The Supper of the Lord, Part 4
¶Nowe to examyn and to discusse this mater more depely and playnly, I shall compare the olde passouer with the newe and souper of the Lorde. And to shewe ye how the figur…s corresponde theyr verites: I wyll begyn my cō parison at Baptysme cōparyng it with the lordis souper whyche be the two sacramētis lefte vsus now vnderunder the grace of the gospell. And aftirwarde, to set forthe both these sacramentis playnely, I wyll compare Cyrcumcision with baptysme: and the passe lambe with Crystis souper.
¶Cy baptysme, as we testyfyed vntounto the cō gregacion our enterynge into the bodye of Criste (take here Crystis bodye,1. Co, 10 11, &. 12. as dothe Paule for his congregacion) to dye, be buryed,Ro. 6. and to ryse wyth hym, to mortifye our flesshe,Ephe. 4. and to be reuyued in spirit, to caste of the olde man, and to do vponupon vsus the newe: euen so, by the thankys geuynge (for so did the olde greke doctours call thys souper) at Goddis borde,Euchary…stia tāhk…geuynge… 1. co. 10.1… or at the lordis souper (for so doth Paule call it) we testifye the vnite and communion of oure hertis, glued vntounto the hole bodye of Cryst in louelove: ye and that in siche louelove as Cryste at thys, hys laste souper expressed: what tyme he sayde, hys bodye shulde be broken and hys blod shede for the remission of our synne?, And to be short: As baptisme is the badge of oure faythe so is the lordis souper the token of our louelove to god and oure neghbours:1. Tim. … wher vponupon standeth the lawe and prophetis. For the ende of the precepte, is louelove out of a pure herte, and good conscience and faith vnfained. So that by Baptisme we be iniciated & conseigned vntounto the worship of one god in one faith: And by the same faithe and louelove at the lordis souper. we shewe our selues to continew in our possession, to be incorporated and to be the very members of Crystis bodye.
¶Bothe these sacramentis were fygured in Moses lawe. Baptysme was fygured by circ…ncisyon: and the lordis souper, by the etynge of the passelombe… where lyke as by cyrcuncysion, the people of Israel were rekened to be goddis people, seuerall frome the gentyls: so be we now by baptisme rekened to be: conseigned vntounto Crystis chyrche seueral frome iwes paynyms &c. And as their passouer, that is to saye their solēpne feste yerely in etynge their passelombe, was an vtwarde token of their perseuerance in their relygion, and in remembrance of theyr passage out of egypte into the londe of Chanaā:…uc. 22. Cor 5.so is now the etinge of the lordis souper (whyche Cryst and Paule called our passouer) a token of our perseuerance in our crysten profession at baptisme: and also thankis geuynge wyth that ioyfull remembrāce of our redempcion from synne, dethe, & helle by Crystis dethe. Of the fygure of thys souper, our new passouer:Exo. 12. thus is it wrytten. Aftir ye be entred into that lande whyche the lorde God shal geue you accordyng to thys promyse: ye shal kepe thys ceremony. And when your chyldren aske ye: what relygion is thys? ye shall answer them. It is the sacryfice of the passyngouere of the lorde, when the lorde passed forebye the houses of the chyldern of Israel in egipte, smyting the gipcians and delyuering our houses. This etinge therfore of the passe lambe was the figure of the lordis souper, which fygure whan the howr was comen that he wolde i… to ceasse & geue place vntounto the verite, as the shadewe to vanisshe awaye at the presence of the bodye: He sayde thus… Luc. 22.with a feruent desyer do I longe to eate this passouer with you ere I suffer.
