of moste weight importaunce Wherby is wrought the marueilous wisedome of God who onely wyl be accompted alwaies true vprighte and iuste in all his wordes and that all men should appeare as they are lyars If in any one man shoulde rest the fulnes of al trueth we woulde by our weakenesse verie proudely swere into his wordes thereupoÌ„ establish oure beliefe and make hym as it were an earthly God Paule therefore led by the spirite of God taketh his maister Gamaliell and the greate Rabines to no counsell in the settynge furth of the high misteries which God had reueiled vnto him No he woulde not confer with fleshe and bloude that is with any man notwithstanding he him selfe was wonderfully enstructed in the lawe and became irreprehensible therin beinge a pharisei that is to saye an interpreter and as your men are a doctoure hym selfe Notwythstandynge he bryngeth nothynge of Thalmud he teacheth not hynge by the traditious of their fathers but by Moyses by the prophetes and the open worde of God whereupon onely fayth can haue his foundation Fayth is of hearing sayth Paule and this is by the hearing of the worde of God and not of mans doctrine Though you therfore do cal this your doctrine of the real and carnal preseÌ„ce of Christ vnder the fourme of bread and wine the fouÌ„dation of our faith yet were they neuer set in our olde Crede beliefe nor nuÌ„bred among the. xii articles of our faith And Paule wheÌ„ he said I do only know Iesu Christ and him crucified which is the very fouÌ„dation of our faith wherby we might be saued though we lyued in wyldernesse or dyed vpon the seas without thys sacrament Yea though we be murdered in your presence and by your formentes put to death wythout the receyueinge of this Sacrament For our â—ayth standeth fully grounded vpon this worde Whâ— so euer confesseth Christe to be come in the fleshe he is borne of God and who so euer beleueth and is baptised the same is saued Adde you hereunto what newe foundations you please We feele in oure hertes beinge taughte by the open worde that no man can laye any other foundation but Iesu Christe By whose death we dye from confidence in all creatures and by whose rysynge from death we do ryse agayne and do seeke thinges that are aboue where Christe sitteth at the right hande of God ⧠Of contrarietie and coÌ„tradiction THe Deuyll hath an other piece of Sophistrie which is in conterfaite contradictions wherein he vseth for a preface and introduction a moste certeyne trueth whiche is that trueth agreeth wyth it selfe and hath no parte contrarie to an other Wherefore seinge the worde of God is an infallible trueth it hath no contrarieties in it selfe All the worlde muste assent hereunto But thus the Deuyll procedeth to his cauillations from thynges euidently true by little chaunge to thinges euideÌ„tly false HeaueÌ„ and earth haue a kinde of contradiction Christe is in heauen where saynt Stephane dyd se him Ergo he is not in the earth in the sacrament of the aultare Christe ascended into heauen Ergo he taryeth not here He sitteth at the righte hande of God Ergo he is not in the sacrament of the aultare He is the creatoure Omnia per ipsum sacta sunt All thinges be made by him Ergo he is not a creature made of breade He dwelleth not in the teÌ„ples made with mannes handes Ergo he is not in the box vpon the high aultare Your solution to these opeÌ„ scriptures and moste euident argumentes is at one worde and that is this They be taken for notable coÌ„tradictions and insoluble sophisines and in effecte in all these argumentes there is no contrarietie or contradiction in the thinges but onely a repugnaunce and impossibilitie to mans carnal capacitie But I beseche you good bishop is there no contrarietie in the thinges Is not heauen and earth cleane contrarie Haue you so captiuated your wittes and dulled your vnderstandinge that you caÌ„ not perceiue those two thinges to the coÌ„trarie God is the creatoure and maker of all therefore can he not be a creature made of breade He dwelleth not in the temples made with mannes handes for the heaueÌ„ of heauens can not contayne him therfore is he not enclosed in a litle box and hanged vp by a bande It is to muche shame for any priest bishoppe or christian man to thinke so vnreuerently of the secrete maiestie of God as that he mighte be bounde vnto a place enclosed in a cake or a litle boxe seinge boeth heauen and earth be full of his dreadfull maiestie and we what so euer we be do lyue be moued and haue our beinge of him He is infinite incomprehensible vnmeasurable higher then the high heauens lower then the deape botomles waters he measureth the wyde worlde wyth his spanne and coÌ„teyneth all enclosed in his fiste Wyth him the light dwelleth and the sunne beames are at his orderynge By hym is ruled lyghte and darkedesse lyfe and death and altogether Wherefore when thou canâ—t inclose in the box the rageyng seas when thou canst catche the moue in a corner aâ—d sparre her vp in a case when thou canst penne vp the sunne beinge but a creature in thy pix then wyl I graunte the to haue power ouer thinges infinite and incomprehensible In the meane tyme I muste take it impossible not onely by carnall capacitie but also by spiritual iudgement grounded vpon the worde of God by the gifte of reason wherby al men coÌ„sidering the worke of God in the cretion maye knowe their creatoure to exeell all creatures farre and that he can therefore be made by no creature neither of any creature muche lesse can he be enclosed in a box of an yâ—che and an halfe deape when the priest wyll â—…mble foure wordes in a corner and there lye tyed tyll he wax foystie vnlesse the prieste lose hym Oh abominable Idolatours howe muche doeth thys derogate to the maiestie of God And howe farre contrarie is thys to his godlie nature Nowe that it is contrarie to the humaine nature of Christe to be enclosed in bread and sparred in a litle box thus mape we more largely proue vnto you Christe in his humaine bodie forsaketh the worlde he goeth vnto the father He dyd keepe those that were his so longe as he was in the worlde And when he departed out of the worlde he desired his father to keepe them He coÌ„forted them when he went awaye sayinge that it was profitable for theÌ„ that he departed that the spirite of coÌ„fort might come He promised to come againe visibly and with glorie as he went and in the scriptures there is none other comynge of Christ taught vs but the coming first in humilite to take our flesh vpoÌ„ him afterward in glorie to iudge all fleshe whiche thynges are declared Math. xxvi Marke xvi Luke xxiiii Iohn xiii xvi xxii Actuum i. vii Rom. viii Ephe. i. ii Corhi
be deceiued wythout the helpe of reasone set in man to be their lady and masters and wyth hir helpe they maye iudge of all bodily and sensible creatures muche more are they able to iudge of breade their continuall obiect dayely offered vnto them wherin not one sense but the sigh taste smelle and feleinge doe wittnesse together reasone approueth and alloweth theyr iudgment and faythfully established in the worde of God affirmeth the same Christe hym selfe as we haue sayed calleth it â—reade and wynne Paul to the Corth â–ª calleth it breade that we breake and sayeth that weaâ—e one bread and one bodie so many as are pertakers of the same breade Againe in the. xi So ofte as we â—ate thâ—s brâ—ode and drinke thys cup we shewe the death of the Lorde vnto he come Therfore who so â—ateth this bread drinketh this cup vnworthily is gilty of the bodye and bloude of the Lorde Let a man proue hym selfe therfore and so eaâ—e of this breade and drinke of thys cuppe Agayne in the Actes of the Apostles Thei coâ—…ed in the doctrine of thapostles In feloweshipe and breakynge of breade Againe he was knowne vnto them in breakeinge of breade Luke xxiiii dayely continuinge with one accorde in the teÌ„ple and brake bread froÌ„ house to house oure sences also do one after other beare witnesse hereunto We heare Christ and his apostles saye This is bread We smell tast and feale it to be breade We se it is breade and so coÌ„clude â—i reasone after thys sorâ—e The baker dyd bake it as breade before it was put to thys vse and in this vse it is nothyng chaunged froÌ„ the kind of bread for it musteth mouldeth and wil be eateÌ„ of â—…sse as other breade wyl Wherfore we be inge enstructed firste by liâ—… fayeth and thaÌ„ by our senses ruled by reasone dare boldelye conclude thys same to be breade If you myght leade captiue all these three â–ª then shoulde we folowe where you woulde haue vs as oure fathers haue done before As for the misteries and principles of our religion wherof you saye we stande greate neade to be taught â–ª you teache fâ—ll slender lie that is to saye onely wyth a sentence of doctour and a verse songe in the churche But we knowe that so many of them as be corporal and therfore sensuall it hath pleased God so to wrocke them that the verie senses maie perceiue them and therfore be as a testimonie of our fayeth beareinge witnesse of their trueth Nowe as for the misterie of the Trinitie and the vnitie of godhed you do know full well they are not in the numbre of sensible and bodilie thinges and therfore can in no wyse be offerred vnto the sâ—ses wherfore it is no good proffe to iudge them vnable to declare vnto our reasone what is breade and what is wine because the can not attain to that wherwyth they maye by no meanes meddle Or to thynke them not murtified in other thynges because thei witnesse heare agaynste you But you go aboutte to slander vs as thought we dyd not beleue We knowe by our fayeth grounded vpon the boke of Genesis and all other scriptures settinge forth the almyghtie powre of God teacheinge vs to belieue in God the father almyghtie maker of heauen an erth and in hys onely begotten sonne oure Lorde Iesus Christe who was coÌ„cerned by the holy gost and borne of the virgine Marie wherin resteth the chiefe poynte of religion and onely saluacion So sone as he came into the worlde ther were called to wittenesse three herdemen or shepeherdes and three wyse men out of the easte to se wyth theire eyes and testifie vnto other thys the cheife misterie of oure religion that Christe was come in the fleshe bisides the resorte of the men of Bethlehem to se theyr sauioure wyth theyr eyes and the plaine testimonie of Simion saieinge Now haue mine eies sene thy saueing helth More ouer Christ thus comeinge in the fleshe was bodily present in the syght and eyes of al the worlde the space of xxx yeres and what so euer miracle he wrought in the dodient appeared to the eyes and outwarde senses As when he chaunged water into wyne streigh waye it appeared wyne to all the outwarde senses Inlyke maner such as Christe healed bodeli were thei lame blind or lazar streigth waye they appeared whole And so conseqeÌ„tly in all the miracles that Christ wrought in sensible thinges bodilie they so appeared vnto oure senses Whan he raysed Lazar us froÌ„ death to lyffe it was not countertaite for he dyd eate and drinke in the sight of all men So lykewyse when Christe suffered moste paynefull death in the syght of the whole world vnder ponce Pilate he was crucified deade and buried that no eie or tonge shoud wittnesse the contrarie He desended into hel as Peter witnesseth in spirite which falleth not vnder the knowelege of our sences because the spirite goeth and cometh man knoweth not howe Than haue wee wittnesses that God raysed hym the thirde daye and shewed hym to all the people but firste to his wittnesses appoynted for the same purpose whyche dyd eate and drinke with hym after he was risen from death Moreouer that we should nothinge doubt of this misterie so darcke vnto reasone christ appered vnto them agayne and commaunded Thomas Didimus who was before in doubte to put hys fynger in hys syde to see hâ—s handes and the woundes of the nayles that thei al might knowe it to be his natural bodye thus risen frome death yea a bodye whyche hath fleshe and bones contrarie to your doctrine whyche wyll haue ve belieue in a bodie that hath neither fleshe nor 〈◊〉 quantitie nor qualitie that is as much to â—aie as no propretie of a bodie excepte it be borowed of the bread But we beieue according to the â—…e spirite that Iohn describeth that Iesu Christe is comen in the fleshe and hath died in the same accordinge to the saieinge of Paule and testimonies of al scripture in the which he is also raised againe and â—owe sitteth at the right hand of God the father froÌ„ whence he shal come to iudge the â–ª quicke and the deade Vnto whom al the propheres geue wittnesse that who so euer beleueth in hym shall haue remission of â—ynnes by hys name We beleue in the holy gost one God with the father and the sonne euen from the beginninge as appeaâ—eth by the firste creacion of the worlde Now that the euerlasteing Lord and euer liueinge God hath created al thinges by his worde oure Christe and sauiour wyth so vniforme powre of thys holie goste that nothinge coulde come forth to any shap or forme vntyll this spirite procedeing from them boeth dyd mone vpon the walte depe or vnformed waters Wherfore thys almyghtie powre of the trâ— and euer lasting God is in Hebrue called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 plurallye for the diuersitie of persoÌ„es throughout
To be shorte let any indifferent persone take in hande to iudge the life trade and learneinge of you byshopes and compare it wyth the doeinge of Christe and he shall fynde so muche diuersitie as betwen Christe and Antichrist To compare them also to Peter an Paule and other of the Apostles woulde sâ—ne declare the one parte to be naught they are so coÌ„trarie but they shalbe founde the folowers of Christe and therfore of the trwe churche and you the â–ª contrefaites yea the verie folowers of the Romeish Antichrist and therfore the sinnagoge of SathaÌ„ As for vs we wyll heare the voice of oure shepeherd onelie We will heare â–ª no straunger and therfore we haue no nede of any testimonie of man For the verie anointe inge teacheth vs to call Father father And the same spirite witnesseth vnto our spirit that wee are the chyldren of God For he that confirmeth vs to gether in Christe is God who hath also sealed vs and geueÌ„ the erneste of hys spirite in oure hertes And as Paule sayeth in the fyrste to the Ephesians to so manie as do beleue in the worde of truethe and the gospell of health you are sealed vp by the holy spirite a fore promised whyche is the ernest of oure heritage Therfore sayeth he agaâ—ne drawe no pâ—cke wyth the vnfayethful For what companye can ther be betwene the ryghteouse and the vnrighâ—â—ouse or whaâ— parâ—etakeing of the lyghte wyth darckenesse What concorde wyth Christe and Belial Or what parte can the fayethfull haue wyth the vnfathfull or howe can â—he churche of God agree wyth Idoles For you are the â—emple of the liueynge God as God sayede I wyll dwel in theÌ„ and walke in them and I wil be their God and they shall be my people c. And thys is the vniuersall churche scatered thorough out the worlde whiche we beleue not the churche of Rome Fraunce and Englande as Peter confessethe sayeinge I perseiâ—e in deed that wyth God there is no regarde of persones but in euerie nacion he thâ—t feareth hym and worketh ryghtuousenesse he is acceptableâ— vnto him This church sufferreth alwaye wyth hir heade Christe wherefore she shall also reigne wyth hym alwayes and be glorified This is eueÌ„ the felowship of sainctes that we do suffer together wyth oure heade and make perfite the afflictions whyche lacked vnto his bodye which is the church haueing one onli father in heauen one onely sauiour on erth one fayeth grounded on hys onely worde one baptisme of the spirite one hope of our calleing one heritage commune from Christe to all the whole feloshipe of sayntes and memberâ— of hys bodie Haueinge the remission and forgeuenesse of oure sinnes as the whole scripture witnesseth be leueinge stydfastely the riseinge agayne of the fleshe as is moste playnely taught and euerlasteâ—nge lyfe as Iohn witnesseth that God hath geuen euerlasteinge lyfe And thys lyfe is in his sonne He that hath the sonne hath lyfe The spirit is it that witnesseth these thinges for the spirite is trueth and he that beleueth in the sonne of God hath this testimonie wit in hym selfe and he that doeth not beleue maketh God a liar These thinges haue I written that al men myght knowe our fayth not to be grounded on man but on goddes holy worde and that we doubt in noparte of the olde fayeth but onely vpon your newe articles and gloses ⧠The resolusion of certen doubtes contained in Winchesters booke THus haue I put you out of doubt â–ª that we doubte in no article of the christiaÌ„ faith But I doubt that you bâ—e not yet out of doubte in those thinges that you doubt of in your detection amongest whych this is the greatest doubt You doubt you saye how the sonne of god whome you cal Iâ—…sus shoulde be contained in the woÌ„be of the virgine Vnto this your boubt I answere that as he was and is God so was â–ª he and is wythout begining and ende And the heauen yea the heauen of al heauens can not containe hym much lesse a littlle boxe to be shut therin but as he was verie man so was it true that the prophete dyd speake That a woman shoulde coÌ„passe a man And thys body that was borne of of the woman can you not proue to be scatterred throught out all corners of the erthe and to be in heauen also For so shoulde you make hym a spirite and no bodye yea all together God no crature for no creature can be in â—…o places theÌ„ one at one coÌ„trari to the chieffest article of our faith which is that he was incarnat became maÌ„ like vnto vs in al thynges synne onelye excepted and that in the same fleshe he dyed once rose againe and ascended into heauen and there sitteth at the right hande of God the father from when 〈◊〉 he shall come euen verie man as he asended hauinge all the propreties of an incorruptible bodye that is to saye beinge visible and local haueing quantitie and qualities as his fayethfull disciples and Apostles sawe and perceined hym to haue after his resurrection whyche proprites declared hym to diâ—â—er froÌ„ a spirite muche more from God as concerneinge the bodye wherin these qualitites be The godheade differeth and is knowne froÌ„ the bodye by that it is immense and can be coÌ„tayned in no place neither is it sensible nor can be perceiued by any of the senses Wher as contrariwyse the bodye is sensible and maye be boeth felt and sene and must nedes be alwayes contained in some one place other else is it no bodie And thought by miracle God haue caried any corporall bodie froÌ„ place to place coÌ„trarie to the cours of nature as he dyd Elias in the firely chariot Or as he caried Abacuke for the confort of daniell and as the spirite of God toke awaye Philip when he had christened the Ennuche of quene Candaces and set him at AzotuÌ„ And as by the spirite Peter was brought out of prisone taken from the foure quaternians of souldiours hys bodye lowsed forth of all the chaines and prisons sodaynelye yea the â—ate of Irone openeinge agaynste hym contrarie to the naturall order yet can no man proue by these or any lyke miracle that one bodye hath ben in ii places at once much les that any of these bodies maie be eueri where as you do maynetayne by miracle of Christ comeinge into the house when the Apostles had shette the dores and wyndowes for the feare of the Iewes that the natural bodye of Christe maye be in ten thousande boxes and aultres when you do not knowe whether the dores dyd open agaynst Christe as the Iron gate dyd agaynst Peter But you bringe in your sophistrie agaynste al reasone wyth out any scripture and therfore wythout any fayeth affirmeinge that ii bodies are in one place together occupi the same place at one time which neither faieth reasone nor any of the seÌ„ses that
in whiche three lyeth all the knowledge that man can haue of thynges naturall or aboue nature as is afore proued can perceyue no maner of miracle seinge the breade and wine remayne in their kinde vnchaunged as Luke and Paule do wytnesse So that by your owne wordes you seme worthy to be one of those that affirme you knowe not what beinge puffed vp wyth the fleshly Imaginations of your owne myndes Seinge all the other workes of God do appeare as God made them if they were spirituall they dyd appeare spiritually if they were bodily they dyd so appeare you mighte haue added with like shamelesse forhead This thinge that we bishoppes do say must needes be true though it agree neither with his workes nor his worde For all men maye see that you maynteyne boeth this and all your other doinges But in this sophistry the deuyl maketh maÌ„ to forget gods omnipoteÌ„cie exceding our capacite causeth vs to measure gods doinges by our natural imbecillitie because we caÌ„ not be in two places at once distant one from an other we iudge the same repugnant in God For soeth here you speake vntruly of vs. For we al do beleue in hert and coÌ„fesse wyth mouth that God onely is almightie and filleth al the heauen and the earth with his presence euen as sure as he made al thynges in the heauen the earth and the seas This high estimation that we haue coÌ„ceiued of god by liuely faith causeth vs to take it as a thynge cleane coÌ„trary to the power of the almightie to be enclosed in a box turned or coÌ„secrated as you cal it into alitle cake But the manhode of Christe whiche was very man as we are synne onely excepted haue we already proued to be in heaueÌ„ at the right hande of his father and therfore not in earth in the box hanged ouer the aultare But Christes being in heaueÌ„ which s Stephane truly coÌ„fesseth was nothyng coÌ„trary to saint Paules true affirmation that Christ was sene to him in earth after his ascencion Nowe surely both their visions of the glory of Christ our sauiour the testimonies of the woÌ„derful sight that they did se doth both stablish our purpose and coÌ„fute your errour but that you deale like a sophister with thys word erth speaking it after such sort that the simple reader should refer it vnto Christ being vpoÌ„ the erth after the asceÌ„tioÌ„ which Paul neuer taught nor any of the apostles These are the playne wordes of the scripture touching this mattier After that he had taught that the highest dwelleth not in teÌ„ples made with maÌ„s haÌ„de againste the opinioÌ„ of the hie priestes Stephan replenished with the holy spirite loking vp into heaueÌ„ did see the glory of god and Iesu staÌ„ding at the right haÌ„de of god And he cried with a loude voice Lo I se the heaueÌ„s opeÌ„ and the sonne of maÌ„ staÌ„dyng at the right hande of God Here it is described woÌ„derful plainely that Stephane being vpon earth dyd see Christe in heauen by the wonderful worke of God thus confortynge his first martyr and witnesse of the glorie of his sonne Christe Paule lykewyse prepared from his mothers woÌ„be to beare the testimonie of Christ amonge the heathen as he went to Damascus was so daynely beset wyth a wonderful greate lyghte from heauen And then fallyng to the ground he hearde a voice whiche sayed vnto hym Saule Saule why doest thou persecute me Then answered he Who arte thou Lorde And the Lorde sayed I am the same Iesus of Nazareth whom thou doest persecute Of thys vision and suche lyke doeth Paule saye Dyd not I see Iesu Christe He sayeth also Laste of all as vnto one borne out of course dyd Christe appeare vnto me Whyche be the wordes whiche you do alledge as makynge muche for your purpose And you dyd brynge in thys texte out of course if you be well aduised â–ª agaynste Lamberte as thoughe it shoulde haue gotten the victorie and stopped the mouthes of all men At what tyme I promise you me thoughte your Argumentes were not so stronge as your shamelesse audacitie was out of measure whyche wythout any cause or commaundement dyd in the presence of so noble a prince take the tale out of the mouth of your Archbishoppe to whom in that Audience it mighte ryghte well haue becomed your sclender diuinitie to haue shewed some reuerence But if the mind of Paule maie serue you for this declaracioÌ„ he sayth in an other place that whether he were in the bodie or out of the bodie he coulde not tell but rapt he was into the thred heaueÌ„ and into Paradise wher he sawe suche thinges as is not lawefull for man to speake Whiche wonderfull visions were shewed by God to strengthen his chosen vessell like as the other were vnto Stephane and are written to encrease our faieth and hope which do beleue in Christ bi them I maruaile much what fantasie was in your heade at that time and how it remaineth stil in you causeinge you to bringe this vision of Paule for the confirmacion of Christes naturall bodie to be present in the sacrament But you are of such powre that for to stricâ— your pore brethren whom you compt worsse then doges callinge them diuelles at euerie word euerie thing is weapon good inough God is the aduenger of hys people and wil callenge vnto him selfe his owne glorie It repugneth not to Christes powre to sit at the right hand of the father in heaueÌ„ and yet to fede the infinitie nuÌ„bre of his people wyth the saine his precious bodie in earth It is not repugnauÌ„te to gods goodnesse being creatoure of all ther wyth in the fourme of breaâ—e to feade vs hys creatures Surely it is no repugnaunce vnto hys powre thus to fead al that shal beleue in him takeing the wordes spiritually as thei are in dede spirite and life and admiâ— no grosse nor carnal vnderstandeing But carnally as you do vnderstande theÌ„ with the fleshely minded Caparnites that the natural bodie shoude be eaten fleshe bloude and bones a fewe men shoulde deuoure it But I am in doubt whether they be men that haue so cruel hertes to eate mans flesh Nam canis â—aninam non tangit that is to you that vnderstande not the latine I speake it A dogge wil not eate dogges flesh Telâ—… theÌ„ whether it do not abhor nature that man should eate mans flesh Yet seâ—…e you to haue a cloke for thys Scithian crueltie in that you chaunge hym into the fourme of bread In the which wordes if you shewe the spiritual vnderstanding that is to saie That like as the body is fed with bread so liueth the soule by this fode of life the offering vp I saye of the bodie of our sauiour Christe vpon the crosse to saue vs froÌ„ death Or lyke as we eate the breade wyth oure mouth bodily so do we receiue Christe into your soules by fayth These sences and â—uch like beinge
