ye are saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast 2 Tim. 1. 9. Who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began Tit. 3. 5. Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us c. And many more you will meet with in reading but by these few you may judge how available our works even the very best we can do are to salvation Before I leave this Point I presume it will not be impertinent if I add something in this Place touching Justification by Faith In which for brevity sake I shall do little more than set down the most pertinent Texts of Scripture and leave the rest to your Ingenuity And in the first place Gen. 15. 6. Abraham believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for righteousness Habak 2. 4. Behold his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him but the just shall live by his Faith. Joh. 1. 12. But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name And Chap. 3. 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life When our Saviour went to raise the Ruler of the Synagogue's Daughter he bid him only believe Mark 5. 36. Acts 10. 23. To him give all the Prophets witness That through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins And Chap. 16. 31. When the Keeper of the Prison wherein Paul and Silas were asked them What he should do to be saved their Answer was Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house Rom. 3. 23. For we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God To declare I say at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus Where is boasting then it is excluded By what law of works Nay but by the law of Faith therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law If you consider this Quotation throughly you will find it as compleat to the purpose as can be desired However I 'll present you with a few more Rom. 4. 1. What shall we say then that Abraham our father as pertaining to the flesh hath found no for if Abraham were justified by works he hath whereof to glory but not before God for what say the Scriptures Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness And to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his faith is counted for righteousness Where by the way the Word ungodly in this Text must not be taken to mean Impenitent Sinners for they as such can have no Right to Justification but as no man is Upright in the Sight of God he is said in the Best of Men to justifie ungodly freely by his grace in the foregoing Chapter Verse 23 24. So that this makes doubly for my Purpose shewing first That Justification comes by Faith and also That those that are Justified being Sinners before God cannot with Reason boast of the Merit of Works Rom. 5. 1. Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And Chap. 10. 8. The word is nigh thee in thy mouth and in thy heart that is the word of faith which we preach That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved Gal. 2. 16. 21. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified I do not frustrate the grace of God for if righteousness come by the law then Christ is dead in vain And Chap. 3. 11. And the Scripture foreseeing that God would Justifie the Heathen through Faith preached before the Gospel unto Abraham saying In thee shall all nations be blessed But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God it is evident for the just shall live by faith For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth any thing but faith which worketh by love Let that Text. Eph. 2. 8. above cited summ up all For by grace ye are saved through faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast Neither have I been at all this Pains from a solifidian Principle to endeavour to seclude Good Works from being the Fruits of a lively Faith For so I should frustrate the Grace of God. And I presume Madam you know my Opinion better than to think so my Intent was only to shew How Erronious it is to suppose Merit from Works especially according to the Doctrin of the Church of Rome That Men may Merit for themselves and others To conclude this Point give me leave to present to your Meditation the Heinousness of Original Sin only and then I 'll leave you to Judge if for all that and the many Actual Sins we daily commit God will be gracious to us and receive us unto his Glory how little Reason we have to boast of that Nothing we have done to Merit his Favour Gen. 6. 5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually and it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart And the Lord said I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth both man and beast and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air for it repenteth me that I have made them I think no man can deny Original Sin to be the Cause of all this and then how Heinous a thing that is which is the Cause of so much Displeasure in God I submit to any person to Judge You will read to the same Purpose Verse 11 12 13. Job 14. 4. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean not one For Psal 51. 5. Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me Prov. 20. 9. Who then can say
