ad dexteram Patris nec aliunde quam inde venturus est ad viuos mortuosque iudicandos Et sic venturus est illa angelica voce testante quemadmodum visus est ire in coelum id est in eadem carnis forma atque substantia cui profecto immortalitatem dedit naturam non abstulit Secundum hanc formam putandus non est vbique diffusus Cauendum est enim ne ita diuinitatem astruamus hominis vt veritatem corporis auferamus Doubt not therefore but the man Christ Iesus is there now from whence he shall hereafter come And sée thou reuolue in thy minde and kéepe faythfully the Christian confession which is that he arose agayne from the dead ascended into heauen sitteth at the right hande of the father and that he shall come from none other place but frō thence to iudge both the quick and the dead And as the voyce of the Angell doth witnesse he shal come euen in such sort as he was séene go into heauen that is in the same forme and substaunce of fleshe vnto which no doubt he hath giuen immortalitie but hath not taken awaye the nature And according to this forme he is not to be thought to be spread abroad in all places For we must beware that we doe not so set vp the diuinitie of the man that we take away the truth of the body These wordes of Austen are playne ynough But to make them more playne he addeth Dominus Iesus est vbique per id quod Deus in coelo autem perid quod homo The Lorde Iesus is euerye where in that he is God but in that he is man he is in heauen Agayne the same Austen Tractatu in Iohn 30. wryting vpon saint Iohns gospell sayth thus Corpus Domini in quo resurrexit in vno loco esse opertet veritas cius vbique diffusa est The body of the Lord wherin that he arose must be in one place but his truth is spread abroad in euery place Much more might be cited out of Austen for this matter but this may suffice to satisfie all reasonable men concerning his iudgement herein Ambrose also who was lyuing in S. Austens time sayeth thus Ascendists Paulo qui non contentus solus te sequi nos quoque docuit quemadinodum te sequamur vbi te reperire possimus dicens Ambrosius in Lucam lib. 10. cap. 24. Si ergo consurrexistis cum Christo quae sursum sunt quaerite vbi Christus est ad dexteram dei sedens Et ne oculorum magis hoc quam animorum putaremus officium addidit Quae sursum sunt sapite non quae super terram Ergo non supra terram nec in terra nec secundum carnem te quarere debemus si volumus inuenire Thou didst ascende in Paules iudgement also who not contented to folow thée alone hath taught vs also how we may folow thée and where we may finde thée when he sayth If ye be risen togither with Christ séeke those things that are aboue where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God And least we should thinke this rather to be the office of the eyes then of the mindes he addeth Sauour those thinges that are aboue and not those things that are on earth If we will finde him therefore we must not séeke him vpon earth neyther in earth nor after the maner of fleshe What wordes can be more playne then these or more mightie to ouerthrowe your foundation M. Watson doth not Ambrose say Ambrose ouerthroweth Watsons foūdation that if we will finde Christ we must séeke him in heauen where he is sitting at the right hande of God Ergo not in your bread and Wine in such sort as you teache About the same time lyued Cyrill also that was Byshop of Alexandria Cyrillus in Iob. lib. 6. cap. 14. The same wryting vpon Iohn sayeth thus Et si Christus corporis sui praesentiam hinc subduxit maiestate tamen diuinitatis semper adest sicut ipse à discipulis abiturus pollicetur Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus vsque ad consummationem saeculi Althoughe Christ haue conueighed hence the presence of his bodye yet is he alwaye present by the Maiestie of his diuinitie euen as when he was departing from his Disciples he promised Beholde I am with you euery daye euen to the ende of the worlde Gregorius in homil Pasch Gregorie also sayth Christus non est hic per praesentiam carnis qui tamen nusquam deest per praesentiam maiestatis Christ sayth he is not here by the presence of his fleshe which notwithstanding is absent from no place by the presence of his maiestie Ad Transimundum Regem lib. 2. Fulgentius also wryteth thus Christus vnus idemque homo localis ex homine qui est Deus immensus ex patre Vnus idemque secundum humanam substantiam absens coelo cum esset interra derelinquens terram cum ascer disset in coelum Christ is but one and the selfe same is placible man of man which is of his father God that can not be measured One and the same as touching his humane substance was absent from heauen when he was on earth and leauing the earth when he ascended into heauen The last of these wryters hitherto cited lyued within .500 yeres after Christ And Beda who lyued about .730 yeres after Christs ascencion wryting vpon these wordes Ecce ego vobiscum sum c. Beda in Math. cap. 28. Beholde I am with you c sayth thus Ipse Deus homo est assumptus est humanitate quam de terra susceperat manet cum sanctus in terra diuinitate qua terram pariter implet coelum He that is both God and man is in his humanitie that he tooke of the earth assumpted vp but in his diuinitie wherewith he filleth both heauen and earth he doth remayne with his Saints on earth These testimonies of Scriptures and holy fathers may suffice I suppose to shake your foundation so The Scriptures Doctours haue shaken Watsons foundation that no wise man will be bolde to ioyne with you in building thereon vnlesse it be suche as you were when you made this Sermon what you be nowe I knowe not But least you should doe as commonly your sort vse to doe that is to report that we teach that the Sacraments of Christ are but bare and naked signes I let you vnderstande that we confesse and are readie to confirme with our bloud if God so will that Iesus Christ is verily and in déede present in the right and due administration and receyuing of his Sacraments And that the worthy receyuers doe verily in déede Howe Christ is present in his Sacraments receyue Iesus Christ himselfe But that this is done substantially and really that is in the maner of the receyuing of a bodily substaunce or thing into mens bodies that we denie and trust
Ergo this sacrament is the reall and naturall body and bloud of Christ and not eyther bread or wine I trow not I dare referre this to the iudgement of them that vnderstande Art But is there nothing in that Masse that maketh against you I trowe he sayth thus Confidentes appropinquamus sancto altari tuo proponentes configuralia sancti corporis sanguinis Christi tui te obsecramus te postulamus saencte sanctorum beneplacita tua benignitate venire spiritum sanctum tuum super nos super proposita munera ista benedicere ea sanctificare Presuming vpon thy mercies we drawe nigh vnto thine aultar And setting before thée apt figures of the bodie and bloud of thy Christ we doe praye and beséech thée O thou holyest of all that by thy good and mercifull pleasure thy holye spirite may come vpon vs and vpon these giftes which are set before thée and that he may blesse and sanctifie them All these wordes would your Basill haue his high Priest to speake after the wordes of consecration as you terme them wherby as much as may be done in making the body and bloud of Christ is done and yet the holy ghost must come vpon those gifts and blesse and sanctifie them yet more When you haue weighed these wordes with the other then tell me what you haue gayned towards your purpose But when he commeth to the distribution All thinges reconed more is lost then won he marreth all for he sayth that they doe all communicate And so your owne Basill ouerthroweth your priuate Masse which may so euill be spared in your holy fathers Church Ambrose calleth it Gratia Dei. The grace of God not accidentall Ambrose De obitu Fratris c. In mine aunswere to the ninth deuision of this Sermon I haue noted of what authoritie Erasmus doth thinke those works to be that are conteyned in the thirde Tome where these wordes that you cite should be He sayth that he is out of doubt that they be all counterfayted and set forth in Ambrose name for there is no whit of Ambrose vayne in them Besides this I meruaile that you are not ashamed when you haue reported a lie to dubbe it with another of your owne saying that Ambrose doth cal the sacrament by the name of the grace of God Were it not for troubling the reader with to much of your folly I would let him sée the whole fable in wryting and referre the iudgement euen to your dearest friendes that haue not lost the vse of their reason Chrysost in 1. Cor. 10. But to make vp the matter withall you haue sought out one place of Chrysostome which doth enforce you to crye out and say Oh with what eloquence doth he vtter this matter Heare but this one place If a man should aske you what matter it is