The Food of the Soul: against the day of judgement.  
By A. D.  john 6. 35. 
I am the Bread of life, he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.  
Printed at London by M. F. for I. Wright. and C. Wright. 1624.   

THE FOOD OF THE SOUL.  john. Ch. 6. Verse 35. I am the bread of Life, he that cometh to me shall not hunger; and he that believeth in me, shall never thirst. 
WHEN our Saviour Christ had performed that heavenly Miracle in feeding five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes, the people which were satisfied with that gratis cheer, did follow him to the City Capernaum. But when jesus perceived their hypocrisy, that they were fleshly and carnal hearers, and as a good Writer saith, Parasiti quos platina conglutinate, hypocrites and belly-gods, whom the trencher doth make friends to Christ: like unto him which when he sweat over his trencher yet cried out, O quanta patimur pro amore Christi, Lord what suffer we for the love of Christ! jesus therefore reprehendeth these men, saying, Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye seek me not, because ye saw the miracles, but because ye eat of the loaves and were filled. Yet they obstinately answered him, What miracles hast thou done? hast thou commanded the Sun and the Moon to stand still, as josua did? hast thou revived the widow's son, as Elias did? hast thou made iron to swim, as Eliza did? hast thou revived the dead bones, as Ezechiel did? hast thou been in the Whale's belly with jonas: or parted the red sea with Moses? Our Fathers did eat Manna in the Wilderness, Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat. But mark I pray you how jesus did answer them, Nay, (saith he) Moses gave you not bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true Bread from Heaven: For the Bread of God is he which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord evermore give us this Bread. And jesus said, I am the Bread of life, he that cometh to me, shall not hunger, and he that believeth in me, shall never thirst.  
And thus much for the coherence, and occasion of our Saviour Christ's words: now particularly as they lie in order: First, who is the Bread? Which is Christ, Persona loquens, signified in this word, I. Secondly, what is this Bread? It is the bread of life. Thirdly, the powerful efficacy, and effect of this bread, declared in these words, He that comes to me shall not hunger; and he that believeth in me, shall never thirst.  
And first, who is this Bread, which is, Christ: I am the living Bread which came down from heaven, saith Christ. Ego sum panis vitae, & fons aquae vivae. I am the bread of life, and fountain of living water: Omnia nobis est Christ us: (saith Ambrose) si esuris, ipse est panis; si sitis, ipse est fons aquae vivae; si caecus es, ipse est lumen; si infirmus es, ipse medicus; si mortuus, ipse vita gratiae & gloriae. Christ is all things to us: if thou be'st hungry, he is bread; if thou be'st thirsty, he is the fountain of living water; if thou be'st blind, he is the light; he is the health of a fevered soul, light of thy life, life of thy desire, heaven of thy mind, guide to thy wand'ring feet, succourer in necessity, helper in adversity: yea, he is all things to thee: I am the living Bread, saith Christ. The bread which I give is my flesh, and the drink which I give is my blood: my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the latter day.  
