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A67002 Of the childs portion viz: Good education. By E. W. Or, The book of the education of youth, that hath for some yeers lain in obscurity; but is now brought to light, for the help of parents and tutors, to whom it is recommended. By Will: Goudge, D.D. Edm: Calamy. John Goodwin. Joseph Caryll. Jer: Burroughs. William Greenhill.; Childes patrimony. Parts I & II Woodward, Ezekias, 1590-1675.; Woodward, Ezekias, 1590-1675. Childes portion. The second part. Respecting a childe grown up. 1649 (1649) Wing W3500; ESTC R221221 404,709 499

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shame my selfe or hurt them Did not he that made them make me Have we not both the same masters over us on earth and would we not be used kindely and gently by them And have we not all one Master in heaven See the first Part. chap. 4. sect 12. and would we not all finde mercy there Yea but he is thus and thus and doth so and so and so often he hath provoked me I must check my selfe now with this and it will surely calme and coole my spirit how m Chrysost in ep ad Rom. cap. 8. Hom. 14. pag. 206. 2 Pet. 3. 15. Rom. 2. ● much and how long God hath borne and forborn me And can I be impatient now The long suffering of the Lord is salvation It was salvation to Saul waiting till he became a Paul so was it to Peter waiting till he went out To us else we had been before this consumed Marke this and enlarge thy meditation upon it I it will be a meanes to frame upon thee that ornament of a meeke and quiet spirit which in the sight of God is of great price for if I can say to my selfe but thus much how long suffering hath the Lord been to me ward I cannot be short and eager spirited toward my brother I cannot say more which is more pressing and availeable to subdue my passionate spirit and to gaine that constant and comfortable temper which resembles the highest region of the ayre where there is still a perpetuall serenitie and peace Lastly are they the wrongs and unworthy usage from others hands and tongues that have put me out of the possession of my selfe or are they crosses in my estate that trouble and disquiet me Then thus I must check my selfe By looking narrowly into my selfe and up to an higher hand as the children of wisdome have done I must remember the ten thousand talents There is nothing that can be thought of of more force to win upon a passionate spirit and to frame it to lowlinesse lovelinesse calmenesse and unpassionatenesse which is the cement of societie and sweet converse nothing I say of such force as these considerations First of Gods all disposing over-ruling hand who is so good that He would suffer no evill to be were He not so powerfull that out of the greatest evill He can extract the greatest good Secondly The riches of His mercy that forgave ten thousand talents And should I flye at the throat of my fellow servant for a few pence Thoughts hereof will frame us to a setled reposed estate and an unpassionate spirit But the remedy of remedies the most certain and excellent remedy whereby to shoare-up and underprop the soule against the shakings and impetuous blustering of this weake but impotent distemper which bloweth hard and boasteth great things The best remedy I say is To addresse our spirits before the Lord To look to Him who rebuked the winds and Seas and they were still We may say of this fiery exhalation as is said of the tongue n James 3. 8. a fire too and angers first o Prima semper irar● tela maledicta sunt quicquid non possumus imbecilli optamus irati Salv. De Gub. lib. 3. pag. ●1 weapon But this unruly evill can no man tame we must then pray and in our prayer p 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jam. 5. 17. pray that is we must pray earnestly we must wrestle and weep in our prayer before the Lord That He would hold in our spirits calme and meeken the same We are taught of God to love one another saith the Apostle we are so indeed saith the Father For no man can teach it and if God teach not we shall flye off and all to pieces like an unserviceable piece of Ordnance before we are discharged We shall bite and devoure on another Vpon every occasion we shall flye out into sparkles of heat like the sonnes of the coale as one speaketh which if you blow it will sparkle in your face behold then how great a matter a little fire kindleth q Jam. 3. 5. We may allude here to what we reade spoken of the Leviathan r Job 41. 21. An angry-mans breath kindleth coales and a flame goeth out of his mouth But if God meekens the spirit if He humbles the heart all this fire will be quenched or if not so yet so kept in this fire shall be that no burning lamps no sparks shall leap out I meane nothing shall be done or spoken which may kindle wrath but much yeelding there will be much forbearing in the spirit of meeknesse as we learne by the example of Abraham who yeelds unto the younger rather then difference shall arise And the true sonne of a gracious father will yeeld not to Abimelech only but to the Heardsmen of Gerar though the place shall Chrysost Ibid. carry a memoriall of the contention there and injury done to Iacob there the taking from him that which God and nature makes common yet rather then there shall be any contention Isaac yeelds and accepts of an apologie or defence afterwards though never a word thereof true And this is meeknesse and patience indeed mildly to yeeld not to superiours only against whom perhaps we cannot stirre and be safe but to yeeld to inferiours such we would have disdained as Iob saith ſ Chap. 30. 