est ad eum c. Tu es sacerdos Hebr. 5. in aeternum secundùm ordinem Melchisedech Euen so Chryste also glorified not him self to be made the high pteist but he that said vnto him c. Thowe arte a preist for euer after the order of Melchisedech And declaring the great benefitte that came by him being the high preist to all beleuers he saieth again Et consummatus factus est omnibus obtemperantibus sibi causa salutis aeternae appellatus à Deo Pontifex iuxta ordinem Melchisedech And Ibid. he being perfight was the cause of eternall saluacion vnto all them that obeied him and ys called of God an high preist after the ordre of Melchisedech Likewise he calleth him in the VI. chapiter And the wholl VII chap. he occupieth in applieng Melchisedech to Chryst prouing by this prophecie the abrogacion of the preisthead of the lawe and so consequētlie of the lawe yt self Wherfore he saied Yf nowe therfore perfection came by the preistheade Hebr. 7. of the Leuites for vnder that preisthead the people receaued the lawe what neadeth further that an other preist shoulde rise to be called after the ordre of Melchisedech and not after the order of Aaron For yf the preisthead be translated then of necessitie must the lawe be translated also c. For after this maner dothe he testifie Thowe arte a preist for euer after the order of Melchisedech Then the commaundement that went before ys disanulled bycause of weakenesse and vnprofitablenesse And further declaring the excellencie of Chrystes preisthead aboue the preisthead of Aaron he saieth For these preistes were made withoute an othe but this preist with an othe by him that saied to him The Lorde sware and will not repent him Thowe art a preist for euer after the order of Melchisedech Thus as the lawe of nature hath in Melchisedech figured Chryste And the lawe of Moyses by prophecie forespoken yt So hath the lawe of the Gospell as ye haue nowe learned by sainct Paule fullfilled the same and most plainlie and euidentlie proued yt so to be Yf then Chryste be a preist after the order of Melchisedech we must seke what the order of the preistheade of Melchisedech ys and wherin yt consisteth And therbie shall we knowe the preistheade of Chryste wherin yt consisteth Sainct Paule generallie declareth the order of a preist when he saieth Omnis namque Pontifex ex hominibus assumptus pro hominibus constituitur in ijs Hebr. 5. quae sunt ad Deum vt offerat dona sacrificia pro peccatis Euery high preist that ys taken from amonge men ys ordeined for men in thinges perteining to God to offer giftes and Sacrifices for sinne By whiche description of saincte Paule yt dothe appeare that the order of preisthead standeth in two partes The first he teacheth when he saieth Ordre of preisthead standeth in two partes Pro hominibus constituitur in ijs quae sunt ad Deum He ys ordeined for men in thinges perteining to God Wherby ys ment the preaching to the people and teaching them the lawes of God and ministring the Sacramentes to them as yt was saied vnto Moyses Esto tu populo in ijs quae ad Exod. 18. Deum pertinent vt referas quae dicuntur ad eum ostendasue populo ceremonias ritum colendi viam per quam ingredi debeant opus facere Be thowe vnto the people to Godward that thowe maist bringe the causes vnto God And thowe shalt teache them ordinaunces and lawes and shewe them the waie wherin they must walke and the worke that they must doo The seconde parte of the order of preistheade standeth in offring giftes and sacrifices for the sinnes of the people Then they that be called of God as was Aaron and doo preach and teache one faith of God vnto the people and offer vnto God one maner of sacrifice they be one order of preistheade So that these two must concurre or ells yt ys not a perfight order For Elias the prophet of God and the 3. Reg. 18. preistes of Baall did offer one maner of thinge in sacrifice for they both offred oxen yet they differed in preisthead For Helias was the preist of God the other the preistes of Baall And why was this difference bycause they taught not one faithe in one God Melchisedech and Aaron taught one God and were bothe preistes of Gen. 14. Leuit. 8. Heb 5. God For Melchisedech was the preist of the most high God as the booke of Genesis wittnesseth and Aaron was called of God as the booke of Leuiticus and saincte Paule to the Hebrues testifie And yet they were not of one order of preisthead bycause their sacrifices were not of one maner By this then yt maie be taken for a trueth that Chryst not being a preist after the order of Aaron but after the order of Melchidech whiche two orders differed not in faith but in maner of sacrifice ys so called a preist after the order of Melchisedech for the maner of the sacrifice For he must agree with Melchisedech in that thing that maketh the difference betwixt the order of Aaron and the order of Melchisedech and that was and ys in the maner of sacrifice For Aaron offred in blood the other in bread and wine But here the Aduersarie will saie that Chryst ys not likened to Melchisedech for anie sacrifice by all the processe of saincte Paule But for Obiection that Melchisedech was Rex