be disproved now he is dead And if the great Esteem I had for that Excellent Person and most useful Instrument of God's Service in our late dangerous and critical Times does not render me a very incompetent judg of whatever comes from his hand the Reader will find even in these short Notes enough to reward his Pains and to keep him from thinking the time lost that he shall please to spend in the perusal of them W. W. A Private Conference BETWEEN Dr. Clagett and Father Gooden ABOUT Transubstantiation c. FAther Gooden Proposed the Rule of Faith to be the Subject of the Conference but upon the Request of the Lady for whose sake they met the Question of Transubstantiation was taken And the Father desiring that the Doctor would be the Opponent the Question was Stated on both Sides Dr. That the Doctrine of Transubstantiation is salse Doctrine and That the Natural Body of Christ is not in the Sacrament but in Heaven Fa. That after the Words of Consecration the true Body and Blood of Christ are in the Holy Eucharist and that the manner is well exprest by Transubstantiation Dr. This is not all the Doctrine of Transubstantiation in the Church of Rome The Doctrine of the Church of Rome is this That the Substance of the Bread is chang'd into the Substance of Christ's Body and the Substance of the Wine is chang'd into the Substance of Christ's Blood which Change the Church of Rome does conveniently call Transubstantiation Now against this I thus argue If the Substance of Bread remains in the Eucharist then it is not chang'd into the Substance of Christ's Body But the Substance of Bread remains in the Eucharist Therefore the Substance of Bread is not changed into the Substance of Christ's Body Fath. I deny the Minor viz that the substance of Bread does remain Dr. If Bread remains the substance of bread remains But Bread remains Therefore the substance of bread remains Fath. If the Nature of Bread remains Bread remains but if only the Name of Bread and Species remain then Bread does not remain Dr. That Bread which is properly Natural Bread remains in the Eucharist is proved from 1 Cor. 11.26 As often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew forth the Lord's death till he come 1 Cor. 10.16 The Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ Now from hence we argue thus If that which is here said to be Broken and to be the Communion of the Body of Christ be properly natural Bread then that which is properly natural Bread remains in the Eucharist Fath. I grant the Major Dr. But that which is here said to be broken and to be the Communion of the Body of Christ is properly natural Bread Ergo Properly natural Bread remains in the Eucharist Fath. I deny the Minor. Dr. The Bread of which Saint Paul speaks is Bread that may be broken and therefore it is truly and properly natural Bread. Fath. I distinguish the Antecedent as to the Accidents and Appearance of Bread it may be broken as to the Nature of Bread it cannot because it is not there Dr. This is to beg the Question for the Question is whether Bread be there or not and the Argument to prove that it is there is Because Saint Paul speaks of Bread that might be and was broken but it is no sufficient Answer to this to say that the Accidents of Bread may be broken because the Bread is not there it self which is the thing that was disproved Fath. The Question to be proved was that the Nature of Bread was there therefore it is not a begging of the Question according to the Distinction given to say that the Nature of Bread is not there and consequently could not be broken For the Bread there spoken of is not meant of Natural Bread but of Bread which came down from Heaven and which is the flesh of Christ John. 6.41 I am the bread which came down from Heaven John 6.48 I am the bread of Life Ver. 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 58. From whence I infer my Answer to be good that though the H. Eucharist be called Bread and broken as to the Species of Bread yet it is not natural Bread but only in appearance of which St. Paul spoke for the same St. Paul 1 Cor. 11. speaking of the same bread saith He that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the body of our Lord. Christ also speaking of the same bread saith Take eat this is my Body Matt. 26.26 Also Luk. 22.19 speaking of the same Eucharist This is my Body which is given for you Dr. The Answerer forgetting the Part of a Disputant has pretended to prove largely by the sixth Chap. of St. John and other places of Scripture That St. Paul in the aforementioned places did not speak of Bread properly so called although he spoke of Bread that was to be broken All which places when it is my turn to Answer I will consider particularly But if that which is here said is to go for an Answer the force of it lies in this That by the Bread which St. Paul spoke of we are to understand the Bread which St. John spoke of namely the bread which came down from Heaven by which the Answerer understands the Natural and proper flesh of Christ But that the Bread which St. Paul speaks of cannot be the natural flesh of Christ I prove thus The Bread which St. Paul speaks of was broken But