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A77288 A sermon of the blessed sacrament of the Lords Supper; proving that there is therein no proper sacrifice now offered; together with the disapproving of sundry passages in 2. bookes set forth by Dr. Pocklington; the one called Altare Christianum, the other Sunday no Sabbath: formerly printed with licence. By William Bray, Dr. of Divinity. Now published by command. Bray, William, d. 1644. 1641 (1641) Wing B4316; Thomason E157_8; ESTC R22819 22,195 69

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is ceas'd also together with the Law and in stead thereof a Sacrament more sutable to the Gospel is instituted in Bread and Wine which of all sensible substances here below are the most pure and so the fittest to set out the spirituall service of the Gospel The consideration whereof should teach us that live under the Gospel not to rest our selves in any bodily or outward observations as if they were the onely or principall duty of the Gospel but to use them as helpes onely the better to enable us for the due performing of our spirituall services which is the perfection the Gospel cals us to and without which all other performances like a hungry and barren soyle will yeeld but little solid fruite or comfort to our soules And so I passe from the more sensible and earthy part of this Sacrament to the spirituall and heavenly part to wit the Body and Blood of Christ which is imported in the Emphasis of the Articles here This Bread and This Cup. Where before we come to the Emphasis and what it imports give me leave to observe First that the Apostle here cals the Sacramentall Elements Bread and Wine and that after the words of Institution and Consecration So they retaine their nature and substance still and remaine Bread and Wine even after this great advancement And here you may see upon what a sandy foundation the Church of Rome hath built that most dangerous and destructive doctrine of Transubstantiation Saint Paul calls the Elements Bread and Wine after consecration the Church of Rome saith they cease then to be Bread and Wine their very substance is converted into the substance of the naturall Body and Blood of Christ by a new way of their owne fancying which Biell a prime Doctor of theirs confesses is not to be found in the Canon of the Bible * Biel Lect. 40. in Can. Missae for which they have sutably invented a new Name of Transubstantiation And I call it a destructive Doctrine and that most justly and in many Regards For first it destroyes the nature of the Elements of Bread and Wine by a totall Conversion of them into the substance of Christs Body and Blood Secondly it destroyes the nature and properties of Christs Body by ascribing Infinitenesse and Omnipresence not onely to the Person of Christ but to his naturall Body which was borne of the Blessed Virgin Thirdly it destroyes the Peace of Christendome or at least it hath a great share in it as being boldly and rashly defin'd by the Church of Rome and presumptuously impos'd as an Article of Faith to be beleev'd upon Necessity of Salvation Fourthly it is notoriously knowne the denyall of it hath destroy'd the Lives of many of Gods faithfull Servants both here and in other parts of the Christian world Fifthly and Lastly to adde no more it 's destructive of Piety and Devotion in diverting the Soule from devout and usefull Meditations and drawing it aside to subtleties of wit and empty speculations To this purpose Master Hooker * Eccles. Poli● lib. 5. sect 67. excellently observes that the Discourses of the Romanists concerning Transubstantiation are hungry and unpleasant full of tedious and irkesome labour heartlesse and without Fruite whereas the Discourses of Ancient and Later Writers concerning the Mysticall presence of Christ the use efficacy and benefit of the Sacrament are heavenly and devout their words sweete as the Honeycombe their tongues melodiously-tun'd Instruments and their sentences meere Consolation and ioy The second thing which I will observe from this part is that Saint Paul doth not call the Consecrated Elements bare Bread and Wine and no more but Bread and Wine with an Emphasis This Bread and this Cup of which it was said before in the words of Christ This is my Body which is broken for you and this Cup is the New Testament in my Blood How the Bread and Wine in this Sacrament are the Body and Blood of Christ is a great Mystery to unfold Master Calvin in his fourth Booke of Institutions Calv. lib. 4. Instit cap. 17. sect 7. Cap. ●vij calls it sublime mysterium cui nec mens plane cogitando nec lingua explicando