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A17049 The mysterie of the Lords Supper Cleerely manifested in five sermons; two of preparation, and three of the Sacrament it selfe. By a reverend and faithfull preacher of Gods word.; Sermons upon the sacrament of the Lords Supper. English. Bruce, Robert, 1554-1631.; Mitchell, S., fl. 1614. 1614 (1614) STC 3922; ESTC S119531 126,266 304

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yee must bee borne in the bodie of Christ his spirit must quicken you This is called the quickning and liuing spirit of Christ by Iohn And so soone as this spirit cometh what doth it It chaseth away darknesse out of the vnderstanding whereas before I knewe not God now I see him not onely generally that he is a God but that he is my God in Christ what more doth the holy spirit It opneth the heart as well as the minde and what doth it there Those things whereon I bestowed the affection of my heart and imployed the loue of my soule are by the working of the holy spirit made gall to mee he makes then venome to mee and to bee as deadly hated of mee as poyson Hee worketh such an inward disposition in my soule that hee makes mee to turne and flie from those things whereon I imployed my loue before and to imploy it vpon God This is a great perfection Alwayes in some measure he makes mee to loue God better then anie other thing Hee changeth the affections and inclinations of my soule he changeth the faculties and qualities of my soule And though our hearts minde be made new yet the substance of them is not changed but onely the faculties and qualities are changed in respect of the which change wee are called new creatures except you be found newe creatures Conclusion with an exhortation yee are not in Christ Now to come to the poynt This secret Coniunction is brought to passe by faith and by the holy spirit by faith wee lay hold on the bodie and bloud of Christ And though wee bee as farre distant as heauen and earth are the spirit serues vs as a ladder to conioyne vs with Christ As the ladder of Iacob which reached from the ground to the heauen to the selfe same vse serueth the spirit of God to conioyne the bodie of Christ with my soule Then obserue the whole in a word what makes you to haue anie right or title to Christ Nothing but the spirit Nothing but faith What should bee your studie then Seeke by all meanes possible to gett faith That as Peter Acts the 15.9 sayeth your hearts and consciences may be sanctified by faith And if you endeuour not as well to get faith in your hearts as in your mindes your faith auaileth not What auaileth the faith that fleeteth in the fantasie and brings a naked knowledge without the opening of the heart and consent of the will So there must be an opening of thy hart and consent of thy will to doe that thing that God commandeth or else thy faith availeth not Then striue to get faith in your hearts and mindes and doing so yee doe the duties of Christians This is not done without the diligent hearing of the word and diligent receiuing of the Sacrament Then be diligent in these exercises and be diligent in prayer Praying in the holy Ghost that hee would nourish your soules inwardlie with the body and bloud of Christ That hee would increase faith in your hearts and mindes and make it to grow vp more and more daily vntill you come to the full fruition of that blessed immortality Vnto the which the Lord of his mercie bring vs and that for the righteous merits of Christ Iesus To whome with the Father and the holy Ghost bee all honour praise and glorie both now and euer Amen THE THIRD Sermon vpon the Lords Supper 1. Cor. 11.23 For I haue receiued of the Lord that which I also haue deliuered vnto you to wit that the Lord Iesus in the night that hee was betraied tooke bread c. WE haue heard wel-beloued in Christ Iesus in our last exercise what names were giuen to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper as well in the Scriptures as by the Auncientes of the Latine and East Churches wee hearde the chiefe ends wherefore and wherevnto this holy Sacrament was at first instituted wee heard the things that were contained in this Sacrament what they were how they are coupled how they are deliuered and how they are receiued wee heard also some obiections that might bee obiected to the contrarie of this doctrine wee heard them propounded and as God gaue the grace refuted wee heard how the faythfull soule is said to eate Christs bodie and drinke Christs blood Wee heard the manner how Christ is or canne bee receiued of vs And we concluded in this poynt That Christ Iesus the Sauiour of mankinde our Sauiour cannot bee perceiued nor yet receiued but by a spirituall way apprehension Neyther the flesh of Christ nor the bloud of Christ nor Christ himselfe can bee perceiued but by the eye of fayth can bee receiued but by the mouth of faith nor can be layd hold on but by the hand of fayth Now faith is a spiritual thing for fayth is the