should be ashamed, and count ourselves reproved by our worldly cares, if we are not much more careful to work out our salvation. This was the method our Lord took to bring those people to wisdom; and, therefore, he represented to them the means and conditions of everlasting life, under the names of those things which their hearts had hitherto been most set upon,-i.e., bread, and eating, and drinking. For these were the men that had been fed by him the day before; and now they followed him for the loaves, that is, in hope to reap such bodily advantages as these from him every day. But to bring them to some sense of better things, and to lead them towards a due esteem of that end for which he came into the world, he proceeds in his admonitions, by calling the spiritual benefits which he had in store for them-bread and food; and their receiving those benefits, eating and drinking; ever and anon letting them know, that if they eat and drank of that food which he came to give them, they should live for ever. And what was the instruction of this way of discoursing to them, but that, if the bodily food, for which they were so solicitous, were a valuable enjoyment, which yet would serve but for the prolonging of a mortal life, how ought they to hunger and thirst for the meat which would preserve them for ever? And, therefore, when he came, in the same way of speaking, to intimate to them those benefits of his passion, which they would better understand afterwards than they could at present, he told them, "My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed;" as if he had told them, in plainer words than he thought fit to use at that time: It is infinitely more profitable to enjoy the fruits of my sufferings and death, by being reconciled to God, by forbearing to provoke his justice, and by following my example, than if I should take the same care of you as long as I live, which I did yesterday, when I fed your bodies by a miracle."

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And this, indeed, seemed to be our Saviour's great design in preaching the necessity of faith and repentance, and a godly life to the people, under so many figurative expressions as we find he used,―viz, to lead them by temporal things to the care of things eternal, and to raise their minds from earth to heaven by a most familiar and convincing way of arguing with them, from earthly things themselves. Therefore, if he found them valuing themselves upon their liberty, or careful for life, or labouring for wealth, or solicitous for food: he called himself sometimes, and sometimes his doctrine, and their receiving of it, liberty, life, and treasure, and meat, and drink, as occasion required; and this to let them understand, that there was a more real good to be found in faith and piety, than in these or any other kind of worldly advantages; and that, whatever reason they had to be concerned for these

transitory enjoyments, they had much more to be careful in receiving as they ought those spiritual good things which he came to confer upon them.

If, therefore, we will suffer ourselves to be instructed by such passages as these are, most of us, I fear, may learn, from our concern about the things of this world, to be ashamed of our remissness in providing for a better; and all of us should learn to reflect very often upon matters of greater concernment, when we are engaged even in the honest designs of this life, and pursuing the lawful business thereof; and so we should in some measure preach to ourselves, as Christ once did to his hearers when he was upon earth.

And we should not think that the Jews only had need of this kind of instruction, who, I confess, had been educated under a law, that promised little else besides temporal advantages to those that observed it; but that we ourselves, who know the great blessings promised in the Gospel to be spiritual and eternal, stand in need also of such admonitions as these are: for the cares of this world, and the love of its riches, and pleasures, and honours, are as apt to take hold of us as they were of the Jews, if we do not take pains to affect ourselves deeply with that truth concerning another life, which our Lord Jesus hath revealed, and to the belief of which we have been educated in his Church. And if we have less prejudice against these doctrines than the Jews had, and yet are swallowed up with this world as much as they were, we are but the more inexcusable. So that, undoubtedly, the advantage we have over them should make us the more concerned to lay those things to heart; because we are so much the more to blame, if, knowing these things almost from our infancy, we do not practice accordingly.

Nay, when the profession of the true faith does bring in worldly advantages, there seems to be as much (if not more) reason to reflect in this manner upon ourselves, as when nothing was to be gotten by it in this world but the loss of all things. We are, then, doubtless, to remember, that the "kingdom of Christ is not of this world," and that the good things of this life are not the rewards which he hath promised; but that, by setting our hearts inordinately upon that worldly ease and profit which we enjoy by the profession of true Christianity, we are in the way of losing that fruit thereof which will last for ever, and the hope of which was all that our Lord used to invite men to become his disciples.

If we follow Christ for the loaves, we shall forsake him when we find ourselves disappointed, as the Jews at Capernaum did, and take occasions and pretences so to do as easily as they and some of his own disciples found them. For we are not to think that that saying, "Except ye eat the flesh," &c., was the true cause of their going off

from him, but only such a plausible occasion as they had a good while waited for. The reason of their offence, at the bottom, was, that they had long since perceived our Saviour was not likely to satisfy their worldly expectations, and they did not believe it worth their while to follow him for a reward in another life; which prejudice against him had destroyed all their faith, as he told them himself, "There are some among you that believe not" (ver. 64). They were those that said (ver. 60), "This is an hard saying, who can hear it ?" For it is not said that all, but only, "Many of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard," &c.,-viz., those very men of whom he said, "But there are some among you that believe not" (ver. 64), i.e., who had followed him for worldly advantages, as the Jews did from the wilderness to Capernaum: of whom our Lord said the same thing,viz., that "they believed not" (ver. 36). For though, but the day before, they had acknowledged him to be the prophet that was to come into the world; yet, finding that he was likely to disappoint their worldly hopes, they presently changed their opinion of him. So that a sincere aim at everlasting life is very necessary, even towards a constant belief and profession of the faith.

