the onely foundation of the Christian faithe and of all godly doctrine and yet in an other place he saieth Ye are citizens with the Sainctes and of the housholde of God and are builte vpon the foundation of the Prophetes and Apostles And in the Apocalipse of Iohn we reade that the wall of the newe citie hath twelue foundations and in them the names of the twelue Apostles Here doe we see saie thei that Christ is called the light of the worlde and yet notwithstandyng the Apostles are called the light of the worlde also Likewise we see that christ is called the foundation yet notwithstanding the Apostles are called foundations also why should not then the virgine Marie and the sainctes be called Aduocates Mediatours and intercessours as well as our Sauiour Christe though it be not after one sorte and maner Why ought men to bee offended if folowyng the phrase of the scriptures wee doe attribute vnto the blessed virgine Marie and vnto the other Sainctes the office of mediation and intercession As for the first it is to bee vnderstanded that our heauenly father and his sonne Christe Iesus our Lorde haue many tymes of their speciall grace communicated or giuen that name vnto men that did not properly pertaine vnto them not for to saie that thei were so in very deede and of their owne nature but by reason of some office and dignitie that God did putte theim in also to the ende that thei should haue their office in greater estimation as it dooeth manifestely appeare by the example of Christe and of his Apostles whiche thei do commonly alledge For our sauiour Christ is the true and natural light of the worlde but the Apostles are the light of the worlde onely by the denomination or communication that is to saie the Apostles were not called the light but onely because that thei were lightened and deliuered from darknesse by the light of our sauiour Christ. And for this cause the holy Apostle doeth call the Christians light when he saieth Ye were in tymes paste darkenes but now ye are light in the Lorde Now our sauiour Christ lighteneth no man but onely to this ende that he should shine vnto other with good workes as he him self sufficiently declareth saiyng Let your light so shine before men that thei maie see your good workes and glorifie your father whiche is in heauen Also Christe doeth geue this name to his Apostles because of the office that he called them vnto whiche was the preachyng of his holy Gospell and of the worde of God which in the scriptures is called light After the same maner Magistrates Kynges and rulers are in the Scriptures called gods not bicause they are so in deede or that suche a name doeth properlye pertaine vnto them but bicause of the dignitie that GOD hath placed them in and also to the ende that the subictes shoulde haue their princes in greater reuerence beyng obedient vnto them as vnto god But when god doth take awaie this office from them he doth also take awaie the name In like maner now the apostles are no more light For they be no more in place where thei can shine vnto men by good workes they be no more in the office of preachyng I would faine that these greate learned doctours shoulde shewe mee a place in all the scriptures wherein the wisdome of the Father our sauiour Christe or the angelles and apostles dyd euer geue either vnto the virgine Marye or vnto anye of the sainctes the name or office of mediatour intercessour ▪ and aduocate then would I saie that their distinction might take place but no suche place can they shewe though they shoulde breake their heartes As for the place that they doe aleadge out of the Epistle to the Ephesians it is plaine enough and néedeth no exposition at all For if we looke narowly vpon the wordes of Sainct Paul we shall finde that he doth not saie Ye are built vppon the Prophetes and Apostles but are builte vpon the foundation of the Prophetes and Apostles The Apostles then and Prophetes were not the foundation but they had all one foundation whiche is our Sauiour Iesus Christ vpon whom as vppon a sure and strong rocke they both builded the Churche of God. And in the Reuelation of Iohn by the twelue foundations wherein the names of the Apostles are written are all the Sermons that the twelue Apostles did make vnto the twelue tribes of Israell to be vnderstanded And they be called foundations bicause that by them Christ our sauiour who is the onely foundation of the Churche of GOD was preached vnto them bicause I saie that by them the true and only foundation whiche is our sauiour Christe was layde Saint Iohn doth not saie that the Apostles are foundations but that their names be written in the foundations Whereby it appeareth plainely enough that al that our Louanian papistes go aboute is to paruerte the true saiynges and meanyng of the sacred scriptures and worde of god Yea though it were so that they could prone by the places by them alledged that the Apostles were called foundations yet it woulde helpe them nothyng For as it hath been saide alreadie before we doe not finde in all the whole body of the Scriptures that either God our sauiour Christe or his Apostles did euer call the Sainctes intercessours aduocates or mediatours betwene God and men Therefore I saie againe that we neede no suche distinctions as they doe make to the vtter blasphemyng of the onely begotten Sonne of God our sauiour Iesus Christ whom I do stedfastly beléeue to bee the onely mediatour betweene God and vs as the Scriptures doe plainely testifie vnto vs in euerie place Some there be among them whiche beyng compelled by the Scriptures to confesse that our Sauiour Christ is the only mediatour betweene God and men are woont to replye on this maner and to saie that although christ our sauiour is an omnisufficient mediatour betwéene God and man yet wee must haue some intercessours aduocates and mediatours betweene hym and vs For howe durste we els beyng synners come before his presence or direct our praiers vnto hym Is it not written that God heareth not synners Moreouer when we haue a matter before any earthly Prince muste wee not haue mediatours for to bryng vs vnto his person And also to speake and intreate for vs Who of vs all durst be so bolde to come vnto an earthly kyng without suche meanes that is to saie not beyng brought to him either by some of his Counsell or by some of his Chaumber or else by some of his Lordes or Gentlemen How dare we then to bee so bolde to come without intercessours aduocates and mediatours vnto him that is Kyng of all Kynges Prince of all Princes and Lorde of all Lordes In comparison of whom all the Princes of the world are nothyng But who can be more meete for to bryng vs
and stinckyng harlotte of Antichriste Thei haue alwaies in their mouthes this saiyng of saincte Augustine non crederem Euangeli◠nisi me ecclesiae catholicae authoritas commoueret I would not beleue the Gospell excepte the aucthoritie of the Catholike Churche moued me These fewe words haue thei tossed to and fro to presse out of them that is not in theim and would seme to goe aboute to proue the creature aboue the creatour that made all thynges But as S. Augustine saieth he beleued the Gospell because of the Church so likewise he hath said Exore veritatis ecclesiam agnosco participem veritatis By the mouthe of the truthe I knowe the churche that is partaker of the truthe But whereas thei would seme to goe aboute to proue by Augustines woordes that the Churche is aboue the worde of God their folie herein is easily espied if wée consider the cause that moued Augustine so to speake The Manichees would needes goe about to proue and make men to beleue that the Epistle of Fundamētus was of as good aucthoritie as the Epistles of Paule Peter Iames or Ihon. And that their Manicheus was the Apostle of Christe Augustine aunswereth theim and saieth he can not bee so easily perswaded by the same reason to receiue the Epistle of Manicheus as the Epistles of Peter and Paule c. He giueth a reason why for because saieth he in receiuyng of them thei had the aucthoritie testimonie and commendation of the Catholike Churche but Fundamentus Epistle hath no aucthoritie nor testimonie but onely of the Manichees theim selues whiche were openly shutte out from the Churche whiche by no meanes can be in equall aucthoritie with the aucthoritie of the Churche So if wée marke Augustines woordes well wée shall easily perceiue that he maketh not the Churche iudge of the scriptures nor yet graunteth any aucthoritie to the church ouer the scriptures but onely as witnesses and testimonies whiche bee the true canonicall scriptures from the Apochriphes and counterfecte Scriptures as this Epistle of the Manichees And that this is the true meaning of sainct Augustine one of their owne doctours and a Papiste for his life saieth vpon these woordes of sainct Augustine before recited Errare cos qui ijs dem Augustini verbis abutuntur ad probandum quod Papae vel cōcilium vel ecclesia possit immutare quae ab Euangelistis Apostolis sunt tradita That is to saie they do erre whiche vse the same wordes of sainct Augustine to proue that the Pope or Counsaile or the churche maie alter or chaunge what so euer haue been deliuered by the Euangelistes and Apostles No◠wee maie not gather herevpon that the aucthoritie of the churche is greater then the aucthoritie of the scriptures because that there bee many founde whiche dooe take the holy scriptures for authenticall as moued by the aucthoritie of the Churche In deede to them the Churche séemeth better then the holie scriptures but thei bee farre otherwise of them selues Els Moyses should by the same reason bee of greater aucthoritie then Christe because that many beleued in Christe moued by the aucthoritie of the scripture of Moyses as Christ saith If you would beleue Moyses ye would beleue me also We reade in Iohn thus And of that citie many of the Samaritans beleued in Christe vppon the woorde of the woman whiche bare witnesse and saied For he tolde me all thynges that I haue doen. Accordyng vnto this argument the aucthoritie of the synfull woman was more then of Christe and so it was in deede at the firste of more reputation with the people of the citie to whom Christe was yet vnknowen But of it self it was not so nor afterwardes whē thei hearyng the doctrine of saluation of Christe hym self thei saied vnto the woman Now we doe not beleue because of thy woordes for we haue heard knowen that this is verely the sauiour of the worlde Sainct Ihon shewed Christe vnto the people yet he was not greater then Christe In sainct Peter we doe reade in this wise Likewise ye women also bee subiecte vnto your husbandes that thei also whiche dooe not beléeue the woorde maie be wonne without the worde through the conuersation of the woman c. Ergo whereas the vnfaithfull husbande is stirred vnto the faithe of Christe by the regarde of the conuersation of his wife whiche he seeth is honeste chaste faithfull and obediente whereas he coulde not bee moued by the preachyng of the Gospell maie we gather that the conuersation of the woman is better or greater then the Gospell In deede so it appeareth but it is to hym whiche is still vnfaithfull not vnto hym which doeth acknowedge the trueth of the Gospell and the aucthoritie of God. The Churche had in tymes paste greate estimation of holy conuersation whereby many were brought vnto the faithe of Christ and the aucthoritie of the church did them good But yet it was not of it selfe better then the truth of the Gospell ¶ The xxxlx Chapiter ¶ Of the office and aucthoritie of the Churche and how i◠maie erre and how it cannot erre THE Churche we graunt as part we touched before hath three offices touchyng the worde of god The first and formoste of them is that as a witnesse she keepeth the holie bookes of the Canonicall scriptures But thereby it can not be proued that it is lefull for her to peruerte or alter any thyng in the saied holie bookes As publique and priuate writynges are committed to Scriueners or Notaries to be laied vp and kepte of them And yet none will saie he maie alter any thyng of those writynges The seconde office is to preache and publishe the wordes committed vnto it by God but it maie publishe nothyng but what is taught by the worde to them deliuered as a common crier who although he publishe the decrees of Princes and Magistrates yet he is not aboue the decrees of Princes and Magistrates but his whole office is faithfully to pronounce all thynges as he hath receiued them of the Prince addyng nothyng to it nor takyng ought awaie The thirde office is sithe that she is indued with the spirite of God it must therefore discerne and trie the sincere and vncorrupte bookes of holie scriptures from the counterfecte and Apochriphas So many can descerne the true and proper writynges of Plato and Aristotle So we can descerne God from the deuill and yet are we not to be compted equall with God much lesse can we thinke that we doe excell hym Now we haue saied somewhat of the office of the Churche I will also declare the whole aucthoritie that she hath by the woorde of GOD. The aucthoritie then of the true Churche of our Sauiour Christe doeth moste chiefly consiste in fower thynges First this true and faithfull Churche hath aucthoritie to choose and ordeīne ministers as wee learne by the example of the Apostles and of the Churches that bee spoken
contradiction or resistaunce But the scriptures do teache vs cleane contrary For they all testifie vnto vs that Christe our Sauiour hauyng offered one oblation or sacrifice for synnes is set downe on the right hande of God for euer tariyng there till his fooes be made his footstoole as it hath been sufficiently proued before Thei doe therefore alledge in vaine the omnipotencie and almightie power of God for to proue thereby their deuillishe and moÌ„strous opinioÌ„ beyng in this point like vnto the anabaptistes which wheÌ„ thei be so sore pressed with the scirptures that they knowe not whiche waie to escape doe flye streight waie vnto the spirite hauyng then none other thyng in their mouthes but the spirite the spirite So these ioly felowes when they be beaten with the scriptures that they haue not one worde to saie will by and by with a great circumstaunce of wordes and fetchyng aboute alledge the omnipotencie and almightie power of God settyng foorth his wonderous works miracles that he hath wrought by it that so they may vnder the shadowe of them deceaue and blinde the poore vnlearned people whiche haue no vnderstandyng nor perceiueraunce of thynges These be for the moste parte the goodly argumentes and reasons that they doe vse if god hath doen this thyng or that thyng then will they bryng in some excellent miracle that god did worke in tymes paste may not he by his omnipotencie and mightie power bring to passe that the natural body of his sonne Christe should be in the Sacrament ye may see howe these newe fangled felowes do most shamefully deny the omnipotencie of God. These and other like thynges they doe daiely vomite out againste the true ministers of Gods worde in their railyng bookes and vpon their Alebenche where as they themselues are vtter enimies and subuerâ—ours of the omnipotencie and almightie power of god For thei do preache and daily shewe teache and write and also with fyre and sworde compell men to beléeue that christe can not geue vnto vs his fleshe to eate excepte his naturall body that he tooke of the virgine Marie that died vpon the crosse and ascended vp into heauen be there in the Sacrament â–ª really and substancially in déede more like a monstrous thyng then an humaine body Wheras on the contrarie we doe both beléeue and teache that our sauiour christ is able by his euerlasting and almighty spirite whensoeuer we doe worthely receiue his Sacrament to feede with his most precious flesh and blood both our soules and bodies vnto life euerlastyng and yet that hee needeth not therefore to come downe from heauen nor to be after suche a monstrous fashion in the sacramentall bread and wine For as the blood of our sauiour christ doth cleanse vs from all our synnes and yet we neede not to haue it really present with vs for to be washed or bathed in it so Christ our sauiour accordyng to his promise doeth daily or whensoeuer we doe come worthely to his holy Table feede both our bodies and soules with the wholsome and heauenly foode of his pretious body and blood and this doeth he by his eternall and almightie spirite so that he needeth not therefore to come downe at the becke and commaundement of euery iuglyng Papiste and to be really present in a péece of their sterched breade after that they haue with gapyng and blowyng spoken foure or fiue wordes vpon it Let any man that hath any sparke of the spirite of GOD iudge whether this maner of feedyng vpon the body and blood of Christ in the holy Sacrament whiche as I saide is doen by his eternall spirite doth not in all poinctes agrée with the holy Scriptures and with the almightie power of God who is neuer wont sith that of his owne nature he is most true to do or worke any thyng againste his owne worde and sacred Scriptures wherby we are certified that the heauens muste holde our Sauiour Christe till all thynges be restored againe that God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophetes since the worlde began The examples that they doe bryng of the walkyng of our Sauiour Christ vpon the waters or of his commyng in to his disciples and apostles when the doores were faste shut if they be well considered and looked vppon it shal be easie for to perceaue and vnderstande that they make nothyng for them but rather against them For when our Sauiour Christe did walke vpon the Sea although he did it by his diuine and godly power yet had he at the same present houre his true and naturall body with due proportion of lymmes and all other dimensions that doe pertaine to a mans body so that he coulde then be seene with the bodily eyes of his apostles taken vp sensibly into the Boate that they were in But no suche thyng will thei alowe in their monstrous being of christe his true and naturall body in their Sacrament Therefore this example maketh not for them but against them Now againe where they saie that our Sauiour Christ did go in to his apostles through the doores beyng faste shut here they make a shamefull lye For neither in the Gréeke nor in the Latine we shal finde that it is written through the doores beyng fast shut but the doores beyng shut or when the doores were fast shut Whereby the Euangelist doth signifie vnto vs the tyme that our Sauiour Christe came in to his disciples For therby may we vnderstande that it was verie late in the night when he came in to them as when any of vs doth saye I came home by candle light or when all the doores were fast shut yet no man is so foolishe as for to construe vppon his wordes that he had light borne afore hym or that he went in through the doores but by this maner of speaking we be wont to gather that it was late in the night when he came home Moreouer we do reade in the booke of the Actes that the apostles were put in the common prison at Hierusalem but the angell of the Lorde by night opened the doores of the prison and brought them foorth the doores of the prison beyng shut fast againe as sure as it was possible and yet none of the kéepers that were standyng without before the doores and kéeping them with al diligence did espie it when it was doen. Likewise in the same booke we finde written that when Herode would haue brought foorth Peter for to put hym to death the angell of the Lorde did come vnto hym as he slept betweene twoo souldiours bounde with two chaines and the keepers that watched and warded the prison standyng without before the doores And as soone as the angell smote Peter on the side and waked him his chaines fel of from his handes and also that when he and the angell were paste the firste and seconde watche and were come to
The .xx. Chapiter ¶ Against the carnall presence of Christe in the Sacrament THE Papistes will harpe still vppon these fewe wordes that our sauiour Christ spake in his last supper when he saide This is my body resemblyng in this pointe the Arians whiche when it was proued vnto them by many strong Scriptures that Christe our Sauiour is coequall with the father in substaunce in Godhead and power would alwaies haue their refuge to the fewe wordes that Christ our Sauiour spake of his humanitie saiyng Pater maior me est The Father is greater then I hauyng alwaies in their mouthes that sith Christ had spoken it it must néedes be so vnlesse we would make him a lyer Shall wee not finde the like in our transubstantiatours which wil haue the body of Christ at the becke and commaundement of euery iugglyng popishe Priest whensoeuer he pronounceth these fewe wordes Hoc est corpus meum This is my body And this is my blood with a full intent to consecrate to be really and substantially in the Sacrament vnder the fourmes of bread and wine the substaunce of them beyng really chaunged and turned into the very substaunce of the body and blood of the Lorde For if ye bryng neuer so many places of the scriptures whiche doe witnesse vnto vs that our Sauiour christ touching his manhoode is set downe on the right hande of his Father for euer vntill his enimies bee made his footstoole And that the heauens must holde him vntill all thinges be restored againe that God hath spoken by the mouth of all his prophetes since the worlde began and that till then wee ought not to looke for any corporall presence of his wherby it foloweth that the doctrine of them that will haue his true and naturall body and blood to be really present vnder the accidentes of bread and wine cannot be true straight waies they crye out in a rage saiyng Be not these Christes wordes This is my body This is my blood hath he not spoken them will ye make hym a lyer and a desembler or one that speaketh one thyng and meaneth another With many such like tragicall exclamations and outcries doe they fill the eares of the symple and ignoraunt hearers as though the whole difference doth consist in this whether Christe hath spoken these wordes or not or whether he must be a lier and dissembler If they haue any other meanyng then they seeme to haue outwardlye at the firste blushe not beyng conferred with other textes of the holy scriptures We doe confesse that these are Christes wordes and that he hath spoken them with his owne holy mouth But what then haue I not already proued by innumerable textes of the Scriptures that they must bee taken otherwise then thei sounde outwardly and that beyng taken without trope and figure thei can not stand with the rest of the scriptures which teache and testifie in so many places that Christe our sauiour can no more be here vppon the earth touchyng his manhoode vntill the last daie when he shall visibly as he was séen to go vp come againe to iudge the quicke and the dead But go too put the case that litle or nothyng hath been saide yet touchyng this matter They saie yea they vpholde and mainteine euen with fire and sworde that the bread and wine are transubstantiated and really chaunged into the very substaunce of the bodye and blood of Christe so that there remaines no more bread and wine after that the Prieste hath once gaped and blowen vpon them and spoken the words but onely the outwarde appearaunce and accidentes of them Is not this to saie yea and also most blasphemously to affirme mainteine and vpholde that the precious body and blood of Christ haue their beyng substaunce and beginnyng of the corruptible substaunce of bread and wine For whensoeuer one substaunce is turned into another the seconde substaunce that the first is turned into hath his beginnyng substaunce and beyng of the firste yea it hath of it his originall and ofspryng as for example When Moyses rodde was turned into a Serpent whereof had that Serpent his beginnyng substaunce and beyng whereof had he his originall and ofspring or was he before that the same miraculous transubstantiation and chaunge was made All men can not denie but that the same Serpent had his beginnyng substaunce and beyng and also his originall and ofspring of Moyses rodde and that it was not before that the same miraculous transubstantiation or chaunge was made The like maie we saie of the waters of Egypt that were turned into blood of the dust that was turned into lice For neither the blood nor the lyce were before that the same miraculous tournyng was wrought and doen and as thei beganne then so had they their beyng and substaunce of those thynges or substaunces that were turned into them Againe when our Sauiour Christe did in Cana of Galilee turne water into wine the same wine had his beginnyng of the substaunce of the water and was not before that the water was miraculously turned into it If then they will stifly mainteine that the substaunce of bread and wine are really turned into the substaunce of the body and blood of christ thei shall be faine to confesse that the same body and blood that thei haue in their Sacrament haue their beginnyng substaunce and being and also their originall and ofspryng of the corruptible and insensible creatures of bread and wine and that thā the same body blood doe beginne to be or to haue their being when by the almightie operation or working of the wordes those corruptible and insensible creatures be really and substauncially chaunged into them But the true and naturall bodie of Christe had his beginnyng originall and ofspryng in the blessed virgines wombe of whom he tooke his vndefiled substaunce is nowe glorified and is set on the right hande of the father but a body of their owne inuention and makyng whiche is as often made and shaped a newe as thei do pronounce the wordes of consecration as thei call them vpon the creatures of bread and wine cum intentione consecrandi That is with a full purpose and intent to consecrate Some of them to auoyde this inconuenience are wont to saie that the substaunce of bread and wine is not turned in to the substaunce of the body and blood of christ but that the substaunce of the visible creatures of bread and wine do vanishe awaie geuyng place vnto the substaunce of the body and blood of Christe If it were so then woulde not our Sauiour Iesus Christ haue saide This is my body but rather in this is my body or vnder the accidentes of bread and wine is my body and blood Againe that whiche they doe coulde not be called transubstantiation which is a reall chaungyng of one substaunce that is extant into another substaunce that is not extant but some other name should