that Chrysostome doth with such eloquence vtter you must say the reall presence of Christ bodie and bloud in the sacrament and that the sacrament is neyther bread nor wine But what one worde hath Chrysostome in that place to proue this His words being taken wholy together are these Quemadmodum frigida accessio periculosa est ita nulla mysticae illius Caenae participatio fames est interitus Ipsa namque mensa animae nostrae vis est nerui mentis fiduciae vinculum fundamentum spes salus lux vita nostra Si hinc hoc sacrificio muniti migrabimus maxima cum fiducia sanctum ascendemus vestibulum tanquam aureis quibusdam vestibus vndique contecti Et quid futura commemoro Nam dum in haec vita sumus vt terra nobis caelum sit facit hoc mysterium Ascende igitur ad Caeli portas diligenter attende Imo non Caeli sed Caeli Caelorum tunc quod dicimus intueberis For euen as a colde comming to the Lordes table is perillous so not to be partaker of the mysticall supper at all is famishment and death For the table is the strength of our soule the sinewes of our minde the bonde of our confidence or sure trust our foundation hope health light and our lyfe It we shall depart hence being armed with this sacrifice we shall with great boldnesse ascende vnto the holy entrie as apparailed on euery side wyth certaine garmentes of Golde And why doe I speake of things to come For euen whylst we be in this lyfe this mysterie doth make the earth to be an heauen vnto vs. Go vp therefore to the gates of heauen and marke diligently Yea not to the gates of heauen but of the heauen of heauens and then thou shalt behold those things that we speake of Here you may sée what it is The ende of Chrysostomes Eloquence that Chrysostome mindeth to set forth by this elequence that he vseth He that will beholde the things that he doth so highly extoll must in spirite go vp to the gate of the heauen of heauens euen into the thirde heauen into which saint Paule was rapt in which he learned things that he could not vtter with his tongue The Lordes supper being rightly vsed of vs doth lyuely set forth vnto vs yea vnto oure senses the Lorde Iesus himselfe which is the strength of oure soule the sinewes of our mind c. This can we not liuely sée vnlesse we doe in spirit ascend to the gate of the heauen of heauens c. But when you will proue your purpose then all that the fathers haue eyther written or spoken to stirre vp their hearers or readers to heauenly contemplation must néedes be playne spéeches and applyed to prooue your grosse opinion of the reall presence of Christ in the sacrament They must néedes say that they neyther vse figure nor spirituall meaning And where Chrysostome doth in an other Homily call the sacrament by these names Rex Caeli Deus In Epist ad Ephes ho. 3. Cyril li. 4. Capit. 17. August Epist 163. Christus as you say The king of heauen God Christ you may thinke your selfe aunswered alreadie And so may you for that which you doe here cite out of Cyrill and Austen But I maruayle much that you could not sée what Chrysostome wryteth against the staryng and gaseing presence of your good people at your Popishe Masse wherein your priest doth eate and drinke vp all himselfe and giueth none any part with him Quisquis mysteriorum consors non est sayth Chrysostome impudens improbus astat Whosoeuer is not partaker of the mysteries is as a shamelesse and wicked man presente at the ministration But what should I trouble the reader any longer in so plaine a matter The fathers haue not disceyued you by calling the sacrament of Christ by so glorious and high names but you haue disceyued your selfe by drawing their figuratiue and Rhetoricall maner of spéeches to playne and grammaticall maners of speaking and their spirituall meanings to your carnall and fleshely meaning And as you haue disceyued your selues so you
as is signified by the outward forme of the sacrament As in baptisme the water which is the outwarde forme signifieth the grace of saluation and remission of sinnes which grace is both giuen to the worthy receyuer and is also promised in scripture to be giuen by the mouth of Christ saying Qui crediderit baptizatus fuerit saluus erit Mar. 16. He that beleeueth and is baptised shall be saued Euen so the outward element of this sacrament which is bread wine doth signifie the grace of the vnitie of Christs misticall bodye that lyke as one bread is made of manye graynes one wine is pressed out of many Grapes so one misticall body of Christ is compact and vnited of the multitude of all Christen people as saint Cyprian sayth Nowe if our sacrament be bread and wine as they say then shal they finde the promise of this grace Cypri li. 1. Epist 6. or of some other in the Scriptures made to the receyuer of bread and wine And if there be no promise in all the scriptures made to the receyuing of bread and wine then be they no sacraments Iohn 6. But if they will looke in the sixt Chapiter of saint Iohn they shall finde this grace of the mysticall vnitie promised not to the receauing of breade and wine but to the worthy receauing of Christes body bloud where Christ sayeth he that eateth my fleshe and drinketh my bloud he abydeth in me and I in him and so is ioyned and incorporate into one misticall body with him Our sacrament therfore that hath the promise annexed vnto it is not bread and wine be they neuer so much appointed to signifie heauenly things as they say but the very body and bloud of oure Lorde Iesus Christ the bread that came from heauen CROWLEY It is sayde that there was once one so malicious that when he perceyued that asking for himselfe what he would he should receyue it but yet vpon such condition that another whome he hated should receyue double so much of the same he being desirous to doe the greatest mischiefe he could to the other asked that one of his owne eyes might be put out for then he knewe that the other should loose both his This mans malice was but little in comparison of yours M. Watson for to haue one of your neyghbors eyes put out you will not stick to put out both your owne eyes your selfe You tell vs that saint Austen sayth but you tell vs not where that euery sacrament of the newe testament is a visible forme of an inuisible grace And that it can not be a sacrament of the newe testament except it haue a promise of some such grace to be giuen to the worthye receyuer as is signified by the outwarde forme of the Sacrament c. Watson hath lost fiue of the Popes seauen sacraments By this you haue at one blowe striken of from the number of your holy fathers sacraments no moe but fiue For where wyll you finde in all the Scripture that eyther confirmation order matrimonie penaunce or extreme vnction are such sacraments as you speake of Or that they or anye of them haue anye such grace promised to the worthy receyuer of them Well Thus you haue dispossessed your selfe of fiue sacraments in hope to spoile vs of one But let vs sée whether we cānot kéepe our two sacraments still and so disappoint you of your purpose Baptisme you doe graunt vs for you say water is the visible or outwarde forme and doth signifie the grace of saluation and remission of sinnes Which grace is not only giuen to the worthy receyuer but also promised by Christes owne mouth when he sayth Qui crediderit c. He that will beléeue and be baptised shall be saued But fearing least you should marre all you leaue out the wordes that folowe Qui verò non crediderit condemnabitur But he that will not beléeue shall be damned Where is now the grace of saluation and forgiuenesse of sinnes that is promised to the outwarde baptising or washing in water Take awaye beliefe and there is no forgiuenesse of sinnes at all No not though you be baptised in water a thousand times Beliefe must goe before and baptising in water must folow after as a seale or confirmation of the fayth And whosoeuer doth beléeue will surely be baptised according to the institution of him in whome he doth beléeue The cause why children be baptised And such as doe beléeue that the promise of forgiuenesse of sinnes through Christ doth apperteyne to them and to their séede will not fayle to begge baptisme for their children also that when they shall come to the yéeres of discretion they may be put in remembraunce that they were dedicated to God and that therefore they ought to lead a godly lyfe as it becommeth such to doe And so many among these as shall be founde worthy that is to saye elected in Christ before the beginning of the worlde shall surely be saued as our Sauiour Christ hath promised But such among them as were not elected in Christ from the beginning shall not be saued although they doe beléeue after a sort as Iudas and Simon Magus did and be baptised too For onely Gods elect are effectually baptised and doe effectually beléeue Baptisme therefore is a visible or outwarde signe of an inuisible grace which grace