counteruaile eternal life and of too shallow and short a measure in respect of infinite blessednesse yea though it were the merite of the holy Virgine and that conceiued or not conceiued be it as you will in originall sinne For if shee were conceiued in originall sinne shee is freely redeemed as well as any other and regenerate and borne againe of meere grace as well as any other But and if shee were not which yet the holy Scripture denieth that was also of the worke and operation of the same grace and furthermore the greater shee is the deepelier is shee bound vnto God and the further off from merite as also from hauing any occasion to be proud beeing on the contrarie so much the more to carrie her selfe in a greater measure of dutifulnesse and humilitie in respect of so rich and aboundant mercies bestowed vpon her so freely and vndeseruedly by the high and mightie God According to that which is said Vnto whome much is giuen and committed Luk 12.24 of him shall so much the more bee required againe c. CHAP. XVII That the Regenerate man cannot merite eternall life either for himselfe or for anie other LEt vs come to the condition of the regenerate man to the state of grace Proofes out of the holy Scripture as it is called and let vs see if any one standing in that state before God can merite of him by his workes either his owne saluation or an other mans The Scripture speaketh verie highly of mans Regeneration it setteth him before vs as a man new moulded and cast by the effectuall power and working of the holy Ghost in all and euerie one of his parts and members Now what better way to comprehend and conceiue the fall and ruine then by the reedified repaired parts Coloss 1.3 Acts. 15. Ephe. 1. Coloss 2.13 Gala. 5. Rom. 6. Coloss 7. Rom. 8.14 For the spirit of Christ deliuereth vs from the power of darknesse being dead as we were in sinne he quickneth and maketh vs aliue he purgeth our hearts by faith he inlightneth the eyes of our vnderstanding by the knowledge of God He destroyeth the bodie of sinne He mortifieth yea crucifieth the old man with all the diseases concupiscences and affections of the flesh He maketh vs the children of God and as we are such to crie Abba that is to say father But dooth it follow of all this that after Regeneration we are either cleane from all sinne or that we can attaine vnto it in this world Such as doe flatter themselues in making their sinne small should therewithall thinke that a small thing should repaire and make vp the breach But what then will they say when as of necessitie for the sauing of this miserable flesh the word must be made flesh When for the deliuering of vs from the seruitude of sinne hee must needes become sinne himselfe who had neuer knowne any sinne Or will they thinke that the flesh bee it neuer so wholly and throughly regenerate will bee able to doe all things Or would they flie vp with their owne wings to heauen without Iacobs Ladder the helpe of the Lord or his merite More readie as yet by their pride to loose the benefit of Regeneration then our Father was to loose the excellent gifts he had by his Creation at the suggestion of the woman But let vs heare how the Scripture speaketh J am saith S. Paul crucified with Christ I liue Gala. 2.16 no more I but Christ in me and the life that I liue now in the flesh I liue by the faith of the Sonne of God who hath loued me and who hath giuen himselfe for me What could he haue spoken of more excellencie And where is that regenerate man that can vtter any thing more boldly then hee hath done this And yet therewithall heare him comming from the setting foorth of the praises of the grace receiued by God to the consideration of his owne infirmitie I see saith hee an other Law in my members Rom. 7. fighting against the Law of my vnderstanding and making me captiue to the law of sinne which is in my members c. That is to say I feele concupiscence the bud of the flesh c. And this Lawe this concupiscence if thou be in doubt doe not thinke that it is good For I know saith he that in me that is to say in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing To will well is readie with me but J doe not find the meanes to performe or doe it Nay this concupiscence is euil for he addeth thee hereunto The euill is readie with me and fast sticking vnto me I doe the euil that I would not euen the euill that I hate that is to say which I condemne in my mind and such euill as is repugnant vnto the Law of God which cannot be called any thing but sinne according to that which S. Iohn saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All whatsoeuer is against the Lawe is sinne euen to the obeying of my flesh and not the Law of my God which J consent vnto and agree to be good but vnto the Law of sinne which I condemne and dislike of in my spirit And againe This sinne is sinne in such a manner and degree as that it forceth me to confesse that it is sinne in deed For if the Law had not said Thou shalt not lust I had not knowne sinne but now I knowe it And it hath such a deepe roote in me as that I am constrained to crie Miserable man that J am who shall deliuer me from the bodie of this death Yea and it hath fruit also which it beareth and bringeth forth in me Sinne dwelleth in me euen the sinne which begetteth death which hath no other wages but death which also in stead of being brought vnder by the Law of God is lifted vp by the nature thereof and armed to rebell against it taking occasion from the same to multiplie and increase Rom. 8. Gala. 5. Coloss 3. Ephe. 4. It is prouoked and enraged like a maligne Vlcer against the salue Thus speaketh S. Paul of this sinne and not as it is in the Infidels but as it is in the regenerate and those not of the weakest sort of the regenerate but as it was in himselfe concluding generally and euerie where that he hath need to spoyle destroy kill and crucifie the same and that yet notwithstanding all this doe what he can 2. Cor. 4.10 it will not all be vanquisht and subdued at one blow For Howbeit saith he that our outward man be decaied and cast downe yet our inward is renued euerie day And yet notwithstanding not in any such measure of perfection as that any man can vaunt or boast himselfe to haue wholy put on the one and put off the other in this world For In this world wee shall neuer grow vp together and become perfect men Ephe. 4 13. according to the measure of the perfect stature of Christ
haue not any reward but that which is bestowed vppon vs in our free pardon Saint Barnard saith in one word Bernard in Psal 91. Serm. 9. 15. De Sepulch Idem in Cant. Serm. 22. By faith Christ dwelleth in our harts and as for works they giue testimonie vnto our faith how that it liueth Againe The fruit of the knowledge of God is the strong crie of prayer c. Death being dead life is restored into his place in like manner sinne being taken away righteousnesse succeedeth it c. And how Because saith heâ—e in an other place they that are iustified from their sinnes desire and resolue themselues â—o embrace and follow holinesse without the which no man shall see God For they heare the Lord who cryeth Be holy c. But All these workes saith he all these pretended merits Sunt viâ—â— regni non causa regnandi They are the way to raigne but not the cause thereof But as we said before these two righteousnesses are verie much differing namely that which approueth and iustifieth our faith from that which iustifieth our selues that burning and beeing consumed at the onely appearance of the shining brightâ—nesse of the face of God this beeing of proofe against the Cannon shot of Gods wrath and Hell it selfe that being the worke of the newe man which is renued but slowly in vs this of the eternall God himselfe who hath giuen himselfe wholly and intirely vnto vs. And therefore all that righteousnesse before this is held for nothingâ— by the Apostle himselfe for worse then nothing that is for corruption and filthinesse so farre off is it from meriting any thing And this also euen with the littleâ— goodnesse that it hath in it is the gift of God and the worke of God working in our hearts by his spirit which saith vnto our pride What hast thou that thou hast not receiued That which is most rife in thee is the worke of Adam more weightie ordinarily then the rest and which concludeth against him Who can draw that which is cleane out of that which is foule and filthie c. For how should a perfect worke spring from an imperfect faith A sound fruie from a diseased tree But the case so standeth as that wee dayly crie here on earth Increase our faith strengthen it purge it from all diffidencie and distrust And notwithstanding wee admire heere the goodnesse of the mercifull God in respect of that which hee hath giuen to him whome hee hath iustified by the gift of faith and by the gift of righteousnesse hee will haue it called a reward but verily such a one as groweth due vpon free promise and not by purchase And thereupon our pride hath set in foote to build the matter of merit a word not heard of throughout the whole Scripture a word condemned throughout the whole Analogie of faith which setteth before it no other thing then the merit of Christ according to the free promise of the eternall father In the meane time where so euer there is Merces The abuse of this worde Merit Ierem. 31.16 Thom. l. 2. q. 114. art 2. a hire or reward promised of God the pride of man hath caused them to find out the merit of men Ieremie saith to the Church of the Iewes assuring them of their reestablishing They shall returne from the Countrie of the enemie Thy worke shall haue his reward From thence Thomas maketh an argument to proue their merit notwithstanding that there is properly handled the estate and condition which was to befall them in this world and not in the kingdome of heauen but hee concludeth notwithstanding that reward and merite cannot be but improperly spoken betwixt God and men betwixt whome there is no maner of equal proportion that is saith he That man obtaineth of God as in the nature of a reward it is because that he hath giuen him power and vertue to labour Quasi mercedem Hieronym in Esa l 15. c. 95. Mat. 5.22 Luke 6.23 Ambr. in Luc. l. 5. c. 6. But Saint Ierome hath spoken better alleadging this place That this reward is their inheritance which serue God In the Euangelists oftentimes Reioyce yee for great is your reward in heauen c. Ambrose verily wheresoeuer there is this word Merces interpreteth it praemium he causeth it to be attributed to the mercie of God and to be receiued by a Christian faith and in like manner all the rest as we shall see And as for that which Thomas argueth That that which is giuen according to iustice may seeme to be a condigne and worthy reward But the Apostle saith 2. Timoth. 