APPENDIX.

A Sermon of the Paschall Lambe, and of the Sacramentall Body and Bloud of Christ our Saviour. Written in the old Saxon tongue before the Conquest, and appointed in the reigne of the Saxons to be spoken unto the people at Easter before they should receive the Communion. London, Printed by John Haviland for Henry Seile. 1623.

Men beloved, it hath beene often said unto you about our Saviours resurrection, how he on this present day after his suffering mightily rose from death. Now will wee open unto you through Gods grace, of the holy housell, which ye should now goe unto, and instruct your understanding about this mysterie, both after the old covenant, and also after the new, that no doubting may trouble you about this lively food. The Almighty God bade Moses his Captain in the land of Ægypt, to comand the people of Israel to take for every family a lambe of one yeere old the night they departed out of the countrey to the land of promise, and to offer that lambe to God, and after to kill it, to make the signe of the Crosse with the lambes blood upon the side posts, and the upper post of their doore, and afterward to

Ex. 12, 9-11.

14.

eat the lambes flesh rosted, and unleavened bread, with wilde lettisse.

God saith unto Moses, Eat of the lambe nothing raw, nor sodden in water, but rosted with fire. Eat

the head, the feet, and the inwards, and let nothing of it be left untill the morning: if any thing thereof remaine, that shall ye burn with fire. Eat it in this wise: Gird your loines, and doe your shooes on your feet, have your staves in your hands, and eat it in haste, this time is the Lords Passover. And there was slain on the night in every house throughout Pharaos reigne the first borne child: and Gods people of Israel were delivered from that sodaine death through the lambes offring and his blouds Ex. 12, marking. Then said God unto Moses; Keepe this day in your remembrance, and hold it a great feast in your kinreds with a perpetuall observation, and eat unleavened bread alwayes seven days at this feast. After this deed God led the people of Israel over the red sea, with dry foot, and drowned therein Pharao and all his armie together with their possessions, and fed afterward the Israelites fortie yeeres with heavenly food: and gave them water out of the hard rocke, untill they came to the promised land. Part of this storie wee have treated of in another place, part wee shall now declare, to wit, that which belongeth to the holy housell. Christian men may not now keepe that old law bodily, but it behoveth them to know, what it ghostly signifieth. That innocent lambe which the old Israelites did then kill, had signification after ghostly understanding of Christs suffering, who unguiltie shed his holy

bloud for our redemption: hereof sing Gods servants at every Masse, Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi miserere nobis: That is in our speech, Thou Lambe of God that takest away the sinnes of the world have mercy upon us. Those Israelites were delivered from that sodaine death, and from Pharaos bondage by the lambes offering, which signified Christs suffering through which wee be delivered from everlasting death, and from the devil's cruell reigne, if we rightly beleeve in the true Redeemer of the whole world Christ the Saviour. That Lambe was offered in the evening, and our Saviour suffered in the sixt Age of this World. This Age of this corruptible World is reckoned unto the evening. They marked with the lambes bloud upon the doores and the upper postes Tau, that is the signe of the Crosse, and were so defended from the Angell that killed the Ægyptians first borne childe. And we ought to marke our foreheads, and our bodies with the token of Christ's roode, that wee may be also delivered from destruction, when we shall be marked both on forehead, and also in heart with the bloud of our Lords suffering. Those Israelites eat the lambes flesh at their Easter time, when they were delivered, and we receive ghostly Christs body, and drink his bloud, when we receive with true beliefe that holy housell. That time they kept with them at Easter seven dayes with great worship, when they were delivered from Pharao, and went from that Land. So also Christen men keepe Christs resurrection at the time of Easter, these seven dayes, because through his suffering and rising wee bee delivered,

53.54.

and be made cleane by going to this holy housell, as John 6, Christ saith in his Gospell: Verily verily I say unto you, ye have no life in you, except ye eat my flesh, and drinke my bloud. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my bloud, abideth in me, and I in him, and

26.

hath that everlasting life, and I shall raise him up 48-51. in the last day. I am the lively bread, that came downe from heaven, not so as your fore-fathers eat that heavenly bread in the wildernesse, and afterward died. He that eateth this bread, he liveth for ever. Hee blessed bread before his suffering, and divided Mat. 26, to his Disciples, thus saying, Eat this bread, it is my body, and doe this in my remembrance. Also hee Luke22, blessed wine in one Cup, and said; Drinke yee all Mat. 26, of this: This is my bloud that is shed for many, in forgivenesse of sinnes. The Apostles did as Christ commanded, that is, they blessed bread and wine to housell againe afterward in his remembrance. Even so also since their departure all Priests by Christs commandement doe blesse bread and wine to housell in his name with the Apostolike blessing.

19.

28.

Now some men have often searched, and doe yet often search, how bread that is gathered of corne, and through fires heat baked, may be turned to Christs bodie, or how wine that is pressed out of many grapes, is turned through one blessing to the Lords bloud. Now say we to such men, that some things be spoken of Christ by signification, some See Ra-thing by thing certaine. True thing is, and certaine, tramn, that Christ was borne of a Maid, and suffered death §. 8. of his owne accord, and was buried, and on this day rose from death. He is said bread by signification,

§. 7.

29.

and a Lambé and a Lion, and a Mountaine. He John 1, is called bread, because hee is our life and Angels life. Rev. 5, Hee is said to be a Lambe for his innocencie; A 5. Lion for strength, wherewith he overcame the strong Is. 2, 2. Devill. But Christ is not so notwithstanding after true nature neither Bread, nor a Lambe, nor a Lion, Why is then that holy housell called Christs Body, or his Bloud, if it be not truly that it is called? Truly the Bread and the Wine which by the Masse §. 9. of the Priest is hallowed, shew one thing without to humane understanding, and another thing they call within to beleeving minds. Without they be seene Bread and Wine both in figure and in taste, and they be truly after their hallowing, Christs Body and his Bloud, through ghostly mystery.

An Heathen Child is Christened, yet he altereth not his shape without, though he be changed within. He is brought to the Font stone sinfull, through Adams disobedience. Howbeit, hee is washed from all sinne within, though hee hath not changed his shape without. Even so the holy Font-water, that §. 17. is called the well-spring of life, is like in shape to other waters, and is subject to corruption, but the holy Ghosts might commeth to the corruptible water, through the Priests blessing, and it may after wash the body and soule from all sinne, through ghostly might. Behold now we see two things in this one §. 18. creature. After true nature that water is corruptible water, and after ghostly mystery, hath hallowing might. So also if wee behold that holy housell after §. 19. bodily understanding, then see wee that it is a Creature corruptible and mutable: if we acknowledge

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