is by the promise of Christ so annexed to the outward ministration of the visible element water that in Gods elect it neuer fayleth but is euer more effectuall Election in Christ maketh men worthy forgiuenesse of sinnes But in the other that are not elected it is effectuall in preaching lyuely the inuisible grace that is by Christ but it can not make them partakers of that grace bicause they be not worthy of it That is they be not elected in Christ which election alone is it that maketh men worthy Thus haue we one sacrament with your consent M. Watson nowe let vs sée whether we can kéepe another also maugre your beard But first let vs trie if there be not some contradiction in your wordes First you say that the outwarde element in this sacrament is bread and wine Cypri li. 1. Epist 6. and that it doth signifie the grace of the vnitie of Christs mysticall body c. And this you confirme by the testimonie of saint Cyprian And afterwarde you saye that our sacrament that hath the promise annexed vnto it is not bread and wine Contradiction in Watsons words but the very body and bloud of our Lord Iesus Christ the bread that came from heauen Nowe if yea and naye may be contrarie then is there contradiction in your wordes But to the matter There is no promise of grace made in the scripture to the worthy receyuer of bread and wine Wherefore it is manifest that bread and wine can be no sacrament The same reason might be made against that which you haue saide of
secret bringing in of a greater hope which is giuen vs hath set vs in this hope But this sacrifice doth note vnto vs that hope which is called the greater hope whereby we do alwaies approch to serue God And why is this Ramme nowe named the second Ramme Forsooth bicause the Lorde supping with his Apostles did first offer the figuratiue Lambe and afterwarde he did offer his owne sacrifice and did secondarily kill himselfe euen as a shéepe which thing the wordes that followe doe declare And Aaron and his sonnes did put their hands vpon the head of that Ramme Which when Moses had offered the sonnes of Aaron did of necessity set their hands vpon the head of the Ramme with Aaron bicause Christ did celebrate a common supper of the feast of Easter with his Disciples c. Now let the reader consider how faithfully you handle this place of Isychius He expounding the eyght Chapter of Leuiticus What is ment by the second Ram. doth when he commeth to those words Obtulit Arietem secundum c. declare that that second Ramme did signifie our Sauiour Christ Who after he had with his disciples celebrated a common supper of the solemnization of the passouer eating with them the figuratiue Lambe did as it were kyll and offer vp himselfe vpon the crosse bicause he gaue himselfe into the handes of his enimies that fastined him to the crosse which Isychius calleth our sauiour Christes owne sacrifice And you M. Watson will néedes haue vs thinke that our Sauiour did after the offering and eating of the passouer offer his owne sacrifice in bread and wine and afterward offer himselfe on the crosse and that Isychius meaneth so to teach in the words that you cite And to cause the words the better to séeme to serue for your purpose you doe in the place of the Aduerbe Secundo vse Deinde which all wise and learned men doe know to be but homely dealing But that Isychius was not of your minde concerning the sacrifice of the Church the reader may well sée Isychius li. 1. Capit. 1. by that which he wryteth in his first booke and first Chapter His wordes be these Quia sacrificia Deus à nobis pro nostra salute vult non ipse ea opus habens satis nos Paulus commonefacit Ait enim Obsècro itaque vos fratres per misericor diam Dei vt exhibeatis corpora vestra hostiam viuam sanctam Deo placentem racionabile obsequium vestrum Ergo placens sacrificium Deo corporum nostrorum mortificatio est simul enim in eo lucramur quod à peccato abstineamus quod virtutes acquirimus Paule doth sufficiently certifie vs that God hauing no néede thereof will haue sacrifices of vs for the health we haue receyued For he sayth I beseech you therefore brethren euen by the mercie of God that you would giue your bodyes a sacrifice quick holy and acceptable to God which is your reasonable seruing of God The mortification of our bodies therefore is the sacrifice that pleaseth God For we doe therein both winne that we may abstaine from sinne and also that we obtaine vertues By these wordes it is most manifest Isychius doth not agree with Watson that Isychius vnderstood not that place that you haue taken for your theme as you do shewe your selfe to vnderstand it And that therefore he was not of such minde in the other place that you cite out of him for your purpose as you would faine haue men thinke that he was He knewe no mo sacrifices of Christ but one which was offered on the Crosse once for al wherof the Passouer lambe was a figure and our sacrament is a remembraunce And the mortification of our bodies is the sacrifice of thankesgiuing that God doth continually require at our handes As for your Damascenus although Iohn Tritemius Tritem de Eccles scrip Damasc li. 4. Capit. 14. would faine haue him séeme more auncient yet Iohn Patriarcha Hierosolomitanus writing his life sayth that he liued in the dayes of Leo Isaurius which was .720 yeares after Christ His authoritie therefore can not be so waightie that it might enforce vs to graunt that all that he writeth is true though he dissent both from the writinges of other more auncient fathers and scriptures also As in that Chapter out of which you cite his wordes and in many other places of his writings he doth most manifestly But let vs sée howe honestly you applie his wordes that you cite Marke say you that he saith he offered himselfe in the night c. I would gladly be short in these your vnhansome handlings of that which you cite for your purpose but I can not suffer the Reader to lacke those wordes that do giue light to that which you do so subtilly cite Damascenus sayth thus Cibus vero ipse panis vitae Dominus noster Iesus Christus qui ex Coelo discendit Nam suscepturus voluntariam pro nobis mortem in nocte in qua seipsum obtulit testamentum nouum disposuit sanctis Discipulis Apostolis per ipsos omnibus alijs in seipsum credentibus c. Certes that foode which is the bread of life is our Lorde Iesus Christ which came downe from heauen For when he would for our sakes take vpon him a voluntarie death He did in the night wherein he offered himselfe dispose to his holy Disciples and Apostles and by them to all other that beleue in him a newe testament Watsons fallace opened He offered himselfe in the night say you but the oblation on the Crosse was in the mid day Ergo they be distinct oblations All that doe vnderstand what Logicke meaneth do know wherin the fallace of this Argument is he offered himselfe to death and he offered himselfe in death Howe the first can be called a sacrifice I would gladly learne otherwise then the obedience of a Christen man to do the will of God may be called a sacrifice But that will not serue your purpose here For you must haue thys first offering to be a Massing sacrifice propiciatorie both for the quicke and the deade Whether Damascenus can iustly be taken to meane so here I referre to the iudgement of the indifferent Reader But this I must tell you that in the same place he fighteth agaynst your opinion of Datur it is giuen for he sayth Frangetur it shall be broken Wherby it is manifest that he meaneth there of the sacrifice that was made on the Crosse and not of a sacrifice then presently offred as you would haue vs think that he ment Theophilact in Mat. 28. Theophilactus a writer of like antiquitie and integritie of iudgement with Damascenus hath sayd say you Tunc immolauit c. The Reader shall sée the wordes that go before and then let him iudge howe these serue your purpose He sayth thus Possum tibi aliam causam dicere quomodo tres dies tres noctes
