Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	apostle_n	speak_v	word_n	9,283	5	4.1967	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A02359	Three rare monuments of antiquitie, or Bertram, priest, a French-man, of the body and blood of Christ, (written 800 yeares agoe) with the late Romish purging thereof: Ælfricus, Arch-bishop of Canterburie, an English-man, his sermon of the sacrament, (preached 627 yeares agoe:) and Maurus, abbot, a Scots-man, his discourse of the same (820 yeares agoe:) all stronglie convincing that grosse errour of transubstantiation. Translated and compacted by M. VVilliam Guild, minister at King-Edward; De corpore et sanguine Domini. English. Abridgments	Ratramnus, monk of Corbie, d. ca. 868.; Guild, William, 1586-1657.; Aelfric, Abbot of Eynsham. Sermo de sacrificio in die Pascae. aut; Rabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mainz, 784?-856. De sacramento Eucharistiae. aut	1624 (1624)	STC 12492; ESTC S103528	49,280	152

that which thou believest thou seest not as yet for if thou diddest see it thou wouldest not say I belieue that this is the bodie and blood of Christ but I see the same Now then because fayth onelie beholdeth all that what-so-ever the same be and the carnall eye apprehendeth nothing there-of a man may easilie vnderstand that these things in outward forme which are seene are not the bodie and blood of Christ but that they are so in vertue onelie and efficacie Whence he sayeth The order of nature is not to bee looked to heere but the mightie power of Christ to bee adored who what-so-ever hee will how-so-ever he will and in what-so-ever hee will createth that which was not and beeing created changeth it into that which it was not before The same Doctor subjoyneth The true flesh of Christ saith he which was crucified and buried is then truelie the Sacrament of his flesh for the Lord Iesus Himselfe cryeth saying This is My Bodie How carefullie and wyselie therefore is this distinction made for hee speaketh concerning the flesh of Christ which was crucified which was buried that is according to which Christ was both crucified and buried that is indeede the true flesh of Christ but concerning that which is taken in the Sacrament hee sayeth This is truelie the Sacrament of his flesh distinguishing so the Sacrament of his flesh from the veritie of his flesh in that respect that he sayeth According to the veritie of his flesh which hee tooke of the Virgine that hee was crucified and buried but that mysterie which is now celebrated in the Church hee would call that the Sacrament of that true flesh wherein he was crucified Teaching the faythfull evidentlie that this flesh where-in Christ was crucified and buried is not a mysterie but the plaine veritie of nature but this flesh which beareth the similitude of it in the mysterie is not flesh indeede but by a sacramentall manner seeing according to the outward shape it is bread but in the Sacrament it is the bodie of Christ seeing he sayeth himselfe This is My Eodie Also in the wordes following what wee should eate and what we doe drinke the holie Spirit sayth hee expresseth vnto vs by the holie Prophet else-where saying Taste and see how sweet the LORD is happie is the man that trusteth in Him Showeth the corporall taste of that bread or wine how sweete the Lord is Not For what-so-ever is sweete that way is corporall onelie and delighteth the mouth To taste then howe sweete the Lord is is it to taste by the outward sense anie corporall thing Not It is the Spirituall taste then which inviteth vs to prooue this sweetnesse spirituallie and in that bread and wine to consider nothing corporallie but to vnderstand all to bee spirituallie meaned because the Lord is a Spirite and blessed is the man that putteth his trust in Him Also there-after he saith Christ is in that Sacrament because that Sacrament is the bodie of Christ therefore it is not a corporall food but a spirituall nowrishment What is more cleare more manifest and more divinelie spoken For hee sayeth In that Sacrament CHRIST is Hee sayeth not that that bread and that wine is Christ. Which if hee had sayde hee would haue affirmed that Christ was subject to corruptabilitie and mortalitie for what-so-ever is seene or tasted in that foode corporallie it is manifest that it is subject vnto corruption Heere-to hee addeth Because it is the bodie of Christ sayeth he thou wilt object and say Beholde manifestlie hee confesseth that this bread and this wine is the bodie and bloode of Christ. But take heede what is subjoyned This is not corporall foode but spirituall Looke that thou conceiue not a a carnall meaning heere-fore for there is no such thing heere True it is that it is the bodie of Christ not corporall but spirituall the blood of Christ not corporall but spirituall Therefore there is nothing to bee vnderstood heere corporallie but spirituallie It is the bodie and blood of Christ but not corporallie Also in the wordes following hee sayeth The Apostle speaketh concerning the Type of Him Our Fathers did eate the Spirituall Foode and dranke the Spirituall Drinke For the bodie of God is a spirituall bodie the bodie of Christ is the bodie of a divine Spirite