death he hath ouercome the deuell and all thyne enemyes and myne and when he made an ende he said Consummatum est nowe all finyshed He hath done all those thinges that I requyred at thy handes to haue done Despaire not therefore comforte thy selfe wyth thys death of my sonne Trust that this death and bloudsheding is a sufficient ransom and recompence for thy sinnes Comfort thy hungry stomake with this restoretish dishe whiche may so be well called for that it hath restored the all suche as beleue in hym agayne into my fauor Whosoeuer comforteth his hungry soule with this dishe shall haue remission of all hys synnes Whosoeuer feedeth with a sure fayth and eat thereof hartyly not doutinge but that Christ is sufficient to saue his soule that Christe is sufficiente to slaake hys hunger and to quenche his thurst he shall not nede of any other dyshes diuised by men to feed vpon but he shall be suer that the death and bloudshedinge of myne only begotten sonne is sufficient to comfort his penitent hungry soule so that it shall not be famishid it shal not sterue nor peryshe but haue lyfe euerlasting This is the ioyfull tydynges the comfortable doctrine the sede of goddes most holye worde most noble audience which hath bene so longe troden and cast away vnder neth the fote of the people This is the lost seed which when it was sowen woulde not this manye yeares enter into the hartes and vnderstandinges of men But here I moste humbly desier you to note that it is not meant by these wordes eatinge of Christes flesh and drynkynge of hys bloude and feding vpon Christe that ye should so feed of Christe as ye woulde feed of a pece of motton a pece of beefe or a pece of venson For that kynd of cating profetteth nothing at al. Caro non prodest quicquam The fleshe profeteth nothynge at all Thys grosse kynde of feedinge vpon Christe profeteth nothing at all But it is ment that euen as ye comfort your earthly and corruptible body with bread and meat when it is hungry and with ale bere or wyne when it is thurstye Euen so doeth the soule of man when the lawe sheweth to her her faultes and eternal damnation and the dredfull iudgementes of God for her offenses comforte her selfe in her greate hunger and thurste beleuynge that almightye God hath forgeuen her synnes for Christes sake So that where as before she was hungry and comfortles and afraied of eternall dampnation Now is she fed and comforted with thassuerance that her synnes be forgeuen her of god for Christes sake her sauiour It is an vnreuerente and an vngodly opinion and voyd of all Godlye religion to saye or thynke that we muste eate and chame with our corporall teeth or that we muste swallow with our corporal throte Christes blessed fleshe and bones after so grosse a sorte as we eat other kyndes of meat Yea and it is a thynge abhorred of nature that mannes should feede of mans fleshe hyde thesame fleshe of man in pastes or culles or by any meanes otherwyse neuer so conningly Man detesteth and abhorreth to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say a man eater The Centuryon of a relygyouse mynde and of a godly feare thoughte hym selfe vnworthye that oure sauioure Christ shoulde enter into hys house saiynge Non sum idoneus ut tectum meum subeas And S. Peter in the .v. of Luke had a certeyne relygyouse a godly feare to come nighe to Christ and sayed vnto him Discede a me Domine quia homo peccator sum Departe from me O lorde for I am a synnar Euen so all suche as haue any Iote of Godly religyon in ther hartes shoulde be ashamed once to desyer to bruse with there teeth to eate raw and to swallowe the fleshe bloud and bones of oure sauyoure Christe euen as it was borne of the blessed vyrgyne Mary S. Austen wytnesseth that the Capernaites toke our Sauiour Christe after that sort when he sayd Nisi quis manducauerit meam carnem biberit meum sanguinem non habebit uitam eternam Onles a man eate my flesh and drinke my bloude he shall not haue euerlastyng lyfe They toke him saieth he grosly as it appeareth by ther question that they demaunded immediatly saiynge How can this fellow geue vs his fleshe to eat Is not he the sonne of Ioseph Thys grosse opinion of thers Saint