Belial Thirdly This is that Bread which came down from Heaven not as our Fathers did eat Manna and are dead he that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever Whence observe If one thing is to be understood according to the Letter another is also And then if the Letter intends Transubstantiation according to the Letter likewise they who eat the Flesh of Christ presently become Immortal And thus the Jews understood our Saviour when they cried out Lord evermore give us of this Bread Verse 34. But 't is appointed for all Men once to die Therefore eating the Flesh of Christ and drinking his Blood can mean nothing but our feeding on him by Faith unto Salvation And if by eating the Flesh of Christ and drinking his Blood we shall live for ever and yet no Man can be saved unless he believes in him either our Saviour must be thought to contradict himself or else this overthrows the Doctrine of Transubstantiation and proves that we only eat and drink the Flesh and Blood of Christ by Faith. And I appeal to your self Madam to judge which of the two 't is most reasonable to believe But that what our Saviour says here is not to be understood according to the Letter will appear if we pursue it a little farther Verse 60. Many therefore of his Disciples when they heard this said This is a hard Saying who can hear it When Jesus knew in himself that his Disciples murmured at it he said unto them Doth this offend you What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before It is the Spirit that quickeneth the Flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you they are Spirit and they are Life But there are some of you that believe not From all which I cou'd tell you Madam and upon good ground too that there is nothing in this Chapter or very little at most touching the Eucharist but all that our Saviour says concerning his Flesh and Blood is to be understood of his exemplary Life and wholsome Doctrine which is Meat and Drink indeed But supposing the whole discourse to be upon that subject yet there can be nothing of Transubstantiation contain'd in it Which will yet more fully appear by considering how often he urges the necessity of believing on him in order to Salvation Verse 29. This says he is the work of God that ye believe on him whom he hath sent So Verse 35. He that believeth on me shall never thirst But I said unto you that ye also have seen me and believe not Again Verse 40. And this is the will of him that sent me that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have Everlasting Life and I will raise him up at the last Day So likewise Verse 47. He that believeth on me hath Everlasting Life And this believing on him in other places of the Chapter he calls coming to him as Verse 35 37 44 45. And in other places again it is call'd eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood. Whence 't is evident they are all Synonymous terms used to express one and the same thing But to proceed The Apostle 1 Cor. 10. 1. tells us that all our Fathers were under the Cloud and all passed through the Sea and were all baptized unto Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea and did all eat the same spiritual Meat and did all drink the same spiritual Drink for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ Now the Paschal Lamb was as lively a representation of Christ the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World as our Bread and Wine are of the breaking his Body and shedding his Blood upon the Cross yet 't was never thought that they in the Passover did eat and drink Christ's real Flesh and Blood but only in that Feast they fed on him by Faith. And so when we come duly prepar'd to the Lord's Table we are Partakers of his Body and Blood by Faith by which also Christ dwelleth in our hearts Ephes 3. 17. Our Saviour Joh. 15. 5. says I am the Vine ye are the Branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing Now if all our Saviour's words must be taken according to the letter which must we rather believe that his Flesh is Bread to be eaten by us as we do our ordinary Food or that he is a great Tree and we Christians are so many Branches growing from him or that we are mere Sheep feeding on a Common and he the Shepherd to look after us or lastly that he is a Door hung upon Hinges thro' which we Sheep must enter into our Pasture I wou'd fain know if all these were to be taken literally what we shou'd do to know which was true and which not Such Expressions as these must be taken Metaphorically and so As we usually enter into a House by the Door so we go to Heaven by Christ As a Shepherd takes care that none of his Sheep go astray so Christ the good Shepherd of our Souls will lose none of all them that are his As a Vine gives Nourishment to its Branches so is Christ a Vine to us by whom we live and grow ripe for a joyful Harvest or Vintage And lastly as Bread is eaten to sustain this Temporal Life so Christ is that Spiritual Food on which we feed by Faith unto life Everlasting To what has been said on this Subject we may add many Texts of Scripture which assert the Elements which are the Matter of this Feast to be the same after Consecration as they were before Thus the Apostle 1 Cor. 10. 16 The cup of Blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ The Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ So again Chap. 11. v. 26 As often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew the Lord's death till he come But that which is chiefly insisted on is what our Lord himself said at the Institution of his Supper Matth. 26. 26. And as they were eating Jesus took Bread and blessed it and brake it and gave it to the Disciples and said Take eat this is my Body And he took the Cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink ye all of it For this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the Remission of Sins If here is not plain Transubstantiation I know not where to find it Our Saviour himself in the presence of his Disciples takes a piece of Bread and plainly affirms that 't is his Body and shall not we believe him yes surely But what follows Vers 29 But I say unto you I will not drink henceforth of this Fruit of the Vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom I think he tells
