procured theÌ selues êpetual shame and dishonor / which thiÌg god doth yet daily also I must nedes shewe vtter a certiÌ story that cometh now to my mid There was at wittenberg a certeÌ doâtor sent hether froÌ fraÌce which said opeÌly before our faces thâ the king his master did surely bileue that there was no maner of church or coÌgregacion withâ us / no maner of rulars nor officers And that there shuld be no maner of matrimony but that euery maÌ shuld ruÌne at large now to one womaÌ now to a nother eueÌ aftir the maner of brute beastes / and agaime that it shuld be lauful for euery priuate maÌ to vse or misuse / do or vndo all maner of thiÌghs after his own wil iust c. Now tel me I pray yow with what face shal these men dare loke vp on us at the latter day before the iudgement seate of christ which haue tolder persuaded bi their letters writiÌgs / this Fig other peple noble meÌ such moÌstros abhominable lyes / for tru tales Christ all our lorde / the most rightful iudge is our witnesse that thei lye shamefully vp on us and haue euer done whose senteÌce and iudgemeÌt coÌdemniÌg them to euerlastiÌg daÌnacion thei shal not chose but heare abide This am I sure of Now god turn coÌuert theÌ to repeÌtaÌce which caÌ by any possible meanes be coÌuerted / as for other euerlastiÌg and most cruel ponischment daÌnacioÌ doth remaine for theÌ But now to come to my putpose agaiÌ / I wold wissh surely ones to see a true couÌcel wherby many coÌtrouersys might be takeÌ a way aÌd many meÌ might receiue profi not that we our selues haue nede o any such couÌcel or plameÌt for our churches are so lighned coÌfirmed iÌ the pure word / of god iÌ rhe true vse of sacrameÌtes / aÌd in the knoulege of all good order all good workes that for our cause we desire no maner of perlament or councel / for we cannot think that any councel can teach vs a more perfight order than we haue But we see with depe sorow lamentacion of our hartes mani parisshes miserably destitute / forsakeÌ vnregarded both of bisshops and of prebendarys we see in theer diocyses parisshes after what sort the sely miserable peple do lyue and dye for whose saluacion Christ him self suffred death vp on the crosse and yet thei caÌ not be suffred to heare nether him their tru shepard pastor / nor yet none of his speaking and preaching vnto them for the which cause tremble feare vehemently lesse god wil shortly call bring all the world to a councel by some angel / which shal vtterley destroy us all / as he did ones Sodom Gomor / for as moch as we contemne mocke him so lightly thorow our councels And beside those thiÌgs which are necessary to be reformed in the spiritualty / as thei cal it there be an infinite nomber of abuses in the temporal regiment to be redressed for there is vncharitable grudgd and dissensyon betwene princes and other nobles and vsury couetosnes haue so farre preuayled hath so drowned the temporalty euen lyke a flode or a see that now in the place of the lawe are crept in / ryot / vnmesurable excesse / wantones / pryde in apparel / glotony bankerting / dise / cardes and pompe / withal kindes of vices mischefe / disobedience of subiectes and housoldes toward theer heades / pestilent enhansing of all maner of marchandise in biyng seiling / these I say / with an infinyte sort such life / haue so preuailed that thei can not be reformed in X. councels nor in XX. assembles These principal matters both of the temporalty of the spiritualty / if thei shuld be entreated of in a general couÌcel / thei shuld make us to haue so moch labor and besines / that we shuld sone forget litle regard the folissh triflyng about long gownes brode shauyn crownes / fryres girdels / bisshops forked cappes / carnal hattes / aÌd croser staues with such other trifyls for it were time inough to entreate of the choise of meates / the differeÌce of garmeetes short or loÌg of the shauiÌg of crounes of cloisters / after that the priÌcipal articles of the faith with a godly politike ordre for the comonwelth were determined coÌcluded by the word of god But if we wil swalow op Vhole camels / and strayne gnaties / if we wil receiue suffer gret beames in our eys pluck out the smal motys / if we wil stomble at a strane leape at a block / we nede not be so gretly cariful for any councels wherfor I haue made but a very fewe chapters principal articles for els we haue so many coÌmandmeÌts geueÌ vs of god to be obserued in his church / in the comynalty / and in euery particular house parissh / that we are neuer able to perform them wherfor what nede is it to make many actes decreys and tradicions beside specially if the principal articles and coÌmandments enioined us bi god himselfe be neglect and nothing regarded / as though god must geue place to our folissh trifles because we treade his special coÌmandmenas / vnder our fete like swyne But our sinnes do so sore vexe oppresse lade us that thei wil not suffer god to haue mercy vpon ue / because we do not repeÌt nor amend / but rather study and labor to stablissh