Lecture XXII
LECTURE XXII.
(ON THE MYSTERIES. Iv.)
ON THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST.
1 Cor. xi. 23.
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, ge.
Lxct.
1, Tus teaching of the Blessed Paul is alone sufficient to XXII.
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Myst. 4.give you a full assurance concerning those Divine Mysteries, Eph. 3, which when ye are vouchsafed, ye are of the same body and blood with Christ.
For he has just distinctly said, That our Lord Jesus Christ the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks He brake it, and said, Take, eat, this ts My Body: and having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, Take, drink, this is My Blood.
Since then He Himself has declared and said of the Bread, This ts My Body, who shall dare to doubt any longer? And since He has affirmed and said, This ts My Blood, who shall ever hesitate, saying, that it is not His blood?
2. He once turned water into wine, in Cana of Galilee, at His own will*, and is it incredible that He should have turned wine into blood?
That wonderful work He miraculously wrought, when called to an earthly marriage; and shall He not much rather be acknowledged to have bestowed the fruition of His Body and Blood on the children of the bride-chamber ?
8. Therefore with fullest assurance let us partake as of * Olnsig ripacs, Milles. oixsies aYuaes, "which is akin to blood." Ed, Ben.
The Eucharist signified in the Shew-bread ond in the Psalms, 271 the Body and Blood of Christ: for in the figure® of Bread ist, edzy. given to thee His Body, and in the figure of Wine His
Blood; that thou by partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, mightest be made of the same body and the same blood with Him.
For thus we come to bear Christ in us, <ferrebecause His Body and Blood are diffused through our mem4°33, bers; thus it is that, according to the blessed Peter, we bealu. come partakers of the divine nature. rE NeMe 4. Christ on a certain occasion discoursing with the Jews said, Except ye eat My flesh and drink My blood, ye have no John 6, life in you.
They not receiving His saying spiritually were offended, and went backward, supposing that He was inviting !*? ««them to eat flesh.
Rat _ 5. Even under the Old Testament there was shew-bread; (2.) but this as it belonged to the Old Testament, came to an end; but inthe New Testament there is the Bread of heaven, v. Ps. and the Cup of salvation, sanctifying soul and body; for as ays the Bread has respect to our body, so is the Word appropriate 116, 12. to our soul.
6. Contemplate therefore the Bread and Wine not as bare «+. elements, for they are, according to the Lord's declaration, the Body and Blood of Christ; for though sense suggests this to thee, let faith stablish thee.
Judge not the matter from taste, but from faith be fully assured without misgiving, that thou hast been vouchsafed the Body and Blood of Christ.
7. The blessed David also shall advise thee the meaning of this, saying, Thou hast prepared a table before me in the Ps.23,5. presence of mine enemies.
What he says, is to this effect.
Before Thy coming, evil spirits prepared a table for men, foul and polluted and full of all devilish influence; but since Thy coming, O Lord, Thou hast prepared a table before me.
When the man says to God, Thou hast prepared before mea table, what other does he mean but that mystical and spiritual »»r%.
Table, which God hath prepared over against, that is, contrary Sept. and in opposition to the evil spirits?
And very truly; for >°E, eéey.
The word rises someandas rvwines and dAnéis are contrasted times means that which stands for a in xxi. 6: or 2. an index, as Lect. iii. thing present, sometimes that which 6. where S. John Baptist's dress &o. is stands for a thing absent, either 1. a spoken of as a type of his inward chatype, as when Joshua is said to be a racter; and xiii. 18. type of Christ. vid sup. Lect. x. 11
The Eucharist signified in Ecclesiastes, Lucr. that had fellowship with devils, but this, with God.
Thou Moni, hast anointed my head with oil, With oil He anointed thine ver. 6. head upon thy forehead,'by the seal which thou hast of God ; yee that thou mayest be made the impression of the seal, Holiness
_ of God.
And my cup runneth over.
Thou seest that cup Ps.33,5.here spoken of, which Jesus took in His hands, and gave
Mat.26, thanks, and said, Thte ts My blood, which is shed for many 38. oD : for the remission of sins.
8. Therefore Solomon also, pointing at this grace, says in Eccles. Ecclesiastes, Come hither, eat thy bread with joy, (that is, the 9: Zopt. Spiritual bread; Come hither, calling with words of salvaonsen tion and blessiug,) and drink thy wine with a merry heart ;
(that is, the spiritual wine;) and let thy head lack no ointment, (thou seest be alludes even to the mystic Chrism;) and let thy garments be always white, for God now accepteth thy works; for before thou camest to Baptism, thy works were vanity Qf vanities.
But now, having put off thy old enone. garments, and put on those which are spiritually white, are thou must be continually robed in white; we mean not matithis, that thou must always wear white raiment; but with ii truly white and glistering and spiritual attire, thou must be clothed withal, that thou mayest say with the blessed
Is.61, Esaias, My soul shall be joyful tn my God; for He hath 10.£eptclothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of gladness.
9. These things having learnt, and being fully persuaded + yéeu that what seems bread is not bread, though bread by taste,
"but the Body of Christ; and that what seems wine is not wine, though the taste will have it so, but the Blood of Ps. 104, Christ; and that of this David sung of old, saying, And bread
18. which strengtheneth man's heart, and oil to make his face to shine, " strengthen thine heart," partaking thereof as spiritual, and " make the face of thy soul to shine."
And so having it 2Cor, unveiled by a pure conscience, mayest thou behold as ina glass the glory of the Lord, and proceed from glory to glory, in Christ Jesus our Lord:—To whom be honour, and might, and glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.