vnto him and also for to speake and intreate for vs then the blessed virgin Marie his mother then his holy Apostles and Martyrs whiche haue all shed their blood for the maintenaunce of his trueth Doe we not reade that Adoniah did sende Bethsabe vnto Salomon her sonne for to intreate for hym Againe when Absalon was fled by reason of the shamefull murther that he had committed was not he reconciled againe vnto Kyng Dauid his father by the meanes of Ioab the chief Capitaine of the Kinges armie and by the wise talke of a woman of Thecua Be not these sufficient examples for to proue that wee ought not to come vnto Christe who is suche a mightie kyng and whom we offende so many waies without intercessours aduocates and mediatours These be the gaie painted reasons wherewith they dasell the eyes of the ignoraunt people Whiche séeme at the firste to be of some importaunce and waight but if they be duely examined and tried with the touchestone of Gods worde they shal be founde to be méere deceytes But or I proceede any further I will shewe what their intent is ▪ and that the chief and principal marke that they shoote at is to make themselues intercessours aduocates and mediatours betwixt the sainctes and vs For if we be once brought into that beléefe that we may not come vnto Christe nor direct our praiers vnto hym excepte we haue the Sainctes for our mediatours aduocates and intercessours wee shall also at length suffer our selues to be perswaded that we are not worthy to praie our selues vnto the saintes but that we must haue Monkes Fréers Nonnes and Priestes for to be mediatours betwixt them and vs And for this cause as we see daiely by experience doeth the poore simple and ignoraunt people bryng Golde and Siluer vnto them euen as thei that haue any thyng to doe in the Lawe be wont to offer giftes and presentes vnto Lawyers for to haue their matter to be discussed and heard Whereby we may knowe and see what the offpryng and originall of the inuocation of Sainctes is And that the couetousnes of Priestes is the mother and Nurce of all Idolatrie and superstition I do not denie but that we haue a commaundement to praie one for a nother whiles wee are yet in this life but yet we ought not to make marchaundise of our prayers or to thynke that they can haue any effect but only by the intercession of our Sauiour Iesu Christe or that we muste direct them to any other but to hym onely for to haue them offered vnto the father For we haue neither commaundement nor example in all the Scriptures that we shoulde direct our praiers vnto dead Sainctes For it might be that we shoulde call vpon many whom we knowe not whether thei be Sainctes or not or whether they be in Heauen or in Hell. But we are sure that our Sauiour Christe is in heauen Againe although we were neuer so sure that they bee in Heauen yet can no man tell whether they knowe what we doe here in this world or not whether they heare vs and be able to helpe vs or not For we learne rather the contrary in the Scriptures then otherwise But he whom we ought to direct our praiers vnto muste haue all these properties yea we must be assured and certified in our consciences that hee hath them els we shall neuer be quiet in our myndes Firste he muste bee of power and ablenesse to helpe and ayde vs I meane to graunt vs our petitiō and request For what should it auaile vnto vs to praie vnto one that were not able to helpe and aide vs Secondly he must be willyng to helpe aide and succour vs For what profite were it vnto vs if he were able to helpe vs a thousande tymes if he woulde not doe it Thirdly he must be such a one as can heare our praiers when soeuer they be made For what shoulde benifite vs though he were neuer so able to ayde and helpe vs if he could not heare our praiers what could also his good will helpe vs Fourthly hee muste be of abilitie to heare the praiers of all men in the worlde though thei should all praie together in one instaunce and minute of an houre For else he might bee letted from hearyng of our praiers by the praiers of other men and so many tymes we should praie in vaine bicause that geuyng eares to the petitions of other men he could not heare vs Last of al he must be such a one as knoweth better our neede necessitie then we our selues are able to declare But where shall we finde any either in heauen or in earth that hath all these properties but God alone and his sonne Iesus Christ our Lorde Therefore I maye boldly conclude that we ought to directe our petitions and praiers onely to God and to his only begotten sonne our Lorde and sauiour who is the onely meane and waie for to come vnto God the father Truely I would faine knowe of them why we should be more afraied to come vnto Christe then vnto any other Is there any that is mightier and wiser or more bounteous and mercifull then he is He biddeth all come to hym that be heauie laden and he will refreshe them and ease them Shall one synnes let vs to come vnto him Yes forsoothe say thei For it is written that God heareth not sinners But Christ is true and naturall God Ergo sithe that we are synners he will not heare vs except we haue some intercessours and mediatours to speake and intreate for vs. Because that thei haue alwaies in their mouthes this saiyng of the blinde man whom beyng thus borne Christe had made to see I would wishe all men to marke diligently all the circumstaunces of the place out of the which thei alledge this saiyng for there thei shall see that the Scribes and Pharisées went aboute to perswade the poore blinde man whom our sauiour Christe had made to see that Christe was a despiser of God and of his holie Lawes and ordinaunces and that therefore he was not of god This poore séelie soule then in the defence of our Sauiour Christe did bryng in this saiyng God heareth not synners As if he should haue saied if he that hath healed me were suche an vngodly persone as ye would make him that is to saie a despiser of God and of his holy statutes and ordinaunces then would not God haue heard hym but GOD did heare hym and did make me who was borne blinde from my mothers wombe to sée by the meanes of him therefore he is no suche abhominable synner as ye woulde make hym Whereby we maie gather that there bee twoo maner of synners some there be that be obstinate synners whiche doe moste vngodlie despise bothe God and his woorkes and also contemne his lawes and statutes of such doth the blinde man speake in that
our mediatours of intercession I woulde faine knowe of them where they learne this in the holy Scriptures and worde of god I am moste sure that as they cannot finde in all the Scriptures that we ought to praie vnto the dead sainctes So shall they finde that Christ is there appointed to be our aduocate and intercessour euen after his glorious resurrection and ascension when he had alreadie performed all maner of thynges that parteine to our saluation and to the redemption of all mankynde For S. Paule saieth It is Christe whiche is dead yea rather whiche is risen againe whiche is also on the right hande of God and maketh intercession for vs And to the Hebrues he saith plainely that Christ our soueraigne Bishop and high priest liueth for euer for to make intercession for vs Else what should his continuall appearyng before the face of God for vs whereof he speaketh in the ninth Chapiter of this same epistle profit or auaile vnto vs Againe Sainct Iohn the Euangeliste who did write his Epistles a greate while after Christes ascension when our attonement was already made and our peace fully purchased doth sende vs to none other aduocate but only to Iesus christ the righteous He saith not there in that place If any of you do sinne ye shal haue me who am the deare beloued disciple of Christ and did sleepe vpon his brest to be your aduocate vnto the virgin Marie his mother whom he did commit vnto me and whiche dyd loue me so well that she toke me for her sonne Againe he doth not say Get you to the virgin Marie or to my felowes the Apostles or to the Patriarkes and Prophetes â–ª that be alreadie dead and in glorie with God but putting him selfe in the number of sinners he saieth If we haue sinned we haue an aduocate with the father Iesus Christe the righteous He had not forgotten the wordes of his maister whiche he him selfe had set foorth by writyng For Iesus Christ did not say All that ye shall aske my father in the name of my mother or of the Patriarches and Prophetes or of myne Apostles and Disciples it shal be geuen vnto you but he saieth Whatsoeuer ye shall aske the father in my name it shal be geuen vnto you And S. Paul doth not only testifie vnto vs that he did in the time of his flesh offer vp prayers supplications with strong crying and teares and that he was hearde but also he doth write as it hath been alredie aleaged that he is on the right handâ— of God where he doeth incessantly make intercession for vs. Moreouer where S. Paul doth say â–ª that there is one mediatour of God and men whiche is that man Iesus Christ hath he not a respect vnto the prayers that he had spoken of before For after that he had sayde that we must pray for all men for a confirmation of that saying he addeth by and by that there is one God and one mediatour And none otherwise doth S. Augustine expounde it when he saith Christian men do pray one for another in their prayers But he for whom no man doth pray but he for all men is the onely and true mediatour Paul the Apostle although he were a chiefe member vnder the head yet because that he was a member of the body of Christe and did knowe that the high and true priest of the Church was entred not into the holy places that be made with handes which were but similitudes of true thinges but into very heauen he doeth also commende hymselfe vnto the praiers of the faithfull Paulus non facit se mediatorâ—m inter populum deum sed rogat vt prose orâ—nt inuicem omnia membra corporis Christi Paul maketh not hymselfe a mediatour betwéene God and the people but requireth that thei praie all one for a nother beyng all the members of the body of Christ bicause that the members are carefull one for another and if one suffereth thei doe all suffer with it And set the mutuall praiers of al the members that be yet here labouring vppon the earth ascende vp vnto the head which is gone before into heauen In whom is the satisfaction for our synnes For if Paule were mediatour the other Apostles also shoulde be mediatours and so there shoulde be many mediatours Neither coulde the reason of Paule stande where he saieth For there is one God one mediatour of God and men that man Iesus Christe in whom we are also one if wee keepe the vnitie of faith in the bonde of peace Haec Augustinus c. And in another place hee saieth these wordes At verò sacerdotem si requiras super caelos est interpellat pro te qui in terra mortuus est prote But if thou seeke for the Priest he is aboue in heauen where he maketh intercession for thee which vpon the earth died for thee Here any man may sée if he wyll sée at least howe substantiall their distinction is and what grounde it hath in the scriptures worde of god Besides all this I might reason against them vpon the right vnderstanding of this word Intercession whiche among the Latines signifieth nothing els but the letting of a matter that it goeth not forwardes When we say then that Christe maketh intercession for vs our meaning is that that he doth by the merites of his death passion and bloodshedding let or stop the wrath and vengeaunce of God that it beÌ„ not powred vpon vs for our filthy sinnes and offences Againe we say that he maketh intercession for vs when he suffereth not the ears of the father to be stopped vnto our prayers but causeth them to be hearde and accepted And it is a maner of speaking borowed of the auncient Romanes For when the Consules and Senatours of Rome went about to make any decrée or lawe that did séeme to be preiudicial and hurtfull vnto the common weale then the officers of the people called Tribunes were woont to let that decrée or lawe that it should not go forwardes and thereof did come intercessio Tribunorum that is to say a let or prohibition of the Tribunes that some matter might not go forwardes Euen so that almightie and most righteous God the father of sauiour Iesu Christ hath euery day and euery houre â–ª a most iust occasion by reason of our detestable enormities to destroy vs both bodyes and soules and by his determinate decrée and sentence to condemne vs to the euerlastyng punishmentes of hell fire But we haue in the Senate house of heauen a most mightie aduocate which doth continually appeare before the face of God for vs that so he may by his omnisufficient intercession stop this determinate decrée and sentence of that righteous iudge that it do not proceede and go forward against vs. But what if any man besides the Tribunes had taken vpon him or presumed in the olde Senate