O blessed meat, O celestial food: O heavenly Manna: it far excelleth the Poet's Ambrosia: would to God that all of us daily might eat of this Manna: would to God that all of us which travel in the Wilderness of this world, might lodge at such an Inn, where God the Father is the host, the holy Ghost, the Hostess, the Church the Inn, the Cross the sign, and Christ the meat and drink. Aristotle must dine when it pleaseth Philip, but here thou mayst have store of spiritual food for the repast of thy soul, and take it when it pleaseth thyself. Say but thy grace before this blessed banquet, and then sit down and satisfy thy hunger. The more thou eatest, the more it increaseth. like to jupiters' Nectar, the more it is drunk of, the more it overfloweth. Neither needest thou use the counsel of Lysander, which he prescribed to his Daughters, to drink with a drop of wine a spoonful of water. Thou mayest drink as much of this precious wine as thou wilt, neither canst thou infuse any mixture of water, but of the water of eternal life. This meat is of the like quality with the stone of Thracia, which whosoever findeth, is never after troubled, so whosoever eateth of this meat, is never after grieved: labour therefore to get this meat which endureth to everlasting life. No water was so good as that which came out of the Rock, no meat so delicate as Manna which came from heaven, no Wine so wholesome as that which Christ made of water at the marriage of Cana, no oil so precious as that which the Samaritan had, no robe so costly, as that which the father gave to the prodigal son, no bread, no food, no meat so profitable, as this meat of the soul which endureth to everlasting life. This meat is water to refresh us, and wine to cheer us, this is bread to strengthen us, and Manna to nourish us, it is a treasure to enrich us, and a pearl to adorn us, it is a fire to purge us, and salt to powder us, it is a trumpet to call us, and wisdom to instruct us, it is a way to direct us, and life to revive us, it is a Lantern to guide us, and a buckler to shield us, it is physic to recure us, and a salve to heal us: if we have this meat, this Manna, this bread, we shall have no need of Elizeus to increase our oil, no need to beg at the glutton's gate, or to send unto Naball the churl for food: if we have this treasure, we shall not need to rob the Egyptians: if we have this pearl, we shall not need the gold of Ophir; if we have this water we need not draw water at jacobs' well; Naaman needs not wash his feet 7 times in jordan, the sick needs not to go to the pool of Bethsaida: for this precious meat, and inestimable Manna will purge us from the leprosy of sin: So that we shall loathe to drink of the slumbering cup of the devil's sorceries, to be witch us to sin: this bread is Homer's Mol●, & Pliny's Centauria against all lustful enchantments: for this bread, this spiritual food, will so cleanse our minds, and purify our hearts, that we will always detest the eye-pleasing baits of carnal desires, and wholly delight ourselves with this inestimable treasure: carnal voluptuousness is transitory and fading; the minutes that lackey at the heels of time, run not faster away than do these pleasures: but this spiritual food, this bread of life, is not like palate pleasing dainties, whose sugared sweetness once relished is presently gone; but it yields the hungry soul an everlasting fruition of most ravishing sweetness: labour therefore for this bread which bringeth to everlasting life.  
The Bees do labour to get a little honey:  
Mella stipant & dulci distendunt nectare cellas.  
But this bread is sweeter than honey, or the honeycomb. Our forefathers did eat of the Acorns of the Oaks, and thought them pleasant meat; And we, which by Ceres' huswiferie have learned to bury the reviving grain, do think that bread most delicate food: O foolish Caterers, let us rather learn to bury in our hearts this reviving grain, that in this general famine of true Christian food, we may with joseph provide abundance of this bread of life, for the benefit of our souls: then should we not have such spiritual penury, and dearth of religion, if our hearts were made fertile to bring forth the seeds of our soul's nourishment and sustenance. Labour not therefore for the bread that perisheth but for this bread which remaineth unto everlasting life.  
Ay, but some will say, where shall we find this spiritual food, this bread of life? I tell thee Christ is this bread of life. Ay, but he will perhaps reply: how shall I come to Christ to get this food? I bid thee go to the Scriptures, (Christ's treasury) where thou shalt find this Manna, this bread of life, there is plentiful store, take and satisfy thyself; neither needest thou go fare to seek it, as David did the Ark of GOD, or as josias did the book of the Law; Neither canst thou desire with the Glutton, that one from the dead might arise to teach thee how to find this bread of life: for now adays (thanks be given to GOD for it) the dispensers of this bread of life be plentiful, who may without fear or peril show thee the compendious way to seek this bread of life. Now Obadia