because that Spirit is the Spirit of Christ who is God and therefore it is divine as wee reade in the Lamentations He is a Spirite before our face even CHRIST the LORD The Apostle hath taught vs then sufficientlie howe wee ought to vnderstand the mysterie of the bodie and bloode of Christ For when hee had sayde that Our Fathers did eate that Spirituall Foode and dranke that Spirituall Drinke which Manna not-with-standing that they did eate and which Water whereof they did drinke were corporall bodies as no man doubteth hee addeth there-to concerning the mysterie which is vsed in the Church daylie showing in what respect it is the bodie of Christ while hee sayeth that the bodie of God is a spirituall bodie For Christ is God and that bodie which hee tooke of the Virgine which suffered which was buried and rose againe was a true bodie to wit that same which remained visible and palpable But that bodie which is called The divine Mysterie is not corporall but spirituall And if it bee spirituall it is not visible nor palpable Hence Sainct Ambrose subjoyneth this saying The bodie of Christ is the bodie of a divine Spirit but a divine Spirit hath in it no corporal nor corruptible thing neither is it palpable in the existence there-of But this bodie which is celebrated in the Church according to the visible forme there-of it is both corruptible and palpable How is it sayde then to bee the bodie of a divine Spirit To wit according to that it is spirituall that is as it is invisible impalpable and consequentlie incorruptible Hence in the words following Because CHRIST is a Spirit as wee reade Lament 4 Hee is a Spirite before our face even CHRIST the LORD hee showeth clearlie in what respect it is esteemed the bodie of Christ to wit because the Spirit of Christ is in it that is the power of the Word of God which not onelie feedeth the Soule but also cleanseth it Wherefore the Author him selfe sayeth in the wordes following To what effect as the Prophet rehearseth doeth that food confirme and that drinke gladden the heart of man for confirmeth corporall food the heart of man or doeth earthlie drinke gladden the soule No. That hee might showe then what foode and what drinke hee meant hee added emphaticallie and in a speciall manner That drinke saith hee and that meate What meaneth hee by that meate and that drinke to wit the bodie of Christ the bodie of that divine Spirit And that it may bee more clearelie named It is spirituall Christ concerning whome it is sayde Christ the Lord is a spirit before our face By

at all but this which is celebrated in the Church is temporall and not eternall corruptible as that which is yet in the way and not alreadie in the natiue Countrey wherfore they differ from them selues and therefore are not one But if they bee not one howe then are they called the true bodie and blood of Christ For if it bee the bodie of Christ and that bee sayde truelie because it is so then in veritie it is his bodie and if it be in veritie his bodie it is incorruptible and doeth not nowe suffer and consequentlie is eternall Then of necessitie this bodie which is celebrated in the Church must bee incorruptible and eternall But it can-not bee denyed but that is subject to corruption which is divyded in partes to bee taken and beeing brayed with the teeth is sent downe into the Bellie Therefore it is one thing that is seene outwardlie and another thing which is believed by fayth inwardlie For as it falleth vnder the sense of the bodie it is corruptible but as fayth believeth it is incorruptible That which is seene then outwardlie is is not the thing it selfe but the resemblance of it but that which is felt inwardlie and vnderstood by the mynd is the veritie of the thing it selfe Hence it is that Sainct Augustine in the Exposition of the Evangelist Sainct Iohn sayeth while hee was speaking of the bodie blood of Christ Moses did eate saith he that Manna and Aaron and Phineas and manie moe die eate the same there who pleased GOD and they died not Wherefore because they tooke that visible meate spirituallie they tasted spirituallie that they might bee filled spirituallie for wee now-a-dayes in lyke-manner take visible bread But a Sacrament is one thing and the vertue of a Sacrament another Also in the wordes following this is the bread which came down from heaven that heavenlie Manna did fore-show this bread the Altar of God also did fore-shadow this bread All these were Sacraments which are diverse according to their signes but a-like in that which they signified Let vs heare the Apostle Sainct Paul also Brethren sayeth hee I will not haue you ignorant that our Fathers were all vnder the Cloude and did all passe through the Sea and that they were all bap●ized vnto Moses in the Cloude and in the Sea and did all eate that same Spirituall Meat and did all drinke that same Spirituall Drinke I say that same spirituall meat and that same drinke because they did eate other corporall meat dranke other corporall drinke in respect they did eate Manna But wee doe eate another thing and yet they did eate the same spirituall meat which wee doe and they all dranke that same spirituall drinke But according to the visible shape these