gift of God poured downe into the heartes and mindes of men and women wrought in the soule of euery one and that by the mightie working and operation of the holy spirit So the onely waie to laie holde on Christ being by faith and faith of it owne nature beeing spiritual it followeth therefore that there is no waie to lay hold on Christ but a spirituall way there is not a hand to fasten on Christ but aspirituall hand there is not a mouth to digest Christ but a spirituall mouth The Scriptures samiliarly by all these tearmes describe the nature and efficacie of faith How we are said to eate the flesh and drinke the blood of Christ Wee are said to eate the flesh of Christ by faith and to drink his bloud by faith in this Sacrament chiefely in doing of two things First in calling to our remembrance the bitter death and passiof Christ the blood that hee shedde vpon the crosse the Supper which he instituted in remembrance of him before he went to the Crosse The commandement which hee gaue Doe this in remembrance of me I say wee eate his flesh and drinke his bloode spiritually First in this poynt in recording and remembring faithfully how hee died for vs how his blood was shedde vpon the crosse This is the first poynt a point that cannot be remembred truly except it be wrought by the mightie power of the holy spirit The second poynt of the spirituall eating standeth in this That I and euerie one of you beleeue firmly that he died for mee in particular That his bloud was shedde on the crosse for a full remission and redemption of me and my sinnes The cheefe and principall poynt of the eating of Christ his flesh and drinking of his blood standeth in beleeuing firmely that that flesh was deliuered to death for my sinnes that that blood of his was shedde for the remission of my sinnes and except euerie soule come neere to himselfe and firmely consent and agree and bee perswaded that Christ died for him that soule can not be saued that soule cannot eate the flesh nor drinke the blood of Christ Then the
saith whether yee bee in the faith of Christ or not For being in the faith and iustified thereby on necessitie yee must haue peace with God Then the next care must bee to try your faith and to see whether ye haue faith or not Faith can no waies be tried but by the fruits faith cannot be iudged on by me that looke vpon it only but by the effects Therefore to try whether ye be in the faith or not mark the fruits Take heed to thy mouth take heed to thy hand take heede to thy words and to thy deeds for except thou glorifie God in thy mouth and confesse to thy saluation except thou glorifie him also in thy deedes make thy holy life a witnes of thy holy faith all is but vaine all is but meere hypocrisie How a sincere faith is knowen Therefore to knowe the sinceritie of thy faith thou must take heede that there be a harmonie between thy hand thy mouth and thy hart that there be a natural consent that thy doings preiudge not thy hart that thy mouth preiudge not thy heart but that mouth and hand may testifie the sinceritie of the hart If the heart the hand the mouth consent agree in one harmonie together No question that heart that breakes forth into so good fruits is coupled with God There is no question the light of thy actions the beames and shining of thy life shall make the name of thy good God to bee glorified Therefore the whole weight of our triall standes cheefely vpon this point to see whether wee bee in the fayth or not to trie and examine whether Christ dwell in vs by fayth or not for without fayth there canne be no coupling or conioyning betwixt vs Christ without faith our hearts cannot bee sanctified and cleansed and without faith we cannot worke by charitie so all depends on this onely And therefore that yee might the better vnderstand whether yee haue fayth or no I was somewhat the more exact in this matter and I beganne to let you see how the holy spirit createth faith works faith in your soules hearts and mindes I began to shewe you what order the holy spirit kept in forming and in creating this notable instrument in your hearts and mindes Not onely how hee ingenders and begins fayth but also how he intertaines it how he nourisheth it And I shewed you the externall means and instruments which hee vseth to this effect To beget faith in our soules the holy spirit vseth the hearing of the word preached by him that is sent the ministerie of the Sacraments as ordinarie meanes and instruments which ordinary meanes are onely then effectuall when as the holy spirit concurs inwardly in our hearts with the word striking outwardly in our eares and with the Sacrament outwardly receiued And except the holy spirit grant his concurrence to the word and Sacrament word and Sacrament both will not worke faith So all depends vpon the working of this holy spirit The whole regeneration of mankind the renewing of the heart and of the conscience depend on the power of the holy spirit And therefore it behoueth vs