Melchisedech brought forth bread and wine to refreshe Abraham and his seruauntes in their returne from the slaughter of the kinges Yea and for this matter that you make so light of he citeth the Hebrue text translating the Hebrue verbe Hotzi Protulit not obtulit thereby making his iudgement of that place manifest If you can proue that Hierome or any other wryter haue in this place vsed obtulit in any other sense then protulit is here vsed in the plaine text I must be bolde to vse Hieroms owne wordes against himselfe and the rest In his Commentarie vpon Math he sayth Hoc quia de scripturis non habet authoritatem In Math. 23. eadem facilitate contemnitur qua probatur Because this thing hath none authoritie of the scripture it is as easily contemned as alowed And in his Apologie of his bookes against Iouinian he sayeth Apolog. lib. aduers Ioui Commentatoris officium est non quid ipse velit sed quid sentiat ille quem interpretatur exponere Alioqui si contraria dixerit non tam interpres erit quam aduersarius eius quem nititur explanare Certe vbicunque scripturas non interpretor libere de meo sensu loquor The dutie of a good interpreter arguat me cui libet durum quid dixisse contra nuptias It is the duetie of one that doth comment vpon the wrytings of other to expound not what he himselfe lusteth but what the meaning of him is whome he doth enterpret Otherwise if he shall say contrarie he shall rather be an aduersarie then an interpretour of him whome he would explane Truely whensoeuer I doe not interpret the scriptures but doe fréely vtter mine owne meaning let him that lusteth reprehend me as one that hath vttred some hard saying against mariage Yet one other place you cite out of Hierome Hiero. quest in Genesim to vnderprop your Popishe priesthood withall Mysterium nostrum c. By thys worde order he did signifie c. If you had bene disposed to deale plainely you would haue ioyned the former part of the Oration with the latter and not haue picked out the latter to serue your purpose leauing out the first Melchisedechs blessing declared Saint Hierome sayth that the Apostle saint Paule in his Epistle to the Hebrues making mention of Melchisedechs being without father and mother doth referre it vnto Christ and by Christ to the Church of the Gentiles For sayth he the glorie of euery head is referred to the members bicause one that was not circumcised did blesse Abraham that was circumcised and in Abraham he blessed Leui and by Leui he blessed Aaron of whome the priesthood did afterwarde come Whereof he would haue vs gather that the priesthood of that Church that was not circumcised did blesse the circumcised priesthood of the Synagoge And then folow the wordes that you should haue cyted Quod autem ait Tu es sacerdos in aeternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech Mysterium nostrum in verbo ordinis significatur c as you haue cyted Our mysterie is signified sayth saint Hierome but you tell not vpon what occasion he sayde so Where as the Apostle sayth sayde saint Hierome thou art a priest after the order of Melchisedech our mysterie is signified in the worde order Not by Aaron in offering vp sacrifices of vnreasonable beastes but by bread and wine that was offered that is the bodye and bloud of the Lorde Iesus Thus farre saint Hierome You must néedes graunt that our mysterie is our coupling togither into members of one body in Christ wherof saint Paule speaketh to the Ephesians When he sayth Mysterium hoc magnum est Ephes 5. ego autem dico in Christo Ecclesia This mysterie is great sayth Saint Paule but I speake it of Christ and the congregation Of the same speaketh saint Austen in his Sermon Ad Infantes Where he sayth thus Vos estis corpus Christi membra Si ergo vos estis corpus Christi membra mysterium vestrum in mensa Domini positum est Citatur à Beda in collect mysterium Domini accipitis Ad id quod estis amen respondetis c. You are the body and members of Christ If you therefore be the body and members of Christ your mysterie is set vpon the Lordes table you receyue the Lordes mysterie To the thing that you your selues are you aunswere Amen And in aunswering you doe subscribe This mysterie was not signified by Aarons sacrifices sayth saint Hierome but by the bread and wine that Melchisedech brought forth to refreshe Abraham and his Souldiours withall 1. Cor. 10. August in Ioh. Tract 26. Which bread and wine was the body and bloud of the Lord Iesus euen as the Manna that fell from heauen and the water that issued out of the rock were the same Your application of this place of Hierome might well haue bene spared therfore if you had dealt plainly with your auditory For it is now manifest to the reader that saint Hierome ment nothing lesse then to teache that Christ offered himselfe once at two times and after two orders The order of Melchisedech declared but he buyldeth vpon saint Paules wordes who sayth that Christ was not a priest to offer after Aarons order but after the order of Melchisedech an eternall and euerlasting sacrifice Now must Austen help you to patch out this matter August in Psal 33. De Ciuit. Dei li. 17. cap. 20. Vpon the tytle of .33 Psalme he sayth thus Coram Regno Patris sui c. And vpon this sentence of Ecclesiastes Non est bonum homini c he sayth thus Quid credibilius dicere c. If saint Austen should in these two places teach as in your application you doe beare your Auditorie in hande that he doth teache Watson would haue Austen teach false doctrine then were his doctrine most false and contrarie to the Euangelicall hystorie For where as the Gospell sayth that Christ did institute the sacrament of his body and bloud the night before he suffered saint Austen must say if you apply his words aright that he did first suffer and then institute the sacrament of his body and bloud afterward But I will not for your pleasure conceyue such an opinion of Austen for I know he was farre from that shamefull errour and open falshood He taught truely that in the time of the olde lawe among the people of the Iewes Christ was a sacrifice after the order of Aaron for by euery bloudy sacrifice was the death of Christ plainely set forth to as many as had eyes to looke and se thorow the shadow of the law But after al those sacrifices that were offered in the shadow of a thing to come he prepared a sacrifice after the order of Melchisedech that is euerlasting and that of his owne body and bloud which is the foode that féedeth into euerlasting lyfe And that this is saint Austens meaning is
in Israell in king Ierobohams time and Baals sacrifices in the dayes of king Ahab You saye it is an enimie and remedie against sinne and you take record of Cyprian the holy Martir and witnesse of Christ but if he were liuing he woulde giue you little thanke to take him to witnesse in so manifest an vntruth In déede Cyprian speaketh reuerentlye and trulye of the holy supper of the Lorde for it is both a remedie to heale our infirmities and a brent offering to purge our iniquities For as S. Austen sayth carnall men must by the degrées and steps of sacramentes be brought from those things that be séene with the bodily eyes August octogint quest 41. to those that be vnderstanded by the minde And so doe sacraments cure our infirmities And as the brent offerings did preach to the offerers that if they woulde haue their iniquities purged by Christ they must offer themselues wholy to God by obedience to his will Euen so doth this holy supper teach vs to offer our soules and bodies in obedience to worke his will whose members we be Thus doth it both cure our infirmities and purge our iniquities as Cyprian hath sayd in the place that you cite WATSON Diuision 6 This little time that I haue now I entende God willing to bestow in this matter to reduce into your remembrance the foundation and commoditie of thys sacrifice of the Church and to repel such bolts as the foolishnesse of some and the malice of other haue shot against it that knowing the necessitie and goodnesse of it we may follow the counsell of S. Bernarde which sayd Discamus eius humilitatem Bernardus homil 3. super missus est imitemur mansuetudinem amplectamur dilectionem communicemus passionibus tauemur in sanguine eius ipsum offeramus propitionem pro peccatis nostris quoniam ad hoc ipse natus datus est nobis Ipsum occulis patris ipsum offeramus suis quia pater proprio filio suo non pepercit sed pro nobis tradidit illum c. Let vs learne his humillitie let vs followe his meekenesse and gentlenesse let vs embrace his loue let vs communicate his passions by suffring with him let vs bee washed in his bloud let vs offer him the propitiation or a sacrifice propitiatorie for our sinnes for to this ende was he borne and giuen to vs let vs offer hym to hys fathers eyes let vs offer him to his owne eyes for the father hath not spared his owne sonne but hath giuen him for vs and so forth Your purpose is you say in this sermon to reduce into the remembrance of your Auditorie CROWLEY the foundation and commoditie of the Masse For that it is that you call the sacrifice of the Church and to repell the bolts c. As foolishe and malicious as you accompt them that haue shot boltes at your Blackbird the Masse yet haue they bestowed them so wisely and charitably in the defence of the true Turtle Doue the Church of Iesus Christ that you nor any of your sort neuer yet hath bene or euer hereafter shall be able to repell them as you bragge that you minde to doe As for your place of Bernarde it might be aunswered with this common saying Bernardus non vidit omnia Bernarde sawe not all things for his antiquitie is vnder fiue hundred yeares So that it was a wonder that he saw any thing the time wherein he liued being so ouershadowed with the cloudes of ignoraunce and superstition and he himselfe also being a