thinges were different which not-with-standing did signifie but one thing spirituallie Howe then did they drinke of that same drinke Hee answereth They did drinke of that spirituall Rocke that followed them and that Rocke was Christ. From thence came the Bread also from whence the Drinke came and the Rocke Christ was given them for a signe but true Christ was exhibited in the worde and in the flesh Also this is the Bread which came downe from Heaven whereof if anie man eate hee shall not die But hee meaneth heere that which appertayneth vnto the vertue of the Sacrament and not that which appertayneth to the visible Sacrament Who so eateth within and not without participateth heere-of who so eateth with his heart and not with his mouth Also in the wordes following bringing in the wordes of our Saviour hee sayeth Doeth this offende you because I sayde I giue you my Flesh to eate and my Blood to drinke What then if yee shall see the Sonne of man going vp where hee was before What meaneth hee by this Heere hee taketh away that doubt which troubled them heere hee cleareth that which offended them For they thought that hee was carnallie to bestowe his bodie vpon them by morsels But hee shewed that hee was to goe vp to Heaven with his whole bodie When yee shall see the Sonne of Man then going vp where hee was before surelie then it shall be manifest that the LORD bestoweth not his bodie according as yee suppose surelie then yee shall vnderstand that his grace is not consumed by mo●sels Also hee sayeth It is the Spirite that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing And a good while after hee addeth this Who-so-euer hath not the Spirite of Christ sayeth the Apostle the same is not his Then it is the Spirite that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing The wordes that I speake vnto you are Spirit and Lyfe That is sayeth hee they are to bee vnderstoode spirituallie Vnderstandest thou them spirituallie Then they are Spirit and Lyfe vnto thee Vnderstandest thou them carnallie Even yet they are Spirite and Lyfe but not vnto thee By the authoritie then of this learned Doctor wee are taught manifestlie that the wordes of our Saviour concerning the Sacrament of his bodie and blood are to bee vnderstood spirituallie and not carnallie as hee sayeth him selfe The wordes that I speake vnto you are Spirit and Lyfe To wit the wordes concerning the eating of his fleshe and drinking of his bloode For it was concerning this that hee was speaking when his Disciples were offended Therefore that they might not bee offended our heavenlie Master calleth them backe from the flesh vnto the Spirit from corporall sense to spirituall vnderstanding Wee see then in the eating of the Lord● bodie and drinking of his blood in what respect the same is his bodie and his blood truelie to wit according to that that the same is Spirit and Lyfe Also these things that are a-like are comprehended vnder one definition Nowe concerning the true bodie of Christ it is sayde That hee is true God and true man who in the latter tymes of the world was borne of the Virgine Marie But these things cannot be sayde of the bodie of Christ which is celebrated by a mysterie in the Church According then to a certaine manner onelie it is acknowledged to be the bodie of Christ and that manner is by a figure and in resemblance that so the veritie and thing it selfe may bee the more sensiblie vnderstood In the Prayers also which are sayde after the mysterie of the body and blood of Christ and wherein the people answere AMEN the Priest vttereth these wordes Wee request Thee humblie O LORD who are now partakers of the Pledges of eternall Lyfe that which we touch in the resemblance of this Sacrament wee may receiue in the manifest participation of the thing it selfe Now we know that a pledge or resemblance is of another thing where-of they are the pledges or resemblances that is they are not to bee considered as they are in them selues but as they haue a reference to another thing for a pledge is of that for the which it is given and so is an

hand of his Spirit bee so seated and setled in your heartes that by that heavenlie Stampe it thay bee both inwardlie witnessed to your owne Consciences and outwardlie testified in your liues to the world that Your Honoures are the adopted Children of that heavenlie Father whome as You set Your selues to glorifie on earth hee shall not after the heaping of much Honour and Happinesse vpon You and Yours fayle to glorifie You in the highest Heavens which is the full Felicitie and blessed Rest of His owne Sainctes and which as the highest of all Wishes I shall not ceasse to beseech GOD to effectuate towardes YOVR HONOVRS and YOVR Hopefull and Happie Off-spring Your Honoures in all humble duetie WILLIAM GVILD TO THE READER THis Popish Plasma bred of Hydra's Braine Come from the Snakie Cerberus his Lake Which Pitchie Charon-Popes for trueth maintaine And it a Fulcre of their Fayth doth make Loe GVILD but guyle doth here expand their Packe Of wicked Wares vnto judicious view That who so reades this Booke may notise take And clearlie see this Paradox vntrue By written Word and Antiquaries olde He doth this Dogma dash and