vnto him that is signified by them Saint Ciprian therefore saieth full well Before prayer the priest with a preface prepareth the hartes of the brethren saying vnto them Lift vp your heartes that when the people aunswereth We lift them vp vnto the Lorde thei may be put in minde to thinke of nothing else but of the Lorde Chrisostome also saith Clamamus in conspectu sacrificij Sursum corda We crie a loude in the sight of the oblation Lift vp your hearts S. Augustine vpon the Psalmes saith Let vs lift vp our heartes if ye be risen againe with christ he saieth vnto the faithfull he saieth vnto them that receaue the body and blood of our Lorde If ye be risen againe with Christ sauour those thynges that are aboue where Christe is at the right hande of God seeke for the thinges that bee aboue not for the things that be in earth Their owne manipulus curatorum saith thus Before the Canon the Priest saith Lift vp your hartes As if he woulde saie who so will receaue this Sacramente ought to haue his hearte lifted vp vnto God. But lette vs graunt vnto them by waie of disputation that the naturall body and blood of Christe bee really present vnder the formes of bread and wine yet we shall alwaies bee in feare to commit Idolatrie if at least their doctrine be true For they saie excepte the Priestes doe pronounce the wordes of consecration which words they be in doubt of them selues and cannot wel tel which they be vpon the creatures of bread and wine Cum intentione consecrandi That is with an intent and mynde to consecrate they be not made the body and blood of Christe but remaine still nude nude and bare creatures of bread and wine Therefore Holtcot saieth vpon the maister of sentences Laicus adorat hostiam non consecratam The laie people saith he worshippeth a wafer that is not coÌ„secrated And therfore that perill and daunger of Idolatrie may be auoyded at all tymes Thomas de Aquino in a certaine booke geueth vs counsell that we worship it with a condition saiyng Lorde if thou be there I doe worship thee if thou be not there I worship thee not Is not this a sure and certaine doctrine thinke ye and most worthy to be mainteined with fire and sworde and with suche sheddyng of innnocent blood Repeâ—t then ye Magistrates and rulers of the people and be sorie in your heartes that euer ye consented to the death of so many Martyrs that in these our daies haue been most cruelly put to death for the truethes sake and crie God mercie betimes lest ye with the beaste and hir false Prophetes whose slaues ye are now become though some of you perceaue it not be cast for euer into the lake that burneth with fire and Brimstone which is the seconde death There be some in the world that alledge Saincte Ciprian to proue that the Sacrament must be worshipped And these wordes of his doe they bryng foorthe The Sacramentes as muche as in them is can neuer be without the proper vertue nor the diuine maiestie can in any wise absent it self from the misteries It foloweth then saie they that they must be worshipped sith that the diuine maiestie is neuer absent from them I would faine aske these greate doctours of diuinitie why they doe not then worship the water of baptisme wherin we are apparelled with Christ renewed with the holy ghost and receiue free remission of our synnes I am sure that the diuine maiestie of God is no more absent from the Sacrament of baptisme then from the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christe And yet none of them all will graunt that the water of baptisme should be worshipped Christ our sauiour who is the trueth hymselfe and can not lie doth saie in his Gospell He that loueth me keepeth my worde and my father shal loue hym and we will come to hym and dwell with hym Againe He that eateth my fleshe and drinketh my blood dwelleth in mée and I in hym These also are sainct Iohns wordes whosoeuer confesseth that Iesus is the sonne of god God dwelleth in hym and he in God. By these textes we doe learne that God the father God the sonne and God the holy Ghoste dwelleth in all the faithfull beléeuers yea I dare saie a thousande tymes more effectuously then in the inuisible elementes of water or bread or of wine And yet no godly honour ought to be doen vnto them for that were a plaine Idolatrie Christe our Sauiour saiyng Thou shalt honour the Lorde thy God and hym onely shalte thou serue and worship Now all men maie see that the saiyng of Saincte Ciprian helpeth them nothyng for to maintaine their Idolatrous worshippyng of the sacrament excepte they will also graunte that the water of Baptisme and euery true christian man must be worshipped also But peraduenture some man wil aske will ye haue no maner of honour to be doen vnto the Sacramentes I doe aunswere that we doe sufficient honour vnto them when we doe receaue them with an vnfained faith and as Christ hath instituted them submitting our selues obediently vnto his holy institution