need not fear Queen jezabel, to hide a hundred Prophets in a Cave: Moses need not fear King Pharaoh, and say, I have a stuttering tongue: jeremy need not fear the jews, and say, I am a child: for now the Ministers of GOD'S word are maintained, and preserved, and may freely without danger, and boldly without fear, dispense of this bread of life. Yea and every one of Christ's faithful Children, although he be not an head in the mystical body of Christ, or an eye, or a leg, yea, if he be but an hand, yet he may gather of this bread of life; if he been but an ear, he may hear of this bread of life; or a tongue, he may praise this bread of life; or a mouth, he may receive this bread of life. Labour therefore for this bread which endureth to everlasting life: I am the bread of life: O jesus thou art the bread which givest life: Thou art a guide to our ways, a guardian to our persons, a Councillor in our doubts, a Comforter in misery, a Patron in necessity, and wilt thou be bread also? Thou art our keeper, our shepherd, our defender, our Saviour, and wilt thou be bread also? O jesus thou art light unto our eyes, music to our ears, contentment to our souls, & wilt thou be bread also? O loving jesus, O merciful Redeemer, O blessed Emanuel, O jesus, we give thee our bodies, our souls, our substance, our wealth, our honour, our friends, our children, our life, and all that is ours: jesus we are not our own but thine, claim us as thy right, keep us as thy charge, love us as thy children: jesus fight for us when Satan cometh, heal us if he woundeth, revive us if he killeth, receive us if we fly into thy merciful bosom: protect when he approacheth, detect us when he cometh: jesus thou art our food in the day, thou shalt also be our repose in the night: jesus make us pliable to thy will, resigned wholly to thy pleasure. jesus forsake us not, lest we perish, leave us not, lest we be overcome: jesus direct our intentions, correct our follies, erect our cogitations, protect our endeavours: jesus grant us ●●row for our sins, fear for thy judgements, love of thy mercies, thankfulness for this bread of life. I am the Bread of life, that is, I am the bread of immortal and heavenly life, not of this mortal: and earthly life: for else Christ might rather have said, I am the bread of death, and not of life; for this life is a living death, and a dying life: But Christ is not bread of such a life; But, he is the bread of an immortal, and never-fading life.  
Happy therefore is he which is at this banquet, and tasteth of this bread of life: Neither is this an imaginary fruition, or a painted banquet, resembling the hungry cheer, which the birds had that fed themselves with Zeuxis painted grapes, until with picking at shadows they waxed so lean, that they were glad with Esop's Cock to scrape for a barley corn. But with this bread of life thy Soul shall be so cherished: with this Manna thou shalt be so wonderfully delighted, that ever thou shalt loathe the fleshpots of Egypt. Hic panis est corpus meum. This bread is my body, and therefore thou canst not mislike it. O you Ministers, the faithful dispensers of this hallowed bread of life, feed duly Christ's flock with this bread of life. Christ said to Peter, Pasce, pasce, Pasce, Feed, feed, feed: Feed with this bread of life, with your doctrine, with your alms: Feed first with this bread of life, for it is the bread of salvation: Secondly, feed with your wholesome doctrine, that Christ's sheep do not surfeit with vice, and so need the corosive of his correction to amend them. Thirdly, feed with alms: but what shall I press you to that? Nay I must in conscience spare you, for the case now so stands, that you are liker to live of alms, then be able to give alms: and therefore till happier times come, wherein your divine function may more bounteously be rewarded, I will spare you for that point, for necessity hath no law. In the mean while feed with this bread of life, & spend your breath happily in the fires of devotion crying alarm spiritual against foul vice, and all wickedness: so at last you having not defrauded Christ's children of this bread of life, may have a most bountiful remuneration of your painful labours, and enjoy all heavenly happiness, and celestial joys, tasting this bread of life, which is prepared for all GOD'S faithful children: And thus much shall suffice to have spoken of the first parcel of my text, I am the bread of life.  
Now it followeth, that I should briefly speak of the powerful efficacy, and effect of this bread of life. Which by the tongues of Angels cannot be so well declared, as by these our Saviour's words, He that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst. After a man hath tasted of all manner of delicate meats, yea although he hath caroused new grapes in Alexander's cup, and plentifully paid that daily tribute to the stomach, which the law of our nature exacteth, yet that food will not satiate him for ever, so that he shall never hunger, or thirst after. But this bread, this bread of life hath another power, and effect, for he that eateth of this bread, shall never hunger, or thirst more.  