Salem kinge of Salem and withall the preist of God and for that he was with oute Father withoute Mother hauing neither beginning of daies nor ending in these pointes he ys the figure of Chryste who ys both king and preist hauing no Father in earth nor mother in heauen neither as concerning his Godhead anie beginning and as touching his Godhead and Manhead no endinge And so ys he a preist for euer To this I saie that the thing that saincte Paule principallie intended ys to be considered And then yt shall easilie be perceaued why he did not Principall entent of S. Paule in his epist to the Hebrues make rehersall of the maner of the sacrifice of Melchisedech nor mencion of the doing of the same in Chryste The principall entent of saincte Paule in this place was to proue and make manifest the excellencie of Chryst and his preisthead aboue Aaron and his preisthead Whiche excellencie in nothing more appeared then in that that Chryst was an euerlasting preist and his preisthead euerlasting and not in the maner of sacrifice For yf he had alleaged that Melchisedech did sacrifice in bread and wine The Hebrues wolde quickly haue saied that their sacrifices in that respecte moche excelled and had a moche more gloriouse shewe and cowntenance then the sacrifice of Melchisedech being but bread and wine And therfor saincte Paule omitted to make mencion VVhie S. Paule spake nothing of she sacrifice of Melchisedech in his epist
none Nowe then shall we not condemne them by their owne iudgement Lutherans doctrine hauing no apparāt scripture ys ouer throwen by ther owne argument wherwith they haue trauailed in manie thinges to condemne the catholique Church What ys defined decreed or determined by the Churche if ther be not manifest scripture for the same yt ys condemned of them as a tradicion of man and a doctrine of Sathan But this their doctrine hath no manifest scriptures Wherfore yt ys a tradicion of man and a doctrine of Sathan Thus as Aman was hanged vpon the same Galowes that he had made for innocent Mardochaeus So ys their wicked doctrine ouerthrowen with their owne iudgement and vanquissed with their owne swoorde But what shall I occupie the time and trooble the reader in refelling this fonde heresie seing as a litle before ys declared by Eusebius that the inuisible preist Chryst by his power with his woorde doeth turne the visible creatures into the substance of his bodie and bloode Chrysostome also saieth that the preistes be in the place of the mynisters of God but yt ys Chryst that doeth sanctifie and chaunge the substances of bread and wine And breiflie to saie sainct Ambrose in the last chapiter Euthymius Damascen and Theophilact in the chapter before doe testisie that the worke of consecracion ys doen by the power of God by the accession of the holie Gost and by the woorde of Chryst spoken by the preist in the person of Chryste As yt ys also testified in the Florentine Concilium Florent Councell wher yt ys thus declared Forma huius sacramenti sunt verba Saluatoris quibus hoc conficit Sacramentum Sacerdos enim in persona Christi loquens hoc conficit Sacramentum Nam ipsorum verborum virtute substantia panis in corpus Christi substantia vini in sanguinem conuertuntur The forme of this Sacrament be the woordes of our Sauiour by the whiche he consecrateth this Sacrament For the preist speaking in the person of Chryst doeth consecrate this Sacrament For by the vertue of those woordes the substance of bread ys turned into the bodie of Christ and the substance of wine Trāsubstātiacion into hys bloode Thus the Councell By whiche woordes as by the woordes of them also before alleaged yt ys manifestly declared that the power of the consecracion of the bodie of Chryst ys not depending of the will of the receauer but of the power of God of the worke of the holie Gost and of the vertue of the woordes of Chryst spoken by the preist in the person of Chryste And as this fonde heresie semeth to be mother of that heresie that impugneth reseruacion so that that ys before saied for the defence of reseruacion will also impugne this heresie here nowe spoken of Wherfore I referre the reader to that place wher he findinge plentie of proofe that the Sacrament maie be reserued and being reserued that yt still remaineth the bodie of Chryst this wicked doctrine that teacheth that yt ys but the bodie of Chryst when yt ys in vse shal be ouerthrowen and prooued as it is a false and a deuellish doctrine The other heresie which ys settfurth both by the Lutherans and the Oecolampadians ys that the substance of bread and wine be still remaining in the Sacrament and not chaunged into the bodie and bloode of Chryst And yet here by the waie vnderstand this that though they agree in this poinct yet here Sathan ys deuided against Sathan and his kingdom also Diuision among the Protestantes as kingdom against kingdom For Luther graunteth the presence of Chrystes bodie Oecolampadius denieth the presence of Chrystes bodie and in this they are more then enemies But in the other as ys saied they doe agree And as in this they agree amonge themselues So in the same they disagree from the true