and ordinaunce If we doe otherwise we receaue them vnworthely â–ª to our vtter vndoing and condemnation If then S. Ambroses saiyng after they receaue the Sacrament vnworthely that handle the misteries otherwise than Christ hath instituted If they be also guiltie of the body and blood of the Lorde that come to this holy Supper not obseruyng the institution of hym that is the aucthour of it where shall our Pope catholiques become How shall they escape damnation For none in all the whole worlde if we consider well what hath been saide before doe more abhominably and shamefully breake the ordinaunce of God then they doe Can they therefore haue a deuout mynde towardes hym that saieth Ye shal not doe euery thing as ye thynke best but that whiche I commaunde you that shall ye doe onely I am the Lorde your god Adde nothyng vnto it nor take ought awaie from it but leauing them to the righteous iudgement of hym that with the fire of his wrath did consume Nadab and Abihu in the sight of all the people bicause that thei had offered straunge fire which the lorde had not commaunded them I will goe through by the helpe of God with the rest of their obiection We saide before that thei eate the bread of the Lorde and drinke his Cup vnworthely that come to the holy misteries not hauing truly examined themselues or that come to them without true faithe in the merites of the deathe passion and blood shedding of our Sauiour Iesu Christe and that presume to take or receaue them without true repentaunce vnfeyned confession of their synnes and without amendement of their owne liues I saide also that after the saiyng of Saincte Ambrose thei
hee calleth the signe of the couenaunt by the name of the couenaunt it selfe The Testament or couenaunt was I wyll be thy God and the God of thy seede after thee And vnto this was circumcision added as a signe or seale of the couenaunt beyng called by the name of the very thing it selfe that it did signifie and represent Againe the Paschall Lambe was called Transitus domini that is to say the Passouer of the Lorde Yet the lambe which was but a bruite beast appointed for the belly was not the Passouer of the Lorde but only a signe or seale of it For the Passouer or passe by of the Lorde was when he went by the houses of the Israelites and slue all the first borne of Egypt not one of all the Israelites that beleued his seruaunt Moyses did as he cōmaunded them being either harmed or hurt Of this exceeding great benefite of their deliueraunce out of Egypt was the Paschall Lambe a memoriall or signe and that it might the better print in their mindes what God hath done for them it was called by the name of the thyng that it dyd signifie or represent For God him selfe doth attribute vnto it his owne name saying by his prophete Nathan vnto Dauid Shalt thou builde me a house for to dwell in who since I brought the Israelites out of Egypt neuer dwelled in house but in tentes Tabernacles It is most euidently plaine that he speaketh there of the arke of the Testament for as he doth not dwell in Temples or houses that be made with handes so dyd he not dwell in Tentes or Pauilions For why the heauens are his seate and the earth his foot stoole Who shall builde him a house Againe it is called the power and glorie of God as when the Psalmiste saieth Suamque potentian captiuitati suum decus hostili exposuit manui That is to saie And he hath deliuered vp his power into captiuitie and his worship or glory into the hands of his enimies The sacrifices also that were offered for sinnes were called synnes And therefore it is written And the priestes shal eate the synnes of my people For this cause was our Sauiour Christe hymselfe who is the true and onely sacrifice for synne prefigurated before and signified by all the sacrifices of the olde lawe called sinne as when sainct Paule saieth him that knewe no sinne God did make synne for vs that through hym we should be made the righteousnes of God in hym By these and many other lyke textes whiche I néede not nowe to rehearse any man may easely perceaue that it is the common phrase of the holy scriptures to call the sacramentes by the names of the thinges whereof they be Sacramentes that so thei may the more liuely with greater efficacie print in the mindes of men the thinges that they doe signifie And also for to certifie vs that if we receaue them worthely we shall most effectuously be made partakers of the thinges that they be Sacramentes of This maner of speakyng then as being well knowen of the Apostles for why they were woont and accustomed to it from their youth our sauiour Christe dyd vse at his last Supper when he did institute and ordeyne the Sacrament of his body and blood Therefore thei that say that our sauiour christ shoulde be an vnwise Testament maker if he shoulde haue vsed then tropes and figures or such obscure and darke maner of speaking will not perceaue that his Testament was