Lettuice and is bitter in taste So wee shoulde with bitternesse of vnfeigned repentance purifie our myndes if wee will eate Christes bodie IIII. Those Israelites were not wont to eate rawe flesh and therefore God bade them to eate it neyther rawe nor sodden in water but roasted with fyre Hee shall receiue the bodie of God rawe that shall thinke with-out reason that Christ was onelie Man lyke vnto vs and was not God And hee that will after mans wisedome search of the mysterie of Christes Incarnation doeth lyke to him that seetheth Lambes flesh in water because that water in this same place signifyeth mans vnder-standing But wee should vnder-stand that all the mysterie of Christes humanitie was ordered by the power of the holie Ghost And then

which is vnderstood hath a spirituall fruit This Venerable Doctor then by saying this teacheth vs what wee ought to thinke concerning the proper bodie of Christ which was borne of the Virgine and sitteth nowe at the right Hand of the Father in which hee is to come to judge the quicke and the dead and what wee ought to thinke of that which is offered vpon the Altar where-of the People are made partakers That bodie is whole neither is it divided by any cutting nor covered with anie figures But this which is set vpon the Table of the Lord is a resemblance of that because it is a Sacrament And that which is seene outwardlie hath a corporall shape and feedeth the bodie but that which is vnderstoode inwardlie it hath a spirituall fruite which quickeneth the Soule And when he would haue spoken more manifestlie concerning this mysticall bodie hee sayeth thus in the wordes following If ye will vnderstand concerning the bodie of Christ heare the Apostle saying Yee are the Bodie and Members of Christ. If then yee bee the bodie and members of Christ your mysticall resemblance is set on the Lords Table and yee receiue the mysterie of the Lord and vnto that which you are yee say AMEN and by aunswering so yee subscrybe there-vnto Thou hearest then of the bodie of Christ and thou aunswerest AMEN Bee a member then of the bodie of CHRIST that that may bee a true AMEN Wherefore then is this mysterie in the bread Wee shall bring nothing heere of our owne wit but let vs heare the Apostle when hee was speaking of that Sacrament saying For wee being manie are one bread and one bodie And holie Augustine instructing vs sufficientlie of the rest sayeth That as in that bread which was offered on the Altar the bodie of Christ was resembled so also the bodie of the people that did receiue it was lyke-wyse represented that so hee might showe manifestlie that that is the proper bodie of Christ onlie which was borne of the Virgin sucked suffered died was buried rose againe ascended to the Heavens and which presentlie sitteth at the right Hand of his Father and is to come to Iudgement But this which is set vpon the Lordes Table containeth the mysterie of the bodie of the faythfull as the Apostle witnesseth saying For wee beeing many are one bread and one bodie in Christ. Wherefore most Noble Prince let your wisedome consider that it is most clearlie showne by Testimonies of holie Scripture and Sayings of the holie Fathers That that Bread which is called the Bodie of Christ that Cup which is called the Blood of Christ is a figure because it is a mysterie And that there is a great difference betweene the mysterie of his bodie and his bodie it selfe which suffered was buried and rose againe because this is the proper bodie of our Saviour neither is there in it any figure or signification but the manifestation of the thing it selfe is knowne and the believers desire the sight of him because hee is our head and by the sight of him our desire shal be satisfied because He and the Father is one not according to that that our SAVIOVR hath a bodie but according to the fulnesse of the DEITIE which dwelleth in the Man CHRIST But in that which is celebrated in a mysterie is a resemblance not onlie of the proper bodie of Christ but also of all believers in him for it beareth the figure of both the bodies that is both of Christ which suffered and rose againe and of the people which are renewed in Christ by Baptisme and quickned from the dead Let vs also adde this That that Bread and Cup which is called the Bodie and Blood of Christ representeth the remembrie of the Lords Passion or Death as him selfe sayde in the Gospell Doe this in rememberance of Mee Which the Apostle Sainct Paul expoundeth saying How often so-ever yee eate this Bread and drinke this Cuppe yee shall remember the LORDES death till His comming againe We are taught then by our Saviour and also by the holie Apostle Sainct Paul