the Natural Body of Christ cannot be broken Ergo. The Bread which St. Paul speaks of cannot be the Natural body of Christ Fath. As to the Species and Appearance of Bread it was broken I grant it as to any Nature contained under those Species of Bread I deny it Dr. This Distinction does not avoid the Argument because if the Bread in St. Paul and the Bread in St. John are really and properly the same and the Bread in St. John be really and properly the flesh of Christ then what is affirmed of the one must be true of the other and therefore if the Bread be broken in St. Paul then the Natural body of Christ must be broken too which cannot be I add further That if by breaking of Bread St. Paul means breaking the Accidents of Bread onely and if the Bread that is broken be really that which is spoken of in St. John as aforesaid it follows also that the Accidents of Bread are properly the body of Christ Fath. That which St. Paul calls Bread had in it both the Accidents of Bread and the substance of Christs body As to the Accidents of Bread it might be broken as to the substance of Christ's body which is mentioned in St. John it is not broken unless you mean as Christ's Body was broken upon the Cross And if the bread which is broken be really that which is spoken of in St. John as aforesaid
and defence that by adhering to him we have that Power for our Security and that Goodness for our Security which made the World and which Governs the World. Let us then in this our day consider the things that belong to our peace and seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near that he may be near unto us in all our Troubles and Adversities whensoever they oppress us and be found of us at the hour of Death and the day of Judgment that God of Mercy and Love which in himself he always is and which he desires to show himself to be to us all Let therefore the unrighteous man forsake his ways and the wicked man his thoughts and turn unto the Lord for he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly Pardon To the God of Infinite Goodness let us ascribe all Honour and Glory now and for ever Amen The Twelfth Sermon Luke XIII 5. I tell you Nay but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish CONCERNING the Galileans whose Blood Pilate mingled with their Sacrifices and the Eighteen Jews upon whom the Tower in Siloam fell and slew them our Saviour's discourse to those that were present was this Suppose ye that these Galileans and these Jews were Sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things and above all men that dwelt at Jerusalem I tell you Nay but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish From which words taken in Connexion with what went before there are two kinds of Observations that may be laid down The former are rather supposed than expressed and they are these Two 1. That God is Just in the Punishments that he inflicts upon Sinners 2. That by what means soever evil happens to men the Providence of God is concerned in it The Second Kind are intended more directly viz. 1. That they who suffer very great Evils are not always greater Sinners than those who in the mean time suffer nothing 2. That one Reason why such evils do not befal all Persons at the same time who are equally Sinners is That while some are visited with the Rod others may take warning by it And 3. That if they do not take warning they shall not escape These are all profitable Instructions and such as this Place naturally yields which I shall therefore pursue without taking much pains to shew how they are contained in it Something I shall say but very briefly of the Two First because they are supposed in these Sayings of our Lord though not the main Things intended The First is That Punishment is due to Sin which is the Ground of all that our Saviour discourses here concerning the ends of those unhappy men he knew that his Hearers would be apt to pass an hard Censure upon them and he took care to prevent it but they would never have been in danger of running into that extreme if it had not been fixed in all of them That Punishment was due to Sin and this our Saviour was far from correcting but rather confirmed them in it by concluding That they also should perish except they repented The truth is this is one of those things that men know by Nature and it is well that they do for if notwithstanding this sense the World is so bad how much worse would it have been if these apprehensions could have been extinguished Hence it is that the Conscience of well-doing inspires a man with assurance and that Guilt makes him a Coward That the disasters of others expose them to be hardly thought of and that our own Afflictions bring our own Sins to remembrance The Natives of Melita though they were Barbarians yet when they saw a Viper fasten upon St. Paul's hand presently concluded That he was a murderer whom though he had escaped the Sea yet vengeance would not suffer to live Acts 28. There the natural Sense of Punishment being due to Sin wrought though they carried it too far But with something better reason did Joseph's Brethren when he had brought them into distress argue with one another