is not onely every feast of Easter but even every day offered vnto the faithfull people neither is hee to be deemed a lyar who being asked of another man answereth that hee is offered For if the Sacraments had not a certaine similitude and likenesse of those things of which they are Sacraments they could not at all be Sacraments and in respect of this very likenesse that they haue they take the very names of the things themselues Wherefore even as the Sacrament of Christs body is after a certaine manner Christs body it selfe and the Sacrament of Christs blood is after a certaine manner Christs blood so the Sacrament of faith is faith Hence we perceiue that Saint Augustine saith that the Sacrament is one thing and the things whereof they are Sacraments is another thing Now the body in which Christ suffered and the blood that came out of his side are the things of the Sacrament but the mysteries by which these things are represented hee saith they are the Sacraments of the body and blood of Christ which are celebrated and administred in remembrance of the Lords passion and suffering and that not onely every yeare once at or about the feast of Easter but every day in the yeare And although the Lord had but one bodie in which hee suffered once for all and but one blood which was shed for the salvation of the world yet the Sacraments or elements signifying these things haue taken the names of the very things themselues insomuch that they are called the body and blood of Christ being so called indeed for the similitude and likenesse of the things which they represent and shew forth even as the feast of Easter which is observed every yeare is called the Passeover and the resurrection of the Lord whereas we know that the Lord did but once suffer and but once rise againe about that time And albeit that these very dayes cannot now be revoked or called backe because they are already past yet by their name and title are such dayes called as in which the memorie of the Lords suffering and resurrection is rehearsed and celebrated and this is therefore done because they haue a certaine resemblance and likenesse of these very dayes in which our Saviour once suffered and once rose againe Whereupon we say this day or to morrow or the next day is the Lords passion or resurrection when as these dayes in which these things were done were passed many yeares agoe So we may say that the Lord is offered when the Sacraments of his suffering are celebrated and administred whereas indeed hee was but once for all offered vp in himselfe for the salvation of the world as the Apostle saith Christ hath suffered for vs 1 Pet. 2.21 leaving vs an example that we should follow his footsteps For hee saith not that hee every day offered himselfe because he did it but once but this hee saith that hee hath left vs an example which is daily presented and shewed forth to the beleevers in the mystery of the Lords bodie and blood to the end that every one that shall come or repaire thereto may know that hee ought to be made a companion with him in his sufferings the image and liuely picture whereof hee doth as it were tarry and wait for to be exhibited vnto him in the holy mysteries according to the saying of the Wiseman in the Proverbes Pro. 23.1 Commest thou to a mighty mans table marke diligently what things are set before thee knowing that thou thy selfe must another time prepare such like things To come to a mightie mans table is to bee partaker of the Lords offering or as wee say of the Lords Supper and the marking or cōsidering of such things as are set before vs is the sound vnderstanding or knowledge of the bodie and blood of Christ whereof whosoever partaketh hee must know and remember thus much that hee ought to prepare such precious things that so hee may become a follower of Christ in dying with him the remembrance of whose death he professeth and acknowledgeth not only in beleeving but also in tasting Againe Saint Paul writing to the Hebrewes saith thus Heb. 7.26.27 Verily such an high Priest it became vs to haue as is holy harmlesse vndefiled separated from sinners and become higher then the heavens who needed not daily as those high Priests to offer vp sacrifice first for his one sinnes and then for the peoples for the Lord Iesus Christ did this once for all when hee offered vp himselfe That which he did once he doth now dayly exercise and vse For he once offered vp himselfe for the sinnes of the people and this very selfe same oblation or offering is every day celebrated among the faithfull but yet in a mystery that so that very thing which the Lord Iesus Christ offring vp himselfe once for all hath fulfilled may by the celebration administration of the mysteries bee daily performed and done for the remembrance of his death and passion Neither yet is it falsly said that the Lord in those mysteries is either offered or suffereth because they haue a certaine similitude or likenesse of his death and passion whereof indeed they are true and liuely representations Whereupon the very mysteries themselues are called the Lords bodie and the Lords blood because they haue the name of that or those things whereof they be the Sacrament Isodorus Originum siue Etymologiarū lib. 6. cap. de officijs colū 143. linea 28. Isodorus in his bookes which hee wrote of the true signification of words saith thus It is called a sacrifice as though a man would say a holy fact or deed because through mysticall prayer it is consecrated and appointed to or for the