That that Bread and that Bloode which is set vpon the Altar is set downe in rememberance and resemblance of the Lordes death and Passion that it may call to recent memorie that which was done long a-goe where-by wee beeing remembered of his death and suffering may bee made partakers there-by of that heavenlie Gift where-by wee are redeemed from Death ever-lasting Knowe wee lyke-wyse that when wee come to the sight of Christ him selfe wee shall not haue neede of such meanes where-by wee may bee admonished what his great bountifulnesse sustayned for vs because beholding him selfe face to face wee shall not bee put in mynde by the outward admonition of temporall thinges but wee shall beholde him by the contemplation of the veritie it selfe even as wee ought to giue thankes for ever vnto the Author of our Salvation Neyther there-fore let it bee thought al-be-it wee say this that there-fore the Bodie and Bloode of Christ is not truelie apprehended by the Faythfull in the mysterie of this Sacrament seeing Fayth apprehendeth not that which the Eye seeth but that which it selfe believeth because it is spirituall foode and spirituall drinke feeding the Soule spirituallie giving lyfe full of eternitie as the Lord our Saviour commending this mysterie fayeth It is the Spirite that quickeneth for the Flesh profiteth nothing Desiring then to obey Your Highnesse Commaund heere-in I beeing but of small abilitie haue vnder-taken to reason concerning thinges of no small importance and controversie not following the presumptiō of mine own thoughts and estimation but looking to the authoritie of Fathers and those that haue gone before mee Which if You allowe to bee spoken catholicklie attribute the same vnto the worthinesse of Your Fayth who laying a-syde the Glorie of Your Royall Majestic was not ashamed to haue an Aunswere of the Veritie from Your humble Servaunt But if it please You not let it bee imputed vnto mine insufficiencie vvho was not able to declare these things so effectuallie as other-wyse I desyred AMEN The Purging of BERTRAM Out of the Expurgatorie Spanish Index of Don Gasp●r Quiroga Cardinall and Arch-bishop of Toledo Generall Inquisitor of Spayne and set foorth by his Commaund and of the Councell of the sayde Generall Inquisition according to the Decreet of the Councell of Trent and by the speciall Mandate Authoritie of Philip the second King of Spayne And by the care and direction of the Duke of Alue in the Low-Countreys Framed and made vp Anno 1571. According to that Copie printed at Madrill there-after by Alphonsus Gomesius His Majesties Printer there Anno 1594. That the Booke of BERTRAM Priest Of the Bodie and Blood of CHRIST beeing amended may bee hence-foorth tolerated The Iudgement and Decree of the Vniversitie of Duay approoved by the Censures as fol●oweth ALtho wee greatlie account not of this Booke and therefore we are not much carefull altho

it were not at all or had perished yet not-with-standing seeing it hath beene often printed here-to-fore read by sundrie that by the forbidden name there-of it hath bene made knowne to all and that the Heretickes doe vnderstand of this mans prohibition by diverse Catalogues and that he was a Catholicke Priest and a Monke of the Monasterie of Corbei and greatlie beloved and reverenced not so much by Charles the Great as Charles the bolde as we may consider in the Historie of his age yet in him as in other Catholicke Writers wee must beare with many Erroures of theirs and we must extenuate and excuse them and oftentymes by devising a fit exposition to their words Let vs even oftentymes denye them frame a commodious meaning vnto them while as in Disputes or conflicts with the Adversaries they are opponed against vs And therefore wee see not why this BERTRAM requireth not the same equitie and diligent examination lest doing other-wyse by full suppressing of him the Heretickes accuse vs That wee burne and prohibite all Antiquitie making for them And therefore that it is no marvell that fewe seeme to make for them when wee that are Catholickes so vnreverentlie and disdainfullie thrust foorth and destroy all Antiquitie amongst vs that but in verie show doe disagree from vs. As also wee feare that not onlie that Booke bee read by Heretickes but also that by disobedient Catholickes the same bee more greedylie perused in respect of the interdiction there-of and that the same be more dangerouslie alleadged and that beeing al-to-gether prohibited that it shall hurt more than beeing permitted for there is nothing in it worthie of rebuke except the obscurenesse of the mans speach and an vnfit either vsurpation or exposition of some wordes and sentences