carefully to imploy our selues in calling vpon God for his holy spirit By the same means and no other that the holy spirit beg●ts faith in vs by the same meanes hee nourisheth and augments that which hee hath begotten And therefore as we got faith by the hearing of the word so by continuall and diligent hearing we haue this faith augmēted nourished in vs. And from hence I tooke my exhortation That if yee would haue that spirituall life nourished in you and if yee would haue a further assurance of heauen of necessitie yee must both continually and diligently heare the blessed word of God Now it resteth that euery one of you carefully apply this doctrine to your owne soules and enter into the triall of your owne consciences To see if this faith as I spake be begunne in your hearts and mindes or not how farre or how little the holy spirit hath proceeded in that worke trie with mee and I with you The first effect of the holy spirit whereby yee may trie your mindes whether yee be in the faith o● not is this Reuolue in your memories and remember if at any time it pleased the Lord in his mercie to turn the darknesse of your mindes into light to cause that naturall darknesse which was within you to depart Through the which darknesse neyther had yee an eye to see your selues what you were by nature nor yet had ye an eye to see God in Christ nor anie parte of his mercie Examine I say whether this darknesse of the naturall vnderstanding bee turned into light by the working of the spirit or not If thou art become a childe of the light a childe of the day If thou art become as the Apostle speaketh light in the Lord If there bee this alteration made in thy minde That whereas naturally before it was closed vp in darknesse whereas it was filled with vanities and errors wherens it was closed vp in blindnes If the Lord hath at anie time inlightened the eye of thy minde and made thee to see thine owne miserie to see the vglinesse of thine owne nature to see the heinous sins in the which by nature thou liest If hee hath granted to thee an insight of thy selfe in some measure and on the other side if hee hath granted thee the remedie and hath giuen thee an insight of the mercie of God in Christ Iesus if thou hast obtained an insight of the riches of his grace in Christ No doubt the holy spirit hath begunne a good worke worke in thee A worke which will bring forth repentance which in his owne time hee will perfect So this is the first care which yee ought to haue and the first point wherein yee ought to examine your minds To see if there bee any light in it whereby yee may know your miserie and haue an insight of the free mercie of God in Christ Iesus This being done that thou findest a sight of these two in thy minde from thy minde goe to thy heart and as thou hast tryed thy minde so try thy heart And first examine thine heart if it bee altered or not that the will of it bee framed and bowed to GODs obedience that thy affection bee turned into the life of God and bee poured out on him as it was poured out on vanities on filthinesse and on the world before Try whether the ground of thy heart and the fountaine from whence thy motions and affections proceede bee sanctified or not for from a holy fountaine holy waters must distill from a holy fountaine holy motions holy cogitations and sanctified considerations must flowe Trie then and examine your hearts if the spirit of God hath wrought any such reformation as I speake of in your harts or not And that ye may perceiue the working of the holy Spirit the better in
vvill come in your minde and it vvill signifie vnto you that that is the Kings picture So if the signe of the Sacrament did no further all pictures should bee Sacraments but in respect the Sacrament exhibites and deliuers the thing that it signifieth to the soule and hart so soone as the signe is deliuered to the mouth for this cause especially it is called a signe There is no picture of the King that will deliuer the King vnto you there is no other Image that will exhibite the thing wherof it is the Image therefore there is no Image can be a Sacrament Then in respect the Lord hath appointed the Sacraments as hands to deliuer and exhibite the thing signified for this deliuery and exhibition chiefely they are called signes As the word of the Gospel is a mighty potent instrument to our euerlasting saluation so the Sacrament is a potent instrument appointed by GOD to deliuer vs to Christ Iesus to our euerlasting saluation For this spirituall meat is dressed and giuen vp to vs in spirituall dishes that is in the ministery of the word and in the ministery of the Sacraments And suppose this ministery be externall yet the Lord is said to deliuer spirituall and heauenlie things by these externall things Why Because hee hath appointed them as instruments whereby he will deliuer his owne Sonne vnto vs. For this is certain that none hath power to deliuer Christ Iesus vnto vs except God and his holy spirit and therefore