Verily we are guilty concerning our Brother therefore this distress is come upon us Gen. 42.21 It is this natural belief that supported many Mysteries of Religion every where in all Ages of the world whether those Mysteries were of God's appointing or of Man's inventing A good part of the Sacrifices and Rites of the Heathens and the Jews in their Worship was to make expiation of Sin and the Beast was killed to confess that Punishment was due to that man for whom it was offered It is this Sense that disposes men to believe strange Delusions that there is virtue in little things which seem to be no better than Charms to take away the guilt of Sin and to prevent the Punishment of it When people wear Habits and go Pilgrimages and touch Relicks and apply Holy Water and twenty other such Remedies to themselves for the ease of their minds tho they take a silly way to their end yet the Principle is good at the bottom That Sin and Punishment are linked together and that one naturally draws on the other if some method be not used to break the chain which belief is so troublesome to a guilty mind that for this reason the generality of men are naturally disposed to like a Religion so much the more for having great variety of Reliefs for an uneasie Conscience which is the true reason why mankind if good care be not taken are ready to run into a thousand Superstitions To prevent which and to bring us into the way of Salvation God sent his own Son into the World to be a Sacrifice for us that we having so great an assurance of the expiation of our sins should chearfully set our selves to the Reformation of our Hearts and Lives and serve God without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life This is the first Observation That the Principle upon which all this Discourse proceeds is a natural Truth viz. That Punishment is due to Sin 2. That by what means soever evils befal men it still comes by the Providence of God either directly sending it or at least knowingly permitting it and for wise and good Reasons determining to permit it This also is evidently presumed in this Discourse for upon the relation of those disasters the minds of the Hearers presently turned to this Conclusion That they were very great Sinners that suffered such things and consequently that the evil was sent by a Just and Wise Providence Now this our Saviour did not go about to correct neither but rather confirmed them in it that God's hand was in all that happened as themselves should find it too if they repented not So that whether evil comes by the free will of others as it did upon the Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with their Sacrifices or by such means as seem to be merely casual as
bear He that believes in God submits to just Authority for Conscience sake but the case hath often happened when for the same Conscience sake such a one hath done his Duty by refusing to do what the Law of man required which is a plain argument that Humane Authority is not the Rule of Perfection and that we must Live by an higher Principle than that of Obedience to Man if we live in all respects as we ought to do It is something more than to govern our intentions and actions by doing well for our selves in this World For although integrity and well-doing in all kinds of duty is generally the best way to prosperity in this Life yet sometimes the contrary happens and more is to be got by Flattery and Falshood than by Honesty and Sincerity nay it is the inordinate desire of the Prosperity of this world that still makes men do base and wicked things and therefore the regard of our ease and advantage here cannot be the true Principle of Virtue And if we should bring every other reason of doing what we ought to do to the Tryal every other reason besides that of Faith will be found very defective and insufficient and such as will lead a man to evil as well as to good as it happens But a sense of God with the belief of all his Perfections and all his Promises and Threatnings makes a man every way and in every respect what he ought to be because it shews him all his Duty and obliges him to all his Duty and while he is under the Power of his Faith he is steddy in the right way not to be moved out of it by any Temptation but whether it be opportunity invites or danger threatens what Temptation soever sets upon him he will say with Joseph How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God Setting aside Faith it may bear dispute whether it be adviseable or no in such or such a case to do what becomes a Righteous and Virtuous man but let a man Live by Faith in God and there can be no dispute about it Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and walk in the sight of thine eyes and the imagination of thy Heart that is were there nothing else to be considered but Pleasure nothing but Wealth and Greatness but the Splendor of this World and the gratifying of a lust this liberty might possibly be made to appear not so very unreasonable But know that for all these things God will bring thee to Judgment That to be sure turns the case and answers every objection against our Duty and every argument for any