Monke by profession Yet will I not so reiect him Bernard was the flower of his time bicause he was the flower of hys time and séemeth by his writings to sée more than he durst well vtter with his tongue or penne And this sentence that you cite out of his Homilie serueth not so much for your purpose as you séeme to think that it doth For what maner of spéeches are these Cōmunicemus passionibus lauemur in sanguine eius Are they not Metaphores For if we vse these words in their proper signification how is it possible for vs to doe the thing that Bernarde exhorteth vs to doe Can we by any meanes suffer any part of that passion that Christ suffered in his owne person And is it possible for vs to bathe our bodies in his bloud I thinke you be not so mad as once to thinke it And why will you then snatch the next sentence which is Ipsum offeramus c. Let vs offer him a sacrifice propitiatorie for our sinnes for to that ende he was borne and giuen vnto vs and vrge that as a proper speach where as it is manifest that to speake properly it cannot be true that any eyther can or euer coulde or euer shall be able to offer vp Christ to his father but he himselfe only We therfore can offer Christ to his father none otherwise than we can bathe our selues in his bloude That is by beléeuing the promise that God the father hath made therein and by receyuing the sacrament Baptisme Now we can offer Christ to his father the seale of that promise on Gods behalfe and of our faith on our behalfe So can not we otherwise offer Christ to his father than by beléeuing that he is that breade of life that came from heauen and that gaue himselfe for the life of the worlde and by receiuing that sacramentall breade and wine which he commaunded to be receyued in remembraunce of his death and passion Thus I trust all indifferent men doe sée how you doe wrest the wordes of Bernarde to make them serue your purpose WATSON Diuision 7. And also as the same Bernarde more plainly writeth in an other place saying thus Pauperes sumus parum dare possumus attamen reconciliari possumus pro paruo illo si volumus totum quod dare possum Bernar. Sermo 1. De Epith. miserum corpus istud est illud si dedero satis est si quo minus addo corpus ipsius nam illud de meo est meum est paruulus enim natus est nobis filius datus est nobis De te domine suppleo quod minus habeo in me O dulcissuma reconciliatio We are poore and little can we giue yet for that little we may be reconciled to God if we wil. Al that I am able to giue is this wretched body of mine If I giue that it is sufficient If it be not I adde also Christes bodie for that is mine and of mine for a little one is borne vnto vs the sonne is giuen vnto vs. O Lord that lacketh in mee I supplie of thee O most sweetest reconciliation See howe S. Bernarde ioyneth the offering of our bodies and of Christes bodie togither That if the oblation of oure bodies be imperfite and suffice not the oblation of Christs bodie maye fulfill and supplie that lacketh in vs. And to what ende That we might be
enforce vs to graunt mayster Watsons conclusion But this one thing I doe much maruaile at that this Masse could neuer be founde in Chrysostomes woorkes as they be set forth in tomes till nowe of late But graunt this to be the iudgement of Chrysostome and Basill both shall we therefore be enforced to graunt that which you doe thereof infer I trowe not May not Chrysostome offer the sacraments to Christ but he must offer Christ himselfe to himselfe I thinke it is no straunge maner of spéeche to saye that those which preache the worde and minister the sacraments doe offer the worde and sacramentes to God As may playnely appéere to as many as will with indifferent iudgement reade that which is written Malachiae 1. and Actes 13. And who doubteth that Christ did once offer himselfe for oure sinnes and doth still offer himselfe to hys Father for with God nothing is past a Mediator and Aduocate for vs 1. Epist 2. as Saint Iohn wryteth And why shoulde not he therefore be called both the offerer and the thing offered although he be not offered by the Priest in his Masse Yea and he receyueth at our hands our thankes giuing when we make our bodies a lyuing holy and acceptable sacrifice to God and why maye it not be sayde that it is he that receiueth And in taking our nature vpon him he gaue hymselfe to vs and we by fayth are made partakers of him and why should it not be sayde that it is he that is distributed But what néedeth all this a doe in séeking a good meaning in those wordes that be of none aucthoritie at all The three formes of Masses fayned If Chrysostome or Basil had written any such forme of Masse the same would haue bene founde in their workes or folowed of some Churches But neyther of both is Ergo it is playne that they neuer did wryte any suche And as for the fable of Saint Iameses Masse all men may deride both the folly of the inuention of it and of all such as estéeme it as his And yet I must by the waye Against priuate Masse note the blindnesse of our Papistes which make so much of that which ouerthroweth one of the chiefe poyntes that they maintayne so stoutly that is their priuate Masse For all these thrée formes of Masses doe appoynt the distribution to be made to all that be present Let vs nowe sée what you haue founde in Saint Ambrose Ambr. li. 10. Epist 85. He sayth Let the triumphant sacrifices which were redéemed c. And of this doe you note your purpose that is that the substaunce of the Sacrifice of the Church is the verie reall bodye and bloud of our sauiour Christ I will not trouble the reader with séeking any good meaning in these wordes which you father vpon Ambrose For as Erasmus doth well note in the beginning of the thirde tome of the workes of Ambrose wherin this Epistle is written there is no cause why a man should thinke that Ambrose was the Author of anye of the Sermons Orations or Epistles conteyned in that tome The wordes of Erasmus be these Tertius hic Tomus Erasmus his iudgement vppon the thirde tome of Ambrose exhibebit orationes Epistolas conciones ad Populum breues quas supposititias esse nihil addubito Nihil enim in his Ambrosianae venae c. Thus saith Erasmus to the Reader This thirde tome shall exhibit vnto thée Orations Epistles and short Sermons made to the people which I doubt not but they are falsely fathered vpon Ambrose for in them there is no whit of Ambroses veyne Doe you therefore conclude vpon them what you will for your purpose it will haue no credite with wise men But nowe let vs sée what you haue founde in Chrysostome in his Homily De Laude Dei Watson leaueth out that should make against himselfe Vereamini inquam vereamini c. Here you leaue out these wordes Cuius omnes sumus participes Whereof we all are partakers What you meane by this maye easily be coniectured for these wordes that you haue left out doe make manifestly for the distribution of the Sacrament to as many as shall be present at the ministration therof But you might not suffer your hearers to vnderstand somuch of the vsage of the Church in Chrysostomes time least they should thinke the Popes Church did wrong in maintayning the priuate Masse In Epist ad hehr homil 17. But what should you winne by these wordes if they were euen so as you doe cite them doth not the same Chrysostome as I haue cyted his wordes before playnly affirme that they doe in that Sacrifice rather make a remembraunce of a Sacrifice August ad Bonifacium Epist 23. then a Sacrifice it selfe And is it not a common thing among the fathers to call the Sacraments by the names of those things wherof they be Sacraments Your conclusion therefore cannot folow vpon these premisses Chrysost homili De Encenijs Agayne Chrysostome hath sayde saye you that the table is furnished with misteries c. And here also you leaue out those wordes that should giue light to the vnderstanding of Chrysostomes his meaning These words I speake saith Chrysostome to those persons which doe leaue the communion and congregation of Saintes and are occupied in the conuenticles of vayne talke euen at the verye houre of the terrible and misticall table O thou man what doest thou didst thou not make a promise to the Priest which sayde lift vp your mindes and hartes and thou saydest we haue them lifted vp to the Lorde Art thou not ashamed and abashed And euen the same houre thou art founde a lyar O good God The table is furnished with misteries and the Lambe of God is offered for thée the Priest sorroweth for thée the bloud floweth from the table The Seraphins are present couering their faces with sixe winges all the spirituall powers doe with the Priest praye for thée the spirituall fyre commeth downe from heauen the bloud in the cup is for thy purification drawne out of the vndefiled side and art thou not ashamed abashed and confounded neyther doest thou make God mercifull vnto thée Nowe M. Watson let vs sée howe these wordes of Chrysostome maye séeme to serue your purpose Chrysostome hath to doe with those men that leauing the communion and congregation of holye men doe in the time of the ministration of the misteries of our saluation giue themselues to vayne iangeling and maye he not vse such figuratiue spéeches but his wordes must by and by be snatched Watson doth snatch a worde for his purpose to maintaine the reall presence of Christ in the Sacrament If you will néedes haue Chrysostome to vse no figure in these wordes the Lambe of God is offered for thée then let him vse no figure in the wordes that follow after immediately The Priest sorroweth for thée the spirituall bloud floweth from the holy table And the
