¶ A notable Sermon concerninge the ryght vse of the lordes supper and other thynges very profitable for all men to knowe preached before the Kynges most excellent Mayestye and hys most honorable counsel in hys courte at Westmynster the 14. daye of Marche by Mayster Iohn ponet Doctor of dyuinity 1550. Matth. 11. Come vnto me all ye that laboure and are laden and I wyll refreshe you They be to be solde in Paules churche-yard next the great Schole at the signe of the sprede Egle. ¶ A notable Sermon concernynge the ryghte vse of the Lordes supper and other thynges very profytable for all men to knowe Preached before the kynges most excellent May-stye and hys most honorable counsel in hys court at Westmynster the .xiiij. daye of Marche by Mayster Iohn Ponet Doctor of Diuynytye 1550. Math. xiii Alia quidem cecideruntiuxta uiam Some fell by the wayes side IN my laste sermō moste noble audience enteringe thys pece of the parable wheras our Sauiour Christ saith y e sume of the sede fell by the waies syde I promised y e declaraciō of fower thinges First what was ment by this worde waye Secondarely what it was that hath so hardened that thing which is fygured by this word way Thirdly what seede it is that hath bene lost in this way And fourthly what byrdes they be and what men they be that hath deuowerid trodē thesame seede Of the two first pointes I saied somwhat my mynde the last tyme whan I was in this place And I am come at this presēt to perfourme my promes touchyng the two latter pointes Wherof the first is touchyng what seede it is that hath bene lost in this way For declaraciō whereof ye shall vnderstande that it is the doctrine of the heuenly banket wher w t our heauenly father fedeth all his elect and chosen people wyth the verye bodye and bloud of hys sonne our Sauioure Iesus Christ which doctryne is so necessary that without the comfort thereof it is impossyble y t any man shoulde be sauid It is not ynough for a man to haue a knowledge of thys doctryne but also so many as shalbe sauyd must haue a practyse and a lyuely felynge of it in hys harte and a pleasaunt tast of the swetnes of this heuenly comfort The scripture sayth not that he whych knoweth the doctryne of eatynge of Christes flesh and drynkyng of hys bloude shalbe sauyd but it sayth Nisi ederitis et biberitis that is onles ye haue y e acte of eatyng of Christes fleshe of drynkinge his bloude Non habetis uitam in uobis Ye haue no lyfe in you So y t here is not only a knowledge an vnderstandinge but also an acte a worke required at euery mans hand Forasmuch therefore as it standeth vpon euery mans saluacion dampnaciō euerlastingly to haue or lacke y e inward felyng of this comfort it is very expedient necessarye that all suche as be called to thys offyce of preaching goddes most holy word should instruct leade euery man into the trew knowlege thereof especially for y t it is a doctrine whiche hath not ben receaued but ben a loste cast away sede vpon y e most sortes of people thus many yeres Therfore for declaracion of this doctrine of the heauenly banket ye shall vnderstande that it is our heauenly father whiche make the this heauenly banket as it appeareth by the parable in the 22. of Mat. and the 14. of Luc. And so so desirouse he is to haue all men come and fede vpon thys banket that after his preparacion of all thinges in a readines he sendeth fourth his seruaūtes to bydde not some mē only but al mē to come to hys feast And euē as ther is no liberal harted gentelman y t maketh a feast but he is desirous y e his gestes should haue a lusting gredy hungry stomake Euen so our heuenly father is desierouse that al men which are bydden to thys feast shuld haue hungringe thurstinge stomakes But here ye muste note y t as this bāket whervnto our heuēly father byddeth vs is a banket for our soule not for our body euen so must thys hungrynge thursting be hunger and thurste of the soule and not of the bodye Wherefore it is conuenyente that fyrst and foremost I declare vnto you how the soule of mā is made hungry thursty also when it is hungry thurstye Whiche lesson shall geue a great lyght to all the rest of our purpose For declaration whereof ye shall vnderstande that the soule of man is made hungry and thurstye by the meanes and workyng of the law and that after thys sorte as I shal declare vnto you The law worketh foure thynges for and in the soule of man Fyrst and formost the law maketh the soule of man knowe and see her offences and synnes committyd and done againste the mayestye of almighty god And it sheweth them as lyuely to the eye of the soule as a glasse sheweth the spotes and markes of mans face vnto hys bodylye eye And if the lawe did not shewe to our soules oure synnes after thys sort we should not know that we be synners as Saint Paule witnesseth