faith from the catholike Church and from Gregorie Nissen whom we haue nowe in hand For by expresse woordes he affirmeth that the substance of the bread ys chaunged into the bodie of Chryst These be his woordes speaking of the bread before the consecracion Hic panis statim per verbum in corpus mutatur This bread ys by the woorde furthwith Greg. Niss in vita Moiseos chaūged into the bodie Who so listeth maie read the like saing of the same authour in his booke of the life of Moyses Neither doeth he here meen of soche a chaunge as the Aduersarie dreameth of that yt ys chaunged to be called the bodie of Chryste whiche proprely ys no chaunge but raither an addicion But this authour meeneth of a substanciall chaunge as hys woords doe most plainlie declare which he vseth to proue this chaunge For thus he saieth Qua ex causa panis in eo corpore mutatus in diuinam virtutem transiit eadem de causa idem nunc fit By what cause bread in that bodie chaunged passed into the diuine vertue euen so by the same cause the verie same thing ys now doen. For the better weighing of this saing of the authour consider first that Chryste was and ys bothe God and man consider that the bodie of man was so ioined to the Godhead in vnitie of person that Chryst God and man was one person one Chryste Consider then that this bodie by this merueilouse coniunction ys the bodie of God Nowe this bodie liuing here vpon the earth although as yt liued fortie daies and fortie nightes wihout foode so yt might haue liued fortie wekes and fortie moneths yet as yt was a naturall bodie So yt liued in natural order and did eate foode This foode which by a generall terme ys called bread allthough yt were but comon meate euen soche as the Apostles and other did eate yet this comon bread eatē of Chryst was chaunged in the bodie of Chryst into the substance of the bodie of Chryst and became now the substance of his bodie and being so yt came to be the substance of the bodie of God Nowe saieth Gregbrie Nissen by what cause the bread was chaunged into the bodie of Chryste and became the substance of the bodie of God As bread while Chryst liued was turned into his diuine flesh so nowe in the Sacr. which as I take yt he meneth by these woordes diuine vertue euen by the same cause the same thing ys nowe doen. Yf the same thing be doen nowe then the bread ys chaunged into the substance of the bodie of God for that ys the thing that was doen then Wherfor good reader note this wel that he saieth the same thing ys doen nowe wherbie the dreame of the Aduersarie ys dissolued that the bread ys chaunged but in name For that was but a cauill and in dede but a bare shifte to auoide the force of the trueth And what the thing ys that nowe ys doen thys authour tolde when he saied Panis mutatur in corpus per verbum The bread by the worde ys chaunged into the bodie Seing then this auncient
bodie of Chryst in that maner that the Iewe obseruing yet the Lawe maie not eate him Whiche maner ys onelie by his reall presence in the Sacrament except we shall euell fauourablie as Hooper did expownde edere for credere to eate that ys to beleue And then the sense must be that we haue an Aultar which ys Chrystes bodie on the whiche the Iewes that doe obserue the lawe of Moyses maie not beleue Whiche sense as yt ys verie false so yt ys verie cruell God forbidde but that the Iewes shoulde beleue on Chryst as manie a thousand of them haue doen as the Actes of the Apostles and diuerse other hystories doe testifie The like sense shall this scripture haue yf we vnderstand yt with the Sacramentarie of the spirituall presence of Chryst and the spirituall eating of him So that a diligent reader maie in this place perceaue into what strictes and what inconueniences Theophil in 13. ca. epist ad Hebrues soche wrestinge expositours doe bringe themselues who leauing the true sownd and perfect expositions of the Fathers cleaue to their owne inuencions which be soche as although they like well the inuentours yet they neither like nor well agree with the scripturs nor withe the true and catholique expositours of the same But let vs heare Theophilact also vpon the same text Thus he saieth Quoniam dixerat non obseruandos esse cibos ne videantur nostra despicatui habenda quod obseruatione careant Nos inquit obseruationem habemus verùm haud eam quae sit in huiusmodi cibis sed super altare siue incruenta hostia viuifici corporis liuius enim vt sint participes ne pontisicibus quidem legalibus permittitur tantisper dum tabernaculo deseruiunt boc est legalibus vmbris siguris quae transeunt ac dissoluuntur Forasmoche as he had saied that regarde of meates Note well these tearms the aultar the vnbloodie sacrisice the liuing bodie c. should not be had least our thinges might seeme to be despiced bicause they had no regarde or reueronce We saieth he haue reuerend regarde but not that that was vpon these maner of meates but vpon the Aultar or the vnbloodie sacrisice of the liuinge bodie For of this Sacrifice to be partakers yt ys not permitted no not to high preistes of the lawe as long as thei serue in the tabernacle that ys as long as they serue the shadowes