saie that in this place one is not taken for onely And therfore that their doctrine maie haue a better shewe of a trueth they alledge Moyses who speaking of the creatioÌ„ of the world writeth on this maner And so of the euenyng and mornyng was made one daie Here saie thei vnus one doeth not signifie one onely but firste For afterwardes sire other daies are named So likewise when sainct Paul doeth write that there is one Mediatour of God and men whiche is Iesus Christ his meanyng is not that he onely is a Mediatour and that there is none other but he But his meanyng is that our sauiour Christe is the firste or chief Mediatour If thei coulde aswell proue by the scriptures that GOD hath ordeined other mediatours besides Christ as Moyses did proue that God did create and make many daies then would I confesse that in this place of the Apostle one must be taken for firste But vntill thei haue proued vnto me that God hath appoincted and ordeined some seconde thirde or fourth Mediatours and aduocates betwéene hym and vs I will in nowise receiue their expositioÌ„ but will saie and beleue still that by this worde one sainct Paul doeth vnderstande one onely For with as good a reason when sainct Paul saieth in the same self sentence There is one God the Idolaters might â—â—uille and saie if we should alledge that place against them for to proue that there is but one God that this worde vnus one is not there taken for one onely but for firste or chiefest The like also might thei dooe if wee should bryng in the saiyng of Moyses where he saieth Audi Israel Dominus deus tuus Dominus vnus est that is to saie Heare O Israel the lorde thy God is one Lorde And truely the aunciente Idolaters of Rome when the Christians did bryng in both Moyses and Paule against them thei woulde aunswere as our Papisticall Hardonians and Louanistes doe now that is to saie that both Moyses and sainct Paul did not by this woorde one vnderstande alone or onely but firste or chief Might not when S. Paul saieth in an other place there is one faith one baptisme c. Might not I say the Hemerobaptistes who Epiphanius doeth speake of vse the like cauillation for to defende their Sacrilegious Baptisme wherewith thei Baptized them selues euery daie to the vtter prophanyng of the holie Baptisme whiche Christe our sauiour hath appoincted to bee receiued of euery man once for euer Thei might haue saied if any man had gone about to reproue their hereticall doynges by these woordes of the Apostle Sainct Paul did meane there by this woorde one not one onely but the firste or chief Baptisme and so should haue eluded or mocked awaie all that coulde be alledged against them Againe thei dooe alledge that whiche is written bothe in Luke and Iohn that is to saie howe Marie Magdalene did come vnto the Sepulchre vpon one of the Sabboth daies There saie thei one is takeÌ„ not for one onely but for the first so that vpoÌ„ one of the Sabbothes is as muche as if one should saie on the firste daie after the Sabboth Why maie it not be so taken in Paul Forsoothe I doe confesse and graunt that bothe in Luke and Iohn this woorde vnus one is taken for firste but it is by reason of a Genitiue case that bothe the Euangelistes doe adde vnto it that is to saie Sabbati or Sabbatorum but saincte Paul vseth no suche maner of speakyng but saith plainly vnus deus vnus mediator dei hominum Iesus Christus that is to saie There is one God and one Mediatour of God and men that man Iesus Christe He saieth not that our Sauiour Iesus Christe is one of the Mediatours but that as there is one God so there is one Mediatour of God and men whiche is the onely begotten sonne of God our Sauiour Iesus Christe And verely if we looke narowly vpon their saiynges and doctrines wée shall finde that thei will not onely haue more Mediatours Aduocates then christ but also that christ our sauiour is not the first or chief Mediatour but that he is onely nexte after the firste For as vno Sabbatorum in one of the Sabbothes doeth signifie the first or next daie after the Sabboth so after their opinion vnus mediator shal bee as muche as nexte after an other And so Christe shall not be the first Mediatour betweene God and men but next after the first what a detestable blasphemie is this againste the onely begotten sonne of God As for the wordes of the Euangeliste saincte Iohn where he saieth that we haue an Aduocate with the father thei saie plainly that wee can not proue by theim that Christe is our Mediatour and Aduocate only For saie thei as it were a foolishe argument to reason on this maner Saincte Peter is an Apostle Ergo saincte Iames is none so were it a fonde reason if we should saie Christe is our Mediatour Ergo the virgine Marie and the sainctes be not our Aduocates and Mediators Now let vs see how abhominablie thei dooe peruerte the scriptures and worde of god Sainct Iohn saieth not Christe is our Aduocate but wee haue an Aduocate with the father Thei saie that our reasons and argumentes are foolishe but I will shewe that theirs are moste childishe Were it a good argument to saie We haue a Quéene of Englande that is to saie Elizabeth the firste Ergo suche a one is Quéene All the worlde doeth see that suche consequences and conclusions were naught â–ª euen so to saie we haue an aduocate with the father Iesus Christ the righteous Ergo the virgine Marie and the Sainctes bee our aduocates is a verie naughtie and foolishe argumente For the conclusion or consequence of it can in nowise be good Now to saie Sainct Peter is an Apostle Ergo sainct Iames is none that were againste all reason sithe that wee are certified by the scriptures and worde of God that saincte Iames is aswell an Apostle as sainct Peter is But where haue thei in all the whole bodie of the Bible that the virgine Marie and other Sainctes are appoincted to be our Mediatours and Aduocates Yea saie thei againe it ought to bee no marueile if we doe attribute that vnto the virgine Marie and other Sainctes whiche doeth parteine onely vnto Christe For wee finde in the scriptures that one thyng is attributed bothe to God and vnto the creatures though it be not after one maner and sort as when our sauiour Christ doeth saie in the Gospell of Iohn I am the light of the worlde yet notwithstandyng in the Gospell of Matthewe he saieth also to his Apostles Ye are the light of the worlde Againe sainct Paule writeth these wordes Other foundation can no man laye then that whiche is laied whiche is Iesus Christe here he doeth appoinct Christ to bee
Gods promises Now the maister and teacher of trueth the aucthour of light the well and fountaine of wisedome knowledge and vnderstandyng This is he that doeth pourge and cleanse vs from all filthines and ouersprinckleth vs with his sanctitude and holines that we may be made the worthy temples of almightie god This is he that with his effectuall wateryng doeth make vs fruictfull vnto righteousnes for to bryng foorth aboundauntly the fruictes of our faith that our heauenly father may be glorified through our good workes conuersation and outwarde liuyng For the whiche cause he is many tymes called water as in these places of the prophete All ye that are a thirst come vnto the waters Againe I will powre water vpon hym that is a thirste and Riuers vpon the drie lande Wherunto the saiyng of Christe doeth agree where he biddeth them that bee a thirste to come vnto hym and to drinke of the waters of life Although he be other whiles so called for the efficacie streÌ„gth power and vertue that he hath to pourge and make cleane where the Lorde promiseth in Ezechiell to washe his people with cleane waters The same is he that consumeth and burneth awaie the inordinate lustes concupiscenses of our flesh kyndelyng our heartes with the diuine loue of GOD and of heauenly thynges wherefore he is called by God right fyre Finally this is he that by his inspiration doeth make vs wholie to liue vnto God so that we be no more ledde by our owne sensualitie but folowe onely his motion and guidyng Therefore is it saide of Barnarde verie well Quid bonus in nobis spiritus operatur monet mouet docet monet memoriam mouet voluntatem docet rationem That is to saie what good doth the spirite or holy Ghost in vs he doth warne moue and teache he doth warne our remembraunce he doeth moue our willes and teache our reason Therefore if there be any goodnesse in vs it is the fruicte of his grace and vertue But all our giftes without hym are méere darkenesse of the mynde and wicked peruersenesse of the hearte And as I doe beléeue that all the giftes and benefites that we doe receaue of God through his onely begotten sonne our sauiour Iesu Christ are by this holy spirite printed grauen and sealed vp in our heartes and myndes so do I beléeue that all the Canonicall bookes of the olde and newe Testament were written and sette forthe vnto vs onely by his diuine inspiration and that the doctrine that is conteined in them without all other is sufficiente vnto Saluation as the blessed Apostle doeth testifie saiyng Continue in the thinges that thou hast learned whiche also were committed vnto thée seyng thou knowest of whom thou hast learned them and for as muche also as thou haste knowen the holy Scriptures of a childe whiche bee able to make thee wise vnto Saluation through the faithe whiche is in Christ iesu For all scripture giuen by inspiration of God is profitable to teach to improue to amende and to instructe in righteousnesse that the man of God maie be perfecte and readie vnto all good workes Wherevnto Chrisostome doth agree saiyng what soeuer is required vnto saluation all the same shall ye finde in the holy scriptures And in an other place He hath at his tyme saieth he reueiled and opened his woorde by the preachyng that is committed vnto me And this is the preachyng the Gospell doeth conteine all thynges bothe present and to come honor godlinesse faithe to be shorte he hath comprehended all thynges in the woorde of his preachyng Againe he saieth what so euer is required for our saluation is alreadie conteined in the holy scriptures he that is ignoraunte shall finde there what he maie learne he that is stubborne and a synner maie finde there scourges of the iudgemente to come he that is troubled maie finde there ioyes and promises of euerlastyng life thorowe the beholdyng of whiche he maie be stirred to good workes Sainct Augustine saieth reade the holy scriptures wherin ye shall finde fullie what is to bée folowed and what to bee auoided Athanasius also saieth the holy scriptures saieth he beyng inspired from God are sufficiente to all instruction of the truthe Lyra one of the Popes owne doctours hath these wordes Like as in a merchauntes shippe are carried diuerse thinges necessarie for mans life So in the holy scriptures are conteined all thynges needefull to our saluation Who so euer then doeth affirme and saie that the doctrine of the holie ghoste whiche is conteined in the canonicall bookes of the olde and newe Testamente is not sufficiente vnto saluation and that besides it wee haue neede of mens traditions and doctrines as though without them we could not haue in the sacred booke of God a sufficient instruction in thynges that pertaine to life euerlastyng Or who soeuer saieth affirmeth that this holy spirite doeth teache and set for the any other worde or doctrine then is conteined in the sacred bookes of God I dare boldely affirme that the same man is not lead with the same holie spirite who is the lorde and giuer of life and who procéeding from the father the sonne should leade vs into all truthe and bryng into our remembraunces whatsoeuer Christ our Sauiour the heauenly wisedome of the father hath taught and set forthe for the saluation of mankind but with the spirite of errour I meane with the spirite of sathan the deuill who to the vttermoste of his power causeth men to contemne despise and sette at naught the holie commaundementes of almightie God that thei maie set vp their owne traditions and dreames and all vnder the title name and colour of the holie ghoste Wherefore it is moste needefull and necessarie that wee haue alwaies before our eyes the saiyng of the blessed Euangeliste saincte Ihon where he saieth Dearely beloued beleue not euery spirite but proue the spirites whether thei bee of God or not Also S. Chrisost. saith agréeyng with the same Many saith he do boast of the holy ghost but they that do vtter and set out their owne phancies and dreames do pretende him in vaine for as Christ doth witnesse that he speaketh not of him selfe but out of the lawe the Prophetes Si quid praeâ—er Euangelium sub titulo spiritus obtrudatur ne credamus Quia sicut Christus legis Prophetarum impletio est ita est spiritus Euangelij If any thyng be brought vnto vs vnder the name of the holie ghost saieth he besides the Gospell let vs not beleue it For as Christ is the fulfillyng of the lawe and the prophetes so is the holie ghost the fulfillyng of the Gospell For without that spirite we haue neither eares to heare nor eyes to see it is that spirite that openeth and no man shutteth The same shutteth and no man openeth The same spirite opened the sicke womans hearte that she should
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
woorkes as not the cause of our iustification Iames approueth woorkes as effectes proceedyng of the same Paul denieth that any good workes can be in them that be not iustified Iames affirmeth that they which be iustified caÌ„ in no wise be without good workes But ye shall heare what S. Augustine saith touching this matter Non sunt coÌ„trariae duoruÌ„ apostoloruÌ„ sententiae Pauli Iacobi cum dicit Paulus iustificari homineÌ„ sine operibus Iacobus dicit inaneÌ„ esse fideÌ„ sine operibus Quia Paulus loquitur de operibus quae fideÌ„ praecedunt Iacobus de ijs quae fidem sequntur That is to say in englishe The saiyng of the two Apostles Paul Iames are not contrary whereas Paul saith a man is iustified without workes and Iames saith faith without workes is in vaine For Paul speaketh of the woorkes that goe before faith Iames speaketh of the workes that followe after faithe Thomas of Aquine also saieth I acobus hic loquitur de operibus sequentibus fidem quae dicuntur iustificare non secundum quod iustificare dicitur iustitiae infusio sed secundum quod dicitur iustitie exercitatio vel ostentio vel consummatio Res enim dicitur fieri quando perficitur vel innotescit Iames in this place speaketh of suche woorkes as followe faithe whiche workes are saied to iustifie not as iustification is the procuryng of righteousnesse but in that it is an exercise or a shewyng or a perfectyng of righteousnes For we say a thyng is doen when it is perfected or knowen to bee doen. So that wee maie easily see that the offeryng vp of Isaac is a testimonie of the faithe and righteousnesse of Abraham he could not be iustified by it but rather it was thereby declared that he was iustified alreadie So that this obedience of his to the worde of God did onely manifest and shewe that he was when he beleued Goddes promises made righteous before God through the same faith and beliefe That was the meanyng of Dauid when he saith That thou maiest be iustified in thy wordes and ouercome when thou arte iudged that is to saie that thou maiest bee declared iuste and thy goodnes and truthe appeare in performyng thy promises when man either curiously or arrogauntly would iudge thy workes Therefore this worde iustificare to iustifie is not taken of saincte Paule in that signfication that sainct Iames taketh it in for of Paule it is taken for to deliuer from synne and for to impute rightousnesse But Iames doeth take it for to declare and shewe one iust and righteous Sainct Paule doeth speake of a liuely faithe whiche can no more bee without good workes then the Sunne can bee without lighte or fire without heate But sainct Iames doeth speake of an idell faithe which maie bee in the reprobate yea in the deuill hymself as the Apostle writeth in the same place I might bryng many placâ—s of Scripture wherein the excellencie of faithe is highly sette forthe but one or twoo shall suffice at this tyme. In the actes we haue these wordes out of S. Paules sermon that he made to the Iewes at Antiochia a citie of Pisidia Be it knowen vnto you therefore brethren that through this man is preached vnto you the forgiuenesse of sinnes And that from all thynges from whiche ye could not bee iustified by the lawe of Moises by hym euery one that beleueth is iustified These wordes are plaine and neede no exposition at all for all wee see that he taketh awaie altogether iustification from the lawe of Moises and doeth attribute it vnto faithe in our Sauiour Iesu Christe But to the Romaines he maketh the matter more plaine when he saieth Thei haue all synned and are destitute or voide of the glorie of god But thei are iustified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Iesus whom God hath set forthe to be a purchaser of mercie through faith in his bloud Marke here First he saieth thei haue all synned â–ª and that thei are depriued of the glorie of GOD by whiche woordes he sheweth openly before our eyes the miserable estate that mankinde was in Secondlie he sheweth how and by what meanes we are deliuered from it I meane from that damnable estate that we are in by our own nature and first birthe when he saieth thei are iustified freely by his grace Now if we bee iustified freely by the grace of God where are our workes merites or deseruinges become For if any workes deseruynges or merites doe goe before our iustification how can it bee saied that wee are iustified freely by the grace of God our heauenly father Therefore he saieth in an other place By grace are ye saued throughe faithe and that not of your selues it is the gifte of God not of woorkes leaste any man shoulde boast hym selfe S. Ihon saith Blessed are they that haue washed their roabes not in their own merites but in the blood of the Lambe Againe I will giue the thristie to drinke of the well of life not for his deserts but for nothing Sainct Ambrose an holy father saieth As there be no synnes so detestable that can kéepe of the gifte of grace so there can be no workes so excellent that vnto them by the iudgement of retribution or recompence the same shoulde be due whiche is fréely geuen and graunted For the redemption of the blood of Christe should waxe vile and the mercie of God be faine to geue place to the prerogatiue of mens woorkes if iustification which is doen or wrought by grace were due vnto the merites that go before so that it shoulde not be the free gifte of the giuer but the rewarde or hire of the worker What plainer wordes can there be spoken therefore Iob saieth if a man will dispute with God he is not able to aunswere hym one for a thousande and therefore he saide Verebar omnia opera mea I stoode in doubt and was afraide of all my workes Although I were perfect yet my soule shall not know it if I woulde iustifie my selfe myne owne mouth shall condemne me and Esai saieth all our righteousnes is like a menstrous cloth of a woman Therfore al our doctrine is grouÌ„ded vpon the wordes of Christ when ye haue doen all say that ye be vnprofitable seruaunts therfore haue deserued nothing Sainct Origene therefore saieth Say ye that ye be vnprofitable seruauntes For notwithstandyng we haue done all things that are commaunded yet haue we done no good thing For if our doynges were good in deede then were we not vnprofitable But any good déede of ours is called good not rightly or duely but by abuse of speache So Sainct Augustine saieth if God woulde deale with vs accordyng to that we haue deserued he should finde nothyng but that he might condemne Againe he saieth what bee the merites of any men For Christe that came not with his due rewarde but
with his grace that was not due founde all men synners beyng hymself onely frée from synne and a deliuerer of synners And againe in a nother place he hath these words Opera manuum mearum non commendo Timeo enim ne cum inspexeris plura inuenias peccata quà m merita Lorde I commende not the workes of my handes For I am afraide least when thou shalt beholde them thou shalt finde mo synnes then good deseruynges So saith sainct Hierome Si consideremus nostra merita desperandum est If we beholde our owne merites we must be driuen to desperation Origene also affirmeth the same saiyng Ego vix mihi persuadeo vllum opus esse posse quod ex debito remunerationem deposcat I doe scarcely beleue that there can be any woorke that maie of duetie require rewarde Againe hee saieth Quia omniae conclusae sunt sub peccata nunc non in meritis sed in misericordia dei salus humana consistit For as much as all men are shut vp and cloased vnder sinne now the saluation of man standeth not in mans merites but in Gods mercie Barnarde saieth Non est quo gratia intret vbi iam meritum occupauit That is There is no meanes for grace to enter where merite doth keepe place VValdensis one of the Popes owne Doctours saieth these wordes Quid dignum facimus vt participes caelestibus fieri inuencamur Apostâ—lo dicenâ—e existimo quod non sunt condignae passiones huius temporis ad futuram gloriam quae reuelabitur in nobis Reputo igitur saniorem Theologum fideliorem catholicam scripturis sanctis magis concordem qui â—alâ— meritum simpliciter abnegat That is to saie what worthy thing doe we that we may be faunde in the felowship of the heauenly spirites the Apostle saieth I iudge that the afflictions of this tyme are not worthy of that glorie that shal be reueiled in vs Therfore I take hym to be the souÌ„der deuine the faithfuller catholike and more agreable to the holy scriptures that vtterlie denieth all such kynde of merite These testimonies are plaine against all the meritmongers of Rome Louane Let vs take heede therefore of their daungerous and heriticall doctrine leaste while we go aboute to stablishe our owne righteousnesse beyng ignoraunt of the righteousnesse of God and haue not submitted our selues to the righteousnesse of god And thereby shall heape to our selues wrath in the daie of trouble For Christe saieth Saincte Paule is the ende of the Lawe for righteousnesse vnto euerie one that beléeueth The .xlj. Chapiter ¶ Faith onelie iustifieth vs before God. YET these Papistes and Iustiâ—iaries will saie stil that although we finde in holy scripture that faith iustifieth yet we fynde not quod soâ—â—fides iustificat that faith onely iustifieth so that this worde onely or alone hath been newly added by heretiques whoÌ„ they doe commonly call Solifidians These iooly felowes doe nothyng but seeke a knotte in a Rushe as the prouerbe is for although we haue not expressie this worde sola only or alone yet haue we many other wordes that are equiuolent or equiualent that is of the same importaunce and force For when the holy ghost saieth that we are iustified fréely by the grace of God through the redemption whiche is in Christe Iesu whom God hath set foorth to be a purchaser of mercie through faith in his blood doeth he not exclude al maner of workes deseruinges or merites from our iustification attributyng it onely vnto faith â–ª whereby we doe apprehende and take holde on the grace and mercie of God so surely fealed vp vnto vs with the blood of that immaculat lambe our Sauiour Iesu Christe in the selfe same Chapiter he saieth againe we conclude that a man is iustified by faithe without the workes of the lawe Who doeth not see that he doeth here also put awaie all maner of thinges from our iustification faith onely excepted But the Papistes in this pointe are like vnto the Arians which bicause those wordes â–ª â—omoâ—fias consubstantialis be not founde in the Scriptures will in no wise admitte nor alowe them although the thinges signified by them are moste infalliblie and certainely conteyned and set out in the booke of god And therfore the Apostle writyng to Titus saieth Not by the workes of righteousnes whiche we had doen but accordyng to his mercie he saued vs that wee beyng iustified by his grace should be made heires accordyng to the hope of eternall life Againe he saieth God hath saued vs and called vs with an holy callyng not accordyng to our workes but accordyng to his owne purpose grace which was geueÌ„ vnto vs through Iesus Christe afore the worlde was Truely whersoeuer this purpose of God is their woorkes merites and deseruinges can take no place in the iustification or saluatioÌ„ of man Whereby we may gather that by the frée mercie and goodnes of God apprehended and taken holde vpon by faith we are deliuered froÌ„ euerlastyng damnation and made felowe heyres with his sonne Iesus Christ our Sauiour whose righteousnes he doth impute vnto vs making vâ—heires of his eternal euerlasting kingdome of heauen All these things I say and beleue do we obtaine only by faith without any merites goyng before Let vs see nowe what the holy learned Fathers of the Churche so many hundred yeres ago haue taught vs thereof Saint Ambrose saieth Iustificati sunâ— gratis quia nihil operantes neque vicem reddentes sola fide iustificati sunt dono deâ— They are iustified freely bicause workyng nothyng nor making any recompence they are iustified through faith onely by the gifte of god Againe in the same place these be his wordes Sic decretum dicit à deo vt cessante lege solam fidem gratia dei posceret ad â—alutem This was Gods determination that the lawe beyng at an ende the grace of God shoulde require faith onely vnto saluation Againe Sola fides posita est ad salutem Onely faith is laide or appointed vnto saluation Theodoretus saieth Non vllis operibus nostris sed per solam fidem mystica bona consequuti sumuâ— â–ª Not by any workes of ours but by only faith we haue gotten the mistical good things S. Basile saith Haec est nostra integra perfecta gloriatio in deo quando propriae iustitiae nos inopes agnoscimus Sola autem fide in christum iustificati This is our ful perfect reioysing in God when we acknowledge that we are voyde of any our owne righteousnesse and are iustified by only faith in Christe Nazianzenus saieth Credere solum est iusticia Only beléeuyng is righteousnes Origene also saieth these wordes â–ª where nowe is thy boastyng it is shut out Paule saieth that the iustification of only faith is sufficient So that a man onely beleuyng may be iustified although he haue doen no good workes
5. Ioh. 5. Obiection Aunswere Howe the faithfull shall appeare in iudgement Iames. 2. Matth. 25. Matth. 19. Luk 22. 1. Cor. 6. VVild. 3. Rom. 4. Galat. 3. Ephe. 2. Gen. 25. The misterie of Iacobs putting on of his brothers apparell Ambro. de Iacob vita beata lib. 2. Psal. 32. Rom. 4. Matth. 5. Iames. 2. Galat. 5. Esai 64. Rom. 10. Rom. 5. Matt. 5. Galat. 3. Rom. â— Iohn â— Matth. 6. Psal 14. Psal. 53. VVild. 2. Eccle. 5. 1. Cor. 15. Luk. 12. Rom. 2. Iames. â— Matth. 25. Luk. 13. Matth. 7. Psal. 6. 1. Iohn 3. Iames. 2. Luk. 16. Prou. 21. Tobi. 4. Eccle. 4. Eccle. 13. Eccle. 14. Luk. 14. Luk. 16. Eccle. 28. Matth. 12. Rom. 10. Galat. 3. Luk. 17. Esai 64. Rom. 4. Psal. 143 Iob. 9. Iob. 14. Luk. 21. Iob. 13. 1. Iohn 4. Iohn 20. Rom. 8. Matth. 24. Reuel 1. 1. Cor. 15. 1. Thess. 4. 1. Peter 5. Iames. 4. 2. Tim. 1. Matth. 1. Luk. 2. Phil. 3. 1. Tim. 1. 1. Tim. 2. Luk. 21. 1 Peter 4. Ephe. 4. 2. Peter 3. Matth. 24. 2 Peter 3. Reuel 3. Reuel 14 Matth. 25. Ephe. 6. 1 Thess. 5. 1. Iohn 5. 1. Peter 5. Hebre. 4. Coloss. 4. Ephe. 5. 1. Cor. 6. Coloss. 3. What is signified by Psalmes by Hym-es by songes 1. Thess 3. Rom. 8. Matth. 16. Matth. 7. 1. Cor. 10. A speciall caueat or warnyng 1 Thess. 5. 2. Peter â— 1. Tim. â— Matth. 24. Luk. 21. Obiection Luk. 21. Aunswere Matth. 24. Howe the wordes of Christ are taken of many What the same doth signifie What the Moone doth signifie Reuel 6. What the starres doe signifie Reuel 6. Daniel 12. Matth. 24. Chrisost. in MatthaeuÌ„ The true meaning of the darkning of the sunne moone and starres Esai 13.24.34 Iere. 15. Ezech. 32. Amos. 8. Ioel. 2.3 Mich. 3. Luk. 23. Reuel 6. Eccle. 5. Matth 24. 1. Thess. 5. 2. Peter 3. Reuel 3.16 Hebre. 10. Matth. 11. Malach. 3. Luk. 1. Matth. 17. 2. Cor. 11. Matth. 24. Enoch and Elias be come alredy Reuel 11 Matth. 18. Hebre. 6. Matth. 24. Luk. 17. Gen. 6. Gen. 18. 2. Tim. 2. Gen. 6. â— Gen. 18.19 Antechrist False christes False prophetes Matth. 24. Mark. 13. 2. Peter 3. 2. Tim. 3. Iude. 1. 1. Tim. 4. 2. Peter 3. Hebre. 10. Rom. 2. 2. Peter 3. 1. Tim. 2. Ezech. 18. 1. Thess. 5. Matth. 24. Reuel 3. Matth. 24. Mark. 13. Luk. 17. Christe as touchyng his manhoode is ignoraunt of the latter day Actes 1. Rom. 12. Prou. 25. Eccle. 3. Rom. 12. Ephe. 5. 1. Thess. 4. Rom. 2. Matth. 25. 2. Thess. 2. 2. Thess. 2. Psal. 28. Franciscus Zarabella Distict 96. Satis euideÌ„ter Extraua IohaÌ„ 22. cum inter in Glossa Impress Lugduni Anno 1555. Concil Trid. sub Paulo 3. De electi cap. licet Conci Leteran Session 6. pag. 601. Paulus Aemilius lib. 7. Grego in Iob. cap 34 lib. 25. cap. 14. Anselmus in 2. Thess. 2. Eusebius de praeparat lib. 7. 2. Thess. 2. Rom. 1. I beleue in the holy ghost 1. Cor. 12. Rom. 8. Acts. 2. 2. Cor. 3. Ephe. 1. Rom. 5. Iohn 16. 1. Iohn 1. 1. Peter 3. 1. Cor. 6. Rom. 8. Psal. 51. Psal. 1. Matth. 5. 1. Peter 2. Iohn 7. Esai 55. Esai 44. Iohn 7. Ezech. 36. Matth. 3. Actes 1. Ephe. 4. Barnard in die Petecost Sermo 2. 2. Peter 1. The doctrine conteyned in the olde and newe Testament is sufficient vnto saluation 2. Tim. 3. Chrisost. in 22. cap. Matth. Hom. 41. Hom. 1. in Epist. ad TituÌ„ In Matth. 22. cap. Hom. 4. August ad Fratres in Here. Athana cont Gentiles Lyra in vlti cap. prouerb Galat. 1. Iohn 1â— Ezech. 13. Matth. 15. 1. Iohn 4. Chrisost. de sancto adorando spiritu 2 Peter 1. Matth. 11. Reuel 3. Actes 16. Iohn 6. Esai 54. Lodoâ—â—tus citatur ab illyrico in Norma Concilij Albertus Pigghius controuer 3. de ecclesia Martin Kemnitius in examine Concil Trident. pag. 32. Pigghius Hâ—â—rar lib 3. ca. 3. â—ol 〈◊〉 3. All these are the papistes saiynges Iohn 10. Ephe. 5. 2. Peter 1. Ephe. â— To beleeuâ— God as God â—â— god Hebre. 11. Psal. 50. We must beleeue in Gods power Gods prouidence Gods goodnesse Gods mercie August in Ioh. tract 29. I beleue the Catholike Churche 1. Peter 1. Ephe. 2. What the true Church of Christ is Ephe. 5. Ephe. 5. Iohn 15. Matth. 1. Matth. 18. The Church is bounde to no seuerall place â— Reg. 19. Rom. 11. Hylarius cont Auxentium The outward tokens of the true Catholike Churche Ephe. 1. Who can be the head of the Church Coloss. 1. Ephe. 1. An Argument Hieroni. ad DamasuÌ„ Grego lib. 4. Epist. 30. Churche of Rome is an whore Matth. 16. Argumentes of papistes whereby thei go about to proue the supremacie of the Pope Iohn 1. Not that ye shoulde bee heades of his Churche Aunswere Barnarde Serm. 78. Cyprian de simplicitate PraelatorÌ„ Origen in Matth. tract 1. Hieroni. cont Iouinia lib. 1. Ambro. de dignitate Sacerdotali ca. 2. August de ago Christia cap. 30. Beda in Homi. in Euang. queÌ„ ane dicunt August in Iohn tract 50. In tract 124. Matth. 16. An example Iohn 20. Matth. 18. What Christ meaneth by the keyes Chrisost. in Matth. 23. cap. Hom. 44. Tertul. cont Marcionem lib. 4. Hieroni. in Esaiam lib. 6. cap. 24. Ambro. de Cayn Abel lib. 2. August de Sanct. Ho. 27. Who be the kepers of the keyes of gods kingdome Luk. 11. Veselus subditis superio Mark. 16. Two things are to be marked in Christes wordes What it is to loose Actes 3. Rom. 1. Rom. 4. Matth. 18. Hieroni. in Esaiam lib. 6. cap. 14. August in Ioh â–ª tract 80. August in Iohn tract 39â— Ambros. 2. Cor. 5. Rom. 1 â–ª What it is to binde Matth. 18. August in Ioh. tract 50. Cyprian de simplicitate Praelatorum Matth. 16. August in Io. tract 124. 1. Cor. 10. Ephe. â— 1. Cor. 3. August de verbis domi Serm. 13. 1. Cor. 1. 1. Cor. 10. Beda in Cor. 1. Ambr. ad Ephe cap. 2. Hieroni. super Matth. cap. 16. Chrisost. Serm. 21. de Pente Cyrill dialog de Trinitate lib 4. Hylary de Trinit lib. 6. Iohn 1. 〈◊〉 1. â—â—â—istes are â—â—rsed by gods worde Obiection Aunswere Matth. 22. Actes 1. 1. Corin. 9. Gala. 2. Peter no higher in aucthoritie then the other Apostles Actes 8. Gala. 2. The true Churche is contented with the only worde of god The Church doeth alowe the Scriptures as a witnesse Luke 14. Iohn 15. Matth. 27. Ephe. 5. The Church aloweth the scriptures as a subiect A similitude Iohn 10. Reuel 21. The propertie of a true wife Galat. 3. Foolishe sayinges 1. Peter 1. An excellent similitude Whereof the certitude of Gods word doth depend A similitude Iohn 10. Chrisost. in Genesis Ho. 2. Ireneus lib. 3. cap. 1. The worde was before the Church was Hebre. 1. Chrisost. in Gene. Hom â–ª 2. Esai 40. Hieroni. inâ— Iob. cap. 27. August in Psal. 57.
