blinde peruersenes of the Papists In the. 10. of Iohn Christe sayth I am the doore dooth it followe that hée is a doore in déede no forsooth I thinke but that a doore is to harde for any man to eate they would haue takē that place of scripture to make God Though Christ sayd I am the doore it followeth not Note heere that he was a materiall doore no more dooth it followe that this word Hoc est corpus meum This is my body to be the same body that Marie the Virgin bare it is plaine errour and they are fowly deceyued For when Christe sayd This is my body that shall be giuen for you the worde that he spake was him selfe him selfe was the worde or else must the bread haue béene crucified as is afore which I will prooue by the manifest scriptures Christ sayth in the 6. of Iohn I am the liuing bread that came from heauen your fathers did eate Manna in the desert and are dead but I am the bread of lyfe So it demonstrateth that Christe was the bread Note heere which was giuen for vs but these Gentlemen say that the bread is he Nowe héere is all the cōtrouersie betwéene the Christiās and the Papists Christ fayth that he is the bread that was giuen for vs or broken for vs the Papists say that the bread is Christ now how can we agree for we say as Christ saith that he is the bread these Gētlemen say that the bread is he marke well the scriptures Paul sayth That which I receyued of God I gaue vnto you Let them answer me to this dyd Paul receiue any thing of the Lord but his word for Paul was not with the Lord at the supper to receiue any other thing Oblinde creatures they wot not what they doo will they haue the blood of wytnesse of Iesus Christe required at their hāds still O good christian brethrē for the tender mercy of our Lord sauiour Iesus Christ beléeue not this erronious doctrine of the Papistes worship not a wheaten God In the. 6. Chap. of Iohn Christ sayth The bread which I will giue you is my fleshe which I will giue for the life of the world Héere you may perceyue that the bread that Christ gaue vs was his fleshe Ergo his fleshe was the bread that he brake which was him selfe him selfe was the word and his word was his body which was giuē for the life of the world Then stroue the Iewes among them selues sayd How can this fellow giue vs his flesh to eate for they tooke it carnally as our cleane fingred Gētlemen doo now a daies thinking the they should haue eaten him vp flesh blood bones Iesus sayd vnto thē Iohn 6. Except ye eate the fleshe of the sonne of man ye haue no life in you for whosoeuer eateth my flesh drinketh my blood hath euerlasting lyfe And I shall raise him vp at the last day for my flesh is very meat and my blood hath euerlasting life and I shall raise him vp at the last day for my flesh is very meat and my blood is very drinke and whosoeuer eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abydeth in me and I in him Nowe I tolde you afore that Christe was the bread that was giuen for vs and euen as the materiall bread féedeth the body so this liuely bread féedeth the soule And Christe speaketh heere of his fleshe and blood which was offered in sacrifice for our saluation and our redemption as Iohn sayth Chap. 1.8 The worde became fleshe and we see the glorie of it as the onely begotten sonne of the Father and who so dooth beleeue this dooth eate Christes fleshe and drinketh his blood But not as these Papists do for they say that they crash him with their teeth carnally Oh abhominable blasphemy the same body that Mary bare but they which receiue him in a Christian Cōmunion receiue him by faith For Christe sayd Hoc facite in meam cōmemorationem Doo this in remembraunce of me And whosoeuer beléeueth that this body was done vpon the Crosse for his saluation and that the shedding of his blood is for the remissiō of his sinnes taken in the remembrance of Christes death eateth Christes body and drinketh his blood spiritually God graūt we may doo so for our own soules health Amen Thus much bréefly touching the supper of the Lord. Against mennes Merites and righteousnesse GReate controuersie and disputation there is betweene the Papists and vs Christians touching mennes merites righteousnesse The Papists say that they are iustified by good woorkes and not by faith We say that Sola fides iustificat omnes Faith alone iustifieth all men It is marueilous dearely beloued to see with what rashnes and boldnesse iustification of woorkes is commonly debated yea and it is to be seene how none doe more boldly or with fuller mouthes as the saying is prate of the righteousnesse of workes then they that are monstrously sicke of open outward diseases or be redy to burst with inward vices That commeth to passe because they thinke not vpon the righteousnes of God wherof if they had neuer so little feeling they would neuer make so great a mockerie of it And truely it is out of measure lightly regarded whē it is not acknowledged to be such and so perfect that nothing be imputed vnto it but euery way whole absolute and defiled with no vncleannesse such as neuer was and neuer shal be able to be found in man It is in deede easie and readie for euery man in schooles to talke vainlie vpon the worthinesse of woorkes to iustifie men but when they come into the sight of God such dalliances must auoyd because there is earnest doing vsed and no trifling strife aboute wordes To this to this I say we must applie our minde if we will profitably enquire of true righteousnesse how we may answere the heauenly Iudge when he calleth vs to account Let vs thinke him to be a Iudge not such a one as our own vnderstandinges do of themselues imagine but such a one as he is paynted out in the Scripture with whose brightnes the stars shal be darckned by whose strength the hils doe melt away by whose wrath the earth is shaken by whose wisdome the wise are takē in their suttletie by whose purenesse all thinges are prooued vnpure whose righteousnes the angels are not able to beare which maketh the innocent not innocent whose vengeance when it is once kindled pearceth to the bottome of hell If he I say sit to examine mens doinges who 〈…〉 peare assured before his throane Who shal dwell with a deuouring fire saith the prophet Esaie 3.34 Who shall abide with continuall burninges he that walketh in righteousnes and speaketh trueth c. But let such a one come foorth whatsoeuer he be but that aunswere maketh that none commeth foorth for this terrible saying soūdeth to the contrary Lord if thou marke our iniquities Lord who shall abide
