1

Words, which if they be obferv'd, will be to our Souls the food of everlasting life. Wherefore wę will not depart from thee, as fome others have done; for we are perfuaded, that thou doft give us thy Flesh and Bloud in a Spiritual fenfe. Thou haft told us, that the Words that thou fpeakeft, they are fpirit and they are life, and we do heartily believe thee and confefs, that thou haft the Words of eternal life. Wherefore that faying is no longer hard to us; but we are well able to bear it.

4

69. And as for thy coming from Heaven, We believe and are fure, that thou art the Chrift, the Son of the living God.

Thus have I given you a Paraphrase of the greateft part of this Chapter; from whence it may appear, that thofe expreffions which our Adver faries do produce in favor of Tranfubftantiation, are not at all to their purpofe; becaufe they do not relate to the Lord's Supper. But because our Adverfaries are fo violently bent to interpret them of the Eucharift, I fhall in the following Chapter confider the Arguments upon which that interpretation is grounded.

CHAP. V.

Objections against the former Chapter Answer'd.

I

Am now to Answer thofe Objections, which may be made against that Expofition of the Sixth Chapter of St. John's Gofpel, which I have given in the foregoing Chapter. And,

1. They

1. They say, our Savior speaks of giving his flesh to eat as a thing that was to be done hereafter. I will give, faies he, verfe 51. Now if by eating bis flesh and drinking his bloud he meant nothing elfe but believing on him; he wou'd by no means use the future tenfe. For the Patriarchs believed on him to come, and were nourish'd unto eternal life by faith in him; fo that it seems he must then have already given them his flesh to eat in a Spiritual fenfe; which notwithstanding he seems never to have done, but defigns to give it afterwards. Wherefore, fince thefe expreffions cannot fignify believing on him, but refpect the time to come, in which he will do what he had not done before ; 'tis plain that they must relate to the Eucharift, in which Men were to eat his flesh. But to this I answer,

First, That if our Savior must be thought to fpeak of the Eating his Flefh in the Eucharift, because he speaks in the future tenfe; then it will alfo follow, that he do's not speak of the Eating his Flesh in the Eucharift, because in fome of the verses he fpeaks in the present tenfe, I am the bread, faies he, verfe 48. Except ye do now eat the flesh, &c. 53. My flesh is meat indeed, and my bloud is drink indeed, 55. He that now eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud, 56. He that now eateth me, 57. So that no argument can be drawn to favor the interpretation of our Adverfaries, from the tense our Savior speaks in; because he uses the prefent or future tenfe indifferently. Nay,

Secondly, His ufing the prefent or future tenfe in fuch a manner, do's rather prove that by eating and drinking his flesh and bloud he means only believing on him; because that might be done either at the time of his Preaching, or after the

Inftitution of the Lord's Supper. Whereas it was impoffible for any Man to eat and drink his Natural Flesh and Bloud at the very time of this Discourse, which was a long time before the first Celebration of that Holy Myftery. Befides,

Thirdly, Our Savior fpeaks in the future tenfe to the Woman of Samaria, faying John 4. 14. Whofoever drinketh of the Water that I fhall give him, &c. and 'tis very plain, that by drinking of the Water is meant believing on him. Now no confidering Perfon will fay, that our Savior never beftow'd Faith upon the Patriarchs in former Ages, because he speaks of giving Water to drink (that is, Faith to believe on him) in the future tenfe." But,

Fourthly, Tho' it were granted, that by speaking in the future tenfe Chrift do's promife fomething, which he had not given before; yet these words may fignify believing notwithstanding. For tho' the Patriarchs did believe in Chrift in former daies, and had fome general notions of the Gofpel: yet they did not clearly understand the Myfteries of our Faith; and therefore the Revelation of fuch great Truths, as thofe of the Death of Chrift, &c. the belief of which is call'd eating his flesh and drinking bis bloud, I fay the Revelation of thefe things may well be accounted New, and what had not been granted before.

2. Tis pretended, that in this Chapter our Savior fpeaks in the future tenfe, I will Give, by: way of promife; whereas at the Inftitution of the Laft Supper he speaks by the way of performance in the preter tenfe, is given, Luke 22. 19. and us (hed, Matth. 26. 28. Mark 14. 24. Luke 22. 20. From whence fome Perfons conclude, that Jefus Chrift do's in this Chapter promife, what he perform'd in

the

the Inftitution of the Eucharift. But to this I anfwer, 1. That I have already fhewn that our Savior ufes the prefent as well as the future tense in this Chapter; and therefore what he speaks is not by way of Promife for the future, but to be underftood indefinitely in respect of any Perfon who then did, or fhou'd afterwards believe in him. 2. Suppose these words were fpoken by way of Promile, yet our Savior did not perform them in the Inftitution of the Eucharift, but upon the Crofs. For then only he is faid to have given his life or himself for the Life of the World: thofe Phrafes being never apply'd to the Eucharift. 3. Whereas our Savior fpeaks in the prefent tenfe at the Celebration of the Eucharift, he means only that his Body and Bloud fhall be fhortly given for them. This is no ftrange way of fpeech in the Mouth of him, who being God as well as Man, calleth thofe things which be not, as tho' they were, Rom. 4. 17.

3. 'Tis obferv'd, that our Savior makes a diftinction betwixt eating his Flefh and drinking his Bloud, verfe 53,.55. Which diftinction, they fay, is utterly loft and needlefs, unless thefe expreffions fignify the Euchariftical eating and drinking; becaufe a believing in Chrift requires it not. But I anfwer that flesh and bloud do fignify the human Nature, and Chrift's taking flesh and bloud fignifies his Incarnation; wherefore it was very conve nient that both Flesh and Bloud fhou'd be particularly mention'd, because thereby The Man Chrift Jefus, the proper object of our Faith (of that Faith I fay, which is the food and nourishment of our Souls) is fully fignify'd.

4, They fay, that Chrift compares the Manna which the Ifraelites did eat in the Wilderness,

with the Bread which came down from Heaven, verfe 59. Now Manna, fay they, is compar'd with the Eucharift, I Cor. 10. 1, 2, 3. and not with eating and drinking Chrift's Body and Bloud after a Spiritual manner, by believing on him. Wherefore by the Flesh and Bloud of Chrift, which is the Bread that came down from Heaven, we are to understand, not Faith on him, but the Elements of the Lord's Supper. Now to this I anfwer, That fince Manna, was a Spiritual Meat and a type of Chrift to come, who is the true food of the Soul; St. Paul might well compare it to the Lord's Supper, which is also a Spiritual Meat, and a Commemoration of the fame Chrift, the true food of the Soul, as already come. But tho' the Apoftle did for this reafon compare Manna and the Eucharift, yet it will by no means follow, that every thing that is compar'd with Manna, muft fignify the Eucharift. And therefore it will not follow, that Chrift's Flesh and Bloud, which are spoken of in this Chapter, do fignify the Eucharift, because they are compar'd with Manna.

Befides, it must be obferv'd, that the Jews had challenged our Savior to fhew a Sign equal to that of Mofes's giving them Manna. Now they did not fpeak of Manna as a spiritual Food, but as the fuftenance of their Bodies; and were defirous that our Savior fhou'd prove his Miffion by feeding as great a number of Perfons by fuch a Miraculous Method. Wherefore our Savior endeavors to draw off their Minds from perifhing meat and drink, and advifes them to Labor for that Bread which wou'd make them eternally happy; thereby acquainting them, that he was a greater Prophet than Mofes, because he did them a more fubftan