A LETTER TO A LADY Furnishing her with Scripture Testimonies Against the Principal Points and Doctrines OF POPERY All Scripture is given by Inspiration of God and is Profitable for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness That the Man of God may be Perfect throughly furnished unto all Good Works 2 Tim. 3. 16 17. The Law of the Lord is Perfect converting the Soul c. Psal 19. 7 8 9 10 11. Search the Scriptures c. John 5. 39. Blessed is he that readeth c. Rev. 1. 3. Licensed July 6. 1688. LONDON Printed for John Taylor at the Ship in St. Paul's Church-Yard M DC LXXX VIII Admonition to the Reader concerning the Authority and Vse of the Holy Scriptures THe following Papers being intended only for a private Satisfaction and not for the publick View are writ in a Stile agreeable to the Sex to which they are dedicated and the few Arguments here and there added either to explain or Illustrate a Text of Scripture are such as are more obvious to a Female Capacity than perhaps the common way of Arguing used by one great Disputant against another is For it was no more my intent than it was my Business in writing to Women who by Reason of their general want of Learning understand nothing of Logical Reasoning and as little of Syllogismal Inferences to endeavour to make a thing plain by rendring it more unintelligible But to make every thing as obvious and plain to the most ordinary Understanding as I might tho' my Words were never so homely And though it is confest The Lady to whom these Papers were especially directed is a Person endued with better Parts and more Learning than others of her Sex generally are yet I considered That many more of her Society or Acquaintance might be concerned in the Reading of them And therefore I thought as a plain Method would not be unpleasant to the Lady her self so it would certainly be both more Acceptable and Profitable to others not loaden with so much Sagacity and Understanding But since in this Undertaking I have wholly relyed on the Testimony of the Scriptures and have drawn all my Arguments from them I think it proper to vindicate my Proceeding that way by giving the Reader a cursory Account of the Supreme Authority of the Sacred Writings consisting in two Particulars The First is Their containing fully all things needful for our Salvation And the Second Their being sufficient to determine Points of Doubt and Controversie In both which I shall still make my Appeal to the Scriptures themselves and likewise intermix a few Testimones of the Fathers not for Confirmation of the Scriptures Authority for that is evident enough in it self but to shew the Opinion of those great Pillars of the Church in a Matter about which there is so great a Disagreement betwixt us and the Church of Rome I begin therefore with the first Evidence of the Supreme Authority of the Scriptures Their containing fully all things needful for our Salvation The Evangelist Joh. 20. 30. tells us That Jesus did many signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book But these says he are written That ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of God and that believing ye might have life through his name And Cyril in Praef. in Johan this Gospel by S. John may without Injury be thought to excel the other three says S. Cyril and he gives no weak Reasons for it One of which is That it contains all things pertaining to Truth which the other do also but not in so high a Strain For whereas the rest do most Exquisitely describe the Genealogy of our Saviour either descending from Abraham to Joseph or ascending from Joseph to Adam S. John has not much laboured in these Matters but with an aspiring Mind seems to soar beyond Human Possibility and is not afraid in express Words to set down his Ineffable Generation In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God And so aspires directly to the Foundation of Divine Truth Where by the way it will not be amiss to observe That this Evangelist was the beloved Disciple of our Lord and therefore it cannot reasonably be supposed he would conceal any thing from him that was necessary to be known But on the contrary he revealed more to him than was needful to be set down in some Particulars whereof he was commanded to be Silent as may be seen Rev. 10. 4. But when any thing might be known he is to declare it Chap. 22. 10. and Chap. 1. 3. They are blessed who read and hear the words of this prophecy with an intent to keep those things which are written therein So then though we are ignorant of some things yet by what is written we may sufficiently be acquainted with whatever is necessary for us to know S. Paul Acts 20. after he had told the Ephesians Verse 30 That of their own selves should arise men speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them At the 32 Verse he commends them to God and to the Word of his Grace which he tells them is able to build them up and to give them an inheritance among all them which are sanctified And lest it should be thought that he had broached some unwritten Traditions of his own he professes Chap. 26. 