An ansvver to the deuillish detection of Stephane Gardiner Bishoppe of Wynchester published to the intent that such as be desirous of the truth should not be seduced by hys errours nor the blind obstinate excused by ignorance Compiled by A. G. Iudicum vi ¶ Oh let theÌ„ perish from the erth and from vnder the heauen all the Idoles that haue not made the heaueÌ„ the erthe destroye you theyr groues and altares If they be goddes let them reueng them selues ¶ Anno. 1547. the. 24 of Ianuary ¶ In the viii leafe i. page and xiiii line for staine mne reade same mine To the Reader DEarely beloued bought wyth the same bloude and therfore parte takers of the same kyngedome because the Lorde oure God is the God of knowledge and wyll haue suche seruauntes as by knowledge in trueth wythout fleshely fantasies either of fained goddes or any fonde worship of mans madde brayne who alwaies from the beginneinge hath renne after vanities wyll be radie to geue answere of their faieth in him the God of lyfe and of the hope conceiued by his onely worde it becometh all his â—o labour for knowledge that they maye walke vpright in the waie of their Lorde and by no halting ignoraunce to slide furth of the same and so to prouoke his worthi displeasure And as he is the God of loue peace vnitie and concorde and will haue vs al tied together with the bonde of loue and made therby in hym all one bodie so doeth it become vs wyth open hertes wythout all doublenesse one to enstructe an other to the edifiynge of oure brethern that in sure grownded fayth we maye loue together and so enioye the hope of our vocacion Therfore though mi talent bee verie smal and no principall gifte either of eloquence or learninge but onely a loue of the trueth geuen vnto me yet seinge the worlde is so blinded with Idolatrie and so beewitched with popishe sophistrie and euen nowe the spirittes and powers of darcknes worcke the chiefe mysterie of iniquitie and wickednesse to set vp and maintaine the moste weake Idole that euer was in the worlde in the steade of the most mightie and euerliuinge God I coulde thincke it no lesse theÌ„ my most bounden dutie openly to beare wittnesse vnto the truthe And where as the wordes of truth haue bene slandrously and spitfully named the saieinges of the deuil by the spiritual crafte of a souldiour of SathaÌ„ which by painted wordes woulde transform him self into an angel of lyght Whose boke is spred euerie where and receiued in manie places more reuerentlie then the blessed bible the holie worde of God Yet no maÌ„ hath so farre as I know once opened his mouth or taken penne in hand to make answere to this blasphemouse messenger of the proude Senacherib neglectinge the liueinge God for the littel I dole that he maketh God or no God at hys pleasure who suffreth Mise to eate him and the wicked to deuoure him Lette all other men do as they shall thyncke good wyth silence to let suche thynges slip Truly if I coulde saye nothinge thereunto but onely naye denienge Idolatrie and renouncynge all supersticion therin maintained I iudge it my parte to publishe my faith rather then by my silence to seame to consent to suche diuillishe doctrine So also do I esteme it the dutie of the faithful in this perillous tyme plainely to professe the Lord the liueuinge God to be the onely God in heauen a boue and in the erth beneth leste bi our silence for sakinge hys cause here vpon erth we be forsaken in his heauenly palace For lyke as in herte we do beleue to oure rightuousnes so must we necessarily confesse to oure saluacion as Paule teachethe We must beware as Paule warnethe and the bishope taketh the same text first ofal that our senses be not corrupted from the simplicite and sing lenesse that is in Christe as the serpent begiled Eua. We knowe but one God We are maried vnto one We knowe but one Christ made man and none other creature for ourcause This thing as we beleue it in herte so muste we in mouth â—oâ—fesse the same if we wyll walke in the simplicitie and sing linesse that is in Christe as becometh christians For if the hert and mouth go together then is it sing lenesse otherwise it is doublenesse and dissembling But there is one other simplicitie as it hath bene compted as the worde hath bene abused which is verie folishnes This maye we cal the simplicitie that Antichriste woulde haue styl to reigne amonge vs and therefore his champion when he brought in the texte of Paulle lefte out the principall wordes Que est in christo Whyche is in Christe as their olde texte hath it And thorowe out hys whole boke he woulde driue vs to be simple That is to saye to folowe as we be led like blinde men that the proude papisticall prelates still leadeinge vs into the pitte of perdicion abuseing our wines and goodes maye saye in their connentes Let them alone let them offer still vnto Imeages a pice of bread or any thinge else of a good intent all is well done that is done of a good intent They maye worship a stocke or a stone let them folow their auncient fathers They are good simple soules They do as we and oure doctours teach theÌ„ If we let theÌ„ knowe al trueth they wilbe as wise as we and then they wyll smally regarde vs. Thys is their workeinge these are their wordes howe so euer they haue clokâ—d hertofore all the worde nowe seeth it Let vs beware therfore of this thir simplicitie and let vs no longer thynke that this their doctrine is'true that al should he well done that is done for a good intent and that it is well done in all thinges to beleue theyr doctours For this ignorante opinion that thei haue grounded in their hertes hath hitherto stopped the waie to all knowledge and nowe letteth faith to be grounded and causeth men to continew styll in their olde errowres wythout any desire to come out of blindnesse Consider therefore good reader a gaynste their blinde lessons that Saull was caste from hys kyngedome for his good intent euen because he intended to do sacrifice vnto the Lorde of the best and fatteste of the Amalechites And yet maye thys seme a gloriouse intent The bishoppes of the Iewes and the Idolatours of al ages folowed theyr good intent euen when they put Christ and all hys prophetes and Apostles to death The byshop of Norwich when he burned pore Bilney folowed his good intent our other byshopes also burneninge and murtheringe theyr bretherne in prisone and out of prisone folowed theyr good in tentes But God is the iudge of the inteÌ„tes and thoughtes of vs al and sercheth the verie raine and the holes of our hertes Yea the lord our god abhorreth and the prophetes reproue vs alwayes because we wyll do euerie man that semeth good in his owne
eies Sayth not the Lorde by hys prophet Esaye Myne intentes are not your in enteÌ„s and mi wayes are not your wayes But â—o so farre as the heauen is from the erthe so high are my wayes aboue your waies and mine intentes aboue your intentes For the beliefe of their doctours and the prelates of the churche which thinge the bishoppe laboureth alwaies to establish remembre that Christe saith if the blynde leade the blynde boeth fal into the pitte And thou must doub tlesse coÌ„mpt their writtinges eueÌ„ verie blindnes in regardeâ— of the light of goddes moste certaine worde which must be the rule of thi life the fouÌ„dacion of thy fayth and the light vnto thy feete As for theyr auncientie be sure to take Christ for they guide who was before all And saye with S. Paule fayth is of heariuge not of the worde of any maÌ„ but of the worde of God Therefore saieth God the father with open voice from heauen This is my dearely beloued sonne in whom is my delight heare you hym Now if any be so fainte herted and so deluded by other that they thyncke they maye still disseinble wyth the hypocrites in their owtwarde doetnges I sende them to the exemple of Daniel who praied with opeÌ„ windowes and wyth his three companions refused to honour the golden Image would not dissemble outwarde worship nother content them selues with the purenesse of theyr owne hertes thoughe they myght therby haue escaped the fire consideringe that the glorie of God coulde not be so foâ—dered but rather hindered by theyr walkeinge in the waye of the wicked Therfore saieth the prophet Dauid Happie is he that nether staÌ„deth sitteth nor walketh that is to saye hath nothinge to do wyth them other openly or priuily by any colour or dissimulacion Eliazar had such like counsell of hys frendes that he shoulde eate fleshe onely whiche was lawfull and dissemble to eate the vnlawfull But he saide it was not lawfull for him to dissemble and so cause many to be deceiued through his hipocrisie for so he might escape the death of the body but the hand of God he could not auoide For this cause did Paule reproue Peter for his dissemblinge be fore the gentiles And he teacheth the Corinthians againe that there is no companie of light and darckenesse no dessemblinge to be partaker boeth of the cup of Christe and of deuilles Oure membres must be the weapons either of rightuousenes other else of vnrighttuousenesse there is no meane for styll and ware politicke persons And therfore sayeth our maister Christ he that is not with me is againste me And he that doeth not gather doeth scatter These wordes of Christe and suche like and none other cause whatsoeuer any man shall imagine haue compelled me to publish my fayth and in the name of the liueinge God to make answere to one boke whiche of all other I estemed most perilouse and poysonful boeth for the authorite of the writter and the subtile handellinge of hys mattier in the maytaineinge of that Idole which al the worlde hath worshipped so many yeres The name of the boke is the detection of the diuillysh sophistrie The authour that made it is Stephaue Gardiner bishop of Winchester the chiefe mantainer of the popeishe tradicions as appeareth by al hys dedes writinges How I haue vsed my self in the same I shall shewe at fewe wordes Because I did take vpon hande to confute his boke I coulde kepe no comely order but as the wordes do leade me so am I compelled to go forwarde Yet haue I not written hys whole texte in my boke because it woulde â–ª haue ben to much tediouse and ouer longe but onely his â–ª chiefe mattier and principall argumentes whereof I truste not one hath escaped vntouched I lest of the residue thinkeing it a verie vaine thinge to contende about trifles as I should haue done of necessiâ—e in waigheinge euerie worde and ponderinge euerie sentence The boke is so farre spred a broabe that I can not belie hym but it shalbe a witnesse againste me in euerie corner For it was plentuousely imprinted by Iohn Herforde in aldergate strete at LoÌ„don and is to be solde at the signe of the bell in poules church yarde I haue principally and chiefe laboured to establishe the true fayeth in the liueinge God by the reproueinge of the false and fained goodes SecoÌ„dly I haue taught the trwe vnderstandinge of the wordes of the supper of the Lorde and the right vse of the same Whiche two my chiefe purposes howe faithfully I haue done them the fathfull shall iudge knowynge the voice of of theyr shepeherde In mine answere to his wordes I truste no man shalbe offended with any vnchrist an rayleinges though great accasioÌ„ be offerred on his parte bringeinge our argumentes so spitfully in the name of deuill with yea sayeth the deuell as though the deuell where a destroier of Idoles whâ—e onely hath bene theyr mainetainer and vpholder from the be geninge of the worlde vnto this daye Yet I do thynke nothynge lesse then to satisfie all men wyth my writtinges more then other haue done before mi time with theirs much more wittie more lerned and godly No I do suppose the hight lerned maye finde many fautes there'with as I â–ª acknowledge mi self far vnder the perfection of theyr high lerninge Neuerthelesse I trust in God that it is not all together so rude nor vnfruitfull but that the vnlerned for whome it is chiefe lie written shall encrease bi it in knowledge caste of much supersticion and take conforte of conscience Whome also I beseche euen for the loue â–ª of God and â–ª as they tender their soules health not to caste awaye this bokethough they reade somethinge therin that they neuer harde before but rather desire of theire moste mercifull father that theyr olde errours wherwith they haue bene deceiued by blind teachers maie be taken awaye And if there be any that can not sodaineli caste of the olde skine wyth the serpent and forsak theyre olde ignoraunce coÌ„firmed with longe custome let theÌ„ desir of God so much grace that they maye more quietlie then hath ben accustomed heare men talke of the fayth they haue conceiued in the liueinge God For than shal it be wel with the christian religion wheÌ„ the one parte maie boldelie and wyll redily gyue answere of the hope they haue conceiued and faith whereby thei trust to be saued and the other parte wyll mekeli heare what is spoken and quietely suffer the lambes to feede of their swete pasturs So shall the prophecie be fulfilled The lambe shal lodge with the woulfe the leoparde and the goâ—e shal lie together The calfe the lion and the shepe shall dwell together and a little childe shalbe their herde and driue them which thinge I trust partely shall be fullfilled in oure tyme vnder our little Iosias to whom God graunt the abundaunce of hys grace And most fully vnder the true Iosias
boeth lerneinge and outwarde holinesse whyche other men did take as no smal gainne and â—â—cre to be damage and hindrance for Chirst whom so sone as he was called to publishe preach he did not compare wyth the docters of the Iewes neither wyth Gamaliell Annas or Laiphas But knoweinge his learneinge to be more liuely than was theirs whyche being but fâ—esh and bloude coulde teach onely carnall and fâ—eshly thinges went streight in to Arabie there to publishe thys glade tidinges euer teachinge by the scriptures that Christ did come this to suffer in the flesh and that he was after that entred into his glorie So do I intende after the measure of my talent to answere by the lernige of my master Christe whom onely I do take to be al sufficiens in all trueth so that he can neither be deceiued nor deceiue to whose wysdome no maÌ„ can adde one iote or title to make better that he hath made to institute or ordeine whose whether you wyll call it because ye are so contenciouse aboute trifles that you maye seme to saye some what better then he him selfe hath â–ª institâ—ted and ordeined or yet in speake better then'he hath spoken And in this be halfe I must euen of brotherly loue desire all indifferent arbitours and iudges of my writinges that if they do reade any bitter worde or heare anie sharpe sentence againste the mainteiners of thys Idole they do not impuâ—e it to anye pride or arrogancie but to the vnworthynes of the matter that man shoulde be so mad to set vp a creature most vile moste weake in the steade of the Lorde of hostes whose pouer is incoÌ„parable In the which thing being a cause 〈◊〉 so great importaunce and weight if I should coldely or faintly speak or write I myght well be thought worthy to be one of them whome Iohn prophecieth for theyre faynte hertes worthie to be vâ—…etted vp againe being nether hote nor colde I do feare me the plage of God hath worthyly commen vpon many in thys same royalme for thys onely vice But God he is mercifull if we wil repente As for me O Lord thou knoweste al thinges thou knoweste mine herte serchestmy thoughtes Thou woteest that it is neither of malice nor presumption that I do write any worde in this boke but only for the pride of the papistes and especially for the wicked malice of proude A man which seaketh how to destroie thy seruantes labourethe to oppresse thy light sent nowe in these laâ—er daies at the tyme apointed into the worlde prouoketh vs wyth bitter wordes to make answere in thy cause calling vs diueles and the reasones made againste Idolatrie for the an anseinge of thy glorie he calleth the dyâ—eles wordes and saieinges which blasphemies cause me that I can not geue place but somethinge answere to his worthinesse and not geue place to such shamelesse writinges Thoughe I coulde be content that with good wyll so that it were no derogacion to thy glory not onely to passe with silence all tauÌ„tes rebukes cheâ—kes and raileinges yea and to suffer all crueltie and tirannus tormentes that he doeth excogitat or finde out againste vs but also to kisse hys verie fote steppes and call him Lorde at euerie worde to kneele and lowte as do hys flatterers But then lâ—â—e we forsake thy cause we can not haue thy worde in worthy reuerence magnifieinge thine enimie Take thou in good worthe therefore O Lorde these oure doinges Make theÌ„ serue thy glorie Be mercifull to thy seruantes and stoppe the mouth of thine enimies that thi wil may be knowne and fulfilled among vs in erath as it is amonge thin angelles in thine heauenly palace So be it To your firste wordes therefore bishope Stephane pardone me I praye you that I do not cal you Lorde boeth because I haue learned by scripture that Christes byshopes maie take no suche vaine titles and also that you ought to calenge no suche authorite of Lordeshipe ouer your lotte and people appointed vnto you and Peter and Paule the good shepeherdes do we name without such vaine titles of Rabby you wil haue vs consider howe full of iniquitie thys tyme is Let vs consider it for the loue of God O bishopes but not takeinge iniquitie as you do to be what so euer thinge is againste the tradicions of your Romish father who nowe worketh the cheife misterie of iniquitie and euerie one of you helpeth after to his poure in kepeinge downe the worde of God clokeinge your hipocrisie wyth contrefaite holinesse and tourneinge backewarde so farre from Christe that euerie man maye see who is the wicked man and the aduersarie or Antichriste lifteinge hym selfe againste euerie thinge that is God or godlie So that nowe your shameles writinges of your doctours and maintainers do recorde howe you can make God create the creatoure of heauen and erâ—h and so make him a creature that where he hath but once created the thou maiste be out of his det and creâ—… him a thousande tymes Oh abhominable blsasphemie A man to make God at whose terrible maiestie heauen and erth doe tremble Oh shamlesse iniquitie to create thi creatoure without whome thou falleste in to duste and asshes But you wyll saye O bishope that ther is no suche blasphemie in your bokes neither can you perceiue the wickednesse of the popes pardones and pilgrimages whyche are destroied in this tyme The Sodomatrie babilonical bondage supersticiouse blindnesse of the Abbaies whych oure kinge hath most christenlyke confounded But for this oure mattier I saye I plucked halfe a leafe out of a boke lieinge tied in chaines for a Iewell in the greate cathedrall churche Lincolne minstre whiche hath thys plaine greare by these plaine wordes O sacerdos nonne creaui te et dedi tibi potestatem creaudi me quare si non sacrificas et c. O prieste haue I not created the and geueÌ„ the poure â—o create me And suche other shamful geare There is none so blinde as they that wil not se And seinge suche blindesse is in you bishopes who shoulde haue hade the eies to haue espied thys ware longe before it hade ben brought into the churches contrarie to the worde of God how can it be but bi your carelesse negligence the worlde is waxen ful of blindenesse miserie and all kindes of iniquitie for the whiche you shal answere at the dreadfull daie whan the bloude of euery one of your shepe that perisheth shallbe required at your hande Let vs consider yet if you please thys wickednesse some thynge more deaplye Paule in his firste Epistle to the bishop Timothe saieth that the spirite telleth for certayne that in the latter daies some shall departe from the fayeth attendynge vnto deceptfull spirites and doctrine of diuelles speakeinge falsely by dissemblinge hipocrisie haueinge their consciences marked with the hote yrone And that we shoulde not doubt of thys diuellish sophistrie and open iniquite he addeth two speciall properties