made long before that with plaine and manifest wordes and that here he did but institute and ordayne the sacrament of it as a most infallible sure seale of all his heauenly promises and of the vncorruptible inheritaunce that he hath purchased and bequeathed vnto vs wherein he did vse the same phrase and maner of speaking that the holy ghost had vsed before in the institution of all sacramentes which was then so cōmon that it was impossible that the apostles shoulde be ignoraunt in it And though they had been ignoraunt yet Christ our Sauiour shoulde haue deliuered them from all doubt when speakyng of the Cup he did adde immediatly these wordes I saie vnto you I wil not drinke hencefoorth of this fruict of the vine trée vntill that daie when I shall drinke it newe with you in my fathers kingdome declaring therby that the same that was in the Cup which before for the causes aboue rehearsed he had called his blood was wine euen the fruicte of the vine tree I reporte mee vnto you whether the blood of Christe I meane his true and naturall blood be the fruict of the vine tree or not Therefore Sainct Ciprian saieth Quomodo autem de creatura vitis nouum vinum cum Christo in regno patris bibemus si in sacrificio dei patris Christi vinum non offerimus That is to saie how shall wee drinke newe wine of the creature of the Uine with Christ in the kingdome of the father if in the sacrifice of the father and of Christe we doe offer no wine As then the same that was in the cup through our sauiour Christe had said of it This is my blood was still by his owne confession the frute of the vine tree euen so the same whereof he had saide This is my body was bread still For as Theodoretus saieth He that had called his bodie wheate and bread and him selfe a Uine did afterwardes honour the bread and wine with the names of his body and blood not chaungyng the nature but addyng grace vnto the nature For these causes the blessed apostle Paul did not sticke to call it bread not once nor twise but fiue times in his Epistle to the Corinthians As for the example of Moyses rodde beyng turned into a serpent or of the water beyng chaunged into wine and suche other like which they be wont to alledge for to blinde the simple and ignoraunt people withall howe muche it serueth or maketh for them it hath been already sufficiently declared a litle before Now then sith that it hath been already proued that the apostles coulde not doubt of our Sauiour Christes wordes whiche he spake at his last Supper when he did institute his Sacrament bicause that they were accustomed euen frō their tender youth to suche phrases and maner of speakynges I will also shewe that the auncient fathers did vnderstande and expounde these wordes as we doe both vnderstande and expounde them Firste these are Tertullians wordes The lorde did not reproue bread wherewith he doth represent his body Ye shall vnderstande that the Heretique Martion againste whom this father wrote did reproue all the creatures of God as naught Whiche heresie Tertullian did confute stoutly by many strong argumentes and reasons and among all other he doeth gather an argument of the institution of the Lordes supper as if he should haue said If the creatures were naught Christe woulde not
saieth he had not some certaine similitude or likenesse of the thynges whereof they be Sacramentes they should be no Sacramentes and of this similitude many times they haue the names of those thynges them selues As then the Sacrament of the body of Christe is after a certaine maner the body of Christe and the Sacrament of his blood after a certaine maner his blood So the Sacrament of faith is faith All these aucthorities are of them selues plaine enough and néede no further exposition Therefore sith that I haue sufficiently proued both by the holy Scriptures and also by the aucthorities of the auncient fathers that the Sacramentes are called by the names of the thinges whereof they be Sacramentes I wyll be so bolde to conclude that Christe our sauiour dyd at his last Supper call bread his body and the wine his blood because that they were by his holy institution made the sacramentes of his body and blood And vnto this doeth Theodoretus agrée as it hath béen declared before wheÌ„ he saith He that did call his body wheate and bread and himself a vine doth honour the bread and wine with the name of his body and blood not chauÌ„ging the nature but addyng grace vnto the nature S. Chrisostome hath euen the like wordes whereby we may also gather that the bread and wine being coÌ„secrated that is to say being applied to that holy vse that God hath instituted and ordeined for that is the true consecration as one very well sayde consecratio tota actio Christi est whatsoeuer the papistes can prate and scoulds to the contrary be called the body and blood of Christe because that being duely ministred and worthily receaued thei bring with them selues the grace