4. Ambros in 2. Tim. c 4. Amplissima praemia The crowne of righteousnesse is reserued and laid vp in store forme which the Lord the iust Iudge will render vnto me in that day c. Verily he should haue called to mind that Saint Ambrose expounding this place saith Because that God giueth exceeding great gifts to them that loue him that is worthie of his greatnesse and not of our merits And the ordinarie Glose Seeing that faith is grace and eternall life grace it cannot be but that he hath giuen grace But Saint Augustine August in hom 50. Idem hom 14. as we shall see more largely and fully hereafter Nay saith hee Paul if he had giuen thee that which was due vnto thee he should haue bestowed punishment vpon thee c. Pardon me Apostle I doe not see any thing that is properly thine except euill and this is thine owne doctrine that thou hast taught vs That when God crowneth thy merites he crowneth nothing but his owne gifts c. And Thomas himselfe likewise may seeme to come neere to the same Thom. l. 2. q. 114. art 3. when hee saith That our workes considered as proceeding from our free will cannot merite but rather as proceeding from the grace of the holy Ghost giuen vnto vs. And in deed what man shall bee so proud as to dare to say That Abraham merited God by his workes vnder colour of those words which God saith vnto him I am thy reward Abraham saith the Apostle To whome faith was imputed for righteousnesse Now it were to be desired that the old writers had vsed this word more sparingly although their intention and drift be sufficiently cleare and manifest And whence it sprang But the truth is that that which the Greekes call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dignitie or worthinesse the Latines haue translated Merit and consequently that which they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be made or reputed worthie they haue expounded mereri for want of an other verbe to expresse it in one word And in deed the old Glosarie saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mereri to bee made worthie is expounded by this word to merit And it may be verified by many places In the disputation that fell betwixt the Orthodoxes and the Donatists in the time of Saint Augustine this word was ordinarily
the hearts of the elect the remission of their sinnes Vnto the Lambe saith he without spot or blemish that beareth the sinnes of the world alone righteous and by consequent alone fit and meete to enter into the holy of holies Now if he onely enter thereinto hee entereth all whole without any faile not one of his bones shal be broken The head shal not enter without the rest of his members his faithfull ones Cohaerentes fide conformes moribus which are fastned vnto him by faith and made conformable vnto him in their manners And they shall enter thereinto couered and clothed with his righteousnesse For saith he He hath giuen it them it is imputed vnto them he is made vnto them righteousnesse from God yea sufficient righteousnes And seeing he is made righteousnesse vnto vs it is ours c. And as for all our owne it is nothing but vnrighteousnes Idem in Can. serm 73. Idem Serm. 1 in Natal Dom Idem de â—â—pl miseric Dei Idem de sept miseric Idem Serm. 3. de Aduent Dom. Idem Dominic 1. post oct Epiph. Idem Serm. 1. de Annunt virg Mar. Initiat For there not the most holy that are but they stand in need to pray for their sinnes to the end that they may be saued by mercie Noe Daniel and Iob must repaire vnto this fountaine Pari voto with the same request desire and thirst that all others For euen the sinnes that we daily commit and which we accompt but sleight are such as presently receiue the sentence of condemnation without any delaie And mine owne soule saith hee of it selfe if God had not sustained me I both doe and will confesse was readie and prone to fall into all kind of sinne But saith hee behold and see his grace he hath iustified vs freely to the end that his grace might be the highlier esteemed of vs. And this grace doth not onely pardon and forgiue vs our sinnes but giueth vnto vs his merits For to the obtaining of remission of sins it is necessarie to haue indulgentiam Dei Gods pardon and it is impossible to haue any good worke if he himselfe doe not giue it but yet much more impossible to merit eternall life by any workes if it be not freely giuen c. Wherevpon the Prophet saith Blessed are they to whome the Lord imputeth no sinne c. And therefore saith hee we haue neede of a threefold grace a conuerting grace a grace assisting vs in temptations and a rewarding grace The first doth rough hew vs as being that whereby we are called The second doth set vs forward as by which wee are iustified The third doth perfect vs as by which we are glorified And the first is called the good pleasure of God The second merit but note by the way in what sence and signification he taketh it And the third praemium a gift wages recompence and all three graces Of the first it is said Idem Serm. 5. de Assumpt beat Mar. Wee haue all receiued of his fulnesse of the others grace for grace the gift of eternall life for the merit that is to say for the gift of temporall warfare And this grace of iustification sanctification and glorification is receiued in the Church by faith in Christ For saith he The misled and vnaduised Sinagogue which hath despised the righteousnesse of God for to establish her owne was reiected and cast off but vnto the spouse of Christ vnto the true Church it is said Desponsaut te mihi in fide I haue betrothed thee vnto me in faith iudgement righteousuesse mercie and compassion Neither must thou say that thou hast chosen me for I haue chosen thee and for to moue me to make thee my choice I did not find in thee any merits but it was of my selfe who preuented thee And therefore I haue affianced thee in faith that is to say not in the workes of the Law and in righteousnesse but that which is of faith and not of the Lawe It remaineth then for thee to iudge betwixt me and thy selfe seeing I haue affianced thee not according to thy merit but according to mine owne good will and pleasure Wherefore let it bee farre from thee to obiect vnto me either thy merits or the workes of the law or yet the heat of the day or the scorching heate of the Sunne which thou pretendest to haue indured but rather acknowledge that thou art affianced vnto me both by faith and also by the righteousnesse of faith in mercie and compassion For the true spouse acknowledgeth both the one and the other grace namely the preuenting grace as also that which followeth and commeth after it And what he saith of the Church he saith of the faithfull as he doth of the members that which he saith of the bodie Idem Serm. 67. super Cantic It is sufficient saith he to merit to know that merits are not sufficient And not to presume of merits is to merit and yet not to presume vppon them is to presume after a farre more sure and certaine way for we haue large matter to glorie of euen the ample mercies of the Lord Idem Serm. 68. super Cantic and his truth which indureth for euer That is to say faith in his promises For is there not sure and certaine matter for vs to glorie in when mercie and truth doe meete together for vs c. And al this by faith Belieue saith he that thy sinnes are forgiuen thee by him against whom alone thou hast sinned and who alone is able to deface blot them out and thou doest wel This is the testimonie which the holy Ghost beareth vnto our hearts saying Thy sinnes are forgiuen thee Whereupon the Apostle saith that men are iustified freely by faith Idem Serm. 1. in Annunciat Mariae Idem super Cant. 22. Ep. 77. Yea saith he by faith onely And so Saint Ambrose vnderstandeth him in his booke of the death of Valentinian And with such I am willing either to erre or to bee wise belieuing that man may be saued by faith alone yea without the receiuing of the Sacrament for Valentinian died whiles hee was of the number of the Catechised prouided that hee haue a desire to receiue it And this it may be was the cause saith he that our Sauiour hauing said Who so shall belieue and be baptised shal be saued in that which followeth saith onely He that shall not belieue shall be condemned c. To shew that onely faith is sometimes sufficient vnto saluation that without it nothing auaileth But this faith by which the iust man liueth doth truely liue it selfe for otherwise how should it quicken and make aliue For by this faith saith hee the heart is cleansed And God cannot bee seene Idem l. 5. de confider that is to say knowne but of him that hath a pure and cleane heart Neither is this faith any doubtfull beliefe On the contrarie opinion when it is growne to a
the fruit and effect but by the promise If we receiue not the same thing that the Apostles receiued after the same maner to what end then shold these words of the Lord Doe this c. as also those of the Apostle I haue receiued of the Lord that which I haue giuen vnto you serue And what other places are there whence we ought to learne take knowledge of the same But if it be the very same thing performed in the same maner then let vs cal to mind that it is a spiritual thing not a carnall and to be done after a spiritual not a carnal sort by faith and not by the mouth for he speaketh to them of a body broken for theÌ„ which yet was not broken and of bloud shed for them August in Psa 33. De Consecr d. 2. C. hoc est vbi Glosa which was as yet in his veines and therfore they did eate drink as the Patriarks and Prophets had done before theÌ„ spiritualy by faith And this is it which S. August saith That â—e sus Christ giuing the Sacraments of his body bloud vnto his Disciples did carie quodammodo after a certaine maner himselfe If he had done it really the quodammodo had serued to no vse for quodammodo say the Schooles is terminus diminuens a word of restraint denying the truth of the reall presence August Ep. 23 ad Bonifac. And then if this be quodammodo it is that which he saith in another place secundum quendam modum that is saith he By the similitude that the signes haue with the things not in very deede saith the canon but in signification not verily truely saith the Glose but improperly that is to say sacramentally And indeede that which he saith in one place He caried himselfe after