remembrance of the Lords suffering Whereupon by his authority and commādement we cal it the body and blood of Christ because that though it bee made of the fruits of the earth it is yet notwithstanding sanctified and so become a Sacrament Gods spirit working invisibly therein the Sacraament of the bred and cup the Grecians doe call Eucharistia that is if it bee interpreted good grace or thankesgiving And what is better then the body and blood of Christ Now the bread and wine are therefore compared and resembled to the Lords body and boold because that as the substance of this visible bread and wine doth nourish and make cheerfull the outward man So the Word of God which is the living or liuely bread being once rightly partaked of doth recreate and refresh the mindes of the faithfull And this Catholike Doctor teacheth vs that that same holy mystery of the Lords passion and suffering must on our behalfes or in respect of vs bee done for the remembrance of the Lords passion And in so saying he declareth that the Lords passion or suffering was onely once done but that the remembrance thereof is continually represented vnto vs in those same holy rites and solemnities Whereupon both the bread that
were with the dainties of Gods word here on earth I mean men Verily the Psalmist or rather the holy Ghost in the Psalmist sheweth either what our fathers received in that heavenly Manna or els what the faithfull people should beleeue to be in the mysterie of Christs bodie In both of them certainely Christ is signified and set forth which Christ both feedeth the soules of the beleevers and is the food and meate of Angels and yet neither of them are done in corporall taste or bodily feeding but by the power of the spirituall word And wee know because the Evangelist hath declared the same that the Lord Iesus Christ before he suffered Tooke Bread and gaue thankes Mat. 26.26 c. 1 Cor. 11.23 c. and gaue it to his Disciples saying This is my bodie which is given for you doe this in remembrance of me Likewise he tooke the Cup after he had supped saying This Cup is the New Testament in my blood which shall be shed for you We see that Christ had not as yet suffered and yet for all that he wrought or made the mysterie of his body and blood for wee thinke truely that any faithfull man doubteth whether that Bread became Christs bodie which he gaue vnto his Disciples and said This is my bodie which is given for you or whether the cup conteineth Christes blood of which cup our Saviour Christ himselfe saide This cup is the New Testament in my blood which shall be shed for you Therefore as he could even a little before he suffered turne the substance of the Bread and the creature of the Wine into his owne body which should suffer and into his own blood which afterwardes should be shed so likewise was he able in the Wildernesse to turne the Manna and the water that issued out of the Rocke into his owne flesh and blood although that a long time after both his flesh was to be hāged on the crosse for our sakes and his blood to be shed for the washing away of our sinnes Here also wee ought to consider how we must vnderstand that which he himselfe saith Ioh 6.53 Except yee eate the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood yee shall not haue life in you For hee doth not say or meane that his flesh which afterwards hanged on the Crosse should bee cut in peeces and parts and so be eaten by his Disciples neither yet that his blood which hee should shed for the redemption of the world should bee given vnto his Disciples for drinke because it should be a most wicked and horrible thing for his Disciples either to drinke his blood or to eate his flesh as the vnbeleevers did at that time vnderstand him Therefore in the words following he said to his Disciples who did not vnbeleevingly but in some measure of faith receiue Christs wordes although they could not as then pierce and perceiue how those wordes were to bee vnderstood to them I say he said Doth this offend you Ioh. 6.61.62 What then if yee should see the Sonne of man ascend vp where he was before As though he should say Thinke not I pray you that you must either bodily eate my flesh or bodily drinke my blood or that my body must bee divided into parts to be eaten or my blood distributed to be drunke seeing that after my resurrection yee shall see mee to goe vp into heaven with the fulnesse of my whole body and blood and then shall ye vnderstand that my very flesh shall not be eaten of the beleevers as the infidels suppose but that the bread and the wine being turned into the substance of my body and of my blood the substance thereof shall bee in a mystery received by the beleevers And presently he addeth Ioh. 6.63 The spirit is it saith hee which quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing He saith that the flesh profiteth nothing at all after such a forme and manner as the vnbeleevers vnderstood it otherwise it giveth life as the faithfull do in a mystery receiue it And why this is done he himselfe doth manifestly declare when hee saith It is the spirit that quickeneth Wherefore there is in this mysterie of the body and blood of Christ a spirituall opperation and working that giveth life without the working whereof these mysteries profit nothing at all because they may indeed feed the bodie but they cannot feed the soule Now then heere ariseth a question which while many propound they say and affirme that these things are done not in a figure or mystery but in verity and