therfore if there be any regarde of goddes dread full maiestie lefte in your hertes leaue thys argumente Nothing is impossible vnto god therfore is he chainged Or because it is possible that he wyll come downe into the chalice whan euerie whoremongar doeth calle him therfore he doethe fo leste peraduenture you heare ploumen tell you that it is dyueâ—…she sophistrie It pleaseth God to shewe vs ouer muche of your liueinge to be blynded â–ª any longer with you We reade in the gospel that God heareth no sinnars Howe shamles in al parrishes they lyue whyche arâ— the onely God makers all the worlde seth and crieth out thereupon Suche whordome hath not ben harde of Such druÌ„ckenes hath not bene sene Al are drowned in couetousenes from the bishope to the parishepriste And that fele we porâ— peopel being polled and pilled bi your pâ—…s and proâ—tomes and haueing nothing of your landes for al our swere and labours but a blâ—…de heape of doÌ„be ceremonies God as al thinge is possible vnto hym can make â—oâ— God shepeherdes But yet I dare not rouâ— ude that he hath done it Neithere what he wyll do dare Iaâ—…e you are so linked wyth Antichriste Whose pride intollerable to boaste hym selfe to haue powre in heauen in earth and in the thred place I not where I nede not confute Thys holye mother church is ashamed of hiâ— children and brainâ—…e â—…encious thoughe she durst neuer in al hir pride make any â—…o articles of the faith then xii all grounded vpon scriptures But nowe your â—itle bishop church or rather coÌ„neÌ„tikle of xii or xiiii bishops must be so highly enhauÌ„ced that it may encrease other vi or rather â—…o which we dayly loke for in preiudice to other contries whyche shalbe more strongely established wyth the swerde and more sore punished by fire if they be violated than any of the commaundements of God vseinge such proude bragges racking and burninge that no man dare saye but it is trwe howe so euer it please you bishopes to glose the scriptures and make uewe articles and new faieth anewe for to be beleued in paine of death and burneinge Suche authoritie vse you ouer the scripture as your father did before youe whoe dyd firste deuise thys your diuellishe lawe that no man shoulde be so bolde to interpretate the scripture any otherwise theÌ„ he and his doctours had authorised and assingned Where coutrariwise Paule wylleth that in the congregacioÌ„ or church of Christ ii or â–ª iii. prophets shoulde speake and the residew should iudg Then if any thynge were reueiled or disclosed to him that sitteth the first shoulde hold his peace that all might prophecie one after an other that al might learne that al might take conforte and that the spirites of the prophetes might be subiecte vnto the prophetes If this mildenesse were a monge vs that one of vs might and woulde heare an other then shoulde Christes doctrine and religion flourishe whilse we were redie â–ª to geue answere euerie one â–ª of the faieth that we haue conceiued accordeinge to the coÌ„maundement of Peter Where nowe there is nothing but these heretickes are proude and arrogant they haue no leruinge they haue not studied for knowlege And we do answere again as we maye iustely that we haue laboured for knoweledge as diligentlie and with as hum ble hertes as you haue done God hath induâ—ed vs wyth the knoweledge of the latine greke and hebrue al other scieÌ„ces far abou that you had when you were in the scholes This can you not denie for shame Why than maye it not be that he hath sent these godlie giftes hys worthy instrumentes for to reueile open declare the hid misteries of his worde which he saied shoulde flowe like a water streame in these later daies that thei shoulde knowe hym from the loweste to the highest Do not you se by the course of tyme that god openeth many thinges of the pope pardons pilgrimages and such like Idolatrouse vsages Hath ther bene no blindenesse in the worlde these thousande yeres that the deuell hath ben lewse because you do so much accompte the wickednesse of this time or coulde the pope who is the vndoubted an tichriste reigne so longe in mens hertes and coÌ„sciences and leaue no poison behind hym Naye rather we must call into question and examinacion all such thinges as he lefte behinde him because he being the verie wicked maÌ„ we maie be sure he would sowe no good corne but darnell and wede Then what was the greateste powre he had wherebi he wroght in heaueÌ„ in erth and purgatorie but the masse and thys holie sacrament of ouâ—e redempcion so abused that he myght by the bodie of Christ sacrified vpon the aultare open the waye to heauen and spar the waye to hell as surely he or any of you myght do if he coulde sacrifice Christ againe for christ oure sauiour did come downe from heauen to do sacrifice for this purpose and all the sacrifices of the olde lawe dâ—d sewe in shadowes that the sacrifice of Christe shoulde take awaie sinne the vnspotted lambe should deliuer from the helli fornaice of Egipt and optaine passage to the contrey promised So that if either pope byshop or priest can proue that the verie bodie of Christe is really present in hys sacrifice of the masse and ther offerred vp to the father for a sacrifice as you haue caused Sharton to confesse surely you maye conclude as you do and as your father and fouÌ„der of this article did before that the masse taketh awaye sinnes â–ª and profiteth the quicke and the deade So shall you build your pardones againe for the masse of scala celi and all your abbaies praieinge for their foundars that the noble kynge Henrie the eight whom surely God appoynted to beat downe poperie and Idolatrie long preserued him from your manifolde treasones and at the length nowe whan hys good wyll was hath taken hym to hys mercies maye he thought the greatest malafactour vpoÌ„ earth and as some of you haue rayled moste vilauously the greate turke and verie Antichrist causeinge the daily sacrifice to cease destroieynge so many holy masses and hindering so manie soules that shoulde by them haue reliefe and succour But that thys bodie of Christe our lambe vnspotted can be no more sacrified boeth in the defence of Christ from theyr blasphemies our nobel prince froÌ„ rai huge tonges I desier all Christen hertes to marcke what Paule writeth to the Hebrues whyche I shall truly reporte wythout any gloses or far fetched argumeÌ„tes The whole Epistle doeth shewe that all sacrifices dyd cease that thys oure onely byshope myght make one sacrifice for all The priesthode sayeth Paule appointed by God onely to do sacrifice ceased And in the. vii Chap he sayeth that oure bishoppe abydeth for euer haueinge and euerlastinge priesthode wherby he maye fully make saulfe them that go vnto God by hym liueinge for euer that he maye praie for them And
againe Haueinge no nede as other byshopes haue to offer for hys owne sinnes and then for the synnes of the people for he hath done that once whan he offerred him selfe Againe in the. ix Chap By hys owne bloude wente he in once into â—he holie place euerlasteinge redemption opâ—ained The whiche euerlasteinge redemption if we haue optained al redie in that he offerred hym selfe by spirite euerlasteinge as Paule sayeth without spot vnto God and so hath purified oure conscience from deade workes what neade we an other pope Byshope or prieste to offer hym agayne Hath he not sufficiently and aboundantly offered hym selfe for the sinnes of the whole world Howe can the priest then offer hym to take a waâ—e sinnes or profite quicke and deade For those selfe same sinnes wer taken away before by Christ or else shal they neuer be taken waie by the pâ—istes Therfore is this but vaine iug linge for money and for the maintenaunce of your dignities Againe Christe is gone into heauen that he maye appeare nowe in the sight of God for vs not that he may oft offer hym self what authorite than I pray you hath the priest oft to offer hym for than muste he oft haue suffered sith the world was made But now once at the later ende of the worlde for to driue awaye sinne dyd he appeare by the offeringe of hym self And where as all men once must die and after receyue iudgment so also Christe is once offerred vp that he maye take awaye the sinnes of manye Agayne in the. x. wee are made holie by the offeringe of the bodâ— of Christe once done What it is that yoâ— priestes do offer so ofte I shal tel you anoâ—… Euerie priest sayeth Paule standeth daie â–ª ly doinge sacrifice and offerringe the saâ—… oblacions often tymes which neuer can take awaye sinne Which wordes â—houghe thei 〈◊〉 spoken onely of the priestes of the olde lawe yet coÌ„parynge that which foloweth it shalbe proued true in you of the newe lawe For Christe after one offeringe offerred for sinnes â—â—tteth for euer at the right hande of god A gaine By one onely offerringe hath he made peâ—fecte for euer so many as are made holie Iâ— he haue made vs perfect by one only offeringe wherto serue the priestes â–ª that we maye conclude as Paulle doeth Where ther is remission of and forgeuenesse of sinnes be 〈◊〉 in the olde testament or the newe â—hâ—re remaineth no farther oblacion or offerringe for them Contrariwise as Paulle reasone the with them so maie we reasone with you if thys offeringe myght take a waye sinne or make theÌ„ perfecte that vse it woulde they not haue leste of the offerringe of it for them selfe their foundars and all suche as they vsed it for Because nowe they shoulde haue had no conscience of their sinnes which hade thus sacrified and bene once purged Therfore sayeth Paule in the sacrifices of the olde lawe whyche were not done wyth out bloude was onely the commemoracion and remembraunce yerely of sinnes And Christe hym selfe sayeth of thys oure sacrament Do thys in the remembraunce of me Lyke as in the passouer whyche was the figure of oure deliueraunce by Christe the vn spotted lambe yerely remembraunce was commaunded to be done Though by the open word of god who is able to chaunge what lyketh hym whose powre no man euer doubted of that had but the gifte of reasone the ceremonie of oure redemption which they had but in shadowe and we haue in trueth and therfore it ceased whan the bodye that is Christe did come and offer the true passeouer lambe thoughe I saye thys ceremonie of the Iewes be by these open wordes of God thus named Thys is the passouer of the Lorde yet was ther neuer any of the Iewes priestes so mad to saye that God chaunged any substaunce by thys worde is yet were they all baptised by Moyses as Paule witnesseth in the cloude â–ª and in the sea And they all did eate the same spiritual meate and drinke the same spirituall drinck for they dyd drinke of the spirituall drinke whiche folowed them The stone was Christe But we more grosse and carnall by much in all oure doeinges blowe inges and blâ—ssâ—iâ—ges then were â—he pharisies though Christe sâ—ke such worshipers as shall worshâ—e hym in spirite not contented wyâ—h the spirituall fode of the soule wherwiâ—â— onely he feadeth the soule because it is also a spirit and therfore taketh no fode but onely Christe and hys worde spiritually ministred whyche are spirite and life where as â—he fleshe profiteth nothinge â—oeth as we reade in the sixt of Iâ—hâ— and the manifeste example of the olde byshopes haueinge hym carnally present amonge them â–ª and as you will haue it Iudas and all the wicked do carnally and fleshely eate hym and yet do not abyde in hym but haue damnacioâ— contrarie to the sainge of Christ He that eateth my fleshe and dâ—…h my bloude hath euerlastinge life and I shall raise hym vp at the laâ—â—e daye And againe He that eateth mi fleshe and drincketh my â–ª bloude abydeth in me and I in hym And as Iohn sayth in hys firste Epistle God hath geuen vs euerlastinge lyfe and thys lyfe is in hys sonne He that hath the sonne hath life and he that hath not the soÌ„ne of God hath not lyfe All whiche scriptures â—oeth they that teach vs that Christe can no more nether neadeth againe in bodye to be offerred and sacrificed and therfore compell vs to graunt that these wordes thys is bodie which shalbe geuen for you were neuer ment so carnally that euerie prieste â—…blinge these wordes in a strange language with breathing and bloweing shoulde cause Christe to come downe from the right hand of the father to be chaunged into bread that he myght sacrifice hym newe againe to take awaye sinnes In lyke maner do those scriptures that teach all sacrifices to be perpetuall commemoracions and remembraunces of the spirituall eateinge of Christe amonge the fathers of the olde testameÌ„t and that Christ likwise wyll haue thys sacrament ministred in the remembraunce of hym in the newe testameÌ„t wher as the speache maye feme verie idle to saye make me in the remembrauÌ„ce of me althought it so were that it myght be so sayed without intolerable arrogancie as it can not in any wise whether you saie you make him by hys worde or no as shall appeare afterwarde Those scriptures also whyche teach that we haue life euerlasteinge so â—â—â—y of vs as eate hâ—s fleshe and drinke hys bloude yea that we shall neuer be hongrie or â—hirstie agayne so many of vs â–ª as once do taâ—e of thys bread comming from heauen Finally alscriotures that teach how and after what sort Christ is profitable vnto vs for they are the chiefe establyshementes of oure fayeth that were not present with him at suche time as he was budilie vpon the earth That is to saye that the flesh profiteth no thinge The wordes that I
speake are spirit and lyfe Wher vpon Peter saied Lord why ther sâ—hal we gooâ—thou hast the words of euerlasting life And these are the waters that Christe wyll geue after the whiche no man shall euer thurste But the water whiche I shall geue hâ—m saieth Christe shalbe made in hym a fountaine of water springeinge into lyâ—â—e euerlasteing Blessed be they that heare the worde of God and kepe it whiche was sharpely answered agaynste them which dyd so highlie aduaunce to knowe God in the fleshe Against whom also Paule sayth we know none after the fleshe etc. Moreouer saieth he though we haue knowne Christ after the fleshe yet nowe do we not knowe hym so any longer But he that is in Christe muste be a newe creature in the spirite accordeinge to the saieinge of Christe to him Nâ—codemus Excepte a man be borne a newe from aboue from heauen euen of the spirite the can not enter the kingdoÌ„e of heaneÌ„ That whych is borne of the fleshe is flesh and that which is borne of the spirit is spirit Againe it is profitable that I go from you for it I go not the spirite of confort shal not come vnto you but if I go I wyl sende hym vnto you he shal leade you into al truthe Therefore should you reioyce because I saie that I go vnto my father Thys profite of the bodilie departeing to haue the confort of the spirite dyd appeare manifestelie in Petre and the other Apostles who deniynge and forsakeinge theyr maister whome they hade bodily present dyd nothing doubt to die for hym whan he was in bodie absent Besides that thys bodilie presens in euerie corner to take awaye sinne is preiudicial to the liuely fealeing of oure faith Firste for that he is verie man in al thinges haueing a naturall bodye as we haue sufficiently paiyng oure raâ—â—some to hys father vpon the crosse SecoÌ„dly it may cause vs to doubt whether we shall saye that he hath ascended into heauen and there sitteth at the right hand of the father and froÌ„ thence shal come to iudge the quicke and the deade other else saie with you that the prieste muste dayly offer hym a sacrifice here vpon earth for vs and that he muste kepe him heare styl in a boxe to ware mouldie and mustie and then chaunge hym for a newe Christe beinge infinitly created Who shall at the daye of dome starte forth of all these boxes at once into a newe shape I trowâ— to iudge all the eâ—â—h or elfe muste you â—…des confesse that they shall al be iudged and â—…ned where they lye in their boxes The scripture I saye the liuely sâ—aâ—eing of my fayeth grounded onely vpon the spirite of Christâ— and your owne madnesse that I haue reade in your owne bokes and no pride or arroganciâ— what so euer you saye I take god to recorde caâ—se me that I dare not so carnally and grossely vnderstaÌ„d the wordes of Christe as you do And I daâ—e maintaine 〈…〉 I haue many of your owne doc tours whose testimonie either in thys poynt or any other vnâ—es they bringe open scripture wâ—…h them I do not greately regarde but to your confution Yet haue I the better parte of them whiche do spiritually vnderstande and interprete thys scripture wyth me â–ª How be it I knowe we shall neuer make aâ— ende 〈◊〉 we bringe doctour vpon doctoure To answere therfore to thys text this is my bodye whyche is your onely shoâ—eaukere And to 〈…〉 aâ— your wode wordes tauÌ„tes that flowe frome your eloquet mouth as smoke doeth from a lake of brimstone But firste I wyll bringe forth the whole texte of Mathewe Marke and Luke And by the open worde of God I truste I shall declare the true sence and meaneing to him that wyth a spirituall eie shall iudge therof Christ in the xxvi of Mathewe when he was together wyth hys Apostles eateinge the passouer whyche was the most liue lyke figure in the olde lawe nowe makeing an ende in Christe the lambe wythout all spoâ—e and blemishe did ordeine this godly sacrament for the remembraunce of hym selfe to the worlde folowinge and that hys death myght be shewed and published vnto the worldes and like as in the passouer was cotinually mencioned and declared to the posteritie foloweinge the benifite of God in the deliueraunce from Egipt And as that ceremonie the eateinge of the lambe was called the passouer and he hym selfe called the lambe of god so like wise calleth he thys hight misterie and sacrament hys bodie and a newe testament in hys bloude That as truely as the Israelites were deliuered forth of Egipte the angel passing by not hurting the people of that house the dore posts wherof were sprinkled wyth the bloude of that lambe so verily shoulde Christe delyuer vs out of the Egipt of sinne and perfourme the thynge before figured For thys cause saieth Iohn beholde the lambe of God whych taketh awaye the sinnes of the worlde And Christe sayeth Thys is my bodye whyche is gyuen for you And thys cup is the newe testament in my bloude whiche is shede for you By the which wordes it maye appeare that Christe dyd meane no chaunge of natures or traunssubstancion but onely that where the bloude of the lambe in the olde testament was sprenkled on the postes to saue frome the aduengeinge angell so many as shoulde be saued so lykewise thys bloude of Christ in the newe testament should be shede to saue vs so mani as haue our soules sprink led wyth the bloude of thys lambe Christe Iesâ— Therfore in lyke maner as the fathers of the olde lawe dranke of the spirituall ston that folowed them â–ª whiche was Christe euen so are we all commaunded to drinke of thys bloude none other wyse then the chyldren of Israell were commaunded that the bloude of the lambe shoulde be theire token in all the houses wher they were Ther was 〈◊〉 man so mad to saye that these wordes this cup is â—he newe testameÌ„t in my bloud dyd chaunge the substaunce of the cup into the newe testament And yet are thei christes owne wordes who can not lye If you therfore be driuen to your â–ª gloses tropes and figures in the wordes spoken of thys sacrament why should we be coÌ„demned to death because we can not vnderstande youre carnal gloses â–ª You must neades haue one glose to declare what is meÌ„t by the cup. Whether the wiâ—e the bloude or the cup it selfe either else a signe and sacrament of the newe testament or a performeinge of the same in the bloude of Christe as Luke teacheth you to speake and as Mathew and Marcke boeth do wittnesse This is my bloud of the newe testament whyche is shed for many to the remission of their sinnes Thus were the Apostles nothinge curiouse in wordes as they ought to haue bene if the wordes had made the cup or the wine God chaunging the substaunce therof so sone as they hadâ—â—eâ— spoken Thus you
as in all hys other preacheinges and scripturs so heare he calleth to the heauenly â—ateinge wherby we haue lyfe and at once stoppeth the mouth of carnal iudgmeÌ„ts How you do examine this texte it shall be opened when we come to the place In the meane ceason we wyl take this text the fleshe auaileth nothynge wyth out any contencion onely to driue awaie the grosse opinion of the Capernits and all such as styke to muche to the fleshe and can not lyfte vp their heades to the misteries of the spirite for the whiche purpose these wordes were spoken by Christe and not to thincke that Christe whose worckes were al wayes profitable woulde teache any suche wayes or do any suche deades as were nothynge profitable vnto man For no man I dare well saye is able to proue any more profite by the fleshe bodily eaten in the sacramente than wee haue in scripture graunted vnto vs whiche do worshipe hym and eate hym in spirite and trueth Let vs therfore consider the greate goodnesse of our sauiour Christ in thys sacrameÌ„t Who beinge the verie lambe that taketh awaye the â—…es of the worlde caused al the Iewes ceremonies to cease and their passeouer to haue an ende and therfore saieth that he hath greatly disired to eat thys passeouer that the promises of God the father concerneâ—ge thys newe testameâ—t might be fullfilled Namely that the sede of the woman shoulde breake the heade of the serpent That by thys sede all the nacions of the earth shalbe blessed That the saluacion and sauiour of the worlde shoulde be declared the light of the heathen and the glorie of Israell published Al these thinges were fulfilled in hys passion and suffereinge accordinge to hys owne saieinge Whan I shalbe exalted from the earth I shall drawe all vnto my selfe And when he had dronken that bitter drinke vpon the crose he saied that all was finished and fulfilled All these thinges together do we receiue in the supper of the Lorde whiche he dyd therfore celebrate and make the nyght before he suffred for to enstructe hys Apostles more deapelie in these great misteries of the saluacion of the whose worlde by hys death wherin he would geue him selfe frely vnto them and therefore dyd he testifie vnto them the selfe same thinge be fore hande in thys holie sacrament And because the life of the rightuouse standeth here in that they beleue in the same he geueth charge that they haue hys death in remembraunce saiâ—inge Thys is my bodie whiche is geuen for you do thys in the remeÌ„braunce of me Likewyse the cup after he had supped sâ—â—einge This cup is the newe testament in my bloude which is shed for you That like as by thys sensible meate corporall lambe whiche they had eaten in theyre supper their bodies was nourished cherished and streghned â–ª so by this spiritual lambe and heauenly meate bi this blessed memorie â–ª I saie wherby we knowe that oure sauiour and redemer Christ Ieâ—â— died for vs that we might liue are our soules certified that the same oure sauiour dyd so clearely take awaye our trespasses that hys father wyll nowe take vs for his children and heires and geue vs frely euerlasteinge lyffe Wyth thys therfore we maye continually fede oure soules that they encreaseinge in full fayeth of goddes mercie whiche is the lyfe of the rightuouse myght be nourished growe and encrease to the full age of a perfect man in Christe Iesu If you marke the wordes of Christe wyth a singuler eye you shalbe coÌ„pelled to grauÌ„te these two thynges onely to be taught therin That Christ gaue hys bodie for vs and eoÌ„maunded vs to do thys thinge That is to take and to eate thys Accipite et manducate The wordes are plaine do thys in the remembraunce c. For by what scripture maye it be fouÌ„de true that you do glose saieinge God dyd consecrate hym selfe into accideÌ„tes qualites of breade And that you shoulde make God in the remembraunce of God in mine opinion is agaynst reasone I maye saye and raile not it is a made heresie Christe sayeth Take and eate He geueth no prieste powre to consecrate and to make his bodie neither with his worde nor by his worde And thys whiche is the chiefe pointe of your newe beldame whyche you establishe wyth the fire we require you for the loue of Christe if you â—eale any thynge of hys mercies either to proue it by some scripturs whiche I knowe is impossible for you or else to call backe your tiranye You haue no worde of God wher vp on onely fayeth maye be gâ—ownded that commaundeth you once to repeâ—e these wordes agayne Thys is mi bodie much lesse are you able to proue that these wordes at any tyme repeted and rehersed by any one of you shoulde chaung the nature of thynges and not onely worke in creatures but also in the creatoure and maker of all God and man whose maiestie ought rather to be praised and had in admiracion than thus vnreuerenly to be taingled wyth your transsubstanciacion whyche is muche after the arte of magike thus by prescript wordes to worcke wonders God hath appoynted hys holy worde to be preacheâ— to vs reasonnable creaturs and that moste especially in this sacrament as the most sure token of our saluacion As it is plaine by the wordes of Paule So ofte as you shal eate thys breade sayeth he and drinke of thys cup you shall shewe forthe the death of the Lorde vnto that he come So that it is ouer muche shame to vse Christes worde as an enchauntmeÌ„t ouer deade creaturs to chaung them no man can tell howe to call downe Christe into breade to bringe hym into the chalice Where he beinge a whyle blessed and blowene wyth your stinkeinge breathes shall taâ—ie so longe a god as it shall please man yea and that scant an honest man sometymes Surely it maketh vs leude people to thinke that you do not take him as a God when we se you so vnreuerently breathe oa him make himâ—…eape about the chalice break hym â—…nd that nothinge after the institucion wherin we shoulde all together be partetakers of the breade and cup of Christe for the foode of oure soules And where as the stength of your sophistrie lieth in the blinde worde consecracion whych you do not leâ—ne here of Christ but you thinke you maie haue some cloke because it is reade that Iesus when he dyd take the breade in hande blessed and breake it you shal heaâ—… an answere I truste that maye satisfie any herte that is not bent vpon contencion In al places wher Christ dyd take breade in hys handes he blessed and gaue thankes as it appeareth Iohn vi and Luke ix where as we reade the same wordes that he hath at thys supper as the treade of hys commone vsage wherby we shall lerne to blesse renowme praise god alwayes to geue him humble thankes wheÌ„ so euer we do vse any
