The Worthy Communicant Rewarded, Text

The Worthy Communicant Rewarded · Text

p. 1THE WORTHY COMMUNICANT REWARDED.

JOHN 6.54.

Who ſo eateth my fleſh, and drinketh my bloud, hath eternall life, and I will raiſe him up at the last day.

AFTER ſome agitation of thoughts, what moſt opportunely I might this day entertaine your noble audience withall, at length I faſtened on this Text; which is that ſacred Map, in which we have compendiated the p. 2ſumme of thoſe choice favours from above, that now this gladſome anniverſary of our Saviours all-glorious Reſurrection hath occaſioned to his Church: For now we have more ſolemnly, and more generally renewed our Covenant with our God, and received the Seale of all our pardons in the bleſſed Sacrament: Now alſo hath the all-powerfull ariſing of our Head Chriſt Jeſus, carrying away in triumph (asaaJud. 16.3.Judg 16:3 Samſon did the gates of Azzah on his ſhoulders) the bars of Death, Hell, and the Grave (and all this to [aſſure] his members of their completebbRom. 4.25.Rom 4:25 juſtification before his offended Father, yea, of their ſure poſſeſsion of eternall bliſſe) offered it ſelfe unto our meditations. We are (too many of us) as Chriſt ſaid unto the two Diſciples, (whereof the one was named Cleophas, and the other one Ammaon, as St. Ambroſe; or Nathanael, asccEpiphan. haer. 23. ad finem. Epiphanius; or elſe S. Luke himſelf, the Writer of the ſtory, as Haymo, Lyranus, and Theophylact opine) to theſe two (what ever was the others name) going to Emmaus; we are, I ſay, foreign,ddLuk. 24.25.Luke 24:25 ſlow of heart to beleeve, at leaſt wiſe, through want of a p. 3more earneſt taking-heed unto the things we heare; ſo ſieve-like are our memories, that they doeeeHeb. 2.1.Heb 2:1 foreign, as St. Pauls word is, let ſlip, and to run out as leaking veſſels, what ſhould better be retained. Wherefore as the Manna, on the Jewiſh Sabbath, beingffExod. 16.24Exod 16:24 laid up in a pot, was rendred ſweet and freſh for uſe; ſo, that we may not, as ingratefull Iſrael, ſo ſooneggPſa. 106.13Ps 106:13 forget the wonders of the Lord, ſo marvellous in our eyes, but rather on the contrary; as Ophir, in the dayes of Solomon, was the place for gold, becauſe the moſt and beſt was there; ſo went I for a ſeaſonable Text herefore, to this golden and beaten chapter (as well travelled in this kind, as Ophir was for gold) becauſe here was the richeſt veine to furniſh ſuch an occaſion: thence have I extracted a ſmall modell for my building, the two chiefe Pillars of which building, ashh1 Kin. 7.21.1 Kgs 7:21 Jachin and Boaz in Solomons Temple, are the two maine Articles of our Chriſtian faith, viz. the reſurrection of the dead, and the life everlaſting: And that which, as John Baptiſt did to Chriſt, fore-runneth, andiiMat. 3.3.Matt 3:3 prepares the way to ſolid p. 4comfort in them both, is, to eat the fleſh, and to drinke the bloud of Chriſt; whoſe fleſh is meat indeed, and whoſe bloud is drinke indeed, verſe 55. foreign [indeed] becauſe no food in ſhadow, or in type, but truely, and in ſubſtance; [indeed] becauſe not provant for the body, but ſpirituall nouriſhment of the ſoul; [indeed] becauſe notkkCol. 2.22.Col 2:22 periſhing with the uſing, but an heavenly viond, a foodll1 Cor. 8.81 Cor 8:8 commending us to God, and nouriſhing up for ever unto life eternall: Theſe four then, viz.

The diviſion.1. The manducation of the fleſh of Chriſt.

2. The compotation of the bloud of Chriſt.

3. The reſurrection of the body: And laſtly,

4. The poſſeſsion of eternall life; the certain iſſue of the other three.

Theſe foure, like the foure rivers in the garden ofmmGen. 2.10.Gen 2:10 Eden, doe all ſpring from the pure fountaine of this Scripture, and muſt now flow abroad into ſo many ſeverall ſtreames of diſcourſe, which in their preſent ſpreading ſhall make glad, I hope, this p. 5City of God: The ſame hand that gave the opportunity, vouchſafe to give ſucceſſe to this buſineſſe.

Whoſo eateth my fleſh, and drinketh my bloud, hath eternall life, and I will raiſe him up at the last day.

I ſhall begin in thatnnSingula quae que locum teneant dicenda decenter. Horat. de Arte Poetica. order which the Text preſenteth the parts in, and in the former generalls obſerve, 1. The gueſt invited to this heavenly Feaſt [foreign] Whoſo, or, as the Genevians render it, Whoſoever, anſwering to that [foreign] in Saintoo1 Cor. 11.271 Cor 11:27 Paul, the parallel Scripture unto this, 1 Cor. 11.27. 2. The proviſion made to entertaine theſe gueſts, the fleſh and bloud of Chriſt, for meat and drink. 3. The two actions, with their relation to their ſeverall object, [eating] the fleſh, and [drinking] the bloud of Chriſt. 4. And fourthly, the conjunction of both theſe together (for which cauſe I called it a compotation) not fleſh onelyonly without bloud, but bloud alſo as equally as the fleſh; and both reſpectively to the [foreign] in the beginning. Of theſe in their order.