truth Which while they affirme they are found to goe against and to gaine-say the writings of the holy Fathers Saint Augustine Aug. de doct Christ lib. 3. one of the chiefe Doctors of the Church in his third booke of Christian doctrine writeth thus Ioh. 6.53 Except ye eate saith our Saviour the flesh of the Sonne of man and drinke his blood yee shall not haue life in you Hee seemeth to command a wicked thing and an vngodly act Wherefore it is a figuratiue speech commanding vs to communicate in the Lords passion and sweetly and profitably to lay vp this in our memories that his flesh was crucified and wounded for our sakes Here we perceiue that this Doctor saith and affirmeth that the mysteries of the bodie blood of Christ are vnder a figure celebrated and received of the faithfull for hee saith plainely that it belongeth not to religion but is rather a wicked thing carnally to eate Christs body or to drink his blood into which fault they fell who not spiritually but fleshly vnderstanding the Lords words in the Gospell Ioh. 6.66 Departed or went backe from him and went or walked no more with him The same Doctor writing in a certaine Epistle to Boniface the Bishop Aug. ad Bonifa epist amongst other things saith thus Truly we vse oftentimes to speak thus that when Easter draweth nigh that to morrow or the next day after shall be the Lords passion whereas hee suffered so many yeares before and verily that passion or suffering was done but once for all Also on the Lords day that wee call Easter day wee vsually say this day the Lord rose againe whereas indeed and truth so many yeares are since he rose againe already past And why is no man so fond and foolish as to reproue vs speaking thus as though we had lyed but onely because wee name those dayes according to the similitude and likenesse of these dayes in which these things were done Insomuch that it is called the very same day which yet is not in deed the very same but in the revolution and turning about of the time is like it and so also that is said to be done vpon that day by reason of the celebration and administration of the Sacrament which is not done vpon that day but was performed long agoe Was not Christ once offered about that time And yet notwithstanding hee
is offered though it be taken from amongst the fruits of the earth is yet notwithstanding while it is sanctified changed into Christs body as also the wine though it flow out of the Vine is yet notwithstanding through the sanctification of the divine mystery become the blood of Christ not visibly indeed but as the aforesaid Doctor affirmeth the holy Ghost invisibly working therein Whereupon also they are called both the body and blood of Christ because they are received not as they are outwardly seen or beheld but as they are spiritually made or become vnto vs Gods spirit working inwardly in vs. And because that through the invisible power and grace they are become a farre other matter vnto vs than visibly they seeme to bee hee therefore maketh a difference while hee saith that the bread and the wine are therefore compared and resembled to the Lords body and blood because that as the substance of the visible bread and wine doth nourish and make chearfull the outward man so the Word of God which is the living or liuely bread being once rightly partaked of doth recreate and refresh the mindes of the faithfull Now in speaking thus hee most plainely confesseth that whatsover outward thing is received in the Sacrament of the Lords body and blood all that is fitted and applyed to the refreshing of the bodie But the Word of God which is the invisible bread being invisibly in the same Sacrament doth through the partaking thereof by quickening the mindes of the faithfull invisibly feed them The same Doctor also saith Isidorus loco supra citato It is a Sacrament when it is celebrated or adminstred as when a thing is so done that the selfe same thing may be vnderstood or perceived to signifie somwhat which thing must also bee holyly received and taken In saying these things hee declareth that every Sacrament doth in holy things containe some secret or mysterie and that it is one thing which appeareth visibly and that it is another thing which must bee taken or received invisibly And what Sacraments are to be celebrated amongst the faithfull hee afterwards sheweth saying Now these are the Sacraments Baptisme and Chrisme and the Lords bodie and blood which are therefore called Sacraments because vnder the vaile and coverture of bodily things Gods divine power or vertue doth secretly worke the efficacy or power of the said Sacraments Whence also it commeth to passe that they are called Sacraments of certaine secret powers or holy solemnities in them And afterwards he saith In Greeke it it is called a mystery because it hath in it a secret and hidden disposition What are we taught by these words but that the Lords body and blood are therefore said to be mysteries because they haue a secret and hidden disposition that is to say are one thing in respect of that which they outwardly shew forth and another thing in respect of that which invisibly they worke within And herevpon also they are called sacraments because that vnder the vaile or coverture of bodily things Gods heavenly power and vertue doth secretly but yet faithfully and effectually dispense procure and worke the salvation of all such as worthily and rightly receiue them By all the things The sum of this former Part. that hitherto haue beene spoken wee haue