fleshe profiteth nothinge thought it were eaten euerie meÌ„bre after other But the spirite giueth life Who leadeth vs to the fode that bringeth lyfe euerlasteinge And thus by the spirite whiche onely isprofitable we vnder stande these wordes Take and eate thys is my bodie which is giuen for you That like as I geue the bread to be eaten wyth the bodilie tethe so do I geue mi bodie to be eaten bi faith and that of the spirite For nowe shal it be geuen vnto the death that you maye haue lyfe And thus is my fleshe verie meate and my bodie breade and fode whiche maye be taken and receiued onely spiritually and not carnally bodilie or really In lyke maner therfore as you do bodilie take this brad at my hande eate it wyth your mouth and so receiue it into your stomake and bodie for the fode and sustentacion of your naturall lyfe so muste â–ª you by fayth the onely meane wherby ye maye eate or haue me present vpon erth receiue my body beleueing that my bodie is geuen for you that where you were deade frome God by your synnes I haue brought youfurth to leue in good workes vnto my father who compteth you nowe aâ—… children an heâ—ers prepared to euerlasteingâ—… lyfe so many as belieue truste in my deathâ—… Thus doeth Christe geue the breade to bâ—… eaten bodily with the mouth but hys bodiâ—… to be eaten spiritually in the spirite by faith And thys is it that good byshop Augustine sayeth What doest thou prepare thy teeth and thy bealiâ—… Beleue and thou haste eaten It is fleshe as I haue saied before what so euer bringeh not lyfe and therfore it profiteth nothing so ar al things that ar don without faith wherfore if christ might be eaten with the mouth as he might be in dede if he were bodilie in the breade which boeth fayethfull and vnfaythful do eate then myght Christe be eaten wythout fruite whiche is contrarie to the manifeste worde of God which affirmeth that who so euer eateth him hath euerlasteinge lyfe We do conclude therefore that there is but one onely eateinge of the bodie of Christ whyche is perceiued of the faythfull onely none otherwyse then these wordes whyche is geuen for you and whyche is shed for the remission of sinnes are proper and peculiar vnto them onely And to tell you somewhat of your sophistrie WhaÌ„ you reasone in this wyse Thys is the bodie of Christe therfore 〈◊〉 is naturally really and bodily hys bodie It is a fallax or deceiueable argument of sophistrie affirminge that simpliciter quod est modo aliquâ— Thys câ—n euerie sophiste of Cambridge tell you And we knowe that it is small reasone to conclude that Iohn baptist was thâ— same Elias that was dead many hundred yeres before hys tyme because Christe saâ—ed that he was Elias except we shoulde be of the opinion of the fonde Phylosophers who helde that the soules of men departed went into other newe bodies and so coÌ„tinued stil immortal In like maner whaÌ„ Iosephe saieth that the. vii fatte oxen are vii good yeres and the. vii leane one 〈◊〉 vii yuell yeres â–ª we maye not coÌ„clude that oxâ— or â—ieÌ„ aâ— natural yeres More ouer wheÌ„ Christ saieth that the worde of God is a sede it is but a slender argument to saye therfore it is a bodylye sede An hundred suche places maye be brought And yet if thei can bring but one place where God hath sayed This is such a thynge and woulde haue at corporally so to be I wyll gladly geue place vnto them thoughe it be so that the thynge do not appeare to be as God hath sayed it is But I do know â—…m certaine in my beliefe that al the workes of the Lorde be trueth And as he hath sayed that they be so shall they be and are in dede either in spirite or else in the sight of all men bodilie ¶ An answere coÌ„cerneing the knowledge of The seÌ„ses and a declaracion of al the. xii Articles of the fayth whyche euerie true Christian man muste beleue in herte and Confesse wyth moUth THus far haue I brought in mi faith plainely contrarie to no place of scripture except you call Your gloses scripture And where I myght haue your owne doctours to confirme the same yet wyll I not stir contencion so farre Knoweinge that no thynge hath bene so popeishlie thaught neither worshiping of Images and Idoles praieing to saintes and fond pilgrimages nor yet monasteries monkes purgatorie and the poppe hym selfe but it hath bene by theÌ„ and their subtile argumeÌ„tes diuised and by their writeinges set forth and maintained Wyth dainger therfore haue we folowed them ouer long But nowe you maye not thyncke styll to leade vs captiues from Christe whome we loke for spedilye to come into iudgement wyth vs when we shalbe iudged by his word and not by their writeinges We haue folowed you to longe beinge but blynde guides gropeinge after your blynde wayes in the darcke wythout wit reasone or faith but onely because your holie father of Rome and that holie mother churche dyd so belieue and teach and nowe at lengh as our holy mother church of Englande doeth leade and therfore maye you worthyly cal vs as you do beastely blinde and therfore far from the knowledge of our religion But nowe that your father is fallen and weseke for our father in heauen desireinge hys kingedom to come vpon the erthe and praieing for the foode of our soules his heauenly breade whiche you haue so longe banished and neither woulde your selfe enter into his kingedome nor suffer them that woulde to enter accordeinge to the sayeinge of Christe our sauioure we knoweynge that what so euer is not of fayth is sinne and that fayth is of heareynge not of you Byshoppes and your doctours but of the worde of God whyche can deceiue no man nor yet be deceiued desire and require you to beate into oure heades no longer as articles of oure faith your chaunge of suâ—… staâ—… your accidentes qualities and quaÌ„tities in fourme and vnder the fourme of dreade to go awaye from it when the bread musteth and brenneth you knowe not how For thys your answere is an euident argument that you knowe as little howe it came ther. And thinke not much I praie you that we do in thys mattier â—…ye your crafte â—…d falsehode not onely wyth scriptures but also wyth oure reasones and outwarâ—e senses The whyche three that is to saye Fayeth grownded vpon the worde of God reasone that caâ—â—e not be resisted and the senses as sight tasteinge smellinge and felinge which can by no learneinge but by your schole be deceiued Yet you woulde haue vs wholely captiuated vnto you in all these thinges that you might leade vs wher you lyste to make vnseÌ„sible chauÌ„g where you blowe and blesse crosse and kisse No faile in thynges far distant as is the â–ª sinne moue and sterres and diuers other thynges he senses maye
Augustine and Solomone for sercheinge the maiestie of God are nothing for your purpose For we seke out your vile Idole as the prophetes haue done in their time And to that thinge whiche is more vile theÌ„ maÌ„ we maye not loute vnto because god hath set vs in erth to beare hys seÌ„blauce and â—o be maisters and Lordes ouer al his creatures and obeie him and his coÌ„maundemeÌ„tes Shoulde Moises haue suffered the calfe to haue remayned styll because Israell called it theyre God that brought them out of Egypt as you call thys your maker whych was made but the laste daye Was it not lawfull for Daniel to breake bell in pieces because the Babilonians 〈…〉 led it a God and to destroie the dragoÌ„ wâ—… they compted the liueing God Thus maye the Idolatrouse priestes of all ages stoppe the mouthes of the prophetes saying as you done Beware that ye searche nothinge of God least thou be oppressed with his glorie But alwayes at hys tyme appointed by the spirite that can not be resisted God stereth vp his vesselles who knowe that the Idoles whom you call goddes are nothinge and that ther is but one euer liueinge God by whome we liue and are moued and haue our being without the knowledge of whom we can not liue vnlesse we wil be worsse theÌ„ beastes altogether carelesse of his benifitesso plentuouselye set forth in the wonderfull workemanshippe and creacion of the worlde wherin his euerlastinge powre and godhead is so plaine that all men are wythout excuse as Paule faieth that wil not se it be thanke full for it and glorifie him as God but deceiued by their own thoughtes sticking to their owne wysdome whyche is uerie foleishe do chaunge the glorie â–ª of the immortal God to the mortall and corruptible creature And though Augustine speakeinge of the trinite do did vs remeÌ„bre our owne weaknesse and though Solomon saie that who so shercheth the maiestie shal bee oppressed of the gloryâ— yet ought we not therby to be driuen to the duluesse of asses and daweishe doteage of Idiotes so that if any profitable thing be propouned we should not regard it if any holie thing be reueiled and disclosed we should dispise it If the father of life do coÌ„municat and shewe any thing that we shoulde rather ren to the darckenesse then to the light which he publisheth at his time appointed You are verie fond therfore if you reasone thus Thou maist not serch suche thinges as passe mans capacitie therfore thou mayste not meddle with the sacrameÌ„tes that we priestes do minister You must first proue that the sacrameÌ„tes which were instituted for the knowledge of maÌ„ to enstructe hym in high mysteries be impossible for maÌ„ to coÌ„prehende wherin you shal adioyne and coÌ„pel to gether ii coÌ„traries that is to saye to make that impossible to be knowne which Christ coÌ„maunded al meÌ„ not onely to know but also to do the same â–ª in his remeÌ„braunce But this is the iugling of theÌ„ that wil blinde their scholars to binde theÌ„ to be beliue whatsoeuer thei shal heare theÌ„ babble And if any maÌ„ aske theÌ„ a reasone of their saieinges thei will stop their mouthes with so it is thus it is but we know not howe These are high misteries they are not to be serched but it is ynough for the to beleue as our holy father of Rome and mother holiâ—… church hath beleued these thousandes yerâ—… If thou aske stil howe can this be â–ª thou shalâ— be called an heretik a Caparnaite yet doth Christe oure sauiour and good schole mayster byd vs searche the scriptures for they beare witnesse of hym and hys doctrine By searcheinge the scriptures oure faith is estashed and oure knoweledge encreased in all such sacrameÌ„ts as are geuen for the exercise of our â—ayeth and coÌ„fession of the same For thys were to open a lye to report any man to â—…fect in the christian faith yet the same â—…weth not what is done in the chiefe sacrameÌ„tâ—s and ceremonies of Christes religion For seing that the sacramentes are set vp for our learning as thinges wherby we may be led as it wer by â—he hand and sensibly from thinges sensible vnto thinges that are insensible can not be comprehended by the powr of the senses How can our mindes be stirred vp by such thinges as ar and must be hid and vnknowne vnto vs Yea howe can it be vnknowne that is done in the sacramentes seinge that we our selues bring the substaunce of the sacramentes We make the prayers in the sacramentes Christ the authour of the sacramentes hath taught vs what they do meane and signifie Agayne you bringe for your purposse against vs â–ª the sayng of Ecclesiasticus Serch not thinges that thou canste not reache and suche as be aboue thy strength But what so euer God coÌ„maundeth to do thynke on theÌ„ euer and in many of God hys worckes be not ouer curious Verily we knowe not that your Idole hath any worcke of God in it as Baruch sayeth As for our strength and capacitie firste the spirite and the spiritual coÌ„pareinge of the scriptures and spiritual thynges do teach vs that your cake is not God Then the mouse and muldynge do testifie vnto reasone and senses euen the same thinge So that nowe our talke is about avile creature whom you cal the creatoure of al the most weake Idole that euer was named in the worlde whome you call God and man In comparison ther fore of our liueing God and sauiour Christ Iesu we abhorre and deteste what so euer you name God vpon earth And therein do we folowe the first commaundemeÌ„t which is that we shall haue none other God vpon erth but the Lorde that liueinge God whoe appeared neuer in any similitude or Image because the fonde Braine of maÌ„ should worship him in no such Image so deceiued be driuen froÌ„ the true worshiping in the spirite And for that cause doeth he in the second coÌ„maundement geue greate charge that man make no maner of Image similitude or likenesse of any thinge in heauen erth or the seas and that in no wyse he fall downe and worshipe them beinge deceiued by the vanitie of hys mynde Than if this beare any similitude or likenesse of anye earthly thinge how dareste thou worship it seing that thou art coÌ„maâ—ded by the mouth of god the lord thi god that thou worship serue him oneli As for captiueing our seÌ„ses which you labour so sore about knowe it for certeÌ„tie that we knowe our selues to haue ben far to long captiues vnder the whore of Babilon your mother of Rome the heade spring of Idolatri And now we thanke our almightie euer liueing God for our deliueraunce wil no longer be led with tradicioÌ„s and doctrines of â—…eÌ„ which haue the outward similitud of wisdome by supersticious humblinges our selues to theÌ„ that cause vs to shote at a wronge marke by an humblenes holines as it
hande of the father Then when you haue wroughte so wittilie and myghtely wyth Christe you take man in hande and woulde bewitche hym to beleue that that cake is no cake and that the breade is fleshe bloude and bones You tell hym his eyes be blynde His taste and senses deceyue hym His reason is nothynge worth in your mattiers For thoughe all the miracles of Christ dyd eueÌ„ apeare as he wrought them As if they were spirituall they so appeared vnto the soule of man and were felte spiritually as the forgyuenesse of synnes the healynge of soules and suche lyke so doubtles the miracles that Christe wrought bodilie dyd appeare in the bodies wherein he wroughte them But thys straunge miracle of yours muste clearely mocke and delude all oure senses and vnderstandynge and leade vs captyue to beleue that you can make God by his worde of a vyle piece of paste Yet surely in conscience I thynke it your selues do not beleue that there is so greate power in the wordes of God For if you dyd surely you coulde not be so bolde as to burne it For no fayle if it can make God it can destroye wycked men yea though they be byshoppes Moreouer you saye Two thynges are to be considered in the Sacramente of the aultare one that it is a Sacramente An other that it is the thynge it selfe of the Sacramente that is to saye Christes mooste precious bodye and bloude Vpon thys I demaunde what you do meane by thys terme Sacramente If you saye that a Sacramente is a signe or remembraunce of an holie thynge as all your owne Doctours haue defined a Sacramente then wyll we saye as the trueth is and as we haue taughte heretofore that this is the moste holie signe and blessed remeÌ„braunce of Christ our Sauiour which offered his bodie for our sinnes and coÌ„maunded vs to frequent and vse the same in the remembraunce of him who dyed once for vs and sitteth nowe at the right hande of God a perpetuall meane betwene God and man And heare is the ful profite vse and commoditie that any man can haue by thys Sacramente Yet this wyll not satisfie you vnlesse you haue vs so captiue that we wyl saye after you The Sacramente is the selfe same thinge that it signifieth Christ must be made in the remembraunce of Christ I demaunde of you in all other thynges be they holie or prophane where you caÌ„ fynde me one thinge that is both the signe and the thinge it selfe The holie Sacramente of Baptisme is not so The holy SacrameÌ„t of circumcision was not so The holy Sacrament of the Paschal lambe was neuer named so in the olde testamente Yet had they as playne wordes for them as you haue for yours For the circumcision is called the couenaunt and the lambe is called the passeoâ—er But you wil haue the Sacrament to be the thinge it selfe and the signe to be the Sauiour For this intent no fayle that you being but the signes and shadowes of true Bishoppes your two forked cappes and labelles the signes of muche holines and knowledge in both the testameÌ„tes your white raichet the signe of chastitie and purenes your precioâ—s shoes the signes of precious fnote steppes in preaching the Gospel may be accompted the verie thinges theÌ„ selues that be signified So shoulde we neither loke into heauen for our only Sauiour sitting at the righte hande of his father nor yet for true holines in you vpon earth being satisfied by your signes and shadowes your lyinge Poprie dombe and deceyueable ceremonies It foloweth in your text When we cal the Sacrament of the aultare God we vnderstande the substaunce of the Sacrament whiche is Christe God and man there present And according to that vnderstanding we attribute al goodly honour vnto it And in thys speache the worde SacrameÌ„t signifieth and giueth vnderstanding by a special significacion and by excellencie as learned men speake of it the thinge signified beinge there present that is to saye the bodie and bloude of our Sauiour Christe whiche can not be broken with hande caÌ„ not be torne wyth teeth or denoured of beastes or putrified Neither can the bodily senses herein beare any witnes to the contrarie for they can not atteyne that But when we vse the worde Sacramente or the worde hoste and applye the speach of it to suche a matter as may not be sayed of the naturall bodie of Christe then the speache is verified in those formes of breade and wyne vnder the which the most preciouse body and bloud of Christ is couered as when we saye the sacrament is broken or moulded or altered it is onely vnderstanded of the sayed forme of breade and wine being the outward accideÌ„tes as the qualities or dimeÌ„tioÌ„s which god ther preserueth not otherwise by outward miracle being theÌ„ susteined by his moste preciouse bodilie substance Then when they be naturally ioyned to the substance of bread whereof that God thus doeth not mans senses because those accidentes be sensile may Iudge for we se it so and those accidentes be perceptible by the bodelie syght and sense â–ª and withe the eie of the soule in faieth we se the presence of oure moste blessed sauiour Christ who ther is the onely substance of the sacrament so longe remayninge vnder those accidentes as the forme of bread and wyne vnder whiche by the omnipoteÌ„cie of his worde it pleaseth him to exhibite him selfe vnto vs doe remayne and contynewe In your first liues wherin is taught that the sacramente is god and man and therfore muste be worshiped withe all godly honour is intollerable blasphemie For neither haue you any scripture to proue it to be God nor yet that euer Christe or his dearely beloued apostles taught that it should haue al godly honour At his holy supper he coÌ„manÌ„ded theÌ„ al to eate this breade and drinke this cup deuiding it amonge theÌ„ To sette vp any newe God therefore not taughte in the scriptures is blasphemie â–ª and the settynge vp therof deserueth stoning to death by the law of Moyses And Paule byddeth that if an Angell come downe froÌ„ heaueÌ„ to preache any other Gospel then that whiche the Apostles haue preached we shoulde take hym as accursed And is not thys a newe Gospell to teach a Sacrament to be a God to teache that the bread which is a vile creature is very God and that it ought to be worshypped wyth all diuine honour worship The sacrameÌ„t that Christ made and ordeined to be a memoriall of his death redeÌ„ption by him to be made Christ him selfe is it not blasphemie A piece of past whiche was made but yesterday can it be made a sacrifice to take awaye synne wythout blasphemie If a man shoulde call the sacrameÌ„t of baptisme god and do al godly honour thereunto woulde you not say he were mad And yet is Baptisme the chiefe sacrameÌ„t both because it is the first sacrameÌ„t 〈◊〉 signe wherein the free mercie of God
much lesse and yet dyd ther remaine some in the other Other straÌ„g thinges this Marcus wrought wherbi he drewe many to his madnes The prophaue histories do tell vs of an hundred strange wonders wrought by the deuill Liâ—ius sayeth that bloude dyd flowe out of the thoumbe of the Image of Iupiter which stode in mount albino He saieth also that it rained fleshe at Rome Iulius sayeth that the erth did flowe wyth riuers of bloud Curâ—…s sayeth that whan Tire was beseged of Alexander the breade dyd swete bloude on the table The Sucerers of pharao did they not worke wonders in the sight of Moyses and Aaron But what neadeth vs to seeke for olde lyes and fained miraces Oure time and our abbayes haue ben fruitfull ynough of such ware In euery monasterie thou mightest reade an hundred suche painted and set vp to the shewe in goodly tables all for maintenauÌ„ce of these two mattiers whyche your man Damascen doeth so stowtely defende The prayeinge to Saintes and the rotten stockes and Images But al the sorte of you maye ful worthilie heare Why haue you forsaken me the fountayne of liuelyke water and digged you broken cisternes that can holde no water And because you haue loued lies an haue forgotten me and trusted in lyes I wyll descouer your shame Yet one other thynge ther is whyche canseth me not greately to fauour your doctour Damascene He reporteth the thing vntrulie wherof he is called to beare witnesse These he his wordes wher he alledgeth the saieing of Christe for your purpose Take ye and eate thys is my bodye whyche is broken for the forgeuenesse of synnes Like wise the cup of wyne and water after he had taken it he gaue it vnto theÌ„ saieing drink of this you al What dare not this Damascene do trowe you seinge that he dare of hys owne brayne put water into Christes cup alledgeinge for hys lie our mayster Christe Let them take hym for a witnesse whom it deliteth to heare Christe belied and hys holy sacramentes al tered and chaunged Theâ—… reasoneth thys doctour of yours in thys wise Is it not possible for God sayeth he which hath made althinges to make the bread his owne dodie and the wine together wyth the water hys owne bloude 〈◊〉 your doctour wyll make moe creatures to be chaunged then Christe named For nowe must water be the bloud of Christ for al that coÌ„eth into the chalice must be chaunged and euerye drope muste be the whole bodye and whole bloude for the one can not be without the other as you reason in your statute of vi articles Falsehode is verie frutfull and engendreth euer more newe erroures But you loke for an answere to this reasone which is clearely delated wyth so many examples What doeth your doctour coÌ„clude in so many his vaine wâ—rdes Forsoeth that it is possible for Christe to chaunge bread into hys owne bodie and wyne and water into hys bloude Yea he laboureth the mattier as sore as thought he feared that no man woulde beleue hym And thys is the thinge that you woulde so fayne haue vs graunt you Well go to were it not that we are ashamed to speake so vnreuerently lewdly and vylely of oure mayster Christe we woulde grauÌ„t you that it is possible for him to chang hym selfe into bread wine water stone dore â—…e and what you wyl And to satisfie your desyre we graunt you no lesse but that al this is possible But that Christ is chaunged into these creatures or that they are changed into christes bodie is not possible for you to proue You say Christes wordes be playne Thys is my bodie So are the wordes playn I am a dore a vyue I am the fountayn of lyueing water Christ was the stone But Christe in hys Godheade is vnchauÌ„geable and in hys manhode he coÌ„tinueth our bishope styll and is gone in sancta saÌ„ctorum the place of most holynesse where he sitteth on the ryght hand of God and wyl take vnto hym noâ— other nature no not the nature of angelles Againe the worde of God is pure and no drosse can be found therin Al the grosse blyndnesse therfore that you do admitte in makyng Christ thus chaungeable into hys creatures and makyng one Christ that is veri God and maÌ„ in heaueÌ„ and an other that is bread wine and water in erth shalbe fouÌ„d abhominable wheÌ„ it shalbe examined by his word You answer agayn by a similitude That lyke as the angell Gabriell maketh answer to the vyrgyn Marie when she axed how Christ should be borne of hir beynge a vyrgyn so dare you make answer that this is done and chauÌ„ged by the holye gost Your similitud is nothing worth nor in any poyut agreable For both the angel was the messeÌ„ger of god set down from heauen for the same purpose and the matter that he promised was prophecied to the worlde longe before But neither is your matter of thys chaunge named in any place of the scripture nor yet are you angels when you brynge not the worde of God with you except we shoulde call you such angelles as can chaunge them selues into the angeles of light And to declare your similitude to be no thynge fyt for your purpose the thynge that the angell promised was so performid that all men myght wyth theyr senses perceiue it to be truli performed It is but a liâ—al matter wyth you to â—elpe Christ as you haue done a lytâ—le before except you doe belie the holie gost also and saye that in hys name whych you are not taught by the spirite of God Due errour must neades drawe an other after it as it appeareth by you For after you haue tyed Christ to these creatures breade wyne and water you must haue the grace of the holye goste in like maner tyed to oile and water and streight after the godhead to bread and wine Me thinketh you be wours then the Pharises For they compted it blasphemie for Christe beinge a verie man to make hym selfe a God What thynke you they woulde saye if they heard you speake thus of breade and more vile creatures In hys praiers your doctour Damascene calleth the deade Images Sanctas et Diuinas Holye and godlie thought you helpe to cloke hym with more clenly termes as you are full craftie in your generacion And now sayeth he hath he ioyned hys godheade to breade and wine Nowe do I perceiue that the worshiping and high estimacion of Images is the beginninge middes and ende of all wickednes and blindnesse as the wiseman teacheth For after that Damascene hath taken vpon haÌ„de to defende the deade stockes to be holy and godly he careth not what he teacheth after warde Truely I woulde haue wished more shame in your foreheade theÌ„ to haue brought in such a doctour for your chiefe foundacion whose wordes you dare not for shame reporte truelie as they lye Agayne where we be taught to cal vpon the father in