that Moyses did passe all men in humanitie gentlenesse and mercie The meanyng of the Prophete then is this that God was so offended with the people that he woulde not spare them though Moyses and Samuell whose praiers he was want to heare aboue all other should make intercession for them The like in a maner haue we in the Prophete Ezechiell where the Lorde speaketh on this maner If Noah Daniell and Iob were in the Citie as truely as I liue they shall deliuer neyther sonnes nor daughters but saue their owne soules in their righteousnesse As if he should saie though Noah Daniell and Iob were then aliue againe thei should not deliuer their owne sonnes and daughters but should saue onely their owne liues in their righteousnes my wrath and indignation is so kindeled against that stiffenecked people And so the afore alledged place of Ieremiah ought to be vnderstanded For the wordes are as muche as if he should saie Though Moyses and Samuell were nowe aliue and shoulde stande before me makyng intercession for this people as thei were wont to doe yet would I not for their sakes withdrawe my plagues from this wicked and frowarde generation I woulde not heare them nor geue eare vnto their praiers but woulde in my furie vtterly destroie this rebellious and stiffe-necked people Reade and marke diligently the circumstaunces of both places and ye shall finde that it is the true sence and meanyng of them As for the place that thei doe bryng out of Genesis saiyng that Iacob doth pray that his name and the name of his forefathers Abraham and Isaac may he called vpon his posteritie It helpeth their matter nothyng at all For the meanyng of the holy Patriarche is not that his posteritie should call vpon him or vpon his forefathers Abraham and Isaac for helpe and succour but that his posteritie might be named after hym and also after Abraham and Isaac thereby to declare that the coueuaunt that God had made with Abraham Isaac and Iacob dyd parteine vnto them And therefore whensoeuer the faithfull Israelites did make their praiers vnto God they did alwaies beseche hym to remember his seruauntes Abraham Isaac and Iacob puttyng hym in remembraunce of the couenaunte wherein he had promised that he woulde for Abraham Isaac and Iacbos sake shewe mercie fauour vnto them But howe litle they dystruste in the merites and intercessions of their forefathers it is easy to see in the prophete Esay for there the whole Churche crieth out saiyng Abraham knoweth vs not neither is Israell acquainted with vs But thou lorde arte our father and redéemer Therefore be at one with vs againe for thy Seruauntes sake that are of the generation of thine heritage To be shorte whensoeuer they did name in their praiers their forefathers Abraham Isaac and Iacob it was not for any helpe that they looked to haue at their handes but for to put God in remembraunce of the couenaunt that he had made with them and with their posteritie for euer But nowe that we haue our Sauiour Iesus Christe in whose blood the couenaunt is both established and sealed vp In whose name should we set foorth or offer vp our praiers vnto God but in his only Moreouer that same maner of phrase that Iacob did vse is often times founde in the scriptures as when Esay saieth Then shall seuen women take holde of one man and saie wee wyll laie all our meate and clothyng together in commune Tantum nomen tuum innocetur super nos Only that thy name maie be called vpon vs that is to saie onely let vs be called thy wiues or after thy name that yet it maye be saide that we are suche a mans wiues They be also wont to bryng in the dreame of Iudas Machabeus whiche is made mention of in the Machabees where it is written that Iudas Machabeus did shewe vnto his Souldiers that he had séene in a dreame Onias Ieremiah holdyng vp their handes towardes heauen and praiyng for the people Doth not this saie they proue sufficiently that the dead sainctes doe praie for vs First I doe aunswere that the booke out of the which this place is alledged is not authentike nor yet Canonicall as Sainct Hierome proueth All men maie see what aucthoritie that booke ought to haue in thinges that perteine to our saluation For firste of all they cannot denie but that it is an abridgement of fiue bookes that one Iason Cireneus had written which whether he was a Iewe or a gentile no man is able to tell For the booke was set out and written in the Gréeke tongue and not in the Hebrewe Moreouer whā the holy ghoste doth set foorth any thing vnto vs for an infallible doctrine or an vndoubted trueth he is not wont to vse any excuse as the authour of this booke doth Last of al what wisedome were it to grounde any doctrine parteinyng vnto the faith vpon a dreame did hee not thinke also in his sleepe that Ieremie did deliuer him a golden swoorde yet when he awoke he had no suche thyng I might therefore conclude that as Ieremiah did deliuer hym a golden swoorde so he with Onias dyd praie for the people But Ieremiah did deliuer hym no swoorde in deede but only in a dreame Whereby it foloweth that the prayng of Onias and of Ieremiah was dreamishe also But let vs graunte that it was so as Iudas Machabeus did dreame yet we doe not reade that Iudas Machabeus and his hoast did by and by direct their praiers vnto them or that thei dyd desire them to praie and make intercession for the hoastes of the Israelites whiche shoulde within a whyle ioyne in battaile with the hoastes of the enimies But we reade that thei al praied with their Captaine vnto God saiyng O lorde thou that diddest sende thyne Angell in the tyme of Ezechiah kyng of Iuda in the host of Sennacherib didst slea an hundred fourscore and fiue thousandes sende nowe also thy good Angell before vs O Lorde of Heauens in the fearefulnes and dread of thy mightie arme that they which come against thy holy people to blaspheme them may be afraide Here maie we sée that Iudas Machabeus notwithstanding his gaie dreame did trust onely in the Lorde vnto whom onely his praiers he directed and not vnto Oniah nor yet vnto Ieremiah folowing in this the example of all the holy Patriarches and Prophetes that were before hym They do so abhominably wreast all the other places of the Scriptures whiche they be wont to alledge for the mainteinyng of their Idolatrous inuocation of Sainctes that a man will be ashamed to stande in the confutyng of them All their refuge at length is that the sainctes were hearde whiles they were aliue For it is written Our Fathers called vpon thée were helped they trusted in thée were not confounded If say they they were hearde when they were yet compassed about with
infirmities how muche more are thâ—â— now hearde beyng in glorie with God How muche better did the blessed Apostle Saincte Iames reason when he did saie Helias was a man mortall euen as we are and he praied in his praier that it might not raine and it rained not on the earth by the space of three yeres and sixe monethes And he praied againe and the heauens gaue raine Doe we not rather learne by their example to praie boldely vnto God though we be compassed about with infirmitie as they were then otherwise The holy prophete Dauid doeth not saie that the fathers were hearde bicause that they praied to any of the Patriarches that were before them but bicause that they praied vnto God and trusted in him The same selfe lesson doth Iames geue vnto vs. Let vs therefore â–ª folowe their examples and we shal be hearde as they were As the arme of God is not shortened since so his mercie is not waxen lesse He is as readie nowe to heare them that call vppon hym in truth and veritie as he was then Haue we not besides al this a mediatour an aduocate that appeareth continually in the sight of God for vs It is vnpossible then but that we shal be hearde whensoeuer we call faithfully vpon our heauenly Father through our onely Mediatour and Aduocate Iesu Christ our Lorde ¶ The .xxviij. Chapiter ¶ How and wherein wee ought to honour the Sainctes NOwe when thei haue nothyng to saie for their inuocations to deade sainctes beyng conuinced by the holie scriptures thei crie out and saie beholde these newe preachers dishonoureth defaceth spoileth maketh none accompt of the holie and blessed sainctes in heauen and especially thei dishonor the blessed virgine Marie the sweete mother of Christe Iesus to whom was more grace giuen then to any other creature and maketh no more of her then of another woman c. Belie vs not ye papistes for we giue to them that honour as we are commaunded in the holie scriptures to giue them And therefore sainct Cyrill saieth very truely At sanctos Martyres neque deos èsse dicimus neque adorare consueuimus laudamus autem eos potius summis honoribus quod pro veritate straenue certarunt fidei synceritatem seruarunt that is to saie in Englishe But neither we saie that the holie Martyres are Gods neither haue we vsed to worshippe or honour them but wee rather praise them with greate reuerence for that thei haue striued earnestly for the truthe and haue kepte the sinceritie of the faithe of Christe And Saincte Augustine sheweth also howe we must honour them saiyng Honorandi ergosunt propter imitationem non adorandi propter religionem The sainctes are to bee reuerenced and worshipped for imitation that is to followe their godly doinges and conuersation and not to honour them for any religion to make them our Gods or aduocates and to haue our confidence in them this kinde of honour wée giue to the sainctes and none other And wheras you saie there was more grace giuen to Marie then to any other creature because she was the mother of Christe You maie also learne in the booke of God to bee the childe of God is a greate deale greater grace then to bee the mother of Christe Therefore sainct Augustine saieth Beatior ergo Maria fuit Percipiendo fidem Christi quam concipiendo carne Christi Materna propinquitas nihil Mariâ— profuisseâ— nisi faelicius Christum corde quà m carne gestasset Marie was more blessed in that she receiued the faithe of Christ then in that she conceiued the fleshe of Christe Motherly kindrede could haue doest Marie no good vnlesse she had borne Christ more blessedly in her hart then she bare him in her fleshe And in an other place he saieth Mater mea quam appellastis faelicem inde felix est quiâ— verbum dei custodiuit non quia in illa verbum caro factum est My mother whom ye haue called blessed therefore is blessed because she hath kepte the worde of God not because the worde in her was made fleshe Therefore Epiphanius saieth Christe saied vnto his mother woman what haue I to doe with thee My houre is not yet come Lest any man shoulde thinke our Ladie was of greater excellencie he called her woman as it were prophesiyng of the kindes and sectes of heresies that were to come in the worlde lest any man hauyng to greate opinion of that holie Saincte should fall into this heresie and into the dotage of the same For in deede the whole matter is but a mockerie and an olde wiues tale and sothely to saie nothyng els but the handelyng of an heresie Therefore Origene saieth Si mensuram transcenderit charitatis qui diligit qui diligitur in peccato est If loue passe the measure of charitie aswell he that loueth as also he that is loued is in synne The saied Epyphanius saieth further Let no man eate saieth he of this errour touching saint Marie for though the tree bee faire yet is not this fruite to be eaten Although Marie bee beautifull and holie and honourable yet is not she to bee adoured But these women worshippyng Saincte Marie renue againe the Sacrifice of wine mingled in the honour of the Goddes Fortuna and prepare a table for the deuill and not for God as it is written in the Scriptures thei are fedde with the meate of wickednesse And againe their women boult flower and their childreÌ„ gather stickes to make fine cakes in the honour of the Queene of heauen Therefore let suche women bee rebuked by the Prophete Hieremie and let them no more trouble the worlde And let them not saie we worship the Queene of heauen Thus he applied the wordes of the Prophete vnto the virgine Marie beyng Idolatrously abused by the heretiques called Collyridiani as she and other Sainctes are by the Papistes abused now in these daies This shall now suffice for to proue that Christ our Sauiour touchyng his manhoode whiche he did take of vs is and shal be vnto the worldes ende in heauen on the right hande of the father that is to saie in felicitie ioye and glorie beyng exalted aboue the heauens made lorde ouer all creatures bothe in heauen and in earth and hauyng receiued a name that passeth all the glorie that man can reporte And that as heauen muste holde hym vnto the tyme of the restitution of all thynges that God hath spoken by the mouthe of his holie Prophetes since the worlde began beyng neuerthelesse here among vs touchyng his diuinitie and godheade and feedyng vs by his eternall spirite and by the veritie of his holie institution and ordinaunce with the heauenly foode of his precious bodie and blood so he doth appeare alwaies in the sight of God for vs beyng an omnisufficiente intercessour aduocate and mediatour betwixte God and man so that we neede not to goe vnto
