baptized with water Mat. 3.11 Christ Iesus baptized with the holy Ghost Hieron ad Hedib quae 2 and with fire So that Christ is in the Sacrament both Conuiua and conuiuium by him we are inuited and by him we are nourished This is plaine from the sacramentall relation betweene the signes and the thing signified For Christ Iesus is not like Zeuxes who fed the birds with painted berries To offer bare signes without the substance were a greater delusion then can agree with him who is the God of truth Therfore are the Bread and Wine in llible pledges of the presence of Christ in the Sacrament It is said of the children of Israel that they did eate of the same spirituall meat 1. Cor. 10.3 4. and drinke of the same spirituall rocke and the rocke was Christ It cannot be said that they did eate drinke of the same in respect of the signes therefore it must needes be vnderstood of the thing signified which is Christ And so St. Augustine saith Those Sacraments were different from ours in the signes but equall in the matter signified Now if the Israâ—litâ—s did by vertue of their Sacâ—â—ments eate and drinke Christ spirituaâ—ly in the time of the Lawe who will doubt but the Church and children of God doe so in the time of the Gospâ—ll And St. Pauls drâ—ft in that place is by shewing the equality of the Sacraments to wrâ—st a vaine buckler of defence out of the hands of the Corinthians For they were râ—ady to obiect their priuiledgâ—s as a Supâ—â—sedeas to Gods iudgements esteeming their case to be better then the Israelites in respect of those diuine priuiledges but the Apostle shewes them their error layes upon the vanity of thâ—ir concâ—it of safety by manifesting that the Israelites were insconsed with as strong bulwarkes and inuested with aâ— great priuiledges as themselues in regâ—rd of the suâ—â—tance of the Sacraments notwithstanding which the wrath of God did breake forth vpon thâ—m And what else could the Corinthians expect if they were culpable in the same kind Againe the Sacraments are not onely signes to demonstrate but scales also to ratifie the word of promise And indeed there cannot be a more liuely comparison to set forth the nature difference of the Word and Sacraments For the Gospell may fitly be compared to a Charter or to a Will and Testament and the Sacraments to the seales whereby the lâ—gacy of eternall life bequeathed in the Gospell to all the faithfull is ratified Bellar. Praef. ad controuer de Sacramentis But this comparison Bellarmine quarrels calls a foolish comparison His reason is Because a seale should of it selfe be better knowne giue power and honour and adde authority to the writing Obsignari preâ—â— siones nusq am legimus nisi forte in Euangelio secundum Lutherum Bellar. vbi supra wheras the Word of God is by it selfe of absolute authority the Sacraments of none at all without the testimony of the Word Yea saith he VVe doe not read in any Apostle or Euangelist that the promises of God are sealed vp vnto vs except peraduenture in the Gospell according to Luther In which scornefull speech t is hard to say whether the Iesuit shew himselfe more ignorant or impudent For the comparison is diuine St. Paul shewes in the fourth to the Romans Rom. 4.11 that Abraham receiued the signe of Circumcision as the scale of the righteousnesse of faith Aug. de vera Relig. c. 17. Lt Angaepist 203 al Maximinum And to Clemens Alex. calls the Sacrament Strom li. 2. Tertul. calls Baptisme siâ—naculum fidei 〈◊〉 de specâ—ae 24. And as the legall Sacraments were seales of the Couenant so are the Euangelicall which succeede them in that kind as Saint Augustine saith so diuers otheâ— ancient Fathers call them But I would know of Bellarmine how a seale is a thing better known then the Charter or what power it hath without some writing If the Iesuit should haue had the Popes scale or bull to a blanke he would haue found small power or vertue in it to him for a Cardinalshippe whereas a writing without a seale may be knowne to be a mans deed expresse his mind and carry with it in some cases power to conuey a gift or legacy Who doubts but that the bare Word of God is of sufficient authority and yeelds great assurance Yet as the Apostle saith God being willing more abundantly to shew vnto the heires of promise Heb. 6.17 the stablenes of his Counsell bound himselfe by an oath So I may say that the Word of God written is the Word of Truth 1. Tim. 2.15 like the writing of a faithfull man his promises are Yea and Amen 2. Cor. 1.20 shall surele be accomplished Yet as the Rainbow was giuen for a full assurance of the worlds preseruation from a generall Deluge which should haue been ratified if there had neuer been Rainebow So the Sacraments are giuen as seales of the Couenant of Grace and saluation which God hath made to his seruants that hauing both his hand and seale their faith might more fully be strengthned Therefore for Bellarmlne