c your eares to heare fables lyes fanities euil things c so now geue ouer your members to godlynes your touÌ„gs to speake your eares to heare your eyes to see your mouthes to last your hands to worke your feete to go about such thiuges as maye make to gods glory sobrieâ—y of life loue to your brethreÌ„ that daily more and more diligently for in a stay to stand you cannot either better or worse you are to day then you wer yesterday But better I trust you be wil be if you marke wel my theme that is Repent you The which thing that you would do as before I haue huÌ„bly besought yon eueÌ„ so now yet once more I do agayn besech you that for the tender mercies of God in Christ Iesus our Lord Repent you repent you for the kingdom of heauen that is a kingdom ful oâ—al ritches pleasures myrth beauty swetenes eternall felicitie is at hand The eye hath not sene the like the eare hath not heard the like the hart of man cannot conceiue the treasures pleasures of this kingdoÌ„ which now is at hand to such as repent that is to such as are sory for theyr sins beleue Gods mercy through Christ earnestly purpose to leade a new life The God of mercy through Christ his soÌ„ne graunt vs his holy spirit work in our hartes this sorow fayth new life which through his grace I haue spoken of both now for euer Amen ¶ An other Sermon made also by the sayd Maister Iohn Bradford vpon the Supper of the Lord. THere are two Sacramentes in Christes Church the one of initiation that is wherewith we be enraled as it were in to the houshold family of God which Sacrament we call Baptisme the other wherwith we be conserued fed kept nourished to continue in the same Familye which is called the Lords supper or the body and bloud of our Sauiour Iesus Christ broken for our syns and shed for our trausgressions Of the former Sacrament that is of Baptisme to speake now I am not purposed because occasioÌ„ and tyme serue not so therto Of the second therfore wyl I speake somthing by Gods grace if that first you remeÌ„ber this that Baptisme in Christs Church now sithen Christes death is come in place of CircumcisioÌ„ which was in the same church afore Christs comming Whereby we may see that Christian Parents seéme to bee no losse bound to offer theyr Infants and Sabes to be baptised that they may be takeÌ„ and accoÌ„pted of vs as meÌ„bers of Christes mistical body wherunto thei are receiued and sealed then wer the Hebrues their children to be taken as pertayning to the coue naunt league with God wherin they were enroled alonely the circumstance of the eight day not necessarye to be obserued being now abrogated But to come agayne of the Lords Supper I am purposed presently to speake through the helpe of God because we are assembled in Christ I hope to celebrate the same Now that the things which I shall speake may be better obserued and caryed away of you I wyl tell you how in what sort I wyll speake of it Three thynges would I haue marked as the principals and scopes wherto I wyl referre al that I shal at this time speake therof They be these Who what and wherefore That is to make it more plaine who dyd institute this thing which we are about to celebrate this is the first The second is what y thing is which is instituted And the last is wherfore and to what end it was instituted whereby we shall be taught how to vse it For the fyrst who did institute thys Sacrament and Supper you all do know that things are more esteemed sometyme for the dignity and authority of the person sometime for the wisedom of the person sometyme for the power and magnificence of the persou and sometime for the tender loue and kyndnes of the person If neede were I could by examples set forth euery one of these but I hope it is not necessarye Now then how can the thyng which we be about to celebrate but be estemed of euery one highlye in that the Auth or of it doth want no dignity no authority no wysedome no power no magnificence no holmes no tender loue and kindnes but hath al dignity authority wisdome power magnificence holynes tender lone mercy glory and all that can be wished absolutely He is God eteruall coequall and substantiall wyth the Father with the holy Ghost the image of the substance of God the wysedome of the Father the brightnes of hys glory by whom all things were made are ruled and gouerned He is the Kyng of all Kyngs and the Lord of all Lords He is the Messias of the world our most deare and louing brother Sauiour Mediatour Aduocate Intercessor Husbaud Priest So that the thyng which commeth from hym caÌ„not but be estemed loued and embraced if dignity authority wisdom power glory goodnes mercy lyke vs Yea if auy thing that can be wyshed lyke vs theu cannot thys whych our Lord dyd institute but like vs and that so much the more by how much it is oue of the last things which he did institute commaunde God open our eyes to see these thynges accordingly so shall we come with more reuerence to thys Table of the Lord which thing he graunt for hys mercies sake Amen And thus much for the fyrst who dyd institute thys Sacrament Now to the second what the Sacrament is If we shall aske our eies our nose our mouth our taste our handes and the