vnto it and beleued that thei should bee saued by the blessed promised seede haue all entered into the heaueÌ„ly ioye whiche hath been purchased vnto them and vs by our sauiour Iesus Christe And for thy better learnyng good reader marke this what I saie Although our Sauiour Christe hath been offered vp vpon the Crosse for to make satisfaction vnto the righteousnes of God for vs at the tyme that was appoincted him of the father yet was he slaine and offered in the presence of God froÌ„ the beginnng of the world For it is written The Lambe was slaine from the beginning of the world Againe Iesus Christe yesterdaie and to daie the same also is for euer In this the Apostle coÌ„prehendeth all the whole tyme passed â–ª presente and to come Iesus hym self had respecte hereto when he saied your father Abraham reioyced to see my daie and he sawe it and was glad Uerely verely I saie vnto you before Abraham was I am that is to say not onely God but the mediatour betwene GOD and man appoincted from before all eternitie For although in respect of vs he was crucified in the fulnesse of tyme and in the latter daies yet in the presence of God he hath been alwaies crucified and his Sacrifice hath been euerlastingly present with hym For in God is no difference of tyme as is in vs because that all thynges are presente vnto hym and for that he is aboue and beyonde the tyme and out of it For a thousande yeres are vnto hym but as as one daie So sainct Augustine saieth Apud deum autem nihil deest nec praeteritum igitur nec futurum sed omne praesens est apud deum That is With God there is nothing wantyng nothyng paste or to come but all thynges are presente c. Wherefore euen as the death and passion of Christe dooeth serue vs now vnto saluation whiche beleue that he hath been crucified for vs although he hangeth no more on the crosse So bee ye certaine and sure that it hath profited them â–ª that haue liued before that he was Crucified whiche beleeued that he should come and dye for them as wee dooe beleeue that he is come and hath died for vs. Therefore wee ought to acknowledge no iij. iiij.v.vj.vij.viij.ix.x or a xj places as if some soules had been lodged in hel some in Limbo some in a darke place in hell where was no paine Some in Paradise some in heauen some in earth belowe some in Purgatorie fire some in the water some in the ayre some in houses and cloisters and some in fieldes c. But notwithstandyng all these phantasies of mens deuises Christ giueth vnto them all their lodgyng either in Abrahames bosome or in the vnquencheable fire of hell that is to saie either in heauen or hell For so Augustine saieth Duâ— quippe habitâ—tiones sunt vna in igne aeterno alia in regno aeterno There are but twoo habitations one is in the euerlastyng fire of hell the other is in the euerlastyng kingdome of heauen Wherevpon wee maie gather that Christes soule wente straighte beyng separated from his bodie into heauen and not to helle For he saieth hym self to the Theife that honge on the crosse after he desired to remember hym when he came into his kyngdome to daie shalte thou bee with me in Paradise Also Christ commended his soule into the handes of his father His bodie was laied in the graue his soule was in heauen for so he saied the Theife should bee there that daie with hym c. And so he desired his father in his praier that al thei whiche his father had giuen vnto hym might bee with hym euen where hee is c. Now I maruaile what parte should goe into helle then The principalleste cause of this erroure is as I iudge for that thei thinke and suppose God the father did neuer loue vs nor fauour vs before we and thei were reconciled to hym by the death of his sonne whiche is cleane contrary For GOD the Father did with his loue preuente and goe before as the efficiente cause of our reconciliation in Christe Yea because he first loued vs therefore he afterwardes reconcileth vs vnto hym self And for this cause sainct Paule saieth God setteth out his loue towardes vs seyng that while wee were yet synners Christe died for vs And sainct Ihon saieth God so loued the worlde that he hath giuen his onely begotten sonne that who soeuer beleeueth in hym should not perishe but haue euerlastyng life For the free election of Goddes loue is the efficient cause of our Saluation Christes obeidience the materiall cause our callyng by the outwarde woorde the formall cause Our sanctification by the holie Ghoste the finall cause Herevnto agreeth that saiyng of saincte Augustine where he saieth Quapropter incomprehensibilis est dilectio qua diligit Deus neque mutabilis Non enim ex quo si reconciliati sumus per sanguinem filâ—â— eius nos caepit diligere sed ante mundi constitutionem dilexit nos vt cum eius vnigenito etiam nos filij eius essemus priusquam omnino aliquid essemus Quod ergo reconciliati sumus deo per mortem Christi non sic accipiatur quasi ideo nos reconciliauerit ei filius vt iam amare inciperet quos oderat Sed iam nos diligenti reconciliati sumus ei cum quo propter peccatum immicitias habeamus Quod vtrum verum dicam attestetur Apostolus Commendat inquit dilectionem suam deus erga nos quoniam cum adhuc peccatores essemus Christus pro nobis mortuus est habebat itaque ille erga nos charitatem etiam cum inimicitias aduersus eum exercentes operaremur iniquitatem Proinde miro diuino modo quando nos oderat dilegebat Oderat enim nos quales ipse non fecerat quia iniquitas nostra opus eius non omni ex parte consumpserat Nouerat simul in vno quoque nostrum odisse quod feceramus amare quod fecerat that is to saie in Englishe The loue of God is incomprehensible and vnchaungable For he began not to loue vs since the tyme that wee were reconciled to hym by the bloud of his sonne but before the makyng of the worlde he loued vs euen before wee were any thyng at all that wée might also bee his children with his onely begotten sonne Therefore whereas we are reconciled by the death of Christe it is not so to bee taken as though the Sonne did therefore reconcile vs vnto hym that he might now beginne to loue vs whom he hated before But wee are reconciled to hym that alreadie loued vs to whom wee were enemies by reason of synne And whether this bee true or no that I saie lette the Apostle beare witnesse He doeth commende saieth he his loue towardes vs because when we were yet sinners Christe died
confesse euen the same that our Sauiour Iesus Christe who alone by his holy spirite doeth sanctifie all men and euen the very babes in their mothers belly doeth there speake of the spirituall regeneration of man and of his newe birth declaryng what is requisite and necessarie for him for to be a christian that is to say howe that it is necessarie that he forsake his first generation and birth whiche is altogether corrupted accursed and naught and that he be regenerated and borne agayne by the spirite of God and by the incorruptible séede of his worde so that he must be made a new creature bearing the image of Iesu Christe the true heauenlye Adam as he did beare the image of the olde Adam And therefore he saith Except a man be borne a newe or from aboue he cannot see the kyngdome of god And then afterwardes he doeth expounde by an other sentence folowyng the selfe same thyng that he had saide before For to be borne a newe or from aboue and to be borne of water and the spirite are phrases and maner of speakinges whiche doe signifie all one thyng so that those two sentences of Christe doe differ in nothyng sauyng only that the last doth expounde the first beyng somewhat more ample and copious For sithe that our first generation and byrth is carnall it behoueth that the seconde be spirituall sith that the first man beyng of the earth is earthy it is requisite and necessarie that the seconde which is from heauen be heauenly and spirituall But this generation and chaunge can not be doen but by the spirite of god For as it is written in the same place That whiche is borne of the spirite is spirite And therfore our Sauiour Christ going about to expound the same vnto Nicodemus that he had saide before Excepts a man be borne a newe or from aboue he cannot sée the kingdome of God he doeth saie afterwardes Excepte that a man be borne of water and of the spirite he cannot enter into the kyngdome of God bicause that the spirite the aucthour of this generation is geuen from aboue who worketh this new birth in vs whiche is altogether heauenly and spirituall But paraduenture they wil saie what neede he to adde water was it not enough to name the spirite Unto whom I aunswere Wherefore did Iohn Baptiste saie speakyng of the office and ministerie of our Sauiour Christ that he should baptize with the holie ghost and with fire What neede had he sith that he had named the spirite to make any mention of fire Shall it therefore be necessarie to appointe a Baptisme of fire as they saie that some folke haue doen and yet doe at this presente daie Saint Augustine doth testifie that the heretiques Seleucus and Hermias who were Galatians did not baptize with water he telleth not wherwith they did baptize but other writers saie that they did baptize with fire Wee reade likewise that the Iacobites doe vse fire in the circumcision of their children wherwith they be wont to marke them either in the forehead or in the cheeke They saie also that the Indians Ethiopians and Persians whiche counte them selues to be Christians doe yet at this present tyme vse fire in stéede of water in their baptisme Which errour without all doubt did come of the false intelligence and vnderstandyng of our sauiour Christes wordes For they doe not perceiue nor vnderstande that fire is taken of our Sauiour Christe and also of Iohn Baptiste by a figuratiue maner of speakyng for the holy spirite of God that so they might the more liuely expresse the nature and propertie of the holy ghoste For as the fire is pure and cleane and can suffer no vncleannesse so the holy ghoste doth pourge and cleanse and lighten the consciences setting them on fire with the loue of God. For the whiche cause hee was sent vnto the Apostles in the likenesse of fierie tongues Which thyng was both foreséene forespoken of Iohn Baptiste and also meant by our Sauiour Christe If wee doe not sticke to take fire in that place for the holye spirite of God and for a more ample exposition and settyng foorth of his nature and properties wherfore should we sticke to take water here in this place for the same selfe spirite considering the conformity agreement and affinitie that the water hath with the nature and properties of the holy Ghoste yea all thynges beyng well considered it standeth with more reason then the other doth For Saint Iohn speaketh of the holy ghoste firste and then maketh mention of the fire Therefore a man might thinke that either he did vnderstande two seueral thynges or that he did expounde one thing that is plaine of it selfe by an other thyng whiche is obscure and darke But in this place our sauiour Christe doeth put the water first and then afterwards as though he would expound vnto vs his figuratiue maner of speakyng and geue vnto it a greater light he doeth declare what he will haue vs to vnderstande by the same water that is to saie his holy spirite vnto whom he geueth this name for many causes Firste bicause that as the fire is an Elemente exceadyng pure and cleane and so necessary for mans life that it is impossible that men might forgoe it So the water is very needefull beyng of a very cleare pure and cleane nature and verie meete for to represent and signifie the nature and properties of the holy ghost For as the water doeth renewe the earth maketh it fertile causyng it to bryng foorth fruite and doeth wash the filthinesse of the bodies so the holy ghost doth wash purifie refresh and water the hartes and consciences of men comfortyng them and also makyng them to bryng foorth pleasaunt fruictes and acceptable to God. And as water doeth put out fire and quenche the thirste so the holy Ghoste doeth quenche the fire of the euill concupiscences of the fleshe he doeth also quenche the thirste of the poore troubled soules satisfiyng them for euermore Secondly he would by this maner of speakyng make vs to vnderstande those ceremonies washynges and purifiynges that be conteined in the Lawe of Moyses and likewise those Prophecies whereby the holy ghoste was promised and specially by Esay and Ezechiell vnto whiche Prophecies he had nowe a respect Therfore he would declare vnto vs that those waters that were promised of God did signifie nothyng els but the aboundaunt giftes of the holy spirite of God which shoulde be powred vpon all flesh as a streame or flood of water that doeth run downe and ouerfloweth all the whole earth whiche thyng S. Peter doeth testifie to haue been fulfilled both in hymself and in all the other disciples of our Sauiour Christe in the feast of Whitsontide accordyng to the Prophecie of Ioell And for this cause our sauiour Iesus christ both in this place and whē he