the name of hys sonne Christe and that we haue none other name vnder heauen wherby helth is promised to men your doctour wyll be healed by the prayers of our ladie Ther is muche other made stuffe in your doctour whyche I do passe wyth silence because al men maye iudge him what he is by that he hath spokeÌ„ alredie Yet this one thing maye not bee omitted He addeth more ouer that the bodie cometh not downe from heauen and yet the breade and wine be tranfourmed into the bodie and bloude of God Thus confoundeth he the natures callinge it the bloude of God He bringeth in newe and strainge schole learneinge of transubstaÌ„ciacion He maketh ii bodies of Christ One that cometh not downe froÌ„ heaueÌ„ and an other that is in thys transformacion vpon earth Thys is your great clarke and principal witnesse worthy to be set forth in al languages and his learneinge enlarged wyth your annotatioÌ„s and al the conning and wit you haue You are much more mete to be an interpretour of such one thaÌ„ to trouble your selfe wyth commentaries vpon scripture But aske hym how it is transformed and chaunged and he saieth the maner is inscrutable and can not be serched Yet will he not be ashamed as thought he knewe thynges that coulde not be knowne to teache howe ij wayes First as Christe was borne of the virgine marie TheÌ„ as the breade by eateing and the wine by drinkeinge are chaunged in to the bodye and bloude of him that eateth and drinketh naturallye so are these chaunged into the bodie of Christe a boue nature But neither of your similitudes agreth For these two worckes afore named are worckes of trueth and therfore do thy so appeare vnto the knowledge of man as they are done in dede Christe was borne of Marie the virgine verie maÌ„ accordeinge â–ª to the Prophecies that were spoken of hym before and was sene conuersaunte wyth meÌ„ the space of xxx yeares But your myracle did neuer appere one moment The meate is chaunged bi a natural course and order digested in the stomake and parte sent into the veynes parte sent forth other wayse But I can not perceyue what lyke similitude you can fetch herof to the thinges aboue nature wherfore you renne to your shote anchor This is my bodi No man denieth but thys is true You brynge the worde and we brynge the worde But the doubt is onely in the signification and meaneynge You saye that est is signifieth is chaunged is traÌ„sformed wheÌ„ both the form remaineth styll and you haue neuer one scripture that maketh for you but manie that maketh against you bysides the liuely feleynge of our fayeth which must haue God in higher estimacion then for to tye hym to any dyle creature Yea the whole course of the christen religion which acknowlegeth that â–ª Christe is ascended vp from the earthe to the heauens and there sytteth on the ryght hand of God the father to be our mediatour and meane whom he hath chosen ther to reygne tyll he come agayne to treade downe hys enimies vnder hys fete We can therfore receyue non so grosse foÌ„tence of the chaunge and traunsformacion of bred and wine into the bodie of Christ But according to the whole course of scripture we worshype our lorde God spred thorowe all ouer all and in all hys creatures Infinite in coÌ„prehensible whom the heauen of heuenes can not contayne and hys sonne Christ humblynge hym selfe vnto our vyle nature but nowe exalted farre aboue the Angelles And where we finde any thynge spoken or writteÌ„ not agreable with this doctrine of our faieth and christeÌ„ religioÌ„ if a man do say it though he take vnto hym the face of an aâ—gell by coÌ„terfayte holynesse we compt hym Anathema that is accursed bi the lessoÌ„ of Paul And al such scriptures as might serue for his purpose and mayntenaunce of hys errour we must confute with more opeÌ„ places and testimoneis of the same Now wher as you speake vnworthely of God his sacred maiestie and his sonne Christe haueynge not one lyke place of scripture wherby this worde est is doeth make a sodayne chaunge and transformation we haue boeth in the olde testameÌ„t and the newe veri many where est is is spoken of the thynge represented As. vii fat kyne are vii yeares vii good eares of corne are vii yeares This is the pasouer CircuÌ„cision is the couenant And he is Helias The stoâ— was christ I am the dore I am the verie vine You are one bread and one bodie so manie as be partakers of one breade We haue beleue the wordes this is my bodie as wel as you We striue onely a gainst youre gloses We graunte the omnipotencie and almighti powre of God that he might haue changed creatures in all these sentences But that he dyd so is oure controuersie and thys thinge are you not able to trye nor iustifie But you thinke it is inoughe to denie all thys at one worde and saye thys is not the figure or signe of Christes bodie no fie for shame but the verie bodie of our Lord glorified For oure Lord sayed this is not the figure of my bodye but my bodie And euen so and more plainelye Christe sayde I am the verie vine and not the figure of the vine But your doctoure as EcolaÌ„padius geueth warneinge in the begininge of hys boke is nothing substaÌ„ciall The texte that he bringeth out of Iohn maketh cleare againste him For no man can be saued vnlesse he eate the fleshe of the sonne of man and drinke hys blonde Moises and the prophetes were saued therfore dyd they eate hys fleshe and drinke hys bloude And yet had they neuer Christ bodilie naturally and carnalli amongeste them It is not ment therfore of the carnall and bodilie eateinge but as Christe teacheth in the beginninge of the same sermon he is eaten by fayeth for so onely myght the olde fathers eate him And so doth Paul witnesse that the fathers dyd eate hym The fathers sayeth he dyd eate the same spirituall meate and drinke the same spirituall drinke They dyd all drynke of the same spirituall stone The stone was Christ Againe where Damascene bringeth in this texte he that eateth me lyueth for me it maye proue playne that the â—â—eshelie and carnall eateinge is not ment therby For theÌ„ the wicked haue life by Christ Streight after your doctour coÌ„eth to the point you would haue him to teach Idolatrie boeth wyth outwarde gesturs and in warde affections And vpon this do you discant in your annotacioÌ„s But to handle this mattier worthily would aske a whole boke I wil therfore bring in one onely text which Christe bringeth out of Deu. against the diuil The Lord thy God shalt thou worship him only shalt thou serue And wheÌ„ you can proue me y t this bread Images or ani other creature is god thaÌ„ wil I promise you to fal downe worship it But if I should
do it before I knowe I shoulde commit Idolatrie Which thyng was ful wel considered of the olde counsayles for they did forbid kneleing vpon the same daies in these misteries Now your maÌ„ scrapeth together certayne figures out of the olde teastament to be the figures of thys figuâ—e And yet they serue little for your purpose The cole that Esai sawe the bread and wine of Melchizedeche the bread of proposicioÌ„ make verie litle for thys purpose but that you muste wreaste some what leste you be vtterly destituted of scriptures Let al men that dare for feare of your threatninges read the scriptures iudge the places Nowe concerneinge your vnbloudie sacrifice it is to be noted you wil haue hym eaten bodie bloud bones and sacrificed againe for sins and yet you saye it is no bloudie sacrifice I thinke no maÌ„ wil be so mad as once to take your parte herin notwithstandeinge the text of Malachie the prophet which you rehersse for your purpose but nothyng to the purpose From the easte to the west sayeth he my name is greate a monge the heathen and euerie where do they bren inseÌ„se and offer vnto my name euen a pure offeringe for great is my name among the heathen saieth the Lorde of hostes Al men maye easily perceiue how litle this maketh for your purpose It is harde shifte of scriptures when you brynge in suche places for your purpose as do rather make agaynst you then wyth yow as here after this shalbe declared to do That the bodie of Christ can not be chaâ—ged into our corruptioÌ„ euery man knoweth and beleueth and this is one reasone that moneth vs to saye that this bread which is receyued into our mouthes and so goeth into the stâ—â—alie and somtyme is vomited vp againe as we haue seue in speke folke somtyme goeth forth other wayes is nothynge the fygure set aparte but verie breade the substaunce nothinge chaunged Wher your doctour hath learned to caâ— it the remedie for all diseases and vpon what coÌ„sideratioÌ„ you terme it the armoure of defence from all adâ—â—yaunce the fyer that tryeth out golde the purgacion of all fylth and diseases I caÌ„ not tel I know no such tytles it hath by the scriptures though your doctour alledge the apostle for his purpose Notwithstâ—dyng make it what you wyll so you make it not God settynge it vp as an Idole to be worshyped I wyll neither coÌ„â—eÌ„d nor striue agaynst you But the lorde that made bothe heauen and the earthe he is the lorde besydes whoÌ„ ther is none other God â–ª He is the true God and sauiour and ther is none but he He is the cole that consumeth wickednes He is the fyre that purgeth and clenseth He is the lorde the lyuynge God As for the healeyng of all diseases I doubt not but the phisicians wyll answer you Your doctour dareth not brynge in the sentence of the Apostle truly as it is for fear least we shulde call it breade as the Apostle doeth But he sayeth who so euer eateth the bodie and bloude vnworthelye he eateth and drynketh condemnation to hym selfe And this semeth quite coÌ„trary to the text of Iohn which he cited but a lytle before he that eateth me shall lyue for doubtlesse Christe can not be eaten wythout profyte He beyng the foode of lyfe bryngeth lyfe to all them that once may fede of hys fleashe For thys cause sayeth Christe if any man be thyrsty let hym cum vnto me and drynke He that beleueth in me the flouds of lyuing water shall flowe forth of hys bealy But he that beleueth not is condemned all ready Thus do we either eate thys sacrament of Christes death wyth fayt he and theÌ„ haue we lyfe aboundantly or els nothyng regardyng the bodie and bloude wherof we shold be partakers spiritually in thys sacramente we offend in vnbelyfe or lacke of charitie Both the which thynges Paule laieth to the charge of the Corinthians and therfore biddeth he them Iudge them selues leste they be condemned wyth the worlde Agayne where your doctour sayeth that thys bread is the fyrste fruites of the bread to come coÌ„pare his laste wordes to the same and you shall se he speaketh lyke a doctour These be hys wordes though you cloke theÌ„ wyth your interpretacion They are called the examples of thynges to come Not that they are not the verye bodye and bloude of Christ in verie dede but bycause that by theÌ„ we be made nowe partakers of the Godhed of Christe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But then by the contemplacion of the minde by the onely vision If thys mans doctryne be true we haue not onely the fruites in this life but the veri fulnesse For we haue Christ bodilye and are also partakers of the God heade Yet in time to come we shall haue hym by the vision of the mynde onely as he affirmeth in hys last lines Oh how moch better were it to followe the open scriptures then blynde doctoures For the scriptures teach that now we do see â—…t in a darke shadow wheras after this life in the newe Ierusalem we shall se face to face Then shall we knowe as we be knowne â–ª we shall eate and drynke at hys table Yea no tonge caÌ„ tel no eie hath senâ— or eare heard neither hath it entred into the herte of man The glorie that God hath prepared for theÌ„ that loue hym Excuse your authour as wel as you can from the heresie of the Marcionistes he muste needes be in the daunger thereof so longe as he reasoneth that Christes bodie is a spirite For a spirite hath neither fleshe nor bones Agayne when your doctour taketh vpon hym to make gloses he descanteth vpon the wordes of the godly enstructed Basilius and when he calleth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the exemple your marchaunt sayeth that he spake this of the breade and wyne before the consecration I praye you who was euer so mad to say that it did signifie any thinge before it was taken to this holy vse but that it was commune breade as other is whiche we eate Then gyueth he warning like a doctour that heretikes shoulde haue no parte hereof leste the margarites be caste vnto hogges notwithstanding that Christ suffered Iudas to be parte taker thereof I knowe you are a great lawier bishoppe Stephane and haue bene muche vsed in the triynge of wytnesses I praye you what creâ—ite should suche a man haue that is founde fantie so many tymes in so small examination ⧠The foundation whereupon oure fayth is grounded BUt I do take our doctours and reade them wyth lyke iudgement as I do the Rabines of the Hebrues That is to say to be meÌ„ learned and highly endued with knowledge of secret thynges and therefore that they caÌ„ open deaply hid misteries But yet al men of iudgemeÌ„t may know that they haue their gyftes but vnto a certeyne measure and as they are meÌ„ so do they erre many tymes in the mattiers
vi Hebru viii ix x. xii i. Thess iiii i. Petre. ii So that by the scriptures we muste needes be compelled to deny the bodie of Christ and his humaine nature to be nowe any where vpon the earth â—or els with the Marcionistes muste we take from him the veritie of his body and deny that he hath a body according to our nature This thinge doeth Augustine handle at large in the epistle he writeth to Dardamê° vnto whom I sende you that sticke so muche to doctours There he teacheth you that as he is God Christe is in euery place But in that he is man he is in heauen onely whiche all the scriptures do testifie And it is the chiefest poynte of oure beliefe that he is in heauen and sitteth at the righte hande of the father Nowe our fayth which can be grounded on no manneâ— sayinge can seeke him in nonâ— other place but where the worde of Christ declareth him to be seinge Christe hym selfe warneth vs that false prophetes shall come and saye lo here is Christ lo there is Christ and commaundeth vs that in nowife we beleue them But we shall then onely loke for him when he shal come with such shyne and brightnesse as is the lighteninge from the east to the west thorowout the whole world Which wordes thoughe they maye be well vnderstande of the fall and decaye of al these outwarde rites wherein the Iewes and hypocrites of all tymes haue set the high worshippe and kingdome of God and also of suche seducers as woulde promise them selues false Christes and sauiours yet neuertheles as the spirite of God hath al thinges present whiche are whiche haue bene and shall be so are the wordes of the spirite generall seruing for all tymes fit apte and meete to reproue al abuses And here may we plainly espie that they are spoken agaynste al maner of bodily presence of Christe both in the aultares here and there in the breade and in the chambers and corners where he is holdeÌ„ vp and shewed betwene the priestes fingers to be worshipped But if you desire yet some one place of scripture so plaine that it can not be resisted by any gloses or sophistrie but that it shall stande plaine contrarie and cantradictorie to your doctrine reade the thirde of the Actes That heauen muste receyue and haue Iesu Christe vnto the tyme that all thinges be restored The wordes of that place are verie playne for he doeth not onely make Iesu Christe a very man as Moyses was whose nature was not to be in two places at once but he addeth also these playne wordes That the heauen muste receyue thys same Iesu Christ vnto the tyme that al thinges be restored QueÌ„ oportet celum accipere vsque ad tempus restitutionis omnium Thus do we procede therefore Christe hath by his departynge his sittynge at the ryghte hande of his father and returnynge agayne at the tyme appoynted so playnely appoynted by the scriptures one onely place where we shall seeke his naturall bodie that so many of vs as wyll not stryue agaynste the manifest trueth can not double but that his bodie remayneth there onely where he sheweth hym selfe to be We conclude therefore that it is contrarie to Christes religion to seeke him vpoÌ„ the earth enclosed in a box Secondly Christe hath shewed where he wyll be vntyll the daye of iudgement that is to saye at the right hande of God his father tyll that he hath made all his enemies his fote stole Wherefore we can seeke hym in none other place wyth sure fayeth to fynde hym Thirdly agaynste your whole doctrine that the bodie of Christe maye be infinitely scattered thorowout the world and your wordes a litle after folowyng which are that the humaine bodie is not diuisible by tyme or place wherin you do coÌ„found the natures of Christ 〈◊〉 giue that vnto the maÌ„hode which is onely the proprietie of the godheade and so opeÌ„ the way vnto two heresies we haue the plaine testimonie of the Angel You do seeke Christe crutified he is rysen he is not here Where as if his maÌ„hode had ben infinite as is the godhead theÌ„ shoulde he haue ben there preseÌ„t For no maÌ„ caÌ„ deny but there was his godhead presently Neither caÌ„ you escape by this cauillatioÌ„ that then he is infinite indiuisible 〈◊〉 without circuÌ„scriptioÌ„ of time or place wheÌ„ you wil haue him like as you do multiply your cakes into millions and thousaÌ„des of thousaÌ„des at Easter whiche do al perishe as it were in a momeÌ„t for that which is infinite or indiuisible caÌ„not chaung the nature to haue his bondes and finite order aypoynted him Wherfore we do most truly cal God his power only infinite where man in al his nature hath his determinate measure of substaÌ„ce quaÌ„tities qualities and knowledge as appeareth in Christe who as he was very maÌ„ did not knowe the houre and time of the day of iudgement of all fleshe was enclosed in the graue and dyd walke vpon the earth and appeare alwayes vnto his disciples in that sorte and maner that at no tyme any occasion myght be taken that he infinitly did fyll all places no not that at any tyme he mighte appeare to be in two places at once all his miracles do so faythfully witnes and reporte the truth of his humaine nature and natural body whiche your vaine opinion of enclosing him in breade and making him infinite goeth about to subuert But nowe when you haue no scripture to proue your mattier true that Christ as he is man maye be in heauen and yet fyll all the Aultares of the earth you do renne to the sayinge of Esaie the prophete If you beleue not you shall not vnderstande The whiche wordes beinge spoken to Achas and the vnfaythful house of Dauid that was afraied at the comming of two kinges of Syria and Damascus whom the prophet doth threaten to be destroyed because Achas wyll not beleue serue nothynge to your purpose The wordes be these If you do not beleue the cause is you wil not be faythfull And so agreeth it well with the wordes folowing when Achas wil aske no signe Is it but a small thynge sayeth Esaie to werie men wyth your infidelitie onelesse you do werie my God And thus in the trewe sense we maye ryghtly tourne it vpon your owne heades whyche wyll wery boeth God and man wyth your braynelesse Imaginations and wyll not beleue the open worde of God because you are vnfaythfull Then come you in wyth your Lordelyke sentence In thys high misterie where God worketh his speciall worke miraculousâ—ie it is sufficieÌ„t to knowe that it is wrought though I can not tell howe it is wrought nor howe it agreeth wyth other his workes I marueile bishoppe Stephane that you wax not ashamed of your writing You saye that here is a wonderfull miracle wrought but you knowe not howe it is wroughte nor oure senses vnderstandynge and fayth
spirituall do we knowledge and confesse But to eate Christe any other waie in the fourme of bread we iudge impossible And to eate him bodili carnallie reallie and substancially as a liueing man it is cruel vnnaturall vnprofitable yea vnpossible In the which we saye not that God is become the creature of breade as the deuil inspireth his meÌ„bres to reporte blasphemouselie but that Christe familiarly and of a maruailouse intier loue towardes vs coÌ„secrateth him selfe in those fourmes of bread and wine to be so eaten and druncken of vs. This Iudggeling haue we touched before We can not vnderstand you bishopes when you speake of your transubstanciacion consecracion and your chaunginge onlesse you do saye this cake this bread this creature is become the bodie of Christe God and man and this thinge is chaÌ„ged into that For your demonstratiue Hoc this muste demonstrate or shewe somethinge vnto vs. But you clock it lyke a spirituall father and poynte vs the fourme of breade with your demonstratiue as it is the chiefe pointe of your professioÌ„ to adulterate the word of God which teacheth that Christ did take breade in his hand blessed and sayed thys is my bodye A wonderful mattier that it should nowe be deuelles doctrine to speake thus not groslye but spiritualli This is my bodie which wordes we would faine haue rydde of your blind gloses and do wishe that al the world should haue them taught and beleue them in spirite to be true as they were spoken and written So that herby myght be preached and â—…h the inestimable loue that God bare to the worlde when he gaue hys owne and onely begotten sonne that who so beleue iâ— hym shoulde not perishe but haue euerlasteinge life and not this strange doctryne neuer â—…d before neither in the olde nor in the newe testament that Christ familiarly of â—…tier loue towardes vs consecrateth him selfe in those fourmes of bread and wyne wherby you do not onely adulterate the wordes of Christ with your straung termes and doctrine of Christ coÌ„secrateing him selfe into fourmes â–ª but you would bring on flepe the faith and hope that we haue of our aduocate sittinge at the right hande of God a continuall mediatour for vs and burie that greate benifite and singular loâ—e of Christe oure sauioure offeringe hym selfe once for all vpon the crosse settinge vp a newe Idole that the olde fathers Hahraham Isaac and Iacob neuer harde once named Bring einge in a newe gospell and glade tidinges that Paule the Apostles neuer preached Wherfore by the mouth of Paule we maye pronouce you accursed and by Moyses worthy to be stoned to deathe blasphemers As for the familiaritie that you calenge in coniureinge hym into a cake I feare me it wyll haue thys Answere â—ade post me Satana Nowe to declare howe vniustlye you do chaunge the blesseing of the bread into these founde wordes Christ coÌ„secrateth him selfe because I haue shewed it before I wyll onelye note that that Christ alwayes whan he dyd vse the creatures of God did blesse and geue thankes vnto hys father But you do vse thys darcke terme to deceine the people and woulde haue vs beleue that strayght after your consecracion as you cal it yea after your bloweinge as we do se it ther shoulde be suche a sodaine chaunge and insensible as can no where else be shewed but after your moste holy finger And in your other blesseinges whan ye do wagge your pope holy fingers they haue you saye lyke powre of holynesse in heauen earth and the thirde place I wot not where It were greate pitie that these holie blesseinges and consecracions the chife establishementes of your popeishe empier shoulde be vttered to their worthynesse For then your triple crownes proude miters and bloudy hattes woulde fall your croyser staâ—es glittereing gloues woulde be despised For wheÌ„ in your pontificalibus you do geue your orders of Antichriste you câ—n not be content to tel your prosilites that christ coÌ„secrateth him self but â–ª you saye thus We geue the powre to consecrate and offer to God sacrifice to pacifie hys wrath Thus do you make the doeing and offering of Christ on the crosse of none effecte and set vp your owne consecracion And For this is al your contencion God filleth hauen and earth and is not coÌ„prehensible to be conteined in temples made wyth mans handes no man can limit gods dwellinge place God hath powre ouer man but man hath not powre ouer God and therfore Solomons temple was no habytacion to restrayne gods presence frome other places If thys be tâ—we as you dare not denye it for shame why did the olde byshoppes your prodecessours stone Stephane to death for so sayeinge And howe dare you Byshopes brenne vs for sayeinge that God dwelleth not vpon your Alutares in your temples neither that you can limyt hym hys place of dwellinge in your little boxes tyll he wax mould theÌ„ bren him at your Altaries end If thys be not to lymyt hym a place to chalenge powr ouer that you cal god what shal we cal powr Fyrst you haue powr you say to cal by your inchauntyng wordes Christ God and man into your bread and chalice TheÌ„ to create him as your owne bokes shal bear â–ª witnes againste you After this to coÌ„secrate sacrifice him for the quike the deade For thys powr is gyueÌ„ to euery one of your marke be he neuer so moche an horemonger drunkard or Sodomite Accipe potestarem sacrificandi pro viuis et mortuis Damus ti bi potestatem consecrandi et offerendi placabiles hostias That is to say Take powr to make sacrifice for the quyke and the deade we gyue the powr to consecrate offer pleasaunt sacrifices vnto God All thys is sayed to euery one of your shauelyngs TheÌ„ haue you powr to breake hym to eate hym or kepe hym in the corporasse as you cal it or in your pyx or where you luste whiche are manifest blasphemies and grosse blyndnes of the fleshe wyteout the manifest worde of God to inuent such fond toyes of your own brayne as be manyfest dexogation to the sacrate majesty of the euerlyueyng God And yet scripture telleth vs how our sauiour christ god man hath taught in teÌ„ples taried in teÌ„ples made with manes hand and that he dwelleth with good men and also in teÌ„ples made with maÌ„s haÌ„de for the asseÌ„ble of good men wher good men truste to be releiued wyth coÌ„mun prayer and refreshed with the most preciouse fode of hys bodie bloud and he is preseÌ„t and â—arieth in the sacrate host Thys do we coÌ„fesse more playnlye that Christ the soÌ„ne of God dyd becom man dyd suffer huÌ„gre and cold was conuersaunt amoÌ„g men walkeynge and teachynge vpon the ear the dyd all thynges that man doeth onelye sinne excepted But thys doth not proue therfore that you may spar Christe either as he was God or as he was man in a boxe