to speake properly there is none can deliuer Christ but God by his owne spirit hee is deliuered by the ministery of the holy Spirit it is the holy Spirit that seales him vp in our harts and confirmes vs more and more in him as the Apostle giues him this stile 2. Cor. 1.22 To speak properly there is none hath power to deliuer Christ but GOD the Father or himselfe There is none hath power to deliuer the Mediator but his owne spirit yet it hath pleased GOD to vse some instruments and means wherby hee will deliuer Christ Iesus vnto vs. The meanes are these the ministery of the vvord and the ministery of the Sacraments and in respect he vseth these as meanes to deliuer Christ they are said to deliuer him But heere yee haue to distinguish between the principall efficient deliuerer and the instrumentall efficient which is the word and the Sacramēts keeping this distinction both these are true GOD by his word and GOD by his spirit deliuereth Christ Iesus vnto you Then I say I cal thē signes because God hath made them potent instruments to deliuer that same thing which they signifie Now I goe to the thing signified and I call the thing signified by the signes in the Sacrament What is the thing signified in the Sacrament that which Irenaeus that old Writer calleth the heauenly spirituall thing to wit whole Christ with his whole gifts benefites and graces applyed giuen to my soule Then I call not the thing signified by the signes of Bread and Wine the benefits of Christ the graces of Christ or the vertue that floweth out of Christ onely but I call the thing signified together with the benefites and vertues flowing from him the very substance of Christ himselfe from which this vertue dooth flowe The substance with the vertues gifts and graces that flowe from the substance is the thing signified heere As for the vertue and graces that flow from Christ it is not possible that thou canst be partaker of the vertue that floweth from his substance except thou be first partaker of the substance it selfe For how is it possible that I can be partaker of the iuyce that floweth out of any substance except I be partaker of the substance it selfe first Is it possible that my stomach can bee refreshed with that meat the substance vvhereof came neuer in my mouth Is it possible my drouth can be slackned with that drinke that passed neuer downe my throat Is it possible that I can sucke any vertue out of anie thing except I gette the substance first So it is impossible that I can get the iuyce vertue that floweth out of Christ except I get the substance that is himselfe first So I call not the thing signified the grace vertue that floweth from Christ onelie nor Christ himselfe and his substance without his vertue graces onely but ioyntly the substance with the graces whole Christ God and man without separation of his natures without distinguishing of his substance from his graces I call the thing signified by the signes in the Sacrament for why if no more be signified by the Bread but the flesh and body of Christ onely and no more be signified by the Wine but the bloud of Christ onely thou canst not say that the body of Christ is Christ it is but a part of Christ thou canst not say that the blood of Christ is whole Christ it is but a part of him and a peece of thy Sauiour saued thee not a part of thy Sauiour wrought not the worke of thy saluation and so suppose thou get a peece of him in the Sacrament that part will doe thee no good To the end therefore that this Sacrament may nourish thee to life euerlasting thou must get in it thy whole Sauiour whole Christ God and man with his whole graces and benefites without separation of his substance from his graces or of the one nature from the other And how get I him Not by my mouth It is a vaine thing to think that wee will get God by our mouth but we get him by faith As hee is a spirit so I eate him by faith and belieue in my soule not by the teeth of my mouth that is a vaine thing Be it that thou mightest eate the flesh of Christ with thy teeth this were a cruel maner of doing yet thou maist not eate the God-head with thy teeth this is a gross fashion of speaking Then if euer yee get good of the Sacrament ye must get whole Christ and there is not any instrument whereby to lay hold on him but by faith onely therefore come with a faithfull hart O but yee will aske mee and by appearance the definition layd downe of the thing signified giues a ground to it If the flesh of Christ Question and the bloud of Christ bee a part of the thing signified how can I call his flesh a spirituall thing and Christ in respect of his flesh a heauenly thing Yee will not say that the substance of Christes flesh is spirituall or that the substance of his bloud is spirituall vvherefore then call ye it an heauenly and spiritual thing I wil tell you The flesh of Christ is called a spirituall thing and Christ is called spirituall in respect of his flesh not that his flesh is become a spirit or that the substance of his flesh is become spirituall No it remaineth true flesh and the substance of it is one as it