a certaine manner in his handes hee speaketh thus in another place Idem de verb. Dom. in Euang Mat. Serm. 33. Hug. Cardin. in Mat. c. 26. in Marc. c. 14. He caried the bread in his handes in as much as he exhihibited and offered himselfe vnder these Sacraments for a spirituall meate and drinke vnto his disciples c. And the Glose expounding the wordes of the Supper saith Accipite comedite Take eate Intelligite fide comedite vnderstand eate by faith c. Cardinal Hugo likewise Take that is to say belieue with your harts and confesse with your mouthes c. In the mean time they goe about to graunt vs a larger priuilege then euer the Apostles had as though wee should receiue the body of Christ glorified and immortall whereas they receiued it as it was subiect to the death and passion But wee verily content our selues to receiue it as the Apostles did not aspiring after any more high and excellent manner that is therein to receiue the body broken and the bloud shed for vs for the Sonne of God properly doth quicken vs in that he is eternall but in that he hath made himselfe mortall neither doth he glorifie vs in that he himselfe is glorious but in that he hath abased himselfe taking vppon him the forme of a seruant and being made subiect vnto the ignominious death of the Crosse Therein I say to receiue it after the same maner the bread for a signe and certaine pledge of his body and yet notwithstanding at the very same instant also to receiue his body the wine a signe and infallible token of his bloude and notwithstanding at the very same instant to receiue his bloud by the inward efficacie of the holy Ghost and both the one and the other for the remission of sins and vnto the resurrection to life seeing that Christ is dead for our sinnes and risen againe for our iustification c. And in verie deed the auncient Fathers haue not otherwise vnderstood the holy supper of Christ with his Apostles Tertul aduer Marc. l. 5. c. 40. l. 1. c 14. Ambr. de iis qui myster init c 9. de Sacr. l. 4 c. 5. Hieronym l. 2. aduers Iouini an in Mat. c. 26. August contr Adaman c. 12 Idem in Prolog super ps 3. Macar hom 27 Theodor. in Polymorph seu Euarist Dial. 1. Tertullian He made the bread which he tooke and gaue to his disciples his body that is to say the figure of his bodie And in another place The bread by which he represented his body S. Ambrose The Lord himselfe crieth This is my body Before the blessing of heauenly words an other kind is named after the consecration the body of Christ is signified And in an other place more clearely The same which is saith hee the figure of the body and bloud of our Lord. S. Ierome He offered not water but wine for the figure of his bloud And in another place speaking of bread and wine Representing saith he the truth of his body and of his bloud S. Augustine The Lord doubted not to say This is my body when he gaue the signe of his body Againe He hath recommended and giuen to his Disciples the figure of his bloud Antitypes saith S. Macaire an Aegyptian Exhibiting the flesh and bloud of Christ Theodoret He that hath called his naturall body wheat and bread and which hath named himself a vine hath honoured the markes and signes which are to be seene with the name of his body and bloud not in changing the nature it self but in adding grace vnto nature Eusebius Emissenus Seing that our Lord must carrie vp into heauen the body which he had taken vpon him it was needfull that in the day of the supper he should consecrate for vs the Sacrament of his body and bloud to the end that that which was once offered vp for a ransom might continually be honored by misterie And here we must shun the confounding of these two words Truly carnally or really the one with the other being such as the old writers accompted of as much differing Cyril l. 3. c 24. in Ioh. Orig. in Gen. hom 1. c. 1. Hieronym ad Gal. c. 4. and carefully to be distinguished For Iesus Christ calleth himselfe the true Vine And Cyrill calleth him the true Manna And Origen the Apostles The true very heauens And S. Ierome the faithfull one true bread Whome it had beene verie hard to haue made to belieue that Christ had beene really the Vine or the Manna the Apostles the heauens or the faithful one loafe c. And thus you see what manner of holy supper it was that was celebrated kept of the Apostles and I verily belieue that there is not any true Christian that wisheth or desireth any other Fiftly Transubstantiation destroy eth the humaine nature of Christ Heb. 2 it destroyeth the humane nature of Christ for the truth whereof all the old Church hath so mightily striuen against the heretickes of that time and in the truth whereof likewise resteth the consolation of mankind the onely meanes of our saluation In as
to morrow c. And this is to bee noted against hereafter and for that there bee some that alleadge it vnder the name of Origen And that the effect thereof is the dwelling of Christ in vs by his spirit But saith hee he entreth into vs by faith Theodoret Theodor. dial 1. who was present at the Councel of Ephesus and Chalcedon decideth this question dealing against the Eutichians saying Our Lord giuing the misteries called the bread body and the wine wherein the sop had beene dipped bloud Then the Orthodoxe brought in in that Dialogue yeeldeth a reason to the Erranist that is to him that disputed with him and maintained the errour saying Verily hee chaunged the names giuing to the body the name of the signe and to the signe the name of the body And that in the same manner that he called himselfe a Vine he called the signe bloud And againe hee giueth the reason To the end saith he that they which are partakers of the diuine misteries doe not rest themselues vppon the nature of things which are seene but that because of the chaunge of the names they belieue the chaunge which is wrought by grace For he that calleth his naturall body corne and bread c. hath honoured the visible notes and signes with the name of his bodie and bloud not by chaunging their nature but by adding grace to their nature c. Which is as much as if he should say vnto vs that This is my body This is my bloud should be expounded by these wordes of the same our Lord I am the bread of heauen I am the stocke of the vine c. In an other place Idem Dial. 2. The mysticall signes saith the Orthodoxe which are offered to God by the ministers of God are the signes of the bodie and bloud of our Lord. But saith he to the Erranist Thou hast entangled thy selfe in thine owne snares for they forsake not their owne natures after the sanctification but abide in their first substance figure forme palpable and to be felt as before c. And he that shall compare Bellarmines answeres by his sensible Accidentes with the text of Theodoret which is worthie the reading throughout shall find them altogether fond and friuolous In the meane time we con him heartie thankes Gelas de duab natur in Christ for that he so freely confesseth that Gelasius whether hee were Pope or Bishop of Cesarea is of the same opinion with Theodoret as he was also liuing in the same time Certainly saith hee it is a diuine thing as also the Sacramentes of the bodie and bloud of Christ which we receiue for thereof and by them we are made partakers of the diuine nature and notwithstanding they cease not to bee the substances of bread and wine And verily the image and semblance of the bodie and bloud of Christ are celebrated in the action of the Sacraments Note Image and semblance that is to say The figure and not the thing Againe Which abide in their first substance of bread and wine Is it enough to say that by the word substance he vnderstood accidents Leo the first Bishop of Rome Leo 1. ep 23. ad Cler. pleb Constant In the mysticall distribution of the spirituall food that is giuen that is taken to the end that receiuing the vertue of this celestiall meate we might be turned into his flesh which is made our flesh Looke how many words there be so many breaches are there made vpon transubstantiation Mysticall distribution that is to say sacramentall Spirituall food the vertue of the heauenly meate to bee turned or chaunged into his flesh which is made our flesh For this is not wrought by any disgesting of the flesh as they pretend They obiect againe for the rest will carrie the question away Idem serm 6. dereiunio 7. mens That is receiued in at the mouth which is belieued by faith And therefore say they it is receiued in at the mouth whereas wee on the contrarie expound him by S. Augustine Thou takest the bread of the Lorde in at thy mouth if thou belieuest with thy heart Thou takest the bread of the Lord to thy condemnation if thou belieuest not And thus that which thou belieuest by faith thou receiuest at thy mouth be it vnto thy condemnation or be it vnto thy saluation Hesychius If his bodie had not beene crucified we should not haue eaten him Hesychius in Leuit. l. 1. c. 2. l. 2. c. 8. l. 6. c. 22 for the meat that we now eate is that wee receiue the memoriall of his passion Againe Hee forbiddeth vs once to thinke or conceiue any earthly or carnall thing of the holy thinges and commandeth vs to receiue them diuinely and spiritually c. And it was a custome in his time as he himselfe testifyeth To burne all that which remained of the Sacrament in the fire An argument that they had not receiued any such opinion in the Church then as is at this day But they haue a conceipt that they shall reape a better crop out of Eusebius Emissenus not that Greeke of whome S. Ierome speaketh for seeing he speaketh of the Pelagians it cannot be he but the author of the sermon De corpore Domini a Latine no doubt whome some take to bee Faustus Rhegiensis others Caesarius and the later writers some one some an other but both of them Abbots of Lirin Let vs heare him Let all doubting or wauering of faith depart far away from vs. Herein we agree C. Quia corpus de consec D. 2. This sacrifice must be in deed by faith not by the outward appearance by the inward affection not by the outward sight And in that also But say they The inuisible Priest chaungeth his visible creatures into the substance of his bodie and bloud by his word by a hidden and secret power Marke the inuisible Priest and not the visible or minister But so it is say they that he chaungeth it euen in conscience taking these wordes after the letter would they subscribe vnto them could they approue them by their owne Maximes That it is an errour yea an heresie to hold that the bread may be made the bodie of Christ that it may be turned into the bodie of Christ Against their Glose also vpon the word Conuertantur which expressely condemneth disaluoweth this proposition De paue fit corpus Christi and alleadgeth the inconueniences thereof c. Let vs then expound him by himselfe and not by our preiudicate opinions In the Sacrament saith he seeing that our Lord remoued his bodie farre away from our eies it was necessarie that he should consecrate the Sacrament of his bodie and bloud in the day of the Supper To the end saith he that Coleretur iugiter per mysterium C. Semel Christ de consecr D. 2. that might be continually celebrated by a mysterie which had beene once offered for the price of our redemption and that as