¶Agene, let vsus compare the fygure wyth the trwthe, the olde passouer with the newe, and diligētly consyder the properte of spekinge, in and of ether of them. Let vsus expende the succession, imitacion, & tyme, howe the newe succeding the olde, the mediatour Criste betwene bothe sittinge at the souper celebratinge bothe with his presens, dyd put out the olde and bryngyng the newe. For ther is in ether of them syche lyke composicion of wordis, siche affinite and proporcion in speche, syche symilitude and propertie in them bothe, the newe so corresponding in all thingis the olde, that the olde declarethe the newe, what it is, wherfore it was instituted, & what is the very vse therof. And to beginne at circuncision the fygure of baptisme. ye shall vnderstande That in sycke rytes and sacraments ther ar two thingis to be consydered,2. thinges to be cōsydered ī the sacramē …tis. that is to wit. The thinge, and the sygne of the thinge. The thynge is it wherfore the sygne is institued to sygnifye it: as in circuncision, the thinge is the couenant to be of the peple of God and the sygne is, the cuttyng of the foreskinne of the preuey member. In the passouer, the thinge was, the rememberance wyth thankis geuinge for the delyuerance out of the harde …seruitute of egipt: but the sygne was, the lambe rosted with siche ceremones as were ther prescrybed them. So in baptisme: The thynge is, the promyse to be of the chirche of Cryste: the sygne is, the dippinge into the water withe the holy wordis. In oure Lor…is souper, the very thinge is, Cryste promysed and crucifyed, and of fayth thankis geuinge vntounto the father for his sonne geuē to suffer for vsus… but the sygne is, the dealyng and distributing or rechinge forth of the bred and wyne, with the holy wordis of our lorde spoken at his sauper, after he had thus dealte the brede and wyne, vntounto his disciples.
The syg…e is cal…ed the …hinge.¶ And here is it diligently to be noted: That sithe in all these ri…es, ceremones, or sacramentes of God thus institued: these two thynges that is to we…te the thinge sygnyfyed, and the sygne that signifiethe …e concurrant and inseperable: it …s …he comen vse and proper…ye of the spe…he ī the scripture, to call the sygne, the thynge, as is circumcision called the cou…nant EueryEvery manchylde muste be cyrcumcysed that my couen…nt myght be in your flesshe for a perpetual bonde.Gen. 17. And yet was it onelyonly but the vtwarde sygne and seal of the couenant, that the sead of Abraham shuld be his especial chosen people, and that he wolde be their God. The lambe,Ero. 12. that was but the sygne, was called the passouer: and yet was not the lambe the passyng ouer, but the sygne onelyonly excitinge & monesshinge them to remember that delyuerance by the angell passynge by the Israelitis in egipt, smyting the gipcians. And sithe this trope or maner of speche the scripture dyd vse wyth so grete grace in the olde rytes and ceremones that figured our sacramentis: why may it not wyth lyke grace, for that analogye & propercongruence of the fygures wythe theyr verites, vse the same phrase and maner of speche in their verites? Yf the scripture called the sygne the thynge in circumcision and passouer, why shuld we be offended wythe the same speche in our baptisme and in the lordis souper? sithe siche maner of speche hauehave no lesse grace and fulnes here then there to brynge the thynge sygnifyed into our hertis by siche vtwarde sensible signes. For when that sygne of circū cision was geuen the chyld: then were they certified (as an vtward tokē maye certifye) that the chylde was of the peple of Israel. And therfore dyd the syg…es thē, as they do nowe …ere the names of the thynges which they signified as the lambe eten in they passouer wa… called the sacrifyce and the selfe passouer, no nother wyse than in our new passouer, that is the lordis souper, the breade broken &c. is called the bodye of Cryste, and the wyne powerd forthe and distributed to eche man, the blood of Cryste, because the brede so broken and dealte signifieth vntounto the receyuers and put…eth them in rememberance of the sacrifyce of his bodye one the aulter of the crosse and of his blood powerde forthe for our redempcion. So that this maner of speche in thadministr…cion & vse of the souper of our lorde: to saye This is my bodye, and this is my bloode: is as miche to saye as, This signifyeth my nody, thys sygnifyethe my bloode… whiche souper is here celebrated to put vsus in rememberance of Cristes dethe, and to excyte vsus to thankis geuinge.