We read in the fourth Chapter of Matthew, That man liveth not by bread only: but I say, man only liveth by this bread: for this bread is the bread of heaven, which giveth life unto the world. Therefore be careful to seek for this bread, for Christ doth not forbid us to seek for this bread: he saith in Matthew the sixth Chapter; Be not careful what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, behold the fowls of heaven, they sow not, neither reap, nor carry into their barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them; the Lilies do not labour nor spin, yet Solomon in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these: therefore take no thought, saying. What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or how shall we be clothed? but seek ye the Kingdom of Heaven, and all these things shall be ministered unto you. Yet in all these exemplified admonitions of our Saviour Christ; he doth not forewarn us to be careless for seeking of this bread of life: will Christ forbidden us to seek himself? Christ is this bread of life, feed on his flesh, and nourish your souls: he is the oil, and lamp, with which the five Virgins entered into the Bridegroom's chamber. He is the Lord of life, the way of life, the bread of life.  
Believe in this Lord, come unto this way, eat of this bread, you shall never hunger, or thirst after.  
But some man peradventure may object, Can bread extinguish hunger and thirst? When a man is dry and thirsty, he doth not use to eat bread.  
I answer, that the Hebrews do use this phrase, Panem comedere, pro coenare, for to sup, as Master Caluin here well noteth: so we say in the Lord's prayer, da nobis quotidianum panem, give us our daily bread, signifying all necessary things belonging to a man: eat of of this bread of life, and you shall not need to say, give us our daily bread, for you shall never hunger, or thirst after: He that cometh to me, shall not hunger: Accedat ad Christum omnis anima: let every Soul come to Christ, and he will refresh it: I will (saith he) feed the hungry soul, and refresh all faint hearts. I am the strength of the feeble, the succour of the hungry, a refuge against evil weather, a shadow against heat: a continual feast, where all hungry and languishing souls may satisfy themselves with celestial food. O well are they, and happy shall they be, which sit at this heavenly Table, and eat of this blessed and spiritual meat, the price and redemption of their souls. Here is Manna which the children of Israel shall never loath: the wise Ethnic man's saying upon a feast, here taketh no place: Prima cratera (saith he) ad sitim pertinet, secunda ad hilaritatem, tertia ad voluptatem, quarta ad insaniam: The first cup belongeth to thirst, the second to mirth, the third to pleasure▪ and the fourth to insobrietie But at this feast of the Soul, it is quite contrary, for the more thou drinkest, tant o proprior es ad animae sanitatem & salutatem: thou art so much the nearer to the health, and welfare to thy soul. Calisthenes said to Alexander, that he had rather carouse old grains with Diogenes in his dish, then new grapes with Alexander in his cup, for of all the goods (quoth he), I love not Aesculapius. But whosoeever drinketh in this cup, shall not need Aesculapius' physic, for it is a present remedy, and a sovereign restorative against the maladies of a sinful soul: it is an excellent potion, and a most wholesome purgation to expel the leprosy of a sinseared soul.  
The precious stone Sandastra hath nothing in outward appearance, but being broken, it poureth forth beams like the Sun: so this bread of life hath not an outward glea of superexcellent goodness, but taste it, and then it poureth forth such admirable excellency, that thou shalt never hunger any more. Therefore the shepherds of Christ's flock, should only feed his Lambs with this bread of life.  
When they be hungry, they should fill them with this Bread of life. They should cry unto them always, Come unto Christ, and he will give you the bread of life, so that you shall never hunger or thirst any more. The Ministers should have a continual cry, not like the Swallows, which have matutinum cantum, a morning song, or as the Grasshoppers, meridianum cantum, a noon song, or as the Owls, vespertinum cantum, an evening song, or as the Cocks, antelucanum cantum, a song before morning: But they should have a morning song, a noon song, an evening song, and a song before daylight, to awake Christ's slumbering sheep to come unto Christ, and eat of this bread of life, so they shall never hunger for this more. He that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth in me, shall never thirst.  
To believe in Christ, is the total sum of all Christian Religion: For our faith in the death and passion of our Lord and Saviour jesus Christ, is the sure foundation of our salvation. Fides in Christo (saith Saint Jerome) est fundamentum humanae saluationis: Faith in Christ is the foundation of man's salvation: without this faith, all our virtuous actions, and good endeavours be in vain. So saith Saint Augustine, Sine fide falsa est omnis virtus, without faith, all virtue is in vain: Sine fid● impossibile est placere Deo, without faith it is impossible to please God: Sine fide omnis labor vacuus, without faith all our labour is frustrate. Faith is the porter of heaven gate, and not Saint Peter.  