to scoffe at the title of a seale and applyed to the Sacrament is great impiety and to quarell the Comparison is grosse impudency The truth of the presence of Christ in the Sacrament will more fully appeare if we consider the liuely analogy betweene the soulâ— the body For as the body hath through the soule a naturall life so hath the soule through grace a spirituall As the body is subiect to hunger Mat. 5.6 so is the soule As the body doth languish and pine away without corporall food so doth the soule without spirituall nourishment therfore the one as well as the other must be preserued by meanes Now the same that corporall food is to the body Christ Iesus is to the soule of the beleeuers according to that in the sixt of Iohn Ioh. 6.51 I am the liuing bread which came downe from heauen if any man eate of this bread he shall liue for euer Verse 53. And on the contrary Except we eate the flesh of Christ and drinke his bloud we can haue no life in vs. As certainely therfore as our bodies are made partakers of the outward elements so certainely are we assured that being duly prepared our soules doe feede vpon Iesus Christ For the cup of blessing which we blesse 1. Cor. 10.16 is it not the Communion of the bloud of Christ and the bread which we breake is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ Now albeit Christ is truly in the Sacrament yet is hee not locally there according to the conceit either of Consubstantiation or Transubstantiation For the body and bloud of Christ are not present to the elements but to the Communicants There is onely a symbolicall rationall vnion betwixt Christ and the Elements but the spirituall and reall vnion
Testament The reason of this appellation ariseth partly forth of Sacramentall phrases partly from of a reference and resemblance of Moses speech when sprinkling the bloud he calls it the bloud of the Testament Neither is this manner of speech a stranger to humane writers For Homer calls their sacrifices 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the faithfull leagues of their gods But here it may be questioned why it is called the new Testament or Couenant Gen. 3.15 Gen. 17.2 Act. 10.23 seeing the same is very ancient being made in Paradise to Adam renewed to Abraham witnessed by the Prophets figured in the sacrifices I answer it may be called a new Couenant in diuers respects First in regard of the matter the one being a Couenant of works the other of Grace Secondly in regard of the manner and so it is the new Couenant as our Sauiour calls his precept of Loue A new commandement Ioh. 13.34 For as that commandement is called a new commandement because it is newly reuiued and more effectually vrged then before so this Couenant may be called a new Couenant because it is more plainely renewed more powerfully confirmed to the Church of God Thirdly it is called the new Couenant in regard of the Minister for Moses was Minister and Mediator of the old Testament being the seruant of God but Christ is the Minister and Mediator of the new Testament beeing the Sonne of God Fourthly it is so called in regard of time the one containing a promise the other shewing an accomplishment thereof the one premonstrating Christ to come the other demonstrating him already come Fiftly in regard of the new forme or ceremonies wherin it is set forth Not in those legall types as the bloud of Buls and Goates but in the elements of bread and wine which doe liuely represent the body and bloud of the Sonne of God as without spot Heb. 9.11.12 Thus the words being cleared From hence we may infer that seeing the Sacrament is called the Couenant of Christ wee must haue the hand of faith to aprrehend it For there is a mutuall relation betweene sides foedus Hes◠5.2 as Assuerus holds out his golden Scepter so Queene Hester must draw neere and touch the top of it as God tenders to vs a Couenant of mercy so wee must reach forth the hand of Faith to lay hold vpon it Yea this Couenant requires also the hand of obedience For there must be a mutuall stipulation concurring betwixt God and man in this case As God doth couenant with Abraham to be his all-sufficient God Gen. 17.1 So Abraham must couenant to walke before God and be vpright Now if we haue this hand of Faith to apprehend and this hand of Obedience to demonstrate our apprehension then happy and thrice happy are we 2. Cor. 1.20 all the promises and Couenants of God shall be to vs in Christ Iesus yea and Amen Thus much for the actions of the Pastor Now to the Actions of the people wherein I will be briefe in regard that what concernes them is in some sort handled by reason of relation in the actions of the Minister The first of these actions is the taking of the Sacrament This action is of great vse and therefore mentioned by all the Euangelists It signifies our apprehending of Christ with the merits of his death and passion And indeed what auaileth