or Hell. That christes soule should not néede to goe downe thither to fetch them out And also declared that Christ vsed the like woordes vpon the Crosse by whiche is declared that his soule departyng from his bodie wente straight into heauen and not into hell the place of the dampned But that the efficacie vertue and power of his death and passion did pearce through and into the verie hell it self by his diuine power and Godheade that all the damned soules felt their full paine and iuste damnation for their infidelitie And Sathan hym self felt all the power and strength of his tyrannie and darkenesse was weakened vanquished and fallen to ruine and vtter decaie c. And that the soules of all them that died in the faithe of Christe beyng in heauen felte the fulnesse of their redemption how it was now fullie perfected and ended for them c. This beyng by me taught it was noysed abroade in the peoples eares and that by no meane men that I hadde denied an article of the Creede and that I was an open heretique and suche a one as was not worthie of life but cruell death When those reportes and false rumours came vnto mine eares I besought God to strengthen me in his faith and giue me pacience knowyng well that after the waie which they call heresie so worship I and teache the God of my fathers beleuyng all thynges whiche are written in the lawe and the Prophetes I also considered with my self what will this people saie and reporte when as thei shall happen to reade my booke wherein this article of Christes deseension into hell is handeled that thus beginne to condemne and iudge me before they haue knowen or heard the trueth opened vpon the occasion whereof I cleane altered my former preface to the reader that I had made before made this as an apologie or defence thereof against suche as will or shall carpe against it Wherefore I beseche thee frendly reader to lende me thy eares to heare me thy eyes to see me thy tongue to reade me thy mynde and harte to iudge me with an vpright iudgemente accordyng to the truthe of Goddes woorde whiche as Dauid saith is a Lanterne vnto our féete and a light vnto our pathes that is it that giueth wisedome vnto the simple it is that that giueth lighte vnto the eyes by it the seruaunte of God is made circumspecte our Sauiour Christe willeth vs to searche the scriptures for those are thei that beare witnesse of hym For the mynde muste bee taught and instructed of the will of God by the woorde like as the eyes are taughte and instructed by outwarde thynges For as Augustine saieth Titubat fides si diuinarum scripturarum vacillat authoritas If the aucthoritie of the holie scriptures wauer then dooeth faithe stumble I will nowe accordyng to my small skill saie of this matter somewhat more largely then I haue saied alreadie in my booke whether sufficient or insufficient I shall praie thee to stand an indifferent iudge To thee it is dedicated and for thy sake it is written Here must I saie vnto thée euen as S. Hierome somtime said to his reader in the like case Quaeso lector vt memor Tribunalis domini de iuditio tuo te intelligeÌ„s iudicanduÌ„ nec mihi nec aduersario meo faueas neue personas loquentiuÌ„ sed causam consideres That is I beseche thee good reader that remeÌ„bryng the iudgement seate of the Lorde and vnderstandyng that as thou iudgest so thou shalt bee iudged thou fauour neither me nor myne aduersarie And that thou regarde not the persons but the cause onely Firste thou shalte vnderstande gentle reader that this Article of Christes descendyng into helle is not reade as Rofinus saith in the Romaine Crede nor yet in the Nicen Crede the Easte Churche had it not the Counsaile of Ephesus and Constantinople left it out For wee maie reade by the writynges of the olde Fathers that that parte whiche is reade in the Crede was not in olde tyme so muche vsed in the Churches yet I doe confesse it is a necessarie article meete to haue a place in the Crede as a thyng that conteineth a verie profitable misterie of a waightie matter Sainct Cyprian vnto this saieth Sciendum sane est quod in Ecclesia Romana Symbolo non habetur addituÌ„ descendit ad inferna Sed neque in Orientis ecclesiis habetur hic sermo Knowe ye for certaintie that the Churche of Rome hath not added this in the Crede he descended into hel No neither yet the Easte Churches hath added this kynde of speache in the Crede Unto this Erasmus fullie agreeth saiyng Atque adeo quum Symbolum Nicenae sine Constantinopolitanae Synodi nihil aliud sit quam huius Symboli explanatio ne illic quidem quicquam est quod huic particulae respondeat Ipsa denique inconcintas sermonis arguit ab alio quopiam intertextum emblema That is Moreouer although the Simbole or Crede of the Sinode holden at Nice or the Sinode holden at Constantinople is none other thyng then a declaration of this Simbole or Crede called the Apostles Crede yet there is not so much as any thyng that is correspondent to this particle Finallie the verie incoÌ„cinnitie and vnhandsome ioyning or hanging together of the speache and oration is an euident argumente that this parcell or particle he descended into hell was put in among the other Articles by some other man As is supposed by Thomas of Aquine and immediately after he sheweth the cause why the auncient fathers put not this Article into the Crede he descended into hel Quia vetustissimi patres magna Religionâ— cauebant ne quid asseuerarent duntaxat in Symbolo quod non esset euidenter expressum in sacris literis vtriusque testimenti Talâ—â— sunt articuli omnes hoc vno excepto That is because the fathers of auncientest tyme with great Religion toke heede were warâ— that thei would not affirme any thyng namely in the Crede whiche was not expressed in the Scriptures of bothe Testamentes Suche maner Articles are all the other onely this one he descended into hell excepted Thus farre Erasmus Sainct Augustine in his booke de Fide Symbolo expoundyng the Crede of the Apostles comming to the Article of Christes sufferynges declareth of his pacience and humilitie in sufferyng death euen the death of the Crosse to take awaie the horror of death from vs and that he was crucified and buried vnder Pontius Pilate addyng Pilates name for the certaintie of the tyme and that he laie in a graue and before that in the wombe of his mother in whiche graue and bellie neuer none laie before nor after c. But of this article of Christes descention into hell he neuer speaketh worde of it nor yet reciteth it for if it had been an Article putte in the Crede at the
firste would sainct Augustine haue left it out thinke you or at least â–ª neuer to haue spoken woorde of it in this place hauyng suche an occasion and oportunitie as he had in entreatyng of the beleife I can neuer beleue that for of al the old writers he was moste precise and vigilante in suche poinctes of Religion that touched faithe So that it must euidently appeare that it was putte in by some aftercommers as Erasmus before hath saied Whereby we maie vnderstande the care of the godlie ones then that woulde not putte foorth or affirme any thyng whiche could not bee proued by the Scriptures So Hierome saieth Omne quod loquimur debemus affirmare de scripturis sanctis What soeuer we affirme we must proue it by the holie scriptures For Augustine saieth Sine scripturarum autoritate nihil definiendum est Nothyng is to bee determined or affirmed without the aucthoritie of the holie and sacred scriptures And likewise Saincte Paule saieth Now is the righteousnesse of God made manifeste without the Lawe hauyng witnesse of the Lawe and of the Prophetes Whereby is gathered that all truthe and righteousnesse of Gods Religion and our faith in the redemption of his sonne muste haue the witnesse of the Lawe and the Prophetes that is to saie the holie Scriptures will euer acknowledge and allowe it And whereto it giueth no witnesse that is alwaies false and erronious For as sainct Hierome saieth Hoc quia ex sacris literis authoritatem non habet eadem facilitate refellitur qua probatur Seyng this saieth he speakyng againste those Fathers that did affirme that that Zacharie whiche Christ spake of beyng the sonne of Barachie was Iohn Baptists father hath no aucthoritie out of the scriptures it maie bee as easely denied as affirmed Therefore I saie searche the holy scriptures as they of Berea did as coÌ„cernyng this matter in question and yet thou shalte neuer bee able to finde there that euer Christe our Sauiour in bodie or soule descended into hell after his death to the place of the daÌ„pned or into any Limbo Onely thou shalt finde there that he died and rose againe the thirde daie c. Some will here replie and saie What sir you saie not truely Are there not scriptures sufficient to proue he descended into hell although there are sondrie places yet there are fower principall places as in the Psalmes in Zacharie in the Actes of the Apostles and in Saincte Peters Epistle I praie you saie thei is it not writen in the Psalme thus Non derelinques animam meam in inferno I doe graunte it is so written but it followeth not hereby to proue that his soule or that Christes soule should goe vnto hell the place of the damned for soule in this place doeth not signifie the soule of Christe but it signifieth the bodie or persone of Christe and by hell he vnderstandeth not the place of the damned but the graue or sepulchre and therefore Stephanus translation hath Non relinques corpus meuÌ„ in sepulchro thou shalte not leaue my bodie or persone in the graue So hath the Tygurian translation also For this Hebrue woorde Nâ—pesch signifieth a bodie or person as you maie reade in Leuiticus and in Numeri Also for this worde Soule in that place and many others is taken for the whole naturall man for we reade in Genesis that all the soules that came with Iacob into Egypt whiche came out of his loynes were in the whole thréescore and sixe foules that is thréescore and sixe persons or bodyes And in the Actes it is sayde There were added to the Churche by Peters Sermon about thrée thousande soules that is thrée thousand persons And so Peter vseth the same when he saith Wherein fewe that is eight soules were saued in the water that is eight persons or bodyes S. Paul also vseth that worde saying Let euery soule be subiect vnto the higher powers c. That is let euery body or person be subiect c. By this you may soone perceaue what Dauid meaneth by this word soule that it shoulde not lye in the graue for euer but shoulde rise vp againe So Iob saieth in matter one although in other wordes where he saieth Though after my skinne wormes destroy this body yet I shall see God in my fleshe As for this worde Hell it is taken in diuers significations in the Scriptures as you may â—ée in my booke where I do intreate of this article but in this place it signifieth not the place of the damned but the graue wherein he was buryed So likewise S. Cyprian dâ—eth expounde that worde hell saying Vis tamen verbi eadem videtur esse in eo quod sepultuâ— dicitur That is howbeit there séemeth to be the same strength of the worde hell in that he is sayde to haue béen buryed As for the place of Zacharie where he saieth Thou also shalt be saued through the blood of thy couenaunt I haue loosed thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water serueth litle and nothyng at all for the proofe of Christes descention into hell For the Prophetes meanyng is in that place that God saueth his Churche by the blood of Christe whereof the blood of the sacrifices was a figure and is here called the couenaunt of the Churche which he did make with Abraham promisyng vnto him that all nations should be blessed in his séede which is our sauiour Christ. And so Zacharie compareth the babylonicall ouerthrowe wherein the people was oppressed to a drie pyt So that he vnderstandeth by the prisoners not any soules in hell but the children and seruauntes of God which were and are captiues vnder Sathan the deuyll mans enemie who was prefigured before by that cruell tyraunt Pharao and by the king of Babylon And by the waterlesse pit he vnderstandeth the goulfe of all miseries calamities whence it is impossible for man to come out by any meanes without the helping hande and out stretched arme of Gods almightie power And that you shall not thinke this to be of my owne exposition I wyll shewe you what S. Augustine saith vppon this place Alio loco ad ipsum Christum in spiritu Propheâ—ia loquens de remissioâ—e peccatorum per eius sanguinem Tu quoque inquit in sanguine Testamenti tui â—misisti vinctos tuos de lacu in quo non est aqua Quid per hunc locum velit intelligi possunt diuersa sentiri etiam secundum rectam fidem Mihi autem videtur non eo significari melius nisi humanae miseriae siâ—cam profundiâ—atem quodammodo sterilem vbi non sunt fluentia iustitiae sed iniquitatis lucum Dâ— hoc quippe lacâ—â— in psalmo dicitur eduxit me de lacu miseriae de luâ—â— lâ—mi that is to saie And in an other place speakyng of the spirite of prophecie vnto Christe hym selfe touchyng the remission of synnes through his blood
Thou also saieth he hast through the blood of thy Testamente lette the prisoners out of the pitte where no water is what he will haue to bee vnderstanded by this lake or pitte men maie iudge many waies and that after the right faithe But I thinke that nothyng can better bee vnderstanded by it then the drie and as it were the barraine profunditie of the depenesse of mans miserie where the streames of righteousnesse are not but the mudde of iniquitie And of this pitte it is spoken in the Psalme and he hath saieth he broughte me ▪ out of the pitte of miserie and out of the myre and claie Hitherto Augustine Thus you may easely perceiue that this saiyng of the Prophete nothyng appertaineth vnto the deade whiche are alreadie deliuered from those miseries that are signified by the waterlesse pitte but vnto the liuyng For he saieth directlie after Turne you to the strong holde ye prisoners of hope Whiche woordes can not bee applied to the deade but to the liuyng onely For the Prophete biddeth them turne into the holie lande where the citie and temple are where God will defende them Sainct Hierome therefore saieth to all them that doe hang vpon bare wordes of the scriptures Nec putemus in verbis scripturarum esse Euangelium sed in sensu non in superficie sed in medulla non in sermonum folijs sed in radice rationis That is Neither lette vs thinke that the Gospell cōsisteth in the wordes of the scriptures but in the meanyng not in the barke but in the pithe not in the leaues of wordes but in the roote of the meanyng Peter cōfirmeth this saiyng So that ye first knowe this that no prophecie in the scripture is of any priuate interpretation Thus much as concernyng the place of the Prophete Zacharie As for the place in the Actes of the Apostles what is saied aboue vpon the Psalme maie suffice for that that was spoken by Dauid in the Psalme was prophetically spoken of Christ not that his soule should goe and preache or bryng out any soule from hell that was nothyng the Prophetes meanyng But he prophecied there onely of the death and resurrection of Christe For so dooeth saincte Peter open and expounde it saiyng Therefore seyng he was a Prophete and knewe that God had sworne with an othe to him that of the fruicte of his loynes he would raise vp Christe concernyng the fleshe to set hym vpon his Throne He knowyng this before spake of the resurrection of Christe that his soule that is his person or bodie should not be left in graue neither his fleshe should se corruption Here note that where in one place he calleth it by the name of the soule or bodie immediately he nameth it fleshe Thus you maie see howe one Scripture openeth another So Hierome saieth Moris scripturarum obscuris manifesta subnectere that is It is the order of the scriptures after harde thynges to ioyne other thynges that bee plaine Sainct Augustine also saith Solet circumstantia scripturarum illuminare sententiam The circumstaunces of the scriptures is wont to giue light and to open the meanyng M. Theodorus Beza translateth that verse Non derelinques animam meam in inferno thus Non relinques cadauer meū in sepulchro For as he saith Nequ◠enim Petrus hic disputat de animi immortalitate sed de corporis resurrectione eaque eiusmodi vt nulla praecesserit corruptio Peter faith he doeth not here in this place dispute of the immortalitie of the soule but of the resurrection of Christes bodie in suche maner that no corruption could or should corrupte it Againe he saieth Dico igitur nunquam praetermissuros fuisse Euangelistas istiusmodi historiam descensus animae Christi ad inferos arbitror quod cum veterum pace dictum sit somnia esse quacunque de hac re apud illos cōmemorantur that is Therefore I saie that the Euangelistes would neuer haue ouer passed or lette slippe with silence suche an historie of the descendyng of the soule of Christ into hell if it had been so and I iudge say by the leaue of the auncient fathers what soeuer of this matter thei haue written or remembred amongeste them to bee but dreames and phantasies c. Therefore sainct Augustine giueth this counsaile Nemo de Christo creda◠nisi quod dese credi voluit Christus That is Lette no man beleue more of Christe then Christe hath willed thee to beleue And this bee spoken as sufficiente for this present vpon this place of the actes Nowe lastly is that place of S. Peter where he saieth that Christ was put to death concernyng the flesh but was quickned in the spirite by the which he also went and preached vnto the spirites that were in prison Herevpon they blowe vp the Trumpet but yet stay a litle thou must note gentle reader that here is no mention made Anima Christi of the soule of Christe but that he went tantum spiritu onely in his spirite For as M. Caluin saieth Sunt autem haec longe diuersa animam Christi venisse et Christum praedicasse spiritus sui potentia These are saith he great differences to say that the soule of Christe to haue come And to say Christe to haue preached by the power of his spirite Nowe friendly reader here is the difficultie in these two wordes Spiritus carcer the spirite and the prison Understande that by this worde spirite is not meant nor taken in this place for the soule of Christe but for the power of his Godhead For it was not his soule that was able to quicken him self but the spirite of god quickned him that is his godly and diuine power that quickned his humanitie Paul openeth this very plainly to the Cor. saying Christ was crucified concernyng his infirmitie yet liueth he through the power of god c. Where Peter nameth it the spirite Paul calleth it the power of god And he calleth it the operation of God which raysed and quickned him from the dead And to the Romanes he shewth that the vertue of the spirite was not onely shewed in the person of Christe but is shewed also vpon vs all saying If the spirite of him that raysed vp Iesus from the dead dwell in you he that raysed vp Christ frō the dead shall also quicken your mortall bodies because that his spirit dwelleth in you By these places we may vnderstande what Peter meant by the spirite that is Gods diuine power and might and not the soule of Christ. Nowe in that Peter calleth it a prison is not to be taken here that he vnderstandeth by it the place of hell for the damned but he aludeth it to that place of Genesis where it is sayde Non permanebit spiritus meus in homine inaeternum quia caro est My spirite shall not striue with man because he is but fleshe So that
in the Popes Boate his Oares will directly rowe thée to that hauen and porte where doctour Storie of late caste his Anker and brake his necke and for that his handes were haltered he gaue all traiterous Papistes the Popes blessyng with his heeles at Tybourne An ende and blessyng mooste meete for all sortes of Papistes God of his mercie quickely conuerte theim that are aliue or els good Lorde sende a merie winde to blowe them all into that course that Felton and Storie before haue runne For I am fullie perswaded that what soeuer he bee high or lowe riche or poore that holdeth with any Popishe or Papisticall doctrine he is a rancke traitour in his harte and when tyme serueth it will so fall out in proofe as daiely experieÌ„ce teacheth vs by our late traiterous rebelles whiche soughte the suppressyng of the faithe of Christe the ouerthrowe of the Queenes Maiestie and vtter desolation of this our Realme If the almightie Lorde had not preuented them of his mercie towardes vs. What resteth now but that we loue God and his worde and obeye our Queene and her Magistrates and also to consider our waies and sée whether wee walke as he hath taught vs For there is no heauen but his dwellyng place no walkyng vnto it but by his coÌ„maundementes and his commaundementes no where to be founde but in the holy Scriptures which he hath left vs Next vnto Gods glory we haue nothing so precious as the sauegarde of our soules And where shal we finde it but in the worde of god And here I make an ende of this my long preface most heartely besechyng thée to accepte in good parte this simple and rude worke of myne consider my good meanyng and wyll towardes the buildyng of Gods Churche who woulde haue giuen thée better if better he had in store I must warne thée not to looke in this booke for the pleasaunt speache of Isocrates nor the high stile of Demosthenes nor for the excellent dignitie of Plato nor the eloquent wordes of Cicero or for the reuerende maiestie of Theucidides For then thou wilt foulie be deceiued But for bare and simple wordes for I seeke not goods but God not gasinges but gayne not prayse but profite not mony but men Therefore gentle and freendly reader if thou receiue any fruicte of my labours helpe mée with thy prayers to God our Father in the name of his Soonne and our onely Sauiour In readyng hereof let reason leade thée lette the aucthorities perswade thée and let trueth enforce thée GOD of his mercie quickely conuerte or soone ouerthrowe al his enimies and the Quéenes fooes that holde of any doctrine contrarie to the true and christian faith Confounde all errours O Lorde giue the victory to thy trueth and glory to thy holy and blessed name now and for euer Amen ¶ Fare well Gentle Reader from Redcliffe in Bristoll ¶ Thy poore brother in Christ Iohn Northbrooke Preacher ¶ The contentes of all the Chapiters OF Gods creation and gouernaunce of all thinges of Christes conception and birth of his death and passion c. Cap. 1. fol. 1. Christes death and passion is a sufficient sacrifice for all mankinde Cap. 2. fol. 2. The meanes whereby the death and sacrifice of Christ may be applied vnto vs. Cap. 3. fol. 3. Of Christes burial and the profite that we haue gotâ—en therby Cap. 4. fol. 4. How many wayes this worde hell is taken in the scripture and after what maner Christ descended into hell Cap. 5. fol. 5. Reasons and argumentes of those that holde that Christe went downe to hell in his soule Aunswered Cap. 6. fol. 7. Christ is our true Purgatorie and the Papists purgatorie is falle Ca. 7. fo 9. Popishe purgatorie is flat against the worde of god For it maketh Christes death and passion of litle or none effect Cap. 8. fol. 11. Against praying for the dead and apparations of the dead after their departing hence Cap. 9. fol. 14. Children that are dead borne or dye before that they can come to baptisme not damned nor yet go into the Popishe Lymbe Cap. 10. fol. 15. What comfort we haue gotten by Christes rising from death againe and that it shoulde be vnto vs as a glasse in this life Cap. 11. fol. 31. Of Christes ascention into heauen and howe it is saide that he fitteth at the right hand of god c. And after what maner he is here amongst vs. ca. 12. fo 34 Christes humane body can be but in one place at once and not in many and diuers places Cap. 13. fol. 37. Against Popishe transubstantiation Cap. 14. fol. 40. what it is to be guiltie of the body and blood of Christ. Cap. 15. fol 47. The â—acrament ought to be ministred to all the people in both kindes Cap â–ª 16. fol. 49. Against worshipping of the Sacrament Cap. 17. fol 56. How the vnworthy receauers are guiltie of the body and blood of Christe although he be not corporally in the Sacrament Cap. 18. fol. 59. whether the papistes haue still the same bodie in the Sacrament that was geuen vpon the Crosse. Cap. 19. fol. 61. Against the carnall presence of Christ in the Sacrament Cap. 20. fol. 64. The wicked dooe neither eate nor drinke the bodie and blood of Christe Cap. 21. fol. 66. The true exposition of these wordes Hoc est corpus meum and that Sacraments are called by those names whereof they are Sacraments Cap. 22. fol. 68. The godlie in the olde lawe did eate and drinke the same fleshe and blood of Christ that we do nowe in the newe Testament Cap. 23. fol. 78. What comfort we haue by Christes ascention into heauen Cap. 24. fol. 79. Against praying and intercession to Saintes Cap. 25. fol. 80. Christ is both our mediatour of saluatioÌ„ and also of intercessioÌ„ Ca. 26. fo â—2 The principall argumentes that the papistes alledge for praying to Saintes Aunswered Cap. 27. fol. 85. Howe and wherein we ought to honour the Saintes Cap. 28. fol. 98. Of Christes comming to iudgement in the last daie Cap. 29. fol. 99. To whoÌ„ the sharpe sentences of the scriptures are terrible Cap. 30. fol. 102. The subtile meanes that Satan vseth to bring vs into securitie Cap. 31. fol. 104. The Pope is Antechriste and that man of sinne which shal be reuealed before Christes comming to iudgement Cap. 32. fol. 107. The strength operation of the holy ghost working in vs. Ca. 33. fo 108. What is the true Churche of God and where it is Cap. 34. fol. 111. Christe is the head of his Churche and not the Pope Cap. 35. fol. 112. All the Apostles had equall power to binde and to loose with Peter and the keyes were equally deliuered to them all Cap. 36. fol. 113. The true Churche of Christ is but as a witnesse to the worde of God adding nothing to it nor taking ought from it Cap. 37. fol. 117. The true Churche is knowen by the worde of God. Cap. 38. fol.