you first marke the nature of the signes and the nature of the thing signified yee must obserue both their natures And why Because nothing can be coupled nor conioyned with other but so farre as the nature of it will suffer if the nature of it will not suffer a coniunction they cannot be conioyned or will the nature of it suffer a coniunction looke how farre it will suffer a coniunction so farre are they conioyned Seeing then ye must obserue the nature of the things that are conioyned first marke the thing signified what the nature thereof is marking that ye shall see that the thing signified is of a spirituall nature of a heauenly and mysticall nature then may ye conclude that this spiritual thing will suffer a spirituall coniunction a mysticall and secret coniunction Againe obserue the signe The signe of his nature as I haue told you hath a relation vnto the thing signified the thing signified of his nature hath a relation vnto the signe So then the signe the thing signified will suffer to be conioyned by a mutuall relation both the signe and the thing signified in respect they haue a mutuall relation the one vnto the other they will suffer themselues to be conioyned by a relatiue coniunction Now if ye ask me what sort of coniunction is betweene that bread and that wine and the body and bloud of Christ To tell you in a word I say it is a secret and spirituall coniunction such a coniunction as standeth in a mutuall respect betwixt the bread and the body of Christ and betwixt the wine and the bloud of Christ then I say it is a secret a spirituall coniunction Ye would not be so inquisitiue of this coniunction if it were corporall visible or locall if you saw them both before your eyes you would not aske how they are conioyned or if thou didst see them both in one place But because you see but the one with your eyes and the other is hid this maketh the coniunction the more difficult to be vttered and vnderstood And how is it possible that ye can conceiue this secret and hid coniunction except you haue the eyes of your minde illuminated by the spirit whereby ye may come to the right vnderstanding But if yee haue any insight into these spirituall matters that come by faith this coniunction will appeare as cleerely by the eye of your faith as the physicall coniunction dooth to the eye of your body Novv to haue this matter made more plain there is another coniunction which serueth to make this coniunction very cleere namely the coniunction betwixt the vvord which I speake and the thing signified by that same word As if I speake to you of things in this language which yee vnderstand bee it of things past though neuer so long since of things to come though neuer so far off of things absent though neuer so farre distant yet so soone as I speake the vvord vvhether it be of things past or to come the thing it selfe will come into your minde The vvord is heard no sooner by your eare but the thing signified by the same vvord commeth into your minde What maketh the thing signified though absent to come into my mind This could not be except there were a coniunction betweene the word and the thing signified by the word As for example If I speak of the King who is now a great way distant from vs I pray God blesse him yee will no sooner heare the word but the King vvho is the thing signified by the word will come into your minde If I speake of things past though they be already expired yet the thing signified vvill presently come into your minde so there is a coniunction yee see between the word and the thing signified by the word Marke this coniunction and yee shall gette the nature of the coniunction and coupling of the signe which is the thing signified in the Sacrament For obserue what sort of coniunction is between the vvord and the thing signified by the word the same sort of coniunction is between the Sacrament which is seene to the eye of your body the thing signified by the Sacrament which is seene to the eye of your soule onely As for example so soone as thou seest that bread taken in the hand of the Minister thou seest it not so soone but incontinent the body of Christ must come into thy mind these two are so conioyned that they com both together the one to the outward senses the other to the inward senses This is not enough now because in the institution ye are commanded to goe further not onely to looke to that bread and that wine but to take that bread and that wine incontinent as your hand takes the one so your hart takes the other as your teeth eates the one so the teeth of your soule which is faith eates the other that is applyeth Christ vnto your soule So yee see there is a coniunction heere secret and mysticall and therefore Christ cannot be conioyned but by a secret and mysticall coniunction The coniunction betweene Christ and vs is a secret and mysticall coniunction which