1. to have set with the dogs of our flocke This is a point of a meeke spirit indeed And this is a spirit of Gods own framing even His to whom these two things do of right belong To subdu● iniquitie and pardon sinne Marke it The Lord He it is who subdueth every distemper of the soul which vexeth there and pardons all the iniquity t Micah 7. 18 19. therefrom casting it as into the bottome of the Sea therefore to Him we must seeke I conclude with the wise mans lessons v Prov. 16. 23. 24. Verse 32. The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth and addeth learning to his lips Pleasant words are as an honey-combe sweet to the soule and health to the bones He that is slow to anger is better then the mightie and he that ruleth his spirit then he that taketh a citie I know That before I came off from this point I should have spoken more concerning the tongue and the government thereof But the subject is so large and 〈◊〉 largely handled That we cannot say a little of it It is me thinks observeable That he who wrote a booke thereof was a whole yeare so himselfe saith bethinking Drexelius himselfe what to call his booke which if I remember he was ten yeares in composing At the length he intituled his booke Phaeton and we know what is faigned of him as we do know what was the originall of that fiction But the Title fits very well and the Spirit gives good warrant to it For the tongue is a fire a world of iniquitie x Jam. 3. 6. it defileth
taken of a mans words that is drunk with sorrow then is of the words of him that is drunk with wine when he is awakened he forgets what he said or of the catches of a drowning man who will catch at a sword or a knife or a razour any thing to keep up from drowning The words of a dying man are nothing and of no regard further then they receive weight and strength from the actions of an healthy and sound man the living man Therefore it matters not what a sick man can say for the future but what he saith for the former time for from thence he must fetch his comfort as we heard I have walked I have done I have fought I have kept Comfort in death must be distilled as I may say out of all our gatherings in our life time As our thoughts discourses actions have been answerable will our comforts be if we can finde no comfort by looking back recalling the time past I cannot see what comfort there can be in looking forwards toward eternitie If our consciences do condemne us as a learned Spaniard phraseth it that we have made time of eternitie and eternitie of time that is as he expounds it We have despised that eternall blisse as if it were but temporall and we have lodged all our love upon this transitory world as if this had been the thing which is eternall And if so we have done we can have no comfort then when our transitories are leaving us in loo●ing forwards towards eternitie We may send our sighs and groans after it but in vain Our hearts may beat strongly towards heaven but all that may be much suspected also It is of doubtfull construction from what spirit our groanes do proceed If it was thus once when the foundation of the Temple was a laying That the people could not discerne the Noise of the shout of joy from the noise of weeping Ezra 3. 13. Then a harder matter it is to discern betwixt groane and groane sighes and sighes I meane betwixt the sighes and groans which the spirit puts up and those which an heart pained full of anguish and drunk with sorrow sends forth Very hard it is to discern here and to make a difference nay impossible for the groans from pain sorrow and the sighes of the spirit are both scarce utterable and theyare both put up in much bitternesse and both call out of sin as the cause of All which makes the discerning the more difficult This then is the conclusion Obedience forced is slavish but that is sweet obedience which comes forth as the first honey drops from the full combe a Mel quod per se fl●it maxim● laudabile Plin. lib. 11. cap. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dixi● Constantius Tripart Hist Prefal readily willingly freely As the Emperour said of money It will prove but copper if it be pressed out from the teares of the people The same may be said of our offerings They are counterfeit for the most part and profit not if they be squeezed forth by some pressu●es upon the spirit It is a free-will-offering that finds acceptance with the Lord. And this I added for three mightie Reasons 1. That we may not make Time of Eternitie and Eternitie of Time as was said before and explained 2. To awaken and quicken up our carelesse and dilatory spirits well to husband our opportunities while our Bow abides in strength and our Armes are strong before old age hath degraded us of our former vigour and activitie so as our outward and inward faculties are bound up as in chaines of Iron and brasse I mean before the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men bow themselves and those that looke out of windows are darkned and the Grashopper is a burthen 3. That we may not make as the most do an Idoll of that last prayer which we think to put up when we are at point of dissolution and parting away hence for that hope to be heard then is the Sanctuary and Place of refuge which the most thinke to flie unto as Ioab to the hornes of the Altar in hope to finde safety But their hope is like to deceive them as it did Ioab f 1 King 2. 