the body of Christe Therefore it is not corporal foode but spirituall Wherevpon the Apostle speaking of the figure therof Because our fathers did eate the same spirituall foode For the body of Christ is spirituall the body of Christ is the body of a diuine spirit De con Dis Ambros De sacra Lib. 4. cap. 4. Euen as thou hast receiued the likenesse of death so doost thou drinke the symilitude of blood Hesychius in Leui. Lib. 1. Chap. 2. Hunc comedimus cibum in recordationem passionis Christi We doo eate this meate receyuing the memorie of his passion Esai the. 25. Chap. And in this mountaine shall the Lord of Hoastes make vnto all people a feast of fatlinges euen as a feast of meate and fined wines and of fatte thinges full of marrowe of wines fined and purified c. Wéereby it appeareth that his suffering should be bread and foode for all people in the world and as it were an euerlasting banquet according to that propheticall promise Esay the Prophet the. 25. Chapter And for that cause least the remembrance of his passion should waxe out of minde he coÌ„maunded it to be done in the remembrance of him and by the same memoriall to shewe the Lordes death vntyll he come againe Whereby may appeare without any difficulty that the natural body is not eaten héere but the death of his body signified and the remembrance thereof celebrated Not the bread and wine turned into fleshe and blood but a Sacrament of our redemption to be instituted in bread and wine August De consecrat Dist 2. This is it that the heauenly bread which the flesh of Christe is called after his maner the body of Christ when as in deede it is the Sacrament of Christes body Rabanus Maurius Lib. 1. Cap 31. Sacramentum vna res est efficacia sacramenti alia res est Sacramentum conuertitur in nutrimentum corporis virtute sacraments honor aeternae vitae obtinetur The Sacrament is one thing the efficacie of the sacrament is an other thing the Sacrament is turned into the nourishment of the body by the efficacie of the sacrament the honour of euerlasting lyfe is obtayned Origen vpon Mathew writeth after this manner Panis sayth hée qui verbo Dei sanctificatur quantum ad materiam et substantiam in ventrem descendit et in latrinam eucitur The bread which is sanctified by the worde of God touching the matter and substance thereof goeth downe into the belly and is throwne out into the draught c. If that be bread which after sanctification goeth downe into the belly according to the testimony of Origen with what face wyll the Papistes deny it to be bread Againe on the other side if according to the Papistes opinion there remayne no crum of substance at all Whereof then shall that be a substance which Origen dooth ascribe to the bread To the same effect may Augustine De consecra Disti 2. be produced a witnesse of antiquitie not to be reiected The heauenly bread sayth he which is the fleshe of Christ is after this manner called the body of Christe beeing in verie deede the Sacrament of Christes body c. If it be a sacrament of the body how is it the verie body againe if because it is called the body of Christe it be therfore Christes fleshe what should let but that by the same argumeÌ„t Peter should be Sathan because he is called Sathan Moreouer if the nature of SacrameÌ„ts be such as to be called by the name of the thinges which they signifie Let the Papistes take away the substaunce of bread what shall be left in the Accidentarie fourmes that may eyther supplie the name of a body or represent the lykenesse of a body in any respect You haue heard good ChristiaÌ„ people bothe by the Scriptures and Doctours that there is no transubstantiation in the Sacrament of the Lordes Supper Who is therefore of so peruerse minde that wyll not persuade him selfe that these wordes Take ye eate ye This is my body to be a Sacramentall spéech and mysticall and ought to be expounded simbolically and according to the meaning For the bread is a SacrameÌ„t signe or pledge of the body of Christe I haue giuen you to vnderstand by many euident reasons that these words of our Lord This is my body ought not to be taken according to the grosse lytterall sence but to be expounded mystically or sacramentally for the bread remaineth in his substance is not chaunged into the substance of the body of Christe In lyke manner the naturall body of Jesus Christe the which being giuen once for vs raysed from death is ascended into heauen is not hyd nor inclosed vnder the kinde or forme of bread For the Angels of God speaking of this body beare witnesse thereof and saye Acts. 1.11 Hic Iesus qui assumptus est à vobis in coelum sic veniet quemadmoduÌ„ vidistis euntem in coelum This same lesus which is taken vp from you into heauen shal so come euen as you haue seene him goe into heauen In like manner S. Peter sayth Act. 3.21 Quem oportet quidem coelum accipere vsque in tempora restitutionis omnium quae loquus â—us est Deus per os omnium sanctorum suoâ—um à seculo Prophetarum The heauen must receyue Iesus Christe vntyll the â—yme