vertue and propertie of his most precious fleshe and blood whose nature and propertie is to bryng immortalitie and life euerlasting that is to say to viuiâ—â—e and quicken all faithfull beleuers both in soules and bodies And this doth S. Ambrose meane when he saieth Thou doest receaue the Sacrament in a similitude but thou obteynest the grace and vertue of the true natural body of Christ and also of his blood and that eating the bread as we ought to do we are fed vnto immortalitie whiche is a propertie of the diuine substaunce This also doth saint Cyprian meane when he writeth on this maner The same bread that the Lord did reache foorth vnto his disciples beyng chaunged not in outwarde appearaunce but in nature was by the almightie power of God made fleshe Which wordes notwithstanding that they be aleaged of the papistes for to mainteyne their butcherly and grosse doctriâ—e of transubstantiation withall haue none other meanyng but that the bread remayning bread styll as it was before as it doth appeare outwardly vnto the eye the nature of it is cleane altered chaunged For whereas the propertie nature of the bread is to féede the body only and to mainteyne or continue the life of it beyng applied to that holy vse that Christ hath instituted ordeyned in his holy misteries it doth feede both the soules bodies vnto immortalitie life euerlasting so that by it not only our soules do receaue a life that neuer shall haue ende but also our bodies are made partakers of vncorruption as Ireneus doth testifie saying As the bread which is of the earth after that the name of god is called vpoÌ„ ouer it or receauing the name or calling of god is no more coÌ„mon bread but the bread of thankes geuyng consistyng of two thinges that is to say of the heauenly and earthly so our bodyes receauyng the bread of thankes geuing are no more corruptible hauyng a hope of resurrection Who woulde not saie that the nature and propertie of the bread is wonderfully altered and chaunged The like doeth Sainct Augustine wryte of the water of baptisme saiyng Vnde ista tanta virtus aquae vt corpus tangat cor abluat nisi faciente verbo Whence commeth this so greate vertue of the water to touche the body and wash the soule but by workyng of the worde here is a wonderfull alteration and chaunge The propertie and nature of the water is to washe awaie the filthines of our bodies to quenche our thirste and to serue vs in other thinges that parteine to this mortall life to moyst the grounde and to make it fruictfull but beyng rightly ministred and worthely receaued in the Sacrament of baptisme it washeth awaie the filthinesse of the soule and maketh the inwarde man cleane from all sinnes through the working spirit of God and yet it remaineth water still no parte of the substaunce thereof beyng chaunged so ought we to vnderstande of the sacramentall bread and wine For though beyng duely ministred worthely receaued they haue the nature propertie and grace of the precious fleshe and blood of Christ yet as Theodoretus saieth they remaine still in their former substaunce shape and figure Whereunto the olde writer Emisenus doeth agree affirmyng plainely that the corruptible creatures of bread and wine are by the consecration or worde and secret power of the inuisible priest so chaunged and turned as we be chaunged in baptisme where though we be renued by the holy ghost and made newe creatures yet we remaine stil the same in substaunce that we were before And so with the blessed Martir Ciprian he calleth the visible creatures of bread and wine the body and blood of Christ bicause of the excellent nature vertue propertie and grace of his most precious fleshe and blood that thei do receaue by the mightie word and secret power of the inuisible Priest who is our Sauiour Iesus Christe hym selfe For this excellent propertie I saie vertue and grace that the creature of bread beyng rightly ministred and worthely receaued doth obtaine by the almightie power of God. The blessed Martir sainct Ciprian with the other auncient fathers doe saie that the bread is made fleshe Else if we shoulde take his wordes so grossely as our papistes doe we should be faine to confesse that the blessed body of Christe beyng made of bread should haue his beginnyng originall and ofspryng of the corruptible creature of bread as I haue sufficiently proued already before Wherefore Saincte Ambrose saieth Sunt quae erant in alium mutantur in substaunce they are meaning the Sacrament the same they were before but in accident or qualitie they are turned into another thyng for before it was common meates For mans table nowe is turned to be meate for the Lordes table and in another place he saieth Ante consecrationem alia species nominatur post consecrationem corpus christi significatur before the consecration it is named by another kynde but after consecration it doeth signifie the body of Christe Sainct Chrisostome agreeyng herewith saieth Si incorporei essemus c. If we were bodilesse god would geue vs these thynges bare and bodylesse but for