or â—haung him into a peice of bread in your temples and kepe him out in one host consecrate as you call it but in a thousande cakes as you would haue it what lyke reasone of conparisoÌ„e is betwen Christ teaching in the temple verie man as the scriptur witnesseth and al the people sawe and hard and your ImaginacioÌ„ of Christ god and man to be presently at one time vpon infinite aulteres whiche no scriptureâ—…oâ—s nameth nor eye can espye nor reasone approue Yea further wher you haue no place of scripture to tech that Christ was euer in two teÌ„ples at once or in ii places at one time preseÌ„t in bodelie preseÌ„ce coÌ„uersaÌ„t Therfore wyll I set Stephane the fyrste martyr agaynst the Auctorite of Stephane Gardinar And if men be not blynded wyth this man bycause he is a byshope I doubte not but the fyrst StephaÌ„ shall haue the more Credite The first Stephan agaynst the hypocrityshe byshopes of the olde law bosting of Solomons temple and the holynesse ther onely estemed confirmed wyth hys death that God doeth not dwell in the temple of Solomon though it pleased hym afore tym to shewe therin the tokens of hys fauoure powre most preseÌ„tly vnto al them that firmlye and stedfastly called vpon his â—…her but he confessed wyth the prophet Esai that the heauen is hys seate and the earth is hys fote stole The hyghest therfore dwelleth not in any temple made wyth mans hande For what house sayeth the prophet caÌ„ you build vnto me or what place shall I reste in hath not myn handes made al these thynges sayeth the Lorde If thys be not cleare testimonye ynough marke what Paul witnesseth wyth StephaÌ„ God whyche made thys worlde and all thynges that are in it seynge he is the Lorde of heauen and earthe he dothe not dwel in teÌ„ples made wyth manes hande c. These iii. faythfull wytnesses Esai the prophet Stephane the fyrst martir and Paul the Apostle are more worthy to be beleued and may be followed wyth lesse daunger then half a dosen braggeynge englyshe byshopes I mean suche as you are whych would haue suche a newe chaunglynge churche as shal not be founde agayn throughout the worlde Of the worde institucioÌ„ and how that the papistes do make Christe to haue a bodie Imaginatyue or phantastical THat you do vse here thys worde the institutioÌ„ of Christ agaynst the whych word you do dispute so spit fully in your boke folowing I am glade you may be found your own coÌ„fonÌ„der And now I trust you wyll gyue vs leaue to name the institution of Christe because you beynge a bishope do vse thys terme institution But let passe suche triflynges Agayn that by the alteracion of place the bodie is not multiplied but is all wayes one the same bodie in x. thousaÌ„de places at once Thys you do affyrme in effect though your termes be darkened wyth variacion the application and Alteracion because you are ashamed to speake playnly All meÌ„ that haue any wyt reasone or knowlege may per ceaue your folly And especially by that you haue â—oâ— other thyng to proue your impossible proposition but that the Imagination of man may be in so many places Oh wicked bishoppe wylt thou make Christe to haue â—n Imaginatiue bodie lyke vnto mans Imaginacion or phantasie how standeth thys wyth the argument of Paul wherin resteth the chiefe hope of our resurrection If Christ be rysen sayeth he so shall we ryse agayne If his fleash therfore be otherwise theÌ„ ours shalbe as no doubt it is if it be lyke the Imaginacion of man beynge in euery place wheÌ„ it lusteth then is thys argumeÌ„t of Paul but vayne Agayn if our bodies shalbe thus able to be in all places when we shall ryse agayn then shall we not ryse lyke men but lyke spirites Yea lyke gods Surely Paul in that he sayeth that we shalbe lyke the heauenly AdaÌ„ and beare the Image of him like as we haue borne the Image the earthely maketh Christ verie man which must be the fyrst fruites of them that rise agayne And therfore our only hope of resurrection is that as he dyd aryse so shall we in our fleash see our God Thyâ— assersion of yours calleth agayn the errour of Marcion if it be not resisted And your doctour Damascen can scantly excuse hym selfe of the same heresie The philosophers that â–ª saied anima est tota in toto et tota in qualibet parte the whole in the whole y e whole in eueri part thei could not se howe it was yet neuertheles toke it so to be yet what a coÌ„tradictioÌ„ is it to saye the parte is the whole And further do not the wordes of men spoken to a multitude passe wholely to euery one of the hearers eares indyfferently that sta de wythin the coÌ„passe of hearynge And if the matter be intelligible to them al do not eche one heare and vnderstande one as moche as an other beynge the speach but of one and not diminished by the participation of the multitude You brynge in for similitudes these thynges that are so fare contrarie as can be For what can be more vâ—lyke and disagreyng in theyr proprities then the soule and the bodye than the voyce of a man and the man hym selfe what a blynde reasone is thys The soule is spred thorow out the body ergo the bodie may be scatered into places infinitely distant What reasone is in thys The voice and wordes of man may be harde of an infinite numbre Ergo Christ as he is verie maÌ„ may be in al places innumerable vnlese you wyll make Christ to haue a phantasticall bodie as the sophisters dispute whether a voice haue a bodie or no. As for your excuse because your own coÌ„science doth pricke you wherin you say that these similitudes do nothynge attayne to expresse thys your mysterie you deserâ— lyke thankes wyth Albinus that was ouer busie in writting the hystories of the which he professed him selfe ignorant You saie they be in many thinges vnlike but you can shewe nothing wherein they be like but in your Imaginacion If you woulde haue proued by similitudes that Christes bodye is in many places at once you should haue shewed and declared vnto vs that some one bodye hath bene in two places at once and than we woulde haue beleued you Or thus myght your similitude haue serued The soule of man is spred thorowout hys membres and so like wyse is the spirite of Christ spred tho row out his church which coÌ„sisteth of his spiritual members compareinge thus spiritual thinges vnto spiritual and not spiritual vnto bodilily for they differ moste clearely in the thynges wherin you woulde haue them lyke For the bodie by the creation of God hath alwayes his determinate quantitie and therfore his certaine place But as the spirite for lacke of quantitie occupieth no place so can it not be in anie place circuÌ„scribed or
killed grat Goliath it is easilie perceiued by coÌ„paring of his bokes with EcolaÌ„padius zwin glius how far vnable he was to defeÌ„de thys cause What mildenes of spirit ouer much care of christian quietnesse caused Bucere in wordes so far as the trueth could any thing yelde to agre with you al men that read his bokes with iudgement may iudge Zwinglius workes who so readeth theÌ„ as he was a man of in comparable eloquence and lerneing are able to coÌ„found all the rabble of the papistes and al his aduersaries that speake againste him But nowe come you into your ruffe againe with your doctours of thousaÌ„d yeres yet maie we proue some of theÌ„ to haue ben scarselie v. hundred yeres other some of small Authoritie and the best smally serueing for your purpose AmoÌ„gest theÌ„ all the most auncieÌ„t is S. Andrewe the apostle you saie whom you alledge not out of the scripture for we haue nothinge of his writeinge there but out of your holy legeÌ„da auria as I suppose or else I praie you whens shall this thing haue his authoritie of the porteous perchanÌ„ce which techeth vs to locke for saluacioÌ„ by the merites of Thomas Beket by setting vp a caÌ„dle or building a chapel in the name of S. Margarete It appeareth that you would faine haue the mattier good wheÌ„ you flie to your popeish portous Thus woulde you craftilie deceine the people Let Paul answere your porteouse maÌ„ which saieth he doth dailie sacrifice Christ on the aulâ—…re of the crosse We lerne in the Epistle of Paule to the Heb. that it is the propre peculiar office of Christ to offer him selfe that with his owne offering he hath made his holy for euer by his own offering once don therfore was he made prieste after the order of Melchisedech without successour Wher for they that go about to sacrifice Christe do rob him of his priesthod For Christ onely was called vnto that office for he ouelie was called as Aaron was and no maÌ„ maye take vnto him that office vnlesse he be caled as Aaron was Not with standinge that we maie please al and offeÌ„d no maÌ„ if it be so possible take the wordes of S. Andre spirituallie as no doubt he was spiritual would speake theÌ„ none otherwaies but spiritually and thaÌ„ make thei nothing against vs. He sacrificed not on the aultare of stone but vpoÌ„ the aultare of the crosse And for the maintenaunce of thys sacrifice he hym selfe was also sacrificed on the crosse What dyd he sacrifice The vnspotted lambe Where he alludeth to the olde figure as is saied whose flesh and bloud beinge spiritually receyued feadeth al the faythfull people Thus maist thou answere gentle reader euen vnto the best of the doctours vnderstandeinge them spirituallye And that they shoulde be so vnderstanded appeareth by the firste wordes that you bring out of Chrisostome we offer sayeth he but for the remembraunce of hys death Again this sacrifice is a resemblanÌ„ce of the other Agayne alludeinge to the olde figure he sayeth We do offer one lambe or else should ther be many Christes Then sheweth he who is the byshop that offereth the sacrifice Not Chrisostom nor Andrewe â–ª but Christe And thys whiche they do is the remembraunce of that whiche is done alredie These olde writtes had muche more libertie to speake such wordes because at that tyme ther wer no suche errours hard of as you do defend nowe by your popeishe prerogatiue But whan you answere that Christe bydeâ—h you pristes sacrifice him because he sayeth Hoc facite I dare saye you finne in wylfull blindenesse And that boeth for that you leaâ—e out thefâ—â—t and principall parte of the sentence whiche moste declareth the purpose of Christ in the remembraunce of me and also because you knowe well inowghe what significacion Hoc facite muste haue boeth in thys place and all other I knowe well that you english bishopes be not so sleÌ„derly learned as the Sorbouistes or doctors of Parise whiche in their determinations do bringe incum faciam vitulam Take the whole seÌ„teÌ„ce together therfore and make of it what you can Hoc facite in mei memoriam do thys in the remembraunce of me Donec veniat tyll he come maketh cleare against you that saye he is heare al redie let Damascene dote as longe as he lusteth If you wreast this playne text do this in the remembraunce of me vntill I come what scripture can be salfe from your gloses Yet by your doctoures by whom you caÌ„ glose forth al thinges I wyl not greatly contende with you as I dyd proteste in the begining First and principally because our fayeth maye be grounded vpon no maÌ„s saings but vpon the worde of God onely whiche is able to teach to reproue and to enstructe a man to euery good worcke Secondly because this contencion shal neuer haue an ende so long as you maye haue authoritie to glose euerie worde of the doctours accordinge to your owne pleasure Thirdely because ther hath ben no â—…ning so lewed but it hath ben proued and is at this daye allowed by the authorite of the doctours Fourthli because the scripture must be the toâ—chston and iâ—dge of all other thynges wordes sayinges and writeynges and may be Iudged by non other Sixtli because we our selues shalbe Iudged and examined whether we haue kept that whyche Christe coÌ„maunded vs and not that which doctours haue written Seuenthly and finally because in the worde of god lyeth al truth and we haue an especiall commaundement frome the father to here Christe the authoure therof the spirite comeynge down from heauen with his open testimonie Thys is my dearly beloued soÌ„ne in whom I delyte heare hym where the doctours contrarie wyfe as they are men and this scripture must nedes be true Omnis homo mendax euerie man is a lyar so do they trie them selues as men contendeynge one with an other eche one coÌ„trarie to his felowe Yea and the selfe same man retracteynge and recanteynge that that he had wrytten before that we may learne to trust in no man nor to put fleshe our arme for feare of the great curse but to stycke vnto the euerlastinge worde of God as a lantern vnto our fete wherof ther shall not one Iote or tytle perishe though the heauen and the earth do melt awaye In thys we shall finde sufficient fode for our soules if we can paciently rest and fead therin Wherfore for this tyme all your doctours set aparte and your dyuell sayeth neglected because your hope is so muche in man and you are not ashamed so often to brinde in the deuil sayeth I praye you here the complaynt of God by his prophetes vpoÌ„ the Idolatours of al ages and do not thinke much to herkeÌ„ what God sayeth of you of this time which caÌ„ non other wayes mayntain your pompe but with the coÌ„tumely of your creatour the plain denial of the only sacrifice of his son
myght repent me of my works I had eueÌ„ theÌ„ iust occasioÌ„ to haue sorowed for the benifites that I had shewed vnto your wicked kinde the wickednesse wherof was so greate that I could not other wise expresse it to the worthynesse then to saye that it repented me to haue made man Idolatrie was then spred thorowe the whole earth and fewe or none woulde call vpon my name For â—embroth the stoute hunter raysed Idoles in Babilon and the Chaâ—aneâ—s worshiped the fier After that Belus with his coÌ„plices builded a towre to withstaÌ„d my vengeaunce Sodome and Gomore prouoked myne heauie displeasure wyth theyr manifolde enormities To be shorte all the whole world refused â–ª me the leueinge God the wel of liuing waters and digged them cisternes which can holde no water Euerie citie inueÌ„â—ed a straung god Saturnus Iupiter Iuno Mars Mercurie and such othere moÌ„strous Idoles are newelye inuented whylse I destroie the olde But Israell whom I had chosen to be my people to be my holy people coÌ„mauÌ„ding him to haue no maner of Image doeth after so many my greate mercies shewed vnto Aabraham Isaake Iacob and the fathers after suche wonderfull deliueraunce from Pharao set vp a goldeÌ„ calfe the Idole of theire idle braine They renâ—e to Baall Pheger They fill the holy lande whyche I gaue them in heritage full of most filthy Idoles Worthily therfore are thei destroied wyth pistelence famine and swerde But you that heare the name of my soÌ„ne Christe and are named Christians whom I haue by the death of the same myne onely begotteÌ„ sonne made â—…e owne you are much more blame worthy and pour miserable waâ— wardnesse is no longer to be sufferred For you haue these xv hundred yeres prouoked my wrath vpon you renneing head long into al kindes of wickednesse But to pas with silence al other thinges wherin you haue offended my maiestie ther is nothing so vile amongest al my creatures but that you haue assaed to set vp the same as your God dispiceing therin both my powre and the rule that I gaue you ouer al other creatures forgettinge clearelie that I haue exalted myne elect aboue the Angelles and haue fent mine heauenly spirites io do seruice vnto them Al this notwithstanding haue not you worshipped stockes and stones dome and deade blockes and geuen my glorie whiche I do not wyllingely imparte vnto anie other abâ—un dantly to such monsters and I do les polluteinge your bodies with boweinge and beckeing crowcheing 〈◊〉 kneleing kisseing and more filthily defiled your mindes and soules with worshipeinge as goddes such insensible creatures so that you leaue no place of dewe reuerence vnto me your creatur nor to my son Christe whoe suffered moste bitter death to bring you out of bondage You do ofteÌ„ crie Lorde Lorde If I be your lord â–ª where is my feare where is the worship mete for a Lord wherfore do you forsake me your lord You do often times call me father but I meruaile whither the childeli reuerence is banished or into what contrey al brotherly loue is flede Yea muche more do I meruaile where you haue hyd the memorie of my soÌ„ne Christe of whom al fatherhod brotherhode and kinred froÌ„ me to you warde taketh his beginning For he is the firste begotten of euerie creature of whoÌ„ al kinred in heauen and in earth hath his original Who suffering most cruel death for your sinnes and most bitter tormeÌ„tes in his bodie asketh nothinge againe but that you wyll celebrate some thankefull memorie of hys name and not suffer his bountuouse benifite to be forgotten by vnworthy scilence For when he departed from the earth to come agayne to hys heauenlye mansion what dyd he commaund to any of you but onely this that as he had after hys last supper ministred the bread and wyne in misterie so shoulde you so ofte as you eate and drinke in the remembraunce of him Certifiinge you that so ofte as you shoulde eate thys breade and drink of his cup you should shewe his death tyl he come agane vnto you The charge that he geueth you is to do it in the remeÌ„braunce of him promiseing you that he wyll not forget you wher he siteth at the ryght hand of me hys father where he is a continuall mediatour and meane for you neuer ceasynge to opteyn for you what so euer you aske of me in his name But loe your ingratitud you acquite vs our mede Me you do cast cleane frome you and to a stone do you say Thou art my father and to a bloke thou hast begotten me Agayne to my sonne you are so vnkynde and vngentle that you haue pute awaye the memorie of hys death wherby you lyue not onlie forgetfull of the laboures whiche he susfered for your â—akes but also if any of my seruantes wolde renew his memory among you he shal with muche crueltie be put to silence And you boast of a certayn vayne and conterfayte gesture and mumblynge called the masse which you say is more holie and more wisely set forth then Christ my sonne could do it when he was in the worlde Thus do you forsake his coÌ„mauÌ„dement of preachynge his death to your brethern and posteritie for the maintenaunce of popyshe ceremonies the ware of Antechriste wher in you bable blasphemouse collectes with blynde mumblinges Yet pache you your matters wyth my scriptures that you may deceyue so much the more craftelie day lyinge so wyth the pore people in a tounge that they do not vnderstande nor know noâ— â—ne worde what you saye least they shoulde chaunce to dreame any thynge at al of the death of my sonne and haue him in any remembraunce at all Yea and to kepe the matter more secrete you are ryght well ware that when any mencion is made of hys bodie geuen for the worlde you speake not onelie in a strange tonge but also vnder suche scilence that a man had nead to crepe verie nere you and harâ—en verie diligently if he should vnderstaÌ„d any thinge though he were learned in y e tong that you whisper in Yea you blow forth your words so closeli into your chalice as though you intended nought els but to deceiueth people And they silâ—y soules being alâ—o gether astooied through theyr own ignoraunce and your strange gestures cease not to renne about you lyke men amased They fall down and worshyp they wonder at this newe and strangeâ— God in so little a piece of bread They striue who shaldo most honore and reuerence to this weake Idole Yea they falone in aâ—others necke at the soÌ„ne of the little bell They kysse theyr fingers they parte pardoÌ„ to their â—ies and other partes of theyr bodies They strok their heades What god Yea what mortal man coulde abid to be worshiped with such mad gestures But I the lord of hostâ—s for as muche as I am a spirite and the creatour of aâ— pure spirites wyth bodily gestur am I nothing delited but in spirit