neere to his death had care to set vs in possession of his grace to the end that his inuisible grace might be giuen vs by some visible signe And for that are all the Sacraments instituted for that cause also the Eucharist and Baptisme c. What will they here say which blame and are offended with vs for that we call the Sacraments a ring or pledge In an other place he putteth downe this comparatiue speech Idem in Cant. serm 33. Men vse not to take with like chearefulnesse the crust of the Sacrament and the finest of the flower of the Corne faith and riches remembrance and presence eternitie and a stinted time the face and the Glasse the Image of God and the forme of a seruant Againe Idem de S. Martinio ser 21. The true substance of the flesh is exhibited vnto vs in the Sacrament but spiritually not carnally And what is the meaning of this spiritually Verily saith he in an other place expounding these words Noli me tangere This touching from henceforth seeing Christ is gone vp into heauen is done by the affection not with the hand with the desire not with the eye by faith not by feeling Thou shalt touch him with the hand of faith the finger of desire the fierie flames of deuotion and with the eye of the vnderstanding c. To belieue him is to haue found him Hug. erud Theolog. trac 6. c. 7. Summae Senten de sacr l. 2. p. 8. c. 8. 13. The faithfull knowe that Christ dwelleth by faith in their hearts what can there be more neere Hugo of Saint Victor This visible kind is named flesh by the custome of the Scripture which giueth to Sacraments the names of the things whereof they are Sacraments Againe The bread is proposed and set before men that in it may be taken and by it may bee signified the truth of the bodie and bloud of Christ And againe The receiuing of the Eucharist is the Sacrament and image of the participation of Iesus For this his Sacrament which wee take visibly is the signe that we ought to be vnited vnto him spiritually In a word It is better for thee saith he that Christ should enter into thy vnderstanding then into thy belly This meate is for the soule and not for the bodie Which beareth in a word this lessoÌ„ with it as we take it That the bread is the body of Christ Sacramentally in signification and in figure exhibiting notwithstanding vnto our soules the thing in truth spiritually by faith And Berengarius doth interpret it in the same words cited by Lanfrancus Now I am not ignorant that these same Doctors haue in other places spoken altogether as properly but so it is that Barbarisme had not as yet choaked suppressed the old language of the Church notwithstaÌ„ding that persecution was euerie where intended against them that would speake it freely Oppositions Peter de Bruits a famous Doctor at Tholose who taught that the transmutatioÌ„ of the kinds was contrarie to the word of God Petrus Cluniacensis l 2. being followed of a great number of people in the Prouences of Dolphinie Prouence Languedoc and Guien was burned aliue And Henrie his fellow Scholler did not shrinke to take his place vpon him in most couragious sort maner as also diuers others with him An Abbot rose on the other side in Fraunce who preached the verie same doctrine an other in England holding disputation Panem esse Sacramentum non rem Sacramenti That the bread is the Sacrament and not the thing but this man was oppressed by Malachias Bishop of Ireland In Graecia likewise they disputed and reasoned sutably to this doctrine Whether the bodie of Christ Nicetas after it is taken bee corruptible or incorruptible Nicetas taketh the one part and Humbert the Burgonian the other men agreed vpon as contrarie one to the other in all things Thus by these friuolous and fantasticall questions turning into cruell contentions the true body of Christ was rent in peeces and his very bloud contemptuously shed and spoyled whereas it was instituted for the vnion and knitting together of the Church Now come in Gratian and Lombard Friers patrons and protectors the one of the Canonists the other of the Schoolemen the one a compiler of the Decrees the other of the sentences Anno 1200. The Canons the greater part whereof is taken from the Fathers but sometimes not according to their true sence the rather to fit them thereby to their times And hereby we shall still be able to perceiue and see that the truth thereof cannot bee hid or concealed Let vs begin with Gratian The Canon Inquit is verie plaine and manifest Gratian. Câ—nqâ—â—t 80. De Consec d 2 C. Quia passus 3â— â—c Consec c. 2 â— Null◠〈…〉 C. â—um Quid 43 c. oâ—ccrâ— d 2. â—b Gl. C. Non hoc 4â— ibid. That the Fathers of the old Testament did eate the same spirituall meate that wee c. The Canon Quia passus That euerie faithfull person is partaker of the bodie and bloud of Christ of his bread and Cup in Baptisme Maxims altogether contrarie to those of the transubstantiators And as concerning the Eucharist the Canon Prima quidem saith You shall not eate this bodie which you see you shall not drinke the bloud which they shall shed that shall crucifie me I haue recommended vnto you a certaine Sacrament the same spiritually vnderstood doth quicken you And the Glose You shall not eate this bodie c. that is in this sort and greatnesse but in the Sacrament Which is directly against that which they teach That the same body which was crucified is eaten in the Eucharist Now to the end they may loose themselues out of this snare they patch it vp with these words Ipsum non ipsum That is the same and not the same the same inuisible not the same visibly c. But the Canons C. Dupliciter 2◠〈…〉 est quod 4â— d. ead 〈◊〉 Gloss Aâ—â—ust in psa 98. Tâ—om op 58. c 19 C. de hac quidem 75. d. 2 vbi Hieron C. Hoc Corpus 27. de consecr d. 2. Dupliciter and hoc est quod doth quite breake off whatsoeuer hold they might seeme to haue The flesh and the bloud of Christ are taken two waies either as they are spirituall and diuine of which the Lord saith My flesh is truely meate c. Or for the flesh which was crucified and the bloud which was shed with the speare c. Now Saint Augustine meaneth that it is this that is neither eaten nor drunken Againe by the Canon De hac quidem It is not permitted saith he to any man to eate of the host that Christ hath offered vpon the Altar of the Crosse but rather of that other which is admirably done in remembrance of it Then there is nothing left for vs to eate but the remembraunce and memoriall onely
hauing these giftes either of Saints or Angels but on the contrarie this doctrine was then noted to be the doctrine of heretickes as of the Basilidians and Ophites c. Who praied vnto Angels in their workes and that by set formes of praier Idem l. 1. c. 23. 35. which Ireneus rehearseth O tu Angele ab a te or opere tuo c. And these had likewise their pretended Saints Iudas Cain c. Against whom Ireneus doth not oppose either Abell or S. Peter but onely Iesus Christ our Lord. But in the Epistle of the Church of Smyrna Idem in Ep. ad Sâ—â—yâ—nens apud Euseb l. 4. c. 15. we haue this whole question handled the Martyrs were much honoured in the Church and they deeply condemned that did not honour them and not without cause being vessels chosen of God to seale and assure by their testimonie the resurrection of the Lord. But how far did this honour extend They were buried with great regard and there is made yearely a rehersall of their martyrdome vppon a certaine day the day of their death is celebrated and solemnized by the name of the day of their natiuitie in stead of the Paynims their Genethliacks or birth-daies the Church commeth together into the common place of buriall there to praie vnto God that by the sight of their bones they may be stirred vp to the like constancie for at that time they had not yet any Churches Now in respect of any of al this may they iustly be said to haue either worshipped or praied vnto them Nay rather saith this Epistle The Iewes and the Gentiles came to intrcate the gouernour that the body of Polycarpus might not be deliuered to the Christians least they should honour it in stead of Christ. But how doth the Church defend it selfe They are abused through ignorance saith it for we can neuer forsake Christ who hath suffered for the saluation of all them which are to bee saued in the whole world neither can we euer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 colere honour any other And note how it vseth the word which coÌ„prehendeth the seruice which was accustomed according to godlines to be giuen vnto Christ that is to say the seruing of him in calling vpon him seeking of our saluation in him But some said vnto them so greatly do you honour your Martyrs Yea saith the Church of Smyrna but we worship Christ as the true and naturall Sonne of God and we loue the Martyrs as his Disciples and followers and not without good cause for the incomparable loue which they haue borne to their king Schoolemaster we our selues greatly longing and earnestly desiring to become their companions and Schoole fellowes c. Finally We celebrate the natiuitie that is to say the day of the death and Martyrdome of Polycarpus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in remembrance of them that haue finished the combat before vs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and for the preparing and exercising of them which are to come thereto that is to say to stirre vp such as are present to the like constancie for the name of Christ Who giueth vs the grace say they and not the Martyrs to bee partakers of the like crowne Tertull. in Apol. c. And this Epistle was written about the yeare 160. Tertullian saith J pray not to any but him of whome I know that I may obtaine because it is hee onely which doth and giueth all things and I am one that haue need to beg and craue his seruant to honour him alone and to offer vnto him the best