that all thinges be restored which God hath spoken by the mouth of his holy ones from the tyme of the Prophetes Saint Paule sayth also Iesus Christe after he hath offered one sacrifice for sinnes is set downe for euer on the right hande of God from hence foorth tarying tyll his foes be made his footestoole Wherfore we reade that Saint Augustine writing to Dardanus sayde ryghtlie and according to the Scriptures Christe as he is God is all whollie present in euerie place but according to the measure and propertie of a true body he hath his place in some one place of heauen hee hath giuen immortallitie to his body in the glorification thereof After this forme he is not to be thought to be diffused and spread abroade euerie where Wherefore we must take good héede that we doo not so affyrme the diuinitie of the man Christe that we take away the trueth of His body For our personne is God and man and out Christe Jesus is bothe two béeing euerie where in that he is God but béeing in heauen in that he is man Yea and this aucthor hath left in his bookes these thinges and many other lyke bothe Catholique and according to the true sence of the Scripture agréeable to this matter Moreouer the Catholique veritie suffereth vs not to faine that Christe hath two bodies But if you take the wordes of the letter This is my body without the blessed body of the Lord béeing set at the Table with his Disciples gaue vnto them also I knowe not what other body for he could not giue him selfe with his owne handes vnto his Disciples Therefore
with his true body and with his handes he delyuered vnto his Disciples the Sacrament of his onely body Héereupon it followeth that the faithfull acknowledging the Sacrament mysterie receiue with theyr mouth the sacramentall bread of his body But with the mouth of the spirite they eate the very body of the Lord. He is eaten in such sort as he may be eaten that is to say spiritually by faith As the Lord himselfe expoundeth this mysterie vnto vs at large in Saint Iohn the. 6. Chapter Neyther haue the purest Doctours of the auncient Church taught any otherwise yea and this place may well be applied to the wordes of the Lord. For séeing our Lord hath but one true body the which he gaue vp to death for vs and that in these two places he speaketh of this selfe same body it séemeth vnto me that this place of S. Mathewe ought to be expoūded by that of S. Iohn Séeing that Saint Augustin also in his third booke of the agréement of the Euāgelists supposeth that S. Iohn speaketh not of the institution of the Supper of the Lord because in an other place he had set foorth this matter at large All the auncient Doctors of the Church Neither the sufficiencie of the scriptures nor aucthoritie of the Doctours can satisfie the Papists speaking of the Supper alleageth the Supper of the Lord. Yet for all that the Papistes euer haue in theyr mouthes transubstantiation transubstantiation Though bothe Scriptures Doctours writte against them yet so voyde they are of reason and common sence and so blockish that they will embrace signes for things them selues they turne that to worshipping knéeling which was delyuered for a thankfull remembrance by most agréeable application The Deuill hath so bewitched their sences and vnderstanding that they thinke they make God euery day as oft as they list hauing none aucthority of the most holy Scriptures but as they wrest it and wring it for theyr owne purposes For Iesus Christ at his last supper took bread and gaue thankes and brake it and gaue it to his Disciples and sayde Take eate this is my body and he lykewise tooke the cuppe and gaue thankes and gaue it them saying drinke ye all hereof this is my blood in the new Testament which shall be shed for many for the remission of sinnes Nowe to come to our purpose where as these heretiques doo take aucthoritie vpon these wordes Hoc est corpus meum that is to say This is my body The horrible blasphemie of the Papists vsed in their Masse Dooth it followe by the holy scripture that they when they haue sayde these wordes ouer the bread should create a materiall fleshe blood and raynes yea the selfe same body that the blessed Virgin Marie dyd beare as these Antichristes say they doo I doo aunswer no for when Christe brake the bread and blessed it dooth it follow that it was his body in déede and there remayned no more bread if they say no I aunswere no more doo we if they say yea then if the bread was not crucified he gaue it to his Disciples and they dyd eate dyd they eate Christes body or no I meane the verie selfe same body that was borne of the Virgin Marie if they say no I aunswer no more doo we if they say yea then dyed he not for vs For could he dye for vs when they had eaten him vp afore But this worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This is my body was the swéetest worde that they could finde out in all the whole Testament The poore people much deceyued by the Papists to bleare mennes eyes with a false God compelling the people to knéele on theyr knées and holde vp theyr handes which is abhominable and detestable Idolatrie But heere is a question to be demaunded of these holy Gentlemen the Godmakers When they make God whether doo they make him at once or twise for they say Note heere that there remaineth no materiall bread after the Consecration but the very naturall body that Marie bare flesh blood bone Then dooth it follow that wée worshippe a false God in the Challice Then wyll they saye as shameles Iuglers that they Consecrate the verie selfe same substāce in the wine that they doo in the bread wherby it dooth appeare manifestly that they are false Sacrilegers robbers and théeues of the laye people For at Easter they giue them a drie body without blood for they giue