par esse potest A Mystery so sublime that the minde of Man is not able to comprehend it much lesse the tongue to unfold it Quod ergo mens nostra non comprehendit concipiat fides so hee goes on excellently in the same Chapter Sect. 10. What therefore our Reason cannot comprehend let Faith conceive Christ hath said it this is my Body let us therefore beleeve the Truth of the thing But hee hath not said the manner how let us not therefore search into that which is not written For mine owne part saith the same Authour * Lib. 4. Instit c. 17. sect 19. Caeterum his absurditatibus sublatis quicquid ad exprimendam veram substantialemque Corporis ac sauguinis Domini communicationem quae sub sacris Coenae symbolis fidelibus exhibētur facere potest libenter recipio atque ita ut non imaginatione duntaxat aut ment is intelligentia percipere sed ut re ipsa frui in alimentum vitae aeternae intelligantur his absurditatibus sublatis set aside the absurdities which boldly and falsely define the manner of the presence of Christs body and blood in the Lords Supper Hee meanes Consubstantiation and Transubstantiation whatsoever may be said to expresse the Communication of the true and substantiall Body and Blood of the Lord which are exhibited to the Faithfull under the holy Symboles of the Supper J willingly admit and that in such sort that this participation may be understood not in Imagination onely and Apprehension of the minde but a Reall Fruition to nourish the body and soule to eternall Life Thus that Reverend Author and much more to the same purpose in that place With the same wisedome and sobriety the Church of England speakes of this great Mystery shee does not as the Church of Rome unjustly charges us exclude Christ out of the Sacrament and make it a bare signe and Figure of his body and blood shee indeed denyes their Carnall and Corporeall presence of Christ in the Sacrament and acknowledges onely an heavenly and spirituall presence without any farther defining of the manner in particular But for the Truth of the thing it selfe shee beleeves and acknowledges expressely That to such as rightly worthily and with Faith receive the same the Bread which we breake is a partaking of the body of Christ and likewise the Cup of blessing is a partaking of the Blood of Christ in the * Art 28. relig 28. Article of Religion and more fully in the * Doctr. of the Sacraments Catechisme The body and blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken of the Faithfull in the Lords Supper I goe on to the Sacramentall actions which are likewise two answerable to the parts of this Sacrament to wit Eating of this Bread
come to the Holy Table of the Lord to shew forth his Death with a thankfull Commemoration what else is this but to stand laughing under our Saviour's Crosse as it were to make ourselves merry with his Agonies and to triumph prophanely in his bitter sufferings with the wicked Souldiers it is to crucifie him afresh and to put him again to an open shame In stead of an honourable and gratefull shewing forth of his death This were to make ourselves guiltie of his death Guiltie of the bodie and blood of our Lord as the Apostle speaks Wherefore that wee may shew forth the Lord's Death as wee ought Let us first set up the Crosse of Christ in our owne hearts Let us fasten ourselves to it and conforme ourselves there to the sufferings of our Head Let us willingly suffer shame and ignominie in the due acknowledgment of our sins Let us suffer pain in a true sorrrw and Compunction of soule for them Let the Remembrance of them be as Thorns in our Temples and as a Spear at our very hearts Let us so subdue and chasten our Flesh and Revenge our selves upon Our selves as the Scripture * 2 Cor. 7.11 speaks by severe and strict Mortification that the Old Man may languish and die daily in us And let us so Compose and settle our Desires and Affections even as men that are hanging upon the Crosse with our Blessed Saviour and ready to depart this World Let us make our peace with God and all the World Let us wean our selves from the Earth which wee are leaving and set our Affections on Heaven and the things above whither wee are going Let us no longer make provision for the Flesh to fulfill it in the Lusts thereof * 13. Rom. 14 But let us put on the Lord Iesus Christ and thus shew forth the Lords Death till hee come And at his Comming wee shall by his Infinite Mercie Live and Raigne with Him for ever in the Kingdome of his Glorie Thus you have the Orthodox interpretation of these words the true and onely way of shewing forth Christ's Death in this Sacrament according