and figures of the lawe which passe a waie and are dissolued Here again by Theophilact as before by Isichius ye see this text vnderstanded of the bodie of Chryst in the Sacrament He calleth yt the vnbloodie Sacrifice as the holie Nicen Councell did And that those woordes also of the vnbloodie Sacrifice shoulde not be drawen by the Sacramentaries the enemies and distroyers of this Sacrifice to the sacrifice of lawdes and thankesgeuinge as Cranmer doeth in his booke of Sacrifice he addeth and fullie calleth yt the vnblood die sacrifice of the liuing bodie or more proprielie of the bodie that geueth life or maketh to liue which ys not nor can be anie other but the bodie of Chryst which as in the last chapter ys saied beinge ioined to the Godhead and made the bodie of God which ys life yt self ys able to geue life and to make other to liue And therfor ys here of Theophilact verie well called Viuificum corpus the bodie that ys able to make to liue But note that we speake not here of this transitorie and passing life but of the permanent and euerlasting life In the woordes of S. Paule this also ys to be noted that allthough in hys The sacrisice of the Churche of fred in a thousand places ys but oneand the same sacrisice Hier lib. 3. in Oseam cap. 8. time the faith was largelie spred as in Rome in Corinthus in Galatia in Ephesus in Thessalonia in Collossis in Laodicea yea as he himself to the Romans doeth testifie from Hierusalem rownde aboute all the coastes vnto Illiricum he filled all the contries with the Gospel yet nowe writing to the Hebrues he saieth notplurallie we haue manie Aultars but singularlie we haue an Aultar For the Church of Chryst hath but one Chryst and one vnblood die Sacrifice as Chrysostome saieth Vna est haec hostia non multae This sacrifice ys one and not manie For we doe not offre one lambe to daie and an other to morowe but allwaies the same one sacrifice Proinde saieth he Vnum est hoc sacrificium Therfore this sacrifice ys one yt hath also but one Aultar as S. Hierom doeth testifie saing Vnum esse altare in ecclesia vnam fidem vnum baptisma Apostolus docet Quod haeretici deferentes multa sibi altaria sabricati sunt non ad placandum Deum sed in delictorum multitudinem propterea leges Dei accipere non merentur cùm eas quaes acceperant antè contempserint Etsi quid dixerint de scripturis nequaquam diuinis verbis sed Ethnicorum sensibus comparandum est Isti multas immolant hostias comedunt carnes earum vnam Christi hostiam deserentes nec comedentes eius carnem cuius caro cibus credentium est quicquid fecerint sacrificiorum ordinem ritumue simulantes siue dederint eleemosinam siue pudicitiā repromittant siue humilitatem simulēt fictisue blāditiis simplices quosque decipiāt nihil de huiusmodi sacrificiis Dominus suscipiet The Apostle teacheth to be in the Church one Aultar one faith and one baptisme which the heretikes forsakinge haue framed to thēselus manie Aultars not to appease God but to the heaping vppe of multitude of sinnes Wherfore they are not woorthie to receaue the lawes of God forasmoch as the lawes which they had receaued they had before contemned And yf they saie any thinge of the scriptures yt ys not to be compared to the woordes of God but raither to the senseis of Ethnickes These men offre manie sacrifices and doe eate the flesh of them forsakinge the one sacrifice of Chryst and doe not eate his flesh whose flesh ys the meat of the beleuers Whatsoeuer they doe dissemblinge the order and rite of sacrifices whether they geue almose whether they vowe chaistitie whether they dissemble humilitie or whether with feined flatteries thei deceaue the simple God taketh nothing of soch maner of sacrifices Hitherto S. Hierom. Whom yf we marke well we maie learn that he by this woorde aultar vnderstandeth Chryst as sainct Paule doeth in this scripture produced oute of the epistle to the Hebrues For where sainct Paule to the Ephesians saieth Vnus Dominus vna fides vnum baptisma c. One Lord one faith one Baptisme S. Hierom saieth that S. Paule teacheth that we haue but one aultar takinge the one aultar for our one Lorde Chryst But note with all howe liuelie he describeth the heretiques of our time Heretiques of oure time wel described by S. Hieron by the painting of the heretiques of and before his time For
example In the blessing of Iuda Iacob saied Iuda ys a lions whelpe from the spoill my sonne thowe arte comed on high He laied him dowen Gen. 49. and couched him self as a lion and as a lionesse who wil stire him vppe And after a litle He shall binde his fole to the vine and his Asses colte to the braunch He wasshed his garment in wine and his mantle in the bloode of grapes His eies are reader then wine and his teeth whiter then milke Soche like be the other Howe easie theise be for the vnlearned to vnderstande I referre yt to thy iudgement Reader Exodus and Leuiticus withe the rest of Pentateuchon although they require an higher sense for a Christian to vnderstand then the letter sowndeth as Origen declareth whiche not all the learned atteign vnto besides the applicacion of the figures to the things figured in the newe testament by Allegories as sainct Paule dothe in the Epistle to the Galatians and in his Epistle to the Hebrues yet they conteyn diuerse obscure senses seming almost to haue no reason in them as this in Leuitious Ye shall kepe my ordenances Thowe shalt not let cattle gendre with a contrarie kinde neither Leuit. 