22. That having obtained help of God he still continued witnessing both to small and great but saying no other things than those which the Prophets and Moses did say should come Accordingly he tells the Romans in his Epistle to them Chap. 1. 16. That he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth And Chap. 15. 4. Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that we through Patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope And says S. Chrysostom Wherefore are these things written but that we should In Rom. hom 9. In 2 Cor. hom 13. In synop Athan. learn them For says he The Scriptures are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of all the most exact Ballance Guide and Rule And according to S. Athanasius they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Anchors and Support of our Faith. And Irenaeus calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iren. l. 3. c. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the immoveable Canon of Truth and the Pillar and Foundation of our Faith. And we being sure of what the Apostle says 2 Tim. 3. 16 17. That all Scripture is given by Inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrin for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness That the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto Canonem fidei in Prophetarum Apostolorum libris figi atque terminari Aug de C. D. l. 11. c. 41. all good Works may safely conclude with S. Austin
3. 2. In many things we offend all And if a just man falleth seven times a day Prov. 24. 16. Who can boast of being righteous over much Nay where is there a Man so good as that he may number his offences Holy David could not though a man after God's own heart We read of but one man throughout the whole Book of God who was without sin and that was the man Christ Jesus yet it was never said of him that he did more than fulfil the Will of his Father And for us born in sin and conceived in corruption to say we can do more I cannot express the Folly and Nonsense of it By so doing we should make God our Debtor who is Debtor to no Man. If they of the Church of Rome can brag of any works of Supererogation they are such as these The hallowing Daggers for the cutting off Princes that are not for their turn The sacrificing all they please to call Hereticks The denying the Scriptures in a tongue understood by the Vulgar And several others which might be named concerning which they may indeed be ask'd Who hath required these things at your hands But we of the Church of England know of nothing to be done more than what is our duty to do We know the Preachers Doctrin was Whatsoever thy hand findeth for thee to do do it with thy might Eccl. 9. 10. And our Lord and Master's Advice is when we have done all we can to acknowledge our selves but unprofitable Servants having done only what was our duty to do Luk. 17. 10. For no Man lives and sins not If therefore we say that we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us 1 Joh. 1. 8. Nay we make God a Liar who hath said there is not one that doth good Psal 14. 1 3. In a word if there is a Devil to tempt we are still in danger of sinning And if every thought will be brought in to Judgment who can call himself Inncent 'T is my opinion that instead of thinking we can do more than our Duty Every Man should rather repent of the sins as well of Omission as Commission he is daily guilty of and with the Psalmist cry out Who can understand his Errors cleanse thou me from secret faults Psal 19. 12. For our Saviour's censure on the most righteous is Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish Luk. 13. 3 5. To conclude this first Quere if it were possible for any Man to over-do his Duty I would ask any reasonable Man Whether when he has done more than he ought to have done he would not commit a great sin in thinking so and a greater in saying so If the Affirmative holds good then the poor Man has still some part of his Duty to perform viz. to repent of that sin and so in infinitum II. The second Enquiry proposed was Whether a Man by his own Works can merit Heaven Here Madam be pleased to consider with me these few following Texts Deut. 9. 4. Speak not thou in thine heart after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee saying For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this Land but for the wickedness of these nations c. The Land of Canaan of which this Text speaks is generally looked on as a Type of Heaven And then this is plain enough Job 9. 30. If I wash my self with snow-water and make my hands never so clean yet thou shalt plunge me in the ditch and my own cloaths shall abhor me c. And Chap. 15. 14. What is man that he should be clean and he which is born of a woman that he should be righteous Verse 16. How much more abominable and filthy is man which drinketh iniquity like water All spoken by one whose Fellow was not to be found upon the Face of the Earth for Vertue and therefore if any could boast he might Psal 130. 3. If thou Lord shouldst mark iniquities O Lord who should stand But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared And Psal 143. 