mainteyne all maner of wickednes O merciful lord Iesu christ / were saue then thy self to celebrate a councel to redeme thi elect thorow thy own glorios presens for of the pope and of his adherents ther is no hope at all thei wil in no wise receiue the. wherfor help thou us pore miserable creatures / crieng calling vnto the / seking the ernestly / for the abowndant mercys safe that thou hast geuen thorow thi holy spirite which liueth reigneth with the with the father to be praised glorified for euer and euer Amen The first part conteineth the special articles of the diuine maiesty of god I. We confesse first that the father / son / the holy gost in one diuyne substance nature beâ⦠distinct persons yet one god which created heauen and erth II. That the father was without begimming ano the son had his begimming of the father / and that the holy gost did procede of them both III. That the father nor the holy gost did neuer take op on them mannys nature / but theson only IIII. That the son was so incarnate that he was conceiued by ãâã the holy gost without any maÌs helpe / born of the pure holy virgyng Mary and after ward that te suffred his passion / dyed was buryed / destended to âe hellys Rose fro death / asceded heauen sitteth at the right hand of the father / and that he shal come
it is but a face and an imaginacion of manâ braine / both vncerten / dangeros / vnprofitable and also forbiddeÌ And who so euer doth so / he doth he caÌnot tel what / for he coÌteÌneth the word of god and foloweth a false face / opinyon and imaginacioÌ of mans brayne And although all other things in it were neuer so probable yet it is vnlauful for any man to vse the comoÌn sacrament of the whole church / priuately to his own vse alone / after his own folissh imaginacyon false persuasyon contrary to the word / of god / priuately and not to gether with the comon whole congregacioÌ and so thei handle the sacrament of christ as a thynge of light reputacyon for this sacrameÌt was not institute to be vsed of one alone but it was geueÌ to the whole multitude to be vsed comoÌly of many to gether I am sure that this article of the masse / shal be one of the special articles which shal be called into controuersy / whan so euer ther be any general couÌcel for if it were possible / thei wold rather grant us all other articles than this one And carnal campegius at the councel holden at Augspurg / did openly say that he wold rather suffre hym self to be racked euery meÌbre of his body to be teared froÌ other than that the masse shuld perisshe or be condemned And I for my part / by the grace of god / wil suffre my self to be consumed into asshes / before I wil permit any popissh prist or patched shaueling to be either equal or superior to christ my Lord my Sauior Wherfor we are remayne for euer emnys contrary one to a nother Thei perceiue right wel / that if the masse were condemned / than the whole papistry were clene ouer thrown and therfor thei wold rather se us all poisoned burnt if thei could than to grant us this one article Beside all this / this Dragons deuels tayle the Masse hath bene the cause the very mother of moch blasphemy / and of purgatory where / thorow sowle masses for the deade / thorow dirges coÌmendacions / thorow month myndes / trentals / yeare dayes / bowel masses chantry masses to be sayd in their cowrse specially on sowlemasse day / thei haue bene wholly altogether occupyed in purgatory and with nothing els thaÌ with purgatory / inso moch that the masse hath bene vsed vsurped in a maner for the dead only / where as christ did institute his saârament for the liuing alone Wherfor Purgatory with all his pompe / high honor and marchandise must be taken for a mocke a mist of the deuel For it is contrary to the principal article of our redempcyon which teacheth that al sowles be redemed delyuered thorow no workes of man / but only therow christ alone Furthermore we haue no commandment of god concerning dead sowles / and therfor this purgatory / although it were no error or Idolatry / might laufully be condemned The papistrs are wont to alledge S. Austen for this article thei cyte the testimonys of dyuers doctors which haue written as thei say of purgatory Thei think that we vnderstaÌd not / for what purpose thei speake such sentencys S. Austen writeth not that there is a purgatory / neither hath he any place of scripture wherby he can proue it but he leaueth it in dowt whether there be a purgatory or no / and he saith that his mother required to haue a memory at the altar or the receiuiÌg of the sacrameÌt which thiÌg whatsoeuer be / it is nothing els than a supersticyos imaginacyon of a fewe men / which can make no article of our faith / for that is the office of god alone But the papistes do so wrest writhe such testimonys of men / that the peple shuld byleue more faithfully / their filthy / wicked and abhominable machaÌdise of sellyng offring masses into purgatory for dead sowles c. Which thei shal neuer proue by S. Austen Whan thei