reason of man they wyll all make a consonant answer that it is bread wyne And verelye herein they speake the truth and lye not as by many thyngs may be proued although the Papists prate their pleasure to the coutrary And here my dearely beloued I thynke I shal not be either tedious or vnprofitable vnto you if that I tary a litle in shewing this verity that the substance of bread and wine remaine in the Sacrament after the wordes of consecration as they call them be spoken Wherby we may learne how shameles beastes they be whych would enforce men to beleue traÌ„substaÌ„tiation which is an errour wherupon in a maner dependeth all popery For it is the stay of theyr Priesthood whych is neyther after the order of Aaron nor after the order of Melchisedech but after the order of Baal whych thing is somthyng seene by theyr number For the false prophets Priestes of Baal were alwayes many moe in number when the wycked were in authority then the true Priestes and Prophetes of the Lord as the holy histories of the Bible do teach Reade the third of the Kings the. 18 chap. That in the supper of the Lord or in the Sacrament of Christes body which the Papists call the sacrameÌ„t of the Aulter as though that were Christes Sacrament which thing they
swearing dronkennes whoredome couetousnes idlenes c. all such I say shal not nor cannot enter into Gods kingdome but hell fire is prepared for them weeping and gnashing of teeth whereunto alas I feare me very many wyll needes go in that very many wil be as they haue bene let vs euen to the wearing of our toung to the stumps preach and pray neuer so much to the contrary and that euen in the bowels of Iesus Christ as now I besech you all all all and euery mothers childe to repent and lament your synne to trust in Gods mercy and to amende your lyues Now me thinkes ye are somewhat astonied wherby I gather that presently you desire this repentāce that is this sorow good hope and newnes of lyfe The which that you may the rather attaine and get to your comforts as I haue gone about to bee a meane to stir vp in you by Gods grace this desire of repentance so through the same grace of God wyl I go about now to shew you how you may haue your desire in this behalfe And first concerning this part namely sorow for your syns and harty lamenting of the same For this if you desire the hauing of it you must beware y you thinke not that of your selues or of your own freewyl by any meanes you can get it You maye easelye deceiue your selues and mock your selues thincking more of your selues then is seemely All good thinges and not peeces of good thinges but al good things saith S. Iames come from God the father of light If therefore penance be good as it is good then the partes of it be good Frō God therfore do they come and not of our free wyll It is the Lord that mortifieth that bringeth down that humbleth saith the scriptur in sundry places After thou haddest stricken my thigh saith Ieremy I was ashamed Loe he sayth after thou hadst stricken me and therfore praieth he euen in the last words almost he writen Turne vs Lord and we shall be turned The which thing Dauid vseth verye often Wherfore first of al if thou wouldest haue this part of penance as for the whole because it is Gods gift so for this part go thou vnto God make some litle praier as thou canst vnto his mercy for the same in this or like sort Mercifull father of our Sauiour Iesus Christ bicause I haue synned and done wickedly thorow thy goodnes haue receiued a desire of repentance wherto this thy long sufferaunce doth draw my hard hart I beseche thee for thy mercies sake in CHRIST to worke the same repentance in me and by thy spirit power grace so to humble mortify and teare my concsience for my syns to saluatiō that in thy good time thou mayest comfort and quicken me again through Iesus Christ thy dearely beloued Sonne Amen After this sort I say or otherwyse as thou thinckest good if thou wilt haue this first part contrition or sorow for thy sins do the beg it of God thorow Christ And when thou hast asked it as I haue laboured to driue thee from trusting in thy selfe so now I go about to moue thee from flattering of thy self from sluggishnes and negligence to be diligent to vse these meanes folowing Unto prayer which I would thou shouldest fyrst vse as thou canst secondly get thee Gods law as a glas to toote in for in it and by it commeth the true knowledge of synne without whych knowledge there can bee no sorrow For how can a man sorow for his synnes which knoweth not hys synnes As when a man is sycke the fyrst step to health is to know his sycknes euen so to saluation the first step is to know thy damnation due for thy synnes The law of God therfore must be gotten and wel tooted in that is we must looke in it spiritually not corporally or carnally as the outward word or letter doth declare and vtter and so our Sauiour teacheth vs in Mathew expounding the sixt seuenth commaūdements not onely after the outward deede but also after the hart making there the anger of the hart a kynde of murther lusting after an other mans wyfe a kinde of adultery And this is one of the differences betwene Gods law