Sermons on Deuteronomy, Sermons · Sermon 98
On Wednesday the vj. of Nouember. 1555. The XCviij. Sermon which is the second vponupon the sixteenth Chapter.
2.3.4 And thou shalt sacrifice &c.
5 Thou maist not sacrifice the Passeouer within any of ye gates which the Lord thy God giueth thee:
6 But in the place which the Lord thy God wil choose to set his name in, there shalt thou offer the Passeouer at euen, about the going downe of the Sunne, iust at the time that thou wentest out of Egypt.
7 And thou shalt roast it, and eate it in the place which the Lord thy God shall hauehave chosen for himselfe. And the next morning thou shalt returne from thence and goe home to thy Tentes.
8 Six dayes shalt thou eate vnleauened breade: and on the seuenth day which is the solemne feast of the Lord thy God, thou shalt doe no manner of worke.
IT was declared yesterday, how yt by keeping ye feast of the passeouer, the Iewes were put in minde of the deliueraunce of their forefathers made by God. And I toulde you howe it was to double ende. For GODS will was to put his people in rememberaunce of the fauour which he had shewed to them alreadie: and againe, he ment to leade them to the hope of our Lorde Iesus Christ. It was then but a temporall deliuerance, which God had made of them out of the land of Egypt: but when he sent his onelyonly sonne, thē deliuered he his people out of a farre worse bondage than that which we hauehave spoken of. And therfore let vsus mark yt the Pascall Lamb was a figure of our Lorde Iesus Christ: which thing S. Paule witnesseth in expresse words, saying: Christ our Passeouer is offered vp.1. Cor. … Also we knowe the sentence that is alleaged out of the twelfth of Exodus by S. Iohn, where it is said;Iohn … & Exod. … 4…. Ye shal not breake a bone of him. For there he declareth how they came to our Lord Iesus Christ to hauehave broken his bones after the accustomed manner, and found him alreadie dead. And that came to passe by the wonderfull prouidence of God, whose will it was that the thing which had beene figured in the Pascall Lambe, should bee layde open to mens eyes in Iesus Christ. And so Saint Iohn applyeth this sentence to the person of our Lorde Iesus Christ, in saying, it is written, Yee shall not breake a bone of him. Yet, but God speaketh but onelyonly of the Pascall Lambe which was offered in those dayes. Yet notwithstanding his intent was to shew, yt there was an agreement betweene Christ & the Passeouer, and that in that visible sacrament he ment to foreshewe the redemption that was not yet seene, and that all this was fully accomplished in our Lord Iesus Christ. True it is that the Iewes hauehave not profited by this admonition: for they were the more inhardened by it. But let vsus on our side learne to referre the thinges that were done by our Lord Iesus Christ, to the things that were for figured in the lawe, & wee shall profit greatly by that meane. For it is not ynough for vsus to knowe the storie of the death and Passion of our Lord Iesus Christ; but the chiefe point is to resort to the vse and fruite of it. And that is much the better attayned vntounto, by considering the auncient figures. Now it is sayd, yt the Pascall Lambe was offered vp, to the end that the houses which were marked with the bloud thereof,Exod. 12.13 should bee spared of God. For an Angel passed swiftly through the land of Egypt, and slew al the first borne both of man and beast. There was but one reseruation, namely the sacrificing of the Lamb, & looke what doore of a house was dipped with the bloud thereof, that house did the Lords Angel passe ouer. The onelyonly safetie then which we hauehave, when God vttereth his wrath and vengeance through the whole world, is to beare the mark of our Lord Iesus Christ. For inasmuch as he was sacrificed for vsus, & we bee besprinkled wt his bloud, God acknowledgeth vsus for his own, & vponupon speciall priuiledge withdraweth his hand from vsus, so as we bee not comprised nor inclosed vnderunder the common curse of ye whole world. For ye land of Egypt was at that time as an image of all mankind. And