haue ones condemued those putgatory marchandise of masses werof S. Austen did neuer in his life ones dreame than wil we dispute with them whether S. Austen without any auctorite of scripture / ought to be receiued allowed or no / and whether it be lauful to haue memorys of dead sowles whan the sacrament is receiued or no for we may not take all the doings and saings of holy fathers for articles of our faith For by that meanes / their maner order of lyuyng / their clothes or garmeÌtes and their howses also wherin thei did dwell ought to be estemed as articles of the faith / like as the relykes of saintes haue heretofore bene estemed But the word of god only must make articles of the faith / and no creature beside / no though it were an angel of heauen Secondarly / vp on the masse haue risen many iugglinck sotiltes of false spârytes which haue appeâryd vnder likenes of mennes soules / desyryng to haue masses / dirgys / pilgrymages and such kynd of almassys to be done for them / with such lyes and disceitesul mockes as no man can reherse / which al the world must be compelled to esteme as articles of the saith / and to lyue after their appointment And the pope hath confirmed also / all such things / as he hath done the masse and all other abhomynacyon Thirdly The masse was the cause of pilgrimages / for in pilgrimages / the peple haue sought masses / remissioÌ of sinnes the mercy or fauor of god And the masse hath bene the head captayn of all these tgings And it is wonder that such things shuld be imagyned / seing it is so manifest that there is no maner of mencyon of pilgrimages in the word of god / and again it is euident inough that thei be vnprofitable for as moch as we haue many better things than pilgrimages / finally thei may be left forsaken with out all sinne / perel or danger Why do men runne from their own cytes parisshes / forsake the word of god / their wiues and childern which all be necessary things commanded us by god to stike vnto and in steade of them folow and delit their selues in vnprofitable / folissh / daugeros things deulissh errors / but that the deuel hath procured sturred vp the pope to command confirme such things / whereby many peple might be seduced from christ fixe their hope trust in their workes and also which is worst of all to commit daily Idolatry furthermore / I say / it is no necessary thing / hauing no commandment of god nor no word in the scripture which councelleth men thereunto / and it is also a doutful dangeros a noysom thing Werfor in this article we ought to grant nothing nor to giue no place at all / vnto our aduersarys Let the comon peple be taught that pilgrimages be not
in euery maÌs liberty to noÌber tell oÌly such as he wil him self without any maner of coÌpulsyon For as long as we remaine in this flessh / we shal not lye at all if euery one of us say thus I am a wretched and a miserable creature ful of sinnes as S. Paul saith / Roma vij I feele a nother lawe in my flessh meÌbres rebelling against the lawe of my mynd c. And for as moch as priuate absolucyoÌ cometh froÌ the powr of the keys / it ought not to be conteÌned but to be moch regarded as all other offices perteining to the christen church ought to be And in such things as êteine to the outward word / it must be coÌstantly holdeÌ bileued that god geueth his spirite or grace to no man except the outward word either come betwene or els goo before This must be bileued / lesse we âall in to the errors of thorite of god by a certen inward inspiracion without the worde also before thei euer thei hard of the word and fret after ward vp on this persuasion thei wil take vp on theÌ to iudge / iÌterpÌte / wrest writhe the scripture at their own pleasure / as one Monetarius did / I feare there be many at this time that doo likewise / which wold be quick ernest iudges betwene the spirite the letter / yet thei know not what to say nor what to teach the papistry is eueÌ nothiÌg els thaÌ drowned in this heresy possessed with this spirite for the pope bosteth hymselfe to haue all maner of lawes iÌ his own bosom euen vnder his girdel / that what so euer he with his church doth iudge / determine coÌmaÌd that must nedes be of the holy gost / iust or lauful / although it be clene coÌtrary to the scripture or to the outward word this is eueÌ the old SataÌ serpeÌt which entysed brought AdaÌ Eue in to the self same heresy / he drewe hiÌ cleane a way froÌ the outward word vnto a certen spuÌalnes vnto his own fansys or imaginacyoÌs yet the deuel wrought this matter by other outward wodes / like as our heretikes also do coÌdeÌne the outward word yet thei theÌ selues hold not their tuÌges but fill the whole world with their babliÌg clattriÌg / writiÌg as though the spirite could not come thorow the outward word of god but oÌly thorow their writiÌgs their wordes whi do thei not leaue their preachiÌg also tyl that spiâite of theirs vnto meÌ with out their writiÌg before their writiÌg / as thei bost that it came vnto theÌ with out any preaching