2. Enter not into judgment with thy servant for in thy sight shall no man living be justified Isai 53. 6. All we like sheep have gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all And Chap. 64. 6. But we are all as unclean things and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags and we do all fade as a leaf and our iniquity like the wind hath taken us away Rom. 3. 10. As it is written There is none righteous no not one there is none that understandeth there is none that seeketh after God they are all gone out of the way they are altogether become unprofitable there is none that doth good no not one Their throat is an open sepulchre with their tongues they have used deceit the poison of asps is under their lips whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness their feet are swift to shed blood destruction and misery are in their ways and the way of peace have they not known there is no fear of God before their eyes All this is spoken of all Mankind in general both Jews and Gentiles and if it be true what can any Man find in himself to challenge Heaven as his due Rom. 6. 23. Eternal Life is called The gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now if Eternal Life be a Gift I would fain know how a Gift can be Merited And if it be for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord I would know whether the same Gift can be said to be Merited by him for us and by us for our selves too if this is affirmed then something to this purpose must follow That the Passion and Death of Christ are Significant and partly not because a Man as a Christian at least may Merit and consequently enjoy Heaven by his own Works without the Application of Christs Merits which would be very Absurd to say no worse of it But if it be denyed then the Consequence will be this That let a Man merit what he will he must be beholding to the Merits of Christ for his Admission into Heaven at last 2 Cor. 4. 4. For I know nothing by my self yet am I not hereby justified but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Let us then suppose a Man to be in the Apostles Case in my Opinion such a Man could have but little Comfort from his own Merits if he being so perfect as not to know any evil by himself should not for all that be certain of his Justification I would ask one of these Meritorious Gentlemen in the Words of the Apostle at the seventh Verse of the same Chapter Who maketh thee to differ from another and what hast thou that thou didst not receive now if thou didst receive it why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it Eph. 2. 8. For by grace
Heaven and sat on the right hand of God. And there St. Stephen afterwards saw him Acts 7. 56. In which place as St. Peter testifies Acts 3. 21. he must remain till the times of the restitution of all things When and not before he shall so come in like manner as he was seen to go into Heaven Acts 1. 11. Now I suppose you know the last shift they that believe this Doctrine are fain to fly to is God's Omnipotency and this they know we dare not contradict But we know that though God is able to do any thing yet 't is evident in many things he does not apply his Will to his Ability And on this account though John Baptist told the Jews Matth. 3. 9. That God was able of the Stones of the Earth to raise up Children unto Abraham we must not presently make the Fable of Deucalion and Pyrrha an Article of our Faith. For if this wou'd do the bus'ness how soon wou'd the World be fill'd with Absurdities and yet all pass for Miracles But if we consult the Sacred Writings we shall find that though God is sufficiently declar'd to be Omnipotent yet he never acted any thing contrary to himself his Power never appear'd contrary to his Will. Now in the present case if we believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God and that his Will is declar'd in his Word it sufficiently appears that Christ must be Corporally present in Heaven 'till the end of the World and then to say that he is Corporally present on Earth too and in so many Thousand places at the same time because nothing is impossible with God is to say in effect that God to shew his Power does some things which are repugnant to his Will and to preserve the Prerogative of his Omnipotence inviolate will upon occasion contradict his own Word But the Apostles had no such thoughts some of 'em saw Christ ascend Bodily into Heaven and others as St. Stephen and St. Paul afterwards saw him Bodily present there Accordingly St. Paul tells the Hebrews Chap. 8. Verse 1. that he is set on the Right Hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens And Chap. 10. Verse 12. After he had offer'd one Sacrifice for Sins for ever he sat down on the Right Hand of God. Where be pleas'd to observe two Errors confuted in one Text The Sacrifice of the Mass in that Christ has offer'd one Sacrifice for Sins for ever and the Doctrine of Transubstantiation in that after he had offer'd the Sacrifice he sat down on the Right Hand of God. Therefore his Advice to the Colossians Chap. 3. Verse 1. is If they are risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the Right Hand of God. For Phil. 3. 