in deede, we be al accursed by nature: & good reason it is that God as a iust Iudge should execute his vengeance vponupon vsus.Eph. 2.3. But here the faithfull are dispersed and mingled with the faithlesse. And how then are they discerned asunder, seeing they dwel together? God can well ynough skill to discerne the marke of his sonne. True it is yt the state of our life may well be like ye state of the faithlesse and the despisers of God. But yet howsoeuer we fare, our Lord gathereth vsus continually to himself. Insomuch that if we be of his flock, he wilbe merciful to vsus euē to ye end, conditionally also yt wee beare the bloud of our Lord Iesus Christ for our badge. At yt time the doores of their houses were sprinkled wt a branch of Hysop:Exod. 12.22 1. Pet. 1.2. but as now our besprinkling must bee spirituall, as S. Peter telleth vsus. Would we then yt God should take vsus to merciemercy, when his hand is stretched out to punish all the world? Let vsus vnderstand yt there is no other meane for vsus to bee marked by our lord Iesus christ, than only ye holy Ghost. For his blood is not now a shedding, that we might make an outward and visible sprinkling of our selues with it: but hee hath shead it for vsus in spirite (as the Apostle speaketh of it in the Epistle to the Hebrewes.…ebr. 9.14.) That is to say, it was not the only paine that he suffred in his body, but also the matching of the heauenly power with it, that made the bloud of him to bee our washing and clensing. And when wee hauehave once beene watred with the holy Ghost, then will that bloud be euer fresh and neuer drye. For it is not corruptible, in as much as wee be washed and clensed with it before God.Hebr. 10.20 Therefore let vsus so put the thing in vre which is spoken of by Saint Peter, as it may besprinkle our soules. As how? Euen by taking holde by fayth, of the inestimable benefite which is brought vsus by our Lorde Iesus Christ. And although wee bee full of filth and vncleannesse: yet doth not God faile to take vsus into his fauour, because the bloud that was once shedde for our saluation, is sufficient to wash out all our spots at this day.1. Iohn 1.7. Thus much for one point.
And therefore let vsus rest vponupon this point, that although we seeme in this world to bee wrapped vp in the curse of God with the vnbeleeuers; yet notwithstanding we shall bee preserued from aboue: and that if the Angell could skill to discerne the Iewes which had marked their houses with the corruptible bloud of a brute beaste; it is much more likely that God will at this day know the blood of his own sonne, so as we may be discerned by it, and not hauehave his wrath to fall vponupon vsus. True it is yt we may well suffer some chastisement; for it is good for our soules health. But the end therof will alwaies be good, and God will neuer ceasse to be still mercifull to vsus. That is the first matter which we hauehave to mark as in respect of the former saying, that our Lord Iesus Christ is the fulfilling of the things that were figured in the law, by the offering of the Pascal Lambe.
But let vsus nowe come backe againe to Saint Paules exhortation. Hee sayth that because our Easter lambe is offered vp,1. Cor. 5.8. wee must nowe keepe the feast in eating it, howbeit not with the Leauen of naughtinesse or deceite, but in simplicitie and vprightnesse. Whereas he sayth that our passouer is offered vp, he doth vsus to vnderstand that if we wilbe reconciled to God, we must resorte to the death and passion of his Sonne, and not surmise any other Sacrifice than that,Hebr. 7.24▪ which is the euerlasting, because the vertue thereof can neuer fayle. And it is a point well worth the noting: For it serueth to condemne the abhomination of the Masse which is brought into the Popedome. They be not contented with ye offering vp of Iesus Christ vntounto GOD his Father, and with the one satisfaction which hee hath made to indure for euer: but they beare men in hande that hee is yet sacrificed dayly; whereas Saint Paule telleth vsus that wee must holde vsus to the Redemption that was purchased once for all.