and yet to be vnderstanded by the figure and not as the wordes doe purport And yet are we that saye so farre ynough from the Arians heresie The second circumstance I spake of WATSON Diuision 15. was to consider to what purpose and intent Christ spake those wordes and I sayde they were wordes not of a bare narration teaching some doctrine but the wordes of the institution of a sacrament of the new Testament And then it followeth that if they be the forme of a sacrament as they be in dede then must they needes be that instrument wherby Gods almightie power assisting the due ministration of his Priest worketh that grace inwardly that the words purport outwardly For so it is in all other sacraments In Baptisme these wordes Ego Baptizo te I baptise thee and so forth like as outwardly to the eares of the hearer they signifie a washing so almightie God assisting the due pronouncing of them doth inwardly woorke the grace of washing the soule of him to whome the wordes be spoken if their be no stop or impediment of his partie And lykewise in penaunce as the wordes of the Priest saying Ego absoluo te ab omnibus peccatis tuis in nomine Patris filij spiritus sancti I absolue thee from al thy sinnes in the name of the father and the sonne and the holy Ghost doe signifie forgiuenesse so God doth inwardly forgiue if the partie be truely penitent Lykewise in marriage that knot the man knitteth with the woman in taking hir to his wyfe and she him to hir husband God also inwardly doth knit the same which man can not loose and so foorth of all other sacraments Nowe to oure purpose The grace which is included in these wordes this is my body this is my bloud is not only accidentall grace as in the other but the body of Christ to be our sacrament which is the substaunce of grace the Author Bernar. Sermone De Coena Fountayne Well of all grace as S. Bernard sayth Dicitur Eucharistia per excellentiā In hoc enim Sacramēto non solum quaelibet gratia sed ille à quo est omnis gratia sumitur This sacrament is called Eucharistia for some excellencie aboue all other for in this sacrament is receyued not onely any other grace but he of whome proceedeth all grace Then it followeth that where as the grace of this sacrament which the wordes purport to the outward eares of all men is the essentiall grace of Christes body and bloud to be there present it followeth I saye that Christ by these wordes as by a conuenient instrument worketh inwardly in that he gaue to his Disciples the reall presence of his owne body and bloud Emesenus Oratione De corp sanguine Christi as Eusebius Emesenus sayth Fide aestimandi non specie nec exterioris censenda est visu sed interioris hominis affectu To be esteemed by fayth and not by the outwarde forme and not to be iudged by the sight of the outwarde man but by the affection of the inwarde man CROWLEY First you considered the person of him that spake these words This is my body and nowe you consider his intent in speaking His purpose was not saye you by these words to shewe what the thing was that he spake of but to vse the words as an instrument whereby the inwarde thing signified by the outwarde wordes is wrought And to make this your opinion playne you vse the wordes in Baptisme in Penaunce and the contract in mariage for examples Surely M. Watson this must néedes appéere a straunge maner of doctrine when it shall be waighed by them that doe cōsider what the vse of wordes is and what the almightie power of God is Learned men haue alwayes taught that the vse of wordes is to teach the hearers and that they be instruments seruing onely to that vse None but Sorcerers wyll say that words are instrumentes to worke wonders with In déede the Poete speaking of magicall verses sayth thus Carmina vel caelo possunt deducere lunam Verses are of such force that they are able to bring the Moone downe from heauē But we finde not in the holy scripture or in any Catholike Wryter that wordes haue any other vse then to teache Peraduenture you will saye that the Prophet Dauid will take your part bicause he sayth Verbo Domini caeli firmati sunt Psalme 33. spiritu oris eius omnis exercitus eorum By the worde of the Lorde were the heauens established and all the armie thereof by the breath of his mouth But saint Austen and as many as I haue séene that doe write vpon that Psalme doe with one voyce affirme that the Prophet doth not there meane of such a formed worde as you doe here neyther of the breath that issueth out at the mouth in the vttering of such wordes but of the sonne of God and the holy Ghost So that his wordes are this much to say In the sonne and the holy Ghost hath the Lorde which is but one diuine power established the heauens c. The power of God is such that at his worde beck or twinckling of his eye he is able to doe what he will doe According to the wordes of the same prophet in another Psalme Deus noster in caelo omnia quaecunque voluit fecit in caelo in terra Our God is in heauen Psal 114. looke what he would doe that hath he done both in heauen and in earth I conclude therefore that it is the power of God that worketh all in all And that the worde formed is no instrument to worke by otherwise then in teaching And therefore your examples be euill fauouredly applied As for your Bernarde and your Emisenus I néede not much to estéeme sith as it maye séeme they be Doctors of your owne making and therfore I can not blame them though they speake as you would haue them speake But it should haue bene much more for your honesty being father of the act when they procéeded to haue instructed them so before hand that they might haue béene able to speake congrue latine I know not by what rule of Grammer this can be iustified to be congrue latine Fide estimandi non specie nec exterioris hominis censenda est visu c. Neyther doe I know by what figure it may be excused But though your Emisenus had written as good latine as euer did Cicero yet could I not much regarde his iudgemēt for that I finde that he was Signifer arianae factionis Chronico Hieronymi the standard bearer of the Arian faction Or if you haue any other Emisenus to shewe I suppose he will be founde when you shall shewe him such one as Byshop Iewell prooueth Mayster Hardyngs Amphilochius to be Your Bernardus also must be such another For that Bernardus that was Claraeuallensis Abbas was of another minde as it appéereth in his Sermon In caena
for your purpose contrarye to their meaning seing Christ hymselfe hys Apostles and Euangelistes the auncient fathers and counsels haue in most playne wordes taught the contrarie of that which you defende It is manifest therefore that you stryuing against the knowne truth your owne consciences the determination of the whole Church are enimies to God breakers of his peace And deuyding your selues from the Church must néedes in the ende come to confusion euerlasting vnlesse yée repent in tyme. WATSON Diuision 7. Concilium Ephes Epist ad Nestor Likewise the next generall counsell holden at Ephesus in the tyme of Theodosius the Emperour eleuenth hundred and twenty yeres ago doth determine this truth lykewise in these wordes Necessario igitur hoc adijcimus Annunciantes enim sicut secundum carnem mortem vnigeniti filij Dei id est Iesu Christi resurrectionem eius in caelis ascensionem pariter confitentes incruentum celebramus in Ecclesijs sacrificij cultum sic etiam ad misticas benedictiones accedimus sanctificamur participes sancti corporis preciosi sanguinis Christi omnium nostrum redemptoris effecti non vt communem carnem percipientes quod absit nec vt viri sanctificati verbo coniuncti secundum dignitatis vnitatem aut sicut diuinam possidentis habitationem sed vere vinificatricem ipsius verbi propriam factam We adde this also necessarily We shewing and declaring the corporall death of Gods onely begotten sonne Iesus Christ and likewise confessing his resurrection and ascention vnto heauen doe celebrate the vnbloudy oblation and sacrifice in our Churches for so we come to the misticall benedictions and are sanctified being made partakers of the holy body and precious bloud of Christ all our redeemer not receauing it as common