and mās lawe that of this mans law I meane I am not contemnable so long as I obserue outwardli the same But gods law goeth to the roote to the hart condemning me for the inwarde motion allthough outwardlye I lyue most holyly As for example If I kil no mā though in my hart I hate mans law condemneth me not but otherwyse doth Gods lawe And why for it seeth the fountain whence the euil doth spring If hatred were taken out of the hart then loftynes in lookes detraction in toūg and murther by hand could neuer ensue If lusting wer out of the hart curiosity in countenaunce wantonnes in wordes baudy boldnes in body would not appeare In that therfore this outward euyll springes out of the inward corruption seyng Gods law also is a law of liberty as sayth saynt Iames and spirituall as saith s Paule perfectly spiritually it is to be vnderstand if we wyll truly come to the knowledge of our syns For of this inward corruption reason knoweth but litle or nothing I had not knowen sayth Paul that lusting which to reason and to them which are guided only by reasō is thought but a triste I had not knowen sayth he this lusting to haue ben syn if the lawe had not sayd Non concupisces Thou shalt not lust To the knowledge therefore of our syn without which we cannot repent or be sory for our syn let vs secondly get vs Gods law as a glasse to toote in and that not onely literally outwardly or partly but also spiritually inwardly and throughly Let vs consider the hart and so shal we see the foule spots we are stayned withal at lest inwardly wherby we the rather may be mooued to harty sorow and sighing For as s Austen saith it is a glasse which feareth no body but euen looke what a one thou art so it paynteth thee out In the law we see it is a foule spot not to loue the lord our God withal all I say our hart soule power might and strength and that continually In the law it is a foule spot not onely to make to our selues anye grauen Image or similitude to bowe thereto c. but also not to frame our selues wholy after the image whereto we are made not to bow to it to worship it In the law we see that it is a foule spot not onely to take Gods name in vayne but also not earnestly hartely and euen continually to call vpon his name onely to geue thankes vnto him to beleue to publish and lyue his holy word In Gods lawe we see it is a foule spot to our soules not onely to bee an open prophaner of the Saboth day but also not to rest
knoweth he hath to much synne vnwyllingly in him so that thereto he wyl not adde willing offences This willing witting offending synning whosoeuer doth flatter him selfe therin doth euidently demoÌ„strate shew that he neuer yet in dede tasted of Christ truly He was neuer truly perswaded or beloued how soule a thing sin is how greuous a thing Gods anger is how ioyfull and precious a thyng Gods mercy in Christ is how exeeding broade wyde hye dâ—eepe Christes loue is Perchance he can write prate talke preach of this geare but yet he in part by faith neuer felt this geare For if he did once feele this geare in dede then would he be so far from continuing in syn willingly wittingly that wholy and hartely he would geue ouer himself to that which is contrary I mean to a new lyfe renuing his youth euen as the Egle doth For as we being in the seruitude of syn demoÌ„strate our seruice by geuing ouer our members to the obeying of syn from iniquitie to iniquity euen so we being made free from synne by faith in Iesus Christ endued with Gods spirite a spirit of liberty must nedes demonstrate this fredom liberty by geuing ouer our members to the obedience of the spir it by the which we are lead guided from vertue to vertue all kynde of holynes As the vnbeleuers declare their vnbeliefe by the working of the euil spirit in them out wardly the fruits of y â—â—esh euen so the beleuers declare their faith by the working of Gods good spirit in them outwardly the fruits of the spirit For as the deuyll is not dead in those which are hys but worketh styll to their damnation so is not God dead in them which be his but worketh styl to their saluation The which working is not the cause of the one or the other being in any but onely a demonstration a signe a fruit of the same as the Apple is not the cause of the Appletree but a fruite of it Thus then you see briefly that newnes of lyfe is not in deede a part of penance but a fruit of it a demonstration of the iustifying faith a signe of Gods good spirit possessing the hart of the peniteÌ„t as the old lyfe is a fruit of impenitencie a demonstration of a lip faith or vnbeliefe a signe of Sathans spirit possessing the hart of the impenitent which al those be that be not penitent For meane I know none He that is not penitent the same is impenitent he that is not gouerned by Gods spirit the same is gouerned by Sathans spirit For al that the Christes are gouerned with the spirit of Christ which spirite hath his fruites Al other y be not Christs are the deuils He that gathereth not â—â— Christ scattereth abroad Therfore dearly beloued I befech you to consider this grace deceiue not yourselues If you be not Christes then pertain you to the deuil of which thing the