Nowe remayneth that wee eate of this Sacrifice, that is to say, that wee become partakers thereof. As if hee had sayde, there are two thinges in the pascall Lambe: the one was the sprinkling of the Lambes bloud, and the other was the eating of his fleshe roasted. Now in deede it is the sonne of God that hath offred this sacrifice,Hebr. 7.24▪ and that office belongeth to him alone. The spinkling of his blood is made in our hearts by the holy Ghost: for that cannot be attributed to ye cunning of men. We must now become partakers of this Sacrifice: not by eating Iesus christ after a fleshly maner; but S. Paul had an eye to this partaking that is giuen vsus by the Gospel.Eph. 5.30. For we be members of his body, and he knitteth vsus so vntounto him,Iohn 14.19.20. yt looke whatsoeuer he hath, he cōmunicateth ye same vntounto vsus; so as we liue in him & he also in vsus. And for as much as there is no seueraltie between ye sonne of God & ye faithfull: therfore is he our meate. For we be no lesse fed wt his power & his very substāce as in respect of our soules, than our bodies are fed and nourished with bread. Againe, to the intent we should vnderstand that wee hauehave not our sustenance by haulfes in Iesus Christ: he addeth wine also, to shew that hee is our drinke as well as our meate. That is ye thing which S. Paule ment to betoken, in saying yt we must now eat of this Easter lamb: that is to wit, that as now we should so cōmunicate with the sonne of God, as we might be knit vntounto him by the secret and maruelous working of his holy spirite, and he become our foode and nourishment, & we be susteined by the same, bicause we must else needs decay through our own feblenes. And this eating is not for once a yeere; but continually during all the time of our life.
Then let vsus learne, that as long as we be in this world, we must dayly frame our selues to the spirituall fellowship which we hauehave with our Lorde Iesus Christ, and to the confirming of the vnion more and more: for without that, the crucifying of our Lord Iesus Christ will boote vsus nothing at al. He is the redeemer of all the whole world: & yet notwithstanding, what a nomber is there, which reape nothing else by his death but the greater condemnation? And that is bicause they refuse so excellent a benefite, wherby they make themselues vnworthy of it, and exclude themselues quite and cleane from it. But when wee communicate with him by faith; then doe we ratifie the grace that was purchaced for vsus. And therefore let vsus marke, that to bee partakers of the fruite and operation of the death and passion of our Lord Iesus Christ, we must bee linked vntounto him from day to day by faith, profiting and growing still in that holy vnion, vntill wee hauehave the thing wholly and perfectly,Eph. 4.13.15.16. which wee hauehave as yet but in part. After that maner ought we to eate ye sacrifice, to keepe the passeouer wel. And for as much as our faith increaseth according to our profiting in the holy scripture: if we intend to communicate wel wt the sonne of God; eueryevery one of vsus must exercise our selues in the doctrine of the Gospell, and match the same wt prayer, beseeching God yt seeing he hath vouchsafed to call vsus once into his sonnes company, he will maintaine as therein, & neuer suffer vsus to be separated or wtdrawen from it any more. Therefore must we seeke all ye meanes which our Lord hath ordeined, to stablish the communion which we ought to hauehave in our Lord Iesus Christ.
1. Cor. 5.8.Now S. Paule addeth, that we cannot be partakers of ye sonne of God, nor hauehave any acquaintance with him, if we bee dubble minded yt there be any fraude or malice in vsus. Then must we be changed if we wil hauehave Iesus Christ for our sustenance, that is to say, if we will hauehave him to feede vsus with his substance. Certaine it is yt malice and hypocrisie are so rooted in vsus, yt we must be faine to fight much wt them, before we can be rid of thē. S. Paul then sheweth ye faithful there, yt they must be reformed, or else Iesus Christ will cut thē off frō his body. And so although ye hypocrits pretend to seeke Iesus Christ & to sticke throughly to him: yet notwithstanding they hauehave none acquaintance at al wt him. For why? They be things vtterly vnpossible, yt Iesus Christ should dwell in vsus, & yet neuertheles that all maner of deceite & naughtinesse should raigne in vsus. And therefore in stead of absteining from leauened bread as the fathers of old time did in eating of ye pascal lamb vnderunder the law: let vsus marke yt nowadaies God wil hauehave vsus to discharge our selues of all naughtines & guile. And how may yt be? It will not be doone wtout great inforcement: for we of our selues are not steady; but the spirit of our Lord Iesus Christ must be faine to worke after such a sorte wt vsus, as we may be conformable to him in simplicitie & vprightnes. Thus ye see what we hauehave to gather of this exhortation which S. Paule maketh in ye first epistle to the Corinthians.