28 29. and as it hath deceived others Who cryed but there was none to save even unto the Lord but He answered them not then did I beat them small as the Dust before the Winde I did cast them out as the dust in the streets g Psal 18. 41. These words shew us clearely what will be the issue of this last prayer and call upon the Lord which is the great Idoll of the world what I say will be the issue thereof to all those who turne unto Him at their Death even confusion of face for evermore a Treading downe and a casting out a● the durt in the streets This is of great and universall use and instructs us to encline the eare while we can heare to apply the eye while we can see to frequent the Assemblies of the Saints while we have strength and can goe and to take the occasion the smallest point of time while we may for it is soone passed and then we may send our sighes and groanes after it but cannot recall what we carelessely slighted In a word It teacheth to seeke to knock while there is Time for many shall seeke and not finde and knock and it shall not be opened shall strive and shall not be able And all this because they discerned not their season they knew not the Day of their Visitation h Quod primum est dicendum postremum soleo cogitare de Orat. Lib. 2 Pag. 131. Fol. Exv●s●eribus Causae I remember a pretty inversion of order used by Cicero in point of Oratory An allusion unto it may instruct us in a speciall point of wisdome We begin first and then wee end But he made an end first and then he began I use saith He to his Oratour to make my beginning the Latine calls it an Exordium When I have ended my oration for I must fetch that out of the Bowels of the other Parts The true Christian makes an inverson of order also and upon the same ground Death is the last great work which we are to doe and the true Christian thinks of that first First I say so soone as he is able to think any thing and to purpose And he so disposeth his life as one that knowes that his life must yeeld him marrow and fatnesse when he lyeth upon his death Bed in a time of drought We commonly live first and then we dye A true Christian dyes first and then lives He is borne and he goes on in the great work of Mortification and so dyes daily And then when he must yeeld up the spirit how willing how ready how prepared is he He is dead already to the World to the flesh Hee is crucified to both and both crucified to him An
they who watch best have enough to do to d●fend themselves what do you think will become of wretchlesse persons but that they should be entirely overcome We must then keep our watch and keep about us our armour and keep close to our strong-hold we must give all diligence to avoyd those great enchanters whereby our enemy bewitcheth us and overcometh so many These enchanters are 1. The glory pompe or lusts of the world from without 2. The lusts of our own flesh from within The one as he once shewed in the twinckling of an Eye so it passeth away in the like moment of time It is fitly called a fancy and as fitly translated pompe d Acts 25. 23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for as a thought or fancy this pompe passeth away and by us even like castles and steeples on a pageant and so it is gone but the glory of the next life is the pleasures at His right hand for evermore 2. The lusts of the flesh are the great tempters All the hurt Satan and the world do us is by correspondence with our selves All things are so farre under us as we are above Te vince tibi mundus victus est our selves Satan for the most part boweth us to what the weaknesse of our nature doth encline he sails ever with the winde he fitteth such temptations as are most agreeable to our humours and des●res Our nature helps to act Satans part he doth bu● set the bias stronger Nature hath a supply of wickednesse as a Serpent of poyson from it self thence a spring to feed it Great cause we should fear alwayes for alwayes we meet with snares and alwayes ready to be caught with them and the devill watcheth the occasion And great cause Semper imminet occasioni we should winde up our hearts to God that we may be wise in His wisedome strong in His strength Lastly in the day we were baptized we avouched e Deut. 26. 17 19. the Lord to be our God to walk in His wayes and to keep His Commandments And the Lord hath avouched us that day to be his peculiar people The Lord Christ hath obeyed and suffered to make our bonds of obedience the stronger not to abate us an ace of duty He hath vindicated His Law from the vain glosses of the Pharis●es from that which was said of old whence we have learnt That His Law puls out the verie core ſ See Hist of the world lib. 2. chap. 4. sect 7. p. 232. sect 11. p. 237. of sinne and that whereas mans Law doth but binde the hand and the tongue Gods Law binds the heart and orders the secret motions of the same The Philosophers g Angusta est juslitia ad legem justum esse See Isid Pel●s lib. 2. ●p 138. Love constraines more under the Gospel then feare restrained under the Law Ibid could say It is but a narrow and scanty justice which extendeth no further then mans Law Few offenders there are which come within the Magistrates circuit and they that come are not