A discourse or treatise of Peter Martyr Vermilla Floor[n]tine, the public reader of divinity…A discourse or traictise of Petur Martyr Vermilla Flore[n]tine, the publyque reader of diuinitee…

To Abraham he declared him self very favourable and loving. To Isaac also, & to Jacob his sons son. He prospered their stock when they were oppressed, he delivered them, and gave them a fruitful country to dwell in, and promoted them to the dignity of kings and priests, and yet were they continually men of a hard belief, and did not perfectly think that God owed them good will. Wherefore for their infidelity, he cast them out into divers captivities, & again many sundry times he delivered them.

To Abraham he declared hym selfe very fauorable and louinge. To Isaac also, & to Iacob his sonnes sonne. He prospered their stocke whan they were oppressed, he deliuered them, and gaue them a fruitefull contrye to dwell in, and promoted them to the dignitie of kynges and priestes, and yet were they continually men of a harde beliefe, and did not perfectelye thincke that God owed them good wyll. Wherefore for their infidelitie, he cast them oute into diuers captiuities, & agayne manye sondrye tymes he deliuered them.

In conclusion to the entente that there should be no place left of doubting of his goodness, he gave them the greatest and highest benefit of all benefits that is to wit, his son taking on him our flesh, that he should dye on the cross for our health & salvation, ⟨p. xlv⟩the which benefit was such and so great, that Paul to the Romans, sayeth: how hath he not given us all things with his son: And than left the same so great and so high a benefit, should any more be forgotten, his will and pleasure was, that it should evermore now and than be renewed in this sacrament of thanks giving, to then tent that we should continually by faith think in our minds that Christ was given by his father to death and that by the believing thereof, we should eat his flesh and drink his blood, which thing to the intent that it might the more effectually be done, the signs of bread and wine were joined unto it, which should more earnestly move us then bare words alone had been wont to do. Therefore when he saith, This is my body, he understood none other thing, than he promised in the sixth of John when he said: I am the bread of life, he spake of himself as concerning his body and flesh delivered to death, or rather that should afterward be delivered as plainly appeareth by his words Neither meant he, any other thing, but that these things should be unto us bread and meat, wherewith our sols might be comforted and confirmed, and by the mind or sol the body also should be confirmed, and so consequently all the whole man. Christ therefore at his last supper meant nor went about nothing else, but turned and set the words of his former saying: one in another's place: and like as afore he had said his body and flesh to be bread, so now placing the words in the contrary order, and showing forth the bread, he sayeth that