them Wine vnconsecrated this is once true and manifest But what wyll these Iuglers saye forsoothe euen as they haue all sayde Heretique Heretique blearing mennes eyes with such blinde examples saying euen as there is a glasse and many faces séene in the glasse so lykewise maye a multytude of people receyue the substance at one worde Ah false fayning Iuglers As there be many faces sayth hee in the glasse Note heere and but one glasse I aunswere if I sée my selfe in the glasse dooth it followe that I haue a face styll in the glasse an other in my head Or when a great number of faces is séene in one glasse it is not to note that there are faces in déede but the similytude of faces no more is it to be beléeued that this bread is Christes body that Marie bare for that it dooth but represent the body I would demaund this question that I speaking the worde with reuerence might not make Christes body as well as they they will say no wherfore because we are not elect chosen let them aunswere to this question Dooth the word giue vertue to election Note heere for an especiall enstruction or election to the word If the they say that election giueth vertue to the word then I prooue the worde of no vertue then how can they make God with it If they say that the worde giueth vertue to the election then I prooue that all men speaking the worde may doo as much in it as they For the worde taketh effect in the spirite and not in the fleshe this argument can not be denied except they make God parciall If a man should demaund by what aucthoritie they make God they wyll say by the worde Oh crafty Iuglers God made the world in sire dayes and rested the seuenth day he made Sunne Moone and starres he made byrds beasts fowles and fishes woormes serpentes stones hearbes grasse and euerie thing of the same worde and the same words wherwith he made all these thinges doo remayne mayne styll in the Bible and yet can it not make any of these thinges neyther bread nor beast nor nothing else yet wyll they make the maker of all these things and say they doo it by the word the worde that made all these things remaineth still in the Bible and yet can they not doo it Nowe to come to the word that they make God of that is Hoc est corpus meum which is to say This is my body Behold the
reproch thee for neither is it to be confessed to thy fellow seruant that may vtter it abroade but to the Lord. To the Lord shew thy woūds which hath care of thee that is bothe a gentle and sweet Phisition After warde he bringeth in God speaking thus I compell thee not to come into the mids of a stage and call many witnesses tell thy sin alone to me priuately that I may heale thy sore Shall we say that Chrisostome dyd so rashlie when he wrote this other lyke thinges that he would delyuer mens consciences from these bondes wherwith they be bound by the lawe of God Not so but he dare not require that as of necessitie which he dooth not vnderstand to be commaūded by the worde of God If auricular Confession were the lawe of God how durst Nectarius Bishop of Constantinople repell and destroye the same Wyll they accuse for an heretique and scismatique Nectarius a holy man of God allowed by the consenting voyces of all the olde Fathers but by the same sentence they must condempne the Church of Constantinople in which Sozomenus affyrmeth That the manner of confessing was not only let slip for a tyme but also discontinewed euentyll within time of his remembraunce Yea let them condempne of apostasie not onely the Church of Constantinople but also all the East Churches which haue neglected that Lawe which if they say true is inuiolable commaūded to all Christians I could alleadge many places out of Ambrose Augustine Hierom and Chrisostome if the tyme would permyt Wherfore the aucthority of Chrisostom against auricular Confession the hearing of the godlie may satisfie I will procéede nowe farther to disprooue auricular Confession by reason First I demaund howe can the Préest or Confessour absolue me of my sinnes who hath néede of absolution him selfe can he pardon my sinnes that can not pardon his owne Moreouer if he that confesseth be a naughly man and hath cōmitted some notorious fact he will be affrayd to confesse the same in the eare of the Préest least he be so lewde as to reueale his confession so by that meanes the party that confesseth may dispayre of his saluation onely for that he made his cōfession vnperfect not discouering all the faults which he had cōmitted besides that the Préest may ioyne him such a penaunce that the partie confessed to accomplishe may refuse and so may forsake all hope of saluation But that I may speake a word merely and peraduenture say no more then the truth is I take the cause of confession to be this that Préests béeing vnmaried and were sworne to doo as the Fore dyd to fast when he got no meate and so they to be chaste The craftie deuise of Preestes to coullor their knauerie when they got no Concubines might in hearing the confession of many knowe who were most inclined and prone to carnall delectation And shée that were found such a one should heare in stéede of Absoluo te nomine patris c. These wordes Absoluo te nomine Papae Concubinae et nothi I absolue thee in the name of the Pope his Concubine and bastard that thou commest to my bed this night I will prooue this to be the cause of auricular Confession by an example In the tyme of king Henrie the. 8 A prettie tale of a Preest and his Lemman as I vnderstoode by many the tolde me the same exāple which nowe I vtter vnto you There was a Préest héere in England that got a very fayre Gentlewomā in hearing her cōtession in stéede of absolution to be his waighting-maid This préest fearing lest that this Gentlewomās husband should not finding his