Now afterward heere followeth the thing that was treated of yesterday,Exod. … namely the eating of ye pascall lamb wt their staues in their hands, their shooes on their feete, & their loynes girded vp. For we cannot hauehave the companie of Iesus christ vnlesse we be as wayfarers in this world,2. Cor. 5.… Hebr. 11… Col. 3.3. to go on forward to seeke our inheritance elsewhere. And S. Paul in the Epistle to ye Colossians saith plainly that our life is hidden wt Christ, and yt we must be as dead men, if we wilbe vnited to the sonne of God. And why? For he is in heauen, & therefore it followeth yt our life ought not to be tyed heere to ye earth. What is to be doone then? If we will hauehave Iesus Christ to auow vsus to bee members of his body, & to quicken vsus by his spirite: we must get vsus out of this world; not yt we should not dwel in it, but yt we shold not be wedded to it. For these two things agree very well, yt gods children shold be cōuersant in this earthly life, & yet neuerthelesse be heires & citizens of ye kingdom of heauē, accordingly as ye Apostle saith to ye Hebrewes,Hebr. 1.… yt God can well find in his hart to take vsus for his children, if we be not tyed to this world, but passe on beyond it. Wherefore let vsus marke, yt to hauehave felowship wt our lord Iesus christ, we must depart out of this world: yt is to say, our earthly affectiōs must not raigne in vsus, we must not be mortized here, we must not bee snarled here: but wee must consider yt seeing God hath set vsus here to make a iourney, yea & short iourney, eueryevery of vsus ought to hie himselfe a pace, & to looke well to the ridding of our selues of ye things yt may hinder vsus frō attaining to ye heauenly life. And we must vnderstand yt if we do so, Iesus Christ wil come vntounto vsus & reach vsus his hand to strengthē vsus, yt we may be able to ouercome all impediments. For it were impossible yt euer we should compasse ye matter, vnlesse we were aided frō aboue. So then, we see now yt a man cannot be partaker of the Pascall Lamb, except he hauehave his loynes girded and his staffe in his hand, yt is to say, vnlesse he be like a wayfarer and that he stay not in this world.
And for the same cause also doth our Lord Iesus Christ warne al his Disciples to hauehave lampes in their hands,Luke. 12.35 & their garments trussed vp, & to be alwaies in a readinesse til he come, & to stand waiting continually for his comming. And as he cōmandeth vsus to hauehave our loynes girded vp, euē so willeth he vsus to hauehave lampes in our hands, to shew yt there is neither night nor day for ye faithfull to make tarience, & therefore yt euen in the middes of darknes we must hauehave light, euen the spirituall light to guide vsus; & that we must hauehave the one foote alwaies lifted vp, to ye intent we be not taken vnawares when he commeth, but yt we hauehave minded our way aforehand, to go stil foreward to meete wt him. Ye see then yt the way to communicate aright wt our Lord Iesus Christ, yt we may bee partakers of the sacrifice which he hath offered: is to make none accoūt of ye world, nor to hauehave any louelove vntounto it, but to seeke ye inheritance yt is aboue, & to cōmunicate so one with another here beneath, as it may bee a meane to make vsus draw the neerer vntounto God. And so wee see yt although ye figures of ye law continue not any longer; yet the truth of them abideth with vsus, and it behoueth vsus to put the same in vre.