ye doe take this worde hell for death it selfe and for the extremest and greatest perils daungers griefes dolours and anguishes that a man can suffer here in this worlde and whereby hee maie bee brought vnto his death and consequentlie for the guiltinesse of synne for the sting and power of death for the iudgement and wrath of god and for the bottomlesse Pit of all miseries and calamities when our sauiour Iesus Christe was so outragiously dealte withall when he did sweate blood when his soule was heauie euen vnto the death and when he was hanged most opprobriously despitefully and shamefully betwixt twoo theeues as forsaken of God and al creatures without aide helpe or comforte and so hangyng on a tree did geue vp the ghoste bearing the curse anger and furie of God whiche is a verie hell and féelyng vpon hym the condempnation paines and tormentes that were due vnto vs for our synnes then went he in deede downe into hell whiche thought to ouerwhealme hym but it coulde not bicause he was without sinne Or if ye take this worde hell for the graue and sepulchre then did our sauiour Christ go downe into hell when he was laide in the graue and descended into the lower partes of the earth as the Apostle doth witnesse and testifie Or if ye doe vnderstande by it the estate and condition of the dead then did our sauiour Iesus Christe go downe into hell when he died But moste specially when he did by his diuine power and godly might make all the elect whose soules were in Abrahams bosome to feele the efficacie strength and vertue of his death that he suffered for them and the fruites of his passion and bloodsheddyng Or if ye will take hell in this place which the Latines do expresse by this worde Inferna in the plurall nomber for the place of the damned I saie that our sauiour Iesus christ went downe vnto them I meane vnto the reprobate and damned when they did feele perceaue and vnderstande through his diuine and godly power that they were depriued of the merites of his death and passion and of the grace health and saluation that he had brought and purchased vnto his electe and chosen children And when he did by the vertue efficacie and strength of his death and bloodshedding breake the Serpents head accordyng to the promise that was made vnto our firste parentes Adam and Eue that is to saie when he did so ouerthrowe Sathan the deuill and all the power of hell that hee and his can no more preuaile against the chosen and electe of God nor yet against his true church faithfull congregation Then went he in déede downe into hell and did harrowe it whiche is a phrase and manner of speakyng that many doe vse but verie fewe doe vnderstande it for why they doe not perceiue that it is borowed of an olde custome and fashion that was vsed commonly among auncient kynges and princes when thei did make any notable warre against their enimies for then if they had taken any citie or towne they were wont not onely to beate it downe euen to the grounde but also to plowe it sowe it with Salte and to harrowe it as the like ye maie reade in the booke of Iudges howe Abimeleche sowed Salte so we reade of Fredericke Oenobarbus the Emperour that ouerthrewe Millane and sowed Salt there for that cittie toke parte with Alexander the thirde being Pope against Caesar and harrowed it after the Salte was sowen thereby to declare that the same citie or towne was brought into vtter desolation and that it should neuer be builded anie more 〈◊〉 Therfore when it is saide that our sauiour Iesus Christ did harrow hell the meanyng of it is though it be vnderstanded of fewe that Christe our sauiour did giue suche an ouerthrowe vnto sathan the deuill that he did so bruse and breake his head and that he hath gotten such a victorie ouer all the whole power of hell that it is no more able to hurte or hynder the children of God for vnto them onelie this viâ—â—â—ie is gotten hell hauyng still his full power ouer the vnfaithfull reprobate than a citie or towne that is beaten downe euen to the grounde and whiche is ploughed so wen ouer with Salte and harrowed is able to recouer it selfe or to harme the enimies that haue serued it so We must not yet imagine that our sauiour Iesus Christ did in his owne person go downe into the hell of the damned and that breakyng the yron gates he did bryng out in a rowe the patriarches and other faithfull fathers of the olde Testament for they were not there but were in the bosome of Abraham whiche as the trueth doeth saie hym selfe is a place of ioye rest and comforte suche a space beyng betwixt it and hell that the one can haue no accesse vnto the other And as for those that saie that the soule of our Sauiour Christe did suffer in hell fire although they dooe bryng and alledge certaine reasons and argumentes for them selues whiche at the firste maie séeme to haue some colour for to â—â—sell the eyes of the simple and ignoraunt yet can I in no wise allowe their opinions and iudgement in this pointe ¶ The .vj. Chapiter ¶ Reasons and argumentes of those that holde that Christe went downe to hell in his soule Aunswered THeir reasons and argumentes are these sith that our Sauiour Christe saie they did come into this worlde for to deliuer mankinde from euerlastyng damnation it was necessarie that for to make satisfaction vnto the iustice and righteousnesse of God he shoulde beare the whole malediction curse and damnation that all mankinde did deserue but the malediction curse and damnation that our sauiour christ did beare in the bodie when he did suffer his death and passion was not sufficient for the synne of man whiche he hath deserued and doth deserue euerlasting damnation is not onelie in the fleshe and in the body of man but most specially in the soule Therefore it hath not béen ordained of God that the body and fleshe onely should suffer punishment but also the soule Sithe then that man was iudged and condemned bicause of his synne to suffer euerlastyng punishment both in body and soule It was also requisite that Christe for a full satisfaction for our synnes shoulde suffer the same that we shoulde haue suffered Whiche thyng he had not doen if he had not suffered punishment as well in the soule as in the bodie Whervpon they do conclude that as he hath suffred in the body here vpoÌ„ the earth so he did also suffer in soule beneath in hell that the satisfaction might be whole perfect and full And of this opinion many of the auncient and late writers haue been Bede maketh mention of it in a certaine place not affirmyng that it was so but alledgyng onelie the opinion of some and yet without namyng
vnto death to those that beléeue not But howsoeuer men liste to take it this shal be my beléef that the goyng downe of Christ into hell is our deliueraunce from thence For excepte our sauiour Christe had been enuironed and compassed aboute with the sorowes and paines of hell and in a maner ouerwhelmed with them for a while hell would haue swallowed vs vp vnto euerlastyng damnation we should haue perished vtterly both in body and soule wee should neuer haue escaped the tyranny of Sathan nor be healed of the deadly wounde that we haue receiued of that olde venimous serpent the deuill and enimie to our saluation So that I denie not that article of Christes discention but of the maner howe is the question for when it is saide he will not leaue his soule in hell he speaketh not of his discendyng into hell of the damned but that he shal rise againe from the dead that is he shall not leaue hym in death or liyng continuallie in the graue For the soule in that place is taken for the whole naturall man c. For seeke all the scriptures from one ende to a nother and ye shall neuer finde that Christ in body or soule discended into hell but that he died and rose againe the thirde daie accordyng to the Scriptures For you shall note that the East Churche had it not the Counsell of Nicen Creede hath it not nor the Counsell of Ephesus c. But to be short ye shal vnderstande that christ descended into hell three maner of waies Videl Firste in power as when the Uaile of the Temple did rent in twaine from the top to the bottome and the earth did quake and the stones were clouen and the graues did open them selues and many bodies of the Sainctes whiche slept arose and came out of the graues after his resurrection and went into the holy Citie and appeared vnto many Secondly in spirite when as he saide my soule is heauy euen vnto the death and when he cried my God my my God why hast thou forsaken mee The thirde in person when as he was laide in the graue as we reade that thei tooke the body of Iesus and wrapped it in linnen clothes with the odours as the maner of the Iewes is to bury Paul saith now in that hee ascended what is it but that he had also descended first into the lower parte of the earth This deare brother is my beleefe grounded vpon the worde of GOD and not vpon men or mens dreames or phantacies And reporte not that I doe denie any article of the faithe God forbid I should wherfore reade with iudgement and with the spirite of mildenes come not pre iudicio but with iudicio Some there be againe that be of opinion that the soule of Christe went not downe into the hell of the damned but that it went onely downe for to deliuer the Patriarkes and other holy fathers of the olde Testament out of the Lymbe ▪ and also for to deliuer the soules of them that were of lesse perfection then the Patriarkes and other holy fathers out of the paines of purgatory where they were kepte for to make satisfaction for those synnes that they had done no penaunce for in this worlde But as for Lymbe I knowe none but Abrahams bosome whiche to saie truely is that moste blessed life whiche they that dye in the faithe that Abraham did shall enioye after this worlde ¶ The .vij. Chapiter ¶ Christe is our true Purgatorie and the Papistes Purgatorie is false AS for Purgatorie I knowe none other but the blood of Iesu Christe our onely sauiour that doth cleanse vs from all our sinnes Againe none other fire doe I know in all the Scriptures that hath any vertue or power to purge synnes but the fire of his holy spirite wherewith he promised to Baptize his elect and chosen and the fire of his sacred and diuine word whereof hym selfe speaketh on this maner ye are cleane bicause of the woorde that I haue spoken vnto you This is true purgatorie wherein all muste be purged afore that they can enter into the kingdome of God. That other Purgatorie that they haue inuented of their owne heades without and against Gods worde is a most deuillishe and abhominable blasphemyng against the merites and bloodshedding of our sauiour Christes death and Passion For by it the onely begotten sonne of God is made an vnperfect sauiour and of lesse aucthoritie power and strength then they will haue that fleshely ydoll of Rome and most pernicious antichriste to be vnto whom they dare attribute and giue full aucthoritie and power to absolue men and to graunte vnto them a ful pardon of all their synnes euen a poena a culpa that is to say to deliuer them not onely from the offence it self but also from the paine or punishment that is due vnto it Whereas poore Christe who hath shed his heart blood for vs and who hath troden the Wine presse alone is scarcely able by their doctrine to forgeue vs our offences at least he cānot release vs of the paine For if it be of his forgeuing we must suffer the paines that be due vnto our synnes in the fire of Purgatorie till we haue made satisfaction for them or till we haue bought them out at the antichristes handes and at the handes of his shauelinges or els we muste make a full satisfaction for them here in this worlde whiles we are here yet a liue if at least we entend for to escape that whot burning fire of theirs So that euery waie Christe shall be but halfe a a Sauiour and God his father a moste abhominable and deceitfull lyer for he saieth at what tyme soeuer a synner doth repent hym of his synne from the bottome of his harte I wil put his wickednes out of my remembraunce so that it shall no more be thought vpon How is this promise fulfilled I praie you if he doe so cruelly punishe our wickednes and offences in the fire of purgatorie after that he hath forgeuen and pardoned them Is this to thinke no more vpon them what can these deuillishe and abhominable Sophisters alledge nowe for them selues will they saie that GOD is a lier and that he doeth not performe and fulfil his promises moste truely either they must saie so what startyng holes soeuer they can finde out or els confesse and acknowledge that their doctrine is most detestable and also blasphemous against the trueth of Gods promises and against the merites of the moste precious death passion and bloodsheddyng of his onely begotten sonne our Sauiour Iesu Christe And in a nother place this moste mercifull Father and bounteous Lorde who is alwaies true and most faithfull in all his promises doeth crie out saiyng I am he I am he that taketh awaie thy wickednes and that for mine owne sake and thy synnes will I remember no more Here
words are most diligently to be noted and marked â–ª for many comfortable lessons may be learned of them to the quietyng of our owne consciences and to the greate comfort of our soules First and formost we learne that they shal take holde by faithe vpon the glad ioyfull tidynges of our sauation 〈◊〉 in his worde how that our sauiour Iesus Christ did bring into this worlde beléeue that God who did sende him is become a most mercifull louing father vnto vs being alwaies ready for his sonne Iesu christes sake who by his death hath pacified his wrath and made attonement 〈◊〉 hym and vs to receiue vs vnto his mercie and to pardone 〈◊〉 all ouâ— synnes haue already euerlastyng life beyng as sure of it as if they were alreadie in full possession of it triumphyng with their head in the glorious kindome of heauen For we do receiue it already in this life by faith we are already possessed of it by hope we are therin already coÌ„firmed by holines of life But how could it be verified that the faithfull beleeuers haue euerlastyng life as beyng already in full possession of it if after their death and departyng out of this life they must be broyled and rosted in their Purgatorie fire by the space of .vij. yeres for euerie sinne that they haue committed in this life if their doctrine be true it were in a maner better for them that they had neuer béen borne For thei say that the fire of purgatorie doeth differ nothyng from the vnquenchable fire of hel sauing only that the one is euerlasting and the other lasteth but for a tyme Is this the blesfull reste that the holy ghoste dothe promise vnto them that die in the Lorde that is to saie in the faith of the onely begotten sonne of God our Sauiour Christe The spirite saieth that they shall after their death reste from their labours verely that were a poore resse if when a man hath toyled and laboured all the daie long he should bee faine to lye all night in a whotte burnyng Ouen I iudge he would not be very hastie to goe vnto his rest Secondly here we shal marke that the true beléeuers shal not come into iudgement of condemnation that is to saâ—e nothyng shal be laide to their chardge no sinnes shal be imputed vnto them but through faithe in the onely begotten sonne of God they shal be accounted as righteous as if they had neuer committed any offence For why Christ our Sauiour is made vnto them righteousnes sanctification and redemption how can it be then that they must suffer such greeuous paines in a fire whiche is altogether like vnto hell fire as they saie if no iudgement shal be geuen against them No offendour is wont to suffer punishment excepte he be iudged and condemned to it But the trueth it selfe doeth saie that thei that beléeue shal not come into iudgement or condemnation whervnto the Appostle doth say Nulla igitur nunc est condemnatio his qui insiti sunt christo Iesu qui non iuxta carnem versantur sed iuxta spirituÌ„ That is to say there is now no condemnation to them that are in christ Iesu whiche walke not after the fleshe but after the spirite They therfore which doe saie and affirme that the faithfull shall in the other worlde suffer the paines and punishementes that are due to their offences and synnes are directly against the Scriptures and worde of God. Laste of all this aâ—e we assured of that they whiche take holde vpon the mercie of God declared vnto vs in our sauiour Iesu Christe are alreadie passed from death to life meanyng thereby that they bee deliuered from the styng and power of death whiche is synne and from all the penalties that are belongyng vnto it and that there remayned no more after this mortall life but to enioye and possesse that eternall euerlastyng life that the onely begotten sonne of god hath so dearely bought and purchased vnto vs whiche thyng the holy Scripture doth declare and set forth vnto vs by many goodly comfortable examples for there doe we reade that as soone as the poore Lazarus was deade his soule was by the handes of the Angels caried vp into the bosome of Abraham that is to saie into ioye and felicitie Againe as soone as the théefe that hong on a Crosse by christ did say remember mee O Lorde when thou commest into thy kyngdome straight waies our sauiour Christe gaue hym this most comfortable aunswere verely I saie vnto thée to daie thou shalt be with mee in Paradise that is to saie in my heauenly kingdome for so christ praied his father as Iohn recordeth in his Gospell saiyng â–ª father I wil that they which thou haste geuen me be with mee euen where I am that thei maie behold my glory So likewise the wise man in his boke nay rather the spirite of god in the wise man saith the soules of the righteous are in the hande of God and no torment shal touche them And whereas they doe bryng here a tricke of their wicked and vngodly sophistry saiyng that the théefe did obtaine this frée pardon at Christes handes by a singuler priuiledge which al men must not looke to enioy for priuiledges as the Lawiers be wont to saie be not common to all men I doe aunswere that no man is saued but by priuiledge whiche doth onely parteine vnto the true and faithfull beleeuers and not to the vnfaithfull and reprobate in comparison of whom the chosen and elect of god are very fewe in number for though many be called yet fewe are chosen and elected to these few doth the priuiledge of the childreÌ„ of god belong and not vnto all men so that the Lawiers saiyng shall also be verified in this pointe as then the poore Lazarus and also the in reste and quietnes and the soules of the vngodly 〈…〉 punishmentes vntill the bodies of those doe â—se againe vnto life euerlastyng and the bodies of â—hese vnto eternall death whiche is also called the seconde deaâ—h 〈…〉 plainely doth he yet in an other place 〈…〉 befoâ—e our eyes the whole substaunce of the matter when he saieth 〈…〉 locum fides catholicorum diuina 〈◊〉 regnum 〈◊〉 esse 〈◊〉 Secundum gehennam Vbi omnis apostatâ— vel à christi fide alienus aeterna supplicia experietur Tertium penituâ— ignoraâ—â—◠〈◊〉 nec esse in scripturis sanct◠〈◊〉 That is 〈◊〉 the faithe of the catholiques by the diuine 〈…〉 that there is the kingdome of heauen And secondly 〈…〉 is a hell fire wherin all Apostates and all they that be 〈◊〉 from the faithe of Christe â–ª do sâ—ffeâ— tormentes and paynes No thirde plaie at all doe we know nor finde in the holy Scriptures And 〈…〉 place â–ª he 〈…〉 saieth he 〈…〉 places the one 〈◊〉 the euerlastyng kyngdom and the other 〈◊〉 the eternall 〈◊〉 And againe
Morauians Both Origene and also Cyprian were wonte to minister the Communion vnto the litle children that were brought in the armes of thâ— Parentes when thei came to receiue the sacrament geuyng vnto them not onely the misticall bread but also the misticall Cup. And in Saint Augustines tyme they did commonly minister the Sacrament in both kyndes vnto the young infantes and children when they were baptized And all this did come to passe bicause the auncient fathers and great learned men did take the saiynges of our Sauiour Christe after the rigour of the letter Whereof it did come also that some did thinke that if a man after that he was baptized had once receiued the sacrament he could neuer be damned or at least he should once be deliuered from damnation bicause that our Sauiour Iesus Christe did saie I am the bread of life whiche is come downe from heauen he that shall eate of this bread shall liue for euer They did alwaies sticke vnto the bare letter saiyng that our Sauiour Christ who had promised the same could not lie But Saint Augustine doth both reproue and also confute that errour These men are like to the person of Trumpington who readyng the .27 Chapiter of Mathew on Passion sonday as they call it and when he came to these wordes Eli Eli â—ama-sabacthani called the Churche wardens to hym and saide truely this booke doth appertaine to the Bishop of Ely for his name is here I will scrape out his name and put in our owne parishes name and so he did then he began to reade againe Trumpington Trumpington Lama-sabacthani Thus wee may see what absurdities men be wonte to fall into for lacke that they do not examine throughly the meanyng of the scriptures but will goe still to the rigour of the letter Saint Hierome saieth very notablie Non in verbis scripturarum est euangelium sed in sensu The gospell standeth not in the bare wordes of the Scriptures but in the meaning Therfore we maie saie vnto them as Saint Ciprian once saide to the Nouatian heretiques Andite Nouatiani apud quos scripture câ—lestes leguntur potiùs quam intelliguntur Hearken hereto ye Nouatian heretiques amongest whom the heauenly Scriptures are read rather theÌ„ well perceiued or vnderstanded For if folowyng the doctrine and opinion of the Papistes touching the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ we would take after the rigour of the letter the same that our Sauiour Christ doth speake of the eatyng of his fleshe and of the drinkyng of his bloud without all doubt wee shal be faine to confesse that all thei that haue once receiued the Sacrament shal be saued and that all they that neuer receiued it and so die shal be damned for euer Whereby it must needes folowe that it is no lesse necessary to minister the Sacrament of the body and blood of christ vnto the children then to baptize or christen them Wherfore I should thinke good that they should aswell geue aucthoritie vnto the Midwiues to minister the Lordes supper vnto the infantes in time of necessitie as thei geue them aucthority to minister baptisme whiche is a Sacrament of no lesse efficacie and dignitie then the other is yea rather by their doctrine it is of more vertue and strength For I haue not yet read that euer they condemned any bicause that they had not receiued the Sacrament of the Euchariste wheras they doe sende all them to the deuil that die without the receiuing of baptisme thought they would neuer so faine haue come to it But wheras we spake before of Midwiues how they baptized by the aucthoritie of the papistes in tyme of necessitie I speake it not so as that I doe allowe their doynges for I am of a cleane contrary mynde and doe saie with sainct Paule that none ought to take aucthoritie vppon them in the Churche to vse any ministration vnlesse they are called lawfully as Aaron was Christe gaue aucthoritie to his Apostles onely to baptize and to preach Sainct Paul in no wise would haue a woman to speake in the congregation muche lesse to minister a Sacrament whiche must be alwaies doen with doctrine for they must go both together Therefore was it rightly condemned flatly forbidden in the councell of Carthage without any maner of exception that women should once presume to baptize any at all And where they hang so much of necessitie if the childe be readie to dye that then she may and ought to do it Saint Augustine doubteth whether it be lawfull or no for them to do it at that instant of necessitie for his wordes are these Et si laicus necessitate compulsus baptismum dederit nescis an pie quisquaÌ„ dixerit esse repetendum Although a laye man compelled by necessitie do geue baptisme I can not tell whether a man may godly say that it ought to be iterated Howe the custome was before that Augustine was borne is gathered of Tertullian that it is not permitted to a woman to speake in the Church nor teache nor to baptize nor to offer that she shoulde not clayme to her self the execution of any mans office much lesse of the priestes Of the same thing Epiphanius is a substantiall witnesse where he reproueth Martion that he gaue women libertie to baptize Many foolishe women and men do say if the infantes dye without baptisme they are depriued of Gods grace and of their saluation Not so God pronounceth that he adopteth our infantes to be his owne before they be borne when as he promiseth that he wyll be a God to vs and to our séede after vs In this worde is conteyned their saluation for the first foundation of our saluation is neither faith hope loue nor feare of God but the election of GOD by whiche are saued not only they which of full yeres of vnderstanding do beleue hope loue feare call vpon heare and obey god c But also infantes albeit that they be taken out of this life without baptisme wherfore let vs not hang so much vpon creatures that we exclude and doubt of our creatour and for our foolishe good intentes sake will suffer sacramentes to be ministred by women cleane and besides the expresse worde of god Wherefore I do holde and beleue that it is no more méete and lawfull for a Midwife to baptize children in tyme of necessitie then it is for her to preache publikely and minister the Euchariste openly or otherwise But let vs come againe to the saying of our sauiour Christ â–ª that they haue alwayes in their mouthes for to condemne and cast away the poore séely infantes and children of the christians which dye without baptisme It is to be vnderstanded yea they that will consider diligently and weigh the absurdities that do ensue and followe of the exposition of them that do vnderstande it of baptisme going thus to the rigour of the letter shall
shall be punished with vnquencheable and euerlasting fire Therefore what shall it néede to forge a newe Lymbe for them Many Doctours consideryng the great rigour that he did vse against the litle infantes haue been of another opinion much contrary in so much that some among them did not sticke to call Saint Augustine Carnificem infantium that is to say an vnmerciful tormentour of infantes though he be worthy that men should speake of him more reuerently But first and formost it is vncertaine whether this booke out of the which this sentence is taken be saint Augustines or not For the stile and phrase of this booke doeth nothing resemble the phrase that Saint Augustine doth vse in those bookes that be certainely knowen to be his For this holy doctour doeth alwayes with great modestie and sobrietie both write speake of those thinges that do parteyne vnto the Church vnto the saluation of men being neuer woont to affirme anye thing rashly without some sure grounde or foundation in Gods worde which thing he doth not obserue in this booke For what Scriptures doth he aleadge for to proue that rigorous sentence that he doth geue against those poore infantes that dye without baptisme And yet he saith holde this for a suretie and not only in this place but also in many other thorowout al the whole booke hauing alwaies these words in his mouth holde for a suretie beléeue vndoubtedly I do here let passe many other reasons that did moue many great learned men to doubt of the aucthour of this booke But let vs graunt that it is Saint Augustines Ye haue hearde already howe he doeth trimme their newe forged Lymbe that they do assigne vnto the poore séely infantes that either be styll borne or dye without baptisme Againe we must not thinke that he him selfe wyll haue these wordes of his to be taken after the rigour of the letter And therefore we must consider what occasions he might haue to write after the same sort For if the necessitie and vnablenesse doth excuse them that be of age why shoulde young infantes be more vnexcusable which haue yet a more reasonable excuse then they that be of yeres can haue For when they dye being little ones either in their mothers belly or out of it was it long of them that they were not baptized Hath God conceaued a greater hatred against those poore séely infantes which are onely infected with originall sinne than against them which being of age haue besides originall sinne ten hundred thousande talentes weyght of their owne actuall sinnes Although the baptisme of water were as necessarie vnto saluation as ye do make it yet if there be some exception for the one by what right or reason shoulde it be denied vnto the other when the cause and excuses be a like But we must weigh and marke that in Saint Augustines time there were many that had not the Sacramentes in such estimation and reuerence as they ought to haue them As in these our dayes we see that some folke do attribute so much vnto them that they make of the visible signes and corruptible clementes a Iesu Christ and an ydoll and some againe do take them but for bare signes without any vertue or efficacie estéeming them no more then they estéeme the common badges or cognisaunces that the seruauntes or souldiours doe weare for to declare what Lordes or maisters thei doe serue And in this thing the Anabaptistes excéeded aboue al other not onely in this that thei would be baptized againe but most chiefly in that that thei doe vtterly condemne the baptisme of yong children and will haue it to be deferred till they come to yeres of discretion whose doctrine is no more to bee allowed then the doctrine and opinion of them that doe affirme that yong infantes that dye without baptisme are euerlastyngly banished from the kyngdome of God. For sith that the infantes are sanctified by the holy spirite of God beyng washed in the blood of his onely begotten sonne our Sauiour Iesu christ and comprehended in the couenaunt that he hath made with vs and our séede by the vertue and efficacie of which couenaunt beyng confirmed by the bloodsheddyng of the onely begotten sonne of God we looke onely to bée saued why should the seale of this euerlastyng Testament be denied vnto them nowe more then it was to the children of the Hebrewes Bicause forsooth that they doe not beleeue nor be able yet to make any profession of their faith What if I should reason after this forte without faith it is impossible to please GOD but litle infantes and babes doe please God in so muche that our sauiour christ rebuked them that would not suffer them to bee brought vnto hym I might then conclude that they haue faith though they cannot yet declare it outwardely And Saint Augustine doth plainely saie that they haue faith whose wordes are these Infantes habent fidem propâ—er fidei sacramentum The litle infantes or children haue faith bicause they haue the Sacrament of faith As then the children of the Hebrewes were circumcised in their infancie and childehoode afterwardes were brought vp in the knowledge of the Lawe of God and in his true religion and worshippyng so it is behoueful that the infantes and children of the Christians be baptized and receaue the Scale of the euerlasting couenaunt For sith that by the faith of the parentes though but one of them did beléeue they are sanctified afterwards that thei be brought vp in the true religion of Christe As it appeareth that it was doen in the olde auncient catholike church wherof confirmation did come that children after certaine yeares were presented to the Bishop and renderyng an accompte of that faithe of theirs whiche their parentes or fréendes in baptisme professed to haue them baptized therein haue handes layde on them whiche is nothyng els but prayer made for them so saieth Saincte Augustine Quid enim est aliud manum impositio quà m oratio super hominem For what is laiyng on of handes els but praier ouer a man Whiche thyng is now tourned among the Papistes to be one of the Sacramentes to make vp the number of their fiue fained Sacramentes yea and such a Sacrament thei affirme it to be that it is greater then Baptisme for this they write them selfe in their owne bookes Sacramentum confirmationis dicitur esse maius baptismo quia à dignioribus datur in digniore parte corporis That is to saie the Sacrament of confirmation is said to be greater then the Sacrament of baptisme and afterwarde the cause is added bicause it is geuen of worthier persons and in the worthier parte of the bodie here we maye easely sée an heresie of Donatus mainteined by the Papistes which will haue Sacramentes to take their force and aucthoritie in respecte of the person that ministreth it not onely the maister of sentences saith this but also