to the Doctrine of the Church of England and of approv'd Antiquitie But the Church of Rome not content with this way doth in the Councell of Trent * Concil Trid. Sess 22. Can. 3. denounce an Anathema against all those that will acknowledge no other sacrifice in the Eucharist then by way of Remembrance and Commemoration of that one onely true and proper Sacrifice of Christ's Bodie and Bloud offer'd upon the the Altar of his Crosse once for all And therfore if you wil believe her she wil tel you of a more excellent way of shewing forth Christ's Death in the Sacrament to wit by way of Iteration or a new and daily Oblation of the very Same naturall Bodie and Blood which was offer'd unto Death upon the Crosse onely with this Difference in the Manner of the Offering That Christ's Bodie upon the Crosse was offer'd after a bloodie but here upon their Altars after an unbloody Manner And from this Fountaine of Corrupt Doctrine there flow divers streames of very dangerous Errours I 'le instance but in two for our present purpose First upon this Ground they define this Sacrisice in the Eucharist to be a true proper and propitiatorie Sacrifice to be every way equall with the Sacrifice of Christ upon the Crosse and their Altars to be as true and proper Altars which doubtlesse is a very high derogation from Christ and his Sacrifice let them mince and excuse it the best they can Secondly From hence they teach most perilously that the same Adoration which is due to Christ is due to this Sacrament And certainly to give that Adoration which is due to Christ to any of the Creatures can amount to no lesse then Idolatry Neither will Bellarmine's evasion which hee uses * Lib. 4 de Euchar cap 29. §. Sed haec mera calumnia est c. acquit the Papists of Idolatrie herein though hee pleads not Guiltie because they hold not the Consecrated Bread and Wine to be any longer Bread and Wine but to be transubstantiated into the very naturall bodie and blood of Christ so he pleads they worship not the bread but Christ alone But a false perswasion as we have proved this to be in the former part of the Sermon hath not the power either to nullifie a sin or to alter the species of it either to make a sin no sin or to be any other then it is in the kind of it The most charitable Construction that can be made in this Case is That perhaps to Men so perswaded as some of the Romanists are their Adoration of the Sacrament is not in them wilfull Idolatrie yet in it self Idolatrie still for all their perswasion However for our selves that by the infinite blessing of God to us are better taught and perswaded for us I say not to renounce and detest this Abomination of the Popish Adoration of the Sacrament would be most wilfull Idolatrie without the least cloak for our sin For mine owne part therefore as becomes a true Protestant of the Reformed Church of England I doe here solemnly protest against all Popish Errours and in speciall against the manifold and dangerous errours in the Doctrine and Practice of the Popish Masse against their pretended Oblation of the very naturall bodie and bloud of Christ against their Propitiatorie sacrifice in that intended Oblation and theirs or any other sort of men their true proper Altars and against their Idolatrous Adoration of the Sacrament and acknowledge onely one true and proper Sacrifice and Altar that is the Sacrifice of Christ himself offer'd uppon the Altar of the Crosse once for all And give me leave here also solemnly to professe my Opinion concerning the Lord's day and the sanctification of it I hold that according to God's holy will and pleasure the Lord's day ought to be celebrated both in Publike and in Private in the Church and out of the Church in the Forenoon and in the Afternoon by hearing the Word of God read and taught by Publike Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments by holy Meditations Private Prayer Reading and calling to Mind what we have read or heard by work 's of Charitie to our Neighbour and the like And I hold it to be our Dutie in speciall that are God's Ministers to teach exhort and incourage the People by all means to such a sanctification of the Lord's day And for mine owne part I heartily honour a conscientious man who hath a Carefull Regard to yield Obedience to all Gods Commandements as far as humane frailtie will permit I honour such a man the more the more strict hee is in a Religious Observation of the Lord's day And further I hold that this great Holyday which we Christians now celebrate upon the first day of the Week though the Scripture and so the Proper name of it be the Lord's Day yet