That the Rule of Faith is fixed and terminated in the Books of the Prophets and Apostles It was the constant Opinion of this great Doctor of the Gentiles That the Scriptures were of themselves able to make Men Wise unto Salvation Neither is he alone for St. James assures us That they are able to save our Souls Jam. 1. 21. And therefore St. Peter calls 'em a more sure word of Prophecy than a Voice from Heaven and says That all Men would do well that they take good heed to 'em as unto a Light that shineth in a dark place 2 Pet. 1. 19. And our Lord himself in the Parable brings in Abraham telling the Rich Man in Hell That his Brethren had Moses and the Prophets whom let 'em hear says he for if they will not hear them neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the Dead Luk. 16. 29. 31. Upon which words St. Chrysostom's Inference was That we should believe the Scriptures Though the Dead should rise and though Angels should descend from Heaven we must prefer the Testimony of Scriptures before them According to the Apostle Gal. 1. 8. Though we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed All which I take to be Indications plain enough of the sufficiency of the Scriptures as to all things pertaining to Salvation But besides this I said they were also in themselves sufficient to determin Points of Controversie The Psalmist says of the Word of God That it is a Lamp to his Feet and a Light to his Path Psal 119. 105. And therefore it was that he so often speaks of ordering himself according to this Word and prays so earnestly to God to enable him to do it And thus the Prophet expostulates with the Jews Isa 8. 19 20. When they shall say unto you Seek unto them which have familiar spirits and unto wizards that peep and mutter Should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead To the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them It was the way of the Apostles on all occasions to have recourse to the Scriptures Thus St. Peter in his Sermon to Cornelius to confirm his Doctrin of the Messias says To him give all the Prophets witness that through his Name whosoever believeth on him shall receive remission of sins Act. 10. 43. And that it was the constant practice of St. Paul no Man can deny that has had the least converse with his Writings especially that great Axiom of his which has never been contradicted That the Scriptures are given by Inspiration of God and are profitable for Doctrin for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness is a more than ordinary instance of his Opinion in this particular And as it is written was the only refuge of those Primitive Builders of the Church And it was the very same method that our Lord himself took to reprove the Tempter Matth. 4. 4. It is written Man shall not live by bread alone c. And Vers 7. It is written Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And Vers 10. It is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. And thus he us'd always to bring the Testimonies of Moses and the Prophets against the impious Objections of the Jews very often telling them That he did not speak his own Words but the Word of him that sent him that is the Word of God. And now would it not be a thing to be wonder'd at if the Holy Fathers of the Church should be ignorant of this way of arguing Or if they did know it that they would not chuse to follow his Example whom they pretended to worship and obey But we have no cause to wonder at this but rather at their ignorance or wilful stubbornness who pretend to be acquainted with them and yet seemingly at least assert their Sentiments and Practice in this matter to be contrary to their Predecessors It was usual with Basil thus to express himsel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epist ad Eustath 80 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let the Scriptures which are divinely inspir'd be Judge between us For says he Whatsoever Idem Etb. Defin. 80. c. 22. 