did ouerthrowe that cruell tyraunt Pharao and also raised vp his sonne Iesu Christe from death exaltyng hym aboue all creatures If we shoulde saie that our Sauiour Christe touching his manhoode doeth sit on the right hande of God beyng taken in that sence and signification and that therefore his glorified bodie can be euery where and in all places euen as farre foorthe as the almighty power of God doeth stretche or extende then shoulde we be faine to confesse with that heretique Eutiches that the body of Christ is deified or tourned into the godhead For it is against the propertie of any creature to bee euery where or in mo places then in one at once As we may gather of the argument that Didimus doeth make for to proue the holy ghoste to be true and naturall god equall with the father and the sonne and also a Creatour and not a creature If the holy Ghoste saieth he were one of the creatures he should haue a circumscribed or limitted substance as all other thynges that be made For although the inuisible creatures are not comprehended within bondes and limittes yet by the propertie of their substaunce they are limitted but the holy ghoste though he be in many yet hath he no comprehensible subaunce And Saint Basill writeth thus The Angell that stoode by Cornelius was not all that present houre with Philip nor the angel that spake to Zacharie froÌ„ the alter did at the selfe same tyme fill his standyng or seate in heauen But we beléeue that the holy ghoste was all at one tyme with Baruch in Iurie and with Daniell in Babilon and also that he was with Ieremie in the mierie doungeon and with Ezechiel in Chobar Whervpon he doth conclude that the holy ghost is true and naturall God equal with the father and the sonne in deitie power and godhead We may sée then that it parteineth onely vnto God and to no creature whether it be in heauen or in earth to be euery where or in mo places then in one at once But I beleeue certainely that the body of Christe is a creature not onely before his death and passion but also after his ascendyng vp into heauen and that it shall continue so for euer Therefore it can bee but in one place at once And verely I do marueile that the Popecatholikes dot not see that thei do by their doctrine vpholde maintaine that abhominable herisie of Eutiches who did affirme that the maÌ„hoode of Christe was courned into his godhead so that he was no more both God and man but onely pure and perfect God his humanitie beyng cleane swalowed vp and consumed with his Godhead Whiche thyng will they nyll they they muste graunt to be true if they will haue the body of Christe to bee euery where or in mo places then in one at once whiche is against the propertie of any creature But an obiection will thei now make here thinkyng therwith to blinde all the simple and ignoraunt in the world The Godhead and manhoode of Christe saie they be so ioyntly ioyned together that thei cannot be separated one from an other but that wheresoeuer the one is there the other must be also But the godhead of Christ can be euery where and in mo places then one at once Ergo the manhoode of christ can be euery where and in mo places then one at once This cupstantiall argumente haue they alwaies in their mouthes in so muche that they be not ashamed to saie that these wordes of our sauiour Christ beholde I am with you alwaies vnto the worlds ende ought not only to be vnderstanded of his godhead but also of his manhoode though any childe in the streete may easely see that they speake directly against the meanyng of Christe and against all the olde doctours of the auncient catholike churche Of whom Saint Augustine saieth When Christ did saie ye shall not haue mée alwaies with you hee did speake of the presence of his bodie for touchyng his maiestie touchyng his power touchyng his prouidence touchyng his vnspeakeable and inuisible grace that is fulfilled which was spoken of him beholde I am with you alwaies vnto the worldes ende But touchyng his fleshe that the worde did take touchyng that that he was borne of a virgine touchyng that that he was taken of the Iewes that he was crucified that he was taken downe that he was wouÌ„de in a shéete that he was laide in the graue that he was manifested in the resurrection his saiyng is fulfilled where he saith ye shal not haue mée alwaies with you Wherfore for he was .40 daies touching the presence of his fleshe conuersaunt with his disciples and as thei accompanied him with séeyng and not with folowyng be ascended vp into heauen and is not here For there he sitteth on the right hande of the Father And yet he is here For he is not gone awaie touchyng the presence of his maiestie Otherwise wee haue alwaies Christe present with vs touching his maiestie but touchyng the presence of his fleshe it is well saide ye shall not haue mee alwaies with you For the Churche had hym fewe daies touchyng the presence of his flesh now she holdeth hym fast with faith she séeth him not with her eyes Thus farre hee What could be spoken more plainely then this is Is there any childe in the worlde that is not able to perceaue by these plaine wordes of saincte Augustine that all that they doe is a méere ingling and a manifest and open castyng of mist before the eyes of the poore ignoraunt and vnlearned people but we will heare also that good auncient Father Vigilius Martyr who writyng againste that abhominable heretike Eutiches whose disciples the Popecatholikes will bee in despite of all mens heartes doeth saie after this maner This was to goe vnto the Father and to departe awaie from vs to take awaie out of this worlde the humane nature that he had taken of vs Beholde the miracle Beholde the miâ—terie of both the properties the sonne of God touchyng his fleshe doth goe awaie from vs but touching his diuinitie hee saith vnto vs behold I am with you alwaies vnto the worlds ende Then by and by after it foloweth he is with vs and he is not with vs for whom he hath left and from whom he is gone by his manhoode them hath he not left nor forsaken touchyng his diuinitie and godhead For touchyng the shape of a seruaunt whiche he tooke awaie from vs into heauen he is absent from vs but touchyng the shape of God wherby he departeth not awaie from vs he is in the earth present vnto vs yet notwithstandyng both present and absent he is one christ and the same vnto vs. Here might I alledge Ciryll with many other of the auncient fathers that doe agree with vs in this point But these two aucthours shal suffice for to proue that these words of our Sauiour Christe beholde
I am with you alwaies vnto the worlds ende can not be vnderstanded of the naturall presence of his fleshe but of his diuinitie and godhead onely ¶ The .xiij. Chapiter ¶ Christes humane body can be but in one place at once â–ª and noâ— in many and diuers places NOW will I come to their gaie painted reason whereby they goo aboute to proue that whersoeuer the diuinitie and godhead of Christe is â–ª there muste his manhoode be also bicause that they bee so ioyntly ioyned together that thei cannot be separated one from another But I entende God willyng tâ— proue nowe â—oth by naturall reason by the Scriptures and also by the auncient Fathers that it is not the propertie and nature of those thynges that be so ioyntly ioyned together that the one can not bee separated from the other that wheresoeuer the one is there the other must be also For first and formost the body of the sonne and light of it are so ioyntly ioyned together that the one caÌ„not be separateâ— from the other yet it foloweth not that whersoeuer the light of the sonne is there the body of the sonne must be also And herevpon may I gather a goâ—â—y similitude 〈◊〉 yâ—méete for our purpose For as the Sonne 〈…〉 in the â—lement according to the order that God hath appointed among his creatures doth with his light refreshe comfort quicken and viuifie all thynges here vppon the earth so our Sauiour Christe Iesus who is the true sonne of righteousnesse beyng still vntill the tyme that GOD hath appointed on the right hand of his father touchyng his manhode that is to say aboue in heauen in the place of beatitude felicitie and ioye raigning there with the father in coequall glory and maiesty doth continually assiste ayde and comforte his Church by his holy spirite beyng alwaies present with his electe and chosen by his diuine maiestie prouidence and inuisible grace whom he doth not cease through his almightie power the spirite beyng the worker of it to féede still with the wholsome foode of his most precious fleshe and blood And yet as it were moste noysome and hurtefull vnto all the whole earth if we had here belowe the bodie of the sonne so is it not expedient that the churche and congregation of the faithfull should haue Christe still present here touchyng his humanitie and manhoode For so saieth he hymselfe It is expedient for you that I goe hence for vnlesse I goe awaie the comforter shall not come Againe they can not deny but that the eye and the sight of it be so ioyintly and inseparably ioyned together that as long as the eye is whole and sounde the one can not be separated from the other will they saie therefore that the eye is in all places that the sight doeth reache too Seueritie and mercie are in God so ioyntely ioyned together that the one cannot be separated from the other and yet they that feele his seueritie doe not feele his mercie that is to saie whom he doeth accordyng to his righteous iudgement punishe euerlastingly in hel fire them doeth hee vtterly banishe and put awaie from his bounteous goodnes and mercie But nowe will I come to the Scriptures and worde of God. When our Sauiour Christe did talke with Nicodemus where was hee touchyng his humanitie and manhood in heauen or in earth I am sure that they will not saie that he was in heauen And yet he saith No man ascendeth into heaueÌ„ but he that came downe from heauen the sonne of man that is in heauen Here do we manifestlie see that the Godhead of Christe was then in heauen and yet no man will saie that his humanitie and manhoode was there For he did then in it talke with Nicodemus here vppon the earth Againe when Lazarus was dead Christ beyng then away from Iurie did saie to his Apostles Lazarus is dead and I am glad for your sake that I was not there that ye maye beléeue Christ at the same time that he spake these words was in his humanity or manhoode conuersaunte with his Apostles out of the lande of Iurie that is to saie farre froÌ„ among the Iewes that sought his death and yet without all paraduenture he was in his Godhead present with Lazarus when he departed When that Marie Magdalene came to the graue to embalme the body of Christe did not the Angell saie vnto them non est hîc he is not here he is risen as he saide come and sée the place where the lorde was laide And beholde hee goeth into Galilée before you there ye shall see him here is plainely opened that his humaine nature was not in the Sepulchre and at Galile and doubtlesse his diuinitie and Godhead was both in the graue and at Galilée too Therefore that auncient father Fulgentius saieth Christ beyng one and the same is a locall man of man that is to saie touchyng his manhoode that he tooke of man he is conteined in place Who is God incomprehensible of the father beyng one and the same touching his humanitie or manhood was absent from heaueÌ„ when he was in earth and leauing the earth when he ascended vp into heauen but touching his incomprehensible and diuine substaunce he was not absent from heauen when he was in the earth â–ª nor forsaking the earth when he went vp into heauen And that hee might shewe vnto his Apostles that his humanitie or manhoode was locall that is to say conteyned in place he did say I go vnto my father and vnto your father Againe when he had sayde Lazarus is dead he did adde by and by And I am glad for your sake that I was not there But declaring the incomprehensiblenesse of his diuinitie or Godhead he did say Beholde I am with you alwayes vnto the worldes ende Howe did he ascende vp into heauen but that because being the same he is locall and true man And howe is he alwayes with his elect but that bicause being the same Christ he is incomprehensible and true God Wherevnto Saint Augustine doth agrée saying Doubt not but that Christ being man is there from whence he shall come to iudge the quicke and the dead Holde faithfully and beare in remembraunce the christian confession howe that he rose againe the thirde day he ascended into heauen and sitteth on the right hande of the father and that he shall come from none other place but from thence to iudge the quicke and the dead and that he shall so come the angelicall voyce testifiyng the same as he was seene to go vp into heauen that is to say in the same shape and substaunce vnto the which he gaue immortalitie but he did not take away the nature of it we must not thinke that touching his shape and substaunce he is euery where for we must beware that we do not so defende the diuinitie of man that thereby we shoulde take away the