wife at home serch for her in his Parsonage or Vicarage I can not tell which he tooke him a goodlie and a lustie Gelding and rode foorth hauing his woman behinde him the most parte of the night vntyll he had found a shéepheards lodge where he rested himselfe a whyle But when they were merie at supper the Kings Trumpetter hauing repayred thither bothe for that he was gone out of the way and knew not how farre be had to any lodging and also for that it rayned apace reposed him selfe vpon a hey mowe which was in the same lodge in a corner distant from the Preést and his woman The blacke Moorian Trumpetter spying some in the shéepheardes lodge and making ioyfully good chéere sounded out his Trumpette the Préest and his woman looking on him and séeing his face so black thought him to be the Deuill they ran away on foote left all things behinde the Trumpetter loste nothing by that shifte Behold the fruites of confession The Préest beguiled the woman belike in telling her that shee could not be saued vnlesse shée would consent vnto his vnhonest request Wherefore in lyke manner he was deceiued in taking the Moorian to be the Deuill What great inconueniences haue growen out of auricular Confession Confession the cause of whoredom daylie experience taught the same The Préest hath the burning heate of fleshly luste extinguished the Daughter is defiled and the Matrone is at the Préests berke commaundement Mens sinnes oftentymes by the Préestes haue béene discouered great enmitie discentions and bloody Combates procéeded thereof To auoide these occasions of euils whereof auricular Confession is the cause good it were and profitable no more to reueale our sinnes to the Préestes Thus haue I bréeflie disprooued auricular Confession both by Scriptures Doctours and Reasons Nowe I purpose God willing to procéede farther to other principall pointes of Religion which be in controuersie betwéene vs and the Papistes Let this suffice for auricular Confession more at large could I haue spoken thereof But as the common prouerbe is Quod satis est sufficit Enough is as good as a feast Sufficiencie suffiseth ¶ Of Faith TO speake of Faith for as much as it importeth not onely the confidence which we haue in God but in as much as it includeth also with that cōfidence the very knowledge of God wheron dependeth Faith Hope and Charitie according to the iudgement of Saint Paule Hebr. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Faith is the ground of thinges which are hoped for and the euidence of things which are not seene Therefore Faith is not as many doo thinke a certayne obscure lyght of God and a certayne trifling and friuolous opinion but it is an euident lyght a certayntie and assuraunce of the minde and a cléere shyning which béeing our guide we sée that God is so mightie wise and good that he can that he knoweth howe and that he wyll saue vs. Therefore with a sure and stedfast confidence we put our trust in him repose and cast our selues whollie vpon him Faith is the sheeld wherewith we quench all the fierie dartes of the wicked Ephe. 6.16 And againe Faith is the mouth bellie and stomacke by the which we feede on the body and blood of Christe beeing at the right hand of his
and deseruings because of the deuotion and good deedes of our fréends kinsfolkes when we be dead Heare what the Lord him selfe sayth by his Prophet Esai Chapt. 43. I am euen he onely that for mine owne sake doo put away thine offences and forget thy sinnes so that I wyll neuer thinke vpon them This verely ought to suffise vs for heere we haue a promise that God will doo away our sinnes so that he will neuer thinke vpon them Not because of our owne merites and deseruings nor yet because of the deuotion good déedes of our fréends and kinsfolkes but onely for his owne sake that is to say of his méere goodnesse and mercie Thus farre of this matter ¶ Of the Supper of the Lord. HEthervnto good Christian people of Purgatory haue I spoken I haue disprooued and confuted the opinion of our aduersaries touching these paper walles and painted fyres by Scriptures and Doctours Wherfore if there be any héere that thinketh there is such a place let him examine the places which I haue brought foorth in cōfutation of the same and then I hope he shall be conuerted to the confession of the trueth in saying there is no Purgatorie Nowe I purpose by the almightie power of Iehoua to speake somewhat of the supper of the Lord. The Papistes kéepe much sturre and great iangling about this Sacrament they say that Christe is really transubstantially and bodily present in the Sacrament of the Aulter They can shewe vs but one place out of scriptures The Papists haue but one argument to alleadge and the same is against themselues to make an argument therby for proofe of transubstantiation but the same place alleaged maketh nothing for them it is no demonstration We will bring out of Scriptures and out of Doctours sundrie places that make for our purpose in deniall of the reall presence of our Lord in the Sacrament First I will declare the name of this Sacrament which hath béene a great matter of burning and contention amongst the Papistes it is called Missa the Masse but of this worde in all the Scriptures I doo not finde one iote or sillable For new thinges new names are inuēted by the nouelty of the name Missam rem esse minimè vetustam tutò licet conijcere We may safelie cōiecture the Masse to be a thing not of many yeeres inuented We Christians call this Sacrament as S. Paul called it in his first Epist Timo. 2. 