to the Romayns Peccatum non cognouissem nisi per legē I had not knowen synne but by the law Therfore is thys one office and worke of the lawe to make mans soule knowe here offences The seconde thynge that the law worketh for the soule of mā is that it sheweth vnto mā goddes displeasure goddes punishement for synne euerlastinge death hell fyer for her offences Stipendium peccati mors y e reward of syn is death The third office worke of the law is to make man dispaire quiet of hym selfe For when the law of God hath geuen thus muche knouledge to the soule of mā then doth mās soule begyn to dispaire and to thinke verely that there is no way with her but one which is euerlasting damnacion Now when mans soule seeth her self in such great daunger then is man in a wonderfull agony and sorow quiet out of all comfort and is driuē to seeke som other meanes for helpe then at the hādes of the law whiche sheweth no mercy but extreme punishment And for this forssyng that the lawe straineth man with al the law is called pedagogus ad christū a sholemaster whiche teacheth man to goo to christ for helpe this is the fourth office of the lawe but all men cannot by by se christ in this agony mās nature is so naturally by reason blinded y e first man seketh all other means for helpe and comfort before it seke for the true and right helpe For declaracion whereof ye shall vnderstande that when mannes soule seeth her selfe in suche daunger first and formost peraduenture man will fall to abstinence frō this or that kynde of meate and once or twice a weeke
death he hath ouercome the deuell and all thyne enemyes and myne and when he made an ende he said Consummatum est nowe all finyshed He hath done all those thinges that I requyred at thy handes to haue done Despaire not therefore comforte thy selfe wyth thys death of my sonne Trust that this death and bloudsheding is a sufficient ransom and recompence for thy sinnes Comfort thy hungry stomake with this restoretish dishe whiche may so be well called for that it hath restored the all suche as beleue in hym agayne into my fauor Whosoeuer comforteth his hungry soule with this dishe shall haue remission of all hys synnes Whosoeuer feedeth with a sure fayth and eat thereof hartyly not doutinge but that Christ is sufficient to saue his soule that Christe is sufficiente to slaake hys hunger and to quenche his thurst he shall not nede of any other dyshes diuised by men to feed vpon but he shall be suer that the death and bloudshedinge of myne only begotten sonne is sufficient to comfort his penitent hungry soule so that it shall not be famishid it shal not sterue nor peryshe but haue lyfe euerlasting This is the ioyfull tydynges the comfortable doctrine the sede of goddes most holye worde most noble audience which hath bene so longe troden and cast away vnder neth the fote of the people This is the lost seed which when it was sowen woulde not this manye yeares enter into the hartes and vnderstandinges of men But here I moste humbly desier you to note that it is not meant by these wordes eatinge of Christes flesh and drynkynge of hys bloude and feding vpon Christe that ye should so feed of Christe as ye woulde feed of a pece of motton a pece of beefe or a pece of venson For that kynd of cating profetteth nothing at al. Caro non prodest quicquam The fleshe profeteth nothynge at all Thys grosse kynde of feedinge vpon Christe profeteth nothing at all But it is ment that euen as ye comfort your earthly and corruptible body with bread and meat when it is hungry and with ale bere or wyne when it is thurstye Euen so doeth the soule of man when the lawe sheweth to her her faultes and eternal damnation and the dredfull iudgementes of God for her offenses comforte her selfe in her greate hunger and thurste beleuynge that almightye God hath forgeuen her synnes for Christes sake So that where as before she was hungry and comfortles and afraied of eternall dampnation Now is she fed and comforted with thassuerance that her synnes be forgeuen her of god for Christes sake her sauiour It is an vnreuerente and an vngodly opinion and voyd of all Godlye religion to saye or thynke that we muste eate and chame with our corporall teeth or that we muste swallow with our corporal throte Christes blessed fleshe and bones after so grosse a sorte as we eat other kyndes of meat Yea and it is a thynge abhorred of nature that mannes should feede of mans fleshe hyde thesame fleshe of man in pastes or culles or by any meanes otherwyse neuer so conningly Man detesteth and abhorreth to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say a man eater The Centuryon of a relygyouse mynde and of a godly feare thoughte hym selfe vnworthye that oure sauioure Christ shoulde enter into hys house saiynge Non sum idoneus ut tectum