the preparation and sanctification of the elements if they be not receiued Hence I obserue first that it is no arbitrary thing whether we receiue the Sacrament or not seeing we are enioyned it by vertue of this precept Take eate The Centurion said to our Sauiour speake the word onely Mat. 8.9 and my seruant shall be whole Now Christ hath spoken the word and commanded vs to take the Sacrament therefore we should doe it But here we may obserue as it is in the speech of the Centurion not onely Christs precept but our benefit also which is maruailous great The seruants of Naaman said well vnto him 1. Reg. 5.13 If the Prophet had commanded thee a greater matter shouldest thou not haue done it how much more when he saith Wash and bee cleane So may I say My brethren if wee had onely Christs cōmandement should we not obey it how much more when much comfort is to be obtained in obeying the commandement The want of this taking in many may iustly cause the Prophets complaint Esa 6.47 There is none that stirred vp himselfe to take hold on thee The wofull fruit of which neglect we may obserue in the same place when he saith We doe fade like a leafe Vers 6. As the body must needs pine away without foode and the leafe wither without the Sunne and sappe to nourish it so without laying hold vpon Christ that vertue may proceed from him to be as foode and sap to our soules they must needs decay and famish That is a heauenly proclamation Reu. 22.17 Let whoso will come and take of the water of life freely but that is a heauy complaint He came amongst his own Ioh. 1.11 but his owne receiued him not And this complaint falls as a iust reproofe vpon them who refuse to take the blessed Sacrament Againe here it must be remembred that we bring the hand of Faith when we come to the Table of the Lord. Our hearts and hands in receiuing of the Sacrament must be like two buckets in a well one going vp when another is going downe Whilest the hand of our bodies goes down to take the bread wine the hand of our soule must goe vp to Christ in heauen to lay hold on him To which purpose St. Augustine saith well Aug. in Ioh. tract 25. Quid paras dentes VVhy dost thou prepare thy teeth thy belly Prepare thy minde Beleeue thou hast eaten Againe in this case it is our duty to be as ready to giue as to take As we receiue the blessings of God so must we returne our praise thanks vnto him As the bird when shee takes a drop of water lifts vp her head and her eyes So we when we taste of these mercies must lift vp our hearts hands with all thankefulnesse to our gracious God the giuer of all good gifts and not be like the swine which deuoures the acornes but neuer lookes vp to the tree from whence they fell The second Action of the people is the eating of the bread and drinking of the wine This action also is very necessary being very significant as that which comprehends the particular applying of Christ to euery communicant For as S. Austin saith Aug. contra Faust Mani lib. 20. c. 21. This is the eating of Christ the communicating of his Passion with a sweet remembrance that his body was crucified his bloud shed for our sinnes To eate and drinke is oft in Scripture phrase transferred from the body to the minde as in the sixt of Iohn Ioh.
to Almighty God in stead of fiat lux saith Genes 1. fiant tenebrae he either labours vtterly to clowd the vnderstanding with ignorance or else he makes a league like the league of Naash 1. Sam. 11.2 to put out the right eye the eye of Diuine knowledge not caring to spare the left eye of humane for he knowes that if a man were the most exact Grammarian the acutest disputant the most eloquent Orator the profoundest Astronomer yea had all secular knowledge all these without sacred knowledge are but like the huskes whereupon the prodigall Sonne did feede Hieron in 1. ad Titum yeelding no good nourishment to the soule It were a happy thing if euery Communicant were capable of that commendation St. Paul giues the Romanes Rom. 15.14 I know that you are filled with all knowledge But that is too high a pitch for euery one to soare vnto yet is there a certaine competency in some speciall things required of euery one that intâ—nds to be a comfortable partaker of the Sacrament The first of these is the excellency of man by creation which the holy Historian expresseth saying God created man in his Image Gen. 1.27 that is in righteousnesse holinesse and other diuine indowments Ephe. 4.24 wherewith his soule was beautified and adorned The sâ—cond is the misery of man by transgression for as the knowledge of mans excellency may bee scientia inflans so the knowledge of his misery will be scientia contristans Bern. in Caâ— serm 36. As the one may puffe him vp so the other will serue to humble him forasmuch as he hath lost that blessed estate defaced that gracious image brought himselfe into the wofull slauery of sinne Satan and wrapped himselfe