fattest sacrifice as he hath commanded euen a praier and supplication which proceedeth from a chast body an innocent soule and a holy spirit c. And in the booke of the Trinitie he yeeldeth a reason why hee praieth vnto him alone It is not proper or pertinent to any but God to know our secrets but Christ knoweth the secrets of our harts Jt belongeth not to any but God to forgiue sins but Christ forgiueth sinnes Reasoning from his all-seeing knowledge and from his Almightie power to proue his Deitie Godhead and froÌ„ the Godhead to the seruice of inuocation Againe Else how should a man be sought sued vnto in our praiers as our mediator seing that the inuocating of one only man is without any power or efficacie to saluation seeing also it is said cursed is that coÌ„fidence that is put in man c. To that aboue said they oppose and bring a place of Ireneus Obiections where there is comparison made betwixt Eue and the Virgine Marie As Eue saith he was seduced by the words of an Angell that is a wicked Angell to runne from God by transgressing of his word so the Virgine Marie receiued ioyfull tidings by the word of an Angell that is a good Angell to heare God by obeying vnto his word And as the first was seduced and drawne away to runne and flie from God so the second was perswaded to obey him to the end that of the Virgine Eue the Virgin Mary fieret aduocata might become say they the aduocate Here saith Belarmine what can be more cleare Yea rather say we vnto him what can be more obscure That the Virgine Marie should be Eue her aduocate with God being borne 4000. yeares after Eue and receiued likewise a long time after her into heauen when as likewise we shall haue regard to their opinion of the Limbes But in deed that which goeth before as also that which followeth sheweth clearely that Ireneus had no other drift but to oppose the good that came to mankind by the meanes ministerie of Marie to the maladie and mischiefe wherwith the same became infected by that transgression of Eue. And as for the word Aduocate some are of iudgement that Ireneus was translated out of Greeke into Latine for we haue great peeces of him as yet in Greeke and further it cannot possibly bee that euer any Latine writer would haue written in such a stile 2. Cor. 7. passim Ioh. 16 And in other places also hee is verie absurdly translated by his interpreter Now the case so standeth that in the Greeke one and the same word dooth signifie both an aduocate and a comforter that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and one and the same Verbe to comfort and to exhort as is often and commonly to be seene in the Scriptures So in S. Iohn that which is translated in the Gospell Comforter according to the old translation speaking of the holy Ghost the comforter of our soules is interpreted Aduocate in the Epistle of S. Iohn 1. Ioh. 2.11 Tertul. de Trinit c. 29. speaking of Christ the mediatour Likewise Tertullian where he speaketh of the holy Ghost translateth it Aduocatum so indifferently hath it beene taken either for the one or for the other And so the sence is as if Ireneus should say that as Eue was the ruine and ouerthrow of mankind so the
spoken of in the song of the three children in the furnace Daniel 3. ex Graeco Ye spirits and soules of the righteous blesse ye the Lord c. All these false couers and colourings notwithstanding being euident testimonies not so much of an vnwillingnesse to come to reformation as of a shamefastnesse to be ouertaken and detected of this spirituall whoredome Cassander therfore and Hofmeisterus more freely if so be they had but practised it in the Church as they belieued held it in their harts Cassander verily who after hee had excused the Church of Rome to Maximilian the Emperour as much as he could euen vpon this article that Orate was as much as Vtinam oretis Pray ye that is I wish and desire that you would pray saith notwithstanding That he maketh not in his owne behalfe any praier but vnto God by Iesus Christ and that he accompteth that the most infallible way Hofmeister who after he had gathered whatsoeuer hee could out of the old writers August de visâ—tâ—t infirmotu si eius est l. 1. c. 2. concludeth with these words of Saint Augustine I shall speake more boldly and ioyfully to my Iesus then vnto anie one of the holy spirits of God c. But what do our fathers of Trent say here after the long looking wherewith they haue made vs to looke for reformation Do they allow at the least these expositions these mitigations or do they bring some better of their owne Neither but on the contrarie they institute and ordaine that we should call vpon the Saintes by praier to help vs Suppliciter humblie beseeching them vpon our knees and that we should betake our selues not to their praiers onely but to their helpe and succour declaring all such as haue any other opinion to be wicked impious And the Catechisme made by the authoritie of the said Councell saith plainly Christians worship Angels but not as God is worshipped we must pray vnto the Saints in as much as by the grace and merit purchased by them God doth deale wel with vs c. And Cardinal Hosius a man approued of them Rom. 8. to such as alleadge S. Paul That we cannot call vpon any but him in whom we belieue answereth lustily That we must also credere in Sanctos belieue in Saints What reformation can there be from theÌ„ who after such enormous faults laid open discouered by the light of Christendome doe wilfully make themselues blind and yet will not haue themselues accompted of as hauing failed in any point And yet furthermore they ioyne thereunto another notorious pranke of maliciousnesse which is their causing to bee raced out in good bookes Index pag. 8.10.24 25.30.31.36.38.47.49.50 whatsoeuer might checke or controll their proceedings for so they haue resolued and set it downe as appeareth by their Index Expurgatorius As for examples The place where S. Augustine distinguisheth betwixt the honour due vnto God and that of Saints the interpreter hath giuen this note This that is to say that which is to be reserued to God alone is now giuen to all the Saintes Deleatur let it be raced and put out In the Tables of S. Augustine S. Chrysostome and S. Ierome their works there were many places noted which directed vs vnto such sayings in their works all speaking against the inuocation of Saints vpon the heads whereof were set Deleantur In Erasmus and Faber Stapulensis famous worthy men in their profession when they say Deum solum omnis oratio adoratio decet Vnto God alone belongeth all praier and worship is it not written Torcular calcaui solus Index pag. 49.50.55.59.61.255 I haue troden the wine presse alone All the Saints are nothing if the question bee once of true worship all our owne workes and those of our fathers from the beginning of the world are no better c. Deleantur And Cassander likewise where he sheweth how the old father did vse the words Merite and to merite That When they said Orate this was as if they had said Vtinam oretis c. Deleatur But what reasons will there satisfie these men if they need not any other answer to them but the racing and vtter blotting of them out or what witnesses if there be nothing but away with them to burning CHAP. XVI That man cannot merite eternall life for himselfe much lesse for another where the consideration is first of mans state before regeneration OVr aduersaries as they say do pray vnto Saints because they make intercession for them vnto God but we haue alreadie destroied this foundation And they make intercession for them say they by the power of their merites and that not onely for the procuring of them gifts and graces in this life but also eternall happines in that to come For which cause wee haue next to shew vnto them that so we may not leaue any thing doubtfull That no man can merite with God not eternal life or rather not the least grace of this fraile transitorie life not for any other man no not for himselfe And this we will deale in according to the three estates of man Man in his first estate could not merite Genes 1. Ephes 4. Colos 3. Psalme 19. his integritie or innocencie his fall or transgression and his regeneration Of his integritie it is said That God had created him according to his own image and S. Paul expoundeth it to consist in righteousnesse holinesse and the knoweldge of God c. That he had placed him in Paradise in a place abounding with all felicitie which Dauid calleth placed in honor In so much that he held had both his being his graces and his glorie at the good pleasure of his Creator of his meere free and vndescrued goodnes The abilitie to merite might haue beene great the good deeds only considered but then what abilitie or power can there be to merite of him of whom he holdeth all of him for whom a man can do nothing Let vs admit then that our first father had vsed all these graces perfectly well that he had possessed them in such feare 〈◊〉 awe as he should yea and that he had fulfilled the law as naturally he might yet had he beene able to say after all this but with the same pride which cast him down from his high glorious estate it selfe alone I haue deserued that God should yet further giue me this yea that he should continue vnto me what he hath alreadie giuen mee If we do not wrongfully name and call our merit that pleasure which it pleaseth God to take in adding and bestowing graces vpon his euen grace for grace and glory for glorie to deserue well of vs if I may so say and that so exceeding bountifully and liberallie as that we are not able to merite any thing of him So then here is place for that Iob. 41.1 which God saith in Iob Who is it that gaue me first I wil