which by a marginall explanation either prefixed or affixed if they were interpreted and the Authores meaning and scope were there-by declared and finallie if that some thinges which seeme not obscurelie to be by some Hereticke inserted or added about the ende of the Treatise were remarked and eschewed there would bee nothing then resting which might be feared by the Reader in this Worke. There-fore neyther evill nor vnadvisedlie let all these thinges bee omitted About the ende of the thirde Page these wordes It is lyke-wyse to bee considered that in that Bread c. Even to this a good deale after But it is another thing which is outwardlie done c. And againe even in the same Page and in the next there-vnto all these speaches which followe As also these things that are one are comprehended vnder one Definition c. Even vnto that For that which is done in the lyfe spirituallie c. So these thinges beeing omitted neyther shall they obscure the preceeding meaning nor cause anie thing to bee maymed or superfluous There resteth onlie one scruple but verie little to them that are Catholicklie taught as BERTRAM not once sayeth That that which appeareth in the ●VCHARIST doeth seede the bodie is corruptible and not eternall c. For that the Catholicke Fayth attributeth all these thinges vnto the Species and Accidents of the Substances which were before Trans-substantiation is more clearlie knowne than can bee declared other-wyse For so wee aunswere vnto the Experiences and Assertions of the Berengarians which are rehearsed in Gvitmundus who sayde That they founde by experience some to haue lived long and growne by the Encharist alone to wit these Accidents did as much as other Substances Neyther doe wee thinke with Guitmundus that another substance was substitute for their incredulitie or that Consecration or Trans-substātiation did not solow when their intention who did celebrate the same was wrong For the naming of the Substances of Bread and Wine as hath beene sayde are taken for the formes or accidentes of Bread and Wine Altho I denye not but BERTRAM at that time did not exactlie vnder-stand that these Accidentes did subsist without a substance and other thinges also which in the latter Age moste subtillie and truelie by holie men were added Next followeth those thinges vvhich out of BERTRAM are al-together not to bee deleted Fol. 1137 reade Invisiblie for Visiblie And there-after According to the substance of the creatures which they were before Consecration that same they remayne after It is to bee interpreted According to the externall Accidents of the Sacrament Fol. 1140. But this which is celebrated in the Church is temporall not eternall It is to bee interpreted According to the corruptible accidents or of the thing it selfe or vse of the Sacrament vvhich onlie is in this Lyfe An ancient Sermon of AELFRICVS Arch-bishop of Canterburie an English-man OF THE SACRAMENT Convincing the late Errour now-a-dayes of Trans-substantiation Preached in the time of Etheldred King And in the Yeare of our LORD 996. Vttered in the SAXON Tongue And thereafter in an old English translated MEN BELOVED It hath beene often sayde vnto you about our SAVIOVRS Resurrection Howe hee on this present day after his suffering mightilie rose againe from Death Now will wee open vnto you by GODS Grace of the holie HOVSELL vvhich ye should now goe vnto and instruct your vnderstanding about this Mysterie both after the Olde Covenan● and after the New that no doubting trouble you concerning this lyuelie Food The Almightie God bade Moses his Captaine in the Land of Aegypt to command the people of Israel to take to everie Familie a Lambe of a yeare olde the night that they departed out of the Countrey towards the Land of Promise and to offer that Lambe to God and after to cut it and make the signe of the Crosse with the Lambes blood vpon the side-poastes and vpper poast of the doore and afterwards to eate the Lambes fl●sh roasted and vnleavened Bread with wylde Lettuice God saith vnto Moses Eate of the Lambe not raw nor sodden in water but roasted at the fire eate the head and the seete and the inwards and let nothing of it bee left till the morning and if any thing remaine that shall yee burne with the fire Eate it this wise Gird your Loynes and doe your Shooes on your seete haue you Stau●s in your hands and eate it in haste This is the Lords Passeover And there was r●a●●e on that night in everie house throughout Pharaohs Reigne the f●●st-borne chylde and Gods people of Israel were deliuered from that sudden death thorow the Lambes offering and his bloods marking Then said God to Moses Keepe this day in your remembrance and holde it a great Feast in your Kinreds with a perpetuall observation and eate vnleavened bread alwayes seaven dayes at this Feast After this deede God led the people of Israel thorow the red Sea with drye foote and drowned therin Pharaoh and all his Armie together with their Possessions and fed afterwards the Israelites fourtie yeares with heavenlie foode and gaue them water out of the hard Rocke vntill they came to the promised Land Part of this Storie we haue