¶Nether let it not offende the, … crysten reder, That Est is taken for significat:Est is ta…ē for sig…ificat. that is to saye, This is that, is as miche to saye, as this signifyethe that. For this is a comen maner of speche in many placis of scripture, and also in our mother tonge: as when we se many pictures or images, whiche ye knowe well are but sygnes to represent the bodyes whom they be made lyke: yet we saye of the image of our ladye. This is our ladye. & of. s. Kataryne, this is saynt Kataryne. and yet do they but represent and sygnyfie vsus our ladye or saynt Kataryne. And as it is wrytē Genesis. 40. ca. The thre branches ar thre dayes. The .3. baskettes ar .3. dayes… which was not els but they sygnyfyed thre dayes. Also in the 28. ca. Iacob sayde This stone whiche I hauehave set vp an ende, shalbe goddis house, which stonne yet was neuer gods house, nor neuer shalbe: but only did signifye goddis house to be buylded in that same place… Agay…, Pharao dremed to hauehave sene .7. fayer fatt oxen, & efte sone .7. pore lene oxen. whiche Ios…ph expowning sayd: The .7. fatte oxen ar .7. plentuouse yeris: and the .7. lene are 7. deare yeris, in whiche phrase or maner of speche eueryevery mā seithe that the oxen were no yeres: but they signif…ed siche yeris. Meruel not therfore thoughe Est lyke wyse in thys sentence: Hoc est corpus meū. be taken for significat, as miche to saye, as this signifyeth my bodye. And yet for because the scriptures cōferred togither expowne them selfe as saith S. Austen. And Peter. 2. pe 1. That we hauehave before a ferme and suer propheticall speche vntounto whiche yf ye attende as vntounto a lyght set vp in a derke place, ye do wel: I shal shew ye a lyk phrase in Ezechiel where the destruccion of Ierusalem was thus fygured:Eze. 5. God commandinge Ezechiel to take a swerde as sharpe as raser, & shaue of his head and berde, and then take a certayne waight of the hearis deuyded into .3. partes: of the one, he shulde burne in the myddes of the cyte a nother he shuld cutte rowndabout, and the chirde caste it vp into the wynde. &c. whiche done he sayd: Thus sayth the lord god This is Ierusalem. which acte and dede… so done, was not Ierusalem: but it signifyed & preched vntounto the beholders of it, Ierusalem to be destroyed: no nother wyse then the brekinge & distributing of the brede and wyne called Crystis body and blode signifyeth and precheth vsus the dethe of Cryste, the fygure and sygne beringe the name of the thinge signifyed… as in the prophetis speche, sayng: This is Ierusalem: whiche did but signifye Ierusalem.Ioā. 2. when Cryste did brethe into his discipules sayng. Take ye the holy goste: the same brethe was not the holy goste, but signifyed and represented them the holy gost, with a thousād lyke maner of speche in the scripture.
¶In the olde passouer thankis were geuen for the slaughter of the firste begoten, wheryn the kyngis posterite of egipte fill a waye, the Hebrews spared, passed ouer, and delyuered… But in the newe passeouer, thankis ar gyuen, that the only begoten sonne of the most hyghest was crucified, wherby al faithful ar spared passed ouer, and not smytē with the swerde of dampnacion: but delyuered and… saued in the lambis blood that hauehave taken awaye the synne of the worlde In the olde passouer, The lambe or festes is called the lordis passouer. and yet was nether the lambe nor the feste his passyng ouer; but the sygne and commemoracion of his passyngby. And euen so is it nowe in ye newe souper of our lorde. It is ther called the body of our lorde, not that ther is any thinge wheryn his very natural body is cōtayned so longe and brode as it hanged on the crosse, for so is it ascended into heuen and sitteth one ye right hande of the father: but that thinge that is there done in that souper, as the breking & dealing & eting of the brede, and the wholl lyke accion of the wyne, signifyeth representeth and puttethe into our hertis by the spirit of faithe this commemoracion, ioyful rememberā ce, and so to geue thankis for that inestimable benefit of our redempcion, wheryn we se with the eye of our faithe presently his bodye broken, and his bloode shed for our synnes. This is no small sacrament, nor yet irreuerently to be entreted: but it is the moste gloriouse and hyghest sacrament, with all reuerence & worsehip, withe thankis geuinge to be ministred, vsed receyued, preched & solempnely in the face of the congregacion to be celebrated: of whose holy administracion and vse I shal peraduenture speke in the ende of thys souper.
The vse o… the souper.¶But in the mene …eason (Crysten reder) let these sensible signes signifye and represent the his dethe, and prynte it in thy herte, geuinge thankis incessantly vntounto God ye father for so incomparable a benefit, that hathe geuē y• his owne onelyonly so dere beloued sone our sauiour our Iesus Cryste to dye for thy synnes, ye & t…at whē we were not his chyldern but his enmyes… Crystis disciples sayd to the man,Lu… 22. where is this geste chamber where I might ete the passing by with my disciples? and thei prepared the passouer. And yet cryste eit not the passouer, but the lambe with his disciples. where it is playne, the signe to do on the name of the thing…