presume of this assurance of your iustification and being of the children of God c. We are so But a word of the pride of Abraham Who belieued saith the Apostle vnder hope against hope And he was not weake in faith neither doubted hee of the promise of God through distrust knowing certainely that he which had promised was able to performe And of the pride of Dauid Psal 23.26.30 c. Rom. 8. who saith God is my saluation whome shall I feare Not saith he the shadow of death I shall neuer bee shaken neuer confounded And of the pride of Saint Paul Rom. 8. Who shall accuse vs who shall condemne vs Who shall separate vs from the loue of Christ Math. 6. Luk. 14. Nay saith he I am fully perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities c. can separate vs he speaketh of all the faithfull and not of himselfe from the loue which he hath shewed vs in lesus Christ A pride well pleasing and acceptable vnto God which this doubtfull and wauering faith of our Aduersaries cannot bee as appeareth in that he reproacheth his Apostle therewithall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 O thou of little faith why doest thou doubt As neither that spirit houering in the ayre which he forbiddeth them in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. And that in such things as for which they had no such expresse promise Namely in as much as it was humilitie in Abraham to submit himselfe and all his reason to the will of God how contrarie so euer it might seeme to him to be vnto the promise as it is likewise in euerie Christian to assure himselfe both of the remission of his sinnes as also of the kingdome of heauen by the free goodnesse of God manifested in his word whereas on the contrarie it is a pride borrowed from that first in the fall of man rather to belieue the doubts of the flesh or of the creature then the word of the Creator as also to goe about to attaine the least thing that can be by all our merits and then by a stronger reason to pretend to be Gods without God as our first father did And sutable vnto the same is that which we learne of the same fathers Hillar in Mat. c 5. S. Hillarie The Lord would haue vs to hope for the kingdome of heauen which hee hath declared to consist in him without any ambiguous doubting of any vncertaintie that can be in his will For if faith become doubtfull and wauering there is no iustification insuing such a faith And therefore S. Cyprian said Cypr. de mort Why should wee stand perplexed or amazed Who needeth to tremble and be sad but he whose hope and faith doe faile him It is fit for him to feare death who will not goe vnto Christ And to be vnwilling to goe vnto Christ belongeth to such a one as belieueth not that he shall begin when he is dead to raigne with Christ For it is written That the iust liueth by faith If therefore thou be a iust man if thou liue by faith if thou belieuest truly and verily in God why doest thou not imbrace death it being so certaine a thing that thou shalt abide with Christ and beeing so sure to inioy the promise of thy God c. This is saith he in an other place not to know God This is to offend Christ the master of the belieuers by the sinne of incredulitie This is not to haue in the house of faith the faith which is est ablished in the Church August de verb. Dom. Serm. 28. But is not this then ouer weening Heare Saint Augustine Presume saith he but not of thy workes but of the grace of Christ for you are saued by grace saith the Apostle To preach that which thou hast receiued is no arrogancie it is faith and faithfulnesse it is not arrogant ouer weening it is deuotion But we are vnworthie we are weake in faith c. Idem in Psal 88. Yea saith hee but God hath said it but God hath promised it and if all this may yet seeme little vnto thee then hee hath sworne it vnto thee Seeing then saith he that the promise of God is not firme according to our merits but in respect of his mercie no man ought to preach with a trembling doubtfulnesse that which he cannot any way doubt of But must wee not all appeare before the tribunall and iudgement seate of Christ Idem tract 22. in Iohan. Iohn 5.24 And how darest thou promise thy selfe saith hee that thou shalt not come into iudgement Nay God forbid saith he that I should be so bold as to promise my selfe that but I belieue him that hath promised it Who so belieueth on him that hath sent me hath eternall life and shall not come to iudgement that is to say to haue the sentence of condemnation pronounced against him for he is alreadie passed from death to life And this is brought to passe by his promise not by my presumption that I come not vnto iudgement And this is the same that Saint Barnard argued against Abailardus Bernard in Ep. If faith saith he doe wauer it is nothing worth as also our hope is in vaine c. Who so speaketh that hath not as yet receiued the holy Ghost But Saint Augustine better Faith consisteth not in opinion neither yet in coniecture it is fast placed in his heart that hath it and that from him of whome it springeth but Certae scientiae acclamante conscientia Of certaine knowledge the conscience testifying thereunto This is the substance of things to be hoped for and not a fantasie gathered vpon coniecture By the word substance there is set before thee a certaine and stable thing Faith then is not an opinion but a certaintie But Who art thou saith hee Aestimatio Idem de sragmentis septem Serm. 3. Fiducialiter And how great is this glorie And by what merits dost thou hope to obtaine it I consider saith he three things wherin my hope consisteth The loue of Adoption the truth of the promise and the power of the deliuerance As for any other thing let my foolish reason murmure and repine as much as it will I aunswere confidently and boldly I know whome I haue belieued and am throughly assured because he hath adopted me in the aboundance of his loue because hee is true in his promise and because he is of power and abilitie to exhibite and effect the same This is that three-fold band that is so hard to breake in peeces the which hath beene reached and conueyed vnto vs from our natiue Countrie from on high into this prison Let vs hold fast by the same to the end that it may lift vs vp that it may drawe vs yea that it may attract and hale vs to the presence of the glorie of the great God c. The Disciples say Who can bee saued The Lord answereth them
is the fountaine and welspring of iustification And in an other place Magniloqui dicuntur c. Such saith he are rightly called the greatest brauers who put their trust in themselues as being righteous and thereupon presume of the workes of the Law As on the contrarie those are called and are truely poore which know themselues sinners and perceiue that they can no way be iustified but by the faith of Christ. And therefore saith he it is requisite that this conceitednesse of thinking to be saued by workes should be laid downe Idem in Soph. l. 2. c. 3. Idem l. 2. in Genes c. 3. Idem in Esa c. 8. Without faith it is impossible to please God it is in like manner impossible but by faith Abraham Isaac and Iacob c. were not saued any otherwise For righteousnesse is Ex fide in fidem of faith and vnto faith Of faith that is of him who hath promised who hath sworne Vnto faith that is of him who hath belieued in him that promised and giuen credite to him that swore c. But as for such as are not true Israelites they haue no such faith for in seeking and searching after their owne righteousnesse they could not stoope vnto or vndergoe this of faith but haue toyled themselues by seeking the same from workes to workes as if Abraham had beene iustified by workes when as the Scripture testifieth of him Idem de Victor verb. Dei l. 4. c. 21. that he belieued and it was imputed vnto him for righteousnesse c. Verie excellently therefore is it said From faith to faith for in that the Sonne of God is come c. this proceedeth of the faith fulnesse of God of whome it is written God is faithfull c. Namely herein that Dauid and others moe haue not pearced him through with their sinnes and that he accomplisheth by his exceeding great faithfulnesse what hee had promised of his exceeding great grace And this righteousnesse tendeth in fidem vnto an other faith because it is not possible that any man should be iustified before him by his workes but by faith Idem in reg l. 2. c. 39. According to that which is said If thou obserue and marke mine iniquities O Lord c. And to be briefe he oftentimes vttereth these words The onely faith of Iesus Christ is able to iustifie c. Lombard likewise Loâ—bard l. 3 d. 19. 25. We are iustified by the death of Christ that is to say cleansed from our sinnes by faith in his death Beholding him by faith after the manner of the brazen Serpent we are deliuered from the bands of sinne and the Diuell in so much as that he is not to demaunde or looke for any thing at our hands Without faith in this Mediatour no man hath beene saued either before or since no man was euer deliuered from that condemnation that came by Adam otherwise then by faith Idem l. 3. d. 26. Rupert in Ioh. c. 1. Impraegnatam mentem Lombard l. 3. d. 23 Honor. in Specul Eccles Richard in Apocal. l. 1. c. And this faith saith he is of God according to that which Saint Augustine saith The mercie of God shall preuent me the mercie of God shall follow me c. That is saith Rupertus Because that to belieue is to haue conceiued the seed of the word of God with loue in his heart as also to haue his mind and spirit conceiued and laden with the same And Lombard To loue God is by belieuing in him to cleaue vnto him and to be incorporated into him by such faith the wicked is iustified inso much as that from thence forward faith worketh in him by loue for there are no good workes but those which are done by the loue of God and this loue is the worke of faith Honorius He is most happie in deede that belieueth rightly and that together with this beliefe liueth well but faith is the foundation and the loue of God and our neighbours is grounded vpon the same And Richard Of faith proceedeth charitie and of charitie doe good workes spring and growe And what is all this but the same which we affirme daily that faith cannot stand without charitie any more then fire can without heate That the life of faith euen as that of trees is knowne because it bringeth forth fruit In a word that wee are iustified by faith onely And yet such a faith as is neuer alone but which containeth in it a certaine heate which is naturall vnto it alwayes acting somewhat neuer idle continually bringing foorth as a fountaine of water the effects of loue which it beareth towards God and the good works it performeth vnto neighbours But Saint Bernard whome we haue so oft heretofore cited goeth further then all the rest For there was in his time a certaine man named Petrus Abailardus a verie Pelagian who durst say That whereas Christ had abased and humbled himselfe euen vnto the death c. that it had not beene but to haue left vs a patterne of liuing well and that our saluation consisteth not in his death and passion but in the growth and proceeding of our good conuersation Whereupon he is not content to giue him to vnderstand that this his assertion is the same which the Apostle calleth the making of the Crosse of Christ of none effect but taketh his occasion and proceedeth further and hauing taken the beasome once into his hand he sweepeth not onely this filth out of the Church that caused him to take it into his hand but withall he applieth himselfe all vnder one to sweepe away whatsoeuer the Iew Gentile Philosopher or superstitious Monke had brought and shuffled thereinto with their vncleane feete or else was negligently looked vnto or tolerated by the sorenamed it hauing fallen out then as it doth oftentimes vnto vs now who are not moued or stirred vp to remoue put away the thing that is euill be it neuer so great And therefore reprouing the waies that S. Augustine did walke in hee dealeth vpon the true iustification in the bloud of Christ by faith more exactly then all the rest Our master saith he knew well that the Law did require more then was in our power Bernard in Serm. 50. super Cant. Idem Serm de verb orig Idem Serm 38 super Cantic Idem Serm. 11 in Annunciat Mariae Idem de milit templ c. 11. Idem Ep. 99. Idem Serm 22 super Can. fusissime but notwithstanding he would giue it vnto vs that we might be admonished of our insufficiencie and that such and so great saith he as that we are neuer able to render vnto God that which we owe him in such sort as that if we should teare and pull our skinnes from off our backes yet are we neuer able to satisfie for our sinnes But wee haue recourse vnto the voice of the bloud of Christ which hath cried farre lowder then the bloud of Abell which proclaimeth in