Trueth vnfolde WALTER FORBES The Life of BERTRAM PRIEST BY IOHN TRITHEMIVS a Popish Histriographer BERTRAM PRIEST and MONKE was one that was singularlie Skilfull in holie Scripture and notablie learned in like manner in humane Sciences of a most pregnant and quicke wit of an excellent and eloquent vtterance Neyther was hee lesse Notable and renowned for his holie lyfe than his great learning Hee wrote manie excellent Workes and Treatises where-of not-with-standing few haue beene suffered to come to our knowledge but in especiall hee wrote a most laudable and prayse-worthie Worke of Predestination vnto King Charls Brother to Lotharius the Emperour and like-wyse a Booke of the Bodie and Blood of the LORD Hee lived in the tyme of Lotharius the Emperour aforesaid in the YEARE of GOD 840. BERTRAM His Treatise Of the Bodie and Blood OF CHRIST TO CHARLES King of FRANCE Nephew to CHARLES the Great Emperour THE PREFACE YOu command Renowned Prince that what I thinke concerning the mysterie of the Bodie Blood of CHRIST I should signifie to your Highnesse A Commandement indeede in howe much worthie of your high Soveraignitie to enjoyne in so much moste harde to my small strength to performe For what is more worthie of Royall providence than catholicklie to vnderstand His holy Mysteries who hath deigned to bestowe vpon you that princelie Throne and not to suffer your Subjectes divers●ie to bee distracted in Opinions concerning the Bodie and Blood of CHRIST wherein doeth consist the summe of Christian Redemption For while some of the Faithfull affirme that the mysterie of the Bodie and Blood of Christ which is daylie celebrated in the Church is to bee considered without anie figure or vaile of vsuall to wit and sacramentall speach and to be taken onelie according to the naked simplicitie of the verie literall words and others againe that these things are set downe and comprehended vnder a figure and mysticallie so that it is one thing which is seene by the bodilie sight and another thing altogether diverse which the eye of fayth onelie beholdeth Heereby it commeth to passe that no little strife is found to bee amongst them And seeing the Apostle writeth to the faythfull that they thinke and speake all one thing and that no division be seene to be amongst them they are not then a litle divyded who speake so diverslie of the Bodie and Blood of Christ not beeing alike minded Wherefore your Royall Majestie stirred vp by the zeale of Fayth weighing these things aright and desiring according to the Apostles direction that all thinke and speake one thing doeth diligentlie search the hid trueth of this point that you may call backe the wanderers vnto it whence it is that you disdaine not to inquire the veritie therof even from them of the meanest ranke knowing that the mysterie of such an hid secret cannot bee vnderstood but by God his revealing of the same who without exception of persons showeth foorth the light of his trueth by whomsoever he chooseh But in how much it is pleasing to my meannes to obey your command it is as hard to dispute concerning a matter most distant from humane senses and not to be passed thorow without the instruction of the Spirit of God Beeing subject then to the direction of your Highnesse and confyding in his favour and aide concerning whom we speake in as few words as I can not trusting to mine owne wit but following the footesteps of the holie Fathers I shall open vp what I thinke in this matter YOVR High Excellence desires then to vnderstād If that Bodie and Blood of CHRIST which is taken by the mouth of the Faythfull in the Church bee taken so in a mysterie or according to a literall veritie that is Whether it containe some secret thing which is onlie manifest to the eyes of Fayth or without the covering of anie such mysterie if the eyes of the bodie beholde that outwardlie which the soule and mynde doeth beholde inwardlie That the whole matter which is in hand then may appeare manifest and if it bee that same Bodie which was borne of the Virgine Marie which suffered died and was buried and rising againe ascended to heaven and sitteth now at the right hand of the Father let vs looke throughlie first to the former of these questions And lest we be intangled within the obscure circuit of ambiguous and doubtfull words we must first define what a figure is and what we call literall veritie that so eyeing some certaine thing we may know assuredlie whither to direct the course of this our present discourse A figure then is a certaine overshadowing of a thing with some vailes or ornaments of speach manifesting so what it intendes as for example when wee speake of the worde wee call it Bread as in the Lords Prayer when wee desire to bee given vs our daylie Bread or when Christ who is the incarnate worde speaking in the Gospell sayeth of himselfe I am the living Bread which came downe from Heaven Or when hee calleth him●elfe a Vine and his Disciples Branches all these speaches say one thing and signifie another But literall veritie is the demonstration of a manifest thing not covered with anie resemblances of shadowing but insinuated in its owne pure and proper and that wee may speake more plainlie in its owne naturall and manifest signification as when Christ is said to be borne of the Virgine Marie suffered was crucified died and buried there is nothing heere over shadowed with covering figures but the veritie of the thing is showne by the proper signification of the naturall words themselues neither may wee vnderstand anie other thing heere than is spoken But in the former examples it was not so for Christ substantiallie is not Bread nor a Vine neither were the Apostles Branches