had a phantasticall bodie whiche appeared outwardely to be a very mans body and yet was none Or except thei wil saie with Eutiches that the body of christ is deified or tourned into the godhead But I know that they would not for all the goods in the worlde be companions of heretiques Therefore I woulde fayne knowe of them howe and after what sort this body of Christe whiche lacketh nothing to the perfection of an humaine body shoulde be in such a small péece of bread I am sure that they wyll say that the body of Christ is in heauen on the right hande of the father with his due proportion of lymmes and other dimensions that apperteyne to a perfect mans body that is to witte with his iust height length breadth and thicknesse But it is in the Sacrament without any of al those things so that if we aske them where the head is where the feete be and the armes they wyll immediatly aunswere that all is head all is féete all is armes breast and shoulders and that we must seke there for no distinct proportion of lymmes nor any due order of the members But let them drinke water styll with the Swannes of Thamesis tyll they haue proued their monstrous doctrine by the word of God or by any aucthoritie of the auncient fathers of the true Catholike Churche and then I warrant that they shall neuer go drunken to bed Yea they are not ashamed to say that in the Sacrament the body of Christe doth occupie no place and yet they wyll haue there the same selfe body that was borne of the virgin that hong on the crosse and that ascended vp into heauen Is not this I pray you to spoyle our sauiour Christ of the veritie and trueth of a body For as Saint Augustine faith Take away the limittation of places from the bodyes and they shal be no where and because that they shal be no where they shall not be at all Sithe then that they wyll not haue the body of Christe to occupie any place in the sacrament we can conclude none other by the wordes of saint Augustine but that it is not there at all For the naturall body of Christe doeth occupie a place where so euer it be as ours shall after the generall resurrection of al fleshe So the same Saint Augustine saieth a litle after the place before rehearsed Ne dubites Christum esse in aliquo loco celi propter veri corporis modum Doe not doubte Christ to be in some one place of heauen bicause of the propertie and measure of a verie bodie Againe he saieth Christum secundum humanitatem visibilem corporem localem atque omnia membra humana veracitèr habentem credere conuenit confiteri We must beléeue and confesse that Christe accordyng to his humanitie is visible hath the substaunce and properties of a body is conteined in place and verely hath al the members the whole proportion of a man These testimonies are so manifest that vnlesse the papistes haue whorishe foreheades they will blushe and be ashamed But here they will alledge against mee the wonderous workes that our Sauiour Christe did worke in his body both afore his resurrection and after saiyng Maie not the naturall body of Christ be aswell vnder a small péece of bread as he did walke vpō the waters which is cleane contrary to the nature of an humaine bodie or aswell as he did come in to his apostles through the doores beyng shut fast Is the hande of god now shortened or is he not still almightie and able to doe what so euer he will both in heauen and in earth No man I trowe doth denie the almightie power of god For we doe all confesse with all submission due reuerence that he is able to do whatsoeuer he will both in heauen and in earth But it followeth not bicause he is almightie and able to doe whatsoeuer he will that therefore he will doe whatsouer wee shall imagine or inuent out of our owne heades and braynes besides or against the manifest and sacred scriptures We muste not thynke that his omnipotencie or almightie power will bee bounde to our vaine imaginations and phantasies Againe it hath béen alwaies counted a childishe argument and vnworthy to be vsed among the learned to reason a posse ad esse For who woulde not deride and laugh hym to scorne that would reason after this maner God is able through his omnipotencie and almightie power to doe this or that Ergo he hath doen it God was able to make vs Swine Sheepe Oxen Horses Trées Stones Frogges Lice Dogges c. Yet he hath not doen soe but of his meere goodnes and mercie hee hath made vs after his owne similitude and image for to inherite with hym his glorious kyngdome of heauen Hearken what that auncient father Tertullian saieth touchyng the omnipotencie or almightie power of GOD Some man peraduenture saieth he will saie there is nothyng vnpossible to God let vs vse this saiyng in our presumptious fancies and then may we imagine of God whatsoeuer we list as though he hath doen it bicause he is able to