had receiued of the Lord. But what Accidents No but bread As oft saith he as you shall eate of this bread and drinke of this Cup c. And he goeth ouer this word bread fiue times and that after the words of Consecration as they call them and yet notwithstanding The body of the Lord c. For Whosoeuer eateth saith he of this bread vnworthily eateth his iudgement is culpable of the body and bloud of our Lord c. As if a man should say Reus Maiestatis guiltie of high treason against the body of Christ because he hath abused his Sacramēts vnto death which were ordained for him vnto life And what is there more ordinarie in the Scripture then to vse the words of eating drinking spiritually As where wisedome it selfe saith Such as eate of me Ecclesiast 14. Iohn 7. shall further hunger after me and they which drinke of me shall still thirst after me Where our Lord the true and essentiall wisedome crieth Jf any man thirst let him come vnto me and drinke And particularly in the Paschall Lambe a figure correspondent to the holy supper were not these verie words which they call Sacramentall Verba inquam concepta This bread is the bread of miserie which our Fathers did eate in Egypt He that is hungrie let him come and eate c. But the absurditie of this pretended literall construction and yet altogether figuratiue improper and verie straunge shall be better knowne by the touch and triall of the same where wee shall see how that it destroyeth the nature of all the Sacraments of those of the new Testament yea euen the supper celebrated by our Lord with his Apostles how that it destroyeth the humane nature of Christ and offereth violence vnto his diuine nature and in a word how that it ouerthroweth the analogie of faith the consent of the holy Scriptures the Creede of the Apostles together withall the rest of the most firme and infallible points of Diuinitie which we purpose to handle briefely from point to point CHAP. III. That the interpretation and Exposition which our Aduersaries make of the words of the holy Supper doth ouerthrow all the foundations of the Christian faith as also the nature of Christ and of his Sacraments FIrst and principally That Transubstantiation doth destroy the nature of euery sacrament Transubstantiation destroyeth the nature of euerie Sacrament for euerie Sacrament consisteth of a signe and a thing signified both which abide and continue whole and intire in such sort as that it is not possible that the one can be the other neither any part of the other and notwithstanding they depend the one vppon the other they cannot bee well weighed and considered the one without the other But it destroyeth the nature of the bread In the signe the signe and seale of his bodie the nature of the wine the signe and seale of the bloud of our Lord either by changing and altering of them or else by making them nothing worth or by reducing them as others say into the first matter from substances into accidents contrarie to all nature yea contrarie to the Law of the Sacraments it selfe which made choice of signes proportionable to the things signified as they rained Manna to the bread of life which came downe from heauen Water which washeth away corporall spottes to the righteous bloud which cleanseth and taketh away the spirituall bread and wine which nourish and maintaine this life to the body and bloud of Christ which doe sustaine and feed vs vnto eternall life Roundnesse whitenesse moystnesse and rednesse which they giue vs for signes what analogie haue they with the spirituall nourishment Or the accidents with the substance And in stead of deeper and deeper setling vs in faith what is it that they are able to beget in vs but new forged opinions and vaine fantasies Let vs take from Baptisme water the signe of this liuing water of the holy Ghost which washeth our soules Mich. 7. yea saith the Prophet which drowneth and swalloweth vp our iniquities and what maner of doctrine remaineth there behind Take away bread in the holy supper Nehem 9. Psalme 70. Iohn 6. Apocal. the signe of that bread of heauen of the bread of life which giueth life vnto the world Wine the signe of the bloud of the Lambe wherein wee are to wash our garments wherewith wee likewise comfort our soules both the one and the other signes of our vnion in as much as they are made of many cornes kneaded and troden out into one and what doctrine or instruction will there bee then left for vs behind What proportion is there betwixt these accidents and our life Not that verily of our soule onely but that also of our body In the second place In the thing what shall I say of the thing signified How doe they handle it The thing signified is the body bloud of Christ it is Christ himselfe But wherefore was hee giuen in the holy Supper Verily saith he To giue life vnto the world And to what world Verily vnto them whome hee hath drawne out of and saued from the world To them saith hee Which belieue in him which abide in him To them saith the Apostle In whose hearts he dwelleth To them saith S. Augustine Which are his members and not to any others What iniurie then and wrong dooth Transubstantiation offer vnto our Lord vnto this precious pearle of the Gospell which giueth the same to hypocrites and vnbelieuers which casteth the same to Dogges and Swine in such sort as that they regard or looke after nothing else but that they haue a mouth to cast it into and a stomacke to swallow it downe into Can these courses bee maintained either by the scriptures or yet by the old church wee say of euery Sacrament that the signe which is called ordinarily the Sacrament may be receiued of all but the thing of the Sacrament res Sacramenti of the faithfull and beleeuers onely And as for that due regard and consideration which is to be had of the holie Supper the word of the sonne of God is expreslie laide downe concerning the same This is my bodie which is giuen for you my bloud which is shed for your sins He giueth them not for meat and food but to such as for whome it is shed as for whom it is broken that is to say which are effectually redeemed and by consequent his members And thus saith Origen Orig. in Mat. c. 11. That of this true and verie meat of this word made flesh no wicked or vngodly man can eate because saith he that it is the worde and the bread of life because that hee that eateth this bread liueth for euer Saint Cyprian Cypr. l. de Caen. Domini August tract 26. in Ion. That although that the Sacraments bee suffered to be taken and handled by such as are vnworthie yet they cannot bee partakers of the spirit that is to say of
because of his blessing of it but not to be adored or worshipped as his essence or proper person In like manner none of all the East churches did euer admit adoration neither those that are vnder the gouernment and iurisdiction of the Patriarke of Constantinople Aluares nor those vnder the iurisdiction of Antioch And the Abyssines also at this day do receiue the communion standing though that with great reuerence and besides though they bee of the same iudgement with vs in the adoration and worship due to our Lord whom S. Iohn say the fathers worshipped and adored being as yet in the virgines wombe whom saith a certaine writer if the doctrine of transubstantiation had place the Church should haue in like manner worshipped in the stomackes of the Ministers and faithfull people and euery man in his neighbour But this thing neuer came into the mind of any man once to thinke or imagine What shall we say The old writers did not call the Sacrament their Lord. Cypr serm de laps when furthermore they labour to bring credite vnto the same from antiquitie as though the old writers had called the Sacrament Their Lord and their God But let vs see with what pretence or shadow of truth S. Cyprian reporteth that it came to passe in his time that a certaine man who had renounced God for feare of persecution taking the holy communion in the companie of Christians opening his hand found the sacrament turned into ashes This miracle saith he may be a lesson vnto vs that the Lord withdraweth himselfe when men denie him that is to say that he forsaketh them which renounce him They gather notwithstanding that the Lord of whome he speaketh is the Sacrament The Lord verily forsaketh such a one as denyeth him Is it then the Sacrament which hath denied him or man Verily man and not the Sacrament And God then doth not here forsake the Sacrament but man But God for an euident signe that he hath forsaken man doth also leaue him destitute of the Sacrament Paul Diacon l. 15. So as Deuterius an Arrian Bishop would haue baptised a man after his manner the water dried vp sodainly in the font Saint Cyprian might here haue said as before That God did teach vs thereby that he did withdraw himselfe that is to say that he would take away his grace when we abused it but he had not therefore gathered thereof that the water was God because he had shewed his wrathfull indignation in drying it vp Cypr. in orat Domin Again We beg and craue saith S. Cyprian that our bread that is to say Christ may be giuen vs euerie day And who