6. is contrary to them is not of Faith and therefore sinful Every Word or Cause ought to be tried and confirm'd by the Holy Scriptures Neither does St. Cyprian come behind him in this Cypr. ad Pomp. cont Steph. Pap. particular If says he the Pipes through which Water is conveyed into the City should be suddenly deficient should we not go presently to the Spring that thence we may know the cause of the defect whether the Spring it self is dry or whether the Pipes are stopt by any thing which may hinder the course of the Water And so the Pipes being clear'd the City may be supplied with Water as before So ought the Ministers of the Gospel to do In matters of Doubt they should go to our Lord and his Apostles that they may model their Actions by their Doctrin as the Fountain and Original of Divine Truth Tertullian likewise would accept of no Argument that was not drawn from the Scriptures And by this Tertul. de carne Christ Idem de Resur mort he confuted the Hereticks of his time For says he take away the Sophistry of the Heathen Philosophers which the Hereticks make use of and when they come to argue from the Scriptures they will not be able to stand St. Chrysostom says That if any thing is asserted without the authority of the Scriptures to back it on it leaves Chrys in Psalm 95. the Hearers in doubt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says Clemens Alexandrinus We say nothing against the Scriptures Cl. Al. de Pet. Strom. lib. 6. Theod. dial 1. cap. 6. Id. Hist lib. 1. cap. 3. And Theodoret 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I confide in the Scriptures only To which we may add his Testimony of the Saying of Constantine the Great That the Books of the Evangelists and Apostles and the Oracles of the the ancient Prophets do evidently teach us what we are to think of the Divine Power Therefore in every seditious Controversie let us discuss the Point in question by the Testimony of those divinely inspir'd Writings Whence we may see that all the Fathers are not against us in this matter I think Origen may come in for one on our side For in his Comment upon the Sixteenth Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans having explained those Admonitions of the Apostle vers 17 18. and coming to vers 19. where the Apostle tells the Romans That their Obedience is come abroad unto all Men And that he is therefore glad on their behalf The Apostle says he therefore rejoyces over those that were obedient being sure that as he had taught them not to use that general Obedience which
I have made my heart clean I am pure from my sin Eccl. 7. 29. For lo this only have I found That God made man upright at first but since they have fallen away from that Upright State they have sought out many Inventions Jer. 17. 9. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it For Matth. 15. 19. Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts murthers adulteries fornications thefts false-witness blasphemies and all things that defile a man. And the Reason of all this is Because Joh. 3. 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh Man as he is Flesh and Blood is naturally fleshly minded Rom. 7. 14. For we know that the law is spiritual but I am carnal sold under sin for that which I do I allow not for what I would that do I not but what I hate that I do And so Eph. 2. 3. All are by nature the children of wrath Jam. 1. 15. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin and when 't is finished bringeth forth death Our first Parents lusted after the forbidden Fruit and that brought forth the sin of breaking the Commandment and that sin brought forth Death And Rom. 5. 12. As by one man sin entred into the world and death by sin so death passed upon all men for that all in him have sinned Wherefore if all are guilty of Original Sin and that guilt makes us Children of Wrath and consequently Heirs of Damnation I don't see any reason we have to boast of our righteousness but rather we have too much cause to bewail our wretchedness and to pray continually against the inevitable misery we are liable to undergo for all the good works we have done or can do unless God be more merciful to the best of us than we deserve And though by Baptism the guilt of Original Sin is washed away yet 't is more than probable that the first Actual Sin brings it again For as he that by amendment of life turns to God his former sins shall not be remembred so he that returns from the Service of God his righteousness shall be blotted out and forgotten and all his former iniquities shall testifie against him To conclude from what has been produc'd this at present occurs to our Observation That though there is no such thing in truth as a Solifidian Justice but every Man that will be saved must be enduced with a Faith that works by Love yet after all we can do we must expect Salvation by Faith in Christ's Blood and not from our own worthiness III. The Third Enquiry propos'd was To whom it belongs to Forgive Sins Psal 3. 8. Salvation belongeth to the Lord. 49. 7. None of them can by any means redeem his brother nor give to God a ransom for him For the redemption of their soul is precious And 37. 39. The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. Therefore 130. 7. Let Israel hope in the Lord. It was the Psalmists opinion That it belonged to God to Forgive Sins and therefore Psal 51. 14. he thus addresses himself to him Deliver me from blood-guiltiness O God thou God of my salvation And thus God affirms of Himself Isai 43. 11. I even I am the Lord and beside me there is no Saviour I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake and will not remember thy sins where we may take notice That it belongs to God to Forgive Sins and also That he Forgives them for his own sake which takes off all Merit by Works Dan. 9. 9. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses It was the constant Opinion of the Jews For when our Saviour said to the Sick of the Palsie Man thy sins are forgiven thee the Jews not believing him to be God as well as Man accus'd him of Blasphemy saying Who can forgive sins but God only Luk. 5. 21. So our Lord himself though John Baptist call'd him the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world Joh. 1. 