meum subeas And S. Peter in the .v. of Luke had a certeyne relygyouse a godly feare to come nighe to Christ and sayed vnto him Discede a me Domine quia homo peccator sum Departe from me O lorde for I am a synnar Euen so all suche as haue any Iote of Godly religyon in ther hartes shoulde be ashamed once to desyer to bruse with there teeth to eate raw and to swallowe the fleshe bloud and bones of oure sauyoure Christe euen as it was borne of the blessed vyrgyne Mary S. Austen wytnesseth that the Capernaites toke our Sauiour Christe after that sort when he sayd Nisi quis manducauerit meam carnem biberit meum sanguinem non habebit uitam eternam Onles a man eate my flesh and drinke my bloude he shall not haue euerlastyng lyfe They toke him saieth he grosly as it appeareth by ther question that they demaunded immediatly saiynge How can this fellow geue vs his fleshe to eat Is not he the sonne of Ioseph Thys grosse opinion of thers Saint Austen calleth heresye as it is a playne heresye in dede to say that we must eat of necessitie Christ after such a grosse sort They thought that Christ had offered hys bodye to be eaten as fleshe that hangeth in the bucherye so that the fleshe of his armes and sydes that stode there before them shoulde be chewed and swallowed of them But sayth Saint Austen that was not hys meaninge For that kynde of eatinge of Christes fleshe profeteth nothyng at all Caro non prodest quicquam But that they whych were made sorowfull and hungrye by the terror of the law shuld be fed and comfortedwith the death of his fleshe and wyth his blessed bloudshedynge And he that feedeth not hys soule after this sort wyth Christes fleshe and bloude is not alyue in Christe but he is in desperation Manet in morte He dwelleth in death yea beynge alyue in thys worlde he hath a taste of hell because hys conscyence is comfortles and the worme byteth him cōtinually so that he hath deuell in his conscience And he is alltogether comfortles because there is none other meet comfort that can comfort oure soules but onely the cōfort that we haue by Christ. And whosoeuer eateth thys fleshe and drinketh this bloud wyth y e mouth of belefe that thys very fleshe of Christ was put to death for him and this very bloud was once shed for him He shall haue euerlasting life and the lord will raise him againe at the latter day And he had a tast of the kingdome of God euen beyng alyue He hath peace and quyetnes in his conscyence Whyche is Gaudium pax in spiritum sanctum And thys kind of eatinge is called of learned men an of Christe Spiritualiter that is to say a comfortinge with oure soules wyth Christ spiritually And as oft as we comforte oure soules of thys sorte we haue a sure knowledge and a felinge that the wrath of god the father against vs is pacyfyed and so be we of oure for more hunger eased There is another kinde of eatinge of Christes body and drinkinge of his bloud that is called eatinge and drinking Sacramentaliter Sacramentally And we eate Christ on this fashion as oft as we Ioyne the outward signes of breade and wyne that is to say the sacrament of the holy communion wyth oure fayth and inward belefe receauing a visible testimony of our inwarde belefe in the face of the congregacion And if it chaunce any man to receaue this outward pledge and testimony of
of them which instructed them selfes and ther own worckes and dyd put there hole truste in him onlye But contrarywyse suche as dyd put some trust in themselues and were not so desierouse of Christ as the other were not so hungry as the other were them he sent away empty leuynge them to themselues And in the seuenth of Saynt Iohn This desier is likened to a thurstynge Si quis sitiat ueniat ad me bibat If any mā be a thirst that is to saye if his soule be desierouse to haue remission of synne let hym come to me and dryncke And also in the .21 chapter of the Apocalypse Ego sitienti dabo de fonte aque uite A will geue to him that is thyrsty the water of lyfe By all these places it is playne that y e desier which the soule of man hath to haue forgeuenes of her synne is called in scripture hungring and thurstynge Now then agayn the scripture calleth that thing which doth comfort and satisfye this desier of the soule meate and drynke And when the soule of man hath that same thinge geuen vnto her that she desiered and longed for so sore thē is she fed For a profe where of Mathew and the reste of the Euangelistes doeth vse these termes faturabuntur aqua cibus And in the .4 of S. Iohns Gospell Christe was desierouse to satisfy the wyll of his father and he called the satisfyenge of that desier hys mete Meus cibus est ut faciam uoluntatem patris mei My metes sayeth he is to doe the wyll of my father His hunger and his thurst that he had was the desier that he had to doe the