Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	body_n	bread_n	wine_n	4,141	5	8.0622	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A14239	A sermon preached before the Commos-House [sic] of Parliament, in Saint Margarets Church at Westminster, the 18. of February. 1620. By Iames Vssher. Professor of Diuinitie in the Vniuersitie of Dublin, in Ireland; Substance of that which was delivered in a sermon before the Commons House of Parliament, in St. Margarets Church at Westminster, the 18. of February, 1620	Ussher, James, 1581-1656.	1624 (1624)	STC 24554; ESTC S119955	33,194	56

they tearme rem Sacramenti the principall thing exhibited in the Sacrament Thus in the Lords Supper the outward thing which we see with our eyes is bread and wine the inward thing which wee apprehend by faith is the body and blood of Christ in the outward part of this mysticall action which reacheth to that which is Sacramentum onely we receiue this body and blood but sacramentally in the inward which containeth rem the thing it selfe in it wee receiue them really and consequently the presence of these in the one is relatiue and symbolicall in the other reall and substantiall To begin then with that which is symbolicall and relatiue we may obserue out of the Scripture which saith that Abraham receiued the signe of Circumcision a seale of the righteousnesse of the faith which hee had being vncircumcised that Sacraments haue a twofold relation to the things whereof they be Sacraments the one of a signe the other of a seale Signes wee knovv are relatiuely vnited vnto the things which they doe signifie and in this respect ate so neerly conioyned together that the name of the one is vsually communicated vnto the other This cup is the new Testament or the new Couenant saith our Sauiour in the institution of the holy Supper Luk. 22.20 This is my Couenant saith God in the institution of Circumcision in the old Testament Gen. 17.10 but how it was his Couenant hee explaneth in the verse immediatly following Ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskinne and it shall be a SIGNE of the Couenant betwixt me and you So words being the signes of things no sooner is the sound of the word conueyed to our cares but the notion of the thing signified thereby is presented vnto our minde and thereupon in the speech of the Scripture nothing is more ordinary then by the terme of Word to note a thing We reade in the fourth of the first of Samuel that the Philistims were afraid and said God is come into the Campe vers 7. when the Israelites brought thither the Arke of the Couenant of the Lord of hosts which dwelleth betweene the Cherubims vers 4. and yet was that no other but this relatiue kinde of presence wherof now we speake in respect whereof also the shewbread is in the Hebrew named 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the bread of faces or the presence bread Wee see with vs the roome wherein the Kings c●aire and other ensignes of State are placed is called the Chamber of presence although the King himselfe bee not there personally present and as the rude and vndutifull behauiour of any in that place or the offering of any dis-respect to the Kings pourtraicture or to the Armes Royall or to any other thing that hath relation to his Maiesty is taken as a dishonour done vnto the King himselfe so heere hee that eateth the bread and drinketh the cup of the Lord vnworthily is accounted guilty of offering indignity to the body and blood of the Lord. In this sort wee acknowledge Sacraments to be signes but bare signes we denie them to bee seales they are as vvell as signes of the Couenant of grace As it vvas therefore said of Iohn the Baptist that he vvas a Prophet and more then a Prophet so must vve say of Sacraments that they be signes and more then signes euen pledges and assurances of the interest vvhich vvee haue in the heauenly things that are represented by them He that hath in his chamber the picture of the French King hath but a bare signe vvhich possibly may make him thinke of that King vvhen hee looketh on it but shevveth not that hee hath any manner of interest in him It is othervvise vvith him that hath the Kings great Seale for the confirmation of the title that hee hath vnto all the lands and liuelihood which he doth inioy And as heere the waxe that is affixed to those letters Patents howsoeuer for substance it bee the very same with that which is to be found euery where yet being applyed to this vse is of more worth to the Patentee then all the waxe in the country beside so standeth it with the outward elements in the matter of the Sacrament The bread and wine are not changed in substance from being the same with that which is serued at ordinary tables but in respect of the sacred vse whereunto they are consecrated such a change is made that now they differ as much from common bread and wine as heauen from earth Neither are they to be accounted barely significatiue but truly exhibitiue also of those heauenly things whereto they haue relation as being appoynted by God to bee a meanes of conueying the same vnto vs and putting vs in actuall possession thereof So that in the vse of this holy ordinance as verily as a man with his bodily hand and mouth receiueth the earthly creatures so verily doth he with his spirituall hand and mouth if any such he haue receiue the body and blood of Christ. And this is that reall and substantiall presence which wee affirmed to be in the inward part of this sacred action For the better conceiuing of which mystery we are to inquire first what the thing is which wee doe heere receiue secondly how and in what manner we are made partakers of it Touching the first the truth which must be held is this that wee doe not here receiue onely the benefits that flow from Christ but the very body and blood of Christ that is Christ himselfe crucified For as none can bee made partaker of the vertue of the bread and wine to his bodily sustenance vnlesse he first doe receiue the substance of those creatures so neither can any participate in the benefits arising from Christ to his spirituall reliefe except he first haue communion with Christ himselfe We must haue the Sonne before wee haue life and therefore eate him we must as himselfe speaketh that is as truly bee made partakers of him as we are of our ordinary food if we will liue by him As there is a giuing of him on Gods part for vnto vs a Sonne is giuen so there must bee a receiuing of him on our part for as many as reciued him to them gaue hee power to become the sonnes of God And as wee are called by God vnto the communion of his Sonne Iesus Christ our Lord so if we doe heare his voyce and not harden our hearts by vnbeliefe wee are indeed made partakers of Christ. This is that great mystery for so the Apostle termeth it of our vnion with Christ whereby we are made members of his body of his flesh and of his bones and this is that eating of the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinking of his blood which our Sauiour insisteth so much vpon in the sixth of Iohn Where if any man shall demand that I may now come vnto the second poynt of our inquiry How can this man giue