This [Whoſo] is not either ſo univerſall,The firſt particular. p. 6or indefinite, that pell mell promiſcuouſly, by vertue of [it] all commers, or intruders were to be admitted to this ſacred ſoules-repaſt, (though it be true, that every worthy and accompliſhed gueſt may take [ppIſa. 55.1.2.Isa 55:1Isa 55:2 freely] of the heavenly Supper, and without coſt; Come, ſaith the Prophet, eat ye that which is good, and let your ſoule delight it ſelfe in fatneſſe, and all without money, and without price, Iſa. 55.1.2.) — Procul hinc, procul ite profani: For if he that thruſt himſelfe in without hisqqMat. 22.11.13.Matt 22:11Matt 22:13 wedding garment to the Kings Feaſt, was ſhamefully bound hand and foot, and caſt into outer darkneſſe, where there was weeping and gnaſhing of teeth; if there bee a Nolite ſanctum canibus, rrMat. 7.6.Matt 7:6holy things, and pearles be interdicted unto dogges, and ſwine, unto perſons of a curriſh, and ſwiniſh diſpoſition, that ſtill, asaa2 Pet. 2.22.2 Pet 2:22 Peter ſaith, are turning backe to their vomit, and to their wallowing in the mire of all impenitency:—Was a beaſt ſlain for touching thebbHeb. 12.20.Heb 12:20 mount? and ſhall not a perſon that is embrutiſhed, and ſunke below his ſpecies in vile affections, bee puniſhed for touching that p. 7Table, where the Lord is preſent? Loe! He that eates Chriſts fleſh with a foule mouth, and receives him into an uncleanſed and ſinfull ſoule, doth (as one ſaith well) all one, as if he ſhould ſop the bread he eates in dirt, or lay up his richeſt treaſures in a ſinke: No ſuch unworthy and undreſſed gueſts are to touch here; yea, if they ſhould, all that they eat or drinke, is but ſurecc1 Cor. 11.291 Cor 11:29 judgement, and damnation to themſelves, by ſuch a preſumptuous impreparation laying themſelves open to the ſtrokes of Gods diſpleaſure; of which Nadab and Abihu, in a parallel caſe, are exampled out for our warning, being ſuddenly deſtroyed for offeringddLev. 10.2.Lev 10:2 ſtrange fire at Gods Altar: and no leſſe are thoſe endangered, that preſent ſtrange ſouls, and a falſe faith at Chriſts Table; for ſurely, as Moſes ſaid to Aaron, God wil beeeVer. 3. ſanctified in them that come nigh him: Wherefore our Saviour, whoſe eſſence was Purity it ſelf in abſtracto, when he meant, though not to lay downe any thing w^ch he had before, to wit, his Divinity (ſave only, asffPantolcon, tract. de lumin. ſanct. pag. 587. in patrum foreign. Pantoleon hath it, foreign, in the p. 8act, and time of his exinanition, he ſeemed awhiles to ſhadow the manifeſtation, and as it were to hide the glorious ſplendour of the ſame) yet to aſſume unto his divine Perſon another Nature, and that not of Angels, for [ſome] of them ſtood, but of Man, whoſe [whole] ſpecies was quite loſt, as ſay the School-men, in the fall of Adam: In this his incarnation, or aſſumption of his humanity, he choſe the wombe of none but of a pure Virgin to be lodged in; for as no uncleane thing can enter into the kingdome of Heaven, no more would the King of Heaven enter into any uncleane thing: hee was a Lamb withouthh1 Pet. 1.19.1 Pet 1:19 ſpot, or blemiſh, and could not therefore enter into a leprous ſoule; yea, his very body, and his fleſh ſo pure, that thoſe two noble Converts of his, Joſeph of Arimathea, and hisii1 Joh. 7.50. night-Diſciple Nicodemus thought it fitteſt, as Primaſius noteth out of St. John, to be wound up onelyonly in [linnen] cloaths, and with ſweet ſpices and fragrant odours, to be interred in a [new] ſepulchre, never ſoyled by a ſinfull body, Joh. 19.40, 41. And when himſelfe was now about to give p. 9this ſame body of his in Sacrament, at the firſt inſtitution of his laſt bleſſed Supper, unto his Diſciples, its noted by the ſame Evangeliſt, chap. 13.4, 5. that he riſeth from ſupper, that is, if I miſconceive not, from the ſecond and common ſupper (now begun) next to the eating of the Paſſeover, which was the firſt and legall ſupper, which the word [foreign] riſing up, partly intimates: For the legall Paſſeover, as we may gather from Exod. 12.11. was to be eaten [ſtanding] with ſtaves in their hands; and at which [common] ſupper it was, before it was wholly ended, that Judas eate the ſop, and had his traiterous hand with his Maſter in the diſh: after which ſop (no Sacramentall ſop, as I beleeve, with annD^r Kellet Canon Reſidentiary in his book entituled, Tricoenium Chriſti, not more full of ſoliditie, then curioſity of all great learning: now pregnant, and ready to be delivered from a well-furniſhed Librarie into publike. learned Profeſſor of Divinity a member of this Church) immediately he went out, Ver. 30. to doe that work of darkneſſe, for to ſerve his trueſt Maſter the Prince of Darkneſſe, in betraying theooMatth. 27.4.Matt 27:4 innocent bloud of the Prince of light, into the murtherous hands of the Children of Darkneſſe: He went out, and it was Night, that is, ſaith p. 10Alcuinus, He, Judas himſelfe, was ſo perſonally, and in abſtracto, he had a ſoule within ſo foule and blacke with this deed of darkneſſe: I ſay, from this ſecond and common ſupper (thus begun) and before the inſtitution of the third, and laſt holy ſupper, which was not till after he ſate downe again, upon the ablution of his Diſciples feet, and after too, that Judas was gone out for to betray him; whichppBeza ad Joh. 13.20.John 13:20 Beza noteth from the adverb [foreign] ver. 30. [Immediately] hee went forth, that is, immediately after the ſop, taken from the diſh in that common ſupper, (for where is the Sacramentall bread called a ſop?Joh. 6.26.John 6:26 or at leaſt, foreign a [dipped] ſop, as this is ſaid to be, ver. 26?) I ſay, once more, from this ſecond, and this common ſupper Jeſus riſeth, and laid aſide his garments, and took a towell, and girded himſelfe; after that, he poureth water into a baſon, and began to waſh the Diſciples feet, and to wipe them with the towell wherewith he was girded. The maine paſſage in this Scripture that I mind for my preſent purpoſe, is the [waſhing of the Diſciples p. 11feet]: and yet becauſe we cannot baulk that Theological Maxime here, w^ch ſaith, that omnis Chriſti actio noſtra eſt inſtructio, Every action of Chriſt (onelyonly thoſe excepted which were ofrrNos non tenemur Deum imitari in operibus [poteſtatis] imò tenemur velle non imitari ipſum, quia debemus ei velle ſoli omnipotentiam. Vide Alex. Hales par. 4. quaeſt. 33. mem. 1. Art. 1. p. 827. edit. 1622. miraculous and extraordinary diſpenſation, which by vertue of the union hypoſtaticall were done alone by him, in which we cannot, nor ought to ſtrive to reſemble) is our inſtruction, and calls for our obſervation and imitation, at leaſt, quantum ad ſubſtantiam actus, though not to be hoped, or attained by us, quantum ad agendi modum, asſſAlex. Hales, par. 4 qu. 10. p. 298. edit. 1622. Alexander Hales diſtinguiſheth: that is, for the ſubſtance, though not the full manner, or meaſure of exact performance of the action; (for what compariſon?) Therefore I will firſt a little touch upon the dependingttSolet [circumſtantia] Scripturae illuminare ſententiam, cùm ea quae circa Scripturam ſunt praeſentem quaeſtionem contingentia, diligenti diſcuſſione tractantur. Auguſt. qu. 69. l. de diverſ. quaeſt. —Confer Primaſium in 1 Cor. c. 15. p. 229 in 8^o.1 Cor 15 circumſtances: Firſt then, he riſing from the ſecond ſupper [laid aſide his garments.] For the better underſtanding of the myſtery hereof, we may remember, that the Scripture mentions a threefold glorious garment, that the Lord puts on, as the King of glory, to whom the everlaſtinguuPſal. 24.7.Ps 24:7 doores ſtand open. p. 121. The firſt is a garment of ſtrength, Pſal. 93.1. The Lord raigneth, he is cloathed with Majeſty, hee is cloathed with [ſtrength] wherewith he hath girded himſelfe. 2. The ſecond is a garment of honour, and beauty, Pſal. 104.1. Thou art cloathed with [honour] and Majeſty. 3. A third is the garment of light; Who covereſt thy ſelfe with [light] as with a garment, Pſal. 104.2. All theſe garments our Saviour laid aſide, when he roſe up, and came downe from heaven, and put on ourzzPhil. 3.21.Phil 3:21 vile fleſh upon him, (not indeed as ever loſing his firſt glory, but under the vaile of our nature covering the manifeſtation thereof) by that meanes becomming, as Eſay hath it, Deus abſconditus, a God thataaIſa. 45.15.Isa 45:15 hideth himſelfe; for in ſtead of ſtrength, of beauty, and of light, loe! the three contrary weeds of infirmity, of humility, of obſcurity; He emptied, hebbPhil. 2.7, 8.Phil 2:7Phil 2:8 humbled himſelf, ſaith the Apoſtle; he hath no forme, nor comelineſſe, and when wee ſhall ſee him, there is no beauty that we ſhould deſire him, a man of ſorrowes, and we hid, as it were, our faces from him; He was deſpiſed, and wee p. 13eſteemed him not, Iſa. 53.2, 3. So were all his [glorious] garments laid by, repreſented now by his laying aſide of theſe. 2. Having laid aſide his garments, he next took a towel, and girded himſelfe, being ſo found in the form of a ſervant, and inddPhil. 2.8.Phil 2:8 faſhion of a man, that came not to be miniſtred unto, but toeeMat. 20.28.Matt 20:28 miniſter. 3. After this, he poureth water into a baſon; hereby ſignifying, partly, the cooling of the heat of concupiſcence, by theffEzek. 36.25.Ezek 36:25 water of his grace in the hearts of his ſervants, asggPerer. diſput. 15. ad cap. 13. Johan. Pererius; and partly ſhewing, ashhLudolph. de Saxon. part. 2. cap. 54. de vita Chriſti. Ludolphus out of St. Auſtin ſaith, how now ſhortly he would poure out his bloud, and ſhed it on the ground, for the abſterſion and cleanſing of their ſoules from the filthineſſe of ſin, 1 Joh. 1.7. 4. All this done, Then he began [to waſh the Diſciples feet;] by which action he firſt ſhewed the depth of his abjection, and likeneſſe even unto the vileſt ſervant upon earth: therefore when humble and diſcreet Abigail would abaſe her ſelf even unto the meaneſt offices, askkPet. Martyr. loc. commun. claſſ. 4. c. 11. ſect. 15. p. 887. Peter Martyr hath well noted, as thinking her ſelfe unworthy of any higher, in Davids p. 14Court, ſhe ſaith, Let thine handmaid be a ſervant to [waſh the feet] of the ſervants of my Lord, 1 Sam. 25.41. Set theſe two together, The King of glory, the ſhame of men; themmMy Lord Joſ. Hall the now peerleſſe Biſhop of Exon. Paſsion Serm. p. 505. edit. 1617. more honour, the more abaſement: In the third verſe, St. John ſaith of our Saviour, He came from God, and went to God; Loe! what a diſparity is here; by Nature, God cloathed with Majeſty, and eternall glory,nnPhil. 2.6.Phil 2:6 equall to God the Father, conſubſtantiall with the holy Ghoſt, now a ſervant, and employed in the loweſt offices of the vileſt ſervant: Who muſt not here cry out with the Prophet,ooIſa. 45.8.Isa 45:8 O drop downe righteouſneſſe ye Heavens, and let the earth be aſtoniſhed at this? And in the uſe, thus muſt we apply it: When we addreſſe our ſelves to eat that ſupper, which now was, in this faſhion, about to be inſtituted by Chriſt, we muſt lay by all thoughts of honour, of place, of all kind of ſelfe-worthineſſe, if we minde to eat with profit.ppSulpit. Sever. lib. 1. Sulpitius much magnifieth the humility of St. Martin, for that he ſometimes miniſtred unto his owne ſervant; others, that Lewis King of France, who was p. 15wont to ſerve the poore with his owne hands; which thing likewiſeqqNiceph. l. 8. c. 21. Nicephorus reporteth of Helena the mother of Conſtantine the Great; andrrPlatin. in vita Leonis noni p. 171. Platina noteth it as a high point of piety in Pope Leo the ninth, that ſeeing a Leper lying before his doore, commanded him to bee layed in his owne bed: But alas! as St. Andrew ſaid of the five loaves, and two fiſhes, foreign; Alas!ſſJoh. 6.9.John 6:9 what are theſe? when loe! the God of glory humbleth himſelfe, as 'twere unto the very duſt of ſcorne, of contempt, of ſhame; He refuſeth not to waſh even the very feet of his Diſciples: But yet there is a farther myſtery in this, which I gather from Joh. 13.10. where our Saviour tells Peter, He that is waſhed needeth not ſave to waſh his [feet,] for by this action of his was not meant onelyonly, in the letter, his conforming of himſelfe unto a Jewiſh cuſtome, who in thoſe hotter climates went diſcalceated, and without ſhooes, at leaſtooSee the Geneva note, at Joh. 13.23.John 13:23 leaned ſo at their meales; but, in the myſtery, becauſe done at this [time] as the ancients obſerve, it denoted the abſterſion, and waſhing away, that p. 16ſhould be in us, by the waters of teares, and repentance, from the inward affections, which be as the feet of the ſoule, of that predominant pollution, that as Shechems ſoule did in a luxurious love to Dinah, Jacobs daughter, doth [xxGen. 34.3.Gen 34:3 cleave] too cloſe unto them; ſo St.yyBern. fol. 35. F. in ſerm. de Coena Dom. Bernard moſt expreſly: ſummarily then thus, ſith as that noble LordaaDu Pleſsis, cap. 30. de vera Relig. in fronte. Du Pleſsis tells us, that Chriſti tota vita ſalutis ſchola, Chriſts whole life was but the Schoole from whence we muſt take out the leſſons of our practice, and our Saviour himſelfe, after theſe things thus done, ſaith ver. 15. I have given you an**Joh. 13.15.John 13:15 example, that ye ſhould doe, as I have done unto you; by laying aſide his garments, tutoureth us to put off thebbJam. 1.21.Jas 1:21 ſuperfluities of naughtineſſe, ourccIſa. 64.6.Isa 64:6 menſtruous ragges, ourddJude 23.Jude 1:23 garments ſpotted of the fleſh, and with Bartimeus, caſteeMar. 10.50.Mark 10:50 away our ſinfull garments, when we riſe up, and come to Chriſt; by girding of himſelfe with a towell, which had a reſpective correſpondency to the poſture wherein the Jewiſh Paſſeover was eaten, to wit, with theirffExod. 12.11.Exod 12:11 loynes girded, togg1 Pet. 1.13. Luke 12.35.1 Pet 1:13Luke 12:35 gird up the loynes of our mindes, by p. 17curbing of our luxury, and laſcivious exorbitancies; and by waſhing of the feet, to teach us tohh2 Cor. 7.1.2 Cor 7:1 rinſe, and ſcoure our affections from all naſty defilements, that doe beſpot and beſweat the ſoule, rendring it loathſom to the eyes of theiiHab. 1.13.Hab 1:13 all-pure God: which was alſo typed in thoſekk2 Chron. 4.6.2 Chr 4:6 lavers ſet before the Temple, wherein the Prieſt was firſt to waſh, before he entred: And to what end ſerved all thoſe Leviticall Purifications in the myſtery, but to this ſame purpoſe? The ſuperficies indeed of the ceremony lay in the outward waſhings, but the morall intelligence, as the Schoole calls it, eyed the inward rinſing of the ſoule, andllHeb. 9.14.Heb 9:14 conſcience from ſinfull impurity; and for this cauſe alſo ſome have thought that amongſt other wood the Lord choſe out unto himſelf for an offering,mmExod. 25.5.Exod 25:5 Shittim wood, and thereof enjoyned thennVerſ. 10. Ark to be made up; Ligna Sethim ſunt **Vide Pet. Lumbard. l 4. diſt. 8 in ſinc.imputribilia, for that its thought to be a kind of Cedar, that admits not eaſily of a rotting; no more muſt any ſoule allow himſelfe in any ſinne, that in the iſſue ſokes, and rotteth out the ſoule: Chriſt owneth no ſuch mouldring p. 18gueſts, nor bids them well-come at his Table.

Wherefore this [foreign] or, Whoſo, or, Whoſoever, do here ſtand as Abraham in his Tent, in theooGen. 18.1.Gen 18:1 doore of this Text, ſeeming to invite all paſſengers, and to call in all commers to this heavenly repaſt upon the fleſh and bloud of Chriſt; yet this muſt be reſtrained onelyonly unto ſuch as be foundppMat. 22.8.Matt 22:8 worthy, and, as the five wiſe virgins, have their lampes allqqMat. 25.7.10.Matt 25:7Matt 25:10 ready-trimmed, and prepared for admiſsion: I could here take occaſion to reckon up thoſe fifteene kinds of perſons, which (during their ill-diſpoſed ſtate) are excluded by the**Vide Raynerium de Piſis, tom. 1. Pantheolog. cap. 17. in Euchariſtia. Schoole-Divines; but I would gladly keep my ſelfe unto the rubrick of my houre.

Its true, whataaGranatenſis, tom. 2. concio de Temp. concio 4. in coena Dom. Granatenſis here obſerves, that the worthineſſe notwithſtanding of theſe gueſts of Chriſt, is not to be meaſured by the nobility of deſcent, nor ignobility of condition, neither by pompe, nor poverty from without: Our King Chriſt Jeſus hath a Kingdome indeed, but its not of thisbbJoh. 18.36.John 18:36 world; therefore the dignity of his gueſts is to be meaſured, as the Kings daughter in p. 19the Pſalme, by what nobility they have [ccPſal 45.13.Ps 45:13 within,] by what luſtre of graces their ſoules are adorned with [there:] if they haveddMat. 6.22.Matt 6:22 ſingle eyes, that is, mindes clearly informed with knowledge, enough toee1 Cor. 11.291 Cor 11:29 diſcern the Lords body from ordinary refections; elſe, asffMar. 10.46.Mark 10:46 Bartimeus, they are deformed in their ſight: if they have cleanſed affections; elſe, they are as Mephiboſheth, gg2 Sam. 4.4.2 Sam 4:4lame in their feet: if they havehhEph. 4.29.Eph 4:29 edifying diſcourſe; elſe, as that Stutterer in the Goſpel, they have aniiMar. 7.32.35.Mark 7:32Mark 7:35 impediment in their ſpeech, and the ſtrings muſt firſt be looſed: if they be ready tokkRom. 12.13.Rom 12:13 diſtribute; elſe, as Jeroboam, they beell1 Kin. 13.4.1 Kgs 13:4 ſhrunke up in their hands: if free from all ſinnes mortall, wounding and waſting the conſcience; elſe, as thoſe Lameſters at the poole ofmmJoh. 5.3.John 5:3 Betheſda, they are too ulcerous, and full of ſores, to be entertained by this King: Go, ſaith the Lord by Malachi, nnMal. 1.8, 13, 14.Mal 1:8Mal 1:13Mal 1:14offer the lame, and the ſicke, and the torne, offer theſe unto thy Governour, will he be pleaſed with thee, or accept thy perſon? Loe! thus it is, when wee come with maimed ſoules, we pollute the**Ver. 1…. Table of the Lord, p. 20we cannot be accepted at his ſacred boord. Wherefore, to cloſe up this point, let me exhort you all, as S. Paul doth hisoo1 Cor. 11.281 Cor 11:28 Corinthians, foreign, let every particular man examine himſelfe, and, as the word imports, put himſelf upon the tryall. Examination is the eye of the ſoul, by which reflexively it ſeeth it ſelfe, and knoweth what it hath done: Other meates, ſaith St. Chryſoſtome, are, e're they be taken, to be firſt proved, leſt they hurt us; but here, leſt this heavenly meat prove noxious to thee, thou muſt firſt goe prove [thy ſelfe:] Judgepp1 Cor. 11.311 Cor 11:31 your ſelves therefore, Brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord: let us be impartiall in the ſcrutiny of our hollow, andqqJer. 17.9.Jer 17:9 deceitfull hearts; and, like the woman that ſought her groat, in the Goſpel, light up the candle of our beſt faculties, and leave no corner of our ſoulesaaLuk. 15.8.Luke 15:8 unſwept, till we have found out that ſin of our ſoules, that doth, as Paul ſpeaks, ſobbHeb. 12.1.Heb 12:1 eaſily beſet us, and, as that Jebuſite in Canaan, that will not out of our coaſts; and when we have diſcovered it, toccCol. 3.5.Col 3:5 mortifie it, and toddGal. 5.24.Gal 5:24 crucifie it, with the affections, and luſts p. 21thereof: And as the ſpeciall ſacrifice that was offered upon the Altar in Jeruſalem, was wont diligently to bee looked into by the high Prieſt, and his Miniſters, to ſpy out the blemiſhes, or otherwiſe, of it, before the actuall oblation, ſo let us. S.eeS. Clement. epiſt. ad Cor. pag. 53, 54. Clement in his Epiſtle to the Corinthians (a late, and**See M^r Mede Serm. of the reverence of Gods houſe, p. 14. genuine monument of antiquity ſet forth) hath expreſſed it to the life thus, foreign which word is interpreted byeePhilo Judaeus foreign. Philo Judaeus thus, foreign it implyeth ſuch a diſquiſition, ſo exact, as if Momus himſelfe with a Lincean eye, were to come after, hee ſhould not finde a thing to carpe at, in the very entrails of our ſacrifices of our ſoules: The ſame word is uſed by St.ffChryſ. Hom. 20. in Rom. Chryſoſtome, upon this occaſion of pre-examination, foreign, &c. Thus we [ſhould] doe from the bottome of our ſoules: whereforeggJam. 4 8.Jas 4:8 cleanſe your hands you ſinners, and purifie your hearts ye double-minded. Thus if we doe, at leaſt p. 22in**Tota vita boni Chriſtiani eſt ſanctum deſiderium. deſire, and endevour, we then come under this ſame [ὁ] Whoſo, in my Text, and are the men, whoſoever we be for externall condition in ſtate or place, that be all invited hither to eat, and to drinke, and that of no meaner cheare then the very fleſh and bloud of Chriſt Jeſus himſelfe.