veritie of his body It is not conuenient nor méete that the same that is in God shoulde be euery where as god For the infallible Scripture saith of vs that we be in God that we liue and moue in him and yet we are not in all places as he is And a litle after he concludeth saiyng Ne dubites christum esse in aliquo loco celi propter veri corporis modum Doe not doubte Christe to be in some certaine place of heauen bicause of the propertie and fourme of a verie body for he had said a litle before Christ in that he is God is euery where or in all places and in that he is man he is in heauen Againe he saieth in an other place Corpus enim domini in quo resurrexit in vno loco esse oportet veritas eius vbique diffusa est The body of Christe in the which he rose can be but in one place but his trueth is dispersed euery where Againe he saieth Spatia locorum tolle corporibut et nusquam erunt quia nusquam erunt nec erunt tolle ipsa corpora qualitatibus corporum non erit vbi sint ideo necesse vt non sint That is to saie take awaie from bodies limitation of places and the bodies will be no where and bicause they bee no where they will be nothyng take awaie from bodies the qualities of bodies there will be no place for them to bee in and therefore the same bodies must needes be no bodies at all Againe he saieth Christus secundum presentiam corporalem in Luna in Sole in Cruce simul esse non potuit Christ as touchyng his corporal presence could not be in the Sunne in the Moone and vpon the Crosse at one tyme. Saint Ciryll also saieth Secundum carnem abiturus erat adest autem semper virtute deitatis Touching Christes body or fleshe it is gone notwithstandyng he is present alwaies by the power of his godhead againe Nam si corpore abfuero tamen presens vt deus ero Although I shall bee absent in my bodie notwithstanding I shall be present as I am God. Saint Origene also speaketh most plainely It is not christ as being man that is whersoeuer two or thrée be gathered together in his name neither christ as being man is with vs al daies vnto the worldes ende nor Christ as beyng man is present with the faithful euery where gathered together but the diuine power or nature that is in Christe Gregorie a Pope some tyme of Rome saieth in the like sorte Verbum incarnatum manet recedit manet diuinitate recedit corpore The worde incarnate doth tary and doth go awaie doth tary and remayne by his diuinitie and Godhead doeth depart or go away by or in his body But yet Vigilius Martyr doeth make the matter more playne when he saith If the nature of the fleshe and of the worde is all one howe doeth it chaunce that whereas the worde is euery where the fleshe is not also founde to be euery where For when it was in earth truely it was not in heauen and nowe that it is in heauen truely it is not in the earth and in so much it is not in the earth that we loke that Christ shal come from heauen touching his fleshe whom touching the worde we beléeue to be alwayes with vs. Therefore after your opinion either the worde is conteyned in place with his fleshe or the fleshe is euerywhere with the worde For one nature doeth conceaue no contrarie thing in it selfe But it is most contrarie and vnlike to be euerye where and to be conteyned in place I trust that we haue already sufficiently proued that although the humanitie and Godhead of Christe be so ioyntly ioyned together in vnitie of person that the one can not be separated from the other yet it foloweth not that wheresoeuer the Godhead is there the manhoode and humanitie must be also Therefore when the Scriptures saith that our Sauiour Iesus Christ is syt downe on the right hande of the father they shal be fayne in despite of their heartes there to vnderstande with Saint Augustine by the right hande a place of eternall rest felicitie and ioye where our Sauiour Christ touchyng his manhoode beyng accompanied with all the holy angels and with all the blessed spirites and soules departed doth raigne with the father in coequal glory and maiesty For that the same right hande whereon our sauiour Christe should sit is a certaine locall place it euidently appeareth by his owne wordes where he saith If any man doeth minister vnto mee let hym folow mee and where I am there shall my minister be also Againe I wil that thei which thou hast geuen vnto mée be with mee where I am that they maie see my glory which thou hast geuen vnto mee Who doeth not see that he doeth here speake of some certaine locall place where his elect and chosen should be with hym in euerlastyng glorie and ioye For touchyng his Godhead his chosen and elect are with hym and he with them according to the promise that he hath made vnto vs saiyng Beholde I am with you alwaies vnto the worldes ende Againe if any man loue mee he kepeth my worde and my father shall loue hym and we will come vnto hym and dwell with hym Therefore those places and textes must bee vnderstanded of Christe beyng true and perfect man with whom beyng in the glorious kingdome of his father all his faithfull seruaunts and ministers shal be ▪ Else if they will still mainteine stiflie that Christe touchyng his manhoode can be euerie where thei shal be faine to graunt also that his faithfull seruauntes and ministers be euery where with him For he saieth where I am there shall my ministers be also ¶ The .xiiij. Chapter ¶ Againste popishe transubstantiation THis aunswere I knowe they will make Sith that our sauiour Christe did saie holdyng the bread of the Sacramente in his handes This is my body the body of christ muste needes be wheresoeuer the Sacrament is ministred though it be in ten thousande places at once For he saide and thei were made he commaunded and they were created This is most certaine sure his word must be fulfilled it must needes be as he saide though we can not comprehende by our naturall reason howe it can be doen or brought to passe Moreouer saie they where as twoo witnesses by the lawe of God are sufficient to proue and confirme a trueth we haue foure of the chéefest that euer were in all the whole worlde For we haue thrée of the Euangelistes and the blessed apostle Sainct Paul whiche doe with a whole and full consent rehearse these wordes that we haue alledged whiche the trueth hym selfe did vse in the institution of his Sacrament all after one fashion Whiche thyng they would not haue doen if our Sauiour
howe that their obiection is friuolous and vaine and to no purpose but onely to deceiue the symple and ignoraunt All the foure Euangelistes doe also witnesse vnto vs that these are christes wordes from hencefoorth the sonne of man shal be sittyng on the right hande of the power of god And I went out from the father and came into the worlde and I leaue the worlde againe and go vnto the father The blessed Euangeliste saint Marke doeth write on this maner When the Lorde had spoken vnto them hee was receaued into heauen and sate hym downe on the right hand of god These wordes haue we written in Luke he led them out into Bethanie and lift vp his handes and blessed them And it came to passe as he blessed them he departed from them and was caried vp into heauen But he doeth so liuely set out the matter I meane the ascendyng vp of Christ into heauen in the booke of the Actes of the Apostles that thei may be ashamed to open their mouthes for to saie that the body of Christe is still here in earth whersoeuer their holy annointed do blowe vpon a peece of bread or vpon a wafer cake Againe when the blessed Apostle saint Paul doeth byd vs to seeke Christe he biddeth vs not to seeke for hym in the Sacrament but aboue in heauen where hee sitteth on the right hande of the father If ye be saith he risen againe with christ seeke those thynges whiche are aboue where Christe sitteth on the right hand of God. And in a nother place Our conuersation is in heauen from whence we looke for the Sauiour euen the Lorde Iesu Christ whiche shall chaunge our vile bodies that they maie be fashioned like vnto his glorious bodie By these wordes we do plainely learne that Christ is not onely in heauen touchyng his manhoode but that he shall also when he cōmeth againe make our vile and corruptible bodies like vnto his glorious body Whereby it shoulde folowe if the body of our Sauiour Christe beyng glorified and immortall can be euery where or in mo places then in one at once that our bodies also sith that they shall be made like vnto his glorious body could be euery where and in all places after the generall resurrection whereby the same that the Apostle doeth speake of here shal be performed and fulfilled But this absurditie is so greate that no christian euer is able to heare it Christe hym selfe willyng that we should seeke hym none other where but in heauen and also armyng vs against those false Prophetes that should go about to perswade vs that he is here styll vpon the earth doth saie these wordes Take heede I haue tolde you before if they shal saie vnto you beholde he is in the deserte go not foorth beholde he is in the secrete places beléeue not Why should we then at these antichristes bidding runne from aulter to aulter and from pixe to pixe for to seeke our Sauiour Christe Ought we not rather to doe as we reade that an olde auncient father did vnto whom the deuill did appeare in the likenes of Christe saiyng beholde thy Lorde and thy Kyng This good olde auncient father hearing this blasphemous voice did shut vp his eyes saiyng I will not see my Lorde and my Kyng in this worlde For he hymselfe euen my Sauiour and redéemer did geue me warning that if any should say that he were in the desert or in some secrete places I shoulde not beléeue it And so the foule spirite did by and by vanishe away from him If we woulde do the like when these false annoynted do most lyingly say vnto vs Beholde Christ is in this aulter or in that aulter he is in this pixe or that pixe this abominable spirite of idolatrie wherby the christian people is pluckt away from the true worshipping of God to the honouring and worshipping of a péece of bread which being a good creature of God thei make a stincking idol should seene vanishe away from vs. But heare yet what Saint Paul saith Christe hauyng in his owne person purged our sinnes sitteth on the ryght hande of the maiestie in the highest places And in another place he saith This man after that he had offered one sacrifice for sinnes sitteth for euer at the right hande of God and from hencefoorth tarieth til his enimies be made his footstoole Let vs but marke this last saying of Paul. For here hée doth teache vs that our Sauiour Iesus Christ after that he had perfourmed done the thing wherefore he had put on our frayle nature he did take it vp into heauen where he sitteth down in it on the right hand of the maiestie of god not for a yere or two or for to be here at euery papistes becke almost euery houre of the day but for euer euen tyll his enimies be made his footstoole which thing shall neuer be tyll the worldes ende In the meane season let vs folowe the commaundement of the Apostle where he saith Whensoeuer ye eate of this bread and drinke of this cup ye shall shewe foorth the Lordes death tyll he come These wordes tyll he come must be vnderstanded either of his manhoode or of his Godhead But of his Godhead they can not be vnderstanded for touching it he is wheresoeuer two or three are gathered in his name much more where the whole congregation of the faithfull be assembled together for to heare his worde and to receaue his holy Sacramentes They must then of necessitie be vnderstanded of his manhoode which if it were there the Apostle néeded not to say tyll he come for he shoulde be there already present These places and other like whiche I néede not nowe to bring in for I haue witnesses enowe for their foure of the which yet two do make directly against them do sufficiently declare that these wordes of our Sauiour Christ This is my body ought not to be taken in that sence and signification that they will haue vs to take them for First and formost let vs marke the whole tenour of the wordes Christe our Sauiour saieth This is my body whiche is geuen for you Here he speaketh of a mortall body which in all thynges was like vnto our bodyes synne onely excepted and whiche hath a due proportion of lymmes with all other dimensions that pertaine to an humaine bodye and without the whiche it could be no humaine body And I doe beléeue that he did rise againe and was glorified in the same body hauyng his due proportion of lymmes and all other dimensions still that doe pertaine to mans bodie I beléeue also that the same body though it be now immortall is still of a iust height length breadth and thickenesse hauing a head armes handes and feete and all other members that are required in a perfect mans body Whiche thyng they will confesse excepte that they will affirme with Martion that Christe