beene so except the change had beene to the better neither is that change corporallie but spirituallie made of necessitie the speach thereof is figuratiue because vnder the vaile or curtaine as it were of corporall bread and wine is convoyed vnto the soule the spirituall bodie and bloode of Christ Not that these are the existences of two diverse things to wit as of a bodie and a spirit but one and that same selfe thing according to one consideration is a sort of bread and wine and according to another is the bodie and blood of Christ according to that as they are touched corporallie they are kyndes of corporall creatures but according to that power whereby they are made so spirituallie they are the mysteries of the bodie and blood of Christ. Let vs consider also the Laver of holie Baptisme which worthilie is called the fountaine of life because it reformeth the commers vnto it by the newnesse of a better life and gif●eth them that are dead in sinne with liuelie grace and righteousnesse according to that it is the element of water hath it that power and yet except it had the vertue of Sanctification it could not wash away the blot of sinne and except it contained the strength of life it could no wise giue life to the dead not in the flesh I meane but in the soule And yet if wee consider in that fountaine onelie that which our bodilie eye perceiveth it is seene to bee a moyst element subject to corruption having no power but to wash onelie the bodie but the accessorie vertue of the holie Spirit by priestlie consecration maketh it pithie not onelie to wash away the filth of the bodie but also to purge by a spirituall grace the foulenesse of the soule Beholde then in one and that same element wee see two contrarieties to remaine that is that which is subject to corruption to giue incorruption and that which hath no lyfe to giue lyfe It is manifest then into that fountaine to be both that which the corporall senses seeketh and therefore to bee changeable and corruptible and againe that also to bee in it which onelie sayth beholdeth and therefore cannot bee corrupted nor suffer the losse of lyfe If thou consider it as it washeth outwardlie it is an element but if thou weigh it as it cleanseth inwardlie it is the power of lyfe of sanctification and immortalitie Therefore in the proper nature thereof it is corruptible water but in the mysterie thereof and holie vse it is curing grace even so that which is called the bodie and blood of Christ in the outward show considered it is a creature subject to mutabilitie and corruption but if wee consider the vertue of the mysterie thereof it is life giving immortalitie to the partakers thereof These thinges then are not all one as they are seene and as they are believed for according to that as they are seene they beeing corruptible they feed the bodie which is corruptible but as they are believed beeing immortall they feede our soules to immortal●●ie The Apostle also writing to the Corinths sayeth I would not Brethen that you should bee● ignorant that all our Fathers were vnder the Cloude and all passed though the Sea and were all baptized vnto Moses in the Cloude and in the Sea and did cate the same spirituall meate and drinke the same spirituall drinke For they dranke of that spirituall Rocke that followed them and that Rocke was CHRIST Wee perceiue then that the Sea and the Cloude did carrie a figure of Baptisme and that our Fathers in the olde Testament haue beene baptized in them Now could the Sea in that it was an element haue in it the vertue of Baptisme or could the Cloude in that respect it did kythe the thickest part of the aire sanctifie the people Neither can we say that the Apostle speaking in Christ hath sayde vntruelie that our Fathers were baptized in the water and in the cloude And albeit that Baptisme did not represent the same forme of Baptisme of Christ which is nowe vsed in the Church daylie yet notwithstanding no man in his wits can denye but it was a sort of Baptisme and in it our Fathers to haue beene baptized except madlie he presume to gaine-say the Apostles wordes Therefore the sea and the cloud in that they are naturall bodies giue not the cleannesse of sanctification