do it For we must not thinke bicause that god is almighty that therfore he hath doen the thyng whiche he neuer did Sed an fecerit requirendum est But we must first enquire whether he hath doone it or no. And so there shal be some thing vnpossible to GOD that is to wit whatsoeuer he will not Dei enim posse velle est non posse nolle For in God to be willyng is to be able and to be vnwillyng is to be vnable And vnto this maie be added the saiyng of Theodoretus who is also a very auncient writer GOD saieth he is able to doe whatsoeuer he will but he will doe none of those thinges that be not in hym of their owne nature Sith then that God is true of his owne nature he can doe nothyng that is against his worde Not bicause saieth the other catholique Fathers that he is not able to doe it but bicause that he will do nothyng against his owne nature And again bicause that it is vnméete that he should worke against hymselfe Thus farre he We may vnderstande by these auctorities now by mee alledged how we ought to reason vpon the omnipotencie and almightie power of god It is not enough for vs to saie God is almightie and able to doe all thynges Ergo the bodie of christ is really and substantially flesh blood and bones in the sacrament but first we must enquire whether God will haue it so or not If the worde of God should certifie vs that he would haue the body of his onely begotten sonne our sauiour Iesus christ after the same monstrous sorte in the Sacrament as they doo imagine and will haue other men to beleeue then ought we to beleeue it vndoubtedly and without any
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
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
asmuche as we haue soules fastened vnto our bodies therfore God geueth vs thynges spirituall vnder thinges visible Sainct Augustine to put all out of doubte that we eate not grosly nor drynke verily or carnally the body and blood of Christe as the Papiste affirmeth saith these wordes Non hoc corpus quod videtâ—s manducaturi estis bibiturs illud sanguinem quem fusuri sunt qui me cruciâ—igent Sacramentum aliquod vobis commendaui That is to saie Ye shal not eate this body that ye sâ—e mee to haue nor yet shal ye drinke that blod whiche they shall shed that crucifie mee it is a sacrament that I geue or deliuer vnto you therefore hee â—aide in his tracâ—es vppon Iohn Aliud est sacramentum aliud res sacramenti The sacrament is one thyng and the thyng of the sacrament is another Wherefore he geueth this lesson to all saiyng In sacramentis videndum est no quid sint sed quid significent In the sacramentes wee maie not looke what they are but what they doe signifie Nowe all men may see howe shamefully the papistes doe belye vs saying and writyng that we do make of the Sacrament but a bare figure and signe For this is our faith and beléefe that if a man doth truely examine himself that is to say ponder weigh and consider with his owne mynde whether he acknowledgeth him selfe to be a sinner or not and whether he hath an inwarde gréefe and an vnfayned repentaunce or sorow for his sinnes whether he hath forgiuen from the bottome of his heart all his enimies and reconciled him selfe vnto them that he hath offended whether he be determined to restore againe vnto his neighbour al that he hath taken away from him wrongfully by any maner of meanes whether he be mynded for the loue that he beareth vnto God to liue afterwardes vertuously according to his holy coÌ„maundements forsaking sinne and the worlde but aboue all thinges whether he hath a true faith in the mercie of God and in the name of his sonne Iesu Christ and whether he beleueth stedfastly that Iesus Christe is his only sauiour redéemer intercessour aduocate and mediatour betwixt God and him finally whether he hath a desire to liue and dye in the onely doctrine of Christ forsaking all other false and erronious doctrines with all kinde of deuillishe superstition and idolatrie and so eate of this bread and drinke of this cup our faith I say and beléefe is that such a man doeth féede most effectuously vppon the body and blood of Christe our onely sauiour and yet it néedeth not therefore that his naturall body and blood be really present vnder the formes of bread and wine For as in the holy Sacrament of baptisme if it be duely ministred and worthely taken we receaue the holy ghost by whom we are renued or made newe creatures we obtayne frée remission forgeuenesse of our sinnes and are apparelled with Christ whom we do put on there and yet no man wyll say that the water is any of these thinges or that it is turned into them So in the holy misteries when we come worthely vnto them we are most wholsomly fed with the precious bodye and blood of our sauiour Christ yet if we shoulde say that it coulde not be doen vnlesse the bread and wine were transubstantiated into the very body and blood of Christ or except his body and blood be there really