Austen calleth heresye as it is a playne heresye in dede to say that we must eat of necessitie Christ after such a grosse sort They thought that Christ had offered hys bodye to be eaten as fleshe that hangeth in the bucherye so that the fleshe of his armes and sydes that stode there before them shoulde be chewed and swallowed of them But sayth Saint Austen that was not hys meaninge For that kynde of eatinge of Christes fleshe profeteth nothyng at all Caro non prodest quicquam But that they whych were made sorowfull and hungrye by the terror of the law shuld be fed and comfortedwith the death of his fleshe and wyth his blessed bloudshedynge And he that feedeth not hys soule after this sort wyth Christes fleshe and bloude is not alyue in Christe but he is in desperation Manet in morte He dwelleth in death yea beynge alyue in thys worlde he hath a taste of hell because hys conscyence is comfortles and the worme byteth him cōtinually so that he hath deuell in his conscience And he is alltogether comfortles because there is none other meet comfort that can comfort oure soules but onely the cōfort that we haue by Christ. And whosoeuer eateth thys fleshe and drinketh this bloud wyth y e mouth of belefe that thys very fleshe of Christ was put to death for him and this very bloud was once shed for him He shall haue euerlasting life and the lord will raise him againe at the latter day And he had a tast of the kingdome of God euen beyng alyue He hath peace and quyetnes in his conscyence Whyche is Gaudium pax in spiritum sanctum And thys kind of eatinge is called of learned men an of Christe Spiritualiter that is to say a comfortinge with oure soules wyth Christ spiritually And as oft as we comforte oure soules of thys sorte we haue a sure knowledge and a felinge that the wrath of god the father against vs is pacyfyed and so be we of oure for more hunger eased There is another kinde of eatinge of Christes body and drinkinge of his bloud that is called eatinge and drinking Sacramentaliter Sacramentally And we eate Christ on this fashion as oft as we Ioyne the outward signes of breade and wyne that is to say the sacrament of the holy communion wyth oure fayth and inward belefe receauing a visible testimony of our inwarde belefe in the face of the congregacion And if it chaunce any man to receaue this outward pledge and testimony of
¶ A notable Sermon concerninge the ryght vse of the lordes supper and other thynges very profitable for all men to knowe preached before the Kynges most excellent Mayestye and hys most honorable counsel in hys courte at Westmynster the 14. daye of Marche by Mayster Iohn ponet Doctor of dyuinity 1550. Matth. 11. Come vnto me all ye that laboure and are laden and I wyll refreshe you They be to be solde in Paules churche-yard next the great Schole at the signe of the sprede Egle. ¶ A notable Sermon concernynge the ryghte vse of the Lordes supper and other thynges very profytable for all men to knowe Preached before the kynges most excellent May-stye and hys most honorable counsel in hys court at Westmynster the .xiiij. daye of Marche by Mayster Iohn Ponet Doctor of Diuynytye 1550. Math. xiii Alia quidem cecideruntiuxta uiam Some fell by the wayes side IN my laste sermō moste noble audience enteringe thys pece of the parable wheras our Sauiour Christ saith y e sume of the sede fell by the waies syde I promised y e declaraciō of fower thinges First what was ment by this worde waye Secondarely what it was that hath so hardened that thing which is fygured by this word way Thirdly what seede it is that hath bene lost in this way And fourthly what byrdes they be and what men they be that hath deuowerid trodē thesame seede Of the two first pointes I saied somwhat my mynde the last tyme whan I was in this place And I am come at this presēt to perfourme my promes touchyng the two latter pointes Wherof the first is touchyng what seede it is that hath bene lost in this way For declaraciō whereof ye shall vnderstande that it is the doctrine of the heuenly banket wher w t our heauenly father fedeth all his elect and chosen people wyth the verye bodye and bloud of hys sonne our Sauioure Iesus Christ which