fleshe God forbid nor as the fleshe of an holy man and ioyned to the worde of God by vnitie of dignitie nor as the fleshe of him in whome God dwelleth but as the fleshe onely proper to Gods sonne and verily giuing lyfe to the receauer By this determination of this generall counsell wee learne that in the mysticall benediction by which worde is meant this blessed Sacrament wee receaue Christes owne proper fleshe and of it we receaue sanctification and lyfe before the receypt whereof we celebrate the vnbloudy sacrifice of the same in our Churches declaring our Lordes death resurrection and ascention and by this place wee plainely perceiue that the doings and wordes which be vsed daylie in our Masse were also vsed in the tyme of thys counsell much aboue a thousande yeares ago By the wordes of the Ephesian counsell CROWLEY you would not onely proue the reall presence in the sacrament but also that the same Apishe toyes that be nowe vsed in the Popishe Masse were then vsed which was within .468 yeres after Christ But the Popes owne hystories doe playnely declare that the greatest number of those things were not as then inuented But to frame the matter somewhat better to your purpose you helpe it a little in wryting out the wordes For in the place of Sacrificij seruitutem you write Sacrificij cultum Supposing belyke that the base Epitheton of seruitude would abate somewhat the high estimation that you would your Masse shoulde haue Well let that passe It is no fault in men of your sort But let vs sée howe this place maye proue the reall presence of Christ in the sacrament The Authors of this Epistle would bring Nestorius then Byshop of Constantinople backe agayne from his errour which was that of the Virgin Marie was borne onely the manhood of Christ and not Christ God and man So that he deuided Christ into two persons one diuine and another humane And to proue that the manhoode in Christ is ioyned with the Godhead in vnitie of person these Byshops doe in this part of their Epistle ioyne to the confession of their beliefe concerning the corporall death resurrection and ascention of our sauiour into heauen the celebration of the remembraunce of his death which they call Incruentam sacrificij seruitutem the vnbloudy seruice of the sacrifice And to make their meaning more playne they say that they come to the misticall benediction and be made holye when they be made partakers of the holy body and precious bloud of Christ the redéemer of all Not receyuing the same as common fleshe or as the fleshe of an holy man or of a man that is ioyned to the sonne of God by the vnitie of dignitie or that possesseth the heauenly habitation but as fleshe that hath power to giue lyfe in déede and is become the peculiar and proper fleshe of the sonne of God himselfe For say they he that is lyfe as beyng God bycause he is vnited to his owne fleshe hath declared the same to be of force to giue lyfe c. These wordes indifferently weighed doe proue that the manhood in Christ is ioyned to hys diuine nature in vnitie of person but that the same manhood is really present in the sacrament and therein offered vp in sacrifice can not be proued by these wordes August ser De sacramentis fidelium Yea these wordes doe verie well agrée with the doctrine of Saint Austen when he sayth thus Qui non manet in Christo in quo Christus non manet proculdubio nec manducat eius carnem neque bibit eius sanguinem etiamsi tantae rei sacramentum iudicium sibi manducet bibat Who so abideth not in Christ and in whome Christ abideth not without doubt he doth neyther eate his fleshe nor drinke his bloud although he doe to his owne condemnation eate and drinke the sacrament of so worthy a thing And agayne he sayth Huius rei sacramentum id est vnitatis corporis sanguinis Christi alicubi quotidiè alicubi certis interuallis dierum in Dominico praeparatur de mensa Domini sumitur quibusdam ad vitam quibusdam ad exitium Res vero ipsa cuius est sacramentum est omni homini ad vitam nulli ad exitium quicunque eius particeps fuerit The sacrament of this thing that is of the vnitie of the body and bloud of Christ is in some places prepared euery day in some place in certaine distance of dayes in the Lordes daye and is receyued at the Lordes table to lyfe in some and to destruction in some other But the thing it selfe whereof it is a sacrament is lyfe to euery man that is partaker thereof and destruction to none So the Fathers of the Ephesian councell haue verie well confessed that comming to the mysticall benediction and being made partakers of the holy body and blessed bloud of Christ they are sanctified and made holy by that quickening fleshe of Christ which being ioyned to his Godhead in vnitie of person is of power to giue euerlasting life to as manye as shall be partakers thereof by dwelling in Christ as saint Austen hath taught I conclude therefore that you haue
away Per ipsum igitur offerrimus sacrificium laudis semper Deo hoc est fructum labiorum confitentium nomen eius Through him therefore we doe alwayes offer vnto God a sacrifice of praise that is the fruit of those lips that doe confesse his name This sacrifice hath Antichrist of Rome taken away from the vniuersall Church of Christ in taking vpon himselfe the title of vniuersall head of the same Church which tytle is due to Christ onely and in taking vpon him the authoritie and power to remitte and pardon sinnes which power belongeth to God onely The fruite of those lips that confesse his name is taken away when none may without perill of death confesse that Christ onely is the vniuersall head of his Church and that God onely in his sonne Christ and for his sake doth fréely forgiue and pardon sinnes Thus you haue my iudgement of a sacrifice contynuall that may be taken away by Antichrist and yet is not your Popishe Masse The thrée yeres and halfe also may well be applyed to the times wherin the power of Rome hath taken away this sacrifice by cruell persecution so that very few or none in all the knowne worlde durst offer this sacrifice to God Now let the indifferent reader be iudge betwéene your iudgement mine in this matter of a continuall sacrifice that may be taken away by Antichrist But that Daniell ment there to prophecy that Antichrist shal take away the continuall sacrifice the text will not suffer me to thinke For he sayth thus A tempore oblationis iugis sacrificij The meaning of Daniels prophecie positae abominationis desolationis dies mille ducenti non aginta From the time of the taking away of the contynuall sacrifice and setting vp of the abhomination of desolation are a thousand two hundereth foure score and ten dayes Which is the time two times and halfe a time that he spake of before The continuall sacrifice of the temple was fully ended and taken away by Christes one oblation of hymselfe 2. Thess 2. and the abhomination of desolation is set vp in the Church of Christ the man of sinne boasting himselfe to be God as doth the Antichrist of Rome which setteth vp himselfe aboue all that is called God that is aboue all Princes and earthly Potentates The space therefore betwéene the ending of the ceremoniall sacrifices and Christes comming to iudgement may be a time two times and halfe a time That is a long time twise so long a time to the feruent desire that Gods elect haue to sée the ende and but halfe a tyme that is to say a verie short time in comparison of that euerlasting time wherein they shall raigne with Christ in glorie incomparable Words that remayne sealed This my iudgement I submit to the iudgement of the godly learned til that time be ended during which as the Angell tolde Daniell those wordes of his must remaine sealed Thus much haue I written to let the reader sée what scriptures you haue brought to prooue the oblation of Christes body in the Masse to be the sacrifice of the Church and newe testament Which as you say many haue assaulted and oppugned with such direct scriptures Doctours and good reasons that it is by them expugned and can not be by you propugned Not by tyrannicall power but by simple and plaine preaching of the Gospell these men haue preuayled in many places for a time And Truth the daughter of Time hath neuer suffered hir selfe to be altogither ouercome by Popishe tyranny WATSON Diuision 27 Heb. 9. 