And thus I paſſe from the gueſts, unto the proviſion made ready for them, the fleſh and the bloud of Chriſt: [Whoſo] eateth my [fleſh] and drinketh my [bloud.]

The ſecond particular.foreign, Fleſh and bloud! theſe are ſtrange cates to make a banquet of. We read in the Scripture, thathh1 Cor. 15.501 Cor 15:50 fleſh and bloud cannot enter into the Kingdome of heaven, (but that's meant of fleſh corruption, not of fleſh the ſubſtance, as the words enſuing ſhew; for as there is Iron, ſo the ruſt of Iron) how much leſſe ſhall he that [feeds] upon it for his food? Satia te ſanguine, quem ſitiſti, ſaith Tamyris, as I remember, iniiJuſtin. hiſt. lib. 1. Juſtins hiſtory, to Cyrus, when his head was off, and caſt into a veſſell full of bloud, Now ſurfet on that bloud which thou ſo much thirſtedſt after. It was a law of Gods owne enacting, p. 23He that ſhedskkGen. 9.6.Gen 9:6 mans bloud, by man alſo ſhall his bloud be ſhed. My fleſh, and my Bloud! Surely what the Iſraelites ſaid of Manna, when firſt they ſaw, and taſted it, crying out in admiration,llExod. 16.15Exod 16:15 Man-hu, What is this portion, or meat prepared for us? for they wiſt not, ſaith Moſes, what it was; ſo may many a man that knowes not how to diſcerne the Lords Body: ſuch an one is apt to thinke, with that monſter Cacus in the Poet, who from his wickedneſſe in abſtracto, had his name [foreign,] ſaith**—Foribuſ que affixa ſuperbis ora [virûm] triſti pendebant pallida tabo. Virg. Aeneid. 8. Servius, that nought but**Servius ib. fol. 505. mans fleſh muſt be drawn into his den; and as ſome ſavage Cannibal profeſsing anthropophagie, as ſome foreign, man-hating Miſo, ſome Minotaure, or bloudy**Sen. Tragaed. in Thyeſte. Atreus, or the like prodigies of nature, that man was made to bemm2 Pet. 2.12.2 Pet 2:12 taken, as St. Peter ſaith of brute beaſts, and to be deſtroyed, and as thennJudg. 19.Judg 19 Levites concubine, to be chopt in pieces. Thus ſurely may your dull Capernaites, and unilluminated men imagine; for ſo they ſtrove among themſelves, ſaying, How can this man give us his fleſh to eat? John 6.52. yea more then ſo, p. 24ver. 60. many, even of Chriſts owne Diſciples, when they heard this, ſaid, Durus est hic ſenno, this is a hard ſaying, who can beare it? And the very truth is this, its that which poſeth nature utterly, and makes her ſtand, as he without his wedding garment, in the Goſpel, upon conviction,ooMat. 22.12.Matt 22:12 ſpeechleſſe.

But though the words, as they are in the ſhell, be hard to pierce into, yet when as our Saviour hath to our hands broken it for us, we may eaſily take out the kernell of them.

The main ſcope of the Text.The mind of our Saviour in this Text, which is but repeated from the former verſes, is, to ſhew us the ſweet effect of the ſpirituall eating of his body, and drinking of his bloud by faith, above that other orall eating, and drinking of the bread and wine, which are but the Sacraments thereof, and may be taken as well by Hypocrites, as by True believers. This myſticall partaking inſtrumentally procureth eternall life, after the reſurrection, whereas the other, which is meerly outward, and no more, may yet engage topp1 Cor. 11.291 Cor 11:29 judgement, and damnation; the reaſon is, becauſe the one partakes of the p. 25Lord himſelfe, who is the Bread of life, Joh. 6.35. whom to know, and with whom to have communion aright, is life eternall, Joh. 17.3. The other, onelyonly of the bread [of] the Lord, which hath no vertue, without faith, at all, to procure ſuch endleſſe bliſſe: yea more, Dum Sacramenta poſſunt obeſſe, as St. Austin truly: when thoſe elements of Bread and Wine once conſecrated by the lawfull miniſter, and changed by that act of his, (duely, and as it ought, performed) though not from theirqqNe que enim id Chriſtus egit, ut panis friticeus abjiceret [naturam] ſuam, ac novam quandam divinitatem indueret, ſed ut nos potius immutarer, ut que Theophylactus loquitur (in Joh. 6.) [tranſe lementaret] in corpus ſuum. Juel. Apol. p. 41 vol. 16.John 6 nature, yet in their uſe, which is now become no longeraaforeign. Juſt. Mart. Apol. 2. ordinary, but holy, and Sacramentall; when, I ſay, they be thus changed in their uſe, then to partake them without faith, endangereth that worthleſſe receiver, as thoſe luſted after quailes did the faithleſſe, and unruly Iſraelites, unto a ſpeedy and a ſudden overthrow, even whiles betwixt theirbbNum. 11.33Num 11:33 teeth: And yet all this too, not through the leaſt defect in Sacraments themſelves, for they have ap… tude and fitneſſe, in their deſignation naturall, not onelyonly to repreſent, to declare, and ſhew as ſignes, and to confirme asccRom. 4.11.Rom 4:11 Seales, p. 26but even as ſacred Inſtruments todd1 Pet. 3.21.1 Pet 3:21 Save, and as effectuall meanes, though not by vertue of any opus operatum, or [**See my Lo. Grace, ſect. 33. p. 271, 272, 273, &c. & p. 307. & ſect. 38. p. 327. num. 3. intention] of the adminiſtrer, (both which, as Bel-ſhazzar in the ballance, may bee found tooeeDan. 5.27.Dan 5:27 light) yet of Gods owne ordinance, to exhibite, and convey the very body and bloud of Chriſt unto the right receiver: for they be not empty pageants, or naked ſhewes; not theoricall, but practicall ſignes, though our groſſe Romaniſts would faine perſwade the world that we teach otherwiſe: But all the ill iſſue is in the defect of the good**Tale cujuſ que ſacrificium, qualis eſt is qui accedit ut ſumat; omnia munda mundis. Aug l. 2. cap. 52. cont. Petilian. motion of the Uſer: The better the meat, the worſe the nouriſhment, yea the more dangerous the humours, and the dropſie more deadly, if the liver faile in making of good bloud, occaſioning the body, like ſome mariſh grounds in the midſt of a wateriſh bogge, to ſwell, and the ſpleene to puffe, and not diſperſing proper ſpirits into the veines, which may, as 'twere embroyder the whole body in native, and in azure beauty:**Horat. lib. 1. ep. 2 Sincerum eſt niſi vas, quodcunque infundis aceſcit, ſaith the Poet, the beſt wines may ſowre, and become unſavoury, p. 27if the But bee not rinſed; and the pureſt ſtreames be corrupted through the muddineſſe of the channell. Take a ſeale, apply it to a ſtone, it makes no more impreſsion of its owne image, then thoſe afflictions did on Pharaohs heart, which was in judgmentffExod. 9.35.Exod 9:35 hardened; but ſtamp it on the wax, the yeelding, melting, faithfull heart, loe! this ſeale of the Sacrament leaves there a Character as proper to the Elect of Chriſt, as was to Ceſars coyne theggMat. 22.20, 21.Matt 22:20Matt 22:21 image of Ceſar. Whence is this difference? not from the Scale, that's ſtill the ſame, but from the ſeverall hearts ſo ſeverally diſpoſed, that there is no more agreement 'twixt them, then there is 'twixt faith and infidelity, then was between an Egyptian and a Shepheard, betweene Chriſt and Belial; the one, ſaith Moſes, is anhhGen. 46.34.Gen 46:34 abomination to the other, and betweene the other two, ſaithii2 Cor. 6.15, 16.2 Cor 6:152 Cor 6:16 Paul, there is no Communion: certainly its true, Sacramenta non proſunt ſine bono motu utentis.

And that this is the genuine purpoſe of our Saviour, namely, under this expreſsion of fleſh and bloud, to acquaint us, that the p. 28proviſion he intends is Cibus mentis, and not Cibus ventris, is cleare, firſt in the generall, as thekkCentur. 1. l. 1 c. 4. p. 125. edit. 1624. Magdeburgenſes have obſerved, from that reply of Chriſt to his Diſciples, to whom this ſaying was ſo hard, ver. 63. It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the fleſh profiteth nothing; the words that I ſpeake unto you, they are ſpirit, and they are life; not to be taken, as Capernaites apprehended it, in a groſſe and carnall meaning; as likewiſe by thoſe many equipollent phraſes, tending all of them to expreſſe the ſame thing, in the former verſes: for that which he, in my Text, calleth [fleſh and bloud] in the 51. verſe, he calleth the living [bread] which came downe from heaven; and, if any man eat of this [bread] he ſhall live for ever, and, the [bread] that I will give, is my [fleſh,] that is, my fleſh ſhall be [as] bread, to nouriſh the ſoule unto life eternall, even as the Common bread doth ſerve to feed the body unto this life corporall: and that the [eating and drinking] is alſo ſpirituall, and of faith, is evident out of ver. 40. where the ſame effect that is here aſcribed to eating, and drinking, p. 29viz. eternal life, is given unto [beleeving:] ſo that theſe tropical ſpeeches, rightly takē, are convertible; for in this variety of expreſsion, Chriſt doth but tranſpoſe the propoſition, asllPet. Martyr. loc. com. claſſ. 4. c. 10. ſect. 34. p. 856. P. Martyr notes; for as**Verſ. 51. before, he ſaid, that the bread that I will give is my fleſh; ſo in the text, his fleſh having [eating] adjoyned to it, is in ſtead of bread, and in equipollency the very ſame, ut que corpore editis panē, ita mente veſcamini carne meâ. And to clear it yet a litle more, conſider we, in the buſineſs of the ſupper, two things, the outward & viſible part, w^ch the Schools call properly Sacramentum (in a more ſtrict acception of the word) and that w^ch is inward, & inviſible, w^ch they term rem Sacramenti, the principal thing exhibited in the Sacrament. Thus in the Lords ſupper, the ſacrament is bread and wine, & in the outward part of this myſticall action, we receive this body and bloud but ſacramentally; the inward thing, w^ch we apprehend by faith, is, the body and bloud of Chriſt; and in the inward part of this myſticall action, which contains rem, we receive them really, and conſequently, the preſence in the one is Relative and ſymbolical, in the other, Reall & ſubſtantiall; as that great light of the Church, the deeply-learned p. 30**My Lord Archbiſhop Usſher Serm. on 1 Cor. 10.17. pag. 13. vol. 4.1 Cor 10:17Primate of Armagh, hath ſhewen us.

