The Governance of Virtue, Part 2 · Section 5
Against the grosse and fantasticall opinion of the papistes, which affirme that Christes naturall body and bloud, is carnally eaten and dronken in the lordes supper.
IF the deuill or the pope, or any of their impes go about with sophisticall reasons to persuade thee, that Christ is naturall in the sacramentall bread and wyne, or that the bread and wine is turned vntounto the reall and naturall body & bloud of Christ: euen as he receaued it of the blessed Uirgine: suffer not thy selfe to bee beguiled and mocked, but valiauntly resiste them wyth these sentences and histories of Gods moste holye worde.
☞ Sentences out of the olde Testament.
THe Lord is in his holye temple, thePsal▪ 11▪ Lordes seat is in heauen.
The Lord lord looked downe fromPsal. 13 heauen vponupon the children of men, to see if there were any that would vnderstād and seeke after god.
God is gone vp wyth a mery noyse,Psal. 47. and the Lorde wyth the sounde of the trompet.
God sitteth vponupon his holy seate.Psalm. 6…
Thou art gone vponupon hie (O Christ) thou hast led captiuitie captiue, & receiued giftes for men.
Syng vntounto God (O ye kingdomes of the earth) O sing praises vntounto the lord, which sitteth in the heauens ouer all.
He looked downe from his sanctuarye,Psal. 10… ▪ euen out of heauen did the Lord behold the earth, that he might heare the mourninges of such as be in captiuitie, and deliuer the children appointed vntounto death.
The Lord hath prepared hys seat inPsal. 103. heauē, and his kingdom ruleth ouer al.
O Lord my god, thou art become excedyngPsal▪ 104▪ glorious, thou art clothed wyth maiesty and honor, thou deckest thy self with light as it were with a garment, and spreadest oute the heauens lyke a curtayne. Thou layest the beames of thy chambers in the waters, & makest the cloudes thy charets, and walkest vponupon the winges of the winde.
The Lorde sayd vntounto my Lorde, sitPsalm. 10 thou on my right hand, vntill I make thyne enemies thy footestole.
The Lorde is hie aboue all heathen,Psalm. 113 and his glory aboue the heauens. Who is like vntounto the lord our God, that hath his dwellyng so hie, and yet humbleth himselfe to behold the things that are in heauen and earth.
Wherefore shall the heathen saye,Psalm. 115 where is now their god? As for our god he is in heauen, he hath done what so euer pleased hym.
Unto thee O Lord, lift I vp my eies,Psalm. 133 which dwellest in the heauens.
Whither shal I go from thy spirit, orPsalm. 129 whether shal I flee from thy presēce? If I clime vp into heauē, thou art there, &c
Wil god dwel on the earth. Behold…. Reg. 8. the heauens and heauens of all heauēs, are not able to contayne thee. And how should then this house do it, that I hauehave builded.
The house which I build shal be great2. Par. …. for great is our god aboue al gods. But who is able to build hym an house, whē that heauen and heauen aboue all heauens, is not hable to receiue him?Iob. 11.
God is hyer then heauen, what arte thou able to do? Deper then hell, howe wilt thou then know hym? His length excedeth the length of the earth, and hys breadth the breadth of the sea.
Thus saith the Lord, heauen is myEsay. 6… seate, and the earthe is my footestoole, where shall now the house stand that ye will build vntounto me? And where shall be the place that I will dwell in?
Sentences out of the new Testament.
IF any man say vntounto you: Loe, here isMath. 13▪ Christe, or there is Christe, beleue it not. For there shall arise false annoynted, and false teachers, and shall shewe greate myracles and wonders: in so muche, that yf it were possible, the verye electe should be deceaued. Beholde, I hauehave tolde you afore. Wherfore if thei say vntounto you, behold he is in the desert, goe not ye forth, behold he is in y• secret places, beleue it not. For as the lightnyng commeth out of the east, and appeareth into the West, so shall the commyng of the sonne of man be.
Ye hauehave the power alwayes wt youMath. 26. but me shall ye not hauehave alwayes.