20. our Conversation says he is in Heaven from whence also we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ Wherefore Madam I think the Counsel of our Lord himself is best to be follow'd Matth. 24. 23. If any Man shall say unto you Lo here is Christ or there believe it not Secondly Another Argument deducible from Scripture against this Doctrine I told you was That we eat the Body and drink the Blood of Christ only by Faith. John 6. 47 c. Verily verily I say unto you he that believeth on me hath Everlasting Life I am that Bread of Life Your Fathers did eat Manna in the Wilderness and are dead This is the Bread which cometh down from Heaven that a Man may eat thereof and not die I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven If any Man eat of this Bread he shall live for ever And the Bread that I will give is my Flesh which I will give for the Life of the World. Where we are to consider First That Faith in Christ is made the Condition of having Everlasting Life Verse 47. Secondly The Bread of Life which Verse 51. is call'd his Flesh is only that Spiritual Nourishment of the Soul which comes by that Faith in Christ And therefore he says that if any Man eat of this Bread he shall live for ever Whence I think it plainly appears that eating Christ's Flesh and believing on him are only terms used promiscuously one for t'other and so make nothing at all for Transubstantiation But the chief of the Argument is to come Verse 52 c. The Jews therefore strove among themselves saying How can this Man give us his Flesh to eat Then Jesus said unto them Verily verily I say unto you Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood ye have no Life in you Whoso eateth my Flesh and Drinketh my Blood hath Eternal Life and I will raise him up at the last Day For my Flesh is Meat indeed and my Blood is Drink indeed He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in me and I in him As the Living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father so he that eateth me even he shall live by me This is that Bread which came down from Heaven not as your Fathers did eat Manna and are dead He that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever Perhaps you may think Madam that these reiterated expressions are Indications plain enough that our Saviour here intends Transubstantiation But I assure you they mean nothing less For first he says Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood ye have no Life in you And on the contrary Whoso eateth his Flesh and drinketh his Blood hath Eternal Life and he will raise him up at the last Day Now if our Saviour speaks all this of his natural Flesh and Blood with which he was cloathed and which was nail'd to the Cross and split on the Ground and lastly which he carried with him into Heaven and if according to the Doctrine of Transubstantiation his natural Flesh and Blood are as really eaten and drunk in the Lord's Supper Then all Men bad as well as good nay any living Creature that is but capable of eating and drinking may be in as fair a way to Heaven as the devoutest Professor of Christianity For if eating the Flesh of Christ will carry one to Heaven give a Dog a piece of the Transubstantiated Bread and why may not he by eating it go thither too However to seclude Beasts it wou'd be a blessed World certainly if the worst of Men were in as sure a way to Salvation as the best which must be if the Doctrine of Transubstantiation and our Saviour's Words hold together For he says his Flesh is Meat indeed and his Blood is Drink indeed And Transubstantiation gives all Men the real Flesh and Blood of Christ and by eating and drinking them we get Salvation which is here call'd Eternal Life But Secondly He that eateth Christ's Flesh and drinketh his Blood dwelleth in Christ and Christ in him Now can Christ dwell in a Wicked Man or Unbeliever What fellowship hath Christ with
Belial Thirdly This is that Bread which came down from Heaven not as our Fathers did eat Manna and are dead he that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever Whence observe If one thing is to be understood according to the Letter another is also And then if the Letter intends Transubstantiation according to the Letter likewise they who eat the Flesh of Christ presently become Immortal And thus the Jews understood our Saviour when they cried out Lord evermore give us of this Bread Verse 34. But 't is appointed for all Men once to die Therefore eating the Flesh of Christ and drinking his Blood can mean nothing but our feeding on him by Faith unto Salvation And if by eating the Flesh of Christ and drinking his Blood we shall live for ever and yet no Man can be saved unless he believes in him either our Saviour must be thought to contradict himself or else this overthrows the Doctrine of Transubstantiation and proves that we only eat and drink the Flesh and Blood of Christ by Faith. And I appeal to your self Madam to judge which of the two 't is most reasonable to believe But that what our Saviour says here is not to be understood according to the Letter