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. Poliâ— 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. â—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 exhibeÌ„tur 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
in regard of the due sanctification of it in that it ought no lesse to be kept holy for the Exercise of the works of Pietie and Charitie in it then the Iewish Sabbath in this regard by way of Allusion it is and may be fitly call'd a Sabbath and the Christian Sabbath And now to come to the End of my Comming hither at this time The Right Honourable the Lords Spirituall and Temporall in the high and Honourable Court of Parliament now assembled by an Order bearing date the twelfth of March last have injoyn'd mee to make a Sermon in this Place upon this day and in my Sermon to make a confession of my errour in Licensing and approving of two Books made by Doctor Pocklington the one called Altare Christianum the other Sunday no Sabbath which Books by their Lordships Censure are justly commanded to bee burn'd And here that I may give the fuller satisfaction I have receiv'd from my Lord Bishop of Lincolne a Copy of some mayn erroneous and offensive passages in the said two Books and the places pointed out in the Margin upon most whereof their Lordships proceeded in their just Censure and Condemnation of those Books and all which I am by order from their Lordships here to disapprove as I willingly doe all these passages following The Assertions of ALTARE CHRISTIANVM disapproved by Doctor Bray the Licencer of that Book ⧠At Saint Margarets in Westminster the eleventh of Aprill 1641. 1. THe verie Title is offensive Preface because there is no Christian Altar but the Crosse of Christ 2. He saith in scorn Pag 4. and detestation of Lectures that Master Cotton was never Parson Vicar nor Curate but Lecturer of Boston which is false for he was always Vicar of that place and no Lecturer 3. When he proves out of Saint Ambrose de Sacramentis lib. 4. cap. 3. That the Christians were more ancient then the Iews To fetch in the Antiquitie of his Christian Altar he leaves out Saint Ambrose his qualification Sed nos in praedestinatione illi in nomine That Christians were first in Gods Predestination but not in Compellation Which is not fairly done And forgets that Pag. 32. he meant to say That Christianitie began but in the Raigne of Tiberius 4. Hee falsly interprets that place of the 1 Cor. 9.13 Pag. 6. of the Priests in the new Testament which are to live by the Altar which is spoken clearly of the Leviticall Priest that cuts up and divides the Legall Sacrifices 5. He saith Pag 9. That Christians are in a miserable case that think they can offer as good and effectuall spirituall Sacrifices to God as the Priest Which is false and Popish for all true Christians are Priests in regard of most spirituall Sacrifices And he confesseth it himselfe Pag. 127. 6. He teacheth falsly Pag. 14.15 that in the Christian Church there are materiall and proper and not Metaphoricall Altars only 7. He saith Pag 28. that close and exalted Pews are prophane and were detested by the Church of God Which is but his foolish and fond conceit And expounds that place of Heb. 13.10 Wee have an Altar of the Lords Table which place is not to be so interpreted literally but of Christ himself as hee confesseth in the next Page 8. He saith we have true reall earthly Pag. 9. 72. and materiall Altars VVhich is false 9. Hee quotes a passage out of the Letter Pag 30. which is not there but in Bishop Iewels works to prove there were no materiall Churches in the Primitive times VVhich is but a base and unworthy dealing and great Arrogancie for a private man to confute a booke recommended by authoritie to all the Churches of England and to say it maintains a falshood Pag. 34. 10. He saith that we were miserable Pag. 50. if the now Archbishop of Canterbury could not derive his Succession from S. Austin meaning Austin the Monk Austin from Gregory and Gregory from S. Peter And a little before he saith that if in Cathedrall Churches there were no materiall Chaires for Bishops to be Inthronized there were no Succession in Faith and Doctrine from the Apostles Which is both false and foolish 11. He broacheth two points of Popery Pag. 65. not maintained by the Church of England First That nothing in Baptisme is rightly done unlesse we adde thereunto the signe of the Cross Secondly that men are not full Christians unlesse they be Confirmed by the Bishop VVhich is Popish and erroneous 12. He scandalizeth our Church as having Lecturers Pag 71. which never take Orders and falsly quotes the Letter for that which speaks not a word Pro or Con. in that Matter 13. Hee wrests Saint Cyprian and all Antiquitie to say Pag. 75.76 174 that where there is no Altar there is no Eucharist or Communion VVhich in it self is altogether untrue 14. Hee cals his Altar the Holy of Holyes Pag. 83. which smels of Iudaisme 15. He boldly corrects the Rubrick Pag. 86. that appoints the Communion Table to stand in the Chancell or bodie of the Church And denies a power to the Ordinary to place it in the body of the Church VVhich is a high offence against the Rubrick and the Act of Parliament that confirmes the same 16. Hee saith Pag. 89. that Bishop Iewels works against Harding differ from the Articles and Canons of our Church Which is scandalous especially when it is not shewed wherein 17. Those VVriters Pag. 114. who attest the truth of the Reformed Religion this man averres to be called by Illyricus the VVitnesses of the truth with reproach of truth and of Christian Religion VVhich is neare unto blasphemie And in the same place Iohn Fox his Calendar or an Extract thereof is said to be full of Traitours Murtherers Rebels and Hereticks And no better Saints then Penty Hacket and Legat. VVhich is a base and unworthy expression And whose Martyrs hee points at you may see Pag. 135. 18. He saith Pag. 120 121. 169. the Bishop of Lincolne did order the setting of the Lords Table Altar-wise Which that Bishop utterly denies 19. He saith untruly Pag. 136. that if there be no Christian Altar in our Church as there is none in our Liturgie or Canons wee have neither Priest nor Deacon in our Church no Liturgie nor Act of Parliament that confirmes it VVhich is a wilde and inconsequent Assertion 20. Our Saviours institution saith he of the Pag 162.163 Sacrament of the Lords Supper at a Table doth not binde us to the name of a Table VVhich is a bold Assertion thought not so bold as that which followeth That Saint Paul crossed the order in that Sacrament used by Christ Which tends to blasphemy if we remember by what Spirit Saint Paul was guided 21. He saith boldly Pag. 165.166 that howsoever our Saviour calls it a Table Luke 22.21 Yet was it rather a floore wherein he instituted the