And now, would all good moderate Chriſtians, baulking your wrangling Iſmaelites, being more ſhye of all that baggage which the School-men ſoile Divinity withall, out of the Philoſophers puddles, and their own, (asmmD^r Raynolds, p. 652. concluſ. 5. added to the conference with Hart. D^r Raynolds truly ſpeaketh;) would they poyſe their judgements at this ballance of the Sanctuary, and pray for the illumination of that Spirit, whoſe grace in the operation, is compared tonnMat. 3.11.Matt 3:11 fire, by John Baptiſt, the nature of which fire is, both congregare homogenea, & ſegregare heterogenea, (as in Philoſophy we uſe to ſpeak) both to conjoyne thoſe things that be of the ſame, and to diſ-joyne ſuch as be of a differing kinde, and diſpoſition; would they ſet faith to feed ſpiritually upon the very fleſh and bloud of Chriſt, whoſe phyſicall, and naturall body is perſonally in the eternall word, locally in**Act. 3.21.Acts 3:21 Heaven onelyonly (the firſt that taught otherwiſe, and brought in the locall preſence, even ſtill on earth, was Scotus, whom Occam followed, and both but of yeſterday, as our p. 31worthyooD^r Field cap. 16. in append. Field hath ſhewen us) Sacramentally in the Euchariſt, andppMat. 28.20.Matt 28:20 alwayes with the Elect ſpiritually in the ſoule: and on the other ſide, ſet their bodily mouths to feed upon the outward viſible bread, but yet as cloathed too with a Sacramentall relation to the fleſh of Chriſt, ſymbolically ſigned thereby: And ſecondly, if they would follow learnedqqHooker lib. 5. Eccleſ. pol. p. 357. Hookers counſell, a worthy inſtrument in our Church, who wiſhed that men would more give themſelves to meditate with ſilence [what] wee have by the Sacrament, and leſſe to diſpute of the [manner] (how,) at leaſt conſidering that ſucceſſe which Truth hath hitherto had by ſo bitter conflicts with errour in this point: Thus if we could be perſwaded, oh what honey might we ſucke asaaJud. 14.9.Judg 14:9 Samſon from his Lyon, from this bleſſed Sacrament, for our peace and comfort, which now thoſe bitter waters of Meribah, and ſtrife, running downe ſo violently in a floud, doe, in a ſort, waſh off from many a ſeduced and unballanced ſoule! But woe, and alas! how may our mother the Church, well typed in the p. 32Arke of Noah, (ſhe is ſo toſſed on the working billowes of windy, yet boyſterous ſpirits) ſpeake out with Rebekkah, when ſhee felt her Twinnes to ſtruggle together within her, If it bee ſo, that I have conceived,bbGen. 25.22.Gen 25:22 Why am I thus? what meanes this ſtrange, and this unnaturall elbowing, and ſhouldring, and juſtling together in the ſame womb betweene Brethren? Its a lamentable thing to behold, how this holy Sacrament, which was ordained by Chriſt to bee a bond, by which wee ſhould bee knit together in unity, as being all members of the ſame one Catholike body the Church, of which none but Chriſt alone is the myſticallccEph. 1.22.Eph 1:22 head; (and therefore it is called by Saint Paul, dd1 Cor. 10.161 Cor 10:16foreign, a Communion) ſhould yet from the inconſiderate confounding of thoſe things, which in their owne nature are as different as may be, become as 'twere the Samſon to teare in pieces the ſtrongeſteeJud. 16.9.Judg 16:9 Wyths of union in the Church: and, which is yet the deafneſſe of the aſpe upon the eares of miſſe-lead Chriſtians in this divided party, men will not heare p. 33the wiſeſt charmings of the beſt charmer, at leaſt, like thoſe at Babel, they will not, though theyffPro. 8.9.Prov 8:9 may,ggGen. 11.7.Gen 11:7 underſtand each other, and all by reaſon of the confuſion of tongues and pens, and thoſe pens dipped often ſo low in vinegar and gall, that as a ſtorme-driven ſhip upon the rockes, the ribs of the common mother the Church be daſhed almoſt in ſunder by the waves of implacable contention.

Behold, and wonder; here Manaſſes is againſt Ephraim, there Ephraim is againſt Manaſſes, yonder both againſt Judah: the Papiſts againſt the Lutherans, the Lutherans againſt them, and both againſt the Calviniſts; as if Chriſt were to beehh1 Cor. 1.13.1 Cor 1:13 divided, or the truth were more theniiEph. 4.5.Eph 4:5 one.

The Lutheran,The Luth…ran conſubſtantiation. in as much as Chriſts bumane Nature ſubſiſteth not but in and with the infiniteneſſe of the ſecond Perſon in the Trinity, by vertue of the ineffable union hypoſtaticall, hath given unto the ſame humane Nature of Chriſt a participated Ubiquity with the Divinity, which is every p. 34where, at all times, and as Philoſophers ſay of the ſoule informing the body, its tota in toto, & tota in qualibet parte, wholly every where, and ſo with the Sacrament; by meanes whereof Chriſt is corporally, by a kinde of Conſubſtantiation (as their word is) [in] or [under] the Sacramentall elements: But this opinion firſt ſeemeth to be injurious to the Divinity, as if it were confounded together with it, contrary to the received Creed ofkkOne Chriſt, not by [confuſion] of ſubſtance, but by unitie of Perſon. Athanaſius; and withall, it doth indeed overthrow the truth of his humanity: for firſt, though Chriſts humane nature was forllSee the worthy M^r Edw. Reynolds cap. 13. meditation on the Lo. laſt Supper. production extraordinary, for the communication of glory from the Godhead on it admirable; yet the Godhead glorifies that his humane Nature only to be the head, that is, to be the moſt excellent, and firſt-borne of every Creature, but not to make it ſhare in the eſſentiall properties of the Divine Nature it ſelfe, ſuch as are Ubiquity or omnipreſency, immenſity, infiniteneſſe, &c. for if ſo, then the humane Nature were not onelyonly glorified, and exalted, but the very ſame with the Divinity it ſelfe; for p. 35that Eſſence, or being to which the intrinſecall, and originally eſſentiall attributes of any thing doe belong, in the ſame degree, that they are in it ſelfe, that thing muſt needs be of the ſame nature with that from which it doth receive thoſe attributes. Now Gods infinite Being every where, wholly, and alwayes at the ſame time (for he is that intellectuall ſphere whoſe center is every where, and circumference no where) is an eſſentiall property incommunicable from the infinite divine Nature, to the humane Nature, becauſe the humane Nature is incapable of ſuch an attribute, in ſo infinite a degree; it being all out (in its owne kinde) as eſſentiall to its ſelfe to be finite, to be circumſcribed in a place, &c. as it is to the Godhead to be moſt infinitely every where; and ſo according to that Philoſophicall Maxime, Quicquid recipitur, recipitur ad modum recipientis, there is too infinite a diſproportion betweene the finite humane Nature, and the Divine, that it is not capable of that infinite attribute of Ubiquity: therefore though Totus Chriſtus, whole Chriſt be every where, by meanes of p. 36the union hypoſtaticall, yet not Totum Chriſti, the whole of Chriſt, by reaſon of the confinedneſſe of his finite humane Nature to one place now in Heaven. In ſhort, Chriſts Nature by the Union received an extraordinary exaltation, but yet no deſtruction of its own eſſentiall properties, for ſo the Nature it ſelfe were utterly overthrowne: yea more, by this Gods owne omnipotency is impaired; for howbeit God can do all things Poſsible, yet they be ſuch all things, quae poſſe, perfectae potentiae eſt, ſay your greateſtmmVid. Halenſ. par. 1. quaeſt. 21. mem. 1. art. 1. p. 101. edit. 1622. item P. Lumb. l. 1. diſt. 42. E. School-men, and ſuch as imply neither any contradiction to his owne Nature in himſelfe, no nor to the nature of any Creature, asnnZanch. lib. 3. de nat. Dei cap. 1. &c. Zanchy ſaith, [ſo] as it was created. If therefore it be the eſſentiall property, as it is, of the humane Nature to be finite, and ſo to be confined to heaven as one place, it were a contradiction to Gods all-mightineſſe (according to the ordinary oeconomy and diſpenſation of his providence) to make it, being circumſcribed already, to be infinitely elſewhere at the ſame inſtant. Chriſts preſence in the Sacrament then being intended of that Nature, p. 37wherein he was our Redeemer, which was his humane, and not his divine onelyonly; by this that I have ſaid its cleare, that this Conſubſtantiation of the Lutherans is unſolid.

Next comes in the Papiſt,The Papiſticall Tranſubſtantiation. and with him brings in his foreign too, his ſleeveleſſe tale of Tranſubſtantiation, (as aooMy L. Biſh. of Exon. ſect. 18. No peace with Rome. profound Prelate calls it;) by others, its named commentum, a meere fictitious, and faigned thing, ſo theppCentur. 2. c. 4 p. 37. edit. 1624. Centuriatours; by others, ſomnium, ſo he who was no more in name then nature theqqJuel. Apol. p. 40. vol. 16. Juel of his time, in his divine Apology: at the beſt, we may all ſtile the tales they have about it, as Amphilochius doth thoſe that the Poets tell of their gods,

aaAmphiloch. in Iambis, ad Selcucum.foreign.

Fables, of laughter worthy, and of teares:

yea, I had almoſt ſaid, foreign. And this was likewiſe brought both into the world, and upon the ſtage by that other fable of the multi-preſence of Chriſts body: and it ſounds the better like a tale, becauſe indeed they ſo much vary among themſelves in telling of it: firebrands they have in theirbbJud. 15.4.Judg 15:4 tayles to burne p. 38downe the ripe corn-fields of Truth, but yet as Samſons foxes they are divided in the heads. Once for all,ccAlphonſus à Caſtro, l. 8 adver. haer. p. 578 Alphonſus à Caſtro (an ingenuous Romaniſt, in my opinion) down right confeſſeth, that the mention of Tranſubſtantiation of the bread into the body of Chriſt is rare in ancient Writers; and yetddSee Hooker, l. 5. p. 195. 196. Antiquity, wheneeBene [iundata] antiquitas, Vincent. Lyrin. cap 6. adverſ. haereſ. Confe… cum ib. cap. 9.25, 26, 27, 29, 41, 42, 43. True, is an admirable ſettler of Truth: ſo is the word in Tertullian, Quod primum, verum; the nigher the Primitive, ſtill theffThe more ancient things, the more uncorrupt. Biſhop Bilſon, preface to the perpet. government of the Church, pag. 10. vol. 4. and in that booke often theſe two are coupled together, viz. The ancient and incorrupt Church and witneſſes. purer, and leſſe corrupt: And who knowes not the old word, foreign; and the ProphetggJer. 6.16.Jer 6:16 Jeremies exhortation, Stand, and aske for the old way, that's the ſure way to finde reſt to your ſoules: And yet who ſuch foreign, and Thraſonicall oſtentatours of antiquity as theſe? But ſurely this their pleading for thehhMy Lord Biſhop Morton, now of Dureſme, Epiſt. Dedicat. to King Charles before the Grand Impoſt. New-oldneſſe (as a worthy Prelate calls it) of it, is, as were the Gibeonites pretences of [iiJoſh 9.Josh 9 torne] ſhooes, and [mouldy] bread, by which they fained themſelves to have come from [far.] This dreame of Tranſubſtantiation was p. 39broached, or hammered out at firſt by one, who was, ſome ſay, a Magitian, and 'twas withſtood bykkIren. l. 1. cap. 9. Irenaeus, andllEpiphan. haer. 34. Epiphanius; after urged againe by Pope Leo the ninth, but withſtood by Berengarius a Deacon, for which he was condemned as an Hereticke in Concilio Vercellenſi: and this was betweene the yeares 1049. and 1055. ifmmPlatin. in vita Leon. noni. Platina, in the life of Leo the ninth, faile not in his Chronology: Here he was condemned; after, urged by Nicholas the ſecond, and one Albericus a Deacon, to a groſſe and ſhamefull recantation, as the ſamennIdem in vita Nicolai ſecund. authour reporteth, out of Lanfrancus. Betweene this time, and the Councell of Lateran, which was under Innocentius the third (Anno 1215.) that great learned Phyſician and Philoſopher Averroes lived, and tooke ſcandall at the whole body of Chriſtian religion for this, asooEſpencaeus, l. 4. c. 3. de Euchariſt. adorat. Eſpencaeus ſaith: in the yeere 1215. it was decreed firſt, in the firſt Canon of the Councell ofppCarranza, p. 420 ſum. Concil. vol. 16. Lateran; at what time the Greeke Church had ſevered themſelves from them, and was withſtood by Bertram, the Waldenſes, qqSee my Lord Biſh. Morton, cap. 15. ſect. 19. theſ. 6. pag. 398. edit. 2. Grand Impoſtare.Albigenſes in multitudes; p. 40till at laſt it was foyſted in among the twenty new Articles, or above, of the Creed of the conventicle ataaCo…. Trident. ſeſſ. 13. cap. 4. Trent, and forced with an Anathema, as of abſolute neceſſity to ſalvation to be beleeved by the people. But yet this Doctrine was ſhortly after bybbChemnit. exam. part. 2. pag. 136, 137, &c. vol. 4. Chemnitius, and ſince by many other of our own Worthies, diſcovered to be a piece ofccGal. 1.8.Gal 1:8 another Goſpel from S. Pauls; and therefore as the ſerpent ofddExod. 7.12.Exod 7:12 Aaron devoured the ſerpents of the Magitians of Egypt, even ſo that oneeeGal. 1.8, 9.Gal 1:8Gal 1:9 Anathema of S. Paul, muſt needs condemn all the Anathema's, which they from thatffDeut. 27.13.Deut 27:13 Ebal of theirs denounce in the defence of that, which is not the faith [ggJud. ver. 3. foreign] once delivered to the Saints, and but once for all, in the dayes of the Apoſtles.

Now they ſnarle much among themſelves for the beſt bone of their expreſsions herein. The Maſter of the Sentences confeſſeth in ſo great variety hishhP. Lumbard, l. 4. diſt: 11. A. Si quaeritur, qualis ſit illa converſio, definite non ſufficio. inſufficiency to define the right:iiBellarm. l. 3. c. 18. de Euchariſt. Bellarmine; their great Champion, will not have by the pronouncing of theſe foure words [This is my body.] any productive, or conſervative converſion p. 41of the bread into the body of Chriſt, but by a new langled device, an adductive; His reaſon is, becauſe the body of Chriſt [was] before this converſion, but not under the ſpecies of bread; which is meere Tranſlocation, nor Tranſubſtantiation for if ſo,What Tranſubſtantiation is. there muſt be a change of one ſubſtance into another, and that Chriſts reall and true body is made of the bread, and the bread changed into it, which is properly Tranſubſtantiation, as our moſt reverendllMy L. Grace againſt A.C. ſect. 38. num. 4. p. 327, 328. Metropolitane hath ſhewen us: and if it be a Tranſlocation, then not abique, and if as a ſubſtance under the accidents of the colour of bread and wine, then being a [bodily] ſubſtance, it muſt be in loco, and circumſcribed, either way its contradiction.