had a phantasticall bodie whiche appeared outwardely to be a very mans body and yet was none Or except thei wil saie with Eutiches that the body of christ is deified or tourned into the godhead But I know that they would not for all the goods in the worlde be companions of heretiques Therefore I woulde fayne knowe of them howe and after what sort this body of Christe whiche lacketh nothing to the perfection of an humaine body shoulde be in such a small péece of bread I am sure that they wyll say that the body of Christ is in heauen on the right hande of the father with his due proportion of lymmes and other dimensions that apperteyne to a perfect mans body that is to witte with his iust height length breadth and thicknesse But it is in the Sacrament without any of al those things so that if we aske them where the head is where the feete be and the armes they wyll immediatly aunswere that all is head all is féete all is armes breast and shoulders and that we must seke there for no distinct proportion of lymmes nor any due order of the members But let them drinke water styll with the Swannes of Thamesis tyll they haue proued their monstrous doctrine by the word of God or by any aucthoritie of the auncient fathers of the true Catholike Churche and then I warrant that they shall neuer go drunken to bed Yea they are not ashamed to say that in the Sacrament the body of Christe doth occupie no place and yet they wyll haue there the same selfe body that was borne of the virgin that hong on the crosse and that ascended vp into heauen Is not this I pray you to spoyle our sauiour Christ of the veritie and trueth of a body For as Saint Augustine faith Take away the limittation of places from the bodyes and they shal be no where and because that they shal be no where they shall not be at all Sithe then that they wyll not haue the body of Christe to occupie any place in the sacrament we can conclude none other by the wordes of saint Augustine but that it is not there at all For the naturall body of Christe doeth occupie a place where so euer it be as ours shall after the generall resurrection of al fleshe So the same Saint Augustine saieth a litle after the place before rehearsed Ne dubites Christum esse in aliquo loco celi propter veri corporis modum Doe not doubte Christ to be in some one place of heauen bicause of the propertie and measure of a verie bodie Againe he saieth Christum secundum humanitatem visibilem corporem localem atque omnia membra humana veracitèr habentem credere conuenit confiteri We must beléeue and confesse that Christe accordyng to his humanitie is visible hath the substaunce and properties of a body is conteined in place and verely hath al the members the whole proportion of a man These testimonies are so manifest that vnlesse the papistes haue whorishe foreheades they will blushe and be ashamed But here they will alledge against mee the wonderous workes that our Sauiour Christe did worke in his body both afore his resurrection and after saiyng Maie not the naturall body of Christ be aswell vnder a small péece of bread as he did walke vpō the waters which is cleane contrary to the nature of an humaine bodie or aswell as he did come in to his apostles through the doores beyng shut fast Is the hande of god now shortened or is he not still almightie and able to doe what so euer he will both in heauen and in earth No man I trowe doth denie the almightie power of god For we doe all confesse with all submission due reuerence that he is able to do whatsoeuer he will both in heauen and in earth But it followeth not bicause he is almightie and able to doe whatsoeuer he will that therefore he will doe whatsouer wee shall imagine or inuent out of our owne heades and braynes besides or against the manifest and sacred scriptures We muste not thynke that his omnipotencie or almightie power will bee bounde to our vaine imaginations and phantasies Againe it hath béen alwaies counted a childishe argument and vnworthy to be vsed among the learned to reason a posse ad esse For who woulde not deride and laugh hym to scorne that would reason after this maner God is able through his omnipotencie and almightie power to doe this or that Ergo he hath doen it God was able to make vs Swine Sheepe Oxen Horses Trées Stones Frogges Lice Dogges c. Yet he hath not doen soe but of his meere goodnes and mercie hee hath made vs after his owne similitude and image for to inherite with hym his glorious kyngdome of heauen Hearken what that auncient father Tertullian saieth touchyng the omnipotencie or almightie power of GOD Some man peraduenture saieth he will saie there is nothyng vnpossible to God let vs vse this saiyng in our presumptious fancies and then may we imagine of God whatsoeuer we list as though he hath doen it bicause he is able to do it For we must not thinke bicause that god is almighty that therfore he hath doen the thyng whiche he neuer did Sed an fecerit requirendum est But we must first enquire whether he hath doone it or no. And so there shal be some thing vnpossible to GOD that is to wit whatsoeuer he will not Dei enim posse velle est non posse nolle For in God to be willyng is to be able and to be vnwillyng is to be vnable And vnto this maie be added the saiyng of Theodoretus who is also a very auncient writer GOD saieth he is able to doe whatsoeuer he will but he will doe none of those thinges that be not in hym of their owne nature Sith then that God is true of his owne nature he can doe nothyng that is against his worde Not bicause saieth the other catholique Fathers that he is not able to doe it but bicause that he will do nothyng against his owne nature And again bicause that it is vnméete that he should worke against hymselfe Thus farre he We may vnderstande by these auctorities now by mee alledged how we ought to reason vpon the omnipotencie and almightie power of god It is not enough for vs to saie God is almightie and able to doe all thynges Ergo the bodie of christ is really and substantially flesh blood and bones in the sacrament but first we must enquire whether God will haue it so or not If the worde of God should certifie vs that he would haue the body of his onely begotten sonne our sauiour Iesus christ after the same monstrous sorte in the Sacrament as they doo imagine and will haue other men to beleeue then ought we to beleeue it vndoubtedly and without any
reioycyng against hell For ascending vp into heauen he hath ledde captiuitie captiue and hauyng spoyled his enimies he hath enriched and doth dayly enriche his people with heauenlye richesse preseruyng and defending his Churche with the mightie strength of his arme against the malicious and cruell tyrantes of Sathan the deuyll and of all the mightie rulers of darknesse whom he doth in despite of their heartes brydle and kepe in that they can do no more than he suffereth them and appointeth them to doe for the setting foorth of his owne glorie for the triall of his elect and edifiyng of his congregation and Churche Thirdly we learne by his ascending vp into heauen that we ought not to seke for him here in the earth nor vpon the earth nor about the earth as S. Ambrose writeth but in heauen aboue where he sitteth on the right hande of the father that therefore we can do him no greater honour and seruice than to worshippe him in spirite and trueth bestowing for his sake and loue vppon his poore néedie members all that we coulde finde in our heartes to bestowe vpon him if he were still here vpon the earth conuersaunt among vs And therefore to put vs in remembraunce of the true seruice that he doeth require at our handes he saieth Ye shall haue the poore with you alwayes and whensoeuer ye wyll ye may do them good but me ye shall not haue alwayes We learne also by it that we shoulde in no wyse set our mindes vppon this transitorie worlde sith that our head hath forsaken it and hath taken away his corporall presence from it but that we shoulde go and walke through it as pilgrimes and straungers hauyng alwayes our conuersation aboue in heauen where he sitteth on the right hande of his father and where we shall haue with him a permanent or euerlastyng Citie of a moste strong and sure buildyng and of such a foundation that it can neuer be shaken nor remoued Whereby the shamefull errour both of the Iewes and also of those that folowed them is quite ouerthrowen which did thinke that the Messias should tarie and reigne here beneath in the earth with his elect and chosen for by his ascension vp in to heauen he did sufficiently declare vnto vs that his kyngdome is not of this world but that it is heauenly and eternall But this ought to be moste comfortable of all that by his ascendyng vp we are assured to haue a most mightie intercessour and aduocat with the father For sith that he doeth continually appeare before the face of God for vs we ought not to doubt but that he is our intercessour aduocate mediatour Therefore we neede to feare no maner of thyng whether it be in heauen or in earth if wee haue a stedfast confidence and trust in hym For sith that he is true God without doubt he is almightie Sith that he is of one substaunce and power with the father al that his father hath is his Sith that he hath béen to the father obedient vnto the very death of the Crosse and that he is his welbeloued sonne we haue no occasion to feare that his father will say hym naie of any thing that we aske of hym in his name On the other side sith that Christ is our brother fleshe of our fleshe and bone of our bones and also our head without al doubt he doth loue vs he hath pittie and compassion vpon vs we ought not therfore to thinke that he will forsake his owne fleshe or that he wil suffer his deare and welbeloued spouse to perishe For he hath therefore put on our fleshe and hath taken vpon hym all our infirmities beyng temped in all thynges like vnto vs but yet without synne thereby to assure vs that we haue a Bishop that knoweth our infirmities and miseries and that can haue compassion vpon vs and that whatsoeuer doeth happen or chaunce to be doen vnto vs beyng his liuely members he will impute it to be done vnto himselfe as it doth most plainely appeare by the words that he spake vnto Saul who persecuted his Churche and that also as head of the whole body he is readie to deliuer his members from all miseries and calamities as he hymselfe was deliuered But here wyll I bring in the comfortable scriptures that do certifie vs that we haue in the court of heauen such a mightie freende whiche hauyng all power geuen vnto him both in heauen and in earth doeth alwayes appeare before the face of the great and eternall God which ought to be vnto vs a marueylous assuraunce and comfort against all temptations and peryls These be the wordes of the blessed Apostle S. Paule It is Christe which is dead yea rather which is risen againe which is also on the right hande of God maketh intercession for vs. Againe This man because he endureth for euer hath an euerlasting priesthoode wherefore he is able also to saue them fully or perfectly that come vnto god by him euerliuing for to make intercessiō for them And in the same epistle christ saieth he is not entred in to the holye places that are made with handes which are but similitudes of true thinges but is entred into verie heauen for to appeare nowe in the sight of God for vs Doth not the blessed Euangelist S. Iohn saie also My little children these thynges write I vnto you that ye sinne not Yet if any man sinne we haue an aduocate with the father Iesus Christ whiche is righteous These Scriptures doe sufficiently teache vs that we haue such a frende intercessour aduocate in the heauenly courte that nothyng can bee denied vnto hym of the father Yea hée hymselfe whiche can not lie speaketh these most swéete and comfortable wordes vnto vs all Uerely verely I saie vnto you whatsoeuer you shall aske the father in my name he will geue it vnto you Hauing then so many notable sentences and testimonies of the infallible worde of God whereby we are assured that the onely begotten sonne of God is our aduocate and mediatour and that he doth nowe appeare before the face of the father for to make intercession for vs. The .xxv. Chapiter ¶ Aganst praiyng and intercession to Sainctes WHat néede haue we to flye vnto dead creatures I meane vnto dead Sainctes for to make them our aduocates and intercesours Sith that wee haue not one onely syllable in all the whole Scriptures that biddeth vs so to doe ▪ Againe Where haue wee any promise in the booke of God that we shall haue accesse vnto God by them or that we shall the rather obtaine our petition praiers and requestes by their intercessions and mediations whatsoeuer saith the apostle is not of faith is synne But this praiyng vnto dead sainctes that they should make intercession vnto God for vs is not of faith for why it hath no grounde at