Argumenta à veterum testimonio petita posse merito c●ntemni dum ●a opponuntur In like manner such as they grant of the Auncientes to bee but counterfets especiallie affirming so when they are adduced against them in peremptor manner they obtrude them as true when they seeme to make for them as the cleare collation of the ensuing places will evidentlie giue notice Bella●m lib. 1 de Christo cap. 10 compared with lib. 2 de Pont. cap. 16. Also lib. 2 de Missa cap. 12 compa●ed with lib. 1 de Verbo cap. 14. In the same forme they vse their owne moste famous Writers ●nd Histriographers calling them ●eart Liars when they make against them as Bellarmine doeth ●ozomen and Socrates lib. 1 de Cleri●is cap. 20 and yet as moste faythfull Writers hee vseth them to prooue this point lib. 4 de Pont. cap. 9. Neither may I omit the shamelesse corrupting of the Fathers by putting in false wordes as well as ●hey raze out the true Examples whereof in place of manie wee may see in Bellarmine lib. 2 de verbo cap. ●2 where hee citeth Chrysostome to haue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where hee hath truelie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and lib. 2. de reliq Sanctor cap. 3 hee maketh Chrysostome to say in his Sermon of luventius and Maximus Tumules Martyrum adoremu● where there is no such word in t●● Greeke And as wee haue showne how they vse the ancient Fathers at the pleasure so how they vse ancie●● Councels when they make not f●● them let Bellarmine declare in h●● Preface De summo Pontifice and e● where accusing the second gen●rall Councell of Heresie for oppug●●ning the Papall Supremacie An● 381 and the Councell of Chalcedo● holden Anno 451 of falshood an● fraude while as yet they will haue the Pope onelie with his privat● Consistorie whether hee erre 〈◊〉 not to be obedientlie believed But moste clearelie to con●clude how despisinglie they reject not onelie humane Antiquitie b●● divine there-withall how ever the● brag of nothing more let their ow●● plaine Confession in that Councel● of Constance Sess. 13 beare witnesse● where concerning the taking away the Cup from the people they say● Albeit Christ instituted the Supper vnder both kyndes of Bread and Wine and such-lyke albeit in the primitiue Church this Sacrament was received vnder both kindes yet for avoyding some dangers let it be taken heere-after by Laiks onlie vnder one kynd and that vnder the paine of a Curse as the Councell of Trent hath decreed So that as the chiefe Priests and Elders and all the Councell sought false witnesses against Christ and tho manie came yet found they none till at last two came Even so altho the Pope and all his Councell seeke busilie false witnesses against Christes blessed Trueth registrate in Scripture yet amongst these reverend Fathers and ancient Doctors of the primitiue Church they shall finde none conspyring so together in everie age as they alleadge for them tho they would make a show of manie who seeme to say for them yet in effect the judicious and vnpartiall Reader and remarker shall finde it so no wise till some came in in later tymes for the behoose of that Romish high Priest and few Pople in great store in the Lords field and thorow faire pretences and secret subdolous meanes which they vsed and the not so warie vigilancie of the Lords owne Servants altho they were not so clearelie perceived nor heedfullie resisted in the beginnings yet when that wicked seede beganne to kythe more plainlie by anie growth and discoverie of it selfe it was remarked by sundrie vvho vvere awake and from tyme to tyme opposed by some tho few who were as Elias in Achabs time or the two afflicted witnesses spoken of in the Revelation who were still suppressed as they rose and spake or els killed by that bloodie Beaft A particular prooffe of the trueth heereof your Honours may see in these worthie Monuments of Antiquitie concerning that maine pillar whereon Poperie standeth the verie Soule of their Soule-Masses which beeing taken away lyke Dagons house it falleth to the ground and the palmes of the handes of that proude Idole are cut off where-by for their spirituall merchandize they so largelie receiue COnsidering then the worthie paines that the Pennes of the godlie of our Neighbour-Nation from time to time haue taken for the common benefite of all in translating sundrie worthie Authors for comforting and confirming the truelie religious amongst them as also finding how that glorious reformed and refined Church of France had not suffered the same to bee hid from the eyes of their people and had therefore translated the same into their natiue Idiom the sight whereof in that worthie Gentle-mans Librarie George Ogilvie of Carnusie a Lover of Letters