will of hys father And the doing of it was his meat and drynke as it appeareth before in this texte when as answering to hys disciples he said Ego habeo alium cibum comedendum quem nos nescitis I haue other meate to eat whych ye know not Thus farre I haue declared vnto you most noble audyens howe the soule of man is made hungry and thurstye by the workynge of the lawe And also howe that thynge whych doth satisfy this desier of the soule is named in the scrypture mete Lett vs now then procede to the declaracion of the heauenly banket wherby our heauenly father doth feed comfort the soule of man whyche is made hungry and comfortles by the lawe When our heauenly and most mercyfull father perceaueth y t his law hath wroughte her feat in the soule of man and hath brought man euen to very desperacyon Ad inferos ducit reducit Then he feedeth and comforteth mans soule soweth the seed of saluation vpon him in thys wyse Here I muste desier you to licence me most noble audience to change my parson to speake in y e name of god the father who calleth al men to feed comfort there hungre thursty soules with such meat drinke as he hath prepared in his most heauenly banket for them Thus saith our heauenly father to y t man all men whiche be comfortles and afrayed of eternal dampnation for ther offenses Man dispaire not for thy synnes that thou haste cōmitted Folow my counsel although thy synnes be neuer so greate and manyfolde yet shall they not dampne the. Be sory for thyne offenses euen from the botom of thyne hart and purpose earnestly to amende thy former lyfe beleue that my sonne Christe Iesus hath taken the paynes vpon hym that thou hast deseruid for thy synnes and thou shalt not be dampned but thou shalt haue life euerlasting Let his death ease thy stomake comfort thy fearfull and sorowefull hungringe soule with the punyshing of hys body and the sheding of hys preciouse bloude And euen as meat doth comfort thy body when it is hungry drinke when it is thursty euen so let hys punishmēt comforte thy soule For I assuer the that his paines his punishment and death is able to saue both the and all the whole worlde from eternall dampnation I will no more be angrye with the for the sinnes that thou haste done If my sonne Christ will take vpon him to answere for the as no dout he if thou wilt come to him put thy hole truste in him Feede thy hungrye stomake w t thys meate that I haue prepared for the and thou shalt haue remission of all thy synnes Feare not any of those daungers that sinne that fleshe the world or the deuel hath brought the into for my sōne hath for thy sake ouercome all hys and thine enemies whom otherwise thou waste not able to ouercome with all the wittes thou haddest Fyrst and formoste he hath ouercome synne for thy sake in that he hath payd his deth to me not for his own sinnes but for thy sinnes and for the synnes of all the world so that allthough thou hast commit-may so be that he will tempte the as in dede he doth daylye tempt all such as I haue chosen to possesse my kingedome but of this thing thou maiest be well assuerid that he can not hurte the because my son hath made him both hys and thy bonde seruaunt with hys death The deuell in tempting the shall be my seruaunt for I wil vse him as an instrumente to trye thy faieth and to exercise thy belefe from tyme to tyme. So that for this purpose I suffer him to tempt the from tyme to tyme that by that meanes thou shouldeste waxe stronger in thy fayeth and stronger Now seest thou that where as before tyme thou waste afrayed of the deuell fearinge that he had rule and power ouer the Nowe my sonne Christe and I do vse hym for our slaue and bond seruaunt to exercyse the fayeth of the good by daylye temptacions to punishe the wicked with continual affliccion and miserye My sonne also hath for thy sake ouercome death and yet not after suche a sort as though it were vtterly takē away but he hath so taken it awaye that it can not hurt the. For whereas before suche as hath deyed without belefe in my sonne went out of thys lyfe into eternall death Now shall death be a dore for the and them to euerlastinge lyfe in so much that thou shalt confesse in thyne hart that which is written in the fyrste to the Philippians saiyng Mihi uita Christus est mori lucrum Christ is my lyfe and it is aduantage for me to dye Death shall no more be vnto the neyther vnto anye of my chosen bitter but sweet not so rowfull but ioyfull not losse but gayne not to be feared but to be desiered death shall not be worthye to haue the name of death but rather of the waye and entry vnto eternall lyfe Death shall haue no power to hurte the for hys stinge is cut of accordinge to my promes O mors Ero mors tua O death I wyll by thy death Thus hath my sonne for thy sake ouercome synne he hath ouercome