of the scripture But it is no tyme now to speake more largely of them I haue entreated sufficieÌtly of them in other places And euen thei which byleue before thei be baptised or which receiue faith at their baptyme / thei haue it thorow the outward word going before / as thei which be of perfight age haue any vnderstanding must nedes haue hard before this worde / Who so euer bileueth is baptized shal be saued al though at the first thei were infidels receiued both the holy gost baptime also eueÌ x. yeare after Cornelius in the x. of the actes had hard long before amoÌg the Iewes that christe messias shuld come thorow whom he was iust before god / his prayers almes were acceptable thorow his faith / as luke callleth hiÌ iust faitful vertuos And surely he could neuer haue bileued truly nor yet haue bene iustified without the word or without the hearing of it And therfor it was necessacy for S. Peter to reuele opeÌ vnto him that the Messias in whom not yet reueled he had byleued vntil that time was now come that he shuld not bileue stil with the vnfathful blind Iewes that christ was yet to come / but rather that he shuld knowe that he must obteine eueâlastiÌg saluacyoÌ thorow the messyas that was come already present that he shuld not denye / persecute this messias / as the Iewes did But to coÌclude the effect of the matter brefely this heresy sowne in AdaÌ his childern or posterite froÌ the begiÌming vntil the eÌd of the world thorow the old serpeÌt dragoÌ / is the original begiÌmiÌg fouÌtayn / streÌght / pour of all heresy / of all papistry of all Mahometes doctrine also Wherfor / I say we must determine this priÌcipaly / that god worketh with meÌ no notherwise thaÌ thorow his outward word sacrameÌt what so euer meÌ blowe blase of the spirite with out this outward word this facrameÌt / it is nothiÌg els thaÌ the very deuel god wold not first appeare shewe hiÌ selfe vnto moises / but thorow the fyery / red / vocal word And Iohan baptist was neither coÌceiued withoue the word of gabriel goiÌg before / neither did he leape iÌ his mothers wombâ without the voice of mary goiÌg before S. Peter saith that the prophetes did not êpheci thorow the wil of maÌ / but thorow the holy gost / for thei were holy meÌ c. but yet thei were not holy with out the outward word / moch lesse wold the holy gost haue moued theÌ to haue êphecyed if thei had bene as yet prophane wholy For thei were holy / saith he / whan the holy gost did speake thorow theÌ Of ExcoÌmunicacyon As for the gret excoÌmunicacioÌ as the pape calleh it / we take it oÌly for a ciuil pomisshmeÌt / therfor it êteineth nothiÌg vnto us which be ecclesiastical ministers But the true right christeÌ excoÌmunicacion wherby manifest open and obstinateer comon ordinaÌces of the church oth vntil thei repeÌt ameÌd forsake their sinnes / êteineth vnto us / preachers ought not to ioyne the ciuil pomishmeÌt to this spiritual pomishmeÌt Of geuiÌg of ordres of the calliÌg of ministers If bisshops wold be right bisshops take cure of the church of the gospel / thaÌ for charites for vnites sake / we wold permit theÌ but not as it were a necessary article of the faith to ordeine / admit coÌfirme all ministers preachers / so that all folisshnes / charmiÌg / coÌiuring all maner of wicked ceremonys were remoued and set apart But now for as moch as thei be not nor wil not be right true bisshops but rather teÌporal ciuil lordes rulers / wil neither teach / preach baptize minister the sacrameÌtes nor do any other worck or office that êteineth to the church but only persecute condeÌne such as serue minister truly in the church acordiÌg to their vocacioÌ / the church ought not to âe destitute of true ministers therfor as the old exaÌples of the church in fore time of the old fathers also do teach us / we wil be bownd our selues to ordeine apt mete parsons
to iudge the quict the dead c. as the comon crede of the apostles / the crede song in the masse / and the crede of athanasius do teach Of these articles there is no controuersy contencyon for both partes do confesse all these things / wherfor it were but foly to entreate more largely of them The second part conteineth the articles of the office worke of Iesu Christ and of our redeÌpcyon / and of all his bemifights actes which he hath done for us In this article this is the first principal some that Iesus Christ our god lord suffred death foâ our sinnys rose againe to saue us / Roma 4. Item that he is the oÌly special lamb of god / which taketh a way the sinnes of the world IohaÌ the i. And that god hath layd the iniquyte of al man kind vpon his back / Esai 53. furthermore all peple haue synned and thei are made rightuos agayn / or saued / frely by the mere grace mercy of god thorow the redempcyon of Iesus Christ thorow his blode Roma 3. And for as moch as this grace mercy must be receiued by faith for no maÌ can obteine it by any worck not yet by the lawe nor by any merite therfor it is certen manifest that we be iustifyed by faith as holy paul