and the Learned did much encourage me to put Pen to Paper And therewith considering with what serious intreatie that great glorious Martyr Bishop Hooper at his going to the fyre made to Doctor Brookes then Bishop of Glocester for his right information in the matter of the Sacrament desiring him to reade this worthie BERTRAM whom in a singular and earnest manner hee recommended vnto him Weighing these together I say and viewing with what rare light as a cleare Torch-bearer this man so long since hath gone before howsoever others worthilie of late haue followed after I was moved to bestow some paines in exposing it especiallie in these dangerous dayes to the common view of all whereby if our spirituall Nasci Pasci the new birth and new repaste be compared and the trueth or realitie of both according to the effectuall force and vertue which a thing hath be rightlie considered which maketh the verie renewed Gentile to be a true Iew indeed so far as ignorant Nicodemus swarved by his literall and carnall meaning from the true vnderstanding of Christs words when Hee spake of the one as farre with the carnall Capernaite shall our Adversaries bee groslie found to erre by their like literall and carnall meaning from the true vnderstanding of Christs words when he spake of the other And that to them as clearelie Hee showeth the way to vnderstand aright the true manducation of His Bodie while as Hee sayeth The wordes that I speake are spirite and lyfe as Hee pointeth at the true meaning of His wordes that a man must be borne of new againe while as Hee sayeth Except a man be borne of water and the spirite he cannot enter into the Kingdome of GOD. These paines then that I haue taken heerein with a most duetifull hand devoted heart to your Honours gracious acceptation humblie doe I offer the same without assentation which least of anie becommeth not my calling ceasing to blaze mans praise and as best befits mee I pray to God that the deepe Impression of His Image who is the viue Character of the Father may by the powerfull

beene so except the change had beene to the better neither is that change corporallie but spirituallie made of necessitie the speach thereof is figuratiue because vnder the vaile or curtaine as it were of corporall bread and wine is convoyed vnto the soule the spirituall bodie and bloode of Christ Not that these are the existences of two diverse things to wit as of a bodie and a spirit but one and that same selfe thing according to one consideration is a sort of bread and wine and according to another is the bodie and blood of Christ according to that as they are touched corporallie they are kyndes of corporall creatures but according to that power whereby they are made so spirituallie they are the mysteries of the bodie and blood of Christ. Let vs consider also the Laver of holie Baptisme which worthilie is called the fountaine of life because it reformeth the commers vnto it by the newnesse of a better life and gif●eth them that are dead in sinne with liuelie grace and righteousnesse according to that it is the element of water hath it that power and yet except it had the vertue of Sanctification it could not wash away the blot of sinne and except it contained the strength of life it could no wise giue life to the dead not in the flesh I meane but in the soule And yet if wee consider in that fountaine onelie that which our bodilie eye perceiveth it is seene to bee a moyst element subject to corruption having no power but to wash onelie the bodie but the accessorie vertue of the holie Spirit by priestlie consecration maketh it pithie not onelie to wash away the filth of the bodie but also to purge by a spirituall grace the foulenesse of the soule Beholde then in one and that same element wee see two contrarieties to remaine that is that which is subject to corruption to giue incorruption and that which hath no lyfe to giue lyfe It is manifest then into that fountaine to be both that which the corporall senses seeketh and therefore to bee changeable and corruptible and againe that also to bee in it which onelie sayth beholdeth and therefore cannot bee corrupted nor suffer the losse of lyfe If thou consider it as it washeth outwardlie it is an element but if thou weigh it as it cleanseth inwardlie it is the power of lyfe of sanctification and immortalitie Therefore in the proper nature thereof it is corruptible water but in the mysterie thereof and holie vse it is curing grace even so that which is called the bodie and blood of Christ in the outward show considered it is a creature subject to mutabilitie and corruption but if wee consider the vertue of the mysterie thereof it is life giving immortalitie to the partakers thereof These thinges then are not all one as they are seene and as they are believed for according to that as they are seene they beeing corruptible they feed the bodie which is corruptible but as they are believed beeing immortall they feede our soules to immortal●●ie The Apostle also writing to the Corinths sayeth I would not Brethen that you should bee● ignorant that all our Fathers were vnder the Cloude and all passed though the Sea and were all baptized vnto Moses in the Cloude and in