29. directs us to ask God to forgive our sins Mat. 6. 12. For at Vers 14. 'T is our heavenly Father that must forgive us And thus the Apostle tells the Colossians That they being dead in their sins and the uncircumcision of their flesh God had quickened them and forgiven them all trespasses Col. 2. 13. From all which it appears plainly enough That Forgiveness of Sin belongs only to God. The consequence of this is That if it belongs to God only to Forgive Sins then Confession of Sins is due to him alone A Member of the Church of Rome is in danger of passing immediately into Hell if he dies without having confess'd his Sins to a Priest So absolutely necessary do they teach Auricular Confession to be in order to Salvation But if we may examin it a little I am apt to think it will appear much like the rest Psal 32. 5. I acknowledged my sins unto thee and my iniquity have I not hid I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin The Psalmist was absolv'd without Auricular Confession only by acknowledging his Sins to God. 1 King. 8. 47. Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the Land whether they were carried Captives and repent and make supplication to thee in the Land of them that carried them Captives saying We have sinned and have done perversely we have committed wickedness c. Here is no Confession to a Priest mentioned Ezra 9. 5. And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my heaviness and having rent my garment and my mantle I fell upon my knees and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God and said O my God I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee my God c. Psal 41. 4. I said Lord be merciful unto me and heal my soul for I have sinned against thee Hence Confession of Sin is due to him against whom we have sinned And then 't is due Relatively to our Neighbour if we have done him any injury But Properly to God according to the Psalmist Psal 51. 4. Against thee only have I sinned c. when he had committed Adultery with Bathsheba and caused her Husband to be slain Dan. 9. 15. And now O Lord our God that hast brought thy people forth out of the Land of Egypt with a mighty hand and hast gotten the renown as at this day we have sinned we have done wickedly Therefore Jer. 14. 20. We acknowledge O Lord our wickedness and the iniquity of our Fathers for we have sinned against thee In a word I should never have done if I should quote all the Texts to prove Confession of Sins only due to God. And therefore because you will meet with them in reading I shall at present only refer you to the Sixth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel to what our Saviour says there of Prayer and Fasting For Repentance and Confession being
inherent parts of Prayer and Fasting I think they may be included in the same Advice which I need not have inserted by reason of your frequent using the Lords Prayer in which 't is evident After all there is not one Text as I know of that by any good Consequence makes Confession to a Priest so absolutely Necessary as the Doctrin of the Church of Rome does If any will do it and do it sincerely we do not deny it to be Good. But after 't is done without a Private Confession to God it must needs be Imperfect for it is God that knows our Hearts better than we do our selves and we are guilty of many Sins we know not of as the Psalmist professes Wherefore we should cry out with him Psal 19. 12. Who can understand his errors cleanse thou me from secret faults The consequence of all is That all Men ought to Confess their Sins to God against whom only they have sinned as to one that has the sole Power to forgive them Not that I desire in the least to diminish the Power of the Keys given to the Church for I own That our Blessed Lord gave Power and Authority to his Ministers to declare and pronounce to his People being Penitent the Absolution and Remission of their Sins in his Name But to confine that Power to the Church of Rome only and to say All that Die out of her Communion are certainly Damn'd for want of it and to make the Bishop of Rome joynt-Competitor with Christ in the Business is against the Grain and will not digest in my Stomach whatever it may do in other Mens I should wast too much Time and Paper If I should examine the Gross Nonsensical Consequences of Believing the Bishop of Rome able to Forgive Sins which have from thence been imposed upon the greater part of the Church of Rome the Ignorant sort of People That the Pope can at once Forgive a Man all the Sins he ever has committed or ever shall be guilty of that he can thrust a Man into Heaven for as long a Time as he pleases where he shall lie undiscovered by the all-seeing Eye of God and at the end of that Term be kicked into Hell that he can forgive the Sins of all that are in the Communion of the Roman Church of all Christians nay if he pleases of the whole World at once It has been acknowledged by many of their own Writers on this Subject who have been guilty of the least Extravagance That the Pope has Power if he will at one Mass to free all the Souls out of Purgatory If this were true King James the First 's Inference on the Position was with Abnegation of the Popes Charity and Admiration of his unparallel'd Cruelty That being granted to have a Power so to do he does not apply his Will to it But I know Madam you are no Friend to such Fancies therefore I shall appeal no further than to your own Ingenuity to judge from what has been produced Who has the Supreme and only Power to forgive Sins to whom Confession properly is due and in whose Name only Absolution ought to be Pronounced And so proceed IV. The Fourth Enquiry proposed was Whether the Scriptures warrant the Worshiping of Images or Praying to Saints and Angels The Second Commandment is so much to our Purpose that they of the Church of Rome have prudently left it out of the Decalogue and to make up the number they cut the Tenth into two Parts so the Church of Rome's Decalogue is this I. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me II. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain c. III. Remember that thou keepest holy the Sabbath-day c. IV. Honour thy Father and thy Mother c. V. Thou shalt do no Murther VI. Thou shalt not commit Adultery VII Thou shalt not Steal VIII Thou shalt not bear false Witness against thy Neighbour IX Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Wife X. Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours House c. So that the generality of the People of the Church of Rome know of no such thing in Being as the tedious Harangue against Images by us called the Second Commandment However there are Texts enough besides both in the Old and New Testaments clearly against them of which I will only give you a few of the chief Judges 13. 15 And Manoah said unto the Angel of the Lord I pray thee let us detain thee until we shall have made ready a kid for thee And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah Though thou detain me I will not eat of thy bread and if thou wilt offer a Burnt-offering thou must offer it unto the Lord. And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord What is thy name that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour And the angel of the Lord said unto him Why askest thou after my name seeing it is secret The Angel would not tell his Name because Manoah should honour God only Psal 29. 2. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his Name worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness For Isai 42. 8 I am the Lord that is my name and my glory will I not give to another neither my praise to graven Images And I am certain there is not one Text to the contrary but many to the same purpose Acts 10. 25. And as Peter was coming in Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him But Peter took him up saying Stand up I my self also am a man. And Chap. 14. Vers 11. When the People saw what Paul had done they lift up their voices saying in the speech of Lycaonia The Gods are come down to us in the likeness of Men. And they called Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercurius because he was the chief Speaker Then the Priest of Jupiter which was before their City brought Oxen and Garlands unto the Gates and wou'd have done Sacrifice with the People Which when the Apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of they rent their Clothes and ran in among the People crying out and saying Sirs why do ye these things we also are men of like Passions with you c. I am apt to believe these things were done and suffer'd by the Providence of God on purpose to shew that as they were not to be worshipp'd while they were on the Earth so neither shou'd we pay Divine Honours to 'em now they are in Heaven But the Apostle to the Corinthians is very express to the purpose 1 Cor. 1. 13. Is Christ divided was Paul crucified for you or were ye baptized into the name of Paul Chap. 3. 4. Who then is Paul and who is Apollos but Ministers by whom ye believed even as the Lord gave to every man I have planted Apollos watered but God gave the increase So then neither is he that planteth any thing neither he that watereth but God that giveth the
there can be no other Offerings needful but such as every Man must offer for himself the Sacrifice of Righteousness And as the Mass is not a Sacrifice for the Living neither can it be suppos'd a Sacrifice for the Dead If Christ Jesus has made satisfaction for the Sins of all that are call'd by his Name and if that satisfaction is certainly appli'd to all who are true Christians and Die in the Faith of Christ Crucified and if this is made the absolutely necessary Condition of having a Title to that satisfaction I can see no ground Wicked Men have to hope for pardon if they forfeit that The Scriptures are altogether silent as to any thing that can be done for us after Death To which purpose I 'll give you the trouble of the following Instances 1. Holy David when God struck the Child he had by Bathsheba pray'd for its recovery and fasted and lay all Night upon the Earth His sorrow for the Child's Sickness was intolerable But when the Child was Dead he arose from the Earth and Washed and Anointed himself and changed his Apparel and came into the House of the Lord and Worshipped then he came to his own House and having Bread set before him he did eat Then said his Servants to him What thing is this that thou hast done thou didst fast and weep for the Child while it was alive but when the Child was dead thou didst arise and eat Bread. And he said While the Child was yet alive I fasted and wept For I said who can tell whether God will be gracious unto me that the Child may live 2 Sam. 12. 22. We read nothing here of any Sacrifice offer'd for the Child which certainly wou'd have been recorded if such a thing had been done but he did not so much as pray for him or weep after his Death For 2. No Man can by ANY means redeem his Brother or give to God a ransom for him Psal 49. 