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
Christe had meant some other thyng then the bare wordes do sounde but one or other woulde haue expounded them Againe how could it be that they that do eate of that bread and drinke of that Cup vnworthilie shoulde be guiltie of the body and blood of Christ and receaue their damnation bicause they make no difference of the Lordes body excepte the verie naturall body and blood of the Lorde were there present in the holy communion Firste and formost I graunt that the worde of the Lorde must be fulfilled and that it must néedes be as the truth saith But then we muste take the wordes of that the Lorde doeth speake in their right sence and according to the meanyng that he hath spoken them and not after the vaine imagination of of mens wittes For that holy father Tertullian saieth we must not bryng our owne sences to the readyng of Scriptures but we muste take the sence that the Scripture doeth geue by conferryng one Scripture by another and therefore he saieth Oportet secundum plura intelligi paâ—ciora The fewer places must be expounded by the mo Saint Hierome also saieth Non in verbis scripturarum est euangelium sed in sensu The Gospell standeth not in the bare wordes of the Scriptures but in the meanyng Saint Augustine also saith Solet circumstantia scripturaruÌ„ illuminare sententiam The circumstances of the scriptures is wont to geue light and to open the meanyng Else it will bee verie straunge as when he saith I am the dore I am the true vine we might by as good reason imagine that hee is a materiall dore and a material vine and that his Apostles are vine brauÌ„ches because that he saieth and ye are the braunches Againe ye are speakyng to his Apostles the Salte of the earth Againe when Paul did saie and the rocke was christe men readyng or hearyng the same might haue surmised that the Apostles were verie Salt that the Rocke whiche the Isralites dranke of in the wildernes was very Christ in deede why bicause that the wordes doe sounde so and seeme vnto the ignoraunt to signifie so Therfore if we will haue the true and liuely worde of god to take effect we muste with diligent conferryng of the Scriptures searche out the meanyng and right sence of it as wee haue saide a little aboue out of the Fathers else we may saie long enough euen vntil our heades do ache this is gods word thus and thus did the Lorde say before that we can proue any thyng And whereas they doe boast and crake so much of their witnesses which do al with one consent rehearse these words of the lordes institution This is my body after one maner and fashion they do in that point but deceaue the poore simple and ignoraunt people For although thei doe nothyng varie in the repeatyng of these wordes This is my body yet when they rehearse the wordes of our Sauiour Christe whiche he spake touchyng the Cuppe they doe sufficiently declare howe these wordes of Christe ought to be taken and vnderstanded and what is the true sence and meanyng of them For where Matthewe and Marke doe saie in the persone of Christ This is my blood both Luke and the blessed apostle S. Paul as faithfull interpreters of our sauiour christes wordes doe saie This cup is the newe Testament in my blood Which wordes if they be well considered and marked doe open the vnderstandyng of all the whole matter For as the Cup or that whiche is in the Cup is the newe Testament by the newe Testament hee doeth vnderstande the frée remission of our sinnes that we haue through the merites of his death passion and bloodshedding so the bread is the body of Christe But the cup doeth onely signifie and represent vnto vs the newe Testament that is to say the forgeuenes of our sinnes whiche we haue in the blood of Christ whereof we are made partakers in his holy and blessed Sacrament therefore we can conclude none otherwise but that the bread doeth onely represent and signifie vnto vs the blessed body of christ which was broken for vs the vertue of which body is communicated and geuen vnto vs by the due ministration and worthy receauyng of the holy and blessed Communion Againe if the multitude of witnesses ought to take place three of the chéefe Euangelistes do testifie vnto vs that our Sauiour Christe did saie Ye shall not haue me alwaies with you vnto whom we may adde Peter for the fourth whose wordes are these Repent ye therefore and turne that your sinnes may be done awaie when the time of refreshyng commeth whiche we shall haue of the presence of the Lorde and when God shall sende hym whiche before was preached vnto you that is to wit Iesus Christ who must receaue heauen vntill the tyme that all thynges whiche God hath spoken by the mouth of his holy prophetes sence the worlde began be restored againe Here Doctour Harding with the residue of the louanistes â–ª wil replie and saie why sir this place of Peter maketh litle or nothyng for you for this worde oportet in the Actes whiche signifieth must dooth not importe so much as you woulde inferre of necessitie as may euidently appeare by Saint Paul where hee saieth Oportet Episcopum esse vnius vxoris virum A Bishop must be the husbande of one wife Here you maye see saie they that oportet doeth not importe suche a necessitie as you make that he that neuer was maried may be a Bishop Here gentle reader vnderstande thou that this place of Paul by them alledged is not alike whiche these Papisticall Louanistes goe about to compare For in comparyng of the Scriptures we must not consider the naked words but the meaning thereof for as saint Hierome saieth Ne putemus in verbis scripturarum esse euangelium sed in sensu That is let vs not thinke the Gospell standeth in the words of the scriptures but in the meanyng For this place of Sainct Paul by them alledged doeth declare of what equalitie a Bishop ought to be But in the other place S. Peter teacheth vs the place where Christe must necessarily be vntill the ende of the worlde whiche wee ought to beléeue to be true accordyng to our Creede And this comparison of this worde oportet doth no more aunswere this place of Peter in the Actes then if I woulde saie of you being here present Oportet te hîc esse You must néedes be here which importeth such necessitie for the time that you can none otherwise be but here And yet our Popecatholiques goe aboute in wordes to auoyde this necessitie with an other oportet in another sence as this Oportet te esse virum bonum You must be a good man here oportet doeth not in verie deede conclude anye such necessitie but that you may be as euill a man as a papist Thus you maie see
the yron gate that leadeth into the citie it did open vnto them of his owne accorde Shall wee saie nowe that an Angell was able so to open and shut againe the doore of the prison that the apostles were in that none of the keepers coulde perceaue nor espie it when it was doen And that our Sauiour Christ who is the Lorde of al angels was not able to open and shut againe the doore of the Parlour where his apostles were either by the ministerie of his angels or by his owne diuine and godly power but that he must be seen and hearde when hee was doyng of it Shall the yron gate of Herodes pryson open of his owne accorde vnto Peter and vnto the Angell and shall not the doore of the Parlour where the apostles were gathered together open and shut againe of his owne accorde vnto the onely begotten sonne of god but that either it must be opened by mans hand or els the sonne of God must creepe through it Here then do we learne that all power is geuen vnto our sauiour Christ both in heauen and in earth and that all creatures be subiect and obedient vnto him For he did declare no lesse by this miraculous commyng in to his apostles and disciples Therefore when they do say and all to mainteyne their monstrous doctrine that Christe went through the doores as they were fast shut whiche thing they do by false interpreting of the Scriptures as it doth appeare both by the Gréeke and Latine text they do not a litle derogate to his diuine and godly power For they make that he coulde not come to his apostles the doores being shut fast except he should put away from him all the properties of his true and naturall body that he tooke of vs in the virgins wombe of whom he tooke his vndefiled substance specially sith that after their doctrine and saiynges he went through the same doores beyng shut as he is in their sacrament where they will haue his body to bee without his due proportion of lymmes and all other dimentions that doe pertaine to a perfecte mans bodye whiche is nothyng els but to take awaie altogether the veritie truth of his manhoode But let vs graunt vnto them that he went as they will haue it through the doores as they were made faste what shall they get by it For after our sauiour Christ was gotten in and the apostles were abashed and affraied supposing that thei had seen a spirite he saide streight waies vnto them why are ye troubled and why doe thoughtes arise in your hartes Beholde my handes and my feete that it is euen I my selfe Handle mee and see for ▪ spirites haue not fleshe and boones as ye see mee haue And when he had thus spoken he shewed them his handes and his feete Now hauyng the scriptures so plaine vnto vs as we haue whiche doe witnesse vnto vs that our sauiour Christe hauing in his owne person pourged our synnes is set downe on the right hande of the maiestie on high wee are abashed at their doctrine and be afraied lest they will haue vs to receaue and worship a false Christe we are troubled at the straungenesse of this newe learning of theirs and thoughtes doe arise in our heartes Therfore if they will haue vs to be without trouble in our consciences and myndes if they will haue vs to beléeue and credite them let them so worke that we maie handle and see hym let them shewe vs his handes and his feete and then the battaile is fought and the victory theirs For Saincte Augustine saieth plainely without any darke speakyng Christum secundum humanitatem visibilem corporeum localem atque omnia membra humana veracitèr habentem credere conuenit confiteri That is to saie in englishe we muste beléeue and confesse that christ accordyng to his humanitie is visible hath the sustaunce and properties of a body is conteined in place and verely hath all the members and the whole proportion of a man Therfore let them as we haue said shewe vnto vs that we may see Christ in the cake or otherwise the feelde is ours the ouerthrowe and shame theirs ¶ The .xv. Chapiter ¶ What it is to be guiltie of the body and blood of Christe BUt now I will come to their common obiection that thei be wonte to make out of the eleuēth chapter of the first to the Corinthians where the apostle doth say whosoeuer shal eate of this bread or drinke of this cup vnworthely shal be guiltie of the body and blood of the lorde or he shal eate and drinke his owne damnation bicause that he maketh no difference of the Lordes body How coulde it be saie they that they whiche doe eate of this bread drinke of this cup vnworthely should be guiltie of the body and blood of Christe or that they should eate or drinke their owne damnation bicause that they make no difference of the Lordes body excepte the verie natural body and blood of Christe were there present in the holy Sacrament I will first declare what it is to receaue this holy Sacrament vnworthely and then will I aunswere at large to al the rest They eate and drinke vnworthely this holy and blessed sacrament that come vnto it not hauyng truely examined their owne selues that come vnto it without faith in the merites of the death passion and bloodsheddyng of our Sauiour Iesus Christe or without true repentaunce vnfained confession of their synnes vnto God without amendement of their owne liues and without loue and charitie Thei do also receaue vnworthely that handle the misteries otherwise then the lorde hath instituted and ordained them For they can not haue a deuoute mynde to God that presume to minister or receaue the Sacramentes and misteries otherwise then the aucthour of them hath appointed For there shal be a iudgement where euery man shall geue aunswere howe he hath receaued euen at the day of the Lorde Iesu Christ. For they that come to it not obseruyng the tradition ordinaunces and institution of the Lorde and without a christian like conuersation are guiltie of the body and blood of the Lorde Sainct Ambrose saieth But what is it to be guiltie of the body and blood of the Lorde euen to bee punished for his death For he is dead for them that set nought by his benefit Saint Ciprian also saieth ▪ Impijs in morte christi nullus superest quaestus iustissimè eos beneficia neglecta condemnant That is to saie the wicked haue no gaine by the death of Christe but the benefites that they haue despised doe most iustely condemne them Saint Augustine plainely saieth Habent foris sacramentum corporis christi sed rem ipsam non tenent intus cuius est illud sacramentum Et ideò sibi iudicium manducant bibunt Outwardely they haue the Sacrament of Christes body but the thyng it selfe inwardely in their
bread is referred to the fleshe and the kinde or forme of wine to the soule Againe it is taken or receaued vnder both kindes for to signifie that Christ did take vpon hym both an humaine body and an humaine soule and also for to signifie that the receauyng of this sacrament is auaileable both to the fleshe and also to the soule For if it were only receiued vnder one kind it shoulde be signified that it is auaileable onely for the tuition and safegarde of the one Hearken what Gerardus Lorichius one that is a great defendour of Transubstantiation a papist for his life saieth to this matter They be false Catholiques saieth this man that are not ashamed by all meanes to hinder the reformatiō of the Churche Thei to the intent the other kynde of the sacrament maie not be restored vnto the laie people spare no kynde of blasphemies For they saie that Christe saide onely vnto his apostles drinke ye all of this but the wordes of the Canon be these take and eate ye al of this Here I beseche them let them tell mee whether they will haue these wordes also onely to pertaine vnto the apostles Thā must the laie people abstaine from the other kinde the bread also Whiche thyng to saie is an herisie a pestilent and a detestable blasphemie Wherfore it foloweth that eche of these words was spoken vnto the whole church Thus far Lorichius the papistes owne doctour Let them make what shift soeuer they will or can they shall neuer be able to cleare them selues but that they be most abominable prophanatours of the Lordes Sacramentes and misteries and also most detestable and accursed sacriledgers sith that they do not only robbe the christian people for whom our Sauiour Christ did shed his most precious blood of the cheefe and most principall part of his Sacrament but also doe abstayne them selues from it whensoeuer they list hauyng no commaundement of the Lorde for to doe any suche thyng Therefore we may turne the saying of S. Basill against them who saieth these wordes Who so forbiddeth the thing that God commaundeth and who so commaundeth the thing that God forbiddeth is taken as accursed of all them that loue the Lorde Where you haue done the like against the commaundement of the Lorde and commaunded what he hath flatly forbidden your whole religion declareth for through your owne cōmaundementes ye make Gods commaundementes of litle force yea you haue done contrary to your owne lawes and decrées which do excommunicate all those that dare presume to take halfe of this sacrament and leaue the other halfe vnreceaued The blessed martyr Saint Ciprian doeth say Howe shall we teache exhort and prouoke them saieth he to shed their blood for the confession of the name of Christ if we do deny or wyll not geue vnto them the blood of Christ when they should fight and stande manfully in the quarell of their maister and Lorde Christe Or howe shall we make them apt to drinke the cup of martyrdome if we do not permit nor suffer them to drinke the cup of the Lorde in the Church by the right tha◠they haue to communicate with vs May not all men see and perceiue by these fewe words of this holy and blessed martyr what wrong and iniurie these antichristes do vnto vs Haymo saith Appellatur calix communicatio propter participationem quiae omnes communicant ex illo The cup is called the communication because of the participation for that euery man receaueth of it This saith he and yet no Protestant nor Caluenist If any warre doth chaunce for the name of Christ as is at this day in Fraunce and Flaunders or if any persecution for his religon sake doth happen they wyll geue vs good leaue to stande in the forefront of the battayle yea they wyll thrust vs forwardes and be ready them selues to shed our blood and yet they will not as much as suffer vs once to receaue the mysticall cup of the Lordes blood whereby we shoulde be animated and encouraged to shed our heart blood in the quarell of his trueth Besides this any childe may easely perceaue by these fewe aucthorities by me alledged that they were woont in the Primatiue Churche to minister indifferently vnto all men of what condition or estate soeuer they were the Communion in both kindes and that it was counted a playne sacriledge that is to say a playne robbing of Gods glorie to do otherwise For they did alwayes sticke to the institution and ordinaunce of the Lorde tyll at the length in the abominable and sacrilegious counsell of Constance a most wicked and vngodly decree was made to the contrary Many other reasons are they wont to bring for the defence of their accursed and detestable sacriledge If the mysticall Cup say they were indifferently ministred vnto al men and women that come to the Lordes boorde it might chaunce that it shoulde be at one tyme or other spylled whiche thing coulde not happen without a great slaunder in the Churche And therefore for auoyding of this offence that might happen by reason many hath the paulsie and fallyng sicknesse it hath bene appointed by the fathers that the Sacrament shoulde be only ministred vnder one kinde Belike our Sauiour Christe the wisedome of the father when he did first institute his Sacrament coulde not by his eternall spirite foresée such thinges nor yet the blessed Apostle Saint Paul when he did aboue .xxvj. yeres after his maisters ascention write vnto the Churche of the Corinthians Might not wée by as good a reason bicause that many offences do dayly arise by the preaching of Gods worde put downe the Scriptures altogether as antechrist is wont to do where soeuer he beareth any rule Might we not with as iust cause sith that many do surfet by meate and drinke and in their drunkennesse do worke mischéefe take awaye cleane from them the vse of meate and drinke Shall we because that good thinges may through the naughtinesse and negligence of men be misused take away the right vse of them or abolishe therefore the institution and ordinaunce of GOD who hath ordeyned and appointed such thinges for the comfort health of men Let them geue a straite charge to their ministers that they be sober and discrete when that thei go about such holy mysteries and that they take good heede to them selues that no such offences do arise through their negligence or rashe behauiour If they would do so and suffer the holy institution of the Lord to stande whole then shoulde they do well and please God highly who requireth nothing else but a true obedience towardes his statutes and lawes whereas in doing as they do they declare them selues to be voyde of the spirite of God and of all due obedience that ought to be in all faithfull christians and true seruauntes of God. For we must be subiect to God in obedience ioyned
docemus etiam nos id detestabile iudicamus That is to saie we do rightly condemne al newe thynges whiche Christ hath not taught bicause christe is the waie to the faithfull if therefore we teache that which Christ hath not taught we iudge it detestable These substanciall saiynges of these most auncient fathers which be so surely grouÌ„ded in the Scriptures and worde of God shoulde make you to be afraied for to chaunge alter and teache any maner of thing in the Lordes institution and ordinaunce that he hym selfe hath doen and appointed If ye had the worde of God and the saiynges of the fathers in any estimation or reuerence as ye will make vs to beleeue ye haue you woulde neuer so muche abuse Gods misteries and commaundementes as ye doe But ye neither regarde Gods worde nor yet the saiynges of the auncient fathers but as farfoorth as they write as men and so doyng seeme somewhat to beare with your beggerly and dirtie traditions whiche ye will haue to stande whatsoeuer God and his sonne Iesus Christe our Lorde and Sauiour doe coÌ„maunde to the contrary else all his faithfull seruaunts and true prophetes shal drinke of the whip and frie a Faggot Yet they go foorth still with their owne reasons that they maie beate downe altogether the ordinaunce institution of our sauiour Christe â–ª and set vp their owne There be many in the churche saie they that of their owne nature do so abhorre wine that it is death to them either to smell it or to drinke a drop of it How should the sacrament be ministred vnto them in both kyndes woulde they not alwaies be ready to vomet when the Cup should be offered vnto them Againe if the cup were kepte from them when they should sée the other to communicate in both kindes would not that same be a wounde to their consciences and an occasion of dispaire The Churche therefore condescendyng to their infirmitie and as a tender mother bearyng with the weakenesse of her children did institute and ordaine that all the laie people shoulde in generall absteine from the Cup lest through our libertie our weake brethren shoulde perishe for whom Christe hath suffered his precious death For if they shoulde communicate but in one kynde and see all the other communicate in both they should alwaies be in a perplexitie thinkyng still that thei had not receaued the Sacrament as they ought to doe and so should neuer be quiet in their consciences All men that haue any wit or reason or any sparke of charitie in them wil confesse with you that our weake brethren are to be borne withall as muche as maie be But not in all thinges For â–ª if God doeth either commaunde or forbidde anie thyng expressely in his holy worde I am bounde to obeye it though all the whole worlde were offended at it and if I do it not for feare of the offences of men damnation hangeth ouer my head Barnarde geueth a verie good counsell therefore to vs saiyng Melius est vt scandalum oriatur quà m voritas relinquatur That is to saie it is better that offence shoulde spring or rise then the trueth shoulde bee lefte doyng his commaundement S. Gregorie saieth when there commeth more offence then hurte we maie not sticke to offende But in thynges indifferent that is to saie whiche we maie vse with thankes geuyng without the displeasure of God and also forbeare â—â— tyme and necessitie but specially the loue of our neighbour doeth require As is the choyse of meates and suche like wee are bound to beare with the weakenes of our brethren and to take heede that we cast not them awaie with our libertie for whom the only begotten sonne of God did vouchesafe to shead his most precious blood If they could proue that the ministration or receauyng of the Sacramentes were indifferent for al men to vse them at their owne pleasure and as they list then had thei saide some what and the battaile ended But that shal they neuer be able to proue For in the Sacrament the onely institution and ordinaunce of the lorde must be obserued and kepte And whosoeuer doth handle them or vse hym selfe aboute them otherwise than the Lorde hath instituted and ordeined he is an vnworthy receauer of them as Saint Ambrose doeth sufficiently declare saiyng Indignus est domino qui aliter Mysterium celebrat quam ab eo traditum est Non enim potest denotus esse qui aliter praesumit quam datum est ab autore He is vnworthy of the Lorde that doeth otherwise celebrate the misterie then it was deliuered of the Lorde For he cannot be deuoute that taketh it otherwise then it was geuen of the aucthor Thus farre he Therfore we ought in no wise to alter the Lordes institution for feare of men or fewe mens sakes whiche bicause of some naturall let can not receaue the visible and outward signes els bicause that there be some that be deafe and cannot here the preaching of Gods worde whiche doubtelesse vnto them is a greate griefe or rather a Hell of conscience For they might surmise that GOD hath vtterly forsaken them sith that he hath depriued them of that meane wherby he doth commonly call his electe and chosen and certifieth them of their saluation wee shoulde haue as iuste cause to take away cleane from the congregation the preachyng of Gods worde least we shoulde minister vnto them a farther occasion of dispayre Who hauyng any wit in his head woulde alowe our doing if we shoulde so doe And yet this standeth with as good reason as the other Why doe ye not rather by Gods worde shewe and declare vnto these weake brethren that haue suche naturall impedimentes and lettes that they can not receaue the Sacrament whole as the trueth hymselfe and the wisdome of the father hath instituted ordeined that the forbearing of the visible signes sith that thei doe it not of a contempte can not hurte nor hinder them if they doe with a liuely faithe take holde vppon the thynges that bee signified and represented vnto vs by the Sacramentes When the Iewes were in captiuitie and coulde not offer the Sacrifices that God had commaunded them in the place and with suche ceremonies as God had ordeined in his lawe they offered none at all and yet this was not imputed vnto them as long as they forsooke not the lawe of god and his true religion they were still partakers of the spirituall thynges that were signified vnto them by these outwarde ceremonies and Sacrifices When the Israelites were in the wildernes they ministred not the outwarde circumcision vnto their men children by the space of fourtie yeres bicause that they coulde not do it coÌ„ueniently And yet it is not to be thought that god was displeased therefore though he hym selfe had commaunded circumcision to be ministred vpon the eight daie after the childrens byrth and that with a sore
threatnyng as it appeareth in Genesis Euen so may we saie of those folke that haue suche naturall impedimentes that they can not receaue the whole Sacramentes accordyng to the institution and ordinaunce of our Sauiour Christ If thei haue a true liuely faith and take holde therby vpon the mercie of God declared vnto vs in our Sauiour Christe For so doeth S. Augustine saie Credere in christum hoc est manducare panem viuum nolite parare fauces sed cor To beleeue in Christ that is the eatyng of the bread of life prepare not your mouthes prepare your haertes Againe Qui manducat intus non foris qui manducat in corde non qui premit dente He that eateth Christes body inwardly not that eateth outwardly he that eateth the body of Christe it selfe in his harte not that presseth the Sacrament with his téeth Againe Quid paras dentem ventrem crede manducasti What preparest thou thy tooth and thy belly beléeue and thou hast eaten Saincte Tertullian saieth Christus auditu deuorandus est intellectu ruminaÌ„duâ— est fide digerendus That is to say christ must be deuoured by hearing chewed by vnderstandyng digested by faith S. Ciprian affirmeth all this when he saieth Quod est esca carni hoc est animae fides Non dentes ad mordendum acuimus sed fide sincera panem sanctum frangimus That meate is vnto our flesh the same is faithe vnto our soules We sharpen not our teeth to bite withall but with pure faith we breake this holy bread Barnarde saieth also Qui manducat carnem meam bibit sanguinem meum habet vitam eternam hoc est qui recolit mortem meam exemplo meo mortificat membra sua super terram habet vitam eternam That is to saie he that eateth my fleshe and drinketh my blood hath eternal life that is he that beleueth or remembreth my pretious death and by my example doth mortifie his members vpon the earth hath eternall life By these testimonies we may sée howe the papistes might perswade the weake ones that thei speake of how that Christ is eaten by faith c. For truely they ought rather to forbeare the whole Sacrament then by mangling of it breake the institution of the Lorde But these ioly felowes which are so afraide to offende a fewe persons in whom no offence is to be feared if thei be well instructed and taught make no conscience at all to offende all the whole christendome by mangling of the holy sacramentees and by taking halfe of it away from the laitie For howe can men knowing the institution and ordinaunce of Christe communicate vnder one kinde with a good safe conscience And specially when thei sée them that should be the Lanternes and lights of the world to communicate vnder both kindes If thei be so charitable as thei wyll séeme to be why doe thei not them selues abstaine from the cup least thei minister occasion vnto the poore laye brethren to thinke that they do not receaue the Communion a right or as they ought to do and so to be disquieted in their consciences as long as they liue But what shoulde I tary any longer about this matter They do not onely take away halfe the Sacrament from the christian people which thing as their owne aucthours do testifie can not be done without great sacriledge but also they do so shamefully vse the sacramentall bread that they do also about it breake altogether the Lordes institution and ordinaunce For whereas our Sauiour Christe did breake the bread and did geue it to his apostles bidding them and all his faithfull ministers to do the same that is to say to breake the bread and to distribute it to all faithfull communicantes they do eate vp all alone making none partakers with them at all In déede thei breake the bread but it is only for a face and as it were for an apishe counterfeyting of the Lordes institution but no man doth faâ—e the better for it For thei eate vp all alone neuerthelesse and not one crumbe do thei geue to the poore people that standeth by them so that we may better call it an vnion or rather an excommunication than a Communion And a most deuillishe and detestable sacriledge rather than a holy and blessed Sacrament For through their miserable doyng in sufferyng the people to be present at praier and not communicate together according to the decrées were all excommunicated ipso facto In the Councell of Antioche it was decreed thus Omnes qui ingrediuntur in ecclesiam dei sacras scripturas audiunt auersantur antem preceptionem dominici sacramenti ab ecclesia abijci oportet c. All that come into the Church of God and heare the holy Scriptures and refuse the receauyng of the Lordes Sacrament lette them be put from the Churche c. The very like wordes ye haue in the Canon of the apostles Hugo Cardinaliâ— saith In the Primatiue Church saieth he as many as were present at the Canon of the Masse did daiely communicate and if they would not they departed as excommunicate Durandus saith In the Primatiue Churche al the faithfull daily receaued the Communion By these testimonies we may perceaue two things First that none came into the Churche but they were excommunicated if they were not communicantes Secondly how in the Primatiue Churche both the priestes and laie people receiued the CoÌ„munion with the Minister These doctours are no protestantes nor Hugonites but papistes as ye are Thus we maie sée that they sticke not to breake the lordes institution the Canons of the apostles nor yet passe vpon their owne doctours saiynges to these men no order rule nor Lawe will serue Againe whereas our sauiour Christ saith Take eate c. These our gentlemen are woont to say Nay not so but gape wide and we will cast it into your mouthes or ye shall fall downe vpon your knées and with knocking vpoÌ„ your brestes and holding vp of your handes ye shall deuoutly worshippe it So that here thei make the poore ignoraunt and simple people to beléeue that he who hath sanctified their mouthes hath not sanctified their handes also whereby it commeth to passe that if thei handle the visible and outwarde Sacramentes with gloues on their hands which are made of sheepe skinnes and olde rotten dogge skinnes they make no conscience of it but if thei chaunce to touche either the coÌ„secrated hoste or the Chalice â–ª with their bare skinne which Christe hath sanctified with his precious blood and hath promised to glorifie it at the day of the generall resurrection thei are so troubled in their consciences that thei thinke veryly that they shall sincke downe quicke into hell or that their fingers and handes shall rotte of Such godly doctrine do our papistes beate into poore mens heades But the angel did