the Sea and did cate the same spirituall meate and drinke the same spirituall drinke For they dranke of that spirituall Rocke that followed them and that Rocke was CHRIST Wee perceiue then that the Sea and the Cloude did carrie a figure of Baptisme and that our Fathers in the olde Testament haue beene baptized in them Now could the Sea in that it was an element haue in it the vertue of Baptisme or could the Cloude in that respect it did kythe the thickest part of the aire sanctifie the people Neither can we say that the Apostle speaking in Christ hath sayde vntruelie that our Fathers were baptized in the water and in the cloude And albeit that Baptisme did not represent the same forme of Baptisme of Christ which is nowe vsed in the Church daylie yet notwithstanding no man in his wits can denye but it was a sort of Baptisme and in it our Fathers to haue beene baptized except madlie he presume to gaine-say the Apostles wordes Therefore the sea and the cloud in that they are naturall bodies giue not the cleannesse of sanctification but according to that they contained in them invisiblie the sanctification of the holie Spirit for there was in them a visible forme which might appeare to the corporall senses of all not in similitude but in the veritie it selfe and inwardlie a spirituall power shyned which appeared not to carnall eyes but to the eyes onelie of the soules of the godlie Like-wyse the heavenlie Foode which rayned from Heaven and the water that gushed from the rocke was corporall and fedde and watered the people corporallie yet not-with-standing the Apostle calleth that M●nna and the water Spirituall Food Wherefore serveth this Because there was a spirituall power of the word of GOD in these substances which did feede and water rather the soules of the believers than their bodies And altho that meate and drinke fore-shewed the mysterie of the bodie and blood of Christ then onelie to come which the Church nowe celebrateth as come not-with-standing the holie Apostle affirmeth constantlie That our Fathers did eate that same spirituall foode and did drinke that same spirituall drinke Perhaps then thou wilt aske what hee meaneth by that same spirituall meate and drinke To wit Even that same which the Children of the faythfull eate and drinke now-a● dayes in the Church for wee must not conceiue diverselie heere because one and that selfe-same CHRIST who fed the people in the Desart being baptized in the water and the clowde hee watered them then with his bloode which hee gaue them to drinke and fed them then with his flesh and nowe in the Church of the Faythfull hee feedeth his people with the same bread of his bodie and giveth them the same water of his bloode both for drinke and nowrishment Which thing the Apostle did goe about to signifie when hee sayde That our Fathers did eate that same spiritual food and dranke that same spirituall drinke and therefore hee did consequentlie adde That they dranke of that Spirituall Rocke which followed them and the Rocke was CHRIST that wee might there-by vnderstand that Christ in the Desart did consist in that spirituall Rocke and gaue to the people the water of his bloode Who there-after having taken flesh of the Virgine hath given him selfe in our tyme vnto the death of the Crosse for the saving of the faythfull and since that tyme hath shed the water of his blood where-by not onelie wee might bee redeemed but also where-of wee might plentifullie drinke A wonderfull mysterie indeed because incomprehensible and inestimable Hee had not as yet taken on the shape of Man Hee had not as yet tasted of Death for the

proceede from the Vine-grape by the sanctification of the holie mysterie is made the blood of Christ not visiblie as is vsuall is substantiall conversions but as the same Father sayeth by the invisible operation of the holie Ghost And because they are a farre more different thing by the invisible power than they appeare outwardlie and are seene to bee hee distinguisheth them while he saith that the bread and wine are therefore compared to the bodie and blood of Christ because as the substance of the visible bread and wine nowrisheth and cheareth the outward man so the worde of God which is the liuelie bread by the participation thereof refresheth in like manner the soules of the faythfull By saying of which things hee confesseth plainlie that whatsoever is taken outwardlie in the Sacrament of the Bodie and Blood of our Lord it is meete for the refreshment of the bodie onelie but the word of God which is the invisible bread beeing invisiblie present in that Sacrament doeth feede the soules of the faythfull invisiblie quickning them by the participation of himselfe Hence it is that the same divine Doctor sayeth that it is a Sacrament in anie celebration when the action is so performed that some thing is vnderstood to be signified which is to bee holielie taken By saying which hee showeth that all Sacramentes in holie matters doe containe some mysticall thing and that it is one thing which is seene by our outward eyes and another thing which is inwardlie to bee vnderstood by our mynds And after this hee showeth what Sacraments are to bee celebrated by the faythfull to