19. so we thy felde with mingled seede Neither shalt thow put on anie garment of linnen and wollen And in Deutronomio God thus commaunded Yf thowe chaunce vpon a birdes nest by the waie in whatsoeuer tree yt be or on the grownde whether Deut. 22. they be younge or egges and the dame sitting vpon the younge or vpon the egges Thowe shalt not take the dame with the younge but shalt in any wise let the dame go and take the young to thee that thowe maist prosper and prolong thy daies Thowe shalt not sowe thy vineyeard with diuerse seedes lest the fruicte of thy vineyeard be defiled Thowe shalt not Ibid. 23. plowe with an oxe and an asse together And again in an other place Thowe shalt not mosell the oxe that treadeth oute the corne in the Bearn Shall we take theise places in their grammaticall sense dothe the high prouidence of God occupie yt self in making ordeinances for birdes nestes And by gods ordeinance shall a man prosper and prolong his daies that taketh not the dame with the younge dothe the wisdom of God ioin soche rewardes to soche trifles And making the ordeinance for the thressing oxe dothe God as sainct Paule alleaging the same asketh take thought for oxen No. yt hath an other vnderstanding as ther sainct Paule alleaging this 1. Cor. 9. ordeinance of God applieth yt vnto Yt were enough to make a iust volume yf all the obscure places shoulde be recited that be in the olde Testament But as by theise yt maie be perceaued that the scriptures be not so easie as men phansie them to be So truly yt ys perilous that they as the aduersaries wolde shoulde be handeled commonlie of them whose vnderstanding atteigning to none other sense then the grammaticall sense and oftentymes not to that neither doo wounderfullie abuse them to the great dishonour of God and plain cōtempt of the scriptures his holiewoorde As yf the rude and simple shoulde read theise sentences aboue alleaged oute of Genesis Leuiticus and Deutronomium wolde he not saie they were fond and trifeling thinges And wher as wisedom and knowledge be the goodlie gifes of God yf the Eccls. 1. vnlearned shoulde reade the booke of the Preacher wher yt ys saied I commoned with my owne heart saieng lo I am comed to a great state and haue gotten more wisdom then all that haue ben before me in Hierusalem yea my hearte hath great experience of wisdome and knowledge for therunto I applied my minde that I might knowe what were wisdom and vnderstandinge what were errour and foolishnesse and I perceaued that this also was but a vexaciō of minde For wher moche wisdome ys ther ys also great trauaill and disquitnes c. Yf the vnlearned I saie shoulde reade this might he not take occasion to contēpne bothe wisdome and knowledge and so dishonour God in his giftes wherunto appeareth more occasion to be geuen in the next chapiter folowing wher yt ys writen thus Then I tourned me to consider wisdome errour and foolishnes for who ys he emonge men that might be compared to me the kinge in soche workes Jbid. 2. and I sawe that wisdome excelleth foolishnes as farre as light dothe darknesse For a wise man hathe his eies in his head but the foole goeth in darknes I perceaued also that they bothe had one ende Then thought I in my minde Yf yt happen to the foole as yt doth vnto me what neadeth me thē to labour any more for wisdome So I confessed within my heart that this also was but vanitie What maie appeare more vehement to dissuade a man from wisdom Howe moche ys wisdom the goodlie gifte of God abased to appearance in this saing Howe ys the gift of God magnified to the aduancement of gods honour when in appearance Salomon accompteth the labour for yt to be but vanitie I saie to yowe before God whom I call to wittnes that I speake trueth I heard a man of woorshippe of grauitie of wisdom of godlie life and of competent learning able to vnderstand and likewise excercysed in in the scriptures vpon the reading of this booke and conference had betwixt hym and me for the same earnestlie saye that yt was a naughtie booke Yf he dyd thus what will the rude the rashe vnlearned and the vngodlie reader doe Howe litle incitament of vertue appeareth to be in the Ballettes of Salomon Yea raitheir howe vngodlie and wanton seme they to be raither in the outwarde face teaching and prouoking wantonnesse then godlynesse of life In the first chapiter ye reade thus O howe faire arte thowe my loue howe fair arte thowe Thowe hauest doues eies O howe fair arte thowe my Cant. 1. beloued howe well fawoured arte thowe Owre bed ys deckt with flowres the syllinges of oure house are Cedre tree And again O stand vppe my loue my beautifull and come For lo the wynter ys nowe past the rain ys awaie and gone The flowres are comed vppe in the feldes the tyme of the birdes syngynge ys comed and the voice of the Turtle doue ys heard in oure lande The figge tree bringeth furthe her figges and the Vines beare blossomes and haue a good smell O stande vppe my loue my beautyfull and come my doue oute of the caues of the Rockke oute of the holls of the walls O let me see thy coūtenāce and heare thy voice For swete ys thie voice and fair ys thie face c. Like vnto this ys all that booke What can the vnlearned finde or vnderstande here any thinge to edificacion of godlie life or rather as ys saied a prouocation to wanton life Yet Iesus Sonne of Syrac semeth to haue more vnsemelie woordes then theise yea so vnsemelie as an honest mē wolde be ashamed to speake them