doctryne is so necessary that without the comfort thereof it is impossyble y t any man shoulde be sauid It is not ynough for a man to haue a knowledge of thys doctryne but also so many as shalbe sauyd must haue a practyse and a lyuely felynge of it in hys harte and a pleasaunt tast of the swetnes of this heuenly comfort The scripture sayth not that he whych knoweth the doctryne of eatynge of Christes flesh and drynkyng of hys bloude shalbe sauyd but it sayth Nisi ederitis et biberitis that is onles ye haue y e acte of eatyng of Christes fleshe of drynkinge his bloude Non habetis uitam in uobis Ye haue no lyfe in you So y t here is not only a knowledge an vnderstandinge but also an acte a worke required at euery mans hand Forasmuch therefore as it standeth vpon euery mans saluacion dampnaciō euerlastingly to haue or lacke y e inward felyng of this comfort it is very expedient necessarye that all suche as be called to thys offyce of preaching goddes most holy word should instruct leade euery man into the trew knowlege thereof especially for y t it is a doctrine whiche hath not ben receaued but ben a loste cast away sede vpon y e most sortes of people thus many yeres Therfore for declaracion of this doctrine of the heauenly banket ye shall vnderstande that it is our heauenly father whiche make the this heauenly banket as it appeareth by the parable in the 22. of Mat. and the 14. of Luc. And so so desirouse he is to haue all men come and fede vpon thys banket that after his preparacion of all thinges in a readines he sendeth fourth his seruaūtes to bydde not some mē only but al mē to come to hys feast And euē as ther is no liberal harted gentelman y t maketh a feast but he is desirous y e his gestes should haue a lusting gredy hungry stomake Euen so our heuenly father is desierouse that al men which are bydden to thys feast shuld haue hungringe thurstinge stomakes But here ye muste note y t as this bāket whervnto our heuēly father byddeth vs is a banket for our soule not for our body euen so must thys hungrynge thursting be hunger and thurste of the soule and not of the bodye Wherefore it is conuenyente that fyrst and foremost I declare vnto you how the soule of mā is made hungry thursty also when it is hungry thurstye Whiche lesson shall geue a great lyght to all the rest of our purpose For declaration whereof ye shall vnderstande that the soule of man is made hungry and thurstye by the meanes and workyng of the law and that after thys sorte as I shal declare vnto you The law worketh foure thynges for and in the soule of man Fyrst and formost the law maketh the soule of man knowe and see her offences and synnes committyd and done againste the mayestye of almighty god And it sheweth them as lyuely to the eye of the soule as a glasse sheweth the spotes and markes of mans face vnto hys bodylye eye And if the lawe did not shewe to our soules oure synnes after thys sort we should not know that we be synners as Saint Paule witnesseth to the Romayns Peccatum non cognouissem nisi per legē I had not knowen synne but by the law Therfore is thys one office and worke of the lawe to make mans soule knowe here offences The seconde thynge that the law worketh for the soule of mā is that it sheweth vnto mā goddes displeasure goddes punishement for synne euerlastinge death hell fyer for her offences Stipendium peccati mors y e reward of syn is death The third office worke of the law is to make man dispaire quiet of hym selfe For when the law of God hath geuen thus muche knouledge to the soule of mā then doth mās soule begyn to dispaire and to thinke verely that there is no way with her but one which is euerlasting damnacion Now when mans soule seeth her self in such great daunger then is man in a wonderfull agony and sorow quiet out of all comfort and is driuē to seeke som other meanes for helpe then at the hādes of the law whiche sheweth no mercy but extreme punishment And for this forssyng that the lawe straineth man with al the law is called pedagogus ad christū a sholemaster whiche teacheth man to goo to christ for helpe this is the fourth office of the lawe but all men cannot by by se christ in this agony mās nature is so naturally by reason blinded y e first man seketh all other means for helpe and comfort before it seke for the true and right helpe For declaracion whereof ye shall vnderstande that when mannes soule seeth her selfe in suche daunger first and formost peraduenture man will fall to abstinence frō this or that kynde of meate and once or twice a weeke