and truth wil I be worshiped And suche worshipers do I seke as with pure mindes flye vp aboue the heauens and wishe that myne impere and kingdome maye be delated and my name helowed and renowâ—â—ed celebrated and prased in al though al creatures Such worshipers I saie do I seke as can coÌ„prehend and perceiue Christ sitting â–ª at my right hand and wyll seke hym without the helpe of any creature These worshipar wyll I regarde and to their sacrifices wil I haue respect For their high bishop hath an euerlasting priesthod wherbi he may fully saue al theÌ„ that wil com vnto me by him whom I haue made the gouernour of holy thynges and of the true ta bernacle which I my selfe and not man haue made which must therfore be coÌ„prehended receiued without the help of any creature vpon earth neither must these worshipers seke Christe here nor ther nor renne after him in anie places vpon earth where any man shall name him to be Muche lesse shall these true worshipers seke me the incomprehensible God tyed to any one place or creature for heauen is mi seate and thearth my fotestole euen as my prophete Esaie dyd witnesse vnto you when he demaunded what house you wold build vnto me or what place I woulde reste in seinge that my hande hath made all My seruaunt Paule also hath sayed vnto you that I the Lorde God haue made the worlde and al that is therin yea the heauens also haue I made howe shoulde it be theÌ„ that I might dwell in temples made with mans hande who is one of the creatures that I my selfe haue made And eueÌ„ as I dwell not in the temples made with mans hand so am I not worshiped wyth the workes of mans haÌ„d as once standing nede of any thinge For I the Lord geue breath to al liuing thynges and haue of one bloude made al the kinde of man and haue caused hym to spread ouer the whole face of earth appointinge prescript tymes and limeting the borders of their dwellynges that they maye seeke me theyr God and trye whether they can by gropeing find me Yet not withstandeinge I am not far froÌ„ euerye one of you For through me you are do lyue and are moued So that ther is no ignoraunce canne excuse you because you nede not â—o secke my kyngedome farther then in your selues And to ressemble my Godly powre and worshippe wyth golde siluer stone or ani other creatture named and coÌ„uerted into the stead of me the onelie and almightie your god you shall not be excused â—i any ignoraunce for by my workes you maie knowe me from my worckes and much more from your owne worckes If you therfore can not be able resemble my godlie powre by any of your Imaginacions howe muche lesse able shal you be to shet vp me the immortal immensurable and incomprehensible God whom the heauen of heauens is not able to conteine in a little box of golde siluer or any other meatall in breade wine or any other creature setteinge vp a newe and strainge I dole of the whiche neyther you nor your fathers haue hearde one worde of my mouth imagineinge a strange worship of your own Idle braines not withstandeinge that my sonne Christe doeth crie agaynst you sayeinge In vaine do you worshipe me teacheinge the doctrines and preceptes of men His most fayethful seruauntes also ceased not to threaten sharpe plages vnto all them that shoulde adde to or take fro chaunge or alter any one worde of all that theye had receiued of their Lorde the father of spirites Wherfore because your fathers haue for saken me and folowed strange gods serued them and worshiped them they haue forsaken me â–ª and my lawe haue they not kept And you haue done worsse theÌ„ your fathers For euery one of you walketh after the wickednes of his owne herte striuinge alwaies howe you maye stop your eares agaynste my wordes and admonicions Loo therfore I wyl fyll all the inhabitauntes of the earth and the kynges which sit in their hygh thrones the preistes and the Prophetes together with drunkennes And I wyl scatter theym one brother from another and the father froÌ„ the chylde I wil not spare them nor haue pitie on them but wil vtterly destroy them Harken and geue eare and beware you do not rage for the Lord hath spokeÌ„ it Geue glory vnto the Lord your God before it wax darke and before your fete do stumble in the darke hilles when you shal loke for lyghte and lo ther is nothynge but the shadowe of death and deepe darkenesse Oh Popes and Princes and glorious Prelates high couÌ„terfait names called byshops to you al I saye whych holde the worlde in darkenes If the Morian can chaunge his skinne or the Leoparde her spottes then can you also do well suckyng wickednes with the mylke of your mothers This shalbe your charge therfore and the portion prepared for you Because you forget me and trust vnto lyes I wil disclose your thoughtes and your shame shall appeare Your lustes your lechery your wiked fornication shall I disolose Let no man praye for thys sorte of people They synne vnto death and their plages are vncurable If you faste I wyll not heare your prayers If you offre offerynges I wyll not receyue them For when you were corrected with famine you dyd not regarde it WheÌ„ you were chastened whyth the pestilence and diseases you refused al discipline Stormes teÌ„pestes and earthquakes floâ—des and breaches of the sea you count not to be sent by my haÌ„de One of you therefore shal dygge in the bealy of an other and you shall be consumed with the sworde of my furie Lo I wyll sende fishers whiche shall fâ—she after you by the sea and hunters whiche shall hunte you in euery hyll mountayne and cragy rocke For myne eyes are vpon your wayes and shortly I wyll sende my spirites whiche I haue created for a vengeaunce the fyre the stormy hayle famyne death the teeth of beastes serpentes and the sworde whiche beinge readie in my wrathfull displeasure do torment all thynges at my commaundemente and especially death bloude debate oppression tiranny and the sworde are create for the wicked and therwyth I beate downe myne enemies be they neuer so proude I the Lorde do create all these thynges that my name maye be terrible vnto the heathen and my power knowne thorowout the earth I demaunde of you O Byshoppes of my flocke I wyll aske you stande vp and gyue me answere of your wayes Is there any of your newe founde Goddes that can gyue you rayne or that can saue them selues from the tiranny if neede require Is there any of these Goddes that can saue hym selfe and his worshyppers furth of my hande when I sende fyre and the sworde vpon them Yea tell me thys rather Hath either you or your parentes founde any wyckednesse in me that you are departed from me and folowe vanities
Coulde it neuer in all the tyme that you haue founde out these grosse bodily gods enter into your hertes to searche for me the lyuynge God but accordynge to your owne grossenesse deuiynge in your wordes and de spisynge in your doing my prouideÌ„ce graun tynge that I dwell in the heauens nothynge careful of mans doinges And therfore euen lyke the olde Israelites you wyl haue gods that shal go before you whoÌ„ you wyll saluâ—… with a longe rabble of salutatioÌ„s with manifolde gestures and curtesies and with vayne imaginations of mans commaundementes But oh so far as the heaueÌ„ is from the earth so far as the east is from the west so far are my waies from your waies and my thoughtes from your thoughtes I the Lorde which trouble the seas and their floudes do raigne The Lorde of hostes is my name I am the selfe same that I am wont to be Terrible vn to the kynges of the earth Doth it nothynge moue you that I daylye chaunge so manye kyngdomes I drowne the proude Pharaos in the deape sea I subdue wyth worthy aduengeaunce the cruell Adonibesech I put to flight the blasphemous Senacherib gaue hym the death that he deserued I passe wyth silence Nabuchodonosor a terrible example vnto kinges and his sonne Balthaser I pas with silence howe neyther wyth their bowe nor sword but bi mi mighti arme I subdued vnto the Israelites xxx kynges The Cananites Heuites Iebusites Amoristes Herites Ferisites and Gargasites And this people Israel cheifely chosen and most dearely beloued I dyd clearly forsake when they fell from me the lyuyng God I gaue them first to the Babilonians and after to the Grekes and last of all to the Romaynes to whom I gaue power to spoyle my people and scatter theym throughoute all the worlde as you se this day Now seyng that I am the same God and no changelyng how chaunceth it that the posterite folowyng doth not feare like distruction But the children fed with my benefites and filled therwyth do leape froÌ„ me as their fathers did before countyng their woul flax oyle and grayne to be preserued by theyr Idols geuyng me thankes for nothynge and yet do I minister all these thynges vnto theÌ„ aboundauntly geuyng meat euen to the byrdes of the crowes But because this people doth not know that I haue geuen theÌ„ graine wyne siluer and golde whych they haue offered vnto Idols abusing my creatures therfore wyl I turne and take awaye my corne and my graine in the time thei loke for it and the wyne in hys tyme appoynted I wil also deliuer my creature from the bondage of corruption vnder the wych it mourneth subiect vnto vanitie And I shal cause all ioye and solemne feastes to sease and I wyl destroye the vinepard and the figge trees which you haue called the giftes of your Gods whych you set vp to be your helpers and defenders Twyse mad ye are therefore bothe for that you forsake me the fountaine of liuyng water and also that you dygge broken cisterns that holde no water Hiterto haue I the lord of hostes made complaynt agaynst al nacions for al kyndes of Idolatrie But nowe gyue eare vnto my wordes whiche I shall speake agaynste an Idoll but weake in power and small in substaunce but yet notwithstandynge in the delusion of the people he hath gotten great strength and thorowe feyned miracles is merueylously maynteyned yea and that so styfly wyth sworde and fyre that the blynde worlde knoweth none other God Of thys Idoll it is wrytten O priest haue not I created the and gyuen the power to create me Whiche intollerable blasphemie beinge so greate derogation vnto my gloriouse maiestie who onely haue created all thynges of noughte I can no longer suffre But before I take open veÌ„geaunce I wyl gyue warnyng vnto the maynteyners therof wyllynge them to haue recourse vnto the brute beastes the oxe and the Asse and learne at them to knowe their duties towarde their Lorde and maister their creatoure and maker What madnesse is it that causeth these madbraynes to compte thys newe made Idoll their creatoure or that it is possible for the creatoure to be created of mortall men and miserable wretches No I their creatour and maker haue made them but once where they boaste and bragge that they haue made me thousande milions of tymes whereby they brynge me so farre in their dept that the residue of my benifites are not able to recompence and satisfie But nowe they begynne to wax ashamed of these open wordes for my seruauntes haue of late layed them â—ore to theyr charge But yet they cloke the mattiâ—r wyth newe founde blasphemies Nowe they saye God consecrateth hym selfe into the fourme of breade and wyne But yet pretily when the Byshoppe gyueth his holy orders then he gyueth power vnto euerie shauelynge to consecrate thys chaungelynge So that the yonge priest comynge home to the parishoners telleth them strayghte waye that he is aboue Emperours and Kynges and doeth farre excell the Angelles For he can make that thynge whiche wyll be made of none other but of them only that be marked by the beast for the same purpose Thys wretche be he neuer so abominable in liuing thinketh that by the â—…bling of iiij wordes ouer a cake he shal cause my sonne which is the expresse Image and liuely resemblaunce of my substaunce euen equall wyth me in power to come downe at his call and to be chaunged God and man into a vile wafer whyche chaunge they haue wyth deceyueable termes named the consecratynge of hym into the fourme of breade But awaye wyth thys grosse blyndenesse O you sophisters for all men may perceiue that you loue to walke in darkenesse Accordynge to your grosse and carnall imaginations therefore and after the dulnesse of your capacities whiche can perceyue no spirituall thynges because you are not borne of the spirite I wyll begynne to talke wyth you to see whether a rude and fleshly talke in matteir that shal be open vnto the commune senses and iudgement of all men maye cause you to herken to my voice and perceiue your owne blyndenesse Oh howe grosse opinions haue you conceyued of me the Lorde God Howe leudly do you esteme my power infinite whiche do thynke it possible that I the lyuynge God creatoure and maker of heauen and earth shoulde be chaunged or woulde be consecrated into breade wyne stocke stone or any other creature Thys is not consecration or holy makynge but thys is contamination polutinge and defilyng of the name of God wyth intollerable blasphemies My sacrate maiestie to brynge you out of doubte and erroure O you miserable men can suffre no suche alteration nor chaunge of fourmes insensible Wherefore if ye require in me the God incomprehensible the poeticall chaunges of Iupiter you are worse theÌ„ mad For I am 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am I haue bene and shall be I am God euermore and not chaunged What comparison can
be betwixt me and your feyned goddes I am that auncient in yeres that doeth feele â–ª none age For a thousande yeres are but one daye in my syghte For in the twynckelynge of an eye do I beholde all thynges be they presente paste or to come Your Saturne whom you hange vp in a corde as a wicked fellowe had neede to haue Iupiter his sonne sought out to healpe to defende hym in his olde age when his chaungable fleshe and bones whiche you feyne him to haue and defende the same wyth sworde and fyre begyn once to musker and moulde after he passeth once the age of one moneth But who shal reuenge the litle gods whiche liue but the space of one minute and so perish coÌ„tinually Thei are takeÌ„ streighte from the wafer box to the chalice and there are they deuoured A woÌ„derfull mattier so sone made God and so sone-brought to nought againe Olde Aristotle your great maister couÌ„pteth for a greate miracle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is in englishe beastes that â—yue but one daye But if he had knowen thys sodeyne chaunge of so many Goddes in one minute what myght he haue writteÌ„ to his posteritie I appeale to your owne conscience in this mattier your conscience I say that do make and marre so many Goddes in so litle space you I saye that do seeke out so straunge ingines for the preseruation of your Goddes You close hym in a box of harder metal then myse teeth can penetrate you hange hym vp in a corde leste the gredie myse shoulde besiege hym you couer hym wyth a canopie so that the myse can not come at hym and what meaneth all thys but that you knowe by experieÌ„ce that the myse do nothinge feare hym because he is made but of breade and hath no lyfe in hym nor hardinesse to beate a mouse Let your owne coÌ„science be Iudge in thys mattier But O wicked Idolatours If thys were God that you do thys handle he woulde somtyme breake open his prison wherein he is enclosed by his power and strength How be it he can do nothinge Or if he can do any thynge crie vpon him as dyd the priestes of the olde Idolatours that he wyll do so much as put one horne out of his shel box wherin he is enclosed to assray his enemies or els to your great coÌ„fusion he shall be lesse set by then a creping snaple Or if you dare make a profe of his power leaue hym without but one night out of his box and you shal see the litle mise wyll not be much afrayed of hym neither do the cattes backes owles swallowes and sparowes greatly feare hym Then tel me I praye you why man shoulde be so mad as to stande in feare of the thynge whiche is of no reputation Feare him not therfore O my litle flocke for he can neither do good nor â—uyll No he hath neither life nor feeling He felt not when he was baken into a cake neither feeleth he wheÌ„ the priest breaketh him because there is no spirite of lyfe in hym Be you ashamed therfore al you that worshippe him for if by the negligence of the priestes he fall to the grounde he can not aryse alone neither if he be raysed can he stande In vayne therfore do you worship suche a God as in no poynt can healpe hym selfe Howe can you then desyre his healpe in your aduersitie The Goddes that you worshyp are none other thynge but as the baker that baketh them wyll haue them and the priest that maketh them And neither of these two workemen is of longe continuaunce Howe caÌ„ their workes be Goddes therfore These gods of yours caÌ„ not deliuer them selues froÌ„ theues and robbers whiche haue ofteÌ„ times spoyled them of their boxes And you haue of late seene in the suppressioÌ„ of the Abbayes which I did sende for a punishmeÌ„t of Idolaters they were then left succuâ—lesse turned out of their siluer boxes and were not able to resist Therfore wheÌ„ you see the people worshiping round about you say in your hertes O Lorde that hast layed the foundations of the earth and the heauens the muste we worshippe And so doinge myne Angel is with you and I wyll require your soules at the hande of the oppressours Oh hertes barraine of al heaueÌ„ly doctrine Oh myndes voied of al godlines Howe can I the true God be knowen whilse the bread God and the cake vnsensible is in so high reputation Yea what needeth it men to lifte vp their mindes vnto heauen seinge they haue hym in earth which can grauÌ„t their prayers Howe can they worship in spirite and trueth seing they worshipe the thinge that hath neither spirite nor lyfe Howe caÌ„ you vnderstaÌ„de or coÌ„preheÌ„de my dreadful maiestie whilse ye do take this for a god whoÌ„ a blast of wynde wyll klowe downe from his aultare and his superaltare Al such goddes therfore as haue not made the heauens shall perish froÌ„ the earth and froÌ„ vnder the heaueÌ„ Marke howe the breath of maÌ„ a thinge of smal streÌ„gth againste any other creature is able to chaunge alter traÌ„sfourme the breade so sone as he hath it in his mouth and it shalbe ynough to him that hath reason to declare how shaÌ„ful the chauÌ„g is from the most strong to the moste weake froÌ„ the greatest to the least from the best and most mightie to the worste most impotent Oh miserable and chaungeable nature of man Oh twise miserable God whom this miserable man maketh Yea thrise miserable for he must come downe into the chalice at the call of euery whoremonger and sodomite drunckarde and couetouse caytyfe and be streight wayes swallowed into his filthy and vusaciable paunch that the firste beginnynge and endynge of his godhead maye he lyke miserable If the scripture do describe you any such If AdaÌ„ Enoch Noah AbrahaÌ„ Isaac Moyses AaroÌ„ or Samuel do knowe any such If Esaie Ieremias or Daniell haue described him in their prophecies If Math. Marke or Luke whoÌ„ you leudly alledge had tolde you that there had ben any such God on the erth If Peter Paule Iames and Iohn the faythful witnesses of my sonne Christe and the openers of his secretes had taughte you thys crusted cake myghte be chaunged into God or his sonne Christe shewe me one place But I knowe your crafte and subtiltie Nothynge is impossible to God you saye What then Shall God at your commaundement be a stone a tree or breade By the same possibilitie make hym your Asse All mine therfore shall answere you in this sort Because all thynges are possible vnto oure God he is able to escape your blynde iugelynge and is of power ynough to destroye you al together with your Idols And what so euer he be that teacheth any God that I haue not opened to my seruauntes in the scriptures the same I haue commaunded by my seruaunte Moyses to be stoned to death Which lawe I do nowe ratifie and wil
that all such be put out from amonge my people And who so euer wilnot repēt this grosse errour beinge admonished be it knowen vnto them that they are not of my shepe For my shepe do heare my voice And being once raysed wyth my voice they wyll folowe no straunger but wil with open voice crie vnto the straunger and say Oh Idole shepeherde Al this haue I spokē because I your god am so opēly cōtemned and a weaks Idol embraced Gyue eare nowe and herken what I shal saye for my sonne whō I sent to be your sauiour and the onely sacrifice that can take awaye synne in my sight You make hym of none effect that so you maye establishe your owne glorious workes and sacrifices I was and am fully cōtented and satisfied wyth the offering of his body once done What neede is there then of your lyeinge sacrifice If his onely sacrifice be ynough as it is ynough more then ynough to satisfie for al what nedeth you to sacrifice and offer him vp again Wyl you or cā you kyl him againe For that which is sacrificed must needs be slayne and wythout bloude can there be no remission of sinnes I know your hertes bloudy bishops by the betrayinge of him whē he was in the earth amonge you nowe by the brennyng of his worde by the tirānous destroyinge of his flocke which wolde cal againe the memorie of his passiō which you haue extinguished wyth your sacrifice for the quycke the dead making it a cloke for your couetousnes and a buckler for the pompe and rigorous authoritie you chalendge ouer my litle flocke I appointed him priest according to the ordre of Melchisedech without successoure or felow I anointed him with the spiritual oile of my spirite that I mighte haue a bishop to offre vnto me sacrifice which should be pure and without spot whiche shoulde not neede many times to offer or to be offered but makinge al thynges perfecte by one onely offeringe of him selfe vnto me his father and by his bloude which all other sacrifices so oft iterated and repeted as thinges vnperfect dyd onelie signifie In this my dearly beloued sonne is my delyte He is the greate bishop whiche once for all hath entered into the place most holie And beinge founde lyke one of you in althings sinne only excepted he hath now penetrated and passed throughe into the heauens there to be your bishop for euer to offer hym selfe alwayes for you in my syghte by whom you maye come to the throne of my grace to haue healpe by tyme. If you wyl seeke any other bishoppe to offre for yo◠I tell you he is poluted and muste firste offre for hym selfe And because of the imperfection that is in hym he can not please me nor pacifie forhim selfe Yea you may also perceiue that his offeryng is vnperfecte or els should he not neede to reiterate it so oftē If you wil not be deceiued therfore sticke fast vnto the offering ofmy sōne once for all made for you And as I haue giuē him to the deth for your sakes so wyll I deny you nothinge that you aske in his name be you sure Hōse comethit that you be called christiās that Christ my sonne was for your sakes manifestly made man in the flesh was iustly declarede God by the spirite and shewed vnto the Angels and after receyued into glorie This must you beleue if you wyl be partakers of the same glorie That he was verie man as one of you are synne onely excepted conuersant vpon the earth in all humilitie care and miserie at my cōmaundemēt wherby for his obedience toward me he deserued to be ▪ crowned wyth a crown of glorie wherfore I sendynge the holye gost vnto you at his desyre whyche may teach you how you are become my chyldren by hym dyd take him vnto my selfe and raised him aboue al the heauēs euen to sitte at my ryght hand for euer Wher you shal seke him if you intende to find hime But neither here nor ther in ani corner of the earth He tolde you that he must departe from you And if you loke for my fauoure you muste not compt him a liar But wylt thou seke my sonne Lo he hath offered one offerynge for sinne and sytteth for euer at the ryght hande of me hys father lokynge for that whiche remayneth That is that hys enemies be made his fote stole And thus doeth my spirite witnes vnto you that in this my newe testamēt established in hys death your sinnes shoulde be done awaye so that I woulde no more remembre them Then if you beleue them to be forgyuen how can you offer for them any more It is a manifest token therfore that all you which wilbe styll sacrificeynge for your synnes do not beleue that they beforgeuē by the death of my sonne Christe You also whych wyll carnally and grosely eate hym and feade vpon hym as chaungeynge breade into hys fleshe can not worthly beleue vpon hym For he departeyngefrō the earth dyd cōmaund you to eate the bread of this supper which he louyngly called hys bodye for your weake remēbraunce and for the declaracion of the benefite which he then shewed vnto all the faythful beleuers in hys death and bloud shedeynge For the declaracion and remēbraunce I saye of this benefite he cōmaunded all his faythful folowers brotherly to deuide amonge them the bread and wyne so ofte as they woulde eate or drynke in the remembraunce of hym whom they shoulde not haue any longer presently conuersant amonge them For he was then commynge vnto me his father for your profyte And therfore byddeth he you do this thynge in the remēbraunce of hym wyll you then know what it is to do the worke that he commaundeth you or to worke the meate that ne neuer perisheth whiche meate he promised to geue vnto you and I haue sēt him downe and appointed hym for the same purpose If you wil knowe this worcke reade in the. vi of Iohn wher you shal learne that the worke of God is to belieue in hym whome he hath sent This is al that you can geue me This is all that I require at your handes I geue you therfore the breade of life if you can receiue it by faieth vnfainedlie That is to say trusteinge to my promise onely in the death of my sonne and to none other creature Yea my sonne is this breade of lyfe and he that cometh vnto hym shall not be hongry he that beleueth in hym shal not be thirsty And thys he tolde you was my wyll and pleasure that who so euer doeth see him and beliue in hym hath euerlasteynge lyfe For thys is the lyfe euerlasteynge to knowe me and to knowe my sonne whome I haue sent Iesu Christe By thys knoweledg do the Angelles and blessed spirites lyue reioyce and take their comfort Thys is the heauenlye fode Thys is the Manna that comethe frome heauen Therfore so muche haste