the Apostle in the fift of the Ephes calleth that spirituall coniunction ful of an high mysterie this coniunction cannot be taken vp at the first So seeing the coniunction is secret and spirituall and not perceiued but by the spirit of God all is as nothing except ye haue some portion and measure of his spirit All that is taught in the word and Sacraments will neuer doe you good will neuer carry your soules to heauen except the spirit of God illuminate your mindes and make you to finde in your soules the thing that ye hear in the word Then learn this seeing the word cānot be vnderstood but by the spirit of GOD craue that the Lord would illuminate the eyes of your mindes by his spirit and be you as careful to get the spirit as yee are carefull now in the hearing of the word Thus farre concerning the coniunction Now ye haue heard how the signe is cōioyned with the thing signified what remaineth for you to knowe This rests yet to knowe how the signe is receiued How the signe the thing signified is receiued and how the thing signified is receiued vvhether they bee both receiued with one mouth or not whether the signe and the thing signified be receiued after one fashion and manner or not And marking the diuerse manner of receiuing and the diuersity of the instruments yee shall not easily erre in the Sacrament The signe and the thing signified are receiued by two mouthes for ye see the signes that is that bread and wine wherunto they are giuen they are giuen to the mouth of the body Then the mouth of the body is the instrument that receiueth that bread and that vvine which are the signes As that bread and that wine are visible and corporall so the mouth and instrument
sanctifying they call whispering And the whispering of those fiue words they call the consecratiō of the elements And whē the words are after this manner whispered they presuppose such a secret mōstrous vertue to be inclosed in the syllables That the vertue power which floweth from the words is able to chase away wholly the substance of the bread so that the very bread substance of it is altogether destroied by this power Secondly that this power which floweth from these words is able to fetch pull downe an othersubstance to wit the flesh blood of Christ Iesus that fitteth at the right hand of his father is able to put it within the compasse of that bread This is a strange and a great vertue that not only wil ouerthrowe that substance but put it within the compasse of that bread The same fiue words whispered in this maner haue such a monstrous operation say they that they are able both to chase a way the one substance to pull downe an other and to put it within the compasse of that bread We altogetheir denie That there is such a vertue in these words for as I haue said before wee denie not that the word hath a vertue but denie that there is such a vertue inclosed in the words wee denie the qualitie of the vertue or that it floweth from such a fountaine For we grant that the word hath a vertue there is neuer a word that God speaketh heere but it hath a vertue ioyned withit but wee deny that this vertue is inclosed in the syllables in the whispering or pronouncing of the words for if there were such avertue and power inclosed in the syllables by the same reason it should follow that there were avertue in the figure and shape of the letter that makes vp thewords Now there is noman wil think that there is any vertue in the figure or shape of the letter and there is as little vertue in the syllables or pronouncing of the words themselues So wee denie that there is anie vertue inclosed in the syllables or resident in the word But wee say that there is a power conioyned with the word and this power is not resident in the word but is resident in the eternal word in the essential Word wherof Iohn the Euangelist makes mention Cap. 1. The word which was from the beginning that is the sonne of God Christ Iesus wee say there is not a dram weight of this vertue and power resident in any creature that euer God created but it is onely resident in Christ Iesus And therefore there floweth no vertue from the sillables nor from the words that are spoken but from Christ and his spirit who giues the vertue to those words So wee differ in this we say that there is not anie vertue resident in the sillables wee say that the sillables and pronouncing of the sillables work nothing but wee say that the vertue is resident in the person of the sonne of God and heeworkes by his owne word Now wee say that there cannot be such a monstrous change as to say the whispering of so manie wordes should change the owne substance of the bread pull down the substance of the bodie of Christ and put his bodie in so narrow a compasse wee say that cannot bee And this I shall proue by these three rules namely Refutation of the doctrine of trāsubstantiation by 3. sorts of arguments By the veritie of the flesh of Christ Iesus By the articles of our Beliefe And by the true