7. I think this is plain enough against any thing that is pretended to be done for the benefit of the Dead and if no Ransom can deem a Man from the State he immediately passes into out of this World what signifie the many Masses that are sent up daily for one or other in the Church of Rome I think it wou'd not be impertinent to add that of our Saviour What shall it profit a Man if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soul Or what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul Mark 8. 36. Which shews the impossibility of Redemption from a State after this Life And this is farther evident in Luke 16. in the Discourse between Abraham and Dives where Abraham tells him Verse 26. That between them there is a great Gulf fixed So that they which wou'd pass from one to t'other cou'd not And then I wou'd fain know how they can say that any can be fetch'd out of Purgatory as Hell is more mildly call'd to Heaven But 3. The Apostle tells the Thessalonians 1 Thes 4. 13. that he wou'd not have 'em to be ignorant concerning them which are asleep nor to sorrow as others which have no hope For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him The Apostles and the Primitive Christians had their hopes in the Resurrection they had no thought of a state of Punishment after Death from which they were to be freed by the Sacrifice of the Mass but they built all upon the Merits of Christ's Blood the full satisfaction which he had made and on that score made it their constant endeavour to become worthy partakers of it The Scriptures make no mention of Offertories for the Dead but in many places they argue clear the contrary That there is no time or place of calling on God in the Grave or for those that are in their Graves All shall at the Day of Judgment receive according to what they have done in the Body There 's no Expiation of Guilt after Death but he that is not absolv'd in this Life must be miserable for ever Therefore these performances on the behalf of the Dead are no better than a breach of the Third Commandment a taking God's Name in vain by calling on him for those for whom he cannot be intreated Upon the whole therefore we may truly say with the Preacher Eccl. 9. 4. To him that is join'd to all the living there is hope But to him that is dead there is no hope but what his way of living here will administer to him I conclude this with the words of the Apostle Heb. 13. 7 c. Remember them which have the Rule over you who have spoken unto you the word of God whose Faith follow considering the end of their Conversation Jesus Christ the same yesterday and to day and for ever Be not carried about with divers and strange Doctrines For it is a good thing that the heart be established with Grace not with Meats which have not profited them which have been occupied therein We have an Altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the Tabernacle For the Bodies of those Beasts whose Blood is brought into the Sanctuary by the High-Priest for Sin are burnt without the Camp. Wherefore Jesus also that he might sanctifie the People with his own Blood suffer'd without the Gate Let us go forth therefore unto him without the Camp bearing his reproach For here we have no continuing City but we seek one to come By him therefore let us offer the Sacrifice of Praise to God continually that is the fruit of our Lips giving thanks to his Name But to do good and to communicate forget not for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased 7. Now I come to the Seventh and last Enquiry propos'd viz. Whether the Doctrine of Transubstantiation can be maintain'd by Scripture This has been endeavour'd by our Adversaries but to no purpose And the Scriptures furnish us with two very good Arguments to the contrary Which are 1. That Christ's Body can be in but one place at once 2. That we eat the Body and drink the Blood of Christ only by Faith. Against both which Transubstantiation makes Christ's Body visible in a Thousand places at once and asserts that we eat the very natural Flesh of Christ and gnaw it with our Teeth as we do our common Meat And since in this Case we are denied the use of our Senses we must be judg'd by the Sence of the Scriptures And first The Scriptures testifie That Christ's Body can be in but one place at once Our Saviour Matth. 26. 11. tells us We have the Poor always with us but him we have not always For John 16. 28. As he came forth from the Father into the World so again he will leave the World and go to the Father Accordingly Mark 16. 19. when he had spoken to his Disciples he was received up into
Heaven and sat on the right hand of God. And there St. Stephen afterwards saw him Acts 7. 56. In which place as St. Peter testifies Acts 3. 21. he must remain till the times of the restitution of all things When and not before he shall so come in like manner as he was seen to go into Heaven Acts 1. 11. Now I suppose you know the last shift they that believe this Doctrine are fain to fly to is God's Omnipotency and this they know we dare not contradict But we know that though God is able to do any thing yet 't is evident in many things he does not apply his Will to his Ability And on this account though John Baptist told the Jews Matth. 3. 