will appear if we pursue it a little farther Verse 60. Many therefore of his Disciples when they heard this said This is a hard Saying who can hear it When Jesus knew in himself that his Disciples murmured at it he said unto them Doth this offend you What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before It is the Spirit that quickeneth the Flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you they are Spirit and they are Life But there are some of you that believe not From all which I cou'd tell you Madam and upon good ground too that there is nothing in this Chapter or very little at most touching the Eucharist but all that our Saviour says concerning his Flesh and Blood is to be understood of his exemplary Life and wholsome Doctrine which is Meat and Drink indeed But supposing the whole discourse to be upon that subject yet there can be nothing of Transubstantiation contain'd in it Which will yet more fully appear by considering how often he urges the necessity of believing on him in order to Salvation Verse 29. This says he is the work of God that ye believe on him whom he hath sent So Verse 35. He that believeth on me shall never thirst But I said unto you that ye also have seen me and believe not Again Verse 40. And this is the will of him that sent me that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have Everlasting Life and I will raise him up at the last Day So likewise Verse 47. He that believeth on me hath Everlasting Life And this believing on him in other places of the Chapter he calls coming to him as Verse 35 37 44 45. And in other places again it is call'd eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood. Whence 't is evident they are all Synonymous terms used to express one and the same thing But to proceed The Apostle 1 Cor. 10. 1. tells us that all our Fathers were under the Cloud and all passed through the Sea and were all baptized unto Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea and did all eat the same spiritual Meat and did all drink the same spiritual Drink for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them and that Rock was Christ Now the Paschal Lamb was as lively a representation of Christ the Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World as our Bread and Wine are of the breaking his Body and shedding his Blood upon the Cross yet 't was never thought that they in the Passover did eat and drink Christ's real Flesh and Blood but only in that Feast they fed on him by Faith. And so when we come duly prepar'd to the Lord's Table we are Partakers of his Body and Blood by Faith by which also Christ dwelleth in our hearts Ephes 3. 17. Our Saviour Joh. 15. 5. says I am the Vine ye are the Branches he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing Now if all our Saviour's words must be taken according to the letter which must we rather believe that his Flesh is Bread to be eaten by us as we do our ordinary Food or that he is a great Tree and we Christians are so many Branches growing from him or that we are mere Sheep feeding on a Common and he the Shepherd to look after us or lastly that he is a Door hung upon Hinges thro' which we Sheep must enter into our Pasture I wou'd fain know if all these were to be taken literally what we shou'd do to know which was true and which not Such Expressions as these must be taken Metaphorically and so As we usually enter into a House by the Door so we go to Heaven by Christ As a Shepherd takes care that none of his Sheep go astray so Christ the good Shepherd of our Souls will lose none of all them that are his As a Vine gives Nourishment to its Branches so is Christ a Vine to us by whom we live and grow ripe for a joyful Harvest or Vintage And lastly as Bread is eaten to sustain this Temporal Life so Christ is that Spiritual Food on which we feed by Faith unto life Everlasting To what has been said on this Subject we may add many Texts of Scripture which assert the Elements which are the Matter of this Feast to be the same after Consecration as they were before Thus the Apostle 1 Cor. 10. 16 The cup of Blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ The Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ So again Chap. 11. v. 26 As often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew the Lord's death till he come But that which is chiefly insisted on is what our Lord himself said at the Institution of his Supper Matth. 26. 26. And as they were eating Jesus took Bread and blessed it and brake it and gave it to the Disciples and said Take eat this is my Body And he took the Cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink ye all of it For this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the Remission of Sins If here is not plain Transubstantiation I know not where to find it Our Saviour himself in the presence of his Disciples takes a piece of Bread and plainly affirms that 't is his Body and shall not we believe him yes surely But what follows Vers 29 But I say unto you I will not drink henceforth of this Fruit of the Vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom I think he tells