possesse and inhabit yf they be brought vp in popry they wil alter marre as muche in one yere as your grace shal make and amend in forty The good educacion of them in trew religion shall be a fortresse to all your graces most godly procedynges The euel deducacion of that brood of England in popry and supersticion shall inconclusion be an ouerthrow to all your graces most godly procedynges Wherfor for Gods loue and the welth of this your realme moost noble prince I wishe that they should be remembred The stewardes of the courtes abrode in the contrey hange vpon the sleues of the iudges and iustices of the peace and other gentelmen in the countrey So that they dare doe none other but as they see and here there elders and chefe capitayns in the lawe doe before them And as the stewardes of courtes lerne ther lesson at the sessions so doth the popyshe prest at the Synod When he getteth once a poer symple man in the contrey vnder his benedicite O lord what stuf he whistelleth in to his eare ther lacketh no treadword talk I wil warrant you he hath all in a redines and more to He wanteh none of these communicacions wherby the simple peopell be seduced when thys confessioner hath hym ther vpon his knees he handleth him as him lystith maketh him beleue that the laynge of his hand vpon his hed is a sufficient recompence for his sinnes Yea and they bere the poer man in hand that that laynge of his hand vpon their hed is ther quytaunce Oh pestylent generacion What shall I say by the throtes of these people Forsote I wyl say as the prophet Dauid sayth as Saint Paule recyteth Ro. 3. Sepulchrum apertum est guttur eorū linguis suis ad dolū usi sunt uenenum aspidum sub labijs eorum Quorum os execracione amaerulentia plenum est ueloces pedes eorum ad effundendum sanguinem Contritio calamitas in uijs eorū uiam pacis non cognouerunt non est timor dei ante oculos eorum The throte of suche slanderouse talkers of such iudges iustices byshopes and ther officers of suche Scholemaysters stuerdes confessioners and so forth Ther throt I say is an open sepulcher They haue vsed there tonges to disceyt the poyson of serpentes is vnderneth ther lyppes Their mouth is full of cursinge and bitternes ther feet are swyft to shed blud They are very wretches in ther doynges they know not the way of peace the feare of god is not before their eyes These be they that tread downe the good seed of gods most holy woorde with their talke through out this realme moost noble prince Some also tread this sead down with ther vnamended lyfe For when they be told and cryed out vpon for ther adultery they lyue in adultery styll when they be cryed out vpon for ther popery they be popishe styll When they be cryed out vpon for their extorsion and oppression of the poore they contynewe in ther extorsion and oppression styll Whan they be cryed out vpon for there disobedience they norishe rebelliouse hartes in there brestes styll When they be cryed out vpon for their slanderose tonges they leaue not ther slander their blasphemy These be they that tread the sead of Gods moost holy word vnderneth their feet wyth ther vnamended lyfe I beseche almyghtie God amend all our talkes and lyues that the seed of his moost holy woord be not cast away vpon vs as the seed whiche is cast by the wayes syde is lost deuowred and cast away troden and destroyed wyth the burds of the ayer and the feet of the people That almyghty God may be glorifyed with the Godlynes of our talke and with the amendement of our lyues vnto whom be all honor glory world without ende Amen A prayer agaynst the pope and Turkes whiche be the mortall enemies of Christ hys word and hys churche HEuenly father full well haue we deserued to be corrected of the. But correcte vs Lorde thy selfe accordinge to thy mercy and not after thy fury It is better for vs to geue oure