Sin and therefore he that walks with God doth all his Duty otherwise is good in all kinds and in every place where his business lies or where his Temptations lie For God is in all his thoughts in all his affairs in all his company and in his retirement from Company God's word is with him that word of God which shews him his Duty upon all occasions and which shows him the rewards of doing what is commanded and the Punishments of Disobedience and the sence of his Presence is with him that sense which fills him with Life and Joy in well-doing especially where the Temptation to Sin is very great and which would dismay him and make him a burden to himself if he should act contrary to his clear and setled Judgment of what he ought to do In short to walk with God is to be universally good and righteous which no man can be but he who lives by Faith Hence it is that we find God himself encouraging the Father of the Faithful to go on in his way of Piety and Virtue as hitherto he had done Walk before me and be thou perfect chap. 17. v. 1. that is Be thou still Ruled by my Word still believe my Promises and Trust my Providence and in all that thou doest be mindful of this that I am with thee and then shalt thou be perfect An example to all Generations of Virtue as well as of Piety and of all good works no less than of a firm Faith Hence it is that the wise man tells us that by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil Prov. 16.6 and that the Fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to depart from the snares of Death Prov. 14.27 And St. John This is the victory that overcometh the world even our Faith. 1 John. 5.4 I have thus shewn what is meant by the Character of Enoch when it is said that he walked with God viz. That his regard to God was the over-ruing Principle of all his actions and that because he was Governed by Faith he lived also in the constant Practice of his Duty in all relations whatsoever this being the only Principle that makes a man in every respect what he ought to be I proceed 2. To say something concerning the end he made in this World He was not for God took him which place is thus explained by the Author to the Hebrews chap. 11. v. 5. That Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated him i.e. he died not but was Translated alive into Heaven and it was a strange surprize to the Age in which he Lived who by his sudden removal from them and their hearing no more of him were convinced that it was God who had taken him to a better Life Now that which we are in this place to consider is the instruction so Singular an act of Providence afforded to the world and there are these two ends to which it manifestly served viz. That that Age might be awakened into the consideration of another Life by so surprizing a Testimony thereof as this was and withall that they might by so sensible an Argument be led to consider that the true reward of Piety and Integrity was not in this World but in a better 1. There was this instruction in the Transtation of Enoch which the World could not but take notice of That there was undoubtedly another life after this to which he was taken Soul and Body having left no part of himself behind him here as other Mortals did And by this time such an instruction was grown very needful For the World tho it was yet in its Youth and Vigour was grown old enough for men to forget their Creator and to abandon themselves for the most part to a Voluptuous and Dissolute Life And that this is no uncertain Conjecture appears from hence that Enoch was Translated but 69 years before Noah was Born in whose time Mankind was grown to such an intolerable degree of Licentiousness That God sent the Flood to sweep all away but eight Persons Now it is not to be thought that the World was overspread with such Monstrous Vices all of a sudden but that after the manner of all Humane Degeneracy Corruption of manners and of Principles too came on by degrees and consequently
hope of the same reward to influence us which Enoch had though not of being translated alive into a better World yet of going thither by the common passage of death which as to the substance of the reward is the same thing the other circumstance so singular in the case of Enoch being not altogether so much for his own sake as for the instruction of others There were but two Persons that went thus into a better World Enoch one For the instruction of a declining and degenerate age almost wholly sunk into a worldly Life Elias another for an admonition to a very corrupt age too the former when all things were running into licentiousness and disorder amongst the Patriarchs before the Law the latter when the time was as bad under the Law and both these to maintain a sense of God and another World while yet the revelation of a Future life was not so clear and publick as it was made by our Lord Jesus Christ who brought life and immortality to light And since he by his Doctrine and by his Resurrection and his Ascension into Heaven hath given us such evidence and notice of a life to come that a more clear evidence could not have been reasonably desired there is no need that the world under