the 6. Chapter of St. John, before the Holy Supper was inftituted, of which words, my purpose and earnest endeavour is to find out, and to discover the meaning, and true fenfe; and my hearty defire and prayer, that my Labours herein may in fome meafure conduce to an agreement between diffenting Parties.

The Roman, and alfo the Reformed Church-Writers,men of great wisdom, Learning and fobriety, have spent their precious time and labours, fomething (as I humbly conceive) befides the matter, purpose and intent of thofe words of Chrift.

1. The Romanifts have laboured too much, to affert and prove a carnal, grofs and literate eating of the very flesh of Chrift orally; grounding their Doctrine of Tranfubftantiation upon thofe two Speeches of Chrift before mentioned; but with ill fuccefs, having fo much been perplexed in anfwering and excufing the impoffibilities, and the unprofitableness of fuch an Exposition, that they were forced to flie to the old Poetical refuge of Θεὸς ἀπὸ μηχανῆς, or miracles, whereof they fay there are eleven in effecting their Tranfubftantiation; we may ad a twelfth, which to me feemeth the greateft of all, viz. that fo many wife, and learned men should profefs and believe fuch B 4

un

i.

unneceffary, and manifeft impoffibilities. 2. The Writers of the reformed Church have imployed their time and labour in a negative way, principally in confuting the impoffibility of that Roman Doctrine,and in proving that we do not Orally eat the very flesh of Christ, for although they acknowledge that Speech of Chrift to be true, when he faid, Except ye eat the Flesh, &c. yet they truly affirm, that they are not to be understood of a grofs, carnal, and oral Eat-ing; This negative Doctrine occafioned a pretence to the adverfe Party, to accufe them of an attempt to confute and gainsay the words of Chrift,

Thefe practices on both fides, I conceive, have bin the caufe of hiding or obfcuring the moft gracious, and comfortable doctrine of our Union with the body or flesh of Chrift; and confequently of the doctrine of our Redemption by him, both of them being certainly implyed in thofe words of Eating and Drinking.

It is therefore to be wished, that fuch Learned men for the future, would imploy their studies in a pofitive Way, in fhewing how thofe Myfterious Words of Chrift are true, and to be rightly understood, rather than in a negative confutation of a wrong Senfe, which work folidly performed, would clear

clear the darkness of that Mystery, and be exceedingly comfortable to pious Souls, and evidently declare the Wisdom,Righteousness and Mercy of our ever Bieffed Redeemer.

IND

CHAP. II.

N order to the opening of this Mystery, we are first to enquire what our Redeemer meant by those words of Eating and Drinking my Flesh and Blood, which certainly are not to be understood literally,but figuratively.

The Reader may obferve, that the grand Mysteries of our Religion in the Holy Scripture,are represented and exemplified darkly, as under a cloud, or veiled with the fimilitude of Eating.

1. The Tree of life in Paradife was planted to be eaten of; it was the figure or type of Chrift, who called himself a Tree, Luk, 23.31. and a Vine, John 15.5. and the Life, John 14. 16. and is called Rev. 2. 7. The Tree of Life. The typical Tree was ordained to preserve and continue a worldy life, as Christ the substantial Tree to procure an Eternal, and heavenly Life.

Although that Tree of life was permitted by the Godhead to be eaten of by our

fuft

firft Parents, yet they never did eat of it, because in the ftate of their Innocency they perceived not any need thereof, being in à condition of not dying (as Divines fay) Petuit Adam non mori; nor was any malady upon them, fo as to need any medicine to cure them of any difeafe; But af terward, when by their tranfgreffion they had incurred the curfe of Mortality, they were excluded from that Tree of life, leaft Gen. 3. they should take of the Tree of Life, and live for ever; whereby the Commination of God fhould have failed, who had faid, In the day that thou eateft thereof,thou shalt furely die.

22.

Gen. 2. 17.

There was another Tree in Paradife calGen. 2.9. led the Tree of Knowledge, of which the Man was forbidden to eat, although it is faid, that the Woman faw that the Tree was good for food, and pleasant to the eye, and to be defired to make one wife. So though Gen.3.6. they abstained from the Tree permitted, yet they did eat of the Tree forbidden.

The Tree of Life reprefented Chrift, the Tree of knowledge reprefented the Law, as Tertullian very judicioufly affirmeth and Tert.adv. proveth. That law concerning the Tree, Judæos. was Primordialis Lex, the first Law that was

imposed on Man, and had been large enough faith he ) if it had been obeyed. Lex d. ibid. data Adæ & Evæ, eft quafi matrix omnium

præceptorum Dei quæ pullularunt poftea, data per Mofem; It was as the Womb, out of which fprang the Ten Commandments given by Mofes; and in that firft Law, all thofe Moral laws are couched and implied. As the Tree of Life fignifieth Chrift with all his Evangelical mercies; And the Eating of that Tree fignified the Union, conjunction and inherence of Mankind in him: So the Tree of knowledge fignified the Law with all its ftrictness, rigour and penalties. And the forbidding to Eat of that Tree,fignified, that we should not truft to, or rely on it, or expect to obtain life by performance of the law, or justification and Salvation by the works thereof: This I conceive to be the meaning of forbidding the Tree of knowledge, as relating to the Law; because I find divers paffages concerning the faid law, even in the Gospel, which to me fignifie the fame, as by the works of the Rom. 3 Law fhall no flesh be justified; and, The 20. Law worketh Wrath; it is called alfo Rom. 4. The Ministration of death; and the Ministration of condemnation. Therefore we 3.7.9. are to depend on, and feed and nourish our hope and faith, only by Christ, who is the only true Tree of Life, and not to confide in the Law, because we cannot poffibly by our own felves perform it, nor by any

other

15.

2 Cor.