the Spirit of Christ the soule as it were of all the rest and that whereby the iust doth liue is Faith For we through the Spirit waite for the hope of righteousnesse by faith saith S. Paul to the Galatians And againe I liue yet not I but Christ liueth in me and the life which I now liue in the flesh I liue by the faith of the Sonne of God who loued me and gaue himselfe for me By faith it is that wee doe receiue Christ and so likewise Christ dwelleth in our hearts by faith Faith therefore is that spirituall mouth in vs whereby wee eate the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood that is as the Apostle expresseth it without the trope are made partakers of Christ he being by this meanes as truly and euery wayes as effectually made ours as the meate and drinke which we receiue into our naturall bodies But you will say If this be all the matter what doe we get by comming to the Sacrament seeing we haue faith and the quickening Spirit of Christ before wee come thither To this I answere that the Spirit is receiued in diuers measures and faith bestowed vpon vs in different degrees by reason whereof our coniunction with Christ may euery day bee made straiter and the hold which we take of him firmer To receiue the Spirit not by measure is the priuiledge of our Head we that receiue out of his fulnesse haue not our portion of grace deliuered vnto vs all at once but must daily looke for supply of the Spirit of Iesus Christ. So also while we are in this world the righteousnesse of God is reuealed vnto vs from faith to faith that is from one degree and measure of it to another and consequently we must still labour to perfect that which is lacking in our faith and euermore pray with the Apostles Lord increase our faith As wee haue therefore receiued Christ Iesus the Lord so must wee walke in him rooted and built vp in him and stablished in the faith that wee may grow vp into him in all things which is the Head And to this end God hath ordained publike officers in his Church for the perfecting of the Saints for the worke of the ministery for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come in the vnity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Sonne of God vnto a perfect man vnto the measure of the stature of the fulnesse of Christ and hath accordingly made them able Ministers of the Spirit that quickeneth and Ministers by whom we should beleeue euen as the Lord shall giue to euery man When wee haue therefore receiued the Spirit and Faith and so spirituall life by their ministery we are not there to rest but as new borne babes we must desire the sincere milke of the Word that we may grow thereby and as growne men too wee must desire to be fed at the Lords Table that by the strength of that spirituall repast we may be inabled to doe the Lords worke and may continually be nourished vp thereby in the life of grace vnto the life of glory Neither must we heere with a fleshly eye looke vpon the meanenesse of the outward elements and haue this faithlesse thought in our hearts that there is no likelihood a bit of bread and a draught of wine should be able to produce such heauenly effects as these For so we should prooue our selues to be no wiser than Naaman the Syrian was who hauing receiued direction from the man of God that he should wash in Iordan seuen times to be cleansed of his Leprosie replied with indignation Are not Abana and Pharpar riuers of Damascus better then all the waters of Israel May I not wash in them and be cleane But as his seruāts did soberly aduise him then If the Prophet had bid thee doe some great thing wouldest thou not haue done it How much rather then when hee saith to thee Wash and be cleane So giue mee leaue to say vnto you now If the Lord had commanded vs to doe some great thing for the attaining of so high a good should not we willingly haue done it How much rather then when hee biddeth vs to eate the bread and drinke the wine that he hath prouided for vs at his owne Table that by his blessing thereupon wee may grow in grace and be preserued both in body and soule vnto euerlasting life True it is indeed these outward creatures haue no naturall power in them to effect so great a worke as this is no more then the water of Iordan had to recouer the Leper but the worke wrought by these meanes is supernaturall and God hath been pleased in the dispensation both of the Word and of the Sacraments so to ordaine it that these heauenly treasures should bee presented vnto vs in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power might be of God As therefore in the preaching of the Gospell the Minister doth not dare verba and beate the aire with a fruitlesse found but the words that hee speaketh vnto vs are Spirit and life God being pleased by the foolishnesse of preaching to saue them that beleeue so likewise in the administration of the Lords Supper he doth not feed vs with bare bread and wine but if we haue the life of faith in vs for still we must remember that this Table is prouided not for the dead but for the liuing and come worthily the Cup of blessing which he blesseth will be vnto vs the communion of the blood of Christ and the bread which hee breaketh the communion of the body of Christ of which precious body and blood wee being really made partakers that is in truth and indeed and not in imagination onely although in a spirituall and not a corporall manner the Lord doth grant vs according to the riches of his glory to bee strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man that we may bee filled with all the fulnesse of God For the Sacraments as well as the Word be a part of that ministration of the Spirit which is committed to the Ministers of the New Testament for as much as by one Spirit as before we haue heard from the Apostle wee haue been all baptized into one body and haue been all made to drinke into one Spirit And thus haue I finished the first part of my taske my Congregatio homogeneorum as I call it the knitting together of those that appertaine to the same body both with their fellovv-members and vvith their Head vvhich is the thing laid dovvne in the expresse vvords of my Text. It remaineth novv that I proceed to the Apostles application hereof vnto the argument hee hath in hand vvhich is Segregatio heterogeneorum a disseuering of those that bee not of the same communion that the faithfull may not partake