example of godlie liuing that God bothe in his pastours and people maie be glorified As cōcerning the second that the scriptures haue doubtes and difficulties Scriptures ful of doubres Yt appeareth by the expresse woorde of God when he saieth Yf ther rise a matter to hard for thee in iudgemēt c. Thow shalt get thee vppe to the preistes the Leuites But forsomoch as this matter ys allready sufficiētlie treacted of and proued yt ys enough here nowe to haue touched yt and so to passe to the third Which ys that the people must be taught and learn the lawes of god of the preistes Which thīg ys so manifestlie declared ād in so plain woordes Doubtes in the lawe of God must be dissolued by the preistes opened in the scriptures alleaged that I shal not nede to make any further declaraciō therof forasmuche as yt ys plainlie ther saied that the doubtes of the people in the lawe of God must be dissolued bi the preistes to whose sentēce and iudgemēt they must in any wise stande and not decline frō yt neither on the right hand nor on the left and that on the pain of deathe In the which saing of God yt ys euidēt howe moche God wolde that the determinaciō of his church in the doubtes of his lawe should be estemed ād reuerēced and his preistes in that respecte obeid Which howe moche yt ys nowe disdained and contēned and gods ordre and cōmaūdemēt neclected his holie faith and religion infringed and violated yt ys more with Sithes and teares to be lamented then beinge so manifest as yt ys nedefull to be opened and declared Of whose mouthe the people should learn the lawe AlmightieGod by his prophete Malachie telleth Likewise that of the preistes the people should aske People must learn of the preistes the lawe God by the Prophete Aggaeus cōmaundeth Who shoulde teach the people the newe Testamēt he also prescribeth Appointing some Apostles some Prophetes some Doctours or teachers who to theise offices are appointed to rule and instruct the people In ijs quae ad Deū pertinēt in those thinges that appertein to God But nowe al this ordre ys inuerted in manie places The people teache the preistes and not the preistes the people The people dissolue the doubts of the lawe the preistes not being asked for The people God his ordre inuerted speake the preistes holde their peace The people make lawes in religion the preistes are cōpelled to obeie The people take in hande the thinges that appertain to God the preistes are put to scilence A moch like state we finde in the time of Moyses emōge the children of Israel in the time when Moyses was in the moūt with God For they perceiuing him to be lōg absent and thinking that he wolde no more come they began to take the rule vpō thēselues And wheras Aarō before cōmaūded and taught thē the religiō of the true God nowe they taking the rule and inuerting the ordre cōmaunded Aaron and taught him soche Religion as lyked them of a false God When the people sawe saieth the booke of Exodus that yt was long er Moyses came downe oute of the Mountain they gathered themselfes togeather Exod 32. vnto Aaron and saied vnto him Vppe make vs Gods to go before vs. For of this Moises the felowe that brought vs oute of the lande of Aegypte we wote not what ys become Hereby maie yt be perceiued what religion shall be when the ordre that God appointed being broken they will teache and commaunde which in matters to godwarde shoulde be taught and commaunded But with all yt ys to be remembred that for this wickednes the wrathe of God waxed hote against the people and notwithstanding that ther was immediatelie Plaguesfor breaking Gods appoincted ordre in religiō and mynisterie a greate slaughter of the people aboute the nōbre of three thousand and that Moyses made intercession to God for the people Yet allmightie God in the ende saied Neuer the latter in the daie when I viset I will viset their sinne vpon them and the Lorde plagued the people bicause of the calfe whiche Aaron made Wherfore seinge that the moche like trangression ys committed emonge the Chrystian people yt ys to be feared that the wrathe of God will waxe hote against vs. But God graūte vs a Moyses that by earnest intercessiō maie yet mittigate the plague of God that shall come for this wickednesse The plague I feare me will be sore vpon Corah Dathan and Abiron and vpon the capitanes of the multitude whiche be the great and famouse mē in the Num. 16. congregacion which haue gathered thē selues together against Moyses and Aaron and cā not contēt thē selues with soche ordre as God hath