present vnder the formes of bread and wine we might moste iustely be likened vnto the Iewishe ruler and gouernour whiche thought that excepte Christ should come in his owne person his sonne could not be healed For christe our sauiour is able by the vertue of his holy institution and by the mightie workyng of his eternall spirite to doe all these thinges as he sitteth on the right hande of his father And for the obiections that some make out of Chrisostome where he saieth doest thou see bread doest thou see wine doe they auoyde beneath as other meates doe God forbid think not so for as waxe if it be put into the fire it is made like the fire no substaunce remainyng nothyng is lefte so here also thinke thou that the misteries be consumed by the substaunce of the body they are easyly aunswered and yet our papistes thinke by these wordes of Chrisostome that they haue the conquest because he saith that we sée no bread nor wine but as waxe in the fire they be consumed to nothing so that no substaunce remayneth If thei had rehearsed no more but the very next sentence that foloweth in Chrisostome which craftyly and deuillishly they leaue out the meanyng of the Doctour would easyly haue appeared which wordes that folowe are these Wherfore saith he when you come to these misteries do not thinke that you receaue by a man the bodye of Christe but that with tonges ye receaue fire by the Angels Seraphin Thinke that the blood of saluation floweth out of the pure and godly side of Christ and so comming to it receaue it with pure lippes casting downe your eyes liftyng vp your mindes mournyng priuily without speache and reioysing in our heartes Nowe if the papistes wyll gather of the wordes by them recited that there is neither bread nor wine in the Sacrament then we may aswel gather of the wordes that folowe that there is neither Priest nor Christes body For as in the former sentence Chrisostome saieth that we maye not thinke that we see bread and wine so in the seconde sentence he saith that we may not thinke that we receaue the body of Christ of the priestes handes Nowe if vpon the seconde sentence the papistes will say it can not be truely gathered that in the holy coÌ„munion there is not the body of Christe ministred by the Priest then must they confesse also that it can not be well and truely gathered vpon the first sentence that there is no bread nor wine But all these thynges be together in the holy Communion Christ hym selfe spiritually eaten and drunken and norishyng the right beléeuers the bread and wine as a sacrament declaryng the same and the priest as a minister thereof wherfore Chrisostome meant not absolutely to deny that there is bread and wine or to deny vtterly the Priest and the body of Christe to be there But his intent was to drawe our myndes vp towards heauen that we should not consider so much the bread wine Priest and body of Christe as we should consider his diuinitie holy spirite geuen vnto vs to our eternall saluation And therefore in the same place he vseth so many tymes these wordes Thinke and Thinke not willyng vs by these wordes that we should not fixe or set our thoughtes and mindes vpon bread wine Priest nor Christes body but to lift vp our heartes higher vnto his spirite and diuinitie without the whiche his body auaileth nothyng as he saieth hym selfe It is the spirite that geueth
life the fleshe auaileth nothyng The like phrase of speache he vseth of the water of baptisme and although Christe was but once crucified yet would Chrisostome haue vs to thynke that we see hym daiely whipped and scourged before our eyes and his body hangyng vppon the Crosse and the Speare thruste into his side and his blood to flowe out of his glorious side into our mouthes after which maner S. Paul saieth that Christe was painted and crucified before our eyes These phrases of speache Chrisostome vsed most of any aucthour And now to their seconde obiection out of Crisostome that the papistes make whiche is this Elias saieth he when he was taken vp into heauen dyd leaue his cloke behinde him but our sauiour Christ when he ascended vp into heauen dyd both cary vp his fleshe with him and did also leaue it here behinde him It is easy to be aunswered For as he did cary vp our fleshe so he did leaue his fleshe here behinde him whiche we are our selues For as S. Paul saieth We are members of his body of his fleshe of his bones And truely as it ought to be vnto vs a singuler comfort â–ª that the most infallible scripture doth certifie vs that we are meÌ„bers of his body fleshe of his flesh and bones of his bones so it ought to be vnto vs the greatest reioysing in the worlde that he is in our fleshe ascended vp into heauen And as for that they aleadge out of S. Iohn where he saith Except ye eate the fleshe of the son of man drinke his blood ye haue no life in you Againe my flesh is meate in deede my blood is drinke in déede Lyra their owne doctour