1. Cor. 10. et 11. Mensam Domini coenam Domini corporis et sanguinis communicationem aut certè panis fractionem eucharistian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aut cum Latinis sacrum conuiuium sacrificium laudis aut denique Dominici corporis et sanguinis sacramentum The Table of the Lord the Supper of the Lord the communicating of the body and blood or the breaking of the bread or thanksgiuing or a holie feast or the Sacrifice of prayse or the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ August Ad Infantes Is cyted by Beda 1. Cor. 10. Quod videtis panis et vinū est et quod oculi vestri declarant manifestè That which you see is bread and wine which also your eies declare manifestly Origen 7. Hom. vpon Leuit. Si literaliter sequimini verba scripta nisicomederitis carnem filij hominis non habetis vitam in vobis haec litera occidit If lyterallie yee followe the wordes that be spoken except ye eate the fleshe of the sonne of man ye haue no lyfe in you this letter kylleth Who is so voide of reason that wresting these speeches vnto the carnall sence the meaning whereef is to be construed figuratiuely wyll imagine that we ought to be borne in our bodies a new as Nicodemus dyd or to be fedde with Christes fleshe carnally as the Caphernaites did What better imagination doo the vnlearned multytude conceaue in these dayes of the doctrine of theyr transubstantiatiō deliuered vnto them by their great Doctours The monstrous dishonour doone vnto God by these wicked shauelings For on this wise doo these famous Christ-makers enstruct theyr auditorie that the bread which was bread before the Consecration altering the verie substaunce of bread is no more bread nowe but turned into fleshe and that this also must beléeued without all question that it is made the euerlasting soone of God What can be more absurde and howe comes this chaunge to passe I pray you forsoothe because Christe sayd Hoc est corpus meum This is my body For this whole huge Chaos of confused transubstantiation is accomplished with these fowre wordes by these Christ-makers What and dyd the Lord pronounce no more words but these foure only what if he spake in the Hebrew tōgue and expressed the whole action in two wordes onely after the manner of that Nation Zoth guphi because the phrase of the language dooth not for the most part expresse the verbe Est but to admitte he spake fowre or fiue wordes what dyd he adde therevnto no more besides or dyd he speake nothing else before or after to make the verie meaning and purpose of his spéeches more euident and manifest And why doo these fellowes omit the cyrcumstances and not delyuer the whole scriptures withall why doo they chop of the one halfe of Christes proposition and suppresse in silence the chéefe part whereby the meaning of Christe might appeare more forcibly For when Christe made mention of his body that it might be eaten he but giueth commaundement to take bread first and to eate Take yee sayth Christe and eate yee And foorthwith making mention of his body dyd say This is my body yet not simplie neuerthelesse but annexed immediatlie That is giuen and broken for you To wit to signifie vnto them nto the verie substaunce of his natural body simplie but that the crucifying of his body the shedding of his blood should become our foode From hence bubleth out all the well-spring of error that where our Lord and Sauiour had relation to the efficacie power of his Passion the same the Papists doo apply to the onely substance of the flesh as though we were to be fedde with the Passion of his fleshe Note heere But you will aske how the Passiō of Christ feedeth which is not eaten forsooth in the same manner as the death of Christ dooth nourish vs so dooth his Passion féede vs not after a fleshlie but after a spirituall manner not as it is chawed with the téeth but as it is receyued into the heart For then dooth the death of Christe feede vs when it refresheth vs then is he eaten when he is receyued by faith and applied to our infirmities Pascasius 43. Chapter Therefore we must thus thinke with our selues not howe much is chawed with the teeth but howe much is receyued by faith and looue c. Ciprian De coena Domini Our abyding and incorporation in him is our eating and drinking wherby we be vnited vnto Christe and made his body
not by any corporall but by a spirituall manner passing into vs c. Christe sayde to his Disciples Take yee and eate yee this is my body which is giuen for you doo this as often as yee shall doo it in remembraunce of me What can be more euident then the interpretation of this Supper if the cyrcumstances of the wordes be scanned accordingly For who is so blinde that can not discerne the fruites of the Lordes death and Passion to be plainlie signified héere For as much as in the verie eating him selfe sayth This is my body that is giuen to be slaine for you Otherwise why should he haue added with all Giuen to be slaine But that hée woulde set downe a plaine testimonie of the death of his body rather then of any substaunce thereof to the viewe of the Disciples As if he should say The tyme is nowe at hand A comfortable consolation woorthy to be had in remēbrance of all men wherein my body must be giuen to be slaine for you not for any of mine offence at all but for your sakes which death of mine shall procure euerlasting lyfe for you After lyke sort and manner as this bread which I giue thus broken vnto you to eate dooth passe into your bodies and giue nourishment thereto Take ye therefore this bread this bread which I giue to euerie of you and eate and withall consider heerein not the naturall bread which feedeth your bodies outwardly But my body which beeing giuen to be slaine and crucified for you shall inwardly and much more effectually refresh you to eternall lyfe For my fleshe which I will giue to be slaine for the lyfe of the worlde is meate in deede and my blood is drinke in deede Iohn 6. For your bodies doo not so much lyue by the nourishment of