9. That God was able of the Stones of the Earth to raise up Children unto Abraham we must not presently make the Fable of Deucalion and Pyrrha an Article of our Faith. For if this wou'd do the bus'ness how soon wou'd the World be fill'd with Absurdities and yet all pass for Miracles But if we consult the Sacred Writings we shall find that though God is sufficiently declar'd to be Omnipotent yet he never acted any thing contrary to himself his Power never appear'd contrary to his Will. Now in the present case if we believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God and that his Will is declar'd in his Word it sufficiently appears that Christ must be Corporally present in Heaven 'till the end of the World and then to say that he is Corporally present on Earth too and in so many Thousand places at the same time because nothing is impossible with God is to say in effect that God to shew his Power does some things which are repugnant to his Will and to preserve the Prerogative of his Omnipotence inviolate will upon occasion contradict his own Word But the Apostles had no such thoughts some of 'em saw Christ ascend Bodily into Heaven and others as St. Stephen and St. Paul afterwards saw him Bodily present there Accordingly St. Paul tells the Hebrews Chap. 8. Verse 1. that he is set on the Right Hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens And Chap. 10. Verse 12. After he had offer'd one Sacrifice for Sins for ever he sat down on the Right Hand of God. Where be pleas'd to observe two Errors confuted in one Text The Sacrifice of the Mass in that Christ has offer'd one Sacrifice for Sins for ever and the Doctrine of Transubstantiation in that after he had offer'd the Sacrifice he sat down on the Right Hand of God. Therefore his Advice to the Colossians Chap. 3. Verse 1. is If they are risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the Right Hand of God. For Phil. 3. 20. our Conversation says he is in Heaven from whence also we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ Wherefore Madam I think the Counsel of our Lord himself is best to be follow'd Matth. 24. 23. If any Man shall say unto you Lo here is Christ or there believe it not Secondly Another Argument deducible from Scripture against this Doctrine I told you was That we eat the Body and drink the Blood of Christ only by Faith. John 6. 47 c. Verily verily I say unto you he that believeth on me hath Everlasting Life I am that Bread of Life Your Fathers did eat Manna in the Wilderness and are dead This is the Bread which cometh down from Heaven that a Man may eat thereof and not die I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven If any Man eat of this Bread he shall live for ever And the Bread that I will give is my Flesh which I will give for the Life of the World. Where we are to consider First That Faith in Christ is made the Condition of having Everlasting Life Verse 47. Secondly The Bread of Life which Verse 51. is call'd his Flesh is only that Spiritual Nourishment of the Soul which comes by that Faith in Christ And therefore he says that if any Man eat of this Bread he shall live for ever Whence I think it plainly appears that eating Christ's Flesh and believing on him are only terms used promiscuously one for t'other and so make nothing at all for Transubstantiation But the chief of the Argument is to come Verse 52 c. The Jews therefore strove among themselves saying How can this Man give us his Flesh to eat Then Jesus said unto them Verily verily I say unto you Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood ye have no Life in you Whoso eateth my Flesh and Drinketh my Blood hath Eternal Life and I will raise him up at the last Day For my Flesh is Meat indeed and my Blood is Drink indeed He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in me and I in him As the Living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father so he that eateth me even he shall live by me This is that Bread which came down from Heaven not as your Fathers did eat Manna and are dead He that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever Perhaps you may think Madam that these reiterated expressions are Indications plain enough that our Saviour here intends Transubstantiation But I assure you they mean nothing less For first he says Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood ye have no Life in you And on the contrary Whoso eateth his Flesh and drinketh his Blood hath Eternal Life and he will raise him up at the last Day Now if our Saviour speaks all this of his natural Flesh and Blood with which he was cloathed and which was nail'd to the Cross and split on the Ground and lastly which he carried with him into Heaven and if according to the Doctrine of Transubstantiation his natural Flesh and Blood are as really eaten and drunk in the Lord's Supper Then all Men bad as well as good nay any living Creature that is but capable of eating and drinking may be in as fair a way to Heaven as the devoutest Professor of Christianity For if eating the Flesh of Christ will carry one to Heaven give a Dog a piece of the Transubstantiated Bread and why may not he by eating it go thither too However to seclude Beasts it wou'd be a blessed World certainly if the worst of Men were in as sure a way to Salvation as the best which must be if the Doctrine of Transubstantiation and our Saviour's Words hold together For he says his Flesh is Meat indeed and his Blood is Drink indeed And Transubstantiation gives all Men the real Flesh and Blood of Christ and by eating and drinking them we get Salvation which is here call'd Eternal Life But Secondly He that eateth Christ's Flesh and drinketh his Blood dwelleth in Christ and Christ in him Now can Christ dwell in a Wicked Man or Unbeliever What fellowship hath Christ with