declared that the bodie and blood of Christ which in the Church are received by the mouth of the beleevers are figures according to their outward shew and visible forme but that according to an invisible substance that is according to the power of the divine word they are verily and in deed the body and blood of Christ Wherevpon we conclude that as they are visible creatures they feed the body but that yet throw the power of a more mightie and excellent substance they doe both feed and sanctifie the minds of all faithfull people And now let vs looke into the second question the purpose or drift thereof and let vs see whether that very body that was borne of the Virgin Mary that suffered that was dead and buried and that sitteth at the right hand of the Father be the same which through the mystery of the Sacramēts is daily received in the Church by the mouths of the faithfull Let vs enquire and see what S. Ambrose iudgeth concerning this matter Ambro. sacra lib. 1. In his Booke of Sacraments he speaketh thus Truely it is a marveilous thing that God did for the Fathers raine Manna from heaven Psal 78.25 and that they were daily fed with food from heaven wherevpon it is said Man did eate the bread of Angels And yet for all that all they which did eate that bread in the Wildernesse Ioh. 6.51 dyed But as for this meat which thou receivest yea this liuing bread which came downe from Heaven it ministreth and yeeldeth vnto thee the substance of eternall life and whosoever eateth of this bread shall not die for ever because it is the body of Christ Marke in what respect this Doctor saith that that meat which the faithfull receiue in the Church is Christs body for he saith This liuing bread which came down from heaven ministreth or yeeldeth the substance of eternal life Doth it as it is corporally taken or as it is ground and chawed with the teeth or as it is swallowed with the throte or received into the paunch doth it I say in these respects minister or yeeld the substance of everlasting life No verily for so it feedeth our flesh that shall die neither doth it giue any incorruption neither can it in that sense be truly said that whosoever shall eate this bread shall never die for that which the body receiveth is corruptible and cannot by any meanes performe this pleasure for the body it selfe that it should never die the reason is because that looke whatsoever is it selfe subiect to corruption is not powerfull or sufficient to giue eternitie Wherefore in that bread there is life but yet that life appeareth not to the bodily eyes but is beheld with the eye of faith Ioh 6.50.51 yea that is the liuing bread in deed which came downe from heaven and of which it is truely said Whosoever eateth it shall never die and which is also the Lords body Againe the same holy Doctor speaking of the almighty power of Christ faith thus Ambro. sacra lib. Cannot the word of Christ which was able of nothing to make every thing that is be strong and sufficient enough to change things that are into that which they were not for it is not a greater or harder matter to create and giue new things than to change the natures of things Saint Ambrose saith that there is a change made in that mysterie of the bodie and blood of Christ and that it is done marveilously and wonderfully because it is done divinely and heavenly and that it is done vnspeakably because it is of it selfe incomprehensible Now I would faine haue them that will in
this mysterie take and vnderstand nothing according to the hidden power that lyeth within but iudge of the whole according to that which visibly and outwardly appeareth I would faine haue these men I say to tell me in what respect the change is made in this mysterie If they will say that it is made in respect of the substance of the creatures I answere that that cannot be so for in respect of the substance of the creatures look whatsoever they were before consecration they are even the same afterwards but they were Bread and Wine before and therefore they remaine the same which is proved because we see that even when they are consecrated they remaine in the same kinde and forme Wherefore that which our faith looketh vpon is changed inwardly by the almightie power of the holy Ghost and is it that which feedeth the soule and ministreth or yeeldeth the substance of eternall life Againe the same Doctor a little after saith Why doest thou here Amb. loco supra citato in the mysterie of Christs bodie seeke for the order of nature seeing that he being the Lord God himselfe was beside and without the course of nature borne of a Virgin Obiect Here the hearer scholler or learner riseth vp and saith That that is Christs body which is seene and that that is his blood which is drunke and that wee must not inquire how it is made or become his body but beleeue hold that so it is become his body Answ I answere Thou imaginest and supposest that thou thinkest well but if thou diligently looke into the nature force of the words thou shalt see thou sayest nothing For thou affirmest both that Christs body is seene and his blood drunke and also that thou doest faithfully beleeue it to be Christs bodie and blood but I say that these speeches cannot stand together because if thou doest beleeue it thou doest not yet see it 2 Cor. 5.7 for we walke by faith and not by sight And againe if thou seest it thou shouldest say I see it to be Christs very body and blood and shouldest not say I beleeue it to be Christs body and blood But for as much as