meate and drink as your soules be fedde within with the crucifying of my flesh and the shedding of my blood without which you can haue no remission of sinnes no ioyfull resurrection of your fleshe no parte or portion of eternall lyfe Therefore let this which is giuen you in this Supper remaine for a perpetuall Sacrament and remembraunce vnto you of the body which I will heereafter giue for you For I shall giue my body for you into the handes of enimies the Sacrament wherof I doo heere giue into your handes Whereby you may perceyue déerely belooued that héere be two things giuen by Christe one vnto vs the other for vs the first to be eaten the last to be crucified that one in the Supper this other vpon the Crosse Now if you desire to know the substance of that which was giuen in the Supper it was bread and the Sacrament of his body That which was giuen vpon the Crosse was his body and not a Sacrament What then wyll you say was not his body giuen at Supper yes in déede Christes body was giuen there to the Disciples neither after a bodily and corporall maner for that corporall body was giuen to the Iewes not in the Supper but on the Crosse wherevpon he gaue his body corporally not to the Disciples but for the Disciples Therefore that which he gaue for his Disciples was his body that which he gaue to his disciples was the mistery of his body yet was it one the selfe same body bothe that of the supper giuen to the Disciples and that of the crosse giuē for his Disciples but yet not after the same sort nor yet at the same tyme. For vpon the Crosse it was giuen to be slaine corporally in the supper it was giuē not to be slaine but to be eaten not corporally to be grawne which theyr téeth but to féede vpō it in the bowels of their soules namely after a sacramētal kinde of receyuing not corporall Therefore it is not denied that the Lordes body was bothe giuen eaten in the Supper but not the body only but together with the body the sacramēt annexed also withal wherof the one apperteyneth to the féeding of the bodies the other to the séeding of the soules That which is receyued within in the soule is the very body not the Sacrament of his body For as much therfore as these two doo necessarily concurre together in the holy supper that the one can not be seuered from the other let vs so ioyne the one with the other that we neyther seperate the body of Christe from the Sacrament as the Papists doo which be so throughly wedded to the only substance of the body as that they leaue therin no substāce at all of a Sacrament but superficial and immateriall shadowes I know not what hanging in the ayre which serue to no purpose Neyther let vs so segregate the Sacrament againe from the body as that wée leaue nothing in the holy Supper but bare signes Cyrill Anathe 11. Doost thou pronouce sayth he this our sacrament to be mans foode and vrgest the mindes of the faithfull irreligiouslie to grosse and carnall thoughts and doost thou practise to discusse by mans sensuall reason the thinges which are conceiued by onely and most exquisite faith Heare what Christe sayth in the interpretation of his owne spéeche Caro sayth he non prodest quicquam verba mea spiritus et vita sunt Fleshe dooth not profit at all my wordes be spirit and life And doost thou cruell Canniball conceiue eate nought else but the flesh of Christe nor wylt thou permitte one crumme so much of breade to remaine because it is called the body of Christe But how many things doo we heare dayly called by this or that name when as in very deede they be not made the things wherof they beare the names When the Disciple whome Jesus looued was by Christes owne mouth called the sonne of Marie yet wyll no man be so wytlesse as to confesse him to be the naturall sonne of the Virgin Marie So also the Prophet dooth call fleshe a flowre of the feelde In the Gospel Iohn Baptist is called Elias Peter is named a Rocke so is he also called Sathan To conclude throughout all the discourse of the Scriptures what is more frequented then this vsuall phrase of spéec he and that things be called by this or that name wherein notwithstanding is no alteration of nature but the properties of things onely noted Theoderet Christ did signifie the signes which be seene by calling them his body and blood not chaunging the nature but adding therevnto grace Gelasius Contra Eutichetem Substantia panis et vini non mutatur et sine dubio imago et similitudo corporis et san◠guinis celibratur in actionem mysteriorum The substaunce of the bread and wine dooth not cease and without doubt the image and similitude of the body and blood is celebrated to the action of the mysteries Ambrosius De mysterijs Christus est in Sacramento quia est corpus Christi ideo nonest corporalis sed spirituas lis cibus c. Christe is in that Sacrament because it is
Father in heauen Iohn 6.56.57 And againe Faith is the ladder that reacheth vp to heauen and by which euen nowe we remayne and sitte in the heauenly places with Christ Ephe. 2.6 Faith is the hand by which we take holde of Christe in whome is performed all the promises of God to his elect 2. Cor. 1.20 Faith is that weapoÌ„ by which we ouercome the world the end wherof is the saluatioÌ„ of our soules Faith is a cleare and effectual persuasion wrought not in the bodily eares but in the eares of the heart not by men but by the holy ghost wherby we are made certaine and sure to be the sonnes of God Faith as it is written in the. 8. Cha. to the Rom. is a firme coÌ„stant and perseuering trust in the bouÌ„tifulnes of God Faith is a lyght which lyfteth vp rauisheth aboue all sensible things and beyond that any man is not able to make discourse to comprehende the breadth length height and depth of those things which are to vs incomprehensible