the Gospel should be admonished by such extraordinary methods any more Our blessed Lord himself was not translated into Heaven till after his death and Resurrection he in all things going before us shewing us by his example not only what our duty is but what and in what manner our reward shall be confered we must die and rise again and then ascend to the Heaven of Heavens for the consummation of our reward And having this hope Let us purify our selves as he is pure Having these promises dearly beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God. To conclude We have the same God to serve and obey that Enoch had the same promises and those more publickly and solemnly made and more strongly confirmed to us than ever they were to the Fathers we have I say the same promises to excite us that he had and all the same advantages that he had and in many respects much greater through the Revelation of the Gospel by our Lord Jesus and we are under no greater temptations and discouragements than he met with or if we were the grace of God is sufficient for us and therefore let us walk with God as he walked with him that when that time cometh of which Enoch prophesied as Saint Jude reporteth v. 14. That the Lord shall come with ten thousands of his Saints to execute judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed and of all their hard Speeches which they have spoken against him we may lift up our heads with joy and find mercy in that day The Sixteenth Sermon JOB 11.10 Shall we receive Good at the hand of God and shall we not receive Evil. THIS was part of Job's answer to that saying of his Wife in the former verse Dost thou still retain thy integrity Curse God and dye She pretended that his Piety and Virtue were now discerned to be unprofitable and that it was all one whether he blessed or cursed â— God for if he cursed him he could but dye and it was better to dye than to live in such misery To which he answered Thou speakest as one of the foolish Women speaketh What shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil The Idumean Women it is likely were wont to rail at their Gods when any great adversity befel them and Job told his Wife that she spake like one of them but not like one that knew and worshipped the true God From whom it is reasonable that we should take all in good part not only the good but likewise the evil things of this life There are two things intimated in the Text besides what the words express and they are these 1. Our life here is a mixture of Good and Evil. No man is wholly deprived of the comforts nor any man perfectly exempted from the troubles of it There is indeed a great variety in the mixture The afflictions of some being as inconsiderable as the Enjoyments of others But in some proportion all receive Good and Evil nor is any Man's condition at a perfect stay we change often for the better or the worse Sometimes from the bottom of adversity we rise to great happiness and at other times we fall as low which was the case of Job beyond ordinary examples All which is true as well of Families and Nations as of particular Persons 2. The Good we enjoy and the Evil we suffer are both from the hand of God. For his Providence always attends the working of second causes either disposing them or permitting them to produce those things that happen in the World. When the Air is healthy or infectious when the Seasons are Fruitful or unkindly when the wind makes a Shipwrack or when it brings the Ship safe into the Harbor when we suffer by the malice and passions of others or when they are taken in their own net and we escape we are in all these and the like events to look farther then the immediate causes of the Good or the Evil and to acknowledge the over-ruling Providence of God. Thus although they were the Sabeans and the Caldeans that slew Job's Servants and carried away his Cattel though his Sheep were destroy'd by Lightning and his Children by a Tempest that blew down the house upon them yet he omitting or not so much regarding the influence of these second causes applied himself to the consideration of that Providence under which they all concurred to reduce him to this sad state and he fell down upon the ground and worshipped and said Naked came I out of my Mothers Womb and naked shall I return thether The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. These are the two points intimated in the Text That this present life is a state of Good and of Evil and that both are from the hand of God. But 3. The main scope of the words is That we are to take all in good part from Divine Providence and to receive Evil from God's hand as well as Good. Which is a duty necessary to be understood and necessary to be practised by every one of us both for the discharge of a good conscience and likewise for our own ease and comfort in this uncertain and miserable World. I shall therefore in the first place illustrate the sense of this passage and shew what is meant by receiving evil at the hand of God and then I shall propound to your consideration some of those many reasons why we should effectually perswade our selves so to do As to the first The manner