all taken some and they not a few break out of the cob-webbe by force and some by favour But the Law of God is perfect and exceeding broad it reacheth to all persons and to the words and actions and thoughts too of all the sonnes of Adam not a syllable can passe not a thought stray not a desire swerve from the right way but it falleth within danger and is lyable to the penalties Thence it is that the greatest and hardest work of a Christian is least in sight which is the well-ordering of his heart And a good Christian begins his Repentance where his sinne begins in his thoughts which are the next issue of his heart God counts it an honour when we regard His All-seeing eye so much as that we will not take liberty to our selves in that which is offensive to Him no not in our hearts wherein no creature can hinder us It is an argument that we feare as we ought before the God of Heaven when we forbear the doing of that which if we should do it were not possible that man should understand or condemne it as h Lev. 19. 14. is the cursing of the deafe which the Deafe man heares not and the putting a stumbling block before the blinde which the blinde perceiveth not But the Lord heares and He sees for He made the Eare and the Eye and Him shalt thou feare for His eyes behold His eye-lids try the children of men i Psal 11. 4. And this is the Law which stands charged upon us and through Him by whom we can do all things we can keep the fame Law with our whole heart in an acceptable manner checking the first motions of sin discerning not beams onely but moats also light and flying imaginations and abasing our selves for them and by degrees casting them out as hot water the scum and as the stomack doth that which is noysome And because they presse upon the true Christian as Flies in Summer incumbring alwayes over powring him sometimes therefore is he moved to renew his interest daily in the perfect righteousnesse of His Saviour The deceitfulnesse of his heart still inciting and drawing back from God and His perfect Law and his readinesse to break covenant makes him the more watchfull over his heart and carefull to binde himself daily as with new cords To k Jude 2 ● build himself up in his most holy faith to pray in the holy Ghost and to keep himself in the love of God looking for the mercy of our Lord Iesus Christ unto eternall life for it is a standing Rule That Gods commands are not the measure of our power but the Rule of our duty the summe of our debt the matter of our prayers the scope of our strife l Mousine Se● Hist of World B. 2. Ca. 4. Sect. 13. p. 240. But we must ever note this which is that there is in the heart of every true Christian a disposition answering every Iota and tittle of Gods m Salv. d● Eccles Cathol ● Law They have the same Spirit in their hearts which is in the Law so soone as that Spirit made a change in them they could not but then exceedingly love the Law and where love n Chrys in Rom. cap 4 ● Si amor est vincit omnia c. Chrysost de past bono Se●m 40. Haec omnia dura videbuntur ●i qui non ama● Christum Amemus Christum facile videbitur omne difficile Brevia putabimus universa quae long a sunt N●si vim fec●ris coe●orum regna non capies Hier Ad Eustochium Ep. 17. l. 2. p. 207. Prima regula in cultu Dei ut ipsum diligamus non potest Deus verè d●ligi quin sequatur hunc aff●ctum membra omnia omnes partes c. Cal in Dan. c 9. v. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys in c. 29. Gen. Hom. 55. is that
and honoured him the more he suppressed goodnesse and dishonoured God Turning his gifts so bountifully bestowed of nature liberall maintenance grace all against the Giver to the satisfying of his own lusts for judgement causing oppression and for righteousnesse a cry Is it likely I say but that mans reckoning will be very heavy v Isa 5 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at this point Again how unreasonable a conceit is it That our Lord Christ taking upon Him the form of a Servant for us and humbling Himself so low as the Crosse should yet with patience long endure a proud servant lifting up himself in the pride of his thoughts before an humble and for his sake an humbled Lord And how unreasonable also and altogether unbeseeming c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 defato erat 5. is it That Man poore silly man should in all things seek himselfe a 〈◊〉 Prov. 25. 27. hunt after his own repute his own glorie when as the Lord of Glorie coming down from Heaven to seek Man that was lost sought not his own Glorie b John 8. 50. Certainly this is an iniquitie which greatly provoketh and hath been and is accordingly punished for hence it is That the sword is upon the right eye and arme hence it is that a man proud of his knowledge is become blinde with light proud of his vertue is poyson'd with the Antidote Blown up with his Authoritie and height of his place and power findes his rise hath proved his downfall and his ladder his ruine Certainly for men to search their own glorie is not c Prov. 25. 17. glorie it tends rather to ruine examples whereof are written before us as in Capitall letters But of this before and anon after † 8. Is it strength of Bodie or comelinesse of parts which is the beauty of the same Is it this or that which makes us think better of our selves then is meet This also is but a false valuation a vanitie d Prov. 21. 