with naturall eyes Faith is a cleere eye of the mind wherewith pearcing through the heauens we doo see the diuine secretes of God Faith is a quickening cleere and fiery lyght which purgeth our heartes and delyuereth vs from the darke and inextricable Laborinthes of the vaine shadowes of this worlde by which we guide our blinde reason and are lyfted vp to an high estate so that by the taste of heauenly thinges we despise humane thinges Roma 4. Faith maketh vs to conceiue Christe spirituallie and by force of the spirite to be borne againe with lyfting vs vp vnto God it maketh vs put of the olde Adam and his concupiscences and to put on Christe with his vertues and to become of vngodlie iust temples of God and his chyldren brothers and members of Christe Faith iustifieth pacifieth the minde and conscience maketh merie causeth to reioyce and in such sort that we glory euen in shame This faith is such that it reneweth vs regenerateth vs quickeneth maketh noble enritcheth saueth sanctifieth preserueth defendeth and obteyneth that which it demaundeth Faith knitteth vs to God maketh vs his heyres and Children the brothers of Christe and his members yea it maketh vs diuine and happy Faith is that which in Abell made him offer Sacrifices acceptable to God In Noe caused him to frame the Arke for the sauegarde of the worlde Made Sara to conceyue and that Abraham offred his owne sonne to God Caused Moses to worke so many woonders in Egipt and in the wyldernesse Faith made the Prophets to speake loosed the tongue of Zacharias and saued men in daunger made Simeon not to feare death also made Paule to wishe for it This in the Saintes caused them ouercomming the world that they haue wrought woonderfull thinges through looue But what néede I speake any more Faith is a vertue so noble excellent and woorthy that howe much the more a man considereth of it so much the more wyll it discouer the perfection Therefore he which hath tasted it wyll neuer be satisfied with speaking in prayse thereof Whereas those which neuer haue felt nor tried it in them selues can as much speake thereof as one that is blinde can discerne of coullours yea if those speake of it as those which be carnall and brutishe they doo not vnderstand it nor knowe the excellencie thereof He that hath this liuely Faith wherof the scripture in sundry places speaketh and so highlie commendeth with so many tytles before specified he is sure to be iustified he is sure to be saued This faith made Abraham righteous Gen. 15.6 By this faith the iust lyueth Haba 2.4 This faith made the woman whole to whome Iesus sayde Confide filia fides tua saluam te fecit Daughter be of good comfort thy faith hath made thee whole 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Be not afrayde Saith Luke in the â—â— Chapt. 48. verse Beleeue onely And he sayde to the woman H 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thy Fayth hath saued thee goe in peace To him giue all the Prophetes witnesse That through his name all that beleeue in him shall receyue remission of sinnes Actes 10.43 And put no difference betwéene vs and them after that by fayth hee had purified theyr heartes There is no dyfference For all haue sinned Sayth Saint Paule Roma 3.23 and are depriued of the glorie of GOD and are iustified freelie by his grace through the redemption that is in Christe Iesus Therefore wée conclude that a man is iustified by Faith without the workes of the Lawe but to him that worketh not but beléeueth in him that iustifieth the vngodlye his Faith is coumpted for ryghteousnesse wée béeing iustified by Faith wée haue peace towards God through Iesus Christe Knowe that a man is not iustifyed by the workes of the Lawe but by the Fayth of Iesus Christe Euen as I saye we haue beleeued in Iesus Christe that we might be iustified by the faith of Iesus Christe and not by the workes of the Lawe Because that by the workes of the Lawe no flesh shall be iustified Gala. 2.16 Againe if righteousnesse be by the law then Christe dyed without a cause And that no man is iustified by the lawe in the sight of God it is euident For the iust shall liue by faith Gala. 3. By grace are ye saued through faith Sayth Paule to the Ephe. 2.8 and that not of your selues it is the gifte of God The scripture hath included all vnder sinne that the promise by the faith of Iesus Christe should be giuen to them that beléeue Origene writeth in his thirde Booke and third Chapter to the Romaines that Saint Paule by these wordes A rbitramur enim iustificari hominem absque operibus legis We suppose therfore that man is iustified by faith without the workes of the lawe Affyrmeth that the iustification Solae fidei Of faith onely is sufficient so that any man beléeuing onely can be iustified although no manner of worke hath béene fulfilled or done by him And if we require an example who was iustified Sola fide By faith onely without workes I suppose that the same Théefe dooth suffise who when he was crucified with Christe did crye vnto him froÌ„ the Crosse Lord Iesu remember me when thou commest into thy kingdome Neither any good worke of his is described or set foorth vnto vs in the Gospels but for HaÌ„c solaÌ„ fideÌ„ This faith onely Iesus sayde vnto him Verelie I saye vnto thee this daye shalt thou be with mee in Paradise This Théefe then was iustified by faith with out the workes of the lawe For the Lord dyd not vpon this requyre what he had wrought before neyther dyd he looke what worke he should doo after he did beléeue but béeing ready to enter into Paradise he tooke him for his waighting-man béeing iustified by that confession onely Hesichius in his fowrth Booke and first Chapter vpon Leuiticus saith That the grace of God is giuen onely of mercie and fauour and is embraced