And hereby we be yet better informed of the thing yt I hauehave touched already: which is that the profit which redoundeth to vsus by ye death & passion of our Lorde Iesus Christ, is much better knowen & beautifullier seene of vsus, by laying it to the auncient figure, & by considering how ye things yt were set forth darkly at yt time, are nowe fulfilled to ye sight of the eye. And like as it behoueth vsus to communicate with our Lorde Iesus Christ; so let vsus mark also yt God giueth vsus a help euen at this day in ye Sacrament of ye Lordes supper, bicause of our rudenes & infirmitie. True it is (as I hauehave touched alreadie) yt our communicating with our Lord Iesus Christ must not bee only a thrise or foure times a yeere, but continually all our life long. Yet notwithstāding we hauehave neede to be quickened vp, bicause we come not to it with such strength as were requisite. Therefore like as ye fathers of old time had the Pascall Lamb: so hath ye sonne of God left vsus his supper to be a helpe to vsus to guide vsus vntounto him. Will we then be partakers of ye supper of our Lorde Iesus Christ? Let vsus vnderstand yt according as I hauehave auouched before, wee must rid our selues of all malice & guile, & forsake the world. True it is yt the Hyporcrits do thrust themselues in among ye faithfull, & come to defile the table of ye sonne of God: but what carie they thēce but vtter cursednes? Therefore let vsus keepe our selues frō being guiltie of such a treacherie, & consider that if it behoued a man to be circumcised in olde time ere he might eate of the Pascal Lamb:…od. 12.44 it behooueth vsus also at this day to be separated to the seruice of our God, & to be first made holy. And we know yt we ought to be circumcised euen at this day; howbeit not by mans hand, but by inwarde reformation of minde, accordingly as S. Paule saith therof in the second Chapter to ye Colossians,…. ….11. yt whatsoeuer is of our flesh must bee cut off: for there is nothing in it but sinne & corruption. Now thē, yt we may come to ye holy supper of our Lord Iesus Christ, & hauehave there ye warrant which he giueth vsus yt we be members of his body: let vsus looke yt we circumcise our hearts. For the figure is abolished: but yet hauehave wee the accomplishment of all things in our Lord Iesus Christ.
Moreouer, let vsus come to ye chief point: which is yt our Lord Iesus Christ is named our Passouer. For by him must we be deliuered, not out of the land of Egypt, but out of the dungeons of death; and we must passe a passage that were vnpossible for vsus, if God drew vsus not with his owne hand, & by his own wonderfull power. For we be al borne the children of wrath, and we should rot in our miserie, if god pitied vsus not, & reached vsus not his hand. And that man beguileth himselfe which thinketh himselfe able to leape out of the myre wherin he is plunged. It is the office of our Lord Iesus Christ to draw vsus out frō thence, according to this saying of S. Iohns in his viii. chapter,Iohn 8.36. If ye sonne of god make you free, thē shal you be free. Wherby he sheweth vsus, that euen from our very comming out of our mothers wombes, we be in ye cursed thraldom of sin, & death, & shold continue therin vntounto the end, if we were not set free from it by him which not without cause hath taken vponupon him the title of passouer, to shew yt it is his office to set vsus free, as I said afore. And heereby we must learn to presume nothing of our selues. but to consider that we must think our selues beholden to the sonne of god for all things, that he may bee magnified, & all those diuelish opinions of free will & of power & ability to prepare our selues to doe good, beaten downe; so as we may know yt as long as God suffereth vsus to follow our owne swindge, we shall alwayes abide fast tyed in the chaines of the diuel & of death. And therfore let vsus yeeld our lord Iesus Christ his dew honour, which is yt we acknowledge him to bee the partie which hath set vsus free.