fruits of the fleshe doth assure you as whordom adultecy vncleannes wantoÌ„nes idolatry witchcraft enuy strife contention wrath sedition murther dronkeÌ„nes glut tony blasphemy slothfulnes idlenes baudy talking scâ—aÌ„dering c If these apples grow out of the appletrees of your haries surely surely the deuel is at Inne with you you are his birdes whom when hee hath well fed he wyll broth you eate you chaw you and champ you worlde wythout end in eternall wo and mysery But I am otherwyse perswaded of you al. I trust you be al Christ Iesus hys people and chyldren yea brethren by fayth As ye see your sins in Gods law and tremble sigh sorow and sob for the same euen so you see hys great mercies in his Gospell and free promises therfore ar glad mery ioyfull for that you are accepted into Gods fauour haue your sins pardoned are endued with the good spirit of God euen the seale signe manuell of your election in Christ before the beginuing of the world The which spirit for that he is the spirit of life geuen to you to worke in you with you by you here in thys life saÌ„ctification holynes wher unto you are called that ye might be holy euen as your heauenly father is holy I besech you all by admonition and warning of you that you would styr vp the giftes of God geuen to you generally particularly to the edifying of his Church that is I pray you that you would not molest the good spirit of God by rebelling against it when it prouoketh and calleth you to go on forwards that the which is holy might yet be more holy hee which is ryghteous myght be more righteous as the euil spirit moueth and stirreth vp the filthye to be yet more filthy the couetous to be more couetons the wicked to be more wycked Decclare you now your repentance by woorkes of repentance Bryng fouth frutis and worthy fruites Let your sorowing for your euyls demonstratine it selfe departing froÌ„ the euyls you haue vsed Let your certainty of pardon of your syns through Christ and your ioyin him be demoÌ„strated by pursuing of the good things which Gods word teacheth you You are nowe in Christ Jesus Gods workmanship to do good workes which God hath prepared for you to walke in For the grace of God that bringeth saluation vnto all men hath appeared teacheth vs that we should deny vngodlynes worldly lustes and that we should lyue soberly righteously godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope glorious appearing of the mighty God of our sauiour Iesus Christ whych gaue him selfe for vs to redeme vs from all vnrighteousnes to purge vs a peculiar people vnto himself feruently geueÌ„ vnto good works Againe Titus 3. for we our selues also wer in times past vnwise disobedient deceiued seruing iustes diuers pleasures liuing in maliciousnes and enuy full of hate hating one another But after that the kindnes and loue of God our Sauiour to manward appeared not by the deedes of righteousnes which we wrought but of his mercy he saued vs by the fouÌ„â—aine of the new birth with the renning of the holy Ghost which he shed on vs abnudantly thorow Iesus Christ our Sauiour that wee once iustified by his grace should be heires of eternall lyfe through hope This is a true saying But I wyll make an end for I am to tedious Dearely beloued repent your syns that is be sory for y which is past beleue in Gods mercy for pardon how deepely soeuer you haue sinued both purpuse ear nestly pernse a new life bringing forth worthy true fruites of repentance As you haue geueÌ„ ouer your members from syn so syn to serue the deuyll your tounges to sweare to lie to slaiter to scold to iest to scost to baudy talk to vain ianglyng to boasting c. your handes to picking groping ydlenes fighting c your feete to skipping going to euil to dauÌ„sing
speech If Ministers did their duties in Catechisyng preaching then doubtles to call the Sacrament Christes body to esteme it accordingly cold not geue occasion to idolatry and coÌ„tirme it Therfore wo vnto them that preach not There be two euyls about the Sacraments which to auoid the holy Ghost hath taught vs For lest we should wyth the Papists thinke Christes bodye present in or with the bread really naturally and corporally to bee receyued with out bodelye mouth where ther is no other presence of Christes body then spirituall and to the fayth in many places he keepeth styll the name of bread as in the epistle to the Corinthians the tenth and eleuenth chapters And lest we should make to lyght of it making it but a bare sygne no better then common bread the holy Ghost calleth it Christes body whose speech I wish we wold follow and that not onely as wel to auoyd the euyl which is now a daies most to be feared coÌ„cerning the Sacrament I meane of contemnyng it as also for that no faythfull man coÌ„meth to the Sacrament to receyue bread simply but rather yea altogether to communicate with Christs body and bloud For els to eate and drinke as Paule sayth they haue houses of their own The contempt of the Sacrament in the dayes of Kyng Edward hath caused these plagues vpon vs presentlye the Lord be mercyful vnto vs Amen And thus much for the obiection of easlyng the Sacrament by the name of Christes body Why sayth