but according to that they contained in them invisiblie the sanctification of the holie Spirit for there was in them a visible forme which might appeare to the corporall senses of all not in similitude but in the veritie it selfe and inwardlie a spirituall power shyned which appeared not to carnall eyes but to the eyes onelie of the soules of the godlie Like-wyse the heavenlie Foode which rayned from Heaven and the water that gushed from the rocke was corporall and fedde and watered the people corporallie yet not-with-standing the Apostle calleth that M●nna and the water Spirituall Food Wherefore serveth this Because there was a spirituall power of the word of GOD in these substances which did feede and water rather the soules of the believers than their bodies And altho that meate and drinke fore-shewed the mysterie of the bodie and blood of Christ then onelie to come which the Church nowe celebrateth as come not-with-standing the holie Apostle affirmeth constantlie That our Fathers did eate that same spirituall foode and did drinke that same spirituall drinke Perhaps then thou wilt aske what hee meaneth by that same spirituall meate and drinke To wit Even that same which the Children of the faythfull eate and drinke now-a● dayes in the Church for wee must not conceiue diverselie heere because one and that selfe-same CHRIST who fed the people in the Desart being baptized in the water and the clowde hee watered them then with his bloode which hee gaue them to drinke and fed them then with his flesh and nowe in the Church of the Faythfull hee feedeth his people with the same bread of his bodie and giveth them the same water of his bloode both for drinke and nowrishment Which thing the Apostle did goe about to signifie when hee sayde That our Fathers did eate that same spiritual food and dranke that same spirituall drinke and therefore hee did consequentlie adde That they dranke of that Spirituall Rocke which followed them and the Rocke was CHRIST that wee might there-by vnderstand that Christ in the Desart did consist in that spirituall Rocke and gaue to the people the water of his bloode Who there-after having taken flesh of the Virgine hath given him selfe in our tyme vnto the death of the Crosse for the saving of the faythfull and since that tyme hath shed the water of his blood where-by not onelie wee might bee redeemed but also where-of wee might plentifullie drinke A wonderfull mysterie indeed because incomprehensible and inestimable Hee had not as yet taken on the shape of Man Hee had not as yet tasted of Death for the

safetie of the Worlde Hee had not as yet redeemed vs with his precious blood when alreadie our Fathers in the Desart by Spirituall Food and invisible Drinke did eate his bodie and drinke his blood as the Apostle t●stifyeth when hee affirmeth our Fathers to haue eaten that same Spirituall Food drunken that same Spirituall Drinke Not that how the same was done is to bee inquired but Fayth that it was so done is to bee acquired For that selfe-same GOD who in his Church by his Almightie power changeth the Bread and Wine into his Flesh and Blood after a Spirituall manner that selfe-same GOD I saye turned in the verie like sorte the Manna which rayned from Heaven into his owne bodie vnto them invisiblie and turned the water gushing out of the rocke into his owne blood Which thing David vnderstanding hee declared the same manifestlie beeing instructed by the holie Ghost saying that Man did eate the bread of Angels For it is a thing to bee laughed at to suppose that that corporall Manna given to the Fathers doeth feede that heavenlie hoaste or that they doe eate anie such meate who are filled with the Banquets of that Heavenlie worde The Psalmist surelie showeth or rather the Spirite of God speaking by the Psalmist either what our Fathers by that heavenlie Manna did receiue or what the faythfull nowe in the mysterie of the bodie and blood of Christ ought to conceiue and belieue In both these surelie Christ him selfe is meant who feedeth the soules of the earthlie believers and is the meat of the heavenlie Angels and both this is done not with a corporall tasting nor by a bodily foode but by the vertue of the spirituall word And vvee vnderstand by the Evangelistes rehearsing that our Lord Iesus Christ before that hee suffered taking bread gaue thanks and gaue to his disciples saying This is my Bodie which is given for you doe this in remembrance of Mee Likewyse He tooke the Cup after Supper saying This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood which is shed for you Where wee see that Christ as yet had not suffered and yet the mysterie of his bodie and his