booke of theirs these wordes of proude Herode Sacerdos est altior Regibus foelicior angelis creator sui creatoris A Priest is higher in aucthoritie then Kynges happier or more blessed then angels and a creatour of his creator To bee shorte all men may see now at this present that all their studie and séekyng is to aduaunce their owne pride and glory and to exalte them selues aboue all princes and kinges of the earth Which is a propertie of antichriste and of all the impes of his kyngdome But leauyng the triall of this thyng vnto other men that haue any eyes to see I will returne againe to my matter Our Popecatholiques perceauyng these aucthorities that I haue nowe aleaged out of Tertullian out of Augustine and out of their owne distinctions to be so plaine that any child is able to picke out the englishe of them do be stirre them selues that at the least they may cast some miste before the eyes of the vnlearned and simple people The signe saye they and the figure be takē for the thing that is represented and signified by them yea they are the very thinges it selfe as it appeareth by the wordes of the angell who after that he had shewed vnto the Shéepheardes that Christe our Sauiour was borne did say immediatly and take this for a signe ye shall finde the chylde swadled and layde in a Manger Was not Christ there both the signe the very thing it selfe that was signified by the signe Againe Simeon speaking of him saieth plainely these wordes This childe shal be a signe which shal be spoken against Here againe do we sée that the signe the thing signified by it are both one Moreouer the blessed Apostle doth call Christ the very image of his fathers substaunce and yet all men wyll confesse that Christe our sauiour is one with the father in substaūce Wherby it foloweth that Christ is the image or figure of the thing that he is himself After the same maner ought the fathers to be vnderstāded whē thei call the sacrament a signe or a figure of the body blood of Christ. This is the miste that our papisticall doctours do dayly endeuour them selues to cast before the eyes of the ignoraunt and vnlearned whiche through the helpe of him that is the true sonne of righteousnesse shall soone be driuen away that all men that will may sée the chearefull and comfortable light of the trueth As for the first place that they haue aleaged and do aleadge dayly it maketh nothing at all for them For the angell doeth not say And ye shall finde the signe of a chylde swadled and layde vp in a Manger but the very wordes are these And for a signe ye shall finde the childe swadled layde vp in a Manger Wherby any man may perceaue that Christ being newly borne was not appointed of the angell for to be a signe of him selfe For that needed not but for to be a signe token that the wordes which he had spokē vnto the shéepheardes were true No man wil say I trowe that christ the wordes that the angell spake then vnto the shéepheardes were alone thing Let any man reade the place well and marke diligently the circumstaunces of it and he shall finde it to be as I say We haue almost the like maner of speaking in Esaie where the prophete speakyng vnto Achas doeth saie And therefore the Lorde shall geue you a token hymselfe Beholde a virgine shall conceaue and beare a sonne c. Shall we saie nowe that the virgine Marie with hir sonne was a token or signe of hir selfe and not rather a token and signe that the wordes of the Prophet whiche he spake then vnto Achas in the name of the Lorde were most true and that they should in their tyme bee fulfilled and performed Now whereas they doe bryng foorth the saiyng of Simeon truely thei declare therin their deuilishe and malicious heart and also their most wicked intent whereby they goe aboute to peruerte all the Scriptures that come into their handes For in that place this worde signe is not taken for a thing that doth signifie or represent another thing but for a marke that men are woont customably to shoote at For the meanyng of Simeon was that Christe with his doctrine shoulde be as a marke that all the worlde shoulde shoote at that is to say that both he and his Gospell shoulde be withstanded and resisted of all the vnfaithfull worldlinges vpon the earth which woulde bende them selues against the Lorde and against his annoynted our Sauiour Iesus Christe and the glad or ioyfull tidinges of his heauenlye kingdome as Bowes he customably bent against a marke Therefore the Iewes that were at Rome did say vnto Paul we haue hearde of this sect that euery where it is spoken against These fewe wordes that the Iewes did speake vnto Paul ought to serue vs for a sufficient exposition of Simeons saying for thereby we doe learne that the meanyng of the olde father was none other but that the religion of Christ and his Gospell shoulde be spoken against Do not nowe all men sée howe well to the purpose they do aleadge the scriptures and that all that they seke is howe they may deceaue and blinde men and kepe them in errour styll that their pride pompe and glorie may continue vnto the worldes ende But let vs see what helpe they haue by the place that they recite out of the Hebrues Therefore say they it is written that christ is the figure of the fathers substaunce What could be spoken more plainely All christians in the world will confesse that Christ is one in substaunce with the father Doth it not folowe then that Christe our sauiour is the figure of that thing that he is him selfe I beséeche thée good reader take the paynes to reade the whole place as it lieth with the circumstaunces and all and then shall ye soone perceaue howe much it helpeth them in the mainteyning of their shameful errour For there they shall learne that whereas God in times past diuersly and many wayes spake vnto the fathers by the prophetes he did in these last dayes speake vnto vs by his sonne It is not vnknowen to them that reade the Scriptures that the spirite of Christe was in the prophetes and that by him God spake vnto the fathers Howe shall we then vnderstande this place to the Hebrues where he saith that God did in these last daies spake vnto vs by his sonne sith that he did before speake vnto the fathers by him It is to be vnderstanded and marked that it is sayd that God did speake vnto the fathers by his sonne because that the spirite of Christe was in all the prophetes by whom he spake vnto the fathers but in these latter dayes God did speake vnto vs by his sonne being incarnated that is to say beyng made man
and hauyng taken vpon him a mortall body in the virgins wombe As then he did speake vnto vs by his sonne beyng made man and hauyng taken our frayle nature vppon him so his sonne I meane our sauiour Christe beyng man that is to say touchyng his manhoode and not touchyng his Godheade is the image or figure of his substaunce For the image or figure of a thing must be visible and apparaunt to the eye else it can not be called an image or a figure But the godhead or diuine substaunce of Christ coulde not be séen no more than the diuine substaunce of the father therefore he coulde not touching his Godhead or diuine substaunce be the image or figure of his fathers substaunce but onely touching his humanitie and manhoode As he him selfe doth testifie saying He that séeth me séeth the father And it ought to séeme no straungenesse that we say that Christe touching his humanitie or manhoode is the image or figure of the father For if the first Adam whiche notwithstanding that he was created in the estate of innocencie could fall and breake the commaundement that was geuen vnto him was called the image of God how much more ought the second Adam in whose mouth no guile was founde and which coulde not sinne to be called the image of the fathers substaunce yea the holy scriptures doe testifie of vs that when we be regenerated or borne a newe we are the image of God And shal not he by whose spirite and worde we are begotten a newe and regenerated be most liuely and most effectuously the image of the fathers substaunce Thus then may we conclude that as God did in these last daies speake vnto vs by his sonne beyng made man or hauyng taken vpon hym a mortall body so his sonne beyng man or touching his manhoode is the image of his diuine substaunce But no man will saie that Christe touchyng his humanitie or manhoode is one with the father in substaunce for that were to affirme that the father is a creature Therefore the argument that they make vppon this teâ—te of Paule affirmyng that Christe is the figure of a thing that he is hym selfe is not worth a blewe button And though thei would maintaine still that this place must be vnderstanded of his diuitie and Godhead yet shoulde they winne nothyng by it For the Greeke hath not the figure or image of his substaunce if they would goe to the rigour of the letter but the image or figure of his persone â–ª And takyng it so â–ª I should agree with the Councell of Nice wherein it was decreed that in the blessed Trinitie there is but one substaunce whiche the Greekes call Vsia and three persons whiche thei call Hypostases We doe graunt then after this interpretation that Christ touchyng his diuinitie or Godhead is the image of the persone of the father But we will in no wise graunt that the person of the father and the person of the sonne be all one For that were a plaine heresie whiche ought in no wise to bee suffered in the churche of christ Let them turne themselues whiche way soeuer they will yet this place will helpe them nothyng no more then the places aboue rehearsed But that they shal be faine to confesse Mawgrie their shauen crownes that the auncient fathers haue expounded these wordes This is my body and this is my blood as we do now expounde them But how many places out of the Doctours were I able to bryng for to proue that the Sacramentes are called by the names of the thynges whereof they be Sacramentes Thus doeth the blessed Martir S. Ciprian wryte Dedit itaque Dominus noster in mensa in qua vltimum cum Apostolis participauit conniuium proprijs manibus panem vinum in cruce verò manibus militum corpus tradidit vulnerandum vt in Apostolis saecretius impressa sincera veritas vera sincaeritas exponeret gentibus quomodo vinum panis caro esset sanguis Et quibus rationibus causae effectibus conuenirent diuersa nomina vel species ad vnam reducerentur essentiaÌ„ significantia significata eisdem vocabulis censerentur That is to saie in englishe The Lorde at his last supper whiche hee kept with his Apostles did with his owne handes geue bread and wine and vpon the Crosse he did with the handes of the souldiours deliuer his body to be wouÌ„ded that the sincere veritie and the true sinceritie beyng secretely printed in the Apostles should declare or expounde vnto the gentiles how the bread and wine is blood and fleshe and by what meanes the causes doe agrée with the effectes And how diuers kindes and names shoulde bee reduced or brought to one essence And the thynges that signifie and the thynges that be signified called by one name Sainct Augustine besides that place that I haue already alledged out of his Epistle that he did write to Bonifacius doth in his booke of Questions vppon Leuiticus saie these wordes Solet autem res quae significat eiuâ— rei nomine quam significat nuncupari sicut scriptum est septem spicae septem anni sunt Non enim dixit septem annos significaÌ„t Et septem boues septem anni sunt multa huiusmodi Huic est quod dictum est Petra erat Christus non enim dixit petra significat Christum sed tanquaem hoc esset quod vtique per substantiam non hoc erat sed per significationem Sic sanguis quoniam propter vitalem quandam corpulentiam animam significat in sacramentis anima dictus est In englishe it is to saie The thyng that doth signifie is wont to be called by the name of the thing that it doeth signifie Therefore it is written And the seuen eares of corne are seuen yeres and not the seuen eares of corne doe signifie or betoken seuen yeres And the seuen kyne are seuen yeres And many suche like places And thereof it commeth that it was saide And the Rocke was Christ he saide not the Rocke did betoken or signifie Christe as though it had been that thyng in substaunce whiche was onely in signification And bicause that the blood by reason of a certaine liuely substaunce doeth signifie and betoken the soule therefore in the Sacramentes the blood is called the soule But the wordes that haue been alledged before out of his epistle to Bonifacius make the matter most plaine Therfore I will thinke it no labour lost to repeate them againe as they lye in Latine first Si enim Sacramenta quandam similitudinem â–ª earum rerum quarum Sacramenta sunt non haberent omnino sacramenta non essent Ex hac autem similitudine plaerunque etiam ipsarum rerum nomina accipiunt Sicut ergo secundum quendam modum Sacramentum corporis Christi corpus Christi est Sacramentum sanguinis Christi sanguis Christi est ita Sacramentum fidei fides est If the Sacramentes
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
all in Gods worde Therfore we may well conclude that it is an abhominable synne And therefore Sainct Augustine saieth full well Non est iusta oratio nisi per Christum Oratio autem que non fit per Christum non solùm non potest delere peccatum sed etià m ipsa fit in peccatum there is no iust or right praier but that that is made by Christ that praier that is not made vnto God by Christe not onely doeth not put awaie sinne but also is turned into sinne And no marueile for what greater blasphemie can there be in the world then to robbe the only begotten sonne of God of his glory and to geue it vnto dead creatures but as the glorie of Christe doth consist in this that he is our omnisufficient Sauiour for none other name vnder heauen is there geuen vnto men wherby thei must be saued so it doth consist in this that he is an omnisufficient and most perfect mediatour able to obteine at his fathers hande all maner of thynges that are necessarie for the saluation both of our bodies and soules They therfore that seeke any other mediatours besides hym doe robbe hym of his glory and so commit a most detestable sacriledge Is it then marueile that the more that they praie after this maner the more the wrath of God is kindeled against them Againe in what case must they néedes stande that seeke other wayes for to come vnto God vnto the seat of his mercie than he himselfe hath appoynted in his sacred worde But his heauenly and eternall wisedome saith vnto vs that he is the way the trueth and the life and that none commeth vnto the father but by him It can not be then but that they must be farre out of the way that seke to come vnto God by any other meane or way then by Christe and that in stéede of commyng vnto God they go the plaine dunstable high way vnto the deuyll and that most deseruingly sith that they will not go that plaine and sure way that God him selfe appointed vnto them saying This is the way walke in the same Why do they not sith that they wyll alwayes séeme to be such folowers of the auncient fathers of the primitiue church print in their mindes that golden saying of Saint Ambrose where he saith on this maner Christe is our mouth whereby we speake vnto the father our eye wherewith we sée the father our right hande whereby we offer our selues vnto the father without whose intercession neither we nor all the saintes haue ought to do with god Do they not learne by the wordes of this auncient writer and father of the Church that if we wyll speake vnto the father Christe must be our mouth If we wyll see the father he must be our eye Or if we wil offer our selues vnto the father he must be our right hande It is so farre of that he shoulde appoynt any of the saintes to be either our mouth our eye or our right hande that rather he doeth boldly affirme that except Christe doeth make intercession all the saintes haue nothing to do with god For why Saint Paul saieth That as there is but one God of all so there is but one mediatour betwixt God and man These be his wordes For there is one God and one mediatour betwixt God and man which is that man Christ Iesus who gaue himselfe a raunsome for all men Here we doe both sée and learne that as there is but one God so there is but one mediatour betwixt God and men which is our sauiour Iesus Christ the only begotten sonne of God who was made man for to set God and man at one and for to make attonement betwixt them For when we wyll ioyne two thinges together which do differ or be of contrary natures there must be some third thing that doth approche holde of the nature of them both or else there can be none attonement no agréement nor true coniunction betwixt them specially if the natures be repugnaunt and contrary one vnto another But what agréement can there be betwixt God and man looke what agréement there can be betwene consuming fire and thornes betweene light and darkenesse betweene righteousnesse and vnrighteousnesse betwéene blessyng and cursyng betweene death and life Paradise and Hell euen the same can be betwixt God and man if we doe consider man in his corrupted nature Therefore it was most necessarie that we should haue a mediatour for to make this agreement and coniunction which mediatour shoulde bee partaker of both the natures but yet without sinne and whiche should be both perfect God and perfect man for to make this coniunction and alliaunce betwixt God and man But there is no such sauyng onely our sauiour Iesus Christ. Therefore it doeth necessarily folow that none other can be our mediatour aduocate and intercessour but he alone Whiche thyng hath been sufficiently proued already by the wordes that haue been aleaged nowe out of Sainct Paule For they signifie asmuche as if he should haue saide after this maner As there is but one God whiche neuerthelesse is sufficient for all creatures as one only Sunne serueth for all the whole worlde so there is but one mediatour whiche is Iesus Christe who alone hath paide our raunsome and is meete for this office The same thyng doeth that blessed Euangelist sainct Iohn meane when he saieth that we haue an aduocate with the father Iesus Christ which is righteous Upon whiche place S. Augustine writeth on this wise He beyng such a man did not saie ye haue an aduocate with the father but if any man doth synne we haue saieth he an aduocate with the father He said not ye haue mée for your aduocate But brethren we haue an aduocate with the father Iesus Christe the righteous and he is the satisfaction for our synnes Hoc qui tenuit haeresim non fecit hoc qui tenuit schisma non fecit He that holdeth this committed no heresie he that hath holden this hath committed no schisme These are Sainct Augustines wordes wherby we maie gather that it is neither heresie nor schisme to cleaue vnto Christe alone as vnto an omnisufficient mediatour aduocate and intercessour as our Popecatholikes doe make it nowe persecutyng them with fire and sworde that will haue none other mediatour nor intercessour but hym onely whom the Scriptures and worde of God doeth appointe The .xxvj. Chapiter ¶ Christe is both our mediatour of saluation and also of intercession NOW ye shall haue the trickes of the deuilles sophistrie We doe not denie saie they but that Christe is the onely mediatour betwixt God and man But howe ought this to be vnderstanded Christe is onely the mediatour of redemption saie they for it is he onely that hath redéemed vs and by his death and bloodshedding hath made attonement betwéene god and vs but the blessed virgin Marie and other sainctes in heauen are
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
house of Rome to prohibite let or stop any decree or law that the Consules and Senatours went aboute to make shoulde not he haue been taken as a traitour bicause that he had contrarie to the order of the coÌ„mon weale presumptuously taken that thyng vppon hym that did onely apperteine to the office of the Tribunes And shall we saie that thei that doe attribute the office of mediation or intercession vnto dead Sainctes who if they were aliue would rent their clothes and shapely reproue them if they should see suche thynges to be doen vnto them which office doeth onely pertaine to our Sauiour Christ Iesus are not guiltie of high treason against God who hath appointed in his holy and sacred worde his onely begotten sonne to be the omnisufficient mediatour betwixt hym and vs But gentle reader marke well their wordes and doctrine we confesse and acknowledge say they we haue but one mediatour of saluation but we haue many mediatours of intercession if Christe be onely as you confesse he is mediatour of saluation wherefore then doe you thus call vpon the blessed virgin Christes mother Salua omnes qui te glorificant Saue thou al them that glorifie thée Here you intrude vpon christes office and against your owne doctrine make her a mediatour not of intercession but also of saluation Why say you this in your Portes booke in your massing bookes of T. Becket Tu per Thomae sanguinem quem pro te impendit Fac nos Christe scandere quo Thomas ascendit For the blood of Thomas whiche hee for thee dyd spende graunt vs Christe to clymbe where Thomas dyd ascendâ— Here you sée not onely intercession but also saluation in the blood of Thomas Therefore to shewe that the saintes are saluatours and our wayes to heauen Antoninus saith in his tyme where S. Paul and Fréer Dominicke were painted together the maner was vnder the image of S. Paul to write these wordes Per hunc itur ad Christum we may come to christ by and through this Saint but vnder the image of Freer Dominicke they wrote this Sed magis per istum yet much rather by this Saint whereby was meant that Dominickes aucthoritie and office was better able to saue men before God then Saint Paules Thus you may sée by a taste as it were all the rest of their doinges for that that they do is nothyng but to blinde the poore ignoraunt people whereby they may leade them whersoeuer they list thus they haue God and Christ Iesus in their mouthes and prayers only to be a cloke for them as it was to the Pharisées which Christ reproued sharply and as S. Paul saith They professe God in worde but denie him in their doinges these papistes are like to the Rat catchers for they wil take good bread cheese butter and within wil put arsnecke poysoÌ„ the good bread butter is nothing els â–ª but to alure them to eate the secrete hiddeÌ„ poyson to their destructioÌ„ so the papistes in the beginning of all their prayers they say OmnipoteÌ„s sempeterne deus and at the latter ende of their prayers they say Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum but betweene the beginning endyng there is set in the merites passions sufferinges intercessions mediations of saints that through theÌ„ their sufferinges bloodsheddynges merites and holines wee should obtaine heauen and life euerlastyng to our saluation if these be not murtherers and poysoners of christen soules that vnder the preâ—ence as you haue before hearde of Gods name and Christes iudge you Therfore the prouerbe in them may be verified Sub melle iacet venenum vnder hony is hid poyson But now to other obiectioÌ„s of theirs I must prepare my selfe They wyll nowe replie and say that in the common weale of Rome there were many Tribunes whiche were all intercessours that is to say which had all power and aucthoritie to let such decrees and lawes â—hat they thought to be hurtfull vnto the commons why shoulde it not be so in heauen myght we not haue there many intercessours also In déede in the common weale of Rome such an order was taken that as many Tribunes might be had as it was thought good and conuenient for the tyme But it is otherwise in the heauenlye court For there it hath been appoynted by him that is the highest ruler of all that wée should haue but one intercessour aduocate mediatour of God and men whiche is our sauiour Iesus Christe who alone is able bothe to stoppe the wrathe and vengeaunce of God that it should not procéede against vs and also to obtaine at his handes all maner of thynges that be necessary for our saluation so that he needeth no companions nor felowes for to assiste hym as the Tribunes did in the citie of Rome Whereby we maie well conclude that this distinction which our papistes doe make commeth of none other but of Sathan the deuell who doeth all that he can for to minishe the glorie of Christe And that all men maie the better perceiue that it is so ye shall vnderstande that the olde auncient idolaters did vse the like distinction for to mainteine their false goddes For when thei were compelled both by the scriptures and also by strong argumentes and reasons to confesse that there was but one God Then would thei saie it is true in deede that there is but one God of creation that is to saie whiche hath created heauen and earth but not of gouernaunce For saie thei there be many Goddes of gouernaunce For some gouerne the aire some the earth some the sea c. Wee maie see then that this is an olde tricke of the deuills Sophistrie whiche dooeth still maintaine mightely with fire and sworde by his accustomed ministers and valiaunt champions our maisters of the cleargie Whiche though it be sufficiently detected alreadie and so aunswered that any childe in the streete maie easily spie out their craftie and subtile iuggelyng and their deuillishe conueighaunce in the peruertyng of the holie scriptures sacred worde of God yet for the further enarmyng of the simple and ignoraunte people whom thei doe moste easily deceiue with their gaie painted words holielike vtteraunce as you haue heard a little before I will by the helpe of God and assistauÌ„ce of his holie spirite aunswere shortly the chiefeste and moste principall argumentes that thei make coÌ„monly for to maintaine yea against the manifeste scriptures of God the intercession or meditaion of Sainctes ¶ The .xxvij. Chapiter ¶ The principall argumentes that the Papistes alledge for praiyng to sainctes Aunswered FIrste when we doe alledge this text of S. Paul For there is one God and one mediatour of God and men that man Iesus Christe to proue thereby that as there is but one God of all so there is but one mediatour betwene God and vs Besides the afore alledged and confuted distinctioÌ„ thei bée wont to
because forsoothe that the kyng is a man and knoweth not vnto whom he maie commit the cōmon weale But for to get the fauour of God from whom nothing is hidden for he knoweth all mens merites we haue no neede of a mediatour or intreatour but of a deuoute mynde But nowe will I bryng in a similitude whiche hath a sure foundation and grounde in the holie Scriptures and sacred woorde of God whiche shall quite ouerthrowe theirs For why It is onely grounded vpon the imaginations and dreames of their owne heades What if there were a kyng benigne gentle mercifull and bounteous that he would make an acte or proclamation whereby he should exhort his subiectes that if any among thē had any matter or suite thei should all boldely without mediatours or meanes come vnto hym promising that he would heare them deliuer them frō their troubles and aduersities and from the handes of them that do oppresse them would not al men by that acte or proclamation take a wonderfull boldenesse to come vnto the king him selfe Who excepte he were starke madde or did mistrust the kynges proclamation would seke for any mediatours or meanes for to haue accesse vnto so bounteous a prince But we haue a moste sure acte and proclamation which is enacted and made in that most holie glorious and sacred counsaile of the blessed trinitie whereby we are exhorted bidden and commaunded to come boldely vnto hym who alone is able to heale all our infirmities and to deliuer vs from all troubles and aduersities be thei neuer so greate and our enemies neuer so mightie Firste the father doeth set forthe this comfortable Proclamation vnto vs saiyng Call vpon me in the daie of trouble so will I heare thee and thou shalt glorifie me Here wee are not onely exhorted bidden and commaunded to call vpon God in the daie of trouble but also we haue a promise that if we doe it we shal be heard and deliuered who then beyng in trouble would not come boldely vnto God and call vpon hym with a good and sure confidence sithe that it is his blessed will pleasure biddyng and commaūdement whervnto he hath added so comfortable a promise that wee should doe so In the Prophete Ieremie he crieth out saying Ye shall call vpon me and I shall heare you beyng then so louynglie called let vs come vnto the seate of his mercie with a stedfast truste and hope that we shal be heard But whom I praie you would not that sweete Proclamation which his onely begotten sonne our sauiour Iesus Christe doeth make vnto all repentaunte synners encourage excéedyngly Come vnto me saieth he all ye that labour and are laden and I shall refresh you And in an other place Uerely verely I saie vnto you what soeuer ye shall aske my father in my name he will giue it you Doeth not the eternall and heauenly wisedome of the father speake these woordes Euen he whiche can not lye whiche can not denie him self why should we then be afraied to come vnto hym Or what neede haue wee to seeke for any Mediatours aduocates or intercessours for to make any intercession for vs sithe that he doth call vs so gently vnto him bindyng hym selfe and his promises with an othe which can neuer be broken Also the holie ghoste who procéedyng from them bothe is the thirde persone in the blessed Trinitie doeth set forthe vnto vs a very comfortable edicte or proclamation whē he saith by the mouth of the holie Prophet Dauid The Lorde is nigh vnto all theim that call vpon hym in truthe And in an other place who soeuer calleth vpon the name of the Lorde he shal bee saued Here haue we the moste sure and infallible proclamations of the father of the sonne and of the holie ghoste whereby wee are moste louyngly and mercifully called vnto the mercie seate of almightie God and also assured that wee shal be hearde when soeuer wee doe call vpon hym in faithe through our onely mediatour and aduocate Iesus Christ our Lorde Is it not then a manifeste signe and token that we do not stedfastly beléeue the promises of GOD nor trust in his mercie whereof wee are assured in his truthe when wee doe direct our praiers to any other then vnto hym or when wee seeke for other meanes to come vnto hym then he hym selfe hath appoincted in his holie Scriptures Reade all the whole bodie of the scriptures throughout from the one ende to the other and ye shall not finde that euer the Patriarches Prophetes or Apostles did praie to any other Mediatour Intercessour or Aduocate but onely vnto God a lone For there is no other Mediatour that can bee founde and appoincted vnto vs besides that blessed seede of Abraham our sauiour Christe Iesus For whereas thei doe alledge that it is read in the scriptures that the Aungelles doe some tyme praie for the electe people of God and also that thei dooe offer our praiers before the Lorde That same maketh nothyng for their purpose except thei coulde proue that the Sainctes bee ministryng spirites sent to minister for their sakes whiche shal be heires of Saluation or that thei be appoincted to waite vpon vs as the Angels are which haue a charge giuen them ouer vs to keepe vs in all our waies yea and also to encampe rounde aboute theim that feare the Lorde And this ministerie and office of theirs because that thei be immortall shall continue as long as there bee any men abidyng here vpon the earth that is to saie vntill the number of the children of God be fulfilled But as for the sainctes it goeth otherwise with them For as thei are bounde whiles thei be yet in this life to doe those thynges that pertaine to their vocation accordyng to the office that God hath called theim vnto So when thei haue once performed their course and are at rest with God thei haue no more to do with the liuyng their ministerie and office is at an ende and if thei make any praier vnto GOD it is that their bloud maie bee auenged on theim that dwell on the earth desiryng that the number of their felowes and brethren maie be fulfilled and that the glorious kyngdome of God beyng come thei maie receiue their glorified bodies whiche nowe lye in the earth till the generall resurrection of all fleshe I do not doubt but that thei doe wishe vs good and are very desirous to haue vs in their blessed felowship for as muche as thei are members of the same bodie that we are of But to saie that thei knowe our necessities or that thei heare our particuler vowes and praiers and offer theim vnto god It is a méere inuention of men For we haue not one onely iote in holie Scriptures that doeth certifie vs of it And as touchyng their goodly shift whiche beyng wholie destitute of the scriptures and woorde of