And when the Lord had spoken vntountoMat. 16. them, he was receiued into heauen, and is set downe on the right hand of god.
It came to passe as Christ blessed thē Luc. 24he departed from them, and was caryed vp into heauen.
I go to prepare a place for you: AndIohn. 24. if I goe to prepare a place for you, I wil come agayne, and receiue you euen vntounto my selfe, that where I am, there ye may be also.
If ye loued me, ye would reioyce because I sayd, I go vntounto the Father.
Now I go my way to him that senteIohn. 16. me, and none of you asketh me whether I goe. But because I hauehave saide suche thinges vntounto you, your hartes are ful of sorrow. Neuertheles I tell you y• truth it is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away that cōforter will not come vntounto you. But if I departe, I wil. send him vntounto you.
I went out from the Father, & came into the world. Againe, I leaue ye world and go to the Father.
It is Christe whiche dyed, ye ratherRom. 8 which is risen againe: whiche is also on the right hand of God.
So ofte as ye shall eat of this breade,1, Cor. 11. and drinck of the cup, ye shall xemēber the Lords death til he come.
God the father raised Christe frō theEphe. 1. dead, and set him on his right hand in heauenly things, aboue al rule, power, might, dominiō, and aboue all names that are named, not in this world only but also in the world to come.
Christ is gone vpō highe, & hath led capEphe. 4 tiuitie captiue, and hathe geuen giftes vntounto men.
That he ascended what meaneth it, but that he also descended first into the lowest parts of the earth.
He that descended is euen the same also that ascended vp▪ euen aboue all heauens to fulfil al thinges.
God hath exalted Christ on high & geuenPhil. … him a name, whiche is aboue all names, that in the name of Iesus eueryevery knee should bowe bothe in heauen, and thinges in earth, and things vnderunder the earth.
If ye be risen againe with Christe,Colos. 3 seeke those thinges whiche are aboue, where Christe sitteth on the right hande of God.
Whensoeuer Christe (whiche is oure life) shall shew him self, then shall we al so appeare with him in glory.
The Lord him selfe shall come downe1 Thess. 4 from Heauen with a shoute, and the voice of the archaungell and trompe of God. &c.
Christe the Sonne of God, being theHeb. 1. brightnes of his fathers glory, and the very image of his substaunce ruling all thinges with the woorde of his power, hath by his own person purged our sins and sitteth on the right hand of the maiesty on hye.
This man Christ after hee had offeredHebr. 10. one sacrifice for sins, sitteth downe for euer on the right hand of God, and from hence forth tarieth till his foes be made his fotestoole.
Let vsus runne with pacience vntounto theHeb. …. battayl that is set before vsus, lokyng vn to Iesus the captain and finisher of our fayth, which for the ioy that was set before him abode the crosse and dispised the shame, and is set down on the right hād of the throne of god.
Iesus Christe is on the right hande of1. Pet. 3. God, and is gone into heauen, Angels, powers aud might subdued vntounto him.
Examples out of the newe Testament.
When Iesus had spoke these things,Act. … whyle the Disciples beheld him, he was taken vp on hye, and a cloud receyued him vp out of their sight.
And while they loked vp stedfastly to ward heauen, as he went, behold two men stode by them in whyte aparell, whiche also sayde: ye men of Galyle, why stande ye gasyng vp to heauen? This same Iesus which is taken from you into heauen, shall so come, euen as ye hauehave sene him go into heauen.
Stephen beyng full of the holy ghost,Act. 7▪ loked vp stedfastly with his eies into heauen, and sawe the glorye of god, and Iesus standynge on the ryghte hande of God, and sayd. Beholde I see the heauens open, & the sonne of man standing on the right hand of God.
When Saule iornyed, it fortunedActs. 9. that as he was come nye to Damasco, sodenly there shyned rounde about him a lyght from heauen, and he fell to the earth, and heard a voyce saying to him: Saule, Saule, why persecutest thou me? And he sayde, what art thou Lord? and the Lord said, I am Iesus, whom thou persecutest. &c.