He that hath faith, yea but as much as a grain of mustard séed, shall be able to remove mountains: Wherefore let us labour to get this faith, which being obtained, we shall not need any other treasury: let us lay up this jewel in our hearts, which will enrich us ever after. The Anatomists say, that in the heart of man there is a little hole, which hath nothing in it. Whereupon a good writer saith, that this little Cabinet and Cell of the heart, God doth reserve for himself, to be a Chamber, and a private mansion for him to dwell, and keep therein: let us therefore bestow upon our gracious Lord this precious gem, this excellent ornament to adorn and beautify this inward chamber: that when it shall please the Lord to call us to the high Star-chamber over our heads, he may Antipelargein; that is, requite us with fare more sumptuous jewels, and richer ornaments, making us cohabitors with Angels, and the admired paragons of all perfection: let us therefore confidently believe in Christ, desiring him most hearty and unfeignedly, to give us of this bread of life, which is the only restorative against hunger, & thirst. Avicen like a fool said in his Aphorisms, that good was the best restorative. No, no, this bread of life, is the most heavenly remedy against all diseases: it is a poison for vice, but a lifegiving potion for virtue. It is the bread of death, for carnal gluttony; but it is the bread of life, for spiritual hunger. If thou be'st famished, eat of this bread, and it will revive thee; it can heal all leprosy of sin, and remove all maladies from a sin-sicke Soul: it is the Nectar of our salvation, and the Lethe of our iniquities: taste but once of this bread of life, and thou shalt ever after loath the sugared cates, and bewitching dainties of lustful affections: look daily upon this bread of life, and thou shalt ever after hide thine eyes, and stop thine ears, which are now captived vassals to behold and hear the legerdemain of humane juggling desires: All Siren songs of carnal concupiscence, and vices lovelines, which are now imprinted in thy breast, shall be quite canceled out, after thou hast once digested inwardly, and thy soul hath had an happy concoction of this bread of life: it purgeth all the hidden corruption of man's folly, and giveth working pills to vomit up original transgressions: it is the present remedy for a body, which lieth in a consumption of grace: to taste of this bread of life, within a short space by the unspeakable hidden operation, will make a blessed recovery for this languishing creature. If thy soul be hungry or thirsty, behold two sacramental rivers flowing out of the Paradise of Christ's body: in the one thou shalt find this bread of life, in the other this water of life: taste either of them, and thou shalt never hunger, or thirst more: yea, the power of this bread cannot be sufficiently declared by the tongue of the worthiest Orator. Wherefore let us only satisfy our souls with this bread of life, whose power, and efficacy our daily Orator Christ jesus, hath declared unto us in these words, He that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst. Wherefore to draw to a conclusion, let us from the bottom of our hearts, desire Christ jesus evermore to give us of this bread, that when the glass of our life is run out, and with the Pheni● we may discern the term of our days, and with the Swan discover our fatal end, that it would please him to feed our hungry souls with this spiritual food, this bread of life, and place them at his heavenly table, to satisfy themselves▪ with this celestial banquet: yea, when our breath vanisheth, our eyes wax dim, and we turned out of the houseroom of this transitory world, repair unto our doomsday house, where the worms (the dead men's Lawyers) shall take their fees out of us their grave clients, and our bodies shall be their bread to satiate their hunger, yet thou (O jesus) would vouchsafe to give us thy body, the only bread of life, for to nourish our hungry souls, that by the wings of a lively faith we may fly up to the heavens, and enjoy that age of unspeakable pleasures: the eternal Father through the merits of his déerest Son, by the sceptre of his holy Spirit, so rule our hearts, that we being righteous as Elias, and our prayers fervent as those of Elias, they may pierce the clouds, and open heaven, and thence bring down this bread of life, this dew of divine grace, upon us, and satisfy our souls with this mystical banquet of Christ's body. O Lord inflame our tongues with the zeal of devotion, that our prayers may be fervent, and may make a sweet incense to pacify thy wrath, that thou blotting out all our unworthiness out of thy memory, mayst graciously hearken to our petitions, & mayst grant us this inestimable treasure, the price and ransom of our soul's redemption. If Lions seek their meat of God, if the Ox know his owner, & the Ass his Master's crib, grant us a most careful desire to crave this meat of our souls, & to wait & seek for this bread of life, that we which were created by a consultation of the Deity, redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, sanctified by the holy Ghost, may be partakers of this blessed bread of life, and in the end, and without all end, sit at his heavenly table, reigning together with the Trinity in the Kingdom of Heaven: to which be all glory, power, praise, and dominion, both now, and for evermore.  