Another of their graver Divines, ismmCornelius à Lapide, comment. in Iſa. 7.14.Isa 7:14 Cornelius a Lapide, the Jeſuite, who faith, that by the words of conſecration, Truely and really as the bread is tranſubſtantiated, ſo Chriſt is produced, and as it were generated upon the Altar in ſuch a powerfull and effectuall manner, ut ſi Chriſtus …ecdion eſſet incarnatus, per haec verba [Hoc eſt corpus meum] incarnaretur, p. 42corpuſ que humanum aſſumeret, That if Chriſt had not yet beene incarnate, by theſe foure words [This is my body] he ſhould be incarnate, and take an humane body. What is to be mad, if this be to be ſober? yea, how doth this grate upon the foundation of the faith of the incarnation?

And ſurely much of this proceedeth from their not allowing any Tropes, or Figures, (which yet is contrary to the ancient Fathers, of whom notwithſtanding they bragge ſo much) in Sacramentall ſpeeches, though the Scripture abounds this way: ſo Circumciſion is called the Covenant, becauſe it was thennGen. 17.10, 11.Gen 17:10Gen 17:11 token of the Covenant, and theooRom. 4.11.Rom 4:11 Seal of the ſame; and in this very buſineſſe of the Supper its moſt apparent, beſides others, in that one place of S. Paul, 1 Cor. 10.16. [The cup of bleſsing which we bleſſe,Sacramentall ſpeeches are tropicall. is it not the communion of the bloud of Chriſt? The bread which wee breake, is it not the communion of the body of Chriſt?] In this paſſage, [The cup of bleſsing which wee bleſſe] there are three Tropes: 1. Firſt, the cup, metonymically put for the wine in the p. 43cup. 2. The wine, by a metonymie of the ſubject, is put for the drinking of the wine. 3. Its called the cup of bleſsing, by a metonymie of the adjunct, becauſe it hath bleſſing adjoyned to it; and that bleſsing is put for thankſgiving, Prayer, declaration of Inſtitution: as if he had ſaid, The drinking of the wine conſecrated, which we bleſſe, ſanctifie, and over which we give thanks, Is it not the communion of the bloud of Chriſt? This interrogation affirmeth with more ſtrength, Yes, it is the communion, that is, ſay ſome, the ſigne; ſay others, the ſeale and obſignation; ſay a third ſort, the declaration; and ſome, the inſtrumentall meanes of the communion which the true Beleever hath with Chriſt in his bloud: ſo that the ſenſe amounts to this, The drinking of the wine conſecrated, is a ſigne of our communion with Chriſt; all which is couched under theſe Tropicall expreſsions. Beſides, our Saviour, even [after] conſecration calleth it the**Mat. 26.29.Matt 26:29 fruit of the vine; and Saintpp1 Cor. 11.261 Cor 11:26 Paul [after] too,qqSee my Lord Biſh. of Du… f… c. 15. ſect. 24. theſ. 2 p. 403, 404. Grand Impoſt. bread and cup. Moreover, if we mark it well, the ſubject of that Sacramentall propoſition, p. 44that is, the demonſtrative particle [This] can have reference to no other ſubſtance, but that which our Saviour held in his ſacred hands, viz. aaPronomen [hoc] demonſtravit panem materialem. Franciſcus Maſon noſter, l. 5. de miniſter. Anglic. cap. 6. p. 604.panem materialem, to the materiall bread and wine, which are of ſo different a nature from the body, and bloud of Chriſt, that the one cannot poſsibly, in proper ſenſe, or but common reaſon, be ſaid to be the other: and againe, in the predicate, or the latter part of the ſame propoſitions, there is not mention made onelyonly of Chriſts body and bloud, but of his body [broken,] and his bloud [ſhed,] to ſhew, that his body is to be conſidered herebbMy Lo. Primate of Armagh, cap. 4. of the Iriſh Relig. apart, not as it was borne of the Virgin, or now is in Heaven, but as it was [broken] and [crucified] for us; and his bloud likewiſe apart, not as running in his veines, but as [ſhed] out of his body; which the Rhemiſts have told us to be conditions of his perſon, as he was in ſacrifice, and oblation. Beſides, they are bid to doe this, in [remembrance] of him: Now [ccLuk. 22.19. & 1 Cor. 11.24, 25.Luke 22:191 Cor 11:241 Cor 11:25 remembrance] is of things [abſent] at leaſt; and if in remembrance, then (which I note by the way) we may ſee p. 45whether the Romane Church did ever erre, or not, when for 600. yeares together it allowed (though ſince indeed it be rejected) the ſentence of Innocentius the firſt, who enjoyned the Euchariſt to be adminiſtred even untoddMaldonat. Jeſuit. in Joh. 6.53. & Eſpencaeus de adorat. euchariſt. l. 2. c. 12. Idem probat Binius ex reſcript. Innoc. Pap. tom 1. concil. p. 585. edit. 1606.John 6:53 Infants, who through want of diſcretion cannot poſsibly [Remember] what they are not yet capable to Know. To conclude this point, to ſhew that all this is to be meant onelyonly in a [eeJoh. 6.63.John 6:63 ſpirituall] way, and that this is affConvivium tam [ſublime] & tam [ſpirituale.] Rabbi Samuel Iſraelita, ociundus de civitate regis Morochiani, ad Rabbi Iſaac, Magiſtr. Synagogae, cap. 20. p. 646. in Parr. foreign. ſublime, and myſticall banquet, as even a Jewiſh Rabbi 600. yeares agoe acknowledged, it is to be noted, that Chriſt ſaith firſt, [Take, eat,] and then, This is my body, to intimate unto us, as learned,ggHooker lib. 5. 359. Hooker obſerveth, that the Sacrament, however changed by conſecration from common uſe, yet is never properly to be called the body of Chriſt, till [taken, and eaten,] by means of which actions, (if they bee actions of faith) that holy bread and wine doe as really (as meanes and inſtruments) convey whole Chriſt, with the vitall influences that proceed from him into the ſoule, as the hand doth them unto the mouth, or the mouth p. 46unto the ſtomacke. Wherefore is then this ſo great adoe? SurelyhhChemnit. quâ ſupra. Chemnitius ſheweth plainly to be, becauſe the Sacrifice of the Maſſe may be ſupported, aſſervation, circumgeſtation may be upheld, that the Romiſh**My Lo. of Pureſm, quae ſupra p. 403, 404. Moloch, Chriſts ſubſtance corporally under the colour, and ſpecies of bread and wine may be adored, and that Chriſt by this dreame, being corporally preſent, might, though onelyonly as a ſacrifice unbloudy, be continually offered up upon their ſuperſtitious, I had almoſt ſaid Idoll-Altars: when yet, the Scripture tells us plainly, that as men dye but once for all, no more is Chriſt offered up, (ſave onelyonly Euchariſtically, andiiforeign Chryſ. hom. 17 in Heb. commemoratively, and by way ofkk[Repraeſentatio] veri ſacrificii. P. Lumb. l. 4, diſt. 12 G. confer Du Moulin, Art. 9. verſus fin. defence of K. James. Repreſentation) but once for all, hylaſtically and in propitiation; the iteration, and repeating of the ſacrifice implying imperfection, and inſufficiency under the old law, Chriſts owne oblation of himſelfe upon the Croſſe, moſt complete perfection, becauſe but once for all, Heb. 9.27, 28.

And as they are thus groſſely out in this proviſion it ſelfe, viz. the fleſh and bloud of p. 47Chriſt; ſo doe they become injurious alſo to it in the uſage of it, They by oblation, aſſervation, circumgeſtation, and carrying about, adoration, and the like, prophane it; Whereas the actions enjoyned to us herein, are Sacramentall only, expreſſed in the Text, by [eating and by drinking;] which is the next particular, though but in a little mouthfull of words onelyonly, to bee diſcourſed of: Whoſo [eateth] my fleſh, and [drinketh] my bloud.

Theſe actions of [Eating,The third particular. and of Drinkking] are both of Sacramentall Inſtitution, and ſignification, ſymbolically repreſenting the inward application of, and as it were the myſticall maſtication, or feeding upon Chriſts fleſh and bloud by faith, which is the mouth of the ſoule, and her exerciſe, and acts about this myſtery, as 'twere, the very eating and the drinking of Chriſts fleſh, and bloud. Now this eating is, as Chriſts body, to which it doth relate, twofold. 1. Sacramentall. 2. Spirituall: both are required, but chiefly the ſpirituall, becauſe the wicked may equally ſhare with us in the firſt; and if we have the ſecond, though neceſsity perchance p. 48barre us of the firſt, yet we are ſafe: (ſtill remembring the Rule, that Nuda carentia non damnat, but contemptus; becauſe that Chriſt doth not univerſally, and alwayesllDeus gratiam Sacramentis non alligavit, quaſi abſ que illis neque poſsit, neque velit ullos ſervare. Pet. Martyr. loc. com. claſſ. 4. c. 5. ſect. 16. p. 826. tye, without any exception, his ſaving graces to the outward means:) Hence is that ofmmP. Lumb. l. 4. diſt. 4. & 9. Lumbard, Some, ſaith he, take both the Sacrament, and the thing ſignified with it, ſo the Elect and faithfull, in their health, or well-diſpoſed; ſome the Sacrament onelyonly, and no more, ſo the Hypocrite; a third ſort, the thing onelyonly, without the ſigne, which is indeed the principall eating: hence is that knowne word of S.nnAug. Tract. 25. in Joh. Auſtin, Ut quid paras ventrem, & dentem? crede & manducaſti: Why prepareſt thou thy teeth, and belly? beleeve only, and thou haſt eaten Chriſt.

Now though I might here take occaſion juſtly to exhort my ſelfe, and you, to a frequent partaking of Chriſt, even Sacramentally too; and ſoooEph. 5.16.Eph 5:16 redeem the time of our freedome herein, becauſe the dayes are evill, ſo that we may either be taken from the Sacrament, or it from us: we finde that the Primitive Church was [ppforeign Act. 2.46.Acts 2:46 daily] in it; which p. 49made SaintqqS. Cyprian. in orat. Dom. ſect. 13. Cyprian to interpret the [daily Bread,] in the Lords prayer, of the Sacramentall bread: And in Saint Chryſoſtomes dayes there was foreign [aaChryſ. hom. 3. ad Epheſ. foreign, &c. foreign] a [daily] ſacrifice in uſe, and he in wonder cryed out on the ſlacke comming unto the holy Altar, and blamed it as an ill cuſtome: But though I urge not ſuch a frequency, leſt the commonneſſe might abate ſomewhat of the reverence to it; yet at leaſt, let not the moone pace over the Zodiack oftner (ſith the ſpouſe of Chriſt is likened to thebbCant. 6.10.Song 6:10 moone) then we performe, if poſsible, our courſe this way. St. Paul is at his [foreign] his [cc1 Cor. 11.261 Cor 11:26 oftenneſſe,] of whichddThom. 3 qu. 66 art. 9. ad 5^um in fine. Quia homo ſemel naſcitur, multoties autem cibatur; ſemel tantum datur baptiſmus, multotiens autem Euchariſtia. Thomas gives a reaſon (though Baptiſme be but once for all adminiſtred) becauſe though man be but once borne, yet becauſe he ſtands in need of often feeding, and nouriſhment; therefore though the Sacrament of Initiation, Baptiſme, be but once given, yet the Sacrament of farther confirmation, and ſtrengthening, the Lords Supper, or the Euchariſt, is often adminiſtred. In Concilio Agathenſi, as I find in Iſidores Councels, he was ſentenced for an unſound Chriſtian, p. 50who did not at the three great Feſtivals of the yeere at leaſt communicate: Our own Church hath preſſed her children toeeCanon. Angl. 21. Three times a yeare at the leaſt, whereof one to be now atffCertum habemus quia Chriſtus reſurgens ex mortuis, jam non moritur, &c. tamen ne obliviſcamur, quod ſemel factum eſt, in memoria noſtra omni anno fit, ſc. quotiens [Paſcha] celebratur. Auguſt. praef. in 2. expoſ. Pſal. 21. de conſ. diſt. 2. apud Lumb. l 4. diſt. 12. G.Ps 21 Eaſter: But as for our [ſpirituall] eating, that muſt be every day, for elſe the ſoule would ſtarve and dye, which liveth not but by theggHab. 2.4. & Gal. 3.11. The fourth particular.Hab 2:4Gal 3:11 life of faith.