God thei vse commonly saiyng That the dead sainctes do see and beholde in the brightnesse of the diuine countenaunce of God that shineth vpon theim as it were in a bright glasse all the necessities conflictes and troubles of men because that it is onely grounded vpon the vaine phantasie of worldly wisedome it oughte not to take place in such a waightie matter as this is But thei are also wont to alledge a place out of the Reuelation for to proue that the sainctes doe knowe all that is doen here in this worlde because that the Apostle saieth there And thei folowed the Lambe wheresouer he goeth These words saie thei doe sufficiently declare that the Sainctes are euery where with the Lambe If thei bee euery where with hym then doe thei knowe all thynges And herevnto be thei wont to adde the saiyng of saincte Hierome who expoundyng these wordes saieth on this maner If the Sainctes doe folowe our Lorde euery where and he is euery where and in all places then we muste beleue that thei that are with our Lorde bee euery where also not locally but by a celeritie or quickenesse that thei haue to perceiue that whiche God will haue theim to knowe As touchyng the place that they doe aleadge out of the reuelation of Iohn it serueth nothing for their purpose For the hundreth foure and fortie thousandes that folowe the Lambe wheresouer he goeth do signifie all true faithfull christians whiche folowe Christe that is to saie which doe frame their liuyng and conuersation after his example and doe endeuour themselues in all their doynges to folowe his holy and blessed coÌ„maundementes mortifiyng their bodies and offeryng them a liuely sacrifice vnto almightie God the father of our sauiour Iesu Christ. But we muste marke that saiyng of Sainct Hierome at the ende of his exposition he doth adde that the sainctes are in all places not locally but by a celeritie or swiftnes that they haue to vnderstande and perceiue that which God will haue them to knowe Now doe I denie that it is the wil and pleasure of God to shewe vnto the dead Sainctes what is doen here in this worlde And â—yll they haue proued by the Scriptures that God will haue the dead sainctes to knowe all that is doen here amongst vs I will by the grace of god abide still in the same opinion But I knowe that they shall neuer be able to doe it Saint Augustine shall aunswere Hierome and them both when he saieth these wordes Vbi siquidem sunt spiritus defuâ—â—â—â—rum vbi non vident neque audiunt quae aguntur an revenium iuistâ— vita hominibus ita tamen est eis cura de viuis quanquà m quid agant omnino nesciant quemadmodum nobis cura est de mortuis quamuiâ— quid agant vtique nesciamu That is to saie in englishe the soules of the dead are there where they do neither sée neither heare what is dooen or happeneth to men in this life suche care is with them for the liuyng that they are vtterly ignoraunt what they doe here in the earth as our care is for the deade whiche knowe not what they doe whose wordes are verye plaine and neede no exposition at all But put the case thei coulde proue that the sainctes knowyng our necessities doe praie for vs yet it should not folowe that we ought to praie to them or to make them our intercessours and aduocates sith that we haue no suche commaundement in the scriptures nor yet is there any example either of the Patriarches Prophetes or the Apostles of our Sauiour Iesus Christe The Scriptures doe certifie vs in certaine places that the Aungels doe praie for the elect people of GOD and that they doe also offer our praiers vnto hym yet ought we in no wise to praie vnto them For why they can doe nothyng but that that God commaundeth them to doe yea nothyng will they doe without his commaundement Therefore if we will haue them to ayde and assiste vs we must direct our praiers vnto god alone desiring and beseching his diuine maiestie that he vouchesafe to commaunde his holy Angels to ayde and succour vs in all our necessities troubles And then the blessed Angels hauing a commaundement or commission of God for to doe it wyll most gladly and most diligently assiste and helpe vs but we may not desire God to comaunde the dead Sainctes to doe the same bicause that thei be not appointed and ordeined thereto as the angels are The dead sainctes haue performed their course For vnto men it is not geuen of God to helpe one another but onely in this life present whiles they be yet in this transitorie worlde whiche thyng sainct Paule doeth well declare saiyng Whiles we haue tyme let vs doe good to all men Ye see that Sainct Paul saieth dum tempus habemus whiles we haue tyme as if he shoulde saie GOD hath appointed none other tyme vnto vs for to helpe one another but onely this present life Sainct Iames saieth also praie one for another that ye maie be saued Whereby God doth commaunde vs twoo thinges The one is that we shoulde praie one for another that is to saie that we should praie for them that praie for vs Therfore if the sainctes should praie for vs we should also be bound to praie for them but to saie that we must praie for the deade Sainctes it is to doe the Sainctes greate iniurie and wrong For it is written in their owne Canon lawes Iniuriam facit Martyri qui orat pro Martyre That is to saie he doth wrong vnto a Martyr that praieth for a Martyr Secondly we are coÌ„mauÌ„ded to pray one for another that we may be saued that is to saie whiles we are yet in the waie of saluation that we maie come to our waies ende It appeareth by this that it is not the will of God that we shoulde praie one for another but onely whiles we are in this worlde that so we maie exercise the workes of charitie whiles we haue tyme as it is saide before An other place doe they alledge out of Ieremie which is this Though Moyses and Samuell stoode before mée yet haue I no heart to this people Why say thei should Ieremiah speake so of the dead excepte be knewe that they did make intercession for the liuyng I maie a greate deale better reason after this maner Sith that neither Moyses nor Samuell did praie for the people of Israell it appeareth that there was then no intercessour of the dead For who of all the Sainctes shoulde haue taken thought for the people if Moyses did not who in this thing did exceede and passe all men whiles he did liue Therefore thus I saie I might make my argument againste them In the extreame necessitie of the people Moyses did make no intercession for them It is most likely theÌ„ that none at al did make intercession for them sith
any other for to make intercession for vs sithe that God in his holie scripture and worde doeth appoincte hym to bée our onely intercessour aduocate and mediatour and none other ¶ The .xxix. Chapiter ¶ Of Christes commyng to iudgemente in the laste daie WHO in the tyme appoincted of his father shall come to iudge bothe the quicke and the dead euen as he was seen to goe vp the Angels testifiyng the same that is to saie in the same shape forme figure and substaunce that he tooke of vs in the virgins wombe of whom he tooke his vndefiled substaunce and that beyng glorified and indued with immortalitie he did carrie vp into heauen He shall come I saie in his maiestie accompanied with all the holie Angelles descendyng from heauen with a shoute and voice of the Archaungell and trompe of god And the deade in Christ shall arise firste then we whiche shall liue euen wee whiche shall remaine shal be caught vp with them in the cloudes to méete the Lorde in the ayre There bee many euen among the olde aunciente writers that by the quicke doe vnderstande those that doe liue in glorie with Christe and by the deade do vnderstande those that beyng deade in synne bee also deade vnto god For saie thei it is not to bée thought that any shall bée founde aliue sithe that the Apostle doth say that it is appointed vnto all men that thei should once die But it appeareth moste manifestly bothe by the woordes of our sauiour and also by the wordes of the Apostle saincte Paule that at the same presente tyme and houre that the sonne of God shall come for to iudge all fleshe some shall be founde aliue For Christ◠our sauiour saieth that as the tyme of Noe of Sodome was so shall the commyng of the sonne of man be But who would saie that none were alive when the floode did sodainly ouerwhelme all the whole face of the earth Or when GOD did raine fire and Brimstone vppon the inhabiters of Sodome and Gomorra If any man would saie so the plaine and manifeste scriptures should reproue hym a lyer Sithe then the commyng of our eternall and euerlastyng iudge shal be as the tyme of Noe and of Sodome was it is to be beleued that we shall not all sleepe How then shall the saiyng of the Apostle bee fulfilled where he doeth bothe saie and write that it is appoincted vnto all men that thei shall once dye Uerely the holie Apostle doeth sufficiently declare hym self when he saieth Beholde I shewe you a misterie we shal not all sleepe but we shall all bee chaunged and that in a momente and in the twinckelyng of an eye at the sounde of the laste Trompe For the Trompe shall blowe and the dead shall arise vncorruptible and wée shall bee chaunged for this corruptible must put on vncorruptible and this mortall must putte on immortalitie This sodaine chaunge and alteration shal bee vnto vs whiche shall liue euen whiche shall remaine in steede of death For that whiche in vs is corruptible shall put on vncorruption and that whiche is mortall shall put on immortalitie To bee shorte this transitorie life shall in a moment and in the twincklyng of an eye bee chaunged into a moste blessedfull life whiche neuer shall haue ende And of this haue we a moste euidente and plaine example bothe in Enoch and Elias whiche were taken vp quicke The true meanyng then of this article whiche seemeth to bee taken out of the sermon that Peter made vnto Cornelius And out of the solemne protestation that saincte Paule vseth to his disciple Timothie is that Christs our Sauiour shall come againe at the laste daie in his glorified manhoode that he tooke of vs and that he shall iudge bothe them that he shall finde aliue here in the earthe and also the deade I meane all those that sleepe in their graues vntill the generall resurrection of all flesh For the father hath cōmitted all iudgement vnto the son that all men should honour the sonne euen as the father Which truely ought to bee verie comfortable vnto vs all to put awaie all vaine feare frō the vnquiet troubled consciences of the Christians For sithe that he shall come to iudge vs who of the father is appoincted to be the Sauiour and redéemer of all them that put their whole truste and confidence in hym seekyng onely to be saued by the merites of his death passion and bloudsheddyng how can it be that he should condemne vs Shall he that is our aduocate intercessour and mediatour giue sentence againste vs Iesus Christ yester daie and to daie and the same continueth for euer If he continueth still Iesus Christe what other thyng can be dooe but saue his people As the Aungell moste truely testified of hym Therefore when soeuer in the extreme agonie and conflicte of our consciences our mortall enemie Sathan doeth laye before our eyes that dreadful daie of iudgement for to driue vs to desperation let vs boldely appeale from Christe beyng iudge to Christe beyng Iesus that is to saie a Sauiour of his people Let vs alwaies haue in our mindes and hartes these godlie saiynges of saincte Paule who shall laye any thyng to the charge of Gods chosen It is GOD that iustifieth who then shall condempne It is Christe whiche is deade yea rather whiche is risen againe whiche is also on the righte hande of God and maketh intercession for vs Wée are in his hande no man none can take vs out because he is stronger then all Are we not as many as be grafted in him by a liuely faithe fleshe of his fleshe bones of his bones Are we not his members and he our heade How could it bee then that beyng our heade he should caste vs awaie Are not these saincte Paules woordes The husbande is the heade of the wife euen as Christe is the heade of the congregation and the same is the Sauiour of the bodie Let vs then indeuour our selues by a liuely faithe workyng through charitie to bee the bodie of Christe and so maie wee bee sure that he will come to saue and not to condemne vs for there is no condemnation to theim that are in Christe Iesus whiche walke not after the fleshe but after the spirite For why He is a sauiour of his bodie But how can the comming of Christ vnto iudgement will some bodie saie bee comfortable vnto vs sithe that wée must giue accompte of euery idle worde that euer we speake in all our life tyme Or sithe he will reward euery man accordyng to his deedes Doeth not saincte Paule saie that we muste all appeare before the iudgemente seate of Christe that euery man maie receiue the workes of his bodie accordyng to that whiche he hath dooen whether it bee to good or euill Yea at that daie the very thoughtes secretes
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
God sithe that Christ the wisedome of the father doeth name hym first when he saieth Render vnto Caesar that parteineth vnto Caesar and vnto God that parteineth vnto god Might I not by the same reason proue that the virgine Marie is inferiour vnto all the Apostles sithe that in the Actes Luke doeth rehearse and name her last but that will they neuer graunt sith that they will haue her to bee the Queene of heauen the mother of mercie c. Howbeit where thei saie that he is alwaies named firste it soundeth like a lye for in the Epistle to the Corinthians hee is named laste and also in the Epistle to the Galathians he is named after I meane where Saint Paul doeth proue by many argumentes that he is nothyng inferiour vnto hym But it appeareth most manifestly that Peter was in no higher aucthoritie then the other Apostles sith that beyng sent of them vnto Samaria with Iohn he doeth obeye Yea when Paule dyd rebuke hym to his face bicause that he walked not vprightly he did geue place vnto hym It is moste plaine and manifeste then that the blessed Apostle Sainct Peter neuer acknowledged suche supremacie as the Antichriste of Rome doeth moste tyrannously vsurpe nowe a daies much lesse that he woulde haue set foorth hym selfe for the supreme head of the vniuersall Churche of Christe The .xxxvij. Chapiter ¶ The true Church of Christe is but as a witnesse to the worde of God addyng nothyng to it nor takyng ought from it THerefore we conclude that the true catholique Churche doeth acknowledge none other head but onely our Sauiour Christe contentyng it selfe with his holy worde addyng nothyng vnto it nor taking ought awaie from it For sith that the faithfull congregation béeyng inspired with the same spirite that they were inspired withall which did leaue the scriptures vnto vs by writyng doeth but as a witnesse receaue aucthorize and alowe the bookes of the olde and newe Testament accordyng to the saiyng of our sauiour where he saieth And ye shal be witnesses vnto mee of these thynges it is not to be thought that the faithfull will euer passe the boundes and limittes of true witnesse bearyng or that they will adde any thyng vnto the knowen trueth whiche they beare witnesse vnto or take any thyng awaie from it Else might they moste deseruyngly bee numbred among those that dyd beare false witnesse againste Christe Againe sithe that the faithfull congregation is subiect to Christe and that the Scriptures that be conteined in the Canonicall bookes of the olde and newe Testament are his letters pattents and the Sacramentes his seales verylie the true Church of Christe will in no wise alter the Scriptures nor chaunge anye thyng in the ordinaunces and lawes that parteine to the sacramentes For as if a subiect knowyng the letters of his Prince and also his Seale shoulde bicause that he knoweth them well and aloweth them to be his presume and take vpon him to counterfeict his princes letters or seale he should be no true subiect but a felone and traitour euen so if the Churche bicause that she knoweth the Scriptures of the olde and newe Testament to be the true and infallible worde of her Lorde and Sauiour and the Sacramentes to bee his seales should presume or take vpon her to alter Gods worde I meane the Scriptures that bee conteined in the Canonicall bookes of the olde and newe Testament or to counterfeict the Scaramentes that is to say to minister them otherwise then her Lorde and maister hath instituted and appointed in his word she ought not to be called the true Church but the most traiterous harlot of Antichriste What ought we then to iudge of the whorishe Churche of the malignant whiche doeth not onely acknowledge an other heade besides Christ but also doth most vngodly presume and take vpon her to alter and chaunge the holy and sacred Scriptures and to peruerte the right vse of the Sacramentes Shal the Sheepe bicause they knowe the voice of their shephearde presume to alter and chaunge it or take vpon them to alowe the voice of a straunger and to set it foorth for the voyce of the true shephearde Moreouer it is not vnknowen that the true Churche is the spouse and wife of the Lambe but it is not the propertie of any true and faithfull wife when her husbandes Testament is made and confirmed or alowed to adde anye thyng to it or to alter and chaunge any thyng in it though she knoweth neuer so muche and aloweth it to be her husbandes Testament Sithe then that the scriptures and worde of God conteined in the canonicall bookes of the olde and newe Testament are euen the Testament of the onely begotten Sonne of God our Sauiour Iesu Christ who is the onely head and husband of the true catholique Churche without all doubte the faithfull congregation will neuer presume to adde any thyng to it or to alter and chaunge any thyng that is conteined or comprehended in it For sith that though it be but a mans Testament yet if it be once alowed no man ought to despise it or to adde any thyng to it How much more ought we to take heede that we adde nothyng to the euerlastyng testament of the only begotten sonne of God or that we chaunge nothing that is conteined and comprehended in it Besides all this it were a foolishe thyng to saie that the sonne is able to beget his father or his mother it is euen as folishe a thyng to saie that the Churche whiche is begotten a newe by the worde and hath all the aucthoritie that she hath from the worde of the liuing God is able to aucthorize or alow any maner of doctrine whiche is not Gods worde for Goddes word or that she is able to make lawes decrees and statutes at her owne pleasure and after her owne phantasie and afterwarde to set them foorth for the infallible worde of god For if the Churche can make or fourge a newe worde then can she beget her selfe of newe Who sâ—eth not that it were one of the greatest follies in the worlde to say or affirme any such thing Therfore to put al men out of doubte ye shall vnderstand that as the Sunne is cleare and bright not bicause that men doe iudge it to be so but rather men do iudge it to be so bicause it is so in deede and can iudge of it none otherwise euen so the holy Scriptures conteined in the canonicall bookes of the olde and newe Testament are the infallible worde of the liuyng God not bicause that the Church doeth iudge and alowe it to be so but rather the true catholique Churche doeth iudge and alowe it to be so bicause that it is so in deede and can iudge of it none otherwise no more then the cleare and bright eyes can iudge of the light and brightnesse of the Sunne of the whiche the blynde can geue no
iudgement euen as the vnfaithfull and reprobate can geue no iudgement of the worde of God nor yet alowe it Whereby we maie then conclude that the certitude veritie and infalliblenesse of Gods worde doeth not depende or hang vpon the opinion and iudgement of men but that it doth altogether depende of the holy spirite of God whiche by his owne force vertue and strength doth verifie it and constraineth the faithfull to alowe and receaue it as the bright and cleare beames of the Sunne doe compell the eyes to confesse that the Sunne is cleare and bright For the shéepe of our Sauiour christ doe both heare and vnderstande the voice of their shephearde and not the voice of a straunger And all the Prophetes haue prophecied and taught and the apostles also haue been verified and aucthorized by the vertue of hym that spake in theâ— so that all the whole worlde could not withstande it It is nowe easie to see that the true catholique Churche of God though she knoweth which is the true worde of god and which is not and that by the inspiration of the same holy spirite that they were inspired withall whiche did leaue vnto vs by writyng the holy and sacred Scriptures that be conteined in the olde and newe testament I meane the canonical bokes of them both for as Sainct Chrisostome saieth Ergò suam erga homines amicitiam innouare volens quasâ— longè absentibus literas mittit conciliaturus sibi vniuersam hominum naturam Therefore god mindyng to renewe his fauour towardes man sent his holie Scriptures as it were his letters thereby to reconcile to him selfe all mankynde â–ª Ireneus saieth Apostoli tunc euangelium praeconiauerunt Postea verò per dei voluntatem illud in scripturis nobis tradiderunt fundamentum columnam fidei nostrae futurum Then the Apostles preached the Gospell and afterwardes by Gods will thei deliuered the same to vs in writyng to be a foundation and a piller vnto our faith But here to speake of the Papistes obiections howe that the Churche was before the worde it shal be superfluous to waste paper and Inke in so fruictlesse a question For we say generally the worde was before the church for Moyses wrote the worde of God that he spake to Adam of the séede to come So saieth Sainct Paul God spake in olde tymes many waies and in sundrie sortes vnto the fathers And saint Chrisostome saieth God the creatour of mankynde from the beginnyng spake vnto men by hym selfe in his owne person We speake not so precisely and nicely of Gods worde written in Paper For so it is a creature corruptible and shall consume and perishe as other corruptible creatures doe But the worde of God whiche we speake of endureth for euer Saincte Hierome thereto agreyng saieth these wordes Quomodo aeternae erunt scripturae diuinae si mundus certo fine est terminandus Verum est quidem quod librorum pelliculae cum ipsis literis abolandae sunt Sod quià subiungit dominus verba mea verò noÌ„ praeteribunt proculdubio quod illiâ— apicibus pollicetur erit aeternuÌ„ That is to saie in englishe thus How shall the holy scriptures be euerlastyng seeyng the worlde shall haue an ende True it is that the Parchement or leaues of the bookes with the letters and all shal be abolished But forasmuche as our Lorde addeth my wordes shall neuer passe doubtlesse the thynges that are promised by the same letters shall laste for euer ¶ The .xxxviij. Chapiter ¶ The true Churche is knowen by the worde of God. SO that the woorde of GOD enduring for euer is it that the holy catholike and true Church is knowen by and euer hath been Therefore sainct Augustine saith Exore veritatis ecclesiam agnosâ—o participem veritatis By the mouthe of the truthe I knowe the churche that is partaker of the truth And againe he saieth I would the Churche should be shewed not by the decrees of men but by the heaueÌ„ly oracles or wordes of God Wée muste seeke the Churche in the woordes of Christ whiche is the truthe and beste knoweth his owne bodie The holie Scripture sheweth vs the Churche without doubtyng In the holie scriptures the Churche is plainly knowen We muste knowe the Churche by the holie Canonicall scriptures as we knowe the heade Sainct Chrisostome also saieth Nullo modo cognoscituÌ„r quae sit vera ecclesia nisi tantuÌ„modo per scripturas It is not any wayes knowen which is the true Churche of Christ but only by the scriptures S. Augustine saith Non audiamus haec dico haec dicis sed audiamus haec dicit dominus Ibi quaeramus ecclesiam ibi discutiamus causam nostram Let vs not heare these wordes this saie I this saiest thou But let vs heare these woordes thus saieth the Lorde There lette vs seeke the Churche there let vs discusse our cause I will not haue the holy Churche to bee shewed by mans iudgement but by Goddes woorde Saincte Ambrose also doeth saie these wordes Ecclesia fulget non suo sed Christi lumine The Churche shineth or is knowen not by her owne light but by the light of Christ which is by the worde of God. These testimonies of the godlie fathers of the Catholike Churche dooe flatly declare that the Churche is knowen onely by the worde of God and not by mans decrees nor statutes therefore the true Churche doeth not take vpon her to adde any thing vnto it or to take ought away from it she doth not presume to forge newe articles of our faithe and to sette forthe news lawes and decrees for Goddes holie woorde but she contenteth her self with the worde lawes and ordinaunces of her true husbande and heade Iesus Christe Therefore that whorishe churche of Rome whiche moste presumpteously forgeth daiely newe lawes and Articles of our faithe settyng forthe euen with fire and sworde the fonde doctrines and inuentions of men for the true and infallible woorde of the liuyng GOD mainteinyng openly that their Churche is aboue the woorde of GOD and that it is of more force and greater aucthoritie for these are their owne woordes set out in their owne bookes A doctrina Romanae ecclesia Romani pontificis sacra scriptura robur trahit authoritatem The holie scripture taketh strength and aucthoritie of the doctrine of the Romain Churche and of the Bishoppe of Rome Againe in the same booke he saieth I meane Siluester Prierias maister of the Popes palaice Indulgentiae authoritatae scripturae non innotuere nobis sed authoritate Romanae ecclesiae Romanoâ—umque pontificum quae maior est Pardones are not knowen to vs by the aucthoritie of the Scriptures but by the aucthoritie of the Romaine Churche and of the Bishoppes of Rome whiche is greater then the aucthoritie of the scriptures These I saie boldely can in nowise bee the true spouse of our sauiour Iesu Christe but the abhominable
of in the booke of the Actes but this must bee doen accordyng to the rules and canons of the Apostles If they be blamelesse the husbande of one wife vigilante sober and apte to teache c. Secondlie it hath aucthoritie to teache by the lawfull ministers I meane by these ministers that are lawfully chosen with the laiyng on of handes accordyng to the rule and Cannons of the Apostles And these ministers ought to teache and set foorthe none other thyng then thei haue receiued of the Lorde hauyng alwaies before their eyes the saiyng of Christ our Sauiour Docete eos obseruare quaecunque precepi vobis Teache them to keepe and obserue all thynges what soeuer I commaunde you And the same it is that we call Potestatem clauium The power of the keyes which as it hath been sufficientlye declared before consisteth in preachyng free remission of synnes vnto the faithfull and true repentaunte synners and eternall condemnation vnto the vnfaithfull and vnrepentaunte Whiche thyng if it bee duely dooen accordyng to the institution and ordinaunce of our Sauiour Christe taketh no lesse effecte then if it were doen in heauen And vnder this doe we comprehende the aucthoritie that the churche hath to excommunicate open synners and to receiue them again if thei shewe true tokens of repentaunce and of amendemeÌ„t of life Thirdely the true and faithfull Churche hath aucthoritie to minister the sacramentes by the ministers thervnto lawfully appoincted so that it bee doen accordyng to the institution and ordinaunce of our sauiour Iesu Christe vsyng suche tymes and seasons as thei shall thinke moste expediente for the same Fourthly and laste of all it hath full aucthoritie and power to examine the doctrines and to trie the spirites whether thei bee of God or not as it is manifeste and plaine by these saiynges Lette twoo or three Prophetes speake in the Churche and let other iudge Againe Proue all thynges and holde that whiche is good Saincte Ihon saieth Dearely beloued try the spirites whether thei bee of God or not But this triall muste bee doen with the touchestone of Gods woorde whiche with the holie ghoste ought to be the chiefe president in all Sinodes and Counsailes So saincte Augustine saieth againste Maximinus these woordes Nowe neither ought I to alledge the Counsaile of Nice nor thou the counsaile of Ariminum to take aduauâ—tage thereby for I am not bounde to the aucthoritie of the one nor thou restrained to the determination of the other Sed scripturarum authoritatibus non quorumque proprijs sed vtrisque communibus testibus res cumre causa cum causa ratio cum ratione concertet But by the aucthorities of the Scriptures not peculiar witnesses vnto either of vs but common and indifferent vnto vs bothe let one matter with an other cause with cause and reason coÌ„tende with reason Saincte Hierome therefore saieth Omni studio legende nobis sunt scripturae in lege domini meditandum die ac nocte vt probati trapezite sciamus the scriptures are to be read of vs with all diligence and to meditate daie and night in the lawe of the lorde that we maie become perfecte exchaungers to knowe the false counterfecte doctrine froÌ„ the true doctrine of Christe Sainct Origene also hath these woordes Sensus nofiri enarrationes sine scripturis testibus non fidem habet Our iudgemente and expositions without witnesse of the holie scripres haue no credite Thus wee maie plainly see that all our matters muste bee tried by the Canonicall bookes of the holy Scriptures So farre foorth doth the aucthoritie of the true Churche extend which as it can not erre as long as she taketh gods word the holy ghost for her guide so assoone as she forsaketh Gods worde and the guidyng of the holie ghoste she falleth into all kinde of errours at length doeth become the Synagogue of Satan the Church of the malignaunt the stinckyng haâ—lot of antichriste Howbeit the whole vniuersal Church doth neuer so fall awaie from the truthe of Goddes woorde but that God dooeth alwaies preserue vnto hym selfe a certaine number whiche will neuer agree nor consente vnto vngodlinesse and from whom the spirite of trueth is not taken awaie And because that these bee vnknowen of the worlde as thei that lacke the outwarde tokens and signes of the true Churche of Christe whiche are the preachyng of Gods worde and the ministration of the sacramentes and the vse of true discipline accordyng to the institution and ordinaunces of the Lorde are commonly called the inuisible Churche not bicause that men are inuisible whiche thyng can not be as long as they bee here conuersaunt vpon the earth but bicause that thei be only knowen and seen of God who knoweth onely who be his who be not And this faithfull congregation whether it hath the outwarde signes of the true Churche of Christ or not as long as it beareth aboute this body of synne is subiect to many infirmities but for Christes sake thei are not imputed for when it is saide that it is without spot or wrinkle that is to be vnderstanded by imputation through Iesus Christ our sauiour And therefore it is called the glorious congregation And I doe also beleue with sainct Augustine that this catholique Churche is the Barne floore of the Lorde and that in it vntill the daie of iudgement Chaffe shal be mixed still with the Wheate My meanyng is this that in the Church both good and badde true beleuers and hypocrites are conteined together in the felowship of the sacramentes and that it shall be so vnto the worlds ende Whiche thyng we doe learne by the parable of the good seede and of the Darnell and of the Nette that is cast into the Sea and whiche doeth drawe of all kynde of fishes vnto the shore But we must in the meane while beware that we do not because of the Chaffe Darnell and rotten fishes seuere and diuide our selues from the Churche as the wicked Anabaptistes doe which for euery triflyng matter do diuide them selues from the Churche though the worde of God bee neuer so finely nor sincerely preached and the Sacramentes moste rightly ministred according to the institution and ordinaunce of the Lorde Why do we not rather folowe the godly counsell of the blessed Martyr of God S. Cyprian that he geueth vnto vs Although saith he Darnel Tares are seen to be in the church yet our faith and charitie ought not to be letted that bicause we do sée Tares and Darnell to be in the Church we shoulde therfore forsake the Church but rather we ought to endeuour our selues that we may be good corne that when the good corne is gathered into the Garners of the Lorde we maie receaue a rewarde of our labour and worke Also in a great house there be many vessels not only of Golde and Siluer but