shall not preuaile against vs because we are builded vpon the sure rocke and stone ¶ The. xxxi Chapiter ¶ The subtile meanes that Sathan vseth to bryng vs into securitie IN any wise lette vs giue no eares to the liyng doctrines of Sathan the Deuill who doth all y euer he can for to bryng vs into a carnall securitie and to make vs beleue that the same daie is not yet at hande And that he might the better bring this his purpose to passe he did cause his idle brained Monkes and Friers to write and that without any grounde or foundation of Gods woorde of the signes and tokens that shall come before that daie wherein thei followe onely the vaine imaginations dreames of their owne heades Therefore we ought in this poinct to giue no credite vnto them but to contente our selues with the infallible woorde of GOD wherein Christe our Sauiour dooeth sufficiently teache vs what signes and tokens shall come before that dreadfull daie whiche wee see all to bee come to passe alreadie so that wee ought to looke for none other euery daie and euery houre but that the same daie shall come sodainly vpon vs all For firste where as our Sauiour saieth That there shal be signes in the Sunne in the Moone and in the Starres and that in the earth the people shal bee in suche perplexitie that thei shall not tell whiche waie to tourne theim selues Dooe we not see all these thynges to be fâ—lfilled alreadie What signes there haue been in the Sunne in the Moone and in the Starres since the ascendyng vp of our Sauiour Christe and euen in these our daies it is not vnknowen vnto theim that reade the histories Againe in what perplexitie all the worlde is now at this present daie and tyme so that no man almoste can tell whiche waie to tourne hym self wee dooe see it euen with our owne eyes Yea wil some man replie we haue not yet séen the sunne to be darckened nor the Moone to lose her light nor the starres to fall downe from heauen which thynges must all come to passe before that day as our sauiour Christ him selfe doth testifie Elyas Enoche be not yet come which are prophecied to come againe before that latter daie of iudgemente therefore we neede not yet to looke for it It is not vnknowen that many bothe of the auncient and also of the latter writers which in these our daies haue written vpon the scriptures and woorde of God doe expounde this place The Sunne shal be darckened and the Moone shall lose her lighte c. Of our Sauiour Iesus Christe hym self of his Churche and of the ministers thereof For as the naturall Sunne is darckened with the cloudes that doe arise from the waters and from the earth so our Sauiour Christe whiche is the true sonne of righteousnesse is wonderfully darckened with the mistes and cloudes of mens traditions and dreames â–ª so that many tymes his comfortable light is cleane taken awaie from the eyes of our soules and consciences By the Moone thei doe vnderstande the Churche For as the Moone doeth naturally receiue her light of the Sunne so al the light all the true wisedome and vnderstanding or heauenly knowledge that the Churche hath it hath it of our Sauiour Christ and as if the Sunne be dackened the Moone of necessitie must lose her light So when the chearfull light of the true sonne of righteousnesse is taken awaie by mens inuentions and superstitious doctrine and Popishe traditioÌ„s without all doubt the Churche muste vtterly lose her light it muste needes bee without all heauenly vnderstandyng and knowledge it must nedes be in horrible darckenesse and in the shadowe of death After their exposition it is saied that the Starres doe fall from heauen when the ministers of Goddes woorde whiche ought to shine in the Churche bothe with life and doctrine as the Starres doe shine in the Elemente doe fall from the Goâ—pell and true worde of God vnto mens inuentions and dreames and vnto earthly doctrines of the deuilishe Papistes either for hope of worldely honour promotion dignitie or els for shame as Doctour Hardyng now dooeth and others of his side Or els for feare of any trouble persecution or losse of liuynges For if accordyng to the letter the naturall Starres should fall from heauen no man should be lefte aliue againste the commyng of our Sauiour Christe sithe that accordyng to the excellent doctrine of Astronomie euery Starre is bigger then the whole earth and so the Scriptures that saie that as the daie of Noe and of Sodome was so shall the commyng of the sonne of man be could not be verified If we should followe this exposition whiche is bothe learned and also moste godlie are not all these thynges fulfilled alreadie Is not our sauiour Christ whiche is the true sonne of righteousnes vtterly taken awaie by the hypocriticall and superstitious doctrine of that Antichriste of Rome Is not the Churche altogether depriued of the light of Gods woorde beyng ouerwhelmed with the thicke darckenesse of beggerlie Traditions and Popishe dreames What should wee saie of them that ought as Starres to shine in the churche of Christ Are thei not in a maner fallen all from the heaueÌ„ly doctrine of Gods woorde and his Gospell into the vaine phancies of corrupted and earthly men We maie be sure then that the daie is at hande But goe to Let vs take it as Chrisostome doth expounde it whiche writeth that it is saide that the Sunne shal be darkened the Moone shall lose her lighte and the Starres shall fall downe from heauen because that the commyng of Christ shal bee so glorious and so bright that in comparison of it the light of the Sunne of the Moone and of the Starres shall bee but darkenesse that is to saie the Sunne then the Moone and the Starres shal bee as though thei were not at all As when the Sunne is vp whiche is the moste excellent light although the Moone and the Starres doe remaine still in the element yet are thei not seen but are euen as though thei were all falled downe from heauen It is also moste plaine and euident that by the darknyng of the Sunne of the Moone and of the Starres the greate and horrible vengeaunce of GOD is signified as we reade in Esay Ieremie Ezechiell Amos Ioel and Micheas the Prophetes For when god poureth his vengeaunce vpoÌ„ the earth it seemeth vnto them that are touched with it and that are in perplexitie and trouble that all the whole worlde is in the like case and that the Sunne is darkened the Moone hath lost her light the Starres be fallen downe from heauen that the earth doeth quake and tremble vnder theim To bee shorte thei thinke that all thynges goe to ruine with theim not because that it is so in deede but because that thei bee pressed with no lesse agonie and anguishe then if those
middest of this peruerse and crooked generation whiche contenting themselues with the heauenly doctrine of the holy ghoste which is conteined in the canonicall bookes of the olde and newe Testament The .xxxv. Chapiter ¶ Christe is the heade of his Churche and not the Pope I DOE acknowledge none other head then our Sauiour Christ as it is written that God hath made him aboue al thinges the head of the congregation whiche is his body and the fulnesse of hym that filleth all in all thynges Wherby all the faithfull doe gather that he onely can be the head of the Churche whose body the Churche is But the Churche is the body of Christe onely therefore Christe onely can be the head of the Churche Againe in a nother place it is written And he is the head of the body of the congregation which is the beginnyng and firste begotten of the dead but who is the beginning and first begotten of the dead sauyng onely our sauiour Christe We may well say then that he onely is the head of the Church Moreouer sainct Paul saieth that as the husband is the head of the wife so Christe is the heade of the Churche beyng the sauiour of the body These wordes are plaine and do manifestly declare that he onely whiche is the sauiour of the bodie can be the head of the congregation and Church but it perteineth only to christ to be the sauiour of his body Therefore Christ onely can bee the head of the faithfull congregation and Church Moreouer who woulde not iudge that woman to be an aduoutresse that had twoo heades that is to saie twoo husbandes All men woulde counte that woman to be a moste filthy and stinkyng harlot Sainct Hierome therfore saieth these wordes Ego nullum primum nisi Christum sequens beatitudini tuae idest Cathedrae Petri communione consoâ—ior I followyng no firste nor chief man but onely Christe am ioyned as a fellowe in communion vnto the blessed that is to saie to Peters chaire Marke here S. Hierome saieth he knoweth no firste no chief heade no not the Pope hym self but onely christ Againe he saieth not I am bounde to thy commaundementes but I am ioyned as a fellowe in communion vnto the blessednesse Sainct Gregorie also saieth Quid tu Christo vniuersalis ecclesiae capiti in extremi iudicij responsurus es examine qui cuncta eius membra tibimet conaris vniuersalis appellationae supponere What aunswere wilte thou make vnto Christe the head of the vniuersall Churche when thou shalt be examined at the last iudgement that thus goest about by the name of vniuersall bishop to make all his members subiect vnto thee Sainct Chrisostome to pull downe the pride of suche as will exalte theim selues aboue their heade Christ saith whosoeuer desireth primacie in earth in heauen he shall finde confusion Neither shall he be accounted among the seruauntes of Christ that will once intreate of primacie What shall we saie then of that whorishe Churche that besides Christe the onely heade and husbande of the faithfull congregation dooeth acknowledge that Antichriste of Rome to bee her heade preferryng his lawes decrees statutes and durtie traditions before the wholesome doctrine of our Sauiour Christe As for the argumentes that the Popes dearlynges are wont to bryng in for to proue their fleshly Idoll to be the supreme heade of the Churche thei are so childishe that I marueile that thei be not ashamed to alledge them First for a foundation of their doctrine they bryng these wordes of Christe Thou arte Peter and vpon this rocke will I builde my churche And I wil giue to thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen Doeth not Christe promise here plainly saie thei that he will bothe builde his Churche vpon Peter and also giue hym the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen Againe be not these the woordes of Christe Thou art Symon the sonne of Ionas thou shalte be called Cephas Here maie we see that Christe did appoinct Peter whose successours all the holy Popes and Bishoppes of Rome are to bee the supreme heade of his congregation and Churche For what should be his meanyng els when he saith And thou shalt be called Cephas Did not he also say that he would builde his Church vpon him In déede I maie saie of you as Barnarde saieth Successores omnes cupiunt esse imitatores pauci Euery one couetteth to bee successours of the Apostles but fewe are followers of them ¶ The .xxxvj. Chapiter ¶ All the Apostles had equall power to bynde and to loose with Peter and the keyes were equally deliuered to them all BEcause no man shall thinke that this our doctrine is a newe founde doctrine as the enemies of all truthe are wont liyngly to call it I will bring certaine aucthorities of the faithfull Fathers of the auncient Catholike Churche whiche shall make this matter so plaine that any man excepte he will obstinately be blinde still shal be able to espie out all their knauerie First I will bryng Sainct Cyprian vpon these woordes And I will giue thee the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen who writeth after this maner In the persone of one man the Lorde did giue the keyes vnto all the Apostles for to signifie the vnitie of theim all For truely the other Apostles were euen the same that Peter was they were indued with like felowship of honour and power but he did beginne with vnitie that is to saie with one that thereby it might bee signified that there is but one Churche of Christe wee learne by this that the keyes were giuen to all the Apostles as well as vnto Peter Sainct Origene saieth Hoc dictum tibi dabo claues regni coelorum caeteris quoque commune est Et quae sequuntur velut ad PetruÌ„ dicta sunt omniae communia This saiyng to thee will I giue the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen is common to the reste of the Apostles and the woordes that followe as spoken vnto Peter are common vnto all Saincte Hierome also saieth Dices super Petrum fundatur ecclesia licet ad ipsum in alio loco super omnes Apostolos fiat cuncti clauis regni caelorum accipiant ex aequo super eos ecclesiae fortitudâ— solidetur Ye wil saie the Churche is founded vpon Peter Notwithstandyng in an other place the same thyng is doen vpon all the Apostles and all receiue the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen and the strength of the Churche is founded equally vpon them all Saincte Ambrose to the same purpose saieth Our Lorde saied vnto Peter Féede my sheepe Whiche shéepe and flocke not onely blessed Peter then receiued but he receiueth the same together with vs And all we haue receiued the same together with hym Saincte Augustine hath these woordes Cum Petro dicitur omnibus dicitur amas me Pasce oues meas These words of christ louest thou me Feede my sheepe when thei