And herewtall let vsus marke further, yt when we bee graffed into his body, it is not for vsus to serue sin.Rom. 6.5.6. For, to be graffed into the body of our Lord Iesus Christ, & yet notwithstanding to serue Sathan, are two things as contrary as fire and water. Nowe then if wee intend not to disfeate the power of the sonne of God, & to bereaue him of his office: we must be in liberty to serue god. And let vsus not think yt he ment to beguile vsus, in telling vsus that that office belōgeth vntounto him. But it becommeth vsus on our part to offer our selues vntounto him, & not to maintain willingly the cursed bondage wherin we be. For the very cause why men perish therin, is that they sooth themselues and fall asleepe in it, and come not frankly to Iesus Christ. Now then let vsus note yt ye true mark of our Christendom; is yt we be in freedom to do good, & yt we hauehave a pure & free wil to dedicate our selues to god. Not that we can do it perfectly so long as we be in this world, (for we see how S. Paul, who) had profited far aboue a nomber of other men,Rom 7.14.23. mourneth and confesseth that he is stil held as a captiue in part:) but for yt the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ must neuerthelesse worke so farre in vsus, as wee may not bee held quite backe by these worldly things. But let vsus marke yt our Lord Iesus Christ hath not only drawē vsus out of ye gulfe of death, but also will hauehave vsus dayly to passe further. And forasmuch as we be not quite & cleane rid of this bondage of sinne: this passing on must continue still. What is al our life then? It is a continuall holding on to attaine to ye full and perfect freedome which God hath promised to his children. And yt is ye cause why I sayd yt it behooued vsus to eate the Pascall Lamb eueryevery day. For Iesus Christ is not our euerlasting Passouer, for yt he is sacrificed eueryevery day: but for yt we doe daily take benefit by him, & for that he maketh ye vertue of his sacrifice continually auailable by his holy spirit. Notwithstanding, howsoeuer ye case go, yet must we still keepe on foreward, vntill we bee taken out of this world.
This doctrine ought to be very common, yea and when it is preached, eueryevery man will thinke he knowes it wellynough: but in the meane while where is ye practise thereof? Where is the sayd freeheartednes to shewe by our deedes that our Lord hath broken the bondes of Satan, so as we serue not sinne any more? Where is yt earnestnes of minde to proceede more & more vntil we be gone quite & cleane out of the world? And yet must we exersice this doctrine, & put it in vre, if we wil be acknowledged for mēbers of our Lord Iesus Christ. But we cannot hauehave him to bee our Redeemer, except he hauehave alwayes ye saide title of Passeouer. And that is in respect of vsus: for he hath made his passage, by comming downe into the world & by reconciling men to God his father,1. Tim. 3.16 & by being receiued vp againe into his glorie and Maiestie. Therfore there must not be any more chaunge in Iesus Christ. But we on our side must be made perfect in him: and as soone as he calleth vsus to be of his body, we must begin to depart out of ye dungeons of sin, from whence we must withdraw our selues euer more & more, and still trauell to attaine to the heauenly righteousnes. To be short, let vsus note that a Christian may well perceiue whether hee hauehave profited in the Gospell or no, by examining whether hee be withdrawen from the worlde or no, and whether he be ready and weldisposed to depart from it as oft as it shall please God to pull him away from it, so as his heart be not tyed to it as long as he is heere beneath (For looke where our treasure is,Matt. 6.21. there is also our heart with it) but that seeing Iesus Christ is our full life and felicitie, we alwaies tend to himward, & euer hauehave our mindes lifted vp on high.
And let vsus marke further, that to keepe the passeouer aright at this day, it behoueth vsus to be vnited together, accordingly as we see how God hath giuen a strait commaundement thereof in this place, where he saith it is not Lawfull to eate the pascall Lambe in any other of the Cities or towns of the contrey, but yt they ought to assemble together to the Temple. Which thing I hauehave told you heeretofore, was doone to preserue the religion in his purenes. Will we then nowadaies be partakers of our Lord Iesus Christ? Let vsus agree together that there may be a true brotherhood among vsus. For if we bee at ods among our selues like dogs & cats, Iesus Christ must needes disclaime & disauow vsus. And therefore let vsus not imagine our selues to be vnited to Iesus Christ, except there be good agreement and brotherly louelove among vsus. And wherein must that be? We may not conspire together as the wicked doe; for they make confederacies and ioyne hands together to make warre against God. Cursed be such vnion: it behooueth vsus to bee farre off from such dealing. Nay, we must resorte to the temple of God. And although we hauehave not now a material temple as the Iewes had then in Ierusalem; (for our meeting togither is for common orders sake, and not after the manner of the Iewes, who had a place certaine appointed out to thē:) although (say I) we hauehave not the like figure; yet must we walke as in the presence of our God,Eph. 4.13 … Iohn 17.11 we must be ruled by his word, we must hauehave one melody of faith to praise God as it were with one mouth, & we must shew our selues truly to be al one in him Thus ye see how wee must be gathered together to Gods Church, if we will bee partakers of our Lord Iesus Christ.