And as Chriſts fleſh muſt thus be [eaten] by us, ſo muſt every good Chriſtian [drink] his bloud too; for w^ch cauſe we find a Conjunction coupling them both together in the Text: And both bread and wine too were prefigured in Melchiſedech his oblation of both bread and wine to Abraham, Gen. 14.18. as St.hhS. Cyprian. ſect. 2. de Coen. Dom. Cyprian, iiRabbi Samuel, quâ ſupra cap. 19. p. 645.Rabbi Samuel, kkThom. 3. qu. 61. Act. 3. ad 3^um.Acts 3Aquinas, llHales, par 4. qu. 10. mem. 1. Art. 2. p. 223. edit. 1622.Hales, and many others have well obſerved. See yet if herein our Romaniſts be not directly Antichriſtian, and both wayes run themſelves upon the rockes; the dangerous Scylla of**Apoc. 22.18, 19.Rev 22:18Rev 22:19 adding, on the one ſide, and the engulphing Charybdis of taking away, on the other ſide; both pernicious. In the Councell of Florence (for loe! a deepe ſilence of this, till that time, in all Antiquity) which p. 51was but in the yeere 1200. ſome 30. yeares after that Hugo de S. Victore, and P. Lumbard had vented their conceits herein, (and they were the firſt that made any noiſe about it) (asmmD^r Whitaker l. 8. ſect. 59. de paradox. cont. Duraeum. D^r Whitaker, ſometimes Oracle of the chaire in Cambridge, hath ſhewed us) Then and There they decree for ſeven Sacraments, whereas our Saviour appoints but two: They might as well have ſettled 70. times 7. in the larger acception of the word Sacrament, as it ſignifies the ſigne of an holy thing in generall. And now here, they mangle the uſe of theſe that our Saviour appointed, allowing the cup only unto the Clergy, pretending that Chriſt meant that onelyonly to the Apoſtles, then preſent with him at the inſtitution; but as well they may ſay the ſame likewiſe for the bread. But beſides the expreſſe inſtitution of our Saviour himſelfe, under both kindes, and not of the bread onelyonly in the maine, the wine being bynnPet. Martyr. loc. com. claſ. 4. c 10 ſect. 18. p. 849. concomitancy alone conſecrated, as ſome of them doe tell us; not onelyonly the Primitive, but even the wholeooCaſſander conſult. Art. 22. initiō. Catholicke Church of Chriſt, yea, even the purer Romane too, for p. 52a thouſand yeares continuance (which, had there bin no [expreſſe] appointment, was notwithſtanding of a veryppThe approved practice of the Saints of God, is equivalent to a precept. D^r Sclater, my father, ſ rm. on 1 Cor. 9.13, 14. p 34. ſtiled The Miniſters portion, edit. Oxon 1612. —Illa quae ubi que obſervantur, multum proculdubio valent; ubique, id eſt, toto terrarum orbe ſemper obſervata, &c. D^r Whitak. l. 1. cont. Duraeum ſect. 16.1 Cor 9:131 Cor 9:14 binding obſervation) did obſerve it ſo, as Caſſander, (one of the chiefeſt Divines of his time) confeſſeth: Nor indeed can they themſelves ſhew usqqQuando primùm vigere coepit in aliquibus Eccleſiis minimè conſtat. Valent. Jeſ. de Euchariſt. c. 10. p. 499. ſect. Haec igitur. when certainly the Communion onelyonly under [one] kinde firſt began; yea, till within theſe laſt 400. yeares, which is a very new-antiquity, it had no ſpreading entertainment: for Aquinas confeſſeth that [under both kindes] was in uſe even to his times, and he was bothaaMy L. Grace againſt A.C. ſect. 33. p. 275, 276. num. 13. borne, and dead, during the reign of Henry the third of England; and the [one kinde] was decreed but in the thirteenth Seſsion of the Councell of Conſtance, which is verybbId. ib. ſect. 38 p. 340. moderne, at leaſt farre downewards from the Primitive and pureſt Church; ſo that I have no other hopes to keepe up your attention, with any further diſcourſe herein, then to tell you onelyonly as Demoſthenes was wont to ſay to his Athenian auditors, when they grew remiſſe under his Orations, Here is newes for you; which word [Newes] though it may ſpur p. 53your attention in the liſtening to it, yet it ſhould withall encreaſe your abhorrence of that religion, which is thus patched together with the fragments ofccI will ſincerely promiſe, that when ever any point of the Religion I profeſſe ſhall be proved to be [new,] and not ancient, Catholike, and Apoſtolike, I meane for matter of faith, I will renounce it, &c. See K. James confeſſ. of faith, Art. 23 in fine, exactly. Novelty: for there is no faith, or religion True, but onelyonly That which is Catholike Truely, and properly, which is, and was beleeved every where, alwayes, and by all; which hath, as Vincentius ddVincent. Lirin. cap. 3. cont. haereſ. — Confer my Lo. Primate of Armagh, ſer. on Eph. 4.13. p. 27, 28, 29. edit. 1631.Eph 4:13Lirinenſis ſaith, both Univerſality, Antiquity, and unanime Conſent of theeeSee Aug. epiſt. 18. c. 5. & l. 4. de Bapt. cont. Donatiſt. c. 24. —Confer my L. Grace, againſt A.C. ſect. 21. p. 137, 138. num. 4.—& ſect. 38. p. 352. num. 17. initio.—& ſect. 39. p. 378. num. 4. ib. whole Church of Chriſt, which theſe late upſtart devices andffMat. 15.9.Matt 15:9 doctrines of men, undoing, by conſequence, the ancient and pure worſhip of God, have not.

Sith then, my deare Brethren, theſe Romaniſts, the onelyonly [Catholikes] as they cry themſelves up, (by which oneggMy L. of Durh. quâ ſupra c. 15. ſect. 1. initio. word, as by a Gorgon's, or a Meduſa's head, painted in a ſhield, they thinke at firſt ſight to terrifie and delude poore ignorant Proteſtants, as they count moſt of them, and if they could) ſith I ſay, theſe be ſuchhh2 Sam. 10.4.2 Sam 10:4 Hanuns, to ſhame us by cutting off at [halfes] the beſt of our ſpirituall ornaments, as he did of Davids ſervants p. 54in a mock; and fith they dare to be ſo bold, as to take from you theiiPſal. 116.13. Calix ſalutaris, ſanguis eſt Salvatoris. Bern. tract. de lib. arbit. & gratia, fol. 289 G. & Illyr p. 126. in verbo Calix.Ps 116:13 cup of ſalvation, pray you for their converſion, if Godkk2 Tim. 2.25.2 Tim 2:25 peradventure wil give them repentance to the knowledging of the truth, and then leave them and theirllThis without all doubt is all the infallibility the Pope hath, to be ſure to be infallible in whatſoever he [would] have determined: chiefly remembring the Councells of Conſtance, and Baſil. See my L. Grace; qua ſupra, ſect. 29. num. 2. p. 219 & ſect. 33 ib. p. 262, 263, &c. infallible Head (if ſo they will not returne) unto Gods cup of Trembling, which ſhall make them reel, and ſtagger more with Terrour, then exceſſe: And for your ſelves, liſten to your dearly-loving Saviours invitation, who ſaith,**Luc. 14.17.Luke 14:17 Come unto me: If any man thirſt, let him come unto me, and drinke, Joh. 7.37. What is this thirſt, but a thirſt of faith? for ſo verſe 38. and what is this drinke, but the precious liquour of his owne bloud? for as hee ſaith, Joh. 6.55. in the next verſe to my Text, My fleſh is [meat] indeed, ſo alſo, My bloud is [drinke] indeed; whereof this Sacramentall cup, (tendred unto every of you by us, deare Chriſtians, that be members by faith of Chriſt, according to his owne appointment and inſtitution) is the ſure ſigne, and ſeale, and pledge unto your ſoules. For this cauſe, yee ſee clearely, in the Text, that by a copulative, both Eating and p. 55Drinking are conjoyned together: what therefore God hath thus joyned together, let no man (much leſſe thell2 Theſ. 2.3.2 Thess 2:3 man of ſinne, ſhortly to be conſumed by themmVerſ. 8. ib. ſpirit of Chriſts mouth) dare to putnnMat. 19.6.Matt 19:6 aſunder: and ſith both are ſo placed in the Text, that as theooExod. 25.20Exod 25:20 Cherubims on the mercy ſeat, though they look each to other, yet ſtill turning with their faces to the mercy ſeat, ſo both theſe to the univerſall particle, that is ſet in the doore of my Text, to call in all worthy commers; Loe! every one, all ye that hunger and thirſt aright by faith, come in, and eat, and drinke your fill, ſaith Chriſt; Behold, my owne fleſh and bloud ſtand ready fitted for your beſt proviſion: and to ſet an edge upon your ſpirituall appetites, ſee, here is after Supper, eternall life to abide with you, and you with it for ever, and this moſt fully to bee given at the laſt act; for ſo we read, foreign, &c. Whoſo, Whoſoever eateth my fleſh, and drinketh my bloud [hath eternall life.]

Hath eternall life.] See here, and note it,The third particular. No man ever yet loſt by his obedience to p. 56Chriſt; he is notppHeb. 6.10.Heb 6:10 unrighteous to forget it: hee alone is worthy to loſe, who when Chriſt inviteth him, he puts him off with fondqqLuk. 14.18.Luke 14:18 excuſes, and will not come: loe! here is [life] given, the ſweeteſt monoſyllable in the world, and not ſo alone, but life [eternall:] Had he ſaid length of daies, he had made good the firſt promiſe made to the obedience of the morall law, Eph. 6.3. but in that he names eternall life, ſee here the complement of all bliſſe. But I pray note the expreſsion, 'tis in the preſent tenſe, [foreign] not he [ſhall] have, but he [hath] it: and how ſo? becauſe a beleever thus feeding upon Chriſt by faith, hath Chriſt himſelfe, who is ſtiled eternall life, Joh. 17.3. for Chriſt by faithaaEph. 3.17.Eph 3:17 dwelleth in ſuch an one, and he in him, Joh. 6.56. yea Chriſt himſelfe ſaith as much, Joh. 11.25. I am the life, and hee that beleeveth in me ſhall never dye, for he hath in him life eternall.

Again, if eternall life be here ſet, as I think it is, as the Reward of faith, then how hath the beleever it already? Anſ. In Spe, though not in Re; In hope and expectation he hath p. 57it, though not in actually complete fruition; and by this hope they areiiRom. 8.24.Rom 8:24 ſaved: Or elſe they have it, in arrhabone, in thekkEph. 1.14.Eph 1:14 earneſt, & in ſigillo, in thellEph. 4.30.Eph 4:30 ſeale, and marke of the ſpirit, which marke is for ever indeleble; it's as a foundation,mm2 Tim. 2.192 Tim 2:19 ſure, not to be ſhaken, no not by all the machinations, ornnMat. 16.18.Matt 16:18 policies of Hell it ſelfe.

But how ſo, ſith they that beleeve dye? Anſ. What of that? ſith he that beleeveth in Chriſt, though he wereooJoh. 11.25.John 11:25 dead, yet ſhall hee live: Dye hee muſt, becauſe of the ſtatute, Heb. 9.27. But let not this trouble the beleever; for as Chriſt is the life, ſo is he alſo the reſurrection too: and therefore, in the Text, it's added, by way of aſſurance, that I will raiſe him up at the laſt day: and I like**Beza ad locum. Beza his gueſſe well, that [foreign] here ſtands for [foreign,] that the [and] here is a cauſall note, ſerving by way of prolepſis, or of preoccupation to remove that objection, likely to bee raiſed by a weakling, though a Beleever, Thus: You promiſe life eternall, and loe! I die, where then is your promiſe? Anſ. Why? I will raiſe thee up againe, at the laſt day: p. 58and if yee note it, at your leiſure, you ſhall finde this ſpeech of the Reſurrection no leſſe thenppJohn 6, 39, 40, 44, 54.John 6:39John 6:40John 6:44John 6:54 foure times, in this one Chapter, repeated, to double the obſervation, and comfort.