thou of euerlasteinge lyfe as thou haste of the knoweledge and fealeinge of my grace and goodnesse why che chiefely and principally was openned vnto the worlde in the sendeinge of my sonne into the worlde to be made fleshe leste al flesh should haue perished for wickednesse Thys is the breade then that comethe from heauen wherof who so eateth shal not perishe but lyue for euer And thys breade is the flesh of my sonne as it was geuen for the lyfe of the worlde for so was it a verye heauenly gifte and heauely breade comeinge frome heauen Other wayes was it but an erthly thynge and nothinge profitable For the phariseis and all the wicked that do not compt thys onely thynge to knowe me the father and my onely sonne Christe geuen for the lyfe of the worlde to be the onely saluacion therof but secke more helpe of saluacion at any creature in heauen or earth be it man saincte or Angell be it workes sacramētes or any other thynge that man can imagyne as they can not vnlesse they compt some insufficiencie and lacke in me shall not haue any parte in my sonne Christe whome they haue in so small estimacion howe grossely so euer they imagine to eate hym No to them that this slenderly and vilely esteme the hilpeinge and saueing that I haue geuen him he is the sauour of death vnto death and the stumblynge stone But vnto them that wholely and onely do cleaue vnto him feadeinge on hys bodye thus offered for the life of the worlde and drinckeinge of his bloude geuen for the remission of synnes he is the breade of lyfe hys fleshe is verie meate and hys bloude verie drinke so that you haue alwayes in mynde that it is the spirite that geueth lyfe and that the fleshe profiteth nothynge And take it for a generall lesson to vnder stande the worde of godly doctrine that the wordes which I and my sonne do teache you are spirite and lyfe And to beleue them is to eate the meate of the soule to worcke the worcke of God and therfore to haue lyfe For the ryghtuouse lyueth by hys belyefe ▪ And Abraham dyd beliue wherfore it was compted vnto hym as ryghtuousenesse before circumsicion or any other out warde sacrament was geuen hym Yea thys Abrahame maye teache you that without the regarde of any creature yea contrarye to the workeinge of all creatures thou muste belieue and be made sure of my goodnesse that thou mayeste wyth ▪ an vpryght face vp towordes the heauens saie O Lorde I haue belieued in the I shall neuer be ashamed For thys is the nature of fayth to loke strayght vp vnto me your heauenly father and to receyue at my hande by the merite of my sonne all grace fauour and goodnes Wher if you declyne asyd and appoynt your selfe meanes aydes and helpes of any creature otherwise thē I haue cōmaunded you must be compted miscreāts mistrustinge my goodnes Here falleth the Iustice that you seke for by your workes and sacramentes and here ariseth the Iustice of fayeth which is onely acceptable in my sight For Israell in the olde tyme folow ynge theyr lawes of righteousnes by their workes sacramentes and ceremoneis coulde not come to ryghteousnesse And wherfore I praye you Because they did not followe ther vpon by faieth but onelie by workes of the lawe They stombled at the stomblinge stone as it is written Lo I will put in Sion a stombling stone and a stone to fall vpō who so beleueth in him shal not be ashamed Because they haue beleued they haue attained this righteousnes which is of faieth of whiche if they will follow and not forsake they shall neuer suffer shame This faith one lie in the seede promised and no signe or sacrament was it that refreshed your first father Adain Neither was ther any other signe geuen vnto Achas but that a virgine shoulde cōceiue a child whiche by an holy and pure byrth of the holy gofle myght take awaye and purifie the corrupt byrth of the olde Adaine and deliuer the house of Iuda from the bloudie Sennacherib Vnto the whyche signe you must alwayes loke for you shall haue none other signe of saluacion but the signe of Ionas the prophete All the Israelites drinckeinge of the same spirituall drincke and eateinge of the same spirituall meate that you do for it is all one fayeth that saueth you boeth euen as I am all one God and no chauncelinge dyd in their lambe vnspotted feade and take comfort of no signe or sacramēt but onely of the bloude of our vnspotted lambe whyche I had promised to sende into the worlde For by the strayght commaundementes and son drye charges whyche my seruant Moyses dyd geue them for the choseynge and eateynge of thys lambe they dyd perceiue a thynge far more spirituall then coulde be finished in so grosse a banket Much more thē the Apostles of my sonne beynge vsed to suche spirituall feadeinges myght perceiue what my sonne ment in abolisheinge of the olde ceremonies of the lambe and cōmaundynge a newe memorie to be made of hys bodie geuen for them and hys bloude shed for the remission of synnes and for to delyuer vs frome the helly Pharao They dyd knowe that thys worde of the promise whiche is geuen for you shoulde be fulfylled vpon the crosse and therfore ought not to be applyed vnto any sacramēt It is not the offering of ani signe or sacramēt that I regarde but the osferinge of my sonne vpon the crosse whiche you muste by your sacramentes shewe your selues to haue in perpetuall memorie as the onely lyfe whereby your soules can liue Lyke as they also had learned before of the Prophetes that the Messias whome I shoulde sende shoulde be striken for the synnes of the people and then shoulde be exalted and sende hys gyftes plentuouslye from aboue spoyleinge all hys enimies wyth triumphe Thys dyd my sonne beate in theyr eares But he neuer tolde them of any such chaunges of bread into his flesh such carnall consecracions as you do teach wherin you wyll haue that without any profite my son christ shold come downe frō my bosome into your breade and Chalice blowen and blessed by your inuencion and worke so great a miracle without eyther necessitie or profite Haue you not inough that you haue euerlastinge life by hym ▪ hathe not he humbled him selfe lowe inough that he hath become manne for your sakes and died for your sinnes What woulde you haue more of him would you that he shoulde take the forme of breade for your sakes what are you the better if he so did Yea how much the worse should you be This is one thinge you shoulde brynge the veritie of his bodie into suspicion for that it should go and come so like a spirite which is no small hinderaunce to the perfection of your kinde For mine intēt was whē I made my sonne man to haue iust occasiō therby to
aduaunce your kind aboue the Angels And now you wyl haue hym cowpled with your wrechede creatures worse then your selues But he hath taken the forme of the children of Abraham And for his elect seed was he coÌ„tent to be come man disdayneing all other formes Loke no more therfore for my son Christe vpoÌ„ the earth in the bread the box or the chalice But heare in heauen shal you seke hym wher he reigneth at libertie with me his father from whom he sendeth down the holie gost the spirite of comforte into the hertes of mine elect to strengthen them against all the assaultes of the serpent I feade inwardly my shepe driueÌ„ from the pasture of my word Yea I geue life euerlasting to so many as by him onely wyll come to me his father Thus doeth he sitte at my ryght hande and fulfilleth al in al things spiritually Not beinge bodylie present in euery place where you wyll like charmers muÌ„ble foure words vpon dombe creatures Here in heauen you are sure to haue him your aduocate In the bread you haue no such promise With what fayeth then can you seke him ther. He promised you that he woulde sende the holie gost after his going froÌ„ you but he neuer taught that he was profitable to be chaunged into breade When he returned vnto me froÌ„ the earth then did he send in fyrie tonges visibly the spirite of our powre wisdom which taught the cleare vnderstandynge of the misterie that he had wrought before in the earth This spirite taught the hope of your callinge and that our wonderful worke in you that beleue how that I raysed my son Christ from death and set him at my right hande in heauenly thinges Whense you would most vilaniousely pluck him down turne him into bread and swalowe him like flesh into your bealies which grosse blindnesse and SythiaÌ„ crueltie my flolâ—…l abhor My flocke shal learne nowe other â—…inge of the flesh of my sonne Christ â–ª â—ut that onely which is by the knoweledgâ—… and beleueing of my mercies in my sonne â—…nd therfore shall they follow no tradicions of the world nor sticke to any creatures but say with mine olde seruaÌ„t Dauid I wl loue the O lord my strenth the lord of my succour my refuge my sauiour my buâ— lar the horne of my salucioÌ„ Yea the more boldely because of my newe testameÌ„t Saiâ— thus O heaueÌ„ly father thoughe heaueÌ„ and earth do perish and all creatures tourne to naught yet liuest thou O lordof heaueÌ„ and earth in me thou liuest whose son I am bi adoption thi spirite geueing witnesse of this thing Yea Christe the strength might and powre of thi right haÌ„d liueth no maÌ„ is able to driue him froÌ„ the place whether thou hast exalted him Of this am I sure and so loÌ„g as he is saulfe I am sure to be saulfe for I am partaker of his nature substaÌ„ce powre according to the gifte of Iesu my sauiour that dwelleth in me Not carnally eateÌ„ but spirituallye receiued by fayeth wherby I knowe that he is my heade and I one of hys members Thus may you learne O my little flocke whan you haue for sakeÌ„ al creatures to be assured of fauour and optaine the sownde and sure taste of yâ—… saluacion and euerlasteynge lyfe and 〈…〉 and fele the hope of your calleinge â—…hall neuer suffer you to come to confuâ—… and so reioyce as my son wilded you of no powre earthlye neither of carnall eatinge of Christ nor 〈◊〉 dynge vpon serpentes but that your names are written in the boke of lyfe in the heauenes Vnto the other sorte which may worthely boaste of their powre if it be true that they saie because they caÌ„ make God or cal down God into the chalice for all is one matter in effecte I will an swer as I did of olde by my prophet Esaye I abhor your Sabothes your sacrificies and all your ceremonies Yea what do I care for your masse muÌ„bling whiche banisheth the memorie of my sonne and setteth a newe Idole to prouoke my zelouse indignacion against you What care I for your gletteringe miters seynge you banishe my word What care I for your fasteyuge and prayeinge seinge your handes are of full of bloude your fingers full of â–ª wickidnes What care I for the swarme of your ceremonies y e whole heap of your farthings where vpoÌ„ your religion staÌ„deth seiâ—g your lippes tell lies Geue â—are and tremble for the wickednesse of your handes for the Lorde hath spoken it ⧠An answere to the principal pointes that follow after the doctours in the bishop of winchesters boke NOw go to you papistes who had rather er with your father the pope with his doctours his furred hods and forcked caps then to saie trueth with Christes despised membres wyll you follow the broud way that leadeth to perdicioÌ„ because the multitude doeth enter into it Nay rather coÌ„tend and labour to enter the narrow and straight waye whiche leadeth vnto lyfe which is the waye of knowledge and truth wherein fewe do walke I knowe your doctours are gloriouse You call them sainctes and I truste they be so accepted of God But Christ and his Apostles though they were not so glorious and well taken in the worlde yet was ther more truth in their wordes and writings Yea sure it is to be fea red â–ª ther is some priuie flatterie and vntrueth closely â–ª cloked in the darke sentence of their longe bokes where the wrytinges are so coÌ„mendable in the worlde and so phausible in generally to all the heape of the papistes the vpholders of Antechrist For after olde custom and auncient ordre the scriptures of God maie not be reade in the scholes til such tyme as the maister of the sentences and the heape of your other doctoures haue stopped Iacobs welles the louelye fountaynes of the heauenly water with the fillthy mud of their gloses â–ª Yea the filthieste of that floâ—… let hym lye let him dote let him bable whaâ— helusteth yet shall he be alowed boeth in lâ—… ten and in englishe when the worde of God wheÌ„ the new and olde testament shalbe breÌ„â—… with fire Yea the maynteners therof whâ—… are the onely holions of God because they maynetayne the holie worde of God shalbâ—… destroyed and brent together with the bokeâ— of the Gospell that they mayntayne Surely your perswasion maye do muche to the worldely mynded when you compaâ—… these ii contraries togither The gloriouse doctours the sayntes by the pope canonised and by al worldely powers maynetayned renowmed and worshiped vnto the out castes of the world stil barkynge at the vices which are abominable scrapeing the eares of men wyth the sharp reaseinge trueth and therby deserueinge as the worldelye suppose worthely to be expelled banished or burned But vnto the godlye whose desyre is to be lyke their master Christ in sufferinge with him in this worlde that they may after rayne wyth him in the
worlde to come haueynge before their eyes all the prophetes who suffered for the trueth and all other martyrs and wytnesses whome the worlde hated and was vnworthye to haue styll amonge theim considerynge that the scriptures can not lye whych sayeth that who so euer wyll lyue godlye in Chryste shall suffer persecution all your perswasions are but vayne and of none effect For they loke onely vp into heauen for theyr rewarde where Chryste theyr heade whych suffered lykewyse at the hand of the wycked synners reproche rebukes and moste bytter tormentes spytefull shame and paynful death rayneth for euermorewith me hys father Further more where you are about to oppresse wyth the Maniches Messalyans and other sinister opinions you follow your father whose nature is to accuse the chyldrene of God You stande vp lyke Sathane our aduersarie like the deuill our accuser Frythe if you hadde suffered hym to lyue would haue ben able to haue answered you for hys boke whych is yet on lyue you are not able to confute That onely fayth whych Luther taught hath destroyed a greate parte of your popeysh kyngdome Wycklifes Wycket dyd open the waye to perceyue your wylful blindnesse Hys necessetie setteth forth the glorie of God who as he alone created all thynges in heauen earth and hel wythout the helpe of any other so by hys wisedome and powre â—…lone wythout the helpe of any creature doâ—… he gouerne and preserue all thynges orâ—…reinge euerie thynge vnto thende moste wiâ—…lye and so myghtily that no man can let the same If thys oure myghtie Lorde and maystâ—… haue by hys secrete worckes styrred our hâ—…tes to bewaile your blyndenesse and to be wrath and greued wyth your tirannye and by the same worckes long suffered you that he myght make manifeste the vesseâ—les ' of his mercie whome he hath created vnto glorie differing hys vengeaunce that you myght haue inste tyme of repentaunce suffereinge the cruell Pharaos to oppresse hys chosen and all you wycked tirantes and Lorde lyke byshopes to deride and skorne not onely theÌ„ but hys sonne Christe also yet knowe for certen that God our father doeth not leaue his worcke vnperfete and vnfinished But leke as Sathan could streach out hys hande no farther vpon Iob then God permitted and appoynted him and as the rageinge princes and wicked priestes coulde do nothynge vnto Christ but that the hand of the father had longe before appoynted for the lambe was slayne euen froÌ„e the beginning of the world lyke as the princes arisinge and rageyngâ—…gainst good his Christ can do nothing but that which his counsel hath first decreed and determined so when they haue shewed all theyr crueltie and laughed theyr fyll â–ª at the fall of the innocent he will finish his worke he wil destroy the wicked and laugh at theyr destruction The Lord shall deride and skorn them Then shall he speake to them in hys angre and in his wrath shal he ouer whelme them This is the worke of the Lord and the necessitie ineuitable Beware beware I saye that you do not suffer the aduengeing hand of God as More and other mockers haue done for wadeinge into thys secret worke of God with such lewde oppression and dirision As for vs we do accordinge to the scriptures confesse this same necessitie and gyue God our merciful father most hertie thaÌ„ks that he hath so wyselie and inyghtilye established his workes that no man or any other creature can change any one of them No not so much as to make one heare white or blake For this cause do we singe in our hertes and gyue thankes vnto God for all his workes For all the workes of the Lorde are excedynge good and conuenient in theyr due seasone Man ought not to aske what is this or what is that for at tyme conuenient they shal be founde all perfecte The workes of all flesh are before hymrand ther is nothynge hyd from hys eien He seeth from euerlasteinge vnto euerlasteinge and ther is nothing to wonderful to him Ther is no euil done in the citie but he turneth it to his glorie The vnrightuousenes of vs doeth commend hys iustyce Than may not man saye what is this or that For vnto the good all thinges are turned into good And all the â–ª wayes of the Lorde are playn and strayte vnto the Iuste but the vngodly stumble at them For the good good thinges are created euen frome the beginninge and euyl things for the vngodly All thinges necessarie for manues lyfe were created frome the begynninge water fyre Iron salt wyne oyle and clotheinge All these thinges are created to the faythfull to the best but to the vngodly all these thinges are created for vengeaunce and in theyr rigorousenesse haue they fastened theyr tormentes â–ª In the tyme of the ende they shall poure out theyr strength and pacifie the wrathe of him that made them Fire death honger hayle oppression strife swerd and bloude shedeynge noysome beastes scorpions and serpentes are created for the wicked And thoughe all flesh be troubled with such lyke miseries yet vij folde are they poured forth vpon the vngodlye And they shalbe all found redie to fulfill the commaundementes of theyr Lorde vpon the earth and wheÌ„ theyr houre measure is appointed they shall not ouer passe his coÌ„maundementes Thus may al men coÌ„sidering the works of God Iudge without wauerynge that all his workes are perfect firme stable â–ª and vnchaungeable and he worketh euerie one in due seasone and when nede is So that a man nedeth not to saie this is worsse theÌ„ that for in due seasone they are all pleasant and good Wherefore geâ—e prayse and thaÌ„kes with whole herte and mouth vnto his name whiche worketh all in al thynges after his good pleasure Agayne you saye it is a more easy thinge to lyue well then to lyue euill Ah than why wyll you not playe the good byshope and lyue well accordeynge to your callynge onlesse you intende to be more rewarded for the labourouse parte of the tyrant papyste accordeynge to your owne mockeynge doteynge But nowe haue you yet one onely thinge to saye for your selues and that is this This doctrine hath continued a thousand yeares hath be so longe maintened by our doctours If this be a good argumeÌ„t cal agayne into Englande your greate Idole the pope and all his pardons Buylde vp his monasteries and restore his Images and Idoles which haue by the pope and his church ben so long mayntened and defended with the tyranny of fyre and fagottes Yea if tyme may be preiudiciall vnto the truth by it may you maintaine the murther of Abel the Sodomiâ—rie of the fyue cyties and the Idolatrie of the Babilonians because all these thinges be of suche auncientie And because â–ª we haue nothynge that hath so longe continued in the worlde neither that hath ben so generally receyued and maintened as sinne hath bene we shall by thys reasone prefer it before vertu
prophecie agaynst you that haue the names of shepeherdes and wyll not feede his flocke with his worde but feede your selues by your craftie inuentions and cause the shepe to go astraye in the wylde mountaines of your errours Wo vnto the shepeherdes of Israell sayeth the Lorde whiche do feede them selues oughte not the flocke to be fed of the shepeherdes But you haue eaten the mylke you are clothed wyth their woll you sley that whiche is fat and feede your selues and wyl not feede my flocke You conforte not the weake you heale not the sicke you bynde not vp the broken you seeke not that whiche perisheth but wyth power and rigour do you rule ouer them Thus are my shepe scattered because they haue no shepeherde and deuoured wyth wylde beastes They go wanderynge in the mountaynes and are scattered thorowe the earth and no man doeth seeke them No man doeth seeke them I saye As truly as I do lyue sayth the Lorde God because my flocke is thus spoyled my shepe denoured whylse the shepeherdes do feede them selues and dispise my flocke Lo I my selfe wyll require my flocke at the handes of these shepeherdes and they shal neither feede my flocke nor yet them selues any loÌ„ger For I wil deliuer my flocke out of their mouthes sayeth the Lorde Thys is the talke that God the father hath thorowout the olde testament agaynste you that wyl not be coÌ„tent to feede his flocke wyth his worde onely without the sowre leuen of mannes doctrine He calleth you men fed and led with the winde of errours Idole shepeherdes yea deuouring wolfes that wyl neuer be saciate Seinge then that boeth the scriptures and your owne lyues do testifie of you that you are such rotten trees or rather poysoned stockes what fruites of heauenly doctrine shall we loke to springe from you Do men gather grapes of thornes or figges of thystles The yuyl tree caÌ„bring no good fruite Christe therefore in the newe testament and in his firste sermon gyueth vs warnyng of suche Idole shepeherdes sayinge Beware of these false prophetes whiche come to you in shepes clothynge for inwardly they are rauenyng wolfes And after that he had rebuked them that would seme to know al thynges yet could not see the tyme of their visitation callynge them Hypocrites wicked nation aduoulterouse generation that coulde not marcke or ponder the signe of Ionas the Prophete streightwaye he admonished his to take hede not of the leuen of breade but of the seuen of the doctrine of the scribes and phariseis Neither dyd he at any time rebuke so sharply as when he dyd speake of these blynde shepeherdes their doctours shewing how theido teach the traditous of meÌ„ to put the preceptes of God out of place that all their doctrine maketh for their corban and lucre that thei do all thynges to be sene of men Thus do you also folowynge the trade of your fathers For couetise worldly pompe and hypocrisie do establishe all the workes and doctrines of men that you do cal so necessarie Reade the damnation that Christ him selfe pronounceth agaynst you in the. xxiii of Mathewe Where he gyueth vs oure lesson also that we shall keepe obserue your doctrines so longe as they come furth of the seate and doctrine of Moyses But in no wyse to folowe your workes He teacheth in the beginnyng of his preachyng that oâ—les our ryghtuousnes do farre passe the ryghtuousnes of the scribes phariseis who onely were accompted the church in those dayes as you woulde be nowe we can not entre the kyngdome of God The state of the phariseis and you O bishops lest you should murmour and grudge at my playne wrytynges is in thys case of your doctrines for the feedynge of Christes â—locke all one Neither hath any of you authoritie either to make lawes or interprete the scriptures for boeth haue one strength muste be done by the same spirite you haue none authoritie I saye oâ—er the flocke further then you haue the worde of God for you And bryngynge that worde you maye saye he that despiseth you despiseth God As for thynges indifferent you muste say as Paul sayed vpon this your owne exeÌ„ple If any maÌ„ be coÌ„tentiouse the church of God knoweth no suche custome So that rather then any suche bitter contention as is nowe adayes shoulde continue it were better that all your in uentions were refused For seinge that your authoritie is gyueÌ„ to edifie by loue and charitie you maye not abuse it and destrye by bitter braulynge and cruell contention for suche thynges as were not good before you named them so nor yuyl before you did forbid them Thus do I take many of your doctrines of men to be indifferent As to stande vp at the Gospell to praye or preach bare headed to eate fishe this daye or that daye All these thynges being indifferent in their kinde that is to saye nothinge yuyll being voyed of superstition are by superstition made yuyll For that chaungeth good into yuyll Yet are the beste of these doctrines but vayne worshippe of God euen in their best vse For his worship standeth in spirite and trueth But you haue other doctrines and that verie manie that are manifestly yuyll because you do therein adulterate the worde of God as dyd the phariseis when they added their gloses to the coÌ„maundementes of God As when God sayed Thou shalte loue thy neighboure they added hate thyne enemie God sayed Thou shalte not swere but they added vnto the precepte Paye vnto the Lorde the thynge that thou swearest Agayne dyd not the olde pharisies wyth their sowre leueÌ„ whiche is Hypocrisie make vnpleasante and vnsauerie the two speciall workes of the newe man Fastynge and prayer Dyd not Christe hym selfe continually rebuke them because thei brake the commaundementes of God for their owne traditions doctrines where God the father had giuen commaunmente to honoure father and mother they cryed for their gayne their corban and offerynges Where God asketh the whole herte and thereof onely measureth all oure doinges their teachynge is to worshippe wyth the lippes though the herte be farre from me sayeth the Lorde by his Prophete In vayne therefore do they worshippe teachynge the doctrines as preceptes of men The whiche doctrines syth their firste bebyâ—â—ynge the true Prophetes of Christe seekynge the onely honour of God haue froÌ„ time to time laboured to coÌ„fute to restore to their worthiâ—es the preceptes of God his holie coÌ„mauÌ„dementes which euer more amongest hypocrites haue ben in small reputation in comparison of their owne inuentions In somuch that all these Prophetes whom God sent to beate downe the blynde errours of mennes dreames were hated persecuted from Citie to Citie scourged slayne and crucifyed So that all the bloude of the iuste whiche was and shall be shed vpon the earth from Abell to the worldes ende maye be heaped vpon the Hypocrites in the