also tréene vessels and earthen vessels and some to honour and some to dishonour Let vs geue diligence and labour as muche as it lieth in vs that we maie be a vessell of Golde or of syluer And truely this doctrine is moste necessarie to be marked and also to be folowed For as all the benefites that God doth of his méere mercie and goodnesse graunt vnto his Churche doe parteine vnto all bicause the Communion and felowship that is betwixt the members of Christes bodye So without this Communion and felowship of the sainctes there is no remission or forgeuenesse of sinnes but eternall and euerlasting condemnation For how coulde it be that they shoulde enioy the priuiledge of the true members of Christ that doe by a self willl deuide themselues from his body as the Papistes dooe now in these dayes Shoulde not that braunche deserue to be dried vp and to be caste into the fire that woulde wilfully deuide it selfe from the true vine The .xl. Chapiter ¶ Our offences and synnes are forgeuen vs by faith through Christe and not by our workes and merites ALso my beléefe is that in this church sinnes are freely forgeuen through faithe in the mercie of God obteined and purchased vnto vs by the merites of the death passion bloodsheddyng of our sauiour Iesu Christ wihout any of our owne deseruynges or merites or without any matter of satisfaction that we be able to make though wee were able to liue as long as euer any man did liue vpoÌ„ the earth For if any amendes coulde haue beene made for synnes or if any iustification could haue been gotten by the workes of the lawe Christ needed not to haue dyed And therefore the lorde saide right well I am he I am he that taketh awaie thy wickednesse and that for mine owne sake and thy sinnes wil I remember no more Here haue we a promise that God will put awaie our wickednesse and synnes not for our deseruinges or merites but for his owne sake that is to say of his frée mercie and goodnes as saieth sainct Paule Iustificamur gratis ex gratia ipsius Wee be iustified fréely of his grace Againe we iudge that a man is iustified by faith without the workes of the lawe And for this cause his only begotten sonne our sauiour was by the angell called Iesus bicause that he should saue his people from their synnes If our good workes merites and deseruinges could saue vs from our synnes why should they not be called by that name For there is none other name vnder heauen geuen vnto vs whereby we must or can be saued Therefore I doe thinke it moste conuenient and méete that we saie with Barnarde Mèritum meum miserationes domini Non sum ego inops meriti quam diuille non est inops miserationum Si miserationes eius multe multis ego sum in meritis Hoc totum est hominis meritum si totam spem suam ponat in domino That is to saie My merite is the mercie of god So long as god is not poore of mercy so long cannot I be poore of merites If his mercies be great then am I greate in merites This is the whole merite of man if he put his whole affiaunce and trust in the Lorde I marueile much of the papistes and meritmongers that are so bold to set vp their owne righteousnes and merites But before we seeme to speake any thyng to their obiections I thinke it best to declare in what signification this word to iustifie ought to be taken This worde iustificare to iustifie hath been of S. Paul borowed of the common vse of the lawe for in iudgement to iustifie a man it is to assoyle or quite him of the crime that is laide to his charge or that he is accused of and to pronounce him righteous iust innocent and guiltlesse After the same maner when we saie that God doeth iustifie vs our meanyng is that God doeth assoyle and quite vs of all crimes offences and trespasses that can bee layde to our charge or that we can be accused of that he doth pronounce vs iuste and righteous in his sight that is to saie that firste he doeth pardone and forgeue vs our synnes he couereth them and doeth in no wise impute them vnto vs but imputeth vnto vs righteousnes not our owne whiche is none at all but the righteousnes of his Sonne our Sauiour and so through his righteousnes doeth both saue vs and make vs blessed so doth the Apostle expounde this our iustification saiyng As Dauid doth set foorth the blessedfulnes of the man vnto whom God imputeth righteousnesse without woorkes where he saieth Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgeuen and whose sinnes are couâ—red Blessed is the man vnto whom the Lorde imputeth no synne As for the places of sainct Iames where he saith Was not our father Abraham iustified through workes when he offered Isaac his sonne vpon the aulter And a little after ye see then how that of workes a man is iustified and not of faithe onely It maketh little for their purpose if it be well considered We reade that Abraham beleeued the Lorde it was accompted vnto hym for righteousnesse whiche text is of Paule alledged after this sorte If Abraham were iustified by woorkes he hath wherein to reioyce or glorie but not with God for what saieth the Scripture Abraham beleued God and it was imputed vnto hym for righteousnesse Whereby the Apostle proueth strongly that Abraham was iustified by faith But this that saincte Iames doeth speake of whiche is the offeryng of Isaac was doen thirtie yeres after that the scriptures did pronounce Abraham iustified or that his faithe was compted vnto hym for rigteousnesse Uerely sithe that fifteene yeres afore that Isaac was borne Abrahams faith was imputed vnto hym for righteousnesse it was impossible that he should be iustified by the offryng of his sonne Isaac whiche was as I sayd before thirtie yeres after That that the Apostle goeth aboute here is onely to shewe that the faith which Abraham was iustified by was no idle or deade faithe but suche a faithe as made hym obedient vnto God as it is plainely set foorth to the Hebrewes Therefore if the circumstaunces bee considered there is no repugnaunce or coÌ„trarietie in the doctrine of the Apostles at all For what contrarietie or repugnaunce could there bee in their doctrine sithe that they were bothe led by one spirite Therefore we shall marke that the holie Apostle saincte Paule in his Epistle to the Romaines and to the Galathians did dispute and reason against them which did attribute iustification to workes But saincte Iames did write againste them which did vtterly contempne and despise good workes And therefore Paule sheweth the causes of our iustification Iames sheweth theffectes and fruites of the same Paul declareth how we are iustified Iames declareth how wee are knowen to bee iustified Paule excludeth
at all Hesichius also saieth The grace of God is giuen onely of mercie and fauour Et fide comprehenditur sola And is embraced and receiued by onely faith Saint Chrisostome saieth Illi dicebant qui sola â—ide nititur execrabilis est hic contrà demonstrat eum qui sola fide nititur benedictum esse They saide who so staied himselfe by only faith is accursed Contrariwise Saint Paul proueth that who so staieth hymselfe by onely faithe he is blessed Hierome also hath these wordes ignorantes speakyng of the Pharisies quod sola fide iustificat deus se ex operibus legis quam nunquam custodierunt iustos esse putantes They not knowing that God iustifieth onely by faith and supposyng themselues to be iuste by the workes of the lawe whiche they neuer obserued they would not submit themselues vnto the remission of synnes least thei should seeme to haue been synners Saint Hilarie hath these wordes in Mathewe and vppon this text Râ—mittuntur tibi peccata tua thy synnes are forgeuen thee and writeth on this maner Moâ—et scribas remissum ab homine peccatum hominem enim tantum in christo Iesu coÌ„tuebantur remissum ab eo quod lex laxare non poterat Fides enim sola iustificat That is to saie It moueth the Scribes that synne was forgiuen by man For they did onely beholde man in Christe Iesu and that to be forgeuen of hym whiche the lawe could not release For faith onely doth iustifie This is the herisie that we teache according to the holy scriptures and learned fathers of the catholique Churche But they obiect againe that good workes deserue bicause it shal be rewarded for saie they S. Iohn saith their workes folowe after them And Christe saieth to his disciples he that geueth a Cup of colde water to any of these little ones for my â—ake shall not loose his rewarde And sainct Paule saieth your worke shall not be in vaine in the Lorde Christ saieth againe Reioyce and be glad for your rewarde is greate in heauen and â—â— the Hebrewes it is saide God is not vnrighteous that hee shoulde forget our labour Wee graunt good woorkes haue their rewarde But the same rewarde standeth in mercie fauour and not in duetie Therefore we saie consideryng the weakenesse and synfull corruption of our nature there can be no works in vs so pure and perfect that we may therby of right and of duetie deserue euerlastyng life For God hath a kyngdome an inheritaunce for children and not a rewarde for bounde seruauntes and slaues Therfore Gregorie Nanzianzene saith if thou he a bound seruaunt or a â—laue then feare the whip If thou be a hirelyng then looke onely for thy rewarde but ouer and besides this if thou be a childe then reuerence God as thy father Doe well bicause it is good to obeie thy Father Yea and although thou shalt haue nothing els yet euen this shall be thy rewarde that thou hast been obedient to thy father Therfore we must saie saieth christ when we haue doen whatsoeuer I commaunde you saie ye we are vnprofitable seruauntes Hilarie to this purpose hath these wordes If we fast once saieth he we thinke we haue satisfied If out of the barnes of our householde store wée giue somewhat to the poore wee beleue we haue fulfilled the measure of righteousnesse But the Prophete hopeth all of God and trusteth of his mercie Sainct Basile also saieth He that trusteth not to his owne good deedes nor hopeth to bee iustified by his woorkes hath the onely hope of his saluation the mercies of god Augustine therefore saied verie well Qui diligit aliud preter te Minus diligit te O God he the lesse loueth thee that loueth any other thyng besides thee But before we declare how good déedes are rewarded Let vs see what good woorkes these are that the Papistes doe so muche talke of shall bee rewarded or that deserueth euerlastyng life Firste thei teache vnto the pleople that are ignoraunte to heare Masse euery daie deuoutely to lye prostratâ— before deade Images to mumble out a nomber of prayers vnto Sainctes to goe on Pilgrimages to builde vp Chaunteries and Churches and to cause Trentalles of Masses and Diriges and other trumperie to bee saied for the deade Item to giue largely of their substaunce and gooddes to idell Priestes Monkes Friers and Nonnes to giue money gold siluer and silke to make crosses chalices coapes vestementes and other like plaierly garmentes to furnishe out the stinckyng Masses to saie our Ladies Psalter to praie vpon Beades to vse obserue and kepe Pharisaicall fastynges with the Popishe idle holie daies and solempne feastes and to receiue holie breade holie water holie palme holie asshes and holie fire holie creame holie candelles and holie oile c. These are the good woorkes and beste woorkes that they haue set forth to bee doen of all people and who soeuer speaketh againste those woorkes they are taken for enemies to GOD and as rancke heretiques but all those good woorkes of the papistes are not required nor yet commaunded of God to bee dooen therefore thei dooe rather deserue the name of synne and of detestable abhomination before God then of good workes The true good woorkes are voide of all superstition thei are alligated or bounde neither to place nor to the persones nor to tyme for thei are as certaine fruites of our whole life testifiyng of the goodnesse of our harte and expressyng the nature of our heauenly father which not onely of the faithfull but of the very infidelles are rekened and taken for good workes and minister occasion vnto them to glorifie our father whiche is in heauen The workes of faithe workyng through Charitie and loue are good woorkes For GOD doeth worke them in vs and by vs them doeth our sauiour Christe set out saiyng I was an hungred and ye gaue me meate I was thirstie and ye gaue me drincke I was naked and ye clothed me I was harbourlesse and ye harboured me I was sicke and in prison and ye visited me The Apostle also doeth sufficiently teache vs what be the good woorkes that God doeth require of vs but what should I alledge one or twoo textes sithe all the whole Scriptures do euerywhere exhort vs still vnto good workes what those good workes are S. Paul doeth declare when he saith We are the workmanship of god created in christ Iesu vnto those good workes that God hath prepared for vs to walke in If any man should aske me nowe what bee those good woorkes that he hath prepared for vs to walke in I would aunswere that all those woorkes that God doeth bidde and commaunde vs in his holie and sacred worde are those good workes that he hath prepared for vs for to walke in And those I saie and beleue ought onely to be called good workes and none other And therefore
39. August de spiritu litera ad Marcel cap. 19. August de verbis apost Serm. 10. Hieron super verba christ Quos dedisti◠mihi August in psal 98. In codem psal How this is to be vnderstanded that god saueth no man against his wyll Iohn 6. Phil. 2. August in enchir ad Lau. August de bono perseue cap. 13. In cap. 6. Grego in Ezec. Hom. 9. Barnard Parni Serm. 39. Fulgentius A caueat As concernyng earthy and corporall thinges man hath freewil Maxentius in 1. lib. de fide August in enchir cap. 30. Ad Bonit lib. 3. cap. 8. De verbis ap◠Serm. 11. The strength of men regenerate and after what sort they haue free wyll Rom. 8. Iere. 31. Ezech. 36. Iohn ◠Phil. 1. Phil. 2. Two things to be noted Galath 5. Rom. 7. Psal. 51. Why the faithfull are sayde to be free 1. Cor. 4. August in retract 19. Matth. 7. Iohn 15. August in Ioh. Hom. 49. August in Psal. 70. August lib. d◠praedest Sanctad Boni lib. 4◠August in psal 31. Psal. 14. In outward thinges all men haue free wyll Maxentius 1. lib. de fide 1. Cor. 4. Iames. 1. Num. 24. Luk. 1. The Manycheis heresie The Pelagians heresie Gen. 1. Eccle. 15.17 Iohn 8. Iohn 15. Psal. 5.13.52 Eccle. 17. Osec 13. Psal. 116. Rom. 3.5.7 Phil. 2. 1. Cor. 2. Iohn 8.15 Rom. 7. Galat. 5. Yet August had his darknesse August de natura gratia cap. 53. August de bona perseue cap. 6. 13. Sinodus Mileuent Esai 65. Rom. 10. Iohn 3. 1. Peter 1. Iohn 6. Iames. 1. 1. Iohn 1. Rom. 3. Matth. 5. Rom. 8. A good prayer The resurrection of the fleshe 1. Cor. 15. Phil. 3. 1. Cor. 15. Iohn 5. Iohn 11. Iob. 1◠Esai 66. Ezech. 37. Dan. 12. Iohn 5.11 Actes 23.24 2. Cor. 5. 1. Cor. 15. 1. Thess. 4. Phil. 3. Iohn 5. Matth. 25. Reuel 21. Sapi. 5. Matth. 18. Matth. 8.13 Esai 66. Mark. 9. Reuel 21. 3. Reg 17. 4. Reg. 4.13 Matth. 9.27 Luk. 7. Iohn 11. Iohn 5.12 Actes 9.20 Iob. 19. Iohn 3. Rom. 8. Galat. 4. Ephe. 2. Rom. 4. Iohn 3.5.6.8 Reuel 21. 1. Cor. 15. 2. Cor. 5. 2. Cor. 5. Matth. 25. 2. Tim. 4. Reuel 1. ¶ A breefe Index or Table of the principall matters conteined in this booke A A Cōfortable mistery 7. A place of Esai expounded fol. 10. side 2. A papisticall tricke fol. 13. An error of certain fooles fo 22 A merie storie of the Person of Trumpington fol. 22. Augustines modestie in writyng of matters of religion fol. 26.2 A Spirituall conception and birth fol. 32. A godly similitude fol. 37.2 A similitude of the eye fol. 38. A similitude of gods mercie seueritie ibid. A place of Zacharie expounded fol. 3. A shorte exhortation to magistrates fol. 58. Against their papistical reseruation fol. 52. Aunswere to the obiectiō that is made out of the .1 Corin. 11. fol. 59.2 A similitude of the Kynges broad seale fol. 60. A speciall caueat or warnyng fol. 104. Arguments of papistes wherby they go aboute to proue the Popes supremacie fol. 113 ▪ Antichriste fol. 107. Aucthoritie of the church consisteth in .iiij. thinges fol. 121.2 A note to be marked diligentlie fol. 124.2 A rewarde neuer stirreth vp the Godly to seeke for righteousnesse fol. 130.2 A caueat fol. 140. A greate absurditie graunted fol. 20.2 An other shift of the papistes fol. 65.2 A request of the author to the reader fol. 9.2 B By the Masse the wrath of God commeth fol. 4. By christes death gods wrath was pacified fol. 7. side 2. Bothe wicked and Godly had one feelyng of Christes death but to diuers endes fol. 8.2 By Baptisme the Children of the Christians are brought to Christe fol. 18.2 Bodie of Christ is a creature fol. 36.2 Blasphemie of the papistes by their owne doctrine fol. 47. Benefites of Christes death fol. 4. By the Masse the wrath of of God is kindeled ibid. C Christ cannot be offred except he bee slaine and put to death fol. 3.2 Christ is the true purgation of Christians fol. 13.2 Comfort that they had in the bosome of Abraham fol. 19.2 Christe speaketh of the water firste fol. 24.2 Christes bodye can bee but in one place at once fol. 37.2 Communiō ministred in both kindes in the primitiue church fol. 51. Counsell of Constaunce bolden Anno. 1414. fol. 51. Comfort that we haue by christes ascension fol. 79. Christ is not the Chiefest mediatour by the Papistes doctrine fol. 86.2 Couetousnes of priestes is the mother of all Idolatrie fol. 89. Churche is bounde to no seuerall place fol. 111.2 Churche doth allowe the scriptures as a subiect fol. 117.2 Church knowen by the word of God. fol. 119. Churche hath thrée offices as touchyng the worde of God. fol. 121. Certaintie of our saluation fol. 132.2 Christe a most wholsome medicine and salue to al poore sinners fol. 2. Christe as touchyng his manhoode is ignoraunt of the later daie fol. 107. D Distinctions that the olde Idolaters did make fol. 85. Definitiō of fréewill after S. Augustine 135. E Efficient cause of our saluation fol. 18. Errour of the Iewes fol. 79.2 Exclamation of the Papistes fol. 64.2 Enoch and Elias are come alreadie fol. 106. Eutiches heresie fol. 43.2 F Formall cause of our saluatiō fol. 18. Finall cause of our saluation ibidem Faith receiueth or eateth fol. 54.2 False Christes fol. 107. False Prophetes ibidem Frée will. fol. 134. Fyre and sworde are the best argumentes that papistes vse fol. 45.2 G God doeth gouerne rule and preserue al his creatures fo 1. Good workes of the Papistes fol. 128.2 Good woorkes that God doth require of vs. fol. 129. Gods promises very necessarie to vs all fol. 130.2 H How many waies this worde hell is taken in the scrip fol. 6. How christ went into the hell of the damned fol. 6. How we are already in possession of Gods kingdome fol. 12. Howe long we muste suffer in purgatory for euery sin f. 12.2 Howe it is to be vnderstanded that the faithful shal not come into iudgement ibidem Howe we are passed frō death to life fol 13. Holy ghost for many causes is called by sundry names in the scripture fol. 24.2 Howe they that vnderstoode not the fathers did make plaine Idols of the sacraments fo 29. Howe S. August and others expounde the place of the .8 of the Actes fol. 30.2 How christ is the first fruictes of them that sléepe fol. 32. How we ought to practise the whole life of Christ in our selues fol. 32. Heresie of Eutiches is nowe renewed by the papists f. 36.2 How the poore ignoraunt people are abused fol. 56. How Christe féedeth vs with his body and blood fo 46. Howe the misticall bread is abused in the sacrament fo 55.2 How the place of saint Paule muste be vnderstanded Heb. 1. fol. 73. Hipostases fol. 73.2 Hope possesseth fol. 79. Howe the saiyng of S. Paule ought to be vnderstanded f. 73. How the
also the woordes of our Sauiour he that heareth my woorde and beleueth in hym that sente me hath life euerlastyng he shall not come into condemnation or iudgemente but is passed from death to life Whervpon I do conclude that the true preachyng of gods worde apprehended and taken hold of by faithe and the right ministration of the Sacramentes beyng duely and worthely receiued are the onely meanes â–ª whereby this moste worthie Sacrifice should bee applied vnto vs and whereby we should bee putte in full possession of all the benefites of Christes death passion and bloudshedding whiche are iustification before God free remission of our sinnes peace of conscience and life euerlasting Beyng so farre of that their wicked and blasphemous Masse should applie this moste omnisufficient Sacrifice of Christes death vnto vs or that by it we should bee made partakers of the benefites thereof but rather by it the wrathe of God is still more and more kindeled and the death of his onely begotteÌ„ sonne made altogether vnprofitable and of no value vnto vs. Therefore I doe vtterly â—eteste and abhorre it and dooe from my very harte and with all thankfulnesse that can bee possible receiue and embrace those singuler and soueraigne meanes that haue been by Gods prouidence appoincted vnto vs that by them we might be made through faith partakers of all the benefites of the precious death and bloudshedding of his entirely beloued and onely begotten sonne our onely and sufficient sauiour Iesus Christe our Lorde ¶ The .iiij. Chapiter ¶ Of Christes buriall and the profite that we haue gotten thereby WHo for a better and more sure confirmation of his death and for to declare and testifie vnto all the worlde that touchyng his manhoode he was deade in deede without any faynednesse or dissimulation for sithe that he muste dye for our synnes if he had not been deade in verie deede wee should haue remained still subiecte vnto euerlastyng death would be taken downe from the crosse and by men of good and honest reporte that is to saie Nichodemus and Ioseph of Aramathia be decently and honourably buried Pontius Pilate who was certified of his death consentyng and agreyng vnto the same laied in a new graue that was he wen out of a rocke or stone and wherein no man was laied before lest it shoulde bee blowen abroade by his enemies and noysed among the people that it was not he that was risen againe but some other man that was there buried before hym or that he was not risen againe by his owne vertue but by the vertue of some holy prophete that was laied there before as he that was caste into the graue of Elizeus was reuiued restored vnto life again as soone as he did touche the deade bones of the Prophete And as for that that he was laied in an other mans graue and not in his owne the same was dooen for to signifie vnto vs that as he was come into our fleshe for to sanctifie it in the whiche he did dye not for his owne but for our sinnes thereby to take awaie the styng of death and to sanctifie our death to the ende that it should bee no more a dreadfull death vnto vs but a ioyfull passage vnto euerlastyng life so would he bee buried in a graue of ours for to sanctifie and open our graues and as it were for to constraine and compell theim to giue vp our bodies againe at the daie of the generall resurrection of al fleshe Againe the graue that he was laied in was newe whiche is a lesson vnto vs that if we will haue Christ to dwell in our hartes we must be no stinckyng graues but put awaie all filthinesse and sâ—incking abhomination we must be made newe creatures altogether and put of the olde Adam whiche is corrupted through the deceiueable lustes and put on that newe man whiche after the Image of God is shapen in righteousnesse and true holinesse And as the same graue was hewen out euen in the rocke so must we if at least we will haue Christe to dwell and continue in vs bee hewen out and created in hym who is that strong and sure rocke that the true Churche and faithfull coÌ„gregation is builded vpon we must be no waueryng children that bee caried with euery winde of doctrine by the wilinesse of men and craftines whereby thei laie awaite for vs to deceiue vs but abide stedfaste in the truthe and growe in hym that is the heade that is to saie Christe Who also would bee buried although he might haue risen againe without any suche thing I meane without the costes and charges of any buriyng for to signifie vnto vs that the misterie signe of the Prophete Ionas was fulfilled in him as he hym self doeth manifestly declare vnto the Iewes for as Ionas was caste into the Sea for to asswage and still the tempeste that was raised and stirred vp by the mightie winde of Gods wrathe and was receiued into the Whales bellie abidyng three daies and nightes in the deepe of the Sea beyng still in the Whales bellie And after three daies was caste out againe vpon the drie lande aliue and without any hurte so it was necessarie that the onely begotten sonne of God our sauiour Iesus Christe for to pacifie and still the wrathe of his father should be cast into the deepe and bottomelesse geulfes of death whiche thought to deuour and swallowe hym vp and that he shoulde be in the bowels of the earth as the Prophete Ionas was in the belly of the Whale and so rise againe the thirde daie Which truely is a misterie that passeth all misteries for who in all the worlde would haue thought that Ionas beyng thus caste into the bottome of the raging Sea should haue escaped death or who would haue beléeued that our sauiour Iesus Christ should in death finde euerlastyng life vnto vs and that after suche opprobriousnes and confusion of the Crosse hauyng been driuen downe euen to very hell gates he should rise againe with such an excellent glory power and maiestie and that by his death the wrath of God should be pacified as the tempeste of the Sea was pacified and ceassed as soone as Ionas was hurled into it that calmenesse should be giuen vnto the troubled consciences of synners peace made betwixt God and men And yet contrarie to the expectation of all the wicked worlde all these thinges I meane euerlastyng life forgiuenes of our synnes the pacifiyng of Gods wrath tranquilitie and peace of conscience and a moste sure attonement betwéene God and vs are mightely purchased vnto vs by the death and buriyng of the onely begotten sonne of God our sauiour Iesus Christe ¶ The .v. Chapter ¶ How many waies this worde hell is taken in Scripture and after what maner Christe descended into hell WHom I doe stedfastlie beléeue to haue descended into hell for whether
other that was eaten vp and drunken euen of his owne selfe The body of Christ say they only when it is glorified and immortall can be euery where or in mo places then in one at once but it was not then glorified nor yet immortall for why he died the next day after howe coulde it be then all at once sitting at the boorde and in the handes and mouthes of all his Apostles rounde about him As for the first absurditie thei go about to put away by S. Augustines wordes which are these Christ was borne in his owne handes when commending or deliuering his body he did say This is my body For he did beare the same body in his owne handes As it is then no absurditie to say that Christ did beare him selfe or the same body that he gaue them in his owne handes so it ought to seeme no straungenesse if we say according to the scriptures and the fathers that christ did eate his owne body For as being borne in his owne handes he did declare that there was somewhat in him more excellent than in other men which though thei can be borne with other mens handes yet thei can not be borne in their owne so by eating his owne body which thing no mortall man is able to do he did shewe openly that he coulde worke aboue the possibilitie of man. I am well content to graunt that Christ our Sauiour did eate his owne body as he did beare him self in his own hands But howe was he borne in his owne handes For when he did coÌ„mende or deliuer the same body of his and also his blood he toke that in his handes which the faithfull do knowe and bare him selfe after a certayne maner when he did say This is my body These are Saint Augustines very wordes as hée wrote them also whereby he doth let vs to vnderstande how we ought to take his wordes before For adding this worde quodammodo after a maner he doth signifie therby how Christ did beare his fleshe in his owne handes that is to say Sacramentally For as he saieth in another place Except the Sacramentes shoulde haue a similitude of the thinges whereof thei be Sacramentes thei shoulde be no Sacramentes and by reason of this similitude or likenesse thei receaue many times the names of the things whereof thei be Sacramentes For as the Sacrament of the body of Christ is Secundum quendam modum after a certaine maner â–ª the body of Christ and the Sacrament of his blood his blood so is the Sacrament of faith faith By the Sacrament of faith he vnderstandeth baptisme which because of the similitude or affinitie that it hath with the thing whereof it is a Sacrament is called by the name of it When he saith then that Christe did beare him selfe in his owne handes after a certaine maner his meaning is that he did beare the Sacrament of his body But then peraduenture thei will say againe that if it were so Christ did no more then another man is able to do For any man is able to beare the signes of his owne body It is true that any man is able to beare his owne signe but we speake here of a sacrament which bringeth with it self the efficacie nature vertue strength of the thing that it is a Sacrament of For which properties it taketh the name of the thing it selfe which can not be sayde of the bare signe of a mans body Therefore all that the papistes are able to bring here for to â—asill the eyes of the simple and ignoraunt people is méere sophistication and iuggling Yet I am in doubt that thei will replie and say If a Sacrament doth bring with it selfe the nature efficacie vertue and strength of the thing that it is a Sacrament of being because of those properties called by the name of the thing it selfe what needeth Christ to eate the Sacrament of his owne body whose nature propertie and vertue is to worke bring life Was not Christ the life it selfe Chrisostome writing vpon the blessed Euangelist Saint Matthewe doth say That Christ him selfe did communicate that is to say eate drinke of the mysticall bread and wine for to make his Apostles to receaue the misteries without any maner feare or dread of conscience For before when he spake of the eatyng of his fleshe and of the drinkyng of his blood many being offended with that forsooke him and went away Left then the same shoulde happen nowe he did eate drinke with them of those visible creatures of the whiche he did say through grace as Epiphanius writeth This is my body and this is my blood Besides this thei will not denie that baptisme is a Sacrament wherin the worthy receauers are renewed by the holy ghost doe receaue free remission of their synnes and are made the children of God. Was not christ that newe Adam whom all we that séeke to be renewed must put on And vnto whom the holy Ghost was not geuen by measure Was not he that vnspotted Lambe in whose mouth no guile was founde was not he the true and naturall sonne of God What needed hee then to be baptized Had not he aboundantly and of his owne nature all those thynges that are geuen vnto vs in baptisme And yet did he with the Publicanes and Synners come to Iohn Baptiste for to be baptized of hym in the water of Iordane Therfore as he was baptized for to sanctifie our baptisme and for to certifie vs that we should al be baptized most truely and moste effectuously in his baptisme that he was baptized withall in his passion which was his death and bloodshedding whereby we are purged from all our synnes So besides the cause alledged before of Sainct Chrisostome he woulde communicate with vs that is to saie eate and drinke of the misticall bread and of the misticall wine for to signifie vnto vs sith that he was not onely partaker with vs of the coÌ„mon meates and drinkes but also of the holy misteries whiche he himselfe had instituted and ordeined that we are in deede fleshe of his fleshe and bone of his bones and that therefore we neede not to feare or to doubt if we continue stil his true members vnto the ende feedyng in those misteries whiche he hym selfe woulde be partaker of vppon his fleshe and blood through a liuely faithe but that we shal be partakers with hym both in bodies and soules of the glorie and ioyes of his heauenly kingdome Now as touching the seconde absurditie I knowe that for the auoydyng of it they will flée to the common refuge that is to saie vnto the omnipotencie of God whiche as I saide wil helpe them no further than their doctrine doth agrée with the holy Scriptures whiche testifie vnto vs that the body of Christ is in all thinges like vnto ours synne onely beyng excepted