blood was alreadie celebrated for wee thinke not that anie of the faythfull will doubt that that bread was made the bodie of Christ which giving to his disciples hee sayeth thereof This is my Bodie which is given for you Neither that they will doubt that that Cup doeth containe the blood of Christ sacramentallie to wit concerning the which hee sayeth also This Cup is the new Testament in my blood which shal be shed for you So that a little before hee suffered hee could thus haue changed that substance of bread and creature of wine into his owne bodie which was to suffer and into his blood which was to be shed and so also he was able to convert that heavenlie foode after the same manner that rained in the wildernesse and that water which gushed out of the Rocke into his bodie and blood albeit that long after hee was incarnate and his flesh was to hang vpon the Crosse for vs and his blood was to bee shed for our ablution Heere also wee ought to consider how the words are to bee taken which himselfe sayeth Except yee eate the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood yee haue no lyfe in you Hee sayeth not that his flesh which did hang vpon the crosse should be cutted in pieces and eaten by his Disciples or that his blood which was to bee shed for the redemption of the worlde was to bee given to his Disciples to drinke for that were a facinorous and an abhominable thing if either his blood were so drunken or his flesh eaten according as that grosse and incredulous people thought Wherefore in the words following hee sayeth to his Disciples who indeede believed his words but not as yet had throughlie pearced vnto their right meaning Doeth this sayeth hee offend you what therefore if yee shall see the Sonne of man going vp where hee was before As if he would haue sayde Yee shall not thinke that my bodie is to bee divyded in partes amongst you to bee eaten corporallie or my blood to be so drunken when after my resurrection yee shall see mee going vp to the heavens with the whole fulnesse of my bodie and blood then ye shall vnderstand that my flesh is to be eaten by the faythfull not as these grosse and incredulous people doe thinke but truelie and in a mysticall manner bread and wine being converted sacramentallie to wit into the substance of my bodie and blood to bee taken by the faythfull And thereafter hee lyke-wyse sayeth It is the Spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing Hee sayeth the flesh profiteth nothing that way as the incredulous Capernaites vnderstood for other-wise it giveth lyfe as it is taken in a mysterie by the faythfull And hee showeth manifestlie himselfe wherefore this is when hee sayeth It is the Spirit that quickneth Therefore in this mysterie of the bodie and blood of Christ there is a spirituall operation which giveth lyfe without the which operation these mysteries profite nothing because they may feede the bodie indeede but they cannot nowrish the soule But heere aryseth a question which sundrie doe propone affirming That these thinges are not figuratiuelie to bee vnderstood but according to the verie literall veritie which while they say they withall gaine-say the writings of the holie Fathers Sainct Augustine one of the chiefe Doctors of the Church in his third Booke concerning the doctrine of Christ writeth so Except yee eate sayeth our Saviour the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood yee shall not haue lyfe in you Hee seemeth to command a wicked and facinorous fact but hee doeth not so for he speaketh figuratiuelie commanding vs to communicate of the Passion of the Lord and that wee should profitablie and comfortablie lay it vp in our mynde That his bodie was crucified and wounded for vs. Wee see then that Augustine sayeth that the mysterie of the bodie and blood of Christ is to be celebrated by the faythfull vnder a figure or in resemblance for to eate his flesh and drinke his blood carnallie it is not a point of Religion but of wicked villanie amongst whom were these who in the Gospell vnderstanding the wordes of our Saviour carnallie departed from him and went no longer with him Lyke-wyse Augustine in that Epistle which he wryteth to Bishop Boniface amongst other things saith this to wit When Easter approacheth wee vsuallie say that the morrow is the day of the Lords Passion when not-with-standing hee hath suffered manie yeares agoe neither was that Passion of his but once and vpon the Sabbath thereafter wee say This is the day of the Lords Resurrection when notwithstanding manie yeares are by-past since hee arose Wherefore no man will bee so foolish as to accuse vs because wee call these dayes so but according