shal aunswere this place them to where he saith Haec verba nihil directè pertineÌ„t ad sacramentaleÌ„ vel corporaleÌ„ manducationem Nam hoc verbuÌ„ dictum fuit antequà m SacrameÌ„tum Eucharistiae esset institutum Ex illa igitur litera de sacrameÌ„tali coÌ„munione non potest fieri argumentum efficax These wordes of Christ in the .vj. chapter of S. Iohn directly pertaine nothing to the sacrameÌ„tall or corporall eating For these wordes were spoken long before the sacrameÌ„t was ordeyned Therefore of this place there can be made no good sufficient argument touchyng the sacrameÌ„tall Communion Sainct Augustine saith vpon these words of of Iohn There must be declared saith he the maner how to discerne a proper speache from a figuratiue wherin must be obserued this rule that if the thyng whiche is spoken bee to the furtheraunce of charitie then it is a proper speache and no figure So that if it be a commaundement that forbiddeth any euill or wicked act or commaundeth any good or beneficiall thyng then it is no figure But if it commaunde any ill or wicked thyng or forbyd any thyng that is good or beneficiall then it is a figuratiue speache Now this saiyng of Christe Except ye eate the fleshe of the sonne of man and drinke his blood you shall haue no life in you seemeth to commaunde an hainous a wicked thyng therefore it is a figure commaundyng vs to bee partakers of Christes Passion keepyng in our mindes to our greate comforte and profite that his fleshe was crucified and wounded for vs The like he hath in other places Thus one that hath but halfe an eye may easily vnderstande and sée the grâ—sse opinion of our papistes ¶ The .xxiij. Chapter ¶ The godly in the olde lawe did eate and drinke the same fleshe and blood of Christ that we do nowe in the newe Testament OUR forefathers in the olde Testament did eate him as veryly and truely in their sacramentes as we do in ours to the eternall saluation of all their soules that dyd faythfully beléeue in the promised seede Iesus Christ. Therfore S. Paul sayd they dyd all eate of the same spirituall meate did all drinke the same spirituall drinke for they dranke of the spiritual rocke that folowed them and the rocke was Christ So we may easily perceaue that they did eate the same meate that we do because the substaunce of theirs and our Sacramentes are all one So Sainct Augustine plainely affirmeth in these wordes Sacramenta illa fuerunt in signis diuersa in rebus quae significabantur paria Their Sacramentes were in outwarde tokens diuers but in the thynges tokened all one with ours Likewise Leo saieth Mysteria pro temporum ratione variata sunt quum fides qua viuimus nulla fuerit aetate diuersa The sacramentes are altered accordyng to the diuersitie of the times But the faith whereby we liue in all ages was euer one To conclude saint Augustine sheweth that their Sacramentes of the olde lawe were promises of suche thynges as should afterwardes be accomplished Our sacramentes of the newe Lawe are tokens that the same promises bee already accomplished The same Sainct Augustine in another place aunswereth to a certaine question as this Quomodo in coelum manum mittam vt ibi sedentem teneam He saieth Fidem mitte tenuisti How shall I reache my hande into heauen that I shall holde hym sittyng there Reache out thy faith and thou holdest hym Saincte Ambrose agreeyng hereto saieth Fide tangitur fide videtur non tangitur corpore non oculis comprehenditur He is touched by faith he is seen by faith he is not touched with body nor comprehended or seen with eyes Sainct Augustine saieth Habet fides oculos suos Faith hath her eyes and Barnarde saith Visio anime intellectus est The séeyng of the soule is vnderstandyng Therfore I am sure none wyll say that the fathers in the olde law did eate christ in their sacrameÌ„t butcherly as the papistes affirme yet you sée by these aucthorities that the substauÌ„ce of their sacraments ours are al one wherfore learne this lesson that Christ is in the bread figuratiuely he is in the faithfull worthy receauer spiritually and that he is in heauen corporally sittyng on the right hande of God his father to make dayly intercession for vs Let vs now lift vp the eyes of our faith into heauen and reioyce that our fleshe is ascended vp thither ¶ The .xxiiij. Chapter ¶ VVhat comfort we haue by Christes ascention into heauen WE are surely taught that by his ascendyng vp he hath opened heauen vnto vs which by Adams fall was shut vp vnto all fleshe and that sith â–ª hee is entered into Heauen with our fleshe as it were in our name or behalfe we do in a maner as S. Paul doeth testifie sit with him in the heaueÌ„ly seates being alreadie in full possession of heauen in him that is our head For we haue receaued it by faith possessed it by hope and are therein confirmed by holynesse of life Secondly we do beholde his diuine godly power wherein doth consist all our might vertue and strength and all our