And much more to a practice answerable to it; which will, as I said before, be advanced not a little, if we will use ourselves to consider what care we are at for these mortal bodies and this worldly life; and what reason there is to be incomparably more concerned for a blessed resurrection to eternal life, which, I make not the least doubt, is the great instruction we are to learn from these figurative discources of our blessed Saviour. And if we constantly have it in our eye, it will not only render the meaning of this chapter very plain, but the reading of it, if we should read it every day we live, very useful to us.

And, indeed, those parts of God's word, which are purposely designed to work in us a deep concern for everlasting life, ought to be very present to our minds, and to dwell richly in us, that we may be always well provided to resist the temptations of the world. For which reason we should often think of those lessons of our Saviour: "Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth, where moth and rust do corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth," &c. And, "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell yea, I say unto you, fear him.” And that in this chapter, "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth to everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you."

Which rules seeming at first sight to discharge us of all care for our life and welfare in this world, St. Chrysostom thought it needful to observe upon the last of them, that our Lord did not intend to countenance laziness, who himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive:" and that St. Paul admonishes a man to "work with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." But since these exhortations run, as if we were to be absolutely unconcerned about this life, no question but that care of eternal life is prescribed, in comparison to which our cares for this world should seem nothing at all. Therefore, when we desire our appointed food, we should think how much more it is our interest to "hunger and thirst after righteousness," and that "meat which endureth to everlasting life." And when we most of all feel the hopes and fears of things that go on farther than this world, we cannot entertain a better thought than this, that if we are so much concerned for this life, how careful ought we to be not to miss of eternal salvation?

Which kind of reflections are the more necessary for us, the more deeply we are engaged in this world. For we do not only "labour for the meat that perisheth," that is, for just enough to serve the necessities of life; but we would be at ease beside, and live in reasonable plenty, and enjoy what is convenient for the pleasure, as well as the sustenance of life; and they are very few that know when to make an end of multiplying riches, when once they are got into the way of increase. But we are thus concerned for an end of infinitely greater moment? Or rather, do not these very worldly cares reprove our negligence about better and greater things, while perhaps we do no more towards our salvation than to avoid the grossest sins of all, but take little thought how to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ?"

The whole strain of our Saviour's discourse in this chapter naturally leads to such considerations as these; and if we mind them in good earnest, they will, by the grace of God, moderate our affections and cares about this world in the first place, and then leave all that concern for the present and transitory good things, which we cannot be without, as a perpetual admonition, to be much more thoughtful for our everlasting salvation, and to make it the greatest business of our lives, by prayers and good works, to lay up for ourselves treasure in heaven, and to lay the stress of our comfort whilst we are here, in the joyful hope of being raised up at the last day to live for ever. Amen.

APPENDIX K.

Birkbeck, in his "Protestant Evidence," gives, at the end of his authorities of the fifth century, an answer to the six points of Bellarmine's " Synopsis Patrum," for the real presence, in the Popish sense. I think it will be valuable to the reader, as a general reply to the authorities alleged from the early writers of those ages, and therefore I print it here entire :

§ 5.-Bellarmine's Synopsis Patrum for the Real Presence discussed and answered.

1. Bellarmine, having made a long and tedious dispute de Eucharistia, producing divers testimonies of Fathers successively from age to age, for proof of the real presence, at length reduceth them all into one full body, consisting of six classes or ranks. And here he makes his sedem belli, resolving to fight it out upon these grounds, with his troops of ancient Fathers, and old-trained soldiers, some whereof served under the Church in the first six centuries. Now, if he be not able to charge us through in these prime ages, wherein his life-guard, and, indeed, the main battle consists, the rest of his train-band cannot hurt us; yea, we hope to make wash-work of that other shattered company he leads on in the succeeding ages.

2. It is true, indeed, he makes a great show of Fathers and schoolmen, and other new-raised men; but they are but borrowed soldiers, with Romish colours put upon them, such as do but serve to fill up his muster-book.

3. He voucheth some vehemently suspected, even by their own Rabbis, not to be the men whose names they bear, and therefore

* Lib. ii. de Euchar, c. 39.