one to call the Sacrament Christes bodye and to make none other presence then by grace or spiritualy to faith which is of things hoped for of things which to the bodely senses do not appeare is to make no presence at all or to make hym none otherwyse present then he is in hys woord when it is preached and therefore what neede wee to receiue the Sacrament in as much as by thys doctrine a man may receiue hym dayly in the fiâ—â—d as wel as much as in the church in the celebration and vse of the Sacrament To this obiection I first aunswer that in deede neyther the scripture nor Christian faith wyl geue vs leaue to make any carnall reall naturall corporall or any such grosse presence of Christes naturall body in the Sacrament For it is in heauen and the heauens must haue it as sayth Peter tyll Christes commyng to iudgement except we would deny the humanity of Christ the veritye of mans nature in hym The presence therfore which we beleue and confesse is such a presence as reason knoweth not the world cannot learne nor any that looketh in this matter with our eyes or heareth with other eares then wyththe eares and eyes of the spirite and of fayth Whych fayth though it bee of thinges hoped for so of things absent to the corporall senses yet this absence is not an absence in deede but to reason and the old man the nature of fayth being a possession of thynges hoped for Therfore to graunt a presence to fayth is not to make no presence at all but to such as knowe not fayth And thys the Fathers taught affirmyng Chryst to bee present by grace and therefore not onely a signification but also an exhibition and geuyng of the grace of Christes body that is of lyfe and of the seede of immortalitie as Cypriane wryteth We eate lyfe and drinke lyfe sayth S. Augustine â—efecle a presence of the Lord by grace or in grace sayth Chrysostome We receiue the celestial foode that commeth from aboue sayth Athanasius We receyue the property of the natural coÌ„iunction and knitting together sayth Hylerius We perceyue the nature of flesh the blessyng that geuethlyfe in bread and wyne sayth Cyrillus And els where he sayth that wyth the bread and wyne we eate the vertue of Christes proper flesh lyfe grace and the property of the body of the onely begotten Sonne of God which thyng behimselfe expoundeth to be life Basilius saith that we by the Sacrament receiue the mystical Aduent of Christ grace and the very vertue of his very nature Ambrose sayth that we receiue the Sacrament of the true body Epiphanius sayth wee receiue the body or grace And Hierome sayth that wee receiue spirituall flesh which he calleth other flesh then that which was crucified Chrysostome sayth that we receiue inâ—uence of grace the grace of the holy Ghost Saynt Augustine sayth that we receyue grare and veritye the innisible grace and holynes of the members of Christes body All the which layings of the Fathers do confirme this our fayth and doctrine of the Sacrament we grauÌ„ting in all thynges herein vnto them and they in lyke maner vnto vs And therefore the lying lyps which both be lye the Doctours as though they graunted a carnall a reâ—â— presence of Christes holy naturally and corporally after the Papistes declaration and meaning and which belye vs also as though we dâ—yed all presence of Christ and so made it but a bare signe These lying lips the Lord wyll destroy if they repent not and with vs beleue and teach the truth that the Sacrament is a food of the soule a matter of fayth and therfore spiritually and by sayth to bee talked of and vederstanded whych fayth they want and therfore they erre so grossely in that they woulde haue such a presence of Christ as is contrary to all the scriptures to our Christian religion wherby commeth no such commoditie to the receiuer as by the spiritual presence which we teach and according to Gods word do affirm For we teach these benefites to be had by the worthy receiuing of this Sacrament namely that we abyde in Christ and Christ in vs Agayne that we attayne by it a celestiall lyfe or a lyfe wyth God more ouer that by fayth and in spirite wee receiue not onelye Christes body and vioud but also whole Christ God and man Besydes these we graunt that by the worthy receiuing of this Sacrament we receiue remission of our syns and confirmation of the newe Testament Last of all by worthy receiuing we get an increase of incorporation with Christ and amongest our selues whych bee hys members then whych thinges what more can be desired Alas that men consider nothing at all how that the couplyng of Christes body and bloud to the Sacrament is a spirituall thing and therfore there needes no such carnall presence as the Papistes imagine Who wyll deuye a mans wyfe to bee with her husband one body and flesh although he be at London and she at Yorke But the Papistes are carnall men guided by carnall reason onely or els would they know how that the holye Ghost because of our infirmitye vseth metaphorically the wordes of abiding dwelling eating drinking of Christ that the vnspeakeable coniunction of Christ wyth vs might somthing be knowen God open their eyes to see it And thus much for this Now to that part