wit Baptisme and that of the Bodie and Blood of Christ. Which are called Sacramentes because vnder the covering of the corporall thinges in these Sacramentes the divine vertue more secretlie worketh salvation Whence it is that from their secret and sacred vertue they are called Sacraments And thereafter hee sayeth that in the Greeke they are called MYSTERIES because they haue a secret and hid nature and disposition with them What then are we taught here but that these things which are sayd to bee the bodie and blood of our Lord are therefore called mysteries because they haue a secret and hid disposition and qualitie that is that one thing they show outwardlie and another thing invisiblie they worke inwardlie From this they are also called Sacramentes because by the covering of corporall things the heavenlie power more secretlie dispenseth the salvation of the faithfull partakers Out of all then which hath bene formerlie spoken wee haue showne vnto you that the bodie and blood of Christ which is taken in the Church by the mouth of the faythfull are signes and figures according to their visible shape but according to their invisible substance that is according to the power of the heavenlie word they are the bodie and blood of CHRIST truelie whence it is that according as they are seen as the visible creatures they nowrish the bodie but according to the vertue of the more powerfull substance they both nowrish and sanctifie the soules of the faythfull WE must looke now to the drift of the second Question consider if that same bodie which was borne of the Virgine and suffered died and was buried and sitteth now at the right Hand of the Father bee that which is taken by the mouth of the faythfull daylie in the mysterie of the Sacrament Then let vs aske at Sainct Ambrose what hee doeth thinke concerning this matter for hee sayeth in his first Booke of the Sacramentes Surelie it is a wonderfull thing that God rained downe heavenlie Food vnto our Fathers and that they were daylie nowrished vpon celestiall meat whence it is sayde that Man did eate the bread of Angels and yet they who did eate that bread died all in the Desart But that meate which thou takest and that bread of life which came down from heaven furnisheth the nowrishment of everlasting lyfe and who-so-ever eateth this bread hee shall never die and this bread is the bodie of Christ. Looke then in what respect it is that this holie Doctor sayeth that Christes bodie is foode which the faythfull receiue in the Church for hee sayeth that bread of lyfe which came downe from heaven furnisheth the nowrishment of everlasting lyfe Now I aske if it furnisheth that nowrishment as it is seene or as it is taken corporallie as it is chewed with the teeth swallowed with the mouth and received in the stomacke Not. For that way it should feed the flesh onelie which is mortall neyther giveth it anie immortalitie that way nor can it bee sayde that who-so-ever eateth this bread so shall not die for ever for that which the bodie receiveth is corruptible neither can it availe vnto eternall lyfe because that which is subject to corruption cannot giue eternitie Therfore in that bread there is a lyfe which is not seene with these corporall eyes but which wee beholde with sight of fayth and that is that heavenlie bread which came downe from heaven and concerning the which it is sayd who-so-ever eateth this bread shall liue for ever which is the bodie of our Lord. Also in the wordes following when hee was speaking of the almightie power of Christ he sayeth so The word of God that might of nothing make that which was not can Hee not change these thinges which are into that vvhich they were not For it is not a greater matter to create new things than to change natures Sainct Ambrose then sayeth that there is in the Sacrament of the bodie and blood of our Lord a mutation made marveilouslie because divinelie and ineffablie in respect it is an incomprehensible mysterie Let them tell then sayeth he who will haue nothing vnderstood according to an internall secret vertue but all to bee esteemed after an outward and visible manner onelie wherein this mutation is made for according to the substance of the creatures they are that same thereafter which they were before the consecration they were first bread and wine vnder the which shape they beeing consecrated are seene still so as yet to remaine It must be inwardlie then that they are changed by the mightie power of the holie Spirit and that which fayth beholdeth feedeth the soule onlie and furnisheth the nowrishment of eternall lyfe Also in the words following he sayeth Wherefore seekest thou the order of nature in the bodie of Christ aboue the order of nature our Lord was borne of the Virgine Marie But heere then aryseth the hearer and sayeth that that is the verie bodie of Christ which is seene and that is his blood which is drunken neither that we must aske how it is so but that wee must belieue that it is so Thou seemest for-soothe to thinke well but if thou weigh diligentlie the force of the wordes thou believest indeede faythfullie that it is the bodie and blood of Christ but yet if thou wouldest vnderstand aright thou shalt finde that