And herein we see, yt these scorners which turn away from ye order of ye church, exclude thēselues from al hope of the heauenly life. They can say wel ynough yt their intent is to be Christians: but yet for al yt, inasmuch as they forsake y• vnitie of faith, yea & euen fight against it by despising all order: is it not to be concluded, yt they cannot be partakers of the Pascall Lambe, at leastwise after ye true maner thereof which we hauehave nowadaies? Let vsus marke well then, yt to be partakers of our Lord Iesus Christ, we must not be only vnited in ye doctrine of ye gospel: but we must also make confession of our faith, in assembling all togither as though God were present with vsus.Matt. ….2… And truely we know how it is promised vsus, yt where two or three are gathered togither in ye name of Iesus Christ, he will beare rule there, & be present among thē. And therfore let vsus hauehave a diligent regard of resorting vntounto Sermons. And therwithal, let vsus vse ye Sacrament of the Lords supper, yt we may aske one another what is ment by it. For in the xii. of Exodus our Lord sheweth vsus full well,Exod. 1….… yt wee must profit in his schoole, to be partakers of ye Pascall Lambe. If thy sonne aske thee what this act of ours betokeneth: Thou shalt answere, wee were bondslaues in ye land of Egypt, & God pitied vsus. Thus ye see what we hauehave to doe at this day, not for ye eating of a rosted Lambe: but to be made partakers of our Lorde Iesus Christ in spirit and truth. Wee must inquire diligently to know ye benefits which our Lord Iesus Christ hath brought vsus. And herein is our negligence bewrayed. For it is ynough for vsus to heare Iesus Christ spoken of: yea & there are a great sort which hauehave not the skil to discerne the father from the sonne: They know not whether Iesus Christ were sent by God his father or no: insomuch yt now & then a man shall finde more beastlines in those yt hauehave their eares dayly beaten wt the Gospel, than among ye Papists. Nay it is to bee openly seene. Why then come we to Sermōs, but to be taught? Nay, there are a nōber which fulfil ye prouerb yt saith, a foole doubteth of nothing. And they yt hauehave most need to learne, think themselues to know most, & that they need not to opē their mouths to ask which is Gods truth. But as for vsus, let vsus inquire. And for yt doing thereof let vsus marke, yt it behoueth vsus to liue soberly, for if we got to worke proudly & presumptuously as a nōber do which think thēselues so great clerks (as I hauehave said) yt no man cā teach thē any more than they know alreadie: wee shall be ful enough, yea euē till we burst: but it shalbe but with wind, & we shalbe voyde of all light of life. But if wee can finde in our heartes to bee taught of God: we must bee learners, that is to say, lowliminded: and we must vnderstand that we hauehave neede to proceede further. And truely the verie vse of the Lordes supper ought to put vsus in minde, that our cōming thither ought not to be without instruction. For (as I declared yesterday) a sacrament without teaching & instruction, is a deade thing, and a mocking of God, and a defiling of the thing it selfe. Therefore as oft as wee come to the supper, let it bee awakening of vsus, to make vsus inquire of ye things that we know not sufficiently before though we hauehave had some tast of them. And truely if it be not lawful to admit young children to the Lords supper, vntill they knowe what is meant by that Sacrament, and wherefore it was ordeyned: shoulde such as hauehave liued a fortie and threescore yeares come to it like dogges or swine? And yet we see they doe so: and woe be to them for it. So then let the visible signe which our lord hath ordeyned be a meane to spurre vsus forwarde the more, that wee may seeke to profite more and more in the knowing of Iesus Christ, specially seeing we be no more troubled nowadayes with resorting to a place which God hath appointed. For wee hauehave Iesus Christ who is Gods temple,… 3.11. and hee is not shut vp within any certaine place, but filleth both heauen and earth, with his power. True it is that in the nature of man wherewith he clothed himselfe, he is gone vp into heauen: and yet for all that, hee ceaseth not to dwell here in vsus, So then we must go to Ierusalem, we neede not to goe on pilgrimage, but only to make our repaire to the son of God, and we shall finde in him the whole fulnesse and perfection of the Godhead.Coloss. 