faith beholdeth that whole thing whatsoever that whole thing it selfe be and the eye of flesh apprehendeth or laieth hold of nothing the scholler or learned shall vnderstand which is also the Doctors meaning that those things which are seene are the body blood of Christ nor in kinde and forme but in vertue and power wherevpon also he saith that we must not in this matter consider or behold the order of nature but reverence and esteeme the high power of Christ which maketh every thing as he will how he will into what he will and createth that which was not and being created changeth it into that which it was not before The same Author addeth Verily Amb. loco eodem that is the true flesh of Christ which was crucified and which was buried and therfore this mysterie must be in deede the Sacrament of that flesh which thing the Lord himselfe publisheth proclaimeth saying This is my body O how diligently and how wisely is this distinction and difference made Of the flesh of Christ which was crucified and which was buried according vnto which also Christ himselfe was both crucified buried the Doctor saith that it is the very and true flesh of Christ but of that which is received in the Sacrament he sayth It is indeed the Sacrament of that true flesh By these words distinguishing the Sacrament of his flesh from the truth of his flesh or very flesh in as much as in respect of the truth of that flesh which he tooke of the Virgin he said that he was both crucified and buried And wheras he said that the mystery which is at this day celebrated in the church is the sacrament of that very and true flesh in which Christ was crucified he doth plainely instruct and teach the faithfull people that that flesh in which Christ was both crucified and buried is not a mystery or Sacrament but the truth of nature and on the other side he teacheth them that this flesh which now in a mysterie doth containe the likenesse of that flesh is not that flesh in kinde or forme but in a Sacrament for in kinde and forme it is Bread but in a Sacrament it is Christs very true bodie Mat. 26.26 Ambr. loco citat as the Lord Iesus himselfe affirmeth saying This is my body And the same Doctor in the words following saith Mat. 6.31 What these words should meane mentioned in Matthew what shall we eate or what shall wee drinke the holy Ghost hath in another place and after another sort expressed by his Prophet saying Taste yee and see Psal 34.8 how gracious the Lord is blessed is the man that trusteth in him Doth that same Bread thinke you being tasted bodily or that same Wine being drunke corporally declare and shewe forth how sweet the Lord is No verily for whatsoever it savoureth it is bodily and delighteth onely the palate and throate Shall we thinke that this is to taste the Lord to wit to feele and savour some bodily thing No verily for the spirituall tasting and savouring of the Lord stirreth vs vp to haue little or no regard yea to be voyde as it were of bodily savouring and in that Bread and in that drinke to imagine or thinke of nothing corporally but to feele and perceiue the whole spiritually because the Lord is a spirit Ioh. 4.24 and blessed is the man that trusteth in him And againe afterwards he saith thus Christ is in that Sacrament Amb. loco eodem because it is the body of Christ wherefore it is not bodily meate but spirituall foode What could be spoken more plainely more manifestly or more heavenly for he saith Christ is in that Sacrament and yet he saith not that that Bread and that Wine is Christ which if he should say he should set forth Christ as though he were corruptible and subiect to mortalitie which be it farre from vs to thinke much more to speake for it is certaine that whatsoever in that meate is either bodily seene or bodily tasted all that is subiect to corruption The Doctor addeth these words Because it is the body of Christ But perhaps here some man will stand vp and say Behold he manifestly and plainly confesseth that that Bread and that Wine is Christes body But withall marke I pray thee how presently he addeth That it is not bodily meate but spirituall foode Bring not with you therefore the sense and feeling of the flesh for by that nothing either is or can be perceived in this mystery It is indeed Christs body howbeit not his bodily bodie but his spirituall body It is Christs blood but not his bodily blood but his spirituall blood Wherfore nothing here is to be iudged felt or perceived bodily but spiritually It is
were Sacraments and are diverse or differing one of them from another in respect of their signes but are equall and like yea all one in the matter that is signified by them Hearken what the Apostle Paul saith 1 Cor. 10.1.2 c. I would not haue you ignorant brethren that all our Fathers were vnder the Clowd and that all passed through the Sea and were all baptised vnto Moses in the Clowd and in the Sea and did all eate the same spirituall meate and did all drinke the same spirituall drinke Verily they had the same spirituall both meate and drinke but another bodily both meate and drinke for they had Manna and we another thing and yet they had the same spirituall thing that we haue And the Apostle addeth and they did all drinke the same spirituall drinke They drunke one thing and wee another but that was in respect of visible kinde or forme and yet they both signified one thing by spirituall power For how otherwise could it be the same drinke They drank saith he of the spirituall rock that followed them and the rocke