end of the institution of this Sacrament And so we shall see by Gods grace the infinite absurdities that follow vpon their opinion The first principle that I lay is this The first sort of argument Seeing that Christ Iesus the Sonne of GOD in the time appointed tooke true flesh of the wombe of the Virgin and vnited himselfe with our nature in one personall vnion to the end that our nature which fell altogether from integritie in the first Adam might recouer the same in the second Adam yea not onely the same but so much the greater as our second Adam excells the first in all de grees And in respect hee tooke on him a body like vnto ours in all things sinne excepted of necessity it must follow that the definition of a true body and the inseparable properties therof must be competent to him But these are the inseparable properties namely to be in one certaine place to be finite circumscribed visible and palpable for all these concurre quarto modo as the Logicians say to a body so that they cannot be separate from the subiect without the distraction thereof Then Treason on this manner A true humane body is in a certaine place Christ Iesus body is a true humane body therefore it is in a certaine place I call a place a certaine condition of an instrumentall bodie whereby it commeth to passe that where-euer the body be of necessitie it is limited within that place and vvhile it is there it cannot bee elsewhere If you would haue the probation of my Proposition from the Doctors read Augustine to Dardanus speaking of this same body of Christ Take avvay a certaine roome from the bodies and they shall be in no place and if they be in no place they are not The same Augustine writing vpon Iohn in his 30. Treatise saith The body in the which the Lord did arise of necessity must be in a place but his diuine efficacie and nature is diffused euery where And in his third Epistle he saith How much soeuer the body be or how little soeuer the body be it behoues to occupy the bounds of a place And besides these the history of the Acts proueth most euidently Christ his body to be in a certain place as Acts 3.21 the words are these Whom the heauens must containe vntill the time that all things be restored vvhich God had spoken by the mouth of all his holie Prophets Though I need not to insist in the probation of these things yet I proceede Secondly then I reason after this manner A humane body is finite and circumscribed but the body of Christ is a humane body What warrant from the Doctors haue I for this I leaue many purposely will alleage onely Augustine who writing to Dardanus Belieue saith he Christ to be euery where in that he is God but onely to be in heauen according to the nature of a true body And in his 146. Epistle I belieue saith he the body of Christ to be so in heauen as it vvas on the earth vvhen hee vvent vp to heauen But it was circumscribed in a certaine place on the earth Ergo it is so in the heauen And consequently it cannot be in the Masse-bread and in heauen both at one time The last reason is this A humane bodie is visible and palpable but Christ hath a humane body and hee is corporally present as they say therefore Christ his body is
admit also the other Therefore if they looke vvell about them they shall finde the beame to bee in their ovvne eye for they peruert both the lawe of GOD and the law of Nature by a nevv inuented physick of their owne For whatsoeuer he be that attributes to one and the selfe same body naturall and vnnaturall properties vvhich directlie fight against themselues I say that man peruerts both true Theology and Physick But they to one and the selfe same body of Christ Iesus attribute naturall vnnaturall properties therefore it is they that peruert both the vse of true Theologie and the order set downe and established in Nature Would you knowe the reason of my Proposition I say it behoueth as well in Theology as in Physick of necessity one of the contrary enunciations to be false But once to make an end vvith them I will aunswere their last refuge Thus they reason A glorified body is not subiect to physicall rules but Christ his body is glorified therfore it is not subiect to physicall rules First of all before wee answer directly wee must consider wherein standeth the glorification of a body and then the answer will be easie The Apostle Paul 1. Cor. 15.42 speaketh after this manner So also saith hee is the resurrection of the dead The body is sowen in corruption and is raised in incorruption It is sowen in dishonour and is raised in glorie It is sowen in weaknesse and is raised in power And a litle after This corruption must put on incorruption and this mortalitie must put on immortalitie By this cleare Antithesis Paul plainly describeth the glorification of a bodie for he opposeth these two the vnglorified and the glorified bodie And to the vnglorified bodie hee ascribeth corruption ignominie infirmitie carnalitie and mortalitie To the glorified bodie hee attributes