6. tossed to and fro If our strength lift up our heart it will be to our e Chron. 26. 16. destruction Which is to be considered so is this also That that is the f Lord Ver. Essayes 43. pag. 252. true comelinesse the best beauty which a picture cannot expresse yet no cause we should be proud thereof for the outward comelinesse as it is Gods work and hath His Stamp and Superscription we must prize it and put an honour upon it too but I must not be proud thereof what I dote upon will prove my sorrow and what I am proud of my snare For the most part as one notes it makes a Dissolute Youth and an Age a Ibid. little out of countenance though yet if it light well it makes Vertues shine and Vices blush But however It is not a thing to be proud of for it is as Summer fruits which are easie to corrupt and cannot last We cannot say of it IT IS g Hist of the World 2 book 3. 4. c. Preface p. 20. It may change if not vanish in a very short time in a night one fit of a fever of feare of sorrow may in one night so quaffe up our spirits that we cannot easily be known to be the men witnesse a Noble-man in Charles the fifth his Court as we reade in Lemnius h Lemn de complex page 147. Oh saith one i Dr Sibbs S. c. p. 141. That the creature should dare to exalt himselfe against God who need not fetch forces from without to trouble and molest us if He let out the humours of our body or the passions of our minde against us we shall be an astonishment or wonder unto others a terror and torment to our selves man in his best estate is but vanitie If we could reade our selves and the principles we consist of if we could look down towards our feet and see what our foundation is then certainly our plumes our high thoughts would fall flat down I remember how Pliny instructs the great men of the earth by occasion of a childe smothered in the wombe with the snuffe of a candle And thou saith he who art so proud because thy bloud is fresh in thy veines and thy bones full of marrow thou that art so puffed up because of some fulnesse or some great estate falne to thee may'st purchase thy death at as low a rate as that childe or lower a rayson stone may choake thee as it hath some others so may a haire in the milke He therefore weigheth his life in a right ballance who truly considereth how fraile he is so he concludeth a little chapter with a great lesson k Plin. Na● hist lib. 7. cap. 7 s●e cap. 50. It is a common Theame yet worthy to be insisted upon for if we did know our selves to be but men we should have wiser and sadder thoughts Therefore it is good to reade our selves Our vile body and the foundation it stands on speaks out plainly that fall it will we know not how soon I knew a man saith l Aug. de Civit. 22. 22. St. Austine and one of a strong constitution too his legge slipt and with that slip a joynt out of place so it laid him on the ground and could not be cured till he was laid underneath Sitting in a chayre saith the same Father is a safe posture but we know who fell out thence and brake his neck as we remember one did out of his bed that retyring and refreshing place The case was extraordinary for he was full of yeares and as full of sorrows And the news of the Arke weighed lowest But it tells us the ordinary lesson That death may meet us when and where we lesse look for it A m Judges 3. 20. Summer parlour seemes a safe place for repast and quiet And a brothers feast n 2 Sam. 23. hath no shew of danger And yet the hand of justice hath met with the sinner at both these places which tells us That He who hath his breath in his nostrils should not be proud for there is spare enough and in all places at all times and by the unlikeliest meanes to let it forth I remember a proud Conquerour demands in a bragge what he should feare o Victor timere quid potest quòd non timet Sen. Aga● Act. 4. And it was answer'd in a breath That which he feared not which he found true for soone after that he least suspected damp'd his spirits and quite put them out What I feare not and thinke not off is likely soonest to fall upon me As he is likelier to spoyle me in my house which he hath mark'd out in the day time Then that person whom I am warned of before my doore and whom my eye is upon Oh That silly man should lift up himselfe in a windy conceit of that which is not who before the next morning may be laid upon his sick bed and in a
all He subdue thy spirit He meeken thy heart He fashion and mould thy will to a patient submission unto His that it may be as conformable thereunto as the wax unto the seal All this God can do He onely And when He hath thus humbled the heart and thus meekned the spirit when he hath thus fashioned it then the work is done and nothing will be grievous It is a remarkable speech from Mr Bradford l Fox p. 1503. he hath many such but with that one I will conclude and shut up this Though my body be in an house out of which I cannot come when I will for he was in prison yet in that I have conformed my will to Gods will I finde herein libertie enough and for my lodging bedding seeding c. all above my worthinesse worthinesse quoth I alasse I am worthy of nothing but damnation So he wrote to his mother I must tell you also what he said to his friend He was in a strong hold neare the time of his enlargement when he was to passe to his crown but through the fire His friend told him that he would if it pleased intercede with the Queen for his life Do if you will