was Christ From thence came the bread from thence came the drinke The rocke was Christ in sign figure but the very true Christ is in word and in flesh Againe Aug. tract eodem in the same place This is the bread that came downe from heaven so that whosoever shall eate of it shall not dye but yet hee must eate that which appertaineth to the vertue and power of the Sacrament and not that onely which appertaineth to the visible Sacrament And such a one is hee as eateth inwardly and not outwardly only and as eateth the same in his heart through faith and not that pearceth or presseth it with his teeth And in another place of his saide Exposition vpon Iohn bringing in our Saviours words hee speaketh thus Aug. in Ioh. tract 27. Doth this offend you that I said behold I giue you my flesh to eate and my blood to drinke What then if ye shall see the Sonne of man ascend vp where he was before What meaneth this Doth hee by this speech loose that which moved them Doth hee by so saying open that wherewith they were offended Yea verily and that fully also if they could haue vnderstood it For they thought that he would haue given his body but hee said that hee would goe vp into heaven and that whole as he was as though he should say When yee shall see the Sonne of man ascending vp where hee was before at the least even then yee shall know that hee will not giue his body after such a manner and fashion as you imagine and fantasie yea and even then also yee shall vnderstand that his grace is not consumed or eaten vp by bytings and morsels For the Lord himselfe saith It is the spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing And after that hee had vttered many words and sentences hee againe addeth Aug. tract eodem Rom. 8.9 Whosoever saith the Apostle hath not the spirit of Christ the same is none of his Wherefore it is the spirit that quickneth the flesh profiteth nothing The words that I haue spoken vnto you are spirit and life What meaneth this that they are spirit and life That is to say they must be spiritually vnderstood Hast thou vnderstood them spiritually then are they spirit and life to thee Hast thou vnderstood them carnally yea even so are they spirit and life but not vnto thee By the authority of this Doctor handling the Lords words concerning the Sacrament of his body and blood wee are plainely taught that those words of the Lord must bee vnderstood spiritually and not carnally even as himselfe saith Ioh. 6.63 The words which I speake vnto you are spirit and life yea even those words verily which hee spake concerning the eating of his flesh and the drinking of his blood For he speaketh of those words wherewith his Disciples were offended Wherefore to the end they might not be offended the heavenly Master or Teacher calleth them back frō the flesh to the spirit and from bodily sight to invisible vnderstanding We see therefore in what respect that meat of the Lords body and that drinke of his blood are truly and indeed his bodie and truly and indeed his blood to wit in respect that they are spirit and life Moreover such things as bee all one are contained in or vnder one definition Now it is affirmed of the very and true body of Christ that hee is very God and very man God as hee was begotten of the father from before all beginnings and man as hee was towards the end of the world conceived and borne of the Virgine Mary But these things cannot bee said of that body of Christ which by a mystery is celebrated and administred in the Church and yet it is after a certaine manner knowne to bee Christs body now that manner is in figure and representation that so the truth and the thing it selfe may bee the better perceived In these prayers which are sayd after the mystery of the body and blood of Christ and whereunto the people answer Amen thus it is vttered with the Priests voyce Wee that doe take or receiue the pledge of everlasting life doe humbly beseech thee to grant that we may with a manifest and plaine partaking receiue that which we touch in the image or representation of the Sacrament Now wee know that a pledge and an image or representation appertaine to another thing that is to say haue respect not to themselues but to another thing For a pledge is a pledge of that thing for the pledging whereof it is given and not the thing it selfe as likewise an image is the image of that thing the likenesse whereof it doth represent or shew forth For these things doe signifie the thing it selfe whose picture and pledge they are and yet for all that they doe not very manifestly declare the things themselues Which seeing it is so it plainely appeareth that this body and blood are the pledge and as it were the picture or representation of a thing that shall be to the end that that which is now shewed by a similitude may in time hereafter to come be by manifestation or manifestly revealed Wherevpon I conclude that if now they signifie and in time to come shall make manifest or lay open that then that is one thing which is done and performed now and that that is another thing which shall in time to come be manifested and layd open Wherefore that which the Church celebrateth and administreth is both the body and blood of Christ but yet as a pledge and as it were the picture or representation But then it shall be the truth when as now not the pledge nor the picture or representation of the thing shall appeare but the truth of the thing it selfe Also in another place of the sayde prayers We beseech thee Lord to graunt that thy