testifieth rhe 3. to the roma sayng we suppose maÌ to be iustifyed by fayth without the workes of the lawe Item that he migh be iust the iustifyer of him which bileueth in Iesus c. From this article can we not moue one hearbreade / thogh se hauen erth shuld falle and all the world goo to gether to wrack / for there is no nother name vnder heanen where by we can be saued / Actu 4. Item / Esay 59. we are healed thorow his stripes This article is the whole foundacion ground both of all that we teach and also lyue against the pope / the deuel and the world wherfor we ought in no wise to dowte of this article Els all together were done / and at a point / and the pope / the deuel with his whole rable shuld haue the victory of us and tryumph couer us The second article The masse that is comonly vsed in the papistry is the highest most horrible abhominacion that euer was / and it is as coÌtrary to the principal article of the faith as heaueÌ is to hell although among all the popisch Idolaters it is the most precios / daiÌâ⦠and bringeth most lucre to the purse for all men haue bileued surely that the sacrifice work of the masse though it were done of the most rascal scull you in the world / yet it shuld deliuer meÌ from all their sinnes both iÌ this life and also after this life iÌ purgatory / which thing can no thing doo not performe saue the only lamb of god as is before said Wheâfor we wil geue no place in this article / nor graÌt any part therof And if any man chance vpoÌ some reasonable papist / let him axe him gentylly / for what cause thei labor to mainteine the masse so obstinatly / specially seing itâ is nothing els than a mans inuencyon and no ordinance of god And it is lauful to neglect and breake mans tradicyons / as christ saith Math. 15. thei honor serue me in vayne teaching the doctrines / tradicions commandmeÌtes of men And again it is a thing of no necessite and it may be left welmough with out any sinne or perel Thirdly The sacrameÌt may be receiued after a better mor profitable and a more holsom way / acording to the institucion of christ which way is only profitable none but it wheâfore why shuld we bring the world in to so heuy a misery danger for a fansy of mans braine / and a trifel of naught Let the peple be taught in comon sermoÌs / that the masse being an imaginacyon of mans brayne may be taken a way disamulled with out any sinne / and that it is a matter of no daÌnacyon to despise the masse / for a man may obteine euerlasting saluacyoÌ with out the masse / and after a better way than bi it Now if the peple were thus taght / there were no dowte but that it shuld come in to contempt alone of it self without any labor / not only amoÌg the simple peple / but also among all good / wise vertuos men And this thing might be brought to passe the better / if thei were instruct / that the masse is a perlos a dangeros thing / imagyned of mans brayn with out any commandment or wil of god Forthly for as moch as there haue bene an infinyte nomber of most detestable abusis thorow out the whole world by the reason of bying and selling of masses / it is a lauful a sufficient cause wherfore all masses ought to be disanulled forbidden / though it were for no nother cause than this only that those abuses might so be remoued / although there were some goodnes or vtilyte in them as there is none at all And thei ought rather to be abolisshed that these abuses might be forbidden / specially seing such masses be vnprofitable / vnnecessary / and ful of perel and danger / and agaime all things both more necessary more profitable also more certen / may be obteined / though there were nâ such masse Fifly / the masse neither is nor caÌ be / nothyng els than a worck of men as the old canon and all old bokeâ doo also testifye yea and inuented by most wicked rascals / for this purpose that euery maÌ might recoÌcile both hiÌ selfe and other vnto god and both obteine merite remissi of his sinnes and the fauor of god thorow he ariÌg / saiÌg or causing it to be sayd for whaÌ it is done / sayd or hard euen most holyly / it is done said and hard for no other end than a fore rehersed for vnto what other vse or vtilite can it serue wherfor it must nedes be condemned and takeÌ a way / for it is against tpe principal article of our redempcion / which saith that no maner of prest or shaueling noither good nor bad / nor no maner of worke or sacrifice / can take away our sinnes / saue only the lamb of God / the soÌ of God further more if any prist wil vse this excuse / cloke preteÌse to say that he ministreth the sacrameÌt to hym self alone / for this purpose that he may the more perfightly with better diligeÌce reuereÌce receiue it / let hiÌ know that this is no ernest but a preteÌsed excuse for who so euer wil vse this supper perfightly and reuerently to confirme his faith to haue any profight therby / must receyue it in the true sacrament ministred / acording to the institucyon of Christ But for a prist to minister the sacrament to him self alone /