10. Some scriptures they abuse what they be ye shal heare They alledge saint Paule to the Hebrues Semel oblatus est ad multorum exhaurienda peccata Christ was once offered to take away the sinnes of many Vnica oblatione cōsumauit inaeternum sanctificatos With one oblation he hath perfited for euermore al that be sanctified These be the scriptures they alledge against the Masse and they say Christes oblation is perfite no man can offer Christ but himselfe which hee did but once and neuer but once as though we should say that Christ was crucified twise or often times To this obiection of theirs wee aunswere that Christ was neuer offred to the death for our redemption but once and yet otherwise was he offered many times both of himselfe and of his creatures Daniell 7. We reade in the prophet Daniell that Aungels offered him in the sight of his father Luc. 3. Bernard Ser. 3. de purificatione And also the blessed Virgin his mother offered him at hir purification of which offering saint Bernard sayth Ista oblatio fratres satis delicata videtur vbi tantum sistitur domino redimitur auibus illico reportatur Thys oblation brethren is very delicate where he is onely presented to our Lorde redeemed with birdes and by and by brought home againe And therefore we aunswere them that their argument is of no strength to confute one truth by another when both may be true as to reason Christ was but once offered vpon the crosse Ergo he was not offered in the sacrament And we tell them that they doe not consider how Christ is offred three wayes of himselfe and also three wayes of man First he offred himselfe vpon the crosse really and corporally as I say as sayth Oblatus est quia voluit Isay 50. This is manifest ynough And here their exclamations of ones ones hath very good place Secondly he offered himselfe figuratiuely in the paschall lambe For the scripture sayth the lambe was slaine from the beginning of the worlde Apo 13. and the fathers in the olde lawe in all their sacrifices did offer Christ not in substaunce but in figure and so Christ offering the paschall lambe at his supper offered him selfe in figure Thirdly Christ offreth himselfe in heauen really and so contynually as the same Chapiter which they bring against the Masse doth testifie Non in manifacta sancta Iesus introiuit exemplaria verorum Heb. 9. sed in ipsum coelum vt appareat nunc vultui Dei pro nobis Iesus entred not into a temple made with mans hand a figure of the truth but into heauen that he might appeare nowe to the countenaunce of God for vs. What is this appearing in the sight of God for vs but an offering of himselfe for vs to pacifie the anger of God with vs to represent his woundes and all that he suffered for vs that we might be reconciled to God by him This is the true and perpetuall oblation of Christ in comparison of this in heauen the bloudy oblation vpon the crosse is but an Image as S. Ambrose sayth Hic vmbra hic imago Ambrose offi lib. 1. Capit. 48. illic veritas vmbra in lege imago in Euangelio veritas in coelestibus antè agnus offerebatur vitulus nunc Christus offertur sed offertur quasi homo quasi recipiens passionem offert se ipse
himselfe as a priest doth offer sacrifice to release vs of our sinnes Here that is in the mortall state he walked in an ymage But there that is in the immortall state he walketh in the truth That is a verie Aduocate without any outward shew or ymage of one that should not be able to bring to passe that which he hath taken in hande that is the restoring of man to the fauour of God agayne According to this meaning doth Ambrose wryte vpon the Psalme that you name Ascende ergo in coelum Ambrose i◠Psalm 38. videbis illa quorum vmbra hic erat vel Imago c. Clime vp into heauen therefore O thou man and thou shalt sée those things the shadowe or ymage whereof was here Thou shalt sée not in part nor in a darke spéeche but in perfection Not vnder a couering but in the light Thou shalt sée that priest which is a priest in déede euerlasting and continuall whose ymages thou didst sée here Peter Paule Iohn Iames Mathew Thomas Thou shalt see him a perfite man now not in an ymage but in power And to put all men out of doubt that Ambrose meaneth not to maintaine your madde assertion of a perpetual oblation made by Christ in such sort as you imagine I will let the reader sée what he wryteth vpon the same place to the Hebrues that you do alledge Si semel oblatus non sufficeret c. Hebr. 9. If he had not bene able by being once offered to take away the sinnes of all that beléeue in him he must haue suffered oftentimes since the beginning of the worlde For the auoyding whereof he did once suffer in the ende of the worlde to consume vtterly the sinnes of many And why of many and not of all Because all doe not beléeue c. Here it is manifest that Ambrose supposed that the sinnes of all the faithfull were cleane consumed by that one oblation that Christ offered once for all So that it is playne without all controuersie that Ambrose minded not to teache that Christ doth continually offer himselfe a sacrifice to his father for vs but that the mortall state in thys worlde is in comparison of the immortall state in heauen but euen as an ymage is in comparison of the thing that it doth represent As for the place that you cite out of saint Iohns Epistle is aunswered by that which you your selfe haue sayde of the first way of Christs offering of himselfe For you say that that was done really and corporally and that our exclamations of once once haue very good place there I am sure you do not thinke that this most perfite maner of offring that you speak of here wherof you say the first was but an ymage should be other then real corporal And then how serueth our exclamatiō of once once in the first vnlesse it doe vtterly exclude this last that you doe so greatly extoll I know that saint Iohn hath sayde Aduocatum habemus apud Patrem Iesum Christum iustum ipse est propitiatio pro peccatis nostris We haue an Aduocate with the father which is Iesus Christ the righteous he is the propitiatorie sacrifice for our sinnes He sayth not he was say you but he is I thinke the Diuines of your owne sort was and shall haue no place in God doe lament to sée you take holde of so slender a stay as this to kéepe you from falling For what Diuine knoweth not that was and shall haue no place in Gods doings when men will speake properly of him and his doings God in himselfe is alwayes that which with vs and in our maner of spéeche he is sayde to haue bene or shall be It would haue done well if you could haue cyted but one wryter eyther auncient or newe that vnderstandeth this place as you doe But because there is none to be cyted you slip it ouer with so by this c. But that the reader may sée how worthy of credite you be I wil let him sée the iudgement of the auncient Grecians gathered by one that you haue in these Sermons cyted for your purpose more then once Oecumenius vpon this place sayth thus Aduocatmm verò dicit eum qui Patrem pro nobis precatur siue flectit Humano autem modo dispensatione quadam haec dicta sunt quemadmodum illud Filius nihil potest facere à se ipso Haec enim dicit ne Deo aduersari videatur Nam quod etiam filius haberet potestatem remittendi peccata ostenderat in Paralytico Sed discipulis dando vt peccata dimitterent Iohn 5. Math. 9. Iohn 20. ostendit quod sua potestate hoc tribueret Verum vt diximus aut dispensatoriè hoc dicit nunc Apostolus aut ostendens eandem filij cum patre naturam eandemque potentiam Et quòd quicquid faceret vna trium sanctarum personarum commune esset reliquis He calleth him an Aduocate which doth entreate the father for vs Christ called an Aduocate by dispensation or cause him to relent But these wordes are spoken after the maner of men and by a certaine dispensation euen as is this The sonne can doe nothing of himself These wordes he speaketh least he should séeme to be against God For he had already shewed in the man that was sick of a palsey that the sonne also had power to forgiue sinnes Also in gyuing hys Disciples power to forgiue sinnes he shewed that he did by his owne power graunt that But as I haue sayde the Apostle doth speake this nowe eyther by dispensation or else to shewe that the nature and power of the sonne is all one and the same with the father And that whatsoeuer thing one of the thrée holy persons should doe the same should be common to the rest By this we may see that you haue wrested the plaine scriptures to proue the thrée folde offering of Christ beside the oblation of himself in his supper which is the point that you go about to declare We deny not that Christ is our aduocate and sacrifice propitiatorie for our sinnes but we confesse that he is hath bene and shall be so for euer The act of mediation once done extending the vertue force of his death and bloudshedding to all the faythfull that eyther haue béene or shall be betwéene the first man and the last But the action of oblation is but one and once done vpon the crosse when he sayd Consummatum est It is finished As for the thrée wayes that you say Christ is offered by man are not worth the weighing Figuratiuely you saye Christ is offered in the oblation of the olde Testament Here was would haue serued better then is And yet he was not then offered as I haue shewed in that which I haue aunswered to the seconde way of Christes offering himselfe In your Masse you say you offer him mystically I might conclude that therefore you do