put in his Church and which by hys pleasure hath so long continued But yet they come to Moyses and Aaron and saie ye make muche to doo seing all the multitude are holie euery one of them and the Lorde ys emonge them Whieheaue ye your selues vppe aboue the Congregacion of the Lorde I must staie my hand I shall ells be to tediouse to the reader in this matter in the whiche I thought not to haue writtē the fourth parte of that that ys written and for expedicion leaue vnto him to reade the strory in the booke of Nombres and so further to consider yt And wher ther be manie stories declaring the displeasures of God to haue commed vppon the people bicause they wolde not submitte them selues to the ordeinaunce of him and his ministres but wolde vsurpe vpon them both Yet I will speake but of one in the first booke of the kinges which ys that where God appointed Samuel his beloued and holie Prophet to be the ruler of the people they being a stiffnecked and disobedient people to gods 1. Reg. 8. ordre so long before vsed al the elders gathered themselues together and came to Samuel and saied vnto him Beholde thowe arte olde and thy Sonnes walke not in thy waies Nowe therfore make vs a king to iudge vs as al other nacions haue See their phantasticall prouidence and therwith their disobediēce They take in hande to prouide for their common wealth as though God coulde not prouide them as good a ruler after Samuel as he did in prouiding of Samuel And therfore the ruler whiche God appointed reiected make vs saie they a kinge But what saied Almightie God to Samuel Heare the voice of the people for they haue not cast thee awaye but me that I shoulde not reign ouer them 1. Reg. 12. And after that they had a kinge Samuel to cause them to vnderstand that their offence was great saied I will call vnto the Lorde and he shall send thunder and rain that ye maie perceaue and see howe that yower wickednesse ys great which ye haue doen in thee seight of the Lorde in asking yowe a king And they saied Praye for vs thy seruauntes vnto the Lorde thy God that
his eyes Whervpon belcuing the mysteries of the Chrystians to be merueillouse and wonderfull the next daie he came to S. Basill and desired to be baptised and made a chrystian Thus we maie perceaue that the workes of God be great and merueillouse who vnto this Iewe but suspecting the chrystians to eate flesh and drinke bloode in their mysteries made yt soch to him as he suspected yt to be and to appeare soche to his seight as yt was couertlie to other in verie dede But he sawe yt with his bodilie eye for his instruction that the true Chrystian seeth with his faithfull eye to his saluacion But to return to our first matter so great was the fame that the Chrystians did eate mānes flesh in their mysteries that to deliuer thē frō the enuie that was cōceaued against thē for the same Iustinus the holie martyr was enforced in his Apollogie made vnto Antonius Pius to reueil and declare vnto him all the wholl order of the mysteries of the chrystians and what was their faith therin whiche thing was not vsed in those daies to be declared to anie prophane man and infidel but allwaies kept secrette so moche as yt might be And yet vpon this enforcemēt this Iustinus declared the matter so plainlie as no man of his auncientie to soche men more plainlie as shortlie here after ye shall perceaue As these thinges then hitherto saied do proue by the same that Chryst ys present in the Sacrament and so consequentlie that the woordes of Chryst haue ben and so ought to be vnderstanded in their propre sense withoute trope or figure So wolde I wish them of all chrystians in these daies to be receaued And as by these thinges we maie be moued So by other reasons we maie from the contrarie vnderstanding be disswaded Among manie of whiche I wil bring but one or two that Rupertus doth make and the first ys this Nonne Ioannes Euangelista dicit in Apocalipsi Si quis apposuerit ad haec apponet super illū Rupert li. 6. in Joan. Apoca. 22. Deus plagas scriptas in libro isto Et si quis diminuerit de verbis prophetiae libri huius auferet Deus partem eius de ligno vitae de ciuitate sancta de ijs quae scripta sunt in libro isto Nunquid minùs timenda est hic illa maledictio vt non detrahamus vel apponamus quidquam verbis dicentis Hoc est corpus meum quod pro vobis tradetur Hic est sanguis meus noui testamenti qui pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum Cùm enim illo dicente Hoc est corpus meum nos subauditionem apposuerimus dicentes figuratiuum vel per similitudinem dictum Cùm inquam illo dicente Hoc est corpus meum nos dixerimus hoc signisicat corpus meum nonne multum est quod apponimus vel praua demutatione detrahimus sensum generamus quem tantus Author Deus homo nusquā est locutus nec ascendit vnquam in cor eius Dothe not the Euangelist Iohn saie in the Apocalipse Yf anie man shall adde vnto these thinges God shal adde vnto him the plagues that are written in this booke And yf anie man shall minishe of the woordes of the booke of this prophecie God shall take awaie his parte oute of the booke of life and oute of the holie To the woordes of God