selues into the correction of thy handes than into the handes of men which be the enemyes of thy worde as Dauid prayed also For great is thy mercy We haue synned against the haue transgressed thy commaundementes But thou God almighty father knowest that we haue not synned agaynst the deuill Pope or Turkes And y t they also haue no authoritie nor power vs to correct Howe be it thou canst and mayest vse thē as thy fearful scourge against vs which against the haue offended deserued all michief Yea deare God heauenly father we haue done no synne agaynst them wherefore they might lawfully punish vs. but much rather would they that we with them most abhominablye shoulde synne agaynst the. For they regarde it not if wee to the were disobediente blasphemed the vsed all maner of Idolatry as they do and went about with false doctrine false fayth and with lyes and committed against the aduoutry vnclenlynes murther thefte robbery Sorcery and al maner of euil But this is our trespasse against them that we preache beleue and knowledge the God the father to be the onely true God and thy wellbeloued sonne our Lorde Iesus Christ the holy ghost to be one onely God yea this is the sinne that we committ against them but if we shoulde denye the then should the deuill worlde pope and Turke fulwel leaue vs in rest according to the saynge of thy deare Sonne if ye were of the world the worlde wold loue her sone c. Here shewe thy mercye O mercifull father ouer vs and earnest iudge ouer our enemies for they are more thine enemyes then ours Because that when they persecute stryke vs then do they persecute and stryke thy for the word which we preache beleue and knowledge is not oures but thyne and the worcke of thy holye ghost in vs. The deuill will not suffre suche thinges but in steade of the he wyl be our god in stede of thy word he wil stablishe lyes in vs. The Turke wyll sett hys Marchometh in the rowme of thy deare sonne Iesus Christ For he speaketh euyl of him and sayth That he is no ryght God and that hys Machomet is hyer and better then he If it be synne that we hold knowledge and boast and father and the Sonne and the holy ghost for the true onely God Then arte thou the synner thy selfe whiche workest this in vs and commaundest vs to do it Therfore do they hate stryke and correcte thy selfe when they for such matters do hate stryke or punyshe vs. Wherefore awake O Lorde God and sanctyfye thy name whome they blaspheme strengthen thy kyngdome whyche they distourbe in vs and lette thy wyll be done whyche they wyll quenche in vs and suffer not thy selfe so to be troaden vnder fete for oure synnes sake of them that doo not correcte ouresynnes in vs but woulde quenche in vs thy holy worde name and worcke to thyntent that thou shouldeste be no God and haue no people to preache bileue and knowledge the. Uouchesafe O Lorde gratyouslye to heare thys our peticion do according to oure beleue and truste By the deare Sonne our Lord Iesus Christ which lyueth and raigneth with the and the holye ghoste worlde wythout ende Amen Imprynted at London for Gwalter Lynne dwellynge on Somers Kaye by Byllynges gate In the yeare of oure Lord. 1550. ¶ And they be to be solde in Paules churche yarde nexte the great Schole at the signe of the sprede Egie Cum priuilegio ad Imprimendum solum Matthe xiij a. Marce. iij. a. Luke viij a. Ioh. vi Matthe xxij a. Luke xiiij b. Apoca. xix b. Nota. Ro. iij. b vij Gal. iij. Heb. vij i. Co. xiij Iac. i. c. Ro vij b Ro. v. b. vi c. Deut. xxvij c. xxviij b. Ie. xi a. Gal. iij. Ro. vij Mat. v. i. Reg. xxviij i. Ioh. i. Psal. xiij Ioh. vii Mat. v. Luk. vi Mat. v. Amos. viij Esai lv Eccls. lv Luk. i. v 〈…〉 Ioh. vij Apo. xxi Ioh. iiii God the father speaketh to the solue of man Phil. i Oze xill i. Cor. xv Ioh. xix Nota. Ioh. vi mat viij Luk. v Ioh. vi Ioh. iii. v. xi Ioh. vi Ro. xiij i. Cor. xi Act. iij. Epla ad Dardanum lvij Io. xxi Act. x. August tract L. in Io. de uerbis apostoli sermone xv Ambro. 1. Cor. x. Psal. 1. a Iere. xvii Ioh. xv Mat. xxi Mat. xx Luc. xiii Libro l. dist xi Act. xvij Ioh. iiij Rom. iij Psal. v. Eccli ij Dan. xiij Susan v ij Regū xxiiij Ioh. xv Gen. iij. Ioh. viij Mat. vi Luk. xi Ps. iiij v xvij