Amen.  
FINIS.   

PRAYERS FOR PRIVATE HOUSEHOLDS.  
O Lord prepare our hearts to pray.  
O Most mighty & eternal GOD, who art the Creator, Guider, Governor, and Preserver of all things both in Heaven and Earth, vouchsafe we humbly beseech thee, to look down with the eye of pity and compassion upon us miserable and wretched sinners; who at this time are prostrate here before thee, to offer up this our Sacrifice of Prayer and Thanksgiving unto thee. And although we be unworthy, by reason or our manifold transgressions, to present ourselves before thee: yet we humbly beseech thee, for thy Son Christ jesus our blessed Lord and Saviour's sake, to accept of us, and to grant these our prayers and petitions which we do make unto thee.  
We render unto thee LORD (most mighty and most merciful) humble and hearty thanks for all thy blessings, and thy benefits from time to time bestowed upon us; for our Election, Creation, Redemption, Vocation, justification, that measure of Sanctification in this life, and the assured hope of Glorification in the life to come: As also for our Health, Wealth, Peace and Prosperity, for the free passage of thy glorious Gospel; for sparing us thus long, and giving us so large a time of Repentance; as also for all other thy benefits, whensoever or howsoever bestowed upon us: We give thee humble and hearty thanks more particularly for thy gracious protection of us this day past, and delivering us from all the perils and dangers of the same. And seeing thou hast brought, and kept us safe to this present night, we humbly beseech thee LORD, to protect and keep us in the same: watch over us with thy providence; Shelter and defend us from all the assaults of the world, the Flesh, and the Devil. Keep us from all sin, especially from those sins whereto by nature we are most addicted: Make us sorrowful for our sins past, and seal unto our hearts, we humbly beseech thee, full assurance of the forgiveness of them, in thy Son our Saviour jesus Christ: Increase our faith, our zeal, and our knowledge, and make us daily more and more to increase in piety, and true holiness. Set a watch O Lord before the door of our Hearts, that they think not; before the door of our Lips, that they speak not; before all the parts of our body, that they do not any thing which is amiss, or may breed offence. Bless us also we beseech thee, in our calling wherein thou hast set us: prosper that which thou hast given unto us, and which in thy fear we set our hands unto. Stir us up to employ ourselves faithfully, religiously, and industriously, in our calling: Give us all things needful for this present life; and grant that we may so pass through things temporal, that our affection by them may not be withdrawn from things eternal. These things and all other, which thou knowest meet and requisite for us, we humbly crave at thy hands, in the name of thy Son our Lord and Saviour jesus Christ, concluding these our Petitions with that form of Prayer which himself hath taught us; saying: Our Father which art in heaven, etc.  

Another prayer.  
O Merciful Lord and loving Father, that of the incomprehensible riches of thy mercy, towards the disobedient and lost children of Adam, (who serving Satan after the blind and unbridled lusts of the vile flesh, whe●e carried away through sin and ignorance to damnation) hast reconciled us to thy favour through grace and adoption in Christ jesus the righteous, by faith and holy conversation: in whom we are delivered from eternal death and destruction: Have mercy upon us, and for love of thy sweet Son our Redeemer, defend us against the power of the destroyer, and with thy mighty hand lift us up out of the filthy puddle, and deathful corruption of this abominable world: purifying our hearts with thy grace that we being wholly inclined to thy heavenly desires, may grow perfect in all holiness, and abounding in the good works which thou hast prepared for thy Saints to walk in, for the glorifying of thy name: we may grow an acceptable Temple, for thy continual dwelling in us O Lord: to the unspeakable peace and comfort, and the everlasting bliss and salvation of our souls: through Christ our Saviour, Amen.  
FINIS.