are spoken vnto Peter thei are spoken vnto all Priestes or Ministers Beda plainly saieth these wordes Potestas ligandi soluendi quamuis soli Petro a domino data videatur tamen absque vlla dubietate noscendum est quod caeteris Apostolis datae est The power of bindyng and loosyng notwithstandyng it séeme to bee giuen onely vnto Peter yet without all doubte wee muste vnderstande that it was giuen also to the reste of the Apostles Sainct Augustine saith Petrus quando accepit claues ecclesiam sanctam significauit Peter when he receiued the keyes signified the holy Churche Therefore saieth he when thei were all asked Peter alone doeth make an aunswere and it is saied vnto him And I will giue thée the keyes of heauen as though he alone had receiued aucthoritie to binde and to loose whereas he had spoken that for theim all and receiued this as bearyng in hym self the persone of vnitie with them all The meanyng is this when our Sauiour Christe did aske his Apostles whom thei thought hym to bee Peter alone did make aunswere whiche did serue for theim all For though one alone had aunswered yet Christ tooke it as if thei had all aunswered like to a Iurie of twelue men one maketh aunswere for all and the Iudge accepteth it as though euery one had spoken And as the aunswere of one did serue for them al so the promise that was made vnto one was made vnto them all Whiche thyng is moste true For looke what he did promise to one the same doeth he performe vnto them all saiyng these wordes As my father hath sent me so doe I sende you And when he had spoken these words he did blowe vpon thē saiyng Receiue the holy ghoste whose synnes soeuer ye dooe forgiue shal bee forgiuen vnto hym and whose synnes soeuer ye doe retaine thei shal be retained vnto hym Whiche doeth plainly agree with the woordes that he speaketh vnto them in the .xviij. Chapiter of Sainct Matthewe But I thinke it expediente and necessary for the instruction of the vnlearned and ignoraunte people to shewe what our sauiour doeth vnderstande by the keyes And here will I bryng nothing of mine owne but Chrisostome an auncient writer of the Greke churche shall discusse all the whole matter The keye saieth he is the knowledge of the worde of the scriptures whereby the gate of the truthe is opened vnto men And the kepers of the keyes are the ministers vnto whom charge is giuen to expounde and declare the scriptures Saincte Tertulian also saieth Quam clauem habebant doctores nisi interpretationem legis What key had the doctours of the lawe sauyng the exposition of the lawe Sainct Hierome also hath these wordes Duces ecclesiae habent claues scientiae vt aperiant scripturas creditis sibi populis Vnde praecipitur vt magistri aperiant discipuli ingrediantur The capitaines of the Churche haue the keyes of knowledge to open the scriptures vnto the people to them committed Therefore commaundemente is giuen that the Maisters should open and the Scholers should enter Sainct Ambrose saieth Remittuntur peccata per dei verbum cuius leuites est interpres Synnes bee forgiuen by the worde of God the expounder whereof is the priest Saint Augustine agreyng with them all saieth Claues est dicenda qua ad fidem pectorum dura reserantur That ought to bee called the keye wherewith the hardnesse of mens heartes is opened vnto faithe Here maie wee see that all the true preachers of Goddes worde are the kepers of those keyes and not the Bishoppe of Rome onely for of hym Christes woordes maie bee verified when he saieth Ye haue taken awaie the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen and neither dooe you enter your selues nor will you suffer others that would enter Of the Popes keyes it is well saied of Veselus Claues Pape praelatorum non aperiunt regnum dei sed claudunt potius The Popes and the prelates keyes dooe not open the kyngdome of God but rather shutte it It was saied generally vnto theim all Go ye into the vniuersall worlde and preache the Gospell vnto euery creature he that beleueth and is Baptized shall bee saued and he that beleueth not shal be condemned In these fewe wordes of our Sauiour Christe twoo thinges are to be considered and marked Firste we doe learne by them that the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen that is to saie the preachyng of the Gospell is committed vnto them all I meane vnto all the Apostles and not to one more then an other Secondly wee learne by theim that to loose is none other thyng but to certifie by Gods woorde the consciences of the true beleuers that their synnes are freely forgiuen thorowe faithe in our Sauiour Christe iesu Whiche thyng beyng doen by the true and faithfull ministers of the Churche here vpon the earth taketh no lesse effecte in all true repentaunte synners then if it were dooen in heauen in the sacred counsaile of the holy and blessed Trinitie And for this cause doeth Christ our sauiour saie What soeuer ye loose here vppon the earth is loosed in heauen Therefore saincte Hierome accordeth herewith saiyng Quaecunque solueritis super terram erunt soluta in caelo Soluant autem eos Apostoli sermone dei testimonijs scripturarum exhortatione virtutum What soeuer thynges ye loose vppon earth thei shall bee loosed in heauen but the Apostles loose them by the woorde of God and by the testimonies of the scriptures and by exhortation vnto vertue Sainct Augustine also saieth Now are you cleane bicause of the worde that I haue spoken vnto you Quare non ait mundi estis propter Baptismum quo loti estis Nisi quia in aqua verbum mundat non quia dicitur sed quia creditur Wherefore saieth he not you are cleane because of the baptisme wherewith ye are washed Sauing that euen in the water it is the worde that maketh cleane Not because it is spoken but because it is beleued Againe he saieth Fides nostra est clauis regni coelorum Our faithe is the key of the kyngdome of heauen Ambrose saieth these woordes Remittuntur peccaeta per verbum dei cuius leuites est interpres Sinnes be forgiuen by the worde of God the expounder whereof is the Leuite or Prieste Therefore S. Paule calleth it Verbum reconciliationis the worde whereby we be reconciled to God. Againe he called it Potentia dei ad salutem omni credenti The power of God vnto saluation to euery one that doeth beleue And on the contrary parte to binde here vpon the earth it is none other thyng but to certifie by the same worde the vnfaithfull synners whiche will giue no eares vnto the glad tidynges of the kyngdome of heauen their synnes are stil in remembraunce before God vnto euerlastyng condemnation because thei will
not beleue on the name of the onely begotten sonne of god And this beyng duely and rightly dooen accordyng to the institution and ordinaunce of Christe our sauiour is of no lesse efficacie and strength then if the father the sonne and the holy ghoste had dooen it as the heauenlie wisedome of the father dooeth testifie in the self same place saiyng What so euer ye shall binde here vpon earth shall be bounde in heauen If it parteineth onely to the Bishop of Rome who moste liyngly doeth boaste hymselfe to bee the successour of Peter to preache the frée remission of synnes vnto the true repentaunt synners and eternall condemnation vnto the vnrepentaunt and vnfaithfull then hath he alone the keyes of the kingdome of heauen but any childe may learne by the wordes of our sauiour Christe that this office doeth parteine generally vnto all the faithfull preachers and ministers of Gods worde Sainct Augustines wordes therefore are plaine Si autem in Petro non esset ecclesiae misterium non ei diceret Dominus tibi dabâ— claues si autem hoc Petro dictum est non habet ecclesia si autem ecclesia habet quando claues accepit ecclesiam toâ—am designauit If in Peter were not a misterie of the Churche the Lorde would not haue saide to hym I will geue to thee the keyes of the kyngdome of Heauen If this were spoken onely vnto Peter the Churche then hath them not if the Churche hath them then when Peter receiued the keyes he signified the whole church Sainct Ciprian also saieth Christus eandem dedit Apostolis omnibus potestatem Christe gaue to all his Apostles like power Wee maie then right well conclude that this saiyng of Christe And I will geue thee the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen c. Doth make nothyng for the mainteinaunce of the Popes supremacie no more then the saiyng that goeth before where it is saide Thou arte Peter and vpon this Rocke I will builde my Chuche For as Saincte Augustine writeth I deò quippe ait dominus super hanc petram edificabo ecclesiam meam quià dixerat Petrus tu es Christus filius Dei viui Super hanc ergò inquit Petram quam confessus es edificabo ecclesiam meam Petra enim erat Christus super quod fundamentum etià m ipse edificatus est Petrus Fundamentum quippe aliud nemo potest ponere paerter id quod positum est quod est christus Iesus Therfore the lorde did saie Thou art Peter and vpon this Rocke will I builde my Churche bicause that Peter had saide thou art Christe the sonne of the liuyng god Therefore saieth he vpon this Rocke that thou hast confessed I will builde my Churche And the Rocke was Christe vpon whiche foundation Peter also is builded For none other foundation can any man laye besides that whiche is laide alreadie whiche is our Sauiour Iesus Christe Againe in a nother place he saieth these wordes Tues ergò inquit Petrus super hanc petram quam confessuses super hanc petram quam cognouisti dicens Tu es Christus filius dei viui edificabo ecclesiam meam Super meipsum filium dei viui edificabo ecclesiam meam Super me edificabo te non me super te Nà m volentes homines edificari super homines dicebant Ego quidèm sum Pauli Ego autem Appollo Ego verò Caephe ipse est Petrus Et alij qui nolebant edificari super Petrum sed super petram Ego autem sum Christi Thou art Peter saieth he and vpon this Rocke which thou hast confessed and vpon this Rocke whom thou hast acknowledged saiyng thou art Christ the sonne of the liuyng God I will build my Church Upon my selfe â–ª being the sonne of the liuing God I will builde my Churche I will builde thee vppon mee not mee vpon thee When men would builde vpon men thei did saie I holde of Paul I holde of Apollo I hold of Cephas which is Peter And other whiche would not be builded vpon Peter but vpon the Rocke saide I am Christes Which verie wordes also Bede hath as it were verbatim worde for worde writyng vpon the Corinthians Sainct Ambrose saieth likewise Dicit Dominus ad Petrum Super istam petram edificabo ecclesiamâ— meam hoc est in hac catholicae fidei confessione statuo fideles ad vitam The Lorde saide to Peter Upon this Rocke will I builde my Churche that is in this confession of the catholique faith I appointe all the faithfull to liue Sainct Hierome hath these wordes Secundum autem metaphoram petrae rectè dicitur ei edificabo ecclesiam meam super te That is by a metaphoricall speach of the Rocke it is well saide to Peter I wil builde my Church vpon thee These holy Fathers of the auncient catholique Churche doe manifestly proue by the scriptures that the Rocke which the true Churche is builded vpon is our Sauiour Christ hym selfe the sonne of the liuyng god Here might I bring Chrisostome Cirill Hilarie which all by the rocke that the Church is builded vppon do vnderstande a strong stedfast faith in our Sauiour Christ and a true confessyng of his name but I haue alreadie alledged them Nowe will I come to the other saiyng of Christe where he saieth vnto Peter Thou art Symon the Sonne of Ionas and thou shalte be called Cephas whiche saieth the Euangeliste is by interpretation a Stone If all the Popes of Rome then with all their smoth shauen faced greacelinges shoulde affirme vnto mee that this worde Cephas doeth betoken a heade I would accompte them as accursed Ye may see howe they are not ashamed to wreast the Scriptures and to geue them a cleane contrarie interpretation that so they maie mainteine and vpholde stil their vsurped supremacie power The holy ghoste saieth that Cephas by interpretation is a â—tone The Bishop of Rome saieth that Cephas doeth betoâ—â—n and signifie a heade and therefore sithe that he is the successour of Peter he ought to be the supreme head of the church Whether of these twoo ought we to beleeue If an angell from heauen should preache any other Gospell vnto vs then we haue receaued alreadie S. Paul biddeth vs to count it accursed Cursed be they then that dare expounde the scriptures otherwise then the holy Ghoste hath expounded them yea euerlastyng damnation hangeth ouer their heades in what estimation soeuer they bee in this wicked worlde though the worlde I saie do estéeme them as Gods yet before the liuing God and his sonne Christe our Lorde are they accursed Why will these good felowes saie is not Peter alwaies named first whensoeuer the apostles are rehearsed by name doth not this sufficiently declare that he is appointed of God to be the supreme head of his Churche I aunswere againe that if to be named first doeth purchase or get any preheminence then Caesar must be preferred before