maie nothing be added nor diminished citte and the thinges whiche are written in this booke Ys this maledictiō or curse lesse to be feared here that we diminish not or putte any thing to the woordes of him that saied This ys my bodie whiche shall be deliuered for yow This ys my bloode of the newe testament whiche shall be shedde for manie in the remissiō of sinnes For when he saieth This ys my bodie we shall putto an vnderstanding saing a figuratiue bodie or that yt ys spoken by a similitude when I saie he saieth This ys my bodie we shall saie this signifieth my bodie ys yt not moche that we putto his woordes or by an euell chaunge take from them and make a sense whiche so great an Authour God and man in no place hath spoken neither at anie time did yt ascende in to his heart Thus Rupertus This ys the first reason of this Authour whiche yf yt be well weighed and the thing well considered howe moche we by figures tropes and significacions do alter and chaunge howe moche we putto in woordes and diminish in substance howe the exposition denieth that the text affirmeth we haue good cause to feare the malediction of God spoken by S. Iohn who beareth not soche expositions denieng what he hath saied nor soche gloses confownding his text Wherfore we maie well be dissuaded from soche expositions or rather deprauacions and the rather that their ys no warrant to beare vs so to expownde these woordes of Chryst as of the circumstance of the place maie be perceaued whiche this Authour vseth as an other reason to moue vs not so to vnderstande Chrystes woordes of his supper as the Aduersarie dothe expownde them And thus he saieth Cùm obijcit quis suisue scriptitat in sedulis quod itidem dixerit eadem veritas Ego sum vitis tam audacter quā imperitè in argumentum mendosum illud attrahit cum statim subsequentia verba dicentist Sicut palmes non potest ferre fructum à semetipso nisi manserit in vite sic nec vos nisi in me manseritis manifestè per similitudinem compellant intelligi praesertim cùm non signanter dixerit Ego sum haec vitis sicut signanter dixit Hoc est corpus meum hic est sanguis meus apposita protinus descriptione verae proprietatis de corpore inquiens quod pro vobis tradetur de san guine autem qui pro multis effundetur Igitur ne veniant super nos plagae nouissimae neque apponimus neque diminuimus quicquam diuinae definitioni vel descriptioni quam incarnatum Verbum ore proprio deproinpsit Imo quia perfecta charitas foras mittit timorem non tam plagarum timore qunm veritatis amore confitemur quia panis iste corporeus postquam signauerit eum Pater vinum hoc expressum acinis praesentibus mox vt eodem signo signatum est per manus ecclesiae dicentis vt nobis corpus sanguis fiat dilectissimi filij tui Domini nostri Iesu Christi etc. vsque in memoriā mei facietis corpus sanguis eius qui huius traditionis author est hoc sacrisicium ipse Christus est cuius passione vt sacrificium fieret à Deo Patre in veritate signatum est Whē one obiecteth and writeth yt also in his bookes euen as boldlie as vnlearned These woordes J am a vine Ioan. 15. are proued by the circūstance to be a similitudi lie that the same trueth mening Chryst saieth also I am a vine he draweth yt
in S. Augustin and the other in Cyrill S. Augustyn saieth thus Aliud est sacramentum aliud virtus sacramenti quam multi de altari accipiunt moriuntur accipiendo moriuntur The Sacrament ys one thing the vertue of the Sacrament ys an other which vertue manie doe receaue from the aultar and doe die and in receauing doe die By the death that S. Augustine here speaketh of he meneth dānacion euerlasting For immediatelie he saieth vnde dicit Apostolus Iudicium sibi manducat bibit Wherfore the Apostle saieth he eateth and drinketh his owne damnacion In which his woordes this partickle the Vertue of the Sacrament ys not taken for the vertue of Chrystes flesh as distincted and diuided from the flesh of Chryst but yt ys taken for the verie flesh of Chryst yt felf which we knowe and beleue allwaies to be full of vertue whersoeuer yt be Yf the Aduersarie will take here the woorde Vertue in S. Augustine as not signifieng the flesh of Chryst but onelie the merittes and benefittes of Chrystes flesh which be grace remission of sinnes iustificacion and saluacion then yt shall folowe that a man maie at one time receaue grace and displeasure iustificacion and condemnacion saluacion and damnacion For S. Augustine saieth that manie in receauing the vertue of the Sacrament doe die that ys be damned Nowe if in receauing the vertue of Chrystes flesh which ys saluacion they also receaue death which ys damnacion then they receaue at one time both saluacion and damnacion which ys vnpossible Wherfor Vertue in this place neither ys nor can be taken as the aduersarie wolde haue yt but for the flesh of Chryst whiche being vnwoorthilie taken and receaued causeth in dede damnacion as the text of S. Paule by S. Augustin alleaged doth teache of the which we shall treact more at large in his owne place in the thirde booke The other also vsed by S. Cyrill signifieth not the power of life as separated from the flesh of Chryst whiche ys as