in the fearefull snares of death and condemnation The third is the restored estate by Redemption by the death and obedience of Iesus Christ both God man Man that he might satisfie for the transgression of man God that he might inable the humanity to beare the infinit punishment which all the men and Angels in heauen earth had not beene able to beare and to make his Passion and obedience of infinit merit and efficacy Yea God and man that he might reconcile God vnto man and become our Emmanuel euen GOD with vs. The fourth is the obedience and thankfulnesse that we are bound to tender vnto Christ for this mercifull deliuerance We are serui à seruando as Saint Austin saith Aug. de Ciui Dei lib. 19. cap. 15. Christ Iesus hath paid our ransome rescued and redeemed vs from that wofull estate of hell and condemnation therefore we must serue him in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of our life Luk. 1.75 We owe to him our Halleluias prayers and teares and all the paines that possibly wee may be able to take in his seruice The fift is mans felicity in the state of glory when hee shall be made partaker of that immortall inheritance which was forfeited by Adam but purchased againe by Christ and in that inheritance of those sweet ioyes which eye hath not seene 1. Cor. 1.9 nor care heard neither haue entred into the heart of man the meditation wherâ—of as it yeelds much ioy so may it be a notable spurre to pietie Lastly hee that will be a fruitfull receiuer of the SacrameÌ„t must haue knowledge of the authour nature vse and fruit thereof it being a demonstration of mans happy Redemption in this life and thrice blessed condition in the life to come Herein is set forth the body and bloud of Christ redeeming vs from thraldome of sinne and condemnation that we might be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light Col. 1.12 And therefore haue the Euangelists so diligently recorded and the Apostle here so carefully repeated the institution and therefore haue I also so largely handled the doctrine of the Sacrament that you might be able to discerne the Lords body Thus the knowledge of mans innocency by creation his misery by transgression his recouery by Redemption his duty of sanctification his felicity of glorification and the demonstration of this in the blessed Sacrament must in some measure be required of him who is to be admitted to the Table of the Lord. The second anker is Faith Faith which Saint Chrysostome calls the holy Anker Chrys in Psa 115. est sacra quadâ—â— anchora and eâ—ewhere the Lady and Queene of vertues Therefore as St. Paul exhorts that in our spirituall warfare aboue all we take the shield of Faith Ephe. 6.16 So I may say in this our spirituall worship we must take the hand of Faith The Apostle here bids vs â—xamine our selues and in the next Epistle he shewes that this is the chiefest Interrogatory in this our Examination 2. Cor. 13.5 saying Examine your selues Ioh. 1.12 proue your selues whether you be in the Faith Faith is the hand whereby Christ Iesus is applyed to the soule of euery receiuer By this hand the woman with the bloudy issue receiued vertue from Christ Luke 8. Vertue is gone out of me ver 46. For as the grace was not included in his garment but issued from his blâ—ssed body so was it not the hand of her body but of her soule that conueyed it According to our Sauiours saying Daughter Verse 48. be of good comfort thy faith hath made thee whole This hand of faith wee must be sure to bring when we come to the Sacrament Aug. de verb. Apost ser 2. For it is Sacramentum fidelium the Sacrament that belongs otely to the faithfull And indeede Faith is very necessary to this purpose for it purifies the heart and so makes it a fit receptacle for Christ Act. 15.9 Saint Paul therefore bowes his knees for the Ephesians that Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith Eph. 3.17 Faith is the wedding garment Nuptiale vestimentum est fides Chrys op imperfe hom 41. which makes vs welcome to this Feast of the great King This made Noahs diligence Abrahams obedience and Abels sacrifâ—ce to find acceptance and without this it is impossible to please God Heb. 11.4.8 If therefore thou come to offer this Eucharisticall sacrifice without faith saith Bernard non placas sed peccas Bern. super Cant. ser 24. In stead of pacifying God thou shalt purchase his heauy displeasure Except faith goe before the Sacrament comes but like a seale to a blank and serues onely to seale vp thy vnbeleefe to condemnation Aug. in Ioh. Tract 26. For hee that abides in Christ nor Christ in him neither eates his flesh nor drinkes his bloud Faith workes wonderfully makes things absent present It is scala à terra ad coelum Chry. in Psal 116. a ladder wherby wee mount vp from earth to heauen and lay hold vpon Christ It giues assurance of Christs presence in the Sacrament Heb. 11. For it is the euidence of