doubteth that Christ is our bread the bread come downe from heauen which giueth life to the world that he may be our life our way c. But S. Cyprian saith not that the Sacrament is Christ but the wordes that follow doe make him plaine To the end saith hee that wee may dwell and liue in Christ and that we may not at any time seperate and put our selues farre away from his sanctification and bodie But this abode and dwelling as he told vs is made by faith This coniunction is not a mixture of substances Idem serm de caena Domin Se infundit Tertul. de baptism but an agreement of wils c. But they yet set his words further on the racke causing him to call it God For say they hee saith That by an vnspeakeable manner the diuine essence is infused into the Sacrament Therefore it is God And then also we will call the water in baptisme God For Tertullian saith That the holy Ghost descendeth from the father and resteth himselfe vpon the waters of baptisme Saint Ambrose That the whole Trinitie sanctifieth them Paulinus in his verses That this water doth euen conceiue God Augu. de baptism cont Donat l. 3. c. 10. l 1. c. 19. Câ—pr de vnct chrysmat or by God Saint Augustine That God is present with his word and Sacraments And there is not one amongst vs that doubteth thereof yet what one amongst them all is there that wil say that the water is God What is meant then by that which S. Cyprian saith The diuine power is shed vpon the visible Sacrament Verily the same which he saith in an other place In the Sacramentes the diuine power doth worke most mightily and powerfully the truth is present with the signe Adest signo and the spirit with the Sacrament c. Chrysostome Let vs draw neere vnto the body of our Lord with honor and cleannesse And when thou shalt see it proposed or set vpon the Table say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith he and not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in thy selfe and not to the Sacrament not to that which thou seest set before thee for the Grammaticall construction will not suffer it because of this body I am not any more earth and ashes c. Of this body towards whom he exhorted vs in the sentences going before to flie vp on high after the manner of Eagles Of that body then which is at the right hand of the father not in the hands of the Minister Of that body in a word which is not inclosed in the bread but signified by the bread whereof hee hath said vnto thee before What signifieth the bread The body of Christ. And indeed he speaketh vnto thee to come vnto the Sacrament with reuerence but to GOD with feruencie of loue and firmenesseof faith And that thou shouldest set before thy selfe in the same at that instant thine owne miserie and his mercie that so thou maist bee a worthie partaker of this misterie Thy myserie in that thou art nothing but earth and ashes his mercie in that hee vouchsafeth to raise these ashes vnto glorie Thy miserie in that thou art nothing but sinne and corruption his mercie in that hee hath made his owne Sonne sinne for thee in that hee hath giuen his body to bee broken and his bloud to bee shed for thy transgressions And therefore comming vnto this Sacrament of the remembrance of his death August aduer Iudae c. 1. thou oughtest of good right say vnto him Because of this body I am no more earth and ashes But to approach or drawe neere thereunto saith Saint Augustine is to belieue The true and proper approaching is performed by the heart and not by the flesh by the power of faith Idem de peccat merit l. 1. c. 18. and not by the presence of the body c. As likewise to vs of Baptisme We are carried to Christ our Physition that wee may receiue the Sacrament of eternall saluation that is carried to Christ in Baptisme after the same manner that wee approach and draw neere vnto God in the Sacrament of the Eucharist who also saith the same vnto vs in the hearing of the word Chrysost hom 12. de mulier Cananaea Draw neere vnto him which is preached vnto
the vncertaintie of their doctrine as also of the spirite of lying raigning amongst them In the meane time heare them speake They iarre about a controuersie which is betwixt Luther and Caluin thinking to cloake and conceale such a multitude of contrarieties as are amongst themselues And thus when they haue cast about euerie way The Schoolemen shew that they are forced by the authority of the decrees of Lateran Hugo Card. in Mat. c. 26. in Marc. c. 14. in Luc. c. 26 now at the last they breake out and say that it is the Councell of Lateran or rather the tirannie of the Pope that tyeth their tongues like prisoners and not the concluding of their pretended reasons Cardinall Hugo in his perpetuall Postill swimmeth betwixt the truth and the errours of that time as well as hee can Hee blesseth sayeth hee but hee sticketh long in the bringing forth of the wordes of blessing as hauing purposed to accommodate himselfe to the opinion then receiued to which ende hee bringeth forth foure constructions of this texte and those verie diuerse Fregit hee brake that is to say Frangendum in cruce signauit hee signified that his bodie should bee broken vpon the Crosse Accipite take that is said hee by belieuing with the heart and confesting with the mouth Comedite eate that is by ioyning your selues to him in loue and vnitie This is my bodie this is my bloude that is that I haue giuen you for meate which I haue giuen you for drinke according to that sayeth he which hee sayeth in Saint Iohn 6. My flesh is truely meate and my bloud is truely drinke Now it is so that our aduersaries vnderstand it of the spirituall eating And afterwarde saith hee To whome giueth hee it Verily vnto his disciples His disciples and not others haue right to eate and drinke it they which go and sitte downe in his schooles that ruminate his lessons of humilitie of mildnesse gentlenesse charitie c. And yet in the meane time hee letteth not after all this to winde himselfe here and there within the errours of the time Thom. 3. p. Summ q. 76. art 1. Damasc l 4. c. 4. Thomas after hee hath spent all his breath about the prouing of the doctrine of Transubstantiation turneth backe at the last to approue of Damascen his opinion The coale is not of simple woode but it is vnited to the fire so the breade of the Communion is not simple breade but bread vnited to the diuinitie And wee agree to him if hee meane a Sacramentall vnion if hee meane that it is said of the breade This is my bodie which is giuen for you In like manner as it is saide of the cole This hath touched thy lippes therefore thine iniquitie shall go away and propitiation shall bee made for thy sinnes For hee woulde not haue it meant of any hypostaticall thing Bonau in l. 4. Sent. d. 8. d. 1. q. 3. Bonauenture doth flatly deny euerie part of Thomas his exposition That the bread was the bodie of Christ at such time as our Lord vttered these wordes This is my bodie Againe they hold it for an errour That grace is essentially contained in the Sacraments as the medicine in the boxe but they hold that it is in them in as much as they do signifie shadow it out Now the bodie of Christ vpon their consciences is it without grace That grace notwithstanding is in them if the default be not on the behalfe of the party that communicateth Could he deliuer his mind in better tearmes that the bodie of Christ is not receiued but by the faithfull And his conclusion vrgeth the matter yet further Thus vnderstanding saith he that the grace is in the soule and not in the visible signes that is to say that the effect of the Sacrament is wrought in our soules by the operation of the holy Ghost and not any miracle in the substances of the bread and the wine The same vppon the worde Eate Eating saith hee is properly found to haue respect vnto corporall thinges and from thence is translated vnto those that are spirituall And therefore if we will take well the right spirituall eating it is necessarie that wee should go from the proper signification of the word Idem in l. 4. d. 9. q 1. Scot. l. 5. Rep. in 4. Sent. d. 10 q. 1. vnto the borrowed and translated And so by this meanes he acknowledgeth a figure therein And note that hee was both a gray fryer and a Cardinall Iohn Duns saith Scotus neere hand 100. yeares after the Councell of Lateran durst bee so bold as to call the matter in question againe If the bodie of Christ bee really contained vnder the kindes and reasoneth by argument that it is not And his groundes are Idem d. 11. q. 3 That the quantitie cannot suffer it so neither the localnesse and circumscription of place which go inseperablie and naturally with a true and naturall bodie such as is the bodie of our Lord that as a temporall thing cannot bee at diuers times together no more can a locall thing be in diuers places together And therefore that the opinion which holdeth that the bread and wine abide in their substance Idem d. 2. 3 104.20 seemeth vnto him the more probable and no lesse worthie to bee embraced c. Notwithstanding that hee holdeth himselfe to that which the Church ordained in the Councell of Lateran Because it is said that Saint Peters faith shall not faile c. Although saith hee that the wordes of the scripture might bee maintained and defended by a more easie exposition Occam in centilog theol concl 25 26. c. and in all likelihood more true Occam durst propound and set downe That the bodie of Christ is euerie where as God is euerie where and that if there were an host that did fill all the world the bodie of Christ might bee together with euerie part of the same when it should bee consecrated Directly against the Councell of Ephesus which concludeth that euerie nature should retaine such his properties as could not become really communicable from one to another And from him the Vbiquitaries of this time may seeme to haue drawne their fountaine water spring But in another place hee holdeth Idem l. 4. q. 6. that the opinion which setteth downe That the substance of bread abideth and that the bodie of Christ is coexistant with it is most probable and least subiect to inconueniences not repugnant to reason neither to the authoritie of the Bible notwithstanding that hee keepeth himselfe vnto the determination of the Church and such opinion as is most commonly receiued Durand de S. port in l 4. Sent. d. 11. Gulielmus Durandus of Saint Poursain whome the vniuersitie of Sorbone calleth Magister by the way of excellencie and the most resolute Doctor and that more wisely It is rashnesse saith hee to say that the bodie of Christ by the