2.9. … ….9. Matt. 28.20 Col. 2.6. Neuerthelesse wee must marke well also, that forasmuch as the fathers of olde time had not the thinges that are giuen vsus at this time, it shal be to our sorer condemnation, if they hauehave beene diligenter than we in exercysing ye figures & shadowes, and that we nowadayes be lasie and colde, so as the substance be put into our handes, and yet we make no reckening of it. The Iewes were faine to resort to the Temple of Ierusalem, leauing their houses and householdes. And their wiues and childrē were faine to come trotting thither, with great trauell and not without charges. And why? You shall resort to the place which the Lorde shall hauehave chosen to set his name in. He saith not to dwel there throughout, but to shewe his presence in such wise, as it may be knowen that we bee vnited to our God, not onelyonly by figures and shadowes, but also by his dwelling among vsus. As nowe there is not any one place which God hath chosen to put his name in, that hee might bee called vppon alonely there: but wee hauehave God manifested in the flesh. For what is Iesus Christ? Euen so is he intitled by Saint Paul.1. Tim. 3.16. Seeing then that hee calleth vsus to himselfe, and that we neede not to make any long circuites to finde him, but rather that he preuenteth vsus, and that all his desire is to drawe vsus to God his father: shoulde we nowe be lasie and colde? What excuse wil there be for vsus, when the Iewes tooke such paine hauing but ye first principles like yong childrens Apsies, and yt we nowadayes being brought to the full perfection, doe fare neuer the better by it, or at leastwise it standeth vsus not in so much steade, as the auncient figures stood the Iewes vnderunder the law. Thus ye see what we hauehave to remember vppon this text, where it is saide that they resorted to the place which the Lord had chosen.
Now finally for a conclusion, Moses telleth them that there should bee no Leauened breade in all their borders during those dayes: and secondly that on the day of the passouer, they should keep as great solemnitie as on the Sabboth day. And hereby he sheweth that it is not enough for vsus to absteyne from fraude and malice, but that we must labor to the vtterm oft we can, to put away al filth frō among vsus. For if I alledge, that as for my selfe I will bee no hypocrite, and in the meane time doe suffer stumbling blockes in the Church, yea or mainteyne them: I must not thinke my selfe therefore discharged. It is saide, There shall no leauen bee seene in thy coastes. As if he had said, Euerie man must hauehave an eye to himselfe and to his house, yt ye be not defiled in any thing that may hinder you to eat of the pascall Lambe in all purenesse. Therefore beginne at your selues and at your owne householdes. But yet therewithall bee so watchfull also, as there may be no corruptiō in al ye rest of the people. Wherfore let vsus hauehave an eie nowadaies to the wel practising of this doctrine, and let euerie man looke narrowly to himselfe. And afterwarde let such as hauehave householdes to gouerne, looke to the purging away of all filth and vncleannesse. And then generally, if there be any stumbling blockes among vsus, which may put thinges out of order: let vsus all looke to the reproouing of them out of hande. And aboue all thinges let vsus assure our selues, that to bee partakers of Iesus Christ in true purenesse, wee must begin at the cleansing of our selues, yt God may gouerne vsus, and that our passeouer may be kept in spirit and trueth, by casting ourselues vtterly downe, and by yeelding to forbeare all our owne thoughtes and affections, so as wee may keepe a spirituall Sabboth, not for one day onelyonly (as I said afore,) but yt we may continue therein during all the time of our life.
Now let vsus kneele downe before the Maiestie of our good God with acknowledgement of our faults, praying him to make vsus to feele thē better than we hauehave done, that they may so mislike vsus from day to day, as eueryevery of vsus may inforce himselfe to repaire vntounto him, and to frame ourselues in such sort to his righteousnes, as all our whole life may bee ordered, &c. And so let vsus all say, Almightie God heauenly father, &c.