incorruption glorie power spiritualitie and immortalitie Of this opposition we may gather easily what the resurrection and glorification brings to the bodie In a word by them wee see That the bodie is onely spoyled of corruption shame infirmitie naturalitie and mortalitie And it becomes onely spoyled of all the infirmities of our nature that it may be clothed with a more glorious apparell as with incorruption power glorie spiritualitie and immortalitie Wee see then That this glorification imports a chaunge indeed but I beleeue no man will bee so mad as to thinke this change to bee made in the substance for if that were so the old substance behoued to decay and a new should arise but wee heere no such thing in this discription and as little is the change made in the quātitie for wee find no word eyther of augmentation or diminution of any substāce which behoued to be if it were in the quantie The most that we can perceiue This mutation consistes in the qualities by the which the bodie casteth off the old coate of infirmitie and cloatheth it selfe with the coate of glorie for Christ after hee did arise hee both went and came was seene and touched Of the things before deduced it cleerely followeth That in respect the glorie of the bodie of Christ hath wrought nothing in his nature and substance and consequently in his naturall dimensions neyther yet in any other essentiall propertie That therefore the glorification of his bodie freeth it not frō the rules of Physick For so long as that nature of a true bodie remaines there are no supernaturall gifts whereby it may be glorified were they neuer so high so farre as they may be gathered out of the scriptures that may hurt eyther the nature or the naturall propertie of it For there is no gift nor qualitie that may hurt nature but that gift that is against nature But the supernaturall gift is neyther vnnaturall neyther yet against nature Therefore it cannot hurt nor impaire nature And my reason is this Those gifts that decore and beautifie nature they cannot hurt nor impaire nature But all supernaturall gifts beautifie and decore nature Therefore they cannot take away neyther nature nor yet the naturall property They leaue vs not so but out of this doctrine of Paule concerning the glorification of the bodie they drawe an obiection to presse vs withall Paul grants that a glorified bodie is a spirituall bodie but a spirituall bodie is an inuisible bodie Therefore a glorified bodie is inuisible and by consequence the bodie of Christ is inuisible Though the argument be not formall yet to be short I denie their assumption for if there were no more but that word bodie that word might be an argument that the spiritual bodie is not inuisible But yet to open the matter more cleerely according to the meaning of Saint Paul in that place Saint Paul in a word as it were in the 44. vers of that Chap. sheweth the change that shall be in the qualities of the bodie by the resurrection For he saith that our naturall bodies shall become spirituall bodies and then in the next verse immediately following hee expoundeth these two qualities for in the 45. verse That is called a naturall bodie sayeth hee which is maintained and quickned by a liuing soule onely such as Adams was And againe that is said to be a spirituall bodie which together besides the soule is quickned with a farre more excellent vertue to wit with the spirit of God which descendeth from Christ the second Adam vnto vs Then according vnto this ground I answere with Augustine ad Constantium As the naturall bodie is not a soule but a bodie Euen so the spirituall bodie is not said to bee a soule but a bodie And by consequent it is not inuisible For the further explaining of this head I will giue them onely one knot to loose and so ende this point Then I reason Yf therefore Christs bodie is naturally and really in the Lords Supper because that it is glorified It followeth consequently That when it was not glorified it could not bee really present But it was not glorified when this supper was first instituted Therfore it was not really present in the bread at Christs first Supper Yf his bodie was not really present in the bread at the first supper it cannot be naturally present now For whatsoeuer they vse now in the administration of their Supper or of their Masse call it as you will according to their owne confession they vse it according to the ordinance forme and maner that Christ Iesus himselfe vsed in his first Supper For they say plainely in their disputation at Poyssie and in all the rest of their works That Chr. Iesus first of all obserued that forme which they vse in their Masse left it to his Apostles and to their successours that they should doe the like And so by their owne words they haue intangled themselues and crucified their Masse what can they answere to this They will not stand dumbe I am sure for maintenance of their religion they must say some thing Thus they say That though the body of