said he if her Majestie will be pleased to give me my life I will thank her if my libertie I will thank her for that if neither of both I will thank her still If she will keep me here I can thank her here if she will send me hence to the stake I can thank her there also See what an humble man can do he can smart patiently he can suffer silently he can receive blows and return thanks No murmuring no repining no complaining in his mouth He hath committed his cause to God Learn how contented this man is and observe the patience of the Saints so I have done CHAP. V. The Sacrament of the Lords Supper The mysterie thereof Graces required in those who come to this Table In case these Graces be wanting what is to be done Of Mans worthinesse AND now Childe having made some discoverie unto thee of those our master sinnes and corruptions which most dishonour our outward man and disturb our inward peace And having supplied unto thee some provision for the better subduing thereof I shall now for thy better provision and preparation also put thee in minde of two extraordinary and solemne approaches both before the Lord and both in the face of the Lords congregation In the one the Sacrament of the Lords Supper we professe by faith to be one with Christ and by union with Him to partake of all His honour and glory In the other falsly by some called a Sacrament also they who were two are made one joyned together in so straight a band that nothing but death or that which is worse and more destroying then death can dissolve We must be well advised before we approach to either of these ordinances for it is for life It was well answered by one who was asked why he took so much pains and was so curious about his work it is said he because I work to eternitie m Ping● aete●●ita●i Much fitter might the same be said in these cases we must walk warily here we must take pains here for we work to eternitie we receive to eternitie and so we marry too to our eternitie it is for life both and beyond it as farre as the heaven is above the earth A glorious life depends upon the right receiving of the one so do all the comforts of our temporary life depend upon our advised entrance into the other I shall give thee some instructions for this better provision for both And first of the first The Sacrament of the Lords Supper therein we see the Cost of our Redemption and the matter and substance of our Righteousnesse before God which doth consist principally in His body broken upon the crosse and His bloud communicated unto us These holy mysteries received in due manner do instrumentally both make us partakers of the grace of that body and bloud which was given for the life of the world and imparts unto us even in true and reall though in mysticall manner the very person of our Lord Himself whole perfect and intire together with the communication of His holy Spirit to sanctifie us as it sanctified Him that what merit force or vertue there is in His sanctified Body and Bloud we freely fully and wholly have by this Sacrament And all this for the Sacrament in it self is but a corruptible and earthly creature and an unlikely instrument to work such admirable effects in man all this resteth upon the strength of His glorious power who bringeth to passe that the bread and cup which He giveth though true Bread and Wine for our senses tell us so and in such cases they cannot be deceived shall be truly the thing promised the flesh of Christ which is meat indeed and the bloud of Christ which is drink indeed If we understand not this but will ask How can these things be n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys in 1. Ad Tim. c. 1. Hom. 1. we must remember that nothing is hard to the Lord therefore to Him we must pray that we may be taught of Him and that His Spirit may reveale it unto us That is all we are to do for further question is needlesse and fruitlesse Very observable it is that in the sixth of Iohn o p Verse 26. The people finding Christ at a place whereto by an ordinary way and means they knew He could not come fall to wondering and then to questioning Rabbi when camest thou hither The disciples in the 20. of Iohn when Christ appeared to them in farre more strange and miraculous manner moved no question but rejoyced greatly in that they saw For why The one sort beheld only that in Christ which they knew was more then naturall but yet their affection was not rapt there-with through any great extraordinary gladnesse the other when they looked on Christ were not ignorant that they saw the well-spring of their own everlasting felicitie The one because they enjoyed not disputed the other disputed not because they injoyed If then the presence of Christ with them did so much move judge what their thoughts and affections were at the time of this new presentation of Christ p H●●ker ec● Pol. 5 67. pag. 358. not before their eyes but within their souls And so much for the opening and unfolding of the mysteries which we are to receive The further manifestation we leave to Him who worketh All in All according to the pleasure of His good will It follows now That we consider how we must come addressed to this great feast of the soule wherein our approach to an earthly banquet gives us good instruction though the persons inviting and the cheere to which we are invited are of a very different nature and yet somewhat such a feast instructs We come to a