The fourth generall part.And at this ſaying of a Reſurrection at the laſt day, we may well reſume that of the Diſciples, John. 6.60. Durus eſt hic ſermo, This is a hard ſaying, who can beare it? Surely no unbeleeving, meerely naturall man on earth: yea, more then ſo, the very Apoſtles themſelves wereqqLuke 24.25.Luke 24:25 ſlow of heart at the firſt to beleeve it; and the reports of thoſe good ſoules, the women that having ſeene Chriſt after his Reſurrection, told it to the Diſciples, ſeemed to them asrrLuke 24.11.Luke 24:11 idle tales, ſaith S. Luke, cap. 24.11. yea, S. Thomas expreſly proteſted, that for his part hee wouldſſJohn 20.25.John 20:25 not beleeve it, till he felt him, John 20.25. The Philoſophers at Athens derided the doctrine, and made a mock of S. Paul, when hee delivered it to them, Act. 17.32. At other times, he was not onelyonly called inttAct. 23.6.Acts 23:6 queſtion, but in danger almoſt to be torne inuuVer. 10. ib. pieces for the ſame: thexxVer. 8. ib. Sadducees, a certaine ſect in the Apoſtles p. 59dayes, yea riſe alſo in ouryyMath. 22.23.Matt 22:23 Saviours owne time, flatly denied that there was any Reſurrection, or Angel, or Spirit; for alas! the poring eye ofzzTo conceive of Divine things by Philoſophy, is no other then to take out a redhot Iron with our fingers, and not with tongs. My L. of Exon, Sect. 18. No peace with Rome Nature was too dimme to diſcerne ſo high a myſtery as this was, ſo farre remote from her beſt-diſpoſed Organs: The wiſeſt Ethnick was no better at this then S. Peters aa2 Pet. 1.9.2 Pet 1:9foreign, one that was pur-blind, like to a Bat or Owle, or like S. Auſtins man betweene ſleeping and waking. That Common Principle of, à privatione ad habitum non datur regreſſus, that from a totall privation of life from the Body, there was no poſsibility of a returne, was ſo faſtened in them, that like to a firſt Principle, or a Mathematicall Rule, it muſt be taken True for granted, and he that ſhould offer a diſputation againſt it, he was, as S. Paul at Athens, to be eſteemed abbAct. 17.18.Acts 17:18 Babler, or as a Naturall Ignaro; the ground of all is, becauſe this is a buſineſſe meerely of Faith, to which all CarnallccThom. 1^a qu. 1^a Art. 8. ad 2^um Oportet quòd naturalis ratio ſubſerviat fidei. Reaſonings muſt give way: in the Naturall man, both the medium, which is Faith, is wanting, or unprepared, and the object, Chriſt riſen, ſtood at too great a diſtance to bee kenned, p. 60no not ſo much as Moſes did from mountddDeut. 34.1.Deut 34:1 Nebo the land of promiſe [a farre off] by him; It's the proper work of Gods ſpirit only, as he did thoſe Dead bones ineeEzek. 37.14.Ezek 37:14 Ezekiel, (which were a figure of the Reſurrection) to quicken and enliven his firſt apprehenſion, and faith for this purpoſe. Some Heretiques there were, after the Apoſtles dayes, inffTertul. de praeſcript. adv. Haer. c. 46, 48, 49, 51 Saturn. Baſilides, Carpocrates, Cerdon, &c. Tertullians time, that were againſt the Bodily Reſurrection: the Anabaptiſts, and Libertines of late, were all for the Spirituall Reſurrection of the ſoule from ſinne unto the life of grace in this life; though that good Martyr Polycarpus, S. Johns Diſciple, ſtileth ſuch, whether Epicures, or others,ggPolycarpus Epiſt. ad Philip. Primogenitos Satanae, the firſt-begotten of Satan; yea, evenhhTertul. lib. de Monogam. Tertullian himſelfe, that ancient Father of the Church, after his infection by the hereſie of Montanus, whom hee ſtiled his Paraclete, and his Prophet;iiLactant. lib. 7. inſtit. Div. c. 21, 24, 26. Lactantius alſo, and divers other Doctors of the Church, having a tang of the errour of the Millenaries, theſe, though they granted a Reſurrection to bee, yet were out in the underſtanding of it: for, miſ-underſtanding that Prophecy Rev. 20.5. p. 61where there is mention of a [firſt] Reſurrection, imagined that there ſhould be a [firſt] Reſurrection of the Juſt, that ſhould raigne here a thouſand yeares even upon [earth;] and after that, a ſecond Reſurrection of the Wicked, at the day of the generall judgment: Whereas we know, there ſhall bee butkkJohn. 11.24.John 11:24 one [generall] Reſurrection of the Bodies of the juſt, and unjuſt at the laſt day; that firſt Reſurrection in S. John being to be underſtood onelyonly of the inward, and ſpirituall Reſurrection of the ſoule out of the grave of ſinne, which, as a body in the grave, lies too much rotting, and corrupting of the ſoule; for which cauſe S. Paul hath called it thellPhil. 3.10. ſee Rom. 6.Phil 3:10Rom 6 Power of Chriſts Reſurrection. Theſe ſome then, and divers more that might happely be named, have either flatly denied, or elſe erroneouſly miſtaken this doctrine of the Reſurrection: the more are we all, my beloved, from this meditation bound to thanke our good God, who hath ſo bleſſed us, withmmEpheſ. 1.3.Eph 1:3 ſpirituall bleſsings in Chriſt Jeſus, that he hath given us better eyes, by means of the vaile of naturall blindneſſe removed, to ſee into this p. 62great myſtery of godlineſſe, and hath let this part of thenn2 Cor. 4.4.2 Cor 4:4 light of the glorious Goſpel of Chriſt, in the knowledge of his Reſurrection, to ſhine into our hearts.

My purpoſe was not, on this occaſion, to dwell at large upon this Common place of the Reſurrection now: onelyonly Two things I note, as Principally here intended. Firſt, the Author of the Beleevers Reſurrection, Chriſt himſelfe, [foreign] foreign, I, Emphatically I, will raiſe him up, What ſtronger argument of the Divine Nature of our Saviour? Noe [man] (meerely) ſuch, hath ever quickened hisoo2 Cor. 3.5, 6.2 Cor 3:52 Cor 3:6 owne ſoule, but Chriſt doth this Poteſtative, by vertue of his own innate Power, for ſo he ſaith, I haveppJohn 10.18.John 10:18 power to lay downe my life, and I have power to take it up againe; and therefore ſaithqqBern. ſer. 10. de Paſch. Bernard, differencing Chriſts from all others Reſurrection, Reliqui ſuſcitantur, ſolus Chriſtus Reſurrexit: Well may others be [raiſed,] Chriſt onelyonly [roſe,] hee onelyonly by [himſelfe] could conquer death: Wherefore, though the originall word, in Mar. 16.6. [foreign] be paſsive, yet muſt it bee underſtood actively, as a Reverend p. 63rrBp. Lake, on 1 Cor. 15.20. p. 157.1 Cor 15:20Prelate hath obſerved: This power manifeſted in Chriſts Reſurrection was prefigured, ſayſſAlbinus quaeſt. in Gen. Albinus, ttJulianus Pomerius, lib. 1. contr. Judaeos p. 556. in Patr. foreign.Julianus Pomerius, and others greatly learned, in that prophecy of old Jacob, Gen. 49.9. where Juda is ſaid to ſtoupe down, and to couch as an old Lyon, and yet, ſaith the ſame great Patriarch, as a Lyons whelp from the prey, my ſonne, thou art gone up: this is a cleare Type of our Lord and Saviour, who by S. John is called theuuApoc. 5.5.Rev 5:5 Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who, during the Time of his paſsion, and his humiliation, ſeemed to couch as it were, and to lie downe in his grave, as an old and weakened Lyon; but as a Lyon that is young, in much ſtrength, hee rouzeth up himſelfe againe, having broken the bonds ofxxAct. 2.24, 31.Acts 2:24Acts 2:31 Death, and Hell in his victorious Reſurrection: ſo that this [taking up] of his life againe ſheweth the Truth of his Divinity, and omnipotent conſubſtantiality,yyPhil. 2.6.Phil 2:6 equall with his eternall Father, and the holy Ghoſt; that hee was not foreign, onelyonly [like] unto, but verily foreign, of the [ſame] ſubſtance with his Father, againſt that damnable hereſie p. 64of Arrius, under which though thennHaereſis Arrii prorupit, totum que [orbem] invecto errore turbaverat. Sulpic. Severus l. 2. ſacr. hiſt. p. 144. in 8^o. cum Druſio. world ſeemed in the dayes of Athanaſius the Great, in a ſort, tooo[Ingemuit] totus orbis, & Arrianum ſe eſſe miratus eſt. Hieron. cont. Luciferian.— Confer Hooker, l. 5. p. 266. ad p. 274. Et D^r Field, l. 1. c. 10. in medio. My L. of Dureſme, c. 15 ſect. 5. p. 368. qua ſupra. Et M^r Wotton, ſerm. 2. in Joh. p. 77, 78, &c. groane, yet was it condemned in the firſt generall Councell at Nice, and himſelfe at laſt voyded with hisppRuffin. l. 1. c. 13. hiſt. Eccleſ. bowels, and entrals, as he was about to go to maintaine his blaſphemy, his ſoule out of his body, being ſmitten by the immediate hand of Divine Juſtice for his obſtinacie herein.

Now as this ſheweth the Divinitie, ſo in that in the former part of the Text, he mentioneth his fleſh, and his bloud, it's cleare alſo that hee had likewiſe an humane nature too, even hee tooke part likewiſe, ſaith theqqHeb. 2.14.Heb 2:14 Apoſtle, of the ſame fleſh and bloud with the reſt of the children, and ſo becameaaEph. 5.30.Eph 5:30 fleſh of our fleſh, and bone of our bone, and all this too, not inbbforeign. Ignat. ad Philip. p. 5. opinion onelyonly, and fancie, as the old explodedccVide Eſtium ad cap. 2. in Philip. ver. 7. p. 79. Marcionites and Manichees conceited, foreign, as Ignatius ſaith, but Really, and in Truth; for ſo the Scripture plainely, The word was [ddJoh. 1.14.John 1:14 made] fleſh, Made, I ſay, and that not brought downe along with him p. 65out of heaven, as the Apollinarian Heretickes imagined, but made out of the fleſh of the Virgin Mary: ſo Saint Paul expreſly, Gal. 4.4. Factus [ex] muliere, made [of] a woman; for that prepoſition [ex] or [of] noteth the materiall cauſe of his incarnation, and that our Lord and Saviour was ſubſtantialiter factus, asddTheophyl. ad 1. Mat. ver. 23. Theophylact notes, made of the very ſubſtance of the Virgin; which overthroweth alſo that Valentinian hereſie, which taught that Chriſt paſſed onelyonly as water through a conduit-pipe, through her wombe, but took nothing Really of her ſubſtance; for St. Paul elſewhere Rom. 1.3. ſaith expreſly, that he was made [foreign] foreign, [of] the ſeed of David according to the fleſh; [Factum] propriâ ſignificatione intellige, ſaitheeBeza ad Rom. 1. ver. 3.Rom 1:3 Beza, the word [made] is there properly to be underſtood, as ſhewing the very ſubſtance of Chriſts fleſh to be made of the very ſubſtance of the Virgins: And indeed, had it not been ſo, he could never have been capable offfHeb. 2.14.Heb 2:14 Death, or ſuffering, thereby to overcome him that had the power of Death, the Devill, as St. Paul diſputes moſt p. 66ſtrongly; the Godhead being, as not paſsionate (as the Vorſtian blaſphemie was) ſo neither paſsible, or ſubject unto death, or ſhedding of bloud,ggHeb. 9.22.Heb 9:22 without which yet there was no remiſsion of ſinnes poſsible: Sometimes indeed the Holy Ghoſt ſpeaking in concreto of Chriſts Perſon, which had united to it a twofold Nature, by that which Divines call a Communication of properties, that is given to the whole perſon which is proper onelyonly in abſtracto, to the one nature. So we read Act. 20.28. [God] is ſaid to have purchaſed the Church with his owne [bloud,] Now God himſelfe is ahhJoh. 4.24.John 4:24 Spirit, ſaith the Scripture, and a Spirit, ſaith our Saviour, hath not fleſh, and bones, as yee ſee me have, Luk. 24.39. and if there be no fleſh, nor veines to hold and containe bloud, which for the remiſsion of ſinnesiiHeb. 9.22.Heb 9:22 muſt be ſhed, then ſurely there can be no purchaſe of the Church by bloud: therefore that ſpeech and the like, in the language of the Scripture, is to be underſtood in Trope, or ſacred Figure, not ſtrictly, and abſtractively; no more then that Text in St. John muſt be, Joh. 3.13. p. 67where Chriſt ſpeaking of himſelfe, as the Son of Man, ſaith that he [is] in Heaven, when yet he there ſpake upon the earth, as man, to Nicodemus: it muſt therefore be underſtood by Communication of properties, and in concreto, it being True, that that divine Perſon which by an admirable union had Two Natures united to its ſelfe, did, and was thus, or thus, as Gods Spirit in the Scriptures, is pleaſed to expreſſe ſo deep, and great a myſtery.

Thus ye ſee, that if there were no other Texts to prove it, yet from this one the foreign, and Two Natures of Chriſt hypoſtatically united to his Divine Perſon, would bee ſufficiently collected. But becauſe this point is hence but foreign only to bee diſcourſed of, this being rather the hypotheſis, then the theſis of the Text directly; I rather come to ſhew how, and by what ſinewes the Reſurrection of Beleevers is from hence deducible; and this is founded upon Two maine grounds: Firſt, becauſe Chriſt himſelfe being thekkEph. 1.22.Eph 1:22 Head of his Church, and every Beleever a p. 68lively member of his body, by vertue of the myſticall, and effectuall Union that is betweene the head and the members, as the head is raiſed, ſo ſhall the members likewiſe. Beſides, Chriſt is as the Primitiae, the firſt-fruits, as Saintll1 Cor. 15.20.1 Cor 15:20 Paul ſaith, wee as the reſt of the whole lumpe; looke now, as the dedication of the firſt-fruits of their increaſe did unto the Jewes conſecrate, and in a manner ſanctifie the whole other encreaſe, even ſo our Saviour by his Reſurrection, hath conſecrated unto all his members theirs, Cùm eadem ſit ratio primitiarum, & totius cumuli, asmmBeza ad 1 Cor. 15.20.1 Cor 15:20 Beza noteth, there being the ſame reaſon, by this conſequence, of the whole lumpe, and of the firſt-fruits. The wicked ſhall indeed bee rayſed up too, but unto everlaſting ſhame, confuſion, and contempt, asnnDan. 12.2.Dan 12:2 Daniel, and SaintooJoh. 5.29.John 5:29 John ſay, by the [power] of God, but the beleever, and his True member onelyonly by vertue of his effectuall merit, and Communion: [I] will raiſe him up.

The other thing to be noted, is the Time mentioned for this raiſing up, foreign p. 69foreign, at the laſt Day; he meanes, the day of our commonpp2 Cor. 5.10.2 Cor 5:10 appearance before him, wherein the heavens being on fire, ſhall beqq2 Pet. 3.12.2 Pet 3:12 diſſolved, and the elements ſhall melt with fervent heat: Saint Paul calleth it by an emphaſis, [aa2 Tim. 1.18.2 Tim 1:18 foreign] foreign, [that] day, that ſo remarkable, that ſobbJud. ver. 6. great, and dreadfull day ofccRom. 14.12.Rom 14:12 account: by Saint Peter it is called the day of thedd2 Pet. 3.10.2 Pet 3:10 Lord; Then it is that Chriſt will raiſe up the Beleever, even at the [laſt] day of the world, after which both day and time ſhall be no more.

This is a ſentence, which like the miraculous wine in Cana of Galilee, is ſet down as the beſt tilleeJoh. 2.10.John 2:10 laſt; and is indeed like to King Davids wine, that which makethffPſal. 104.15.Ps 104:15 glad the heart of every righteous man, who if in this life onelyonly he had hope, he were of all men elſe moſtgg1 Cor. 15.19.1 Cor 15:19 miſerable: For as the life of an unbeleever is like a Tragedie, which is preſented in with Muſick, and all expreſsions of jollity, but it goes off uſually in a diſmall, and a ſad cataſtrophe; ſo is the life of a Beleever to a Comedie, which though brought upon the ſtage in p. 70blackes, under ſad lookes, ſoft paces, faint ſpeeches, and ſuch like emblemes of ſorrow, yet ſtay a while, and ye ſhall ſee all goe off in mirth and muſicke; the righteous, when the other calls for the rockes, and mountaines to fall upon him, and to ſhelter him from the wrath of the Lambe in vaine, ſhall at that [laſt] day, being raiſed up by his head Chriſt Jeſus, lift up his head with joy, becauſe that his RedemptionhhLuk. 21.28.Luke 21:28 draweth nigh.

I will raiſe him up at the laſt day: that is, asiiRupertus ad cap. 6. Joh. Rupertus gloſſeth, à congerie aeternâ morte mortuorum, ex nomine eum vocans, diſcernam, I will ſegregate him from the whole other maſſe, or drove, as it were, of wicked men, that ſhall dye eternally for their impenitencie in ſinne, and call him forth by name, and will not beekkMat. 10.32, 33.Matt 10:32Matt 10:33 aſhamed to owne him then at that laſt day, who was not aſhamed of his reproach, in his warfare againſt the world, the fleſh, and the Divell here below. So True is that of King David, that if we marke the perfect man, and behold the upright, wee ſhall finde that the p. 71[end] of that man is peace; but the Tranſgreſſors ſhall be deſtroyed together, and the [end] of the wicked ſhall be cut off, Pſ. 37. 37, 38. conferre Eccl. 8.12, 13. Pſ. 92.7. Mal. 3.17, 18. Wherefore, let us comfort one another with theſe words, as well knowing that howſoever the righteous ſhall be recompenſed by afflictions, yet it is but on the [zzPro. 11.31.Prov 11:31 earth] ſaith Salomon, and no farther, the end of their dayes, is the day of the end of all their ſorrow, and miſery, for ever and ever.

To conclude, let theaaDeut. 32.29.Deut 32:29 thought then of our ends, bee ſtill the end of our thoughts: and that our end may bee good, let us bee ſure that wee have good ends in all our projects, and our Chriſtian performances, orbbEcclus. 7.36.Sir 7:36 undertakings, before that laſt end of all comes, Then ſhall we indeed be rayſed up with joy, and comfort moſt unſpeakable, at that laſt Day.

The meanes to accompliſh this, is, To propound our Saviours Reſurrection as a Patterne of ours, in our ſpirituallccEpheſ. 5.14.Eph 5:14 awaking out of the ſleep of ſinne, by our ſpirituall, p. 72and as S. John hath phraſed it, OurddRev. 20.6, 7.Rev 20:6Rev 20:7 firſt Reſurrection: Now before Chriſts, there was aneeMatth. 28.2.Matt 28:2 earthquake, ſo in our Regeneration there is a conquaſſation uſually, and a ſhaking of the ſoule, affAct. 24.25. & 16.29.Acts 24:25Acts 16:29 trembling of the conſcience, through a ſight of ſinne, and of our miſery thereby; the day of our ſecond, muſt be like the day of our firſt birth, Dies lachrymoſa, a Day ofggIngreſſus ſlebilis, progreſſus debilis, egreſſus horribilis. Ber. Teares, ſhed in contrition for our ſinnes paſt; when wee muſt, as Moſes did thehhExod. 17.6.Exod 17:6 rock in Horeb, ſtrike the rocks of our too too obdurate hearts with a rod of remorſe, that from thence may flow out even rivers, and ſtreames of ſorrow for our looſe converſations before calling: The continuall dropping of this water hollowes the ſtone, mollifies and ſoftens the heart, preparing it aright to receive the ſeeds of grace. One ſting of the fiery Serpent in the wilderneſſe drives the pained Iſraelite to look up for remedy to theiiNum. 21.9.Num 21:9 braſen Serpent, there ſet up: ſo when the Conſcience is, as it were, ſtung with the bitings of thekkRev. 12.9.Rev 12:9 old Serpent the Devill, by the ſight, and ſmart for ſinne, Then flies p. 73the Penitent, and ſobbing ſoule for eaſe, and remedy to the True braſenllJohn 3.14.John 3:14 Serpent Chriſt Jeſus, who hath broken the teeth, and plucked out thatmm1 Cor. 15.55, 57.1 Cor 15:551 Cor 15:57 ſting which ſo much pained the good ſoule. ThennInitium ſalutis, notitia peccati: qui peccare ſe neſcit, corrigi non vult. Sen. —Fruſtra medicantis auxilium expectat, qui vulnus non detegit. Boctius. ſight, and ſenſe of miſery by ſinne is the ſure preparatory meanes to ſeek, and finde a remedy by mercy; as when the powers of the jaylors ſoule were ſhaken, with as ſtrong an earth-quake, as the Priſon it ſelfe was, Then, but not till then, heeooAct. 16.29. Non poteſt ſcire quo modo morbos curare conveniat, qui undè hi ſunt, ignorat. Cornel. Celſ. de Re Med. lib. 1.Acts 16:29 ſprang in to Paul, and Silas, deſiring both eaſe, and direction, from the guilt of ſinne, unto the life of Chriſtianity: The like to which wee read of S. Peters Converts, when they wereppAct. 2.37.Acts 2:37 **A man were better feele wrath then nothing. D. Sclater, in ſick ſouls ſalve.pricked in their hearts, then they cry out, What ſhall wee do to bee ſaved? 2. Secondly, Chriſts Reſurrection wasqqThom. 3^a qu. 54^a Art. 2. Integrall, whole in every part, a moſt complete, and perfect Reſurrection; he had nothing wanting, or defective in his body, which now aroſe in incorruptibilitate, asrrPrimaſius in 1. ad Corinth. c. 15. v. 20. Primaſius ſpeaks, in an abſolute incorruption, yea, and impoſsibility of returning back againe to Death, He being riſen dieth p. 74ooRom. 6.9.Rom 6:9no more, death hath no more dominion over him; for he aroſe Immortalis Totaliter, asppRaymund. à Sabunde, in Theolog. Natural. Raymundus à Sabunde ſaith, Totally Immortall. Now his Reſurrection being an example of ours, from hence wee are inſtructed to a Totall, Integrall, and Univerſall abrenunciation of all ſinne, unto the contrary reformation. A Chriſtian muſt be foreign, whole in regard of ſincerity, univerſall in regard of the extent of his obedience, untoqqPſal. 119.128.Ps 119:128 all Gods Commandements; for hee that allowes himſelfe in any one knowne ſinne, cannot bee ſaid Truly to hate any ſinne; even as a looſe adulterer that hath many curtiſans, but ſome one above the reſt, on whom hee doates, on whom his luxurious affections are more intenſively enamoured, though hee entertaine the reſt but onelyonly in a generall ſalute, and ſo goes them all by, to glut himſelfe with pleaſure on that one: Though the manifeſtation of his carnall love be greater to this one, then to all the other, yet hee cannot properly be ſaid to hate any of the reſt: But a Chriſtian muſt not onelyonly, as p. 75Herod, be at his [rrMar. 6.20.Mark 6:20 many] things, nor as Agrippa, at his [ſſAct. 26.28.Acts 26:28 almoſt,] nor as Naaman, at his Rimmon, and his being pardoned in [tt2 King. 5.18.2 Kgs 5:18This] though but an onelyonly minion: but he that is in Chriſt muſt bee a new Creature throughout, anduuAct. 26.29.Acts 26:29 altogether;xx2 Cor. 5.17.2 Cor 5:17 all things muſt become New, in heart and affection, in life and converſation, in body, in ſoule, in ſpirit,yy1 Theſ. 5.23.1 Thess 5:23 Wholly, Integrally, Univerſally; for ſo was Chriſts Reſurrection. 3. Thirdly, Chriſt aroſe ſpeedily, thezzLuke 24.46.Luke 24:46 Third day from his death; and that no ſooner, nor no later: firſt, ſaithaaThom. 3^a qu. 53. Art. 2. in corp. Aquinas, to ſhew the Truth of both his Natures; it behoved him to riſe quickly, leaſt if his Reſurrection had beene deferred till the end of the world, the Truth of his Divinity might, with his omnipotency, have beene ſuſpected, as if heebbSee John 10.18.John 10:18 could not have raiſed up himſelfe before; and it behoved him to lie till the third day before hee aroſe, leaſt the Truth of his humanity, and his death might have beene queſtioned; now continuing in the grave untill the Third Day, (ſo that the grave to our Saviour was not onelyonly Sheol, but alſo p. 76bbBp. Lake, quà ſupra. p. 152.Shacath, not onelyonly a greedy ſwallower, but a ravenous digeſter alſo) it's manifeſt, that his Death was True; No Apoplectick extaſie being compatible with life, (under favour) above three dayes. Secondly, Hee roſe the third day, that is, ſpeedily, no long delay intervening betweene his Diſſolution, and his Reſurrection; to bee a Patterne to us herein of our ſpeedy, andccLuke 24.1.Luke 24:1 early ariſing out of the grave of ſinne unto the life of grace; Ne differas de die in diem, ſaithddEcclus. 5.7.Sir 5:7 Siracides, Make no tarrying to turne to the Lord, and put not off from day to day. I love them that love me, ſaith God, and they that ſeeke me early ſhall finde me, Prov. 8.17. God loves ſuch as bee aurorantes ad ſe, that with the firſt peeping of the day give up themſelves to God: Let us with Abel offer up theeeGen. 4.4.Gen 4:4 firſtlings of our Time, in Sacrifice to God, we ſhall [ſo] be the firſt in his acceptation: Let us die the wooll of our infancy and youth, into the graine colour of ſanctity, that when our dayes are woven into more yeares, wee may never after change colour. Awake up my glory, ſaith p. 77King David, awake Pſaltery, and Harpe, I my ſelfe will awake right early, Pſal. 57.8. Or, as ſome render it, Excitabo auroram, I will ſtirre up the morning, non illam ut me à ſomno excitet praeſtolabor, ſed illam ego morantem excitabo, ſaithmmGranatenſ. tom. 3. concion. de temp. conc. 1. in die S. Paſch. Granatenſis. And ſurely, my Beloved Chriſtians, would wee, as now it'snnRom. 13.11.Rom 13:11 high time, awake out of the ſleepe of our carnall ſecurity and ſin; and as Bildad adviſed Job, ſeek unto God [ooJob 8.5, 6.Job 8:5Job 8:6 betimes,] ſurely now he would awake for us, and make the habitation of our righteouſneſſe proſperous: Yea, if thus we would awake, and ariſe from the dead, in the firſt Reſurrection, Chriſt himſelfe ſhall give usppEph. 5.14.Eph 5:14 light; that is, himſelfe: for ſo old Simeon calleth him, TheqqLuk. 2.32. & Joh. 1.9.Luke 2:32John 1:9 Light to lighten the Gentiles; and, in thyaaPſal. 36.9.Ps 36:9 light, O bleſſed and ſweet Saviour, we ſhall ſurely ſee light.

This was the way that a**D^r Peterſon, the reverend Dean of Exeter, in his learned and elegant ſermon upon Eph. 5.14 preached in the Cathedrall of Saint Peter there, upon Eaſter day 1639Eph 5:14 bright ſtarre pointed out unto me lately, as yee all know, and the readieſt affections of mine heart, lending mee winde and ſayles at will for preſent, would now put mee on to ſteare amayne in the ſame courſe: This was the p. 78Muſick that ſo tooke our eares, and hearts, upon the ſolemne Feſtivall it ſelfe: Oh that as the voice and eccho in the woods, that moſt divine Sermon, and our true Practice, might make up one ſound, and termination!

I confeſſe, my meditations have, ſince that time, as Moſes on the Mount,bbExod. 32.1.Exod 32:1 ſtayed long upon it; and were it not that I juſtly feared my jarring notes would marre that taking harmony, I could yet winde up mine inſtrument a while longer; but ſo divine an Orpheus could not but draw even the ſtony heart to follow: Doe then, what then you heard; I will aſſure you, it is that which leads the way directly to the life eternal, in this my Text: Concerning which, if ye would now enquire of me, and aske me what it is, I muſt needs tell you, that its that, which ſooner ſwallowes up our thoughts in wonder, then it can become capable of but a competent expreſsion by our ſpeech: its better knowne indeed by True fruition, then diſcourſe: Therefore leaving that, let us now rather all pray, ſo p. 79to bee enabled all to feed upon the fleſh, and to drinke the bloud of Chriſt by faith, that in the iſſue, we may make ſure of the full fruition of the ſame; and in the end of all things, obtaine infallibly thecc1 Pet. 1.9.1 Pet 1:9 end of all our faith, even the ſalvation of our ſoules; and this through the alone merits and mediation of the ſame Jeſus Chriſt thedd1 Joh. 2.1.1 John 2:1 righteous, who hath riſen from the dead, iseeEph. 4.8, 9.Eph 4:8Eph 4:9 aſcended up into Heaven, there toffJoh. 14.3.John 14:3 prepare thoſe eternall manſions of bliſſe, promiſed to all that cleave unto him by a true, effectuall, and lively faith, even for ever and ever. Unto him, with thee, O righteous Father, and thy bleſſed incomprehenſible Spirit, our God in Unity, our God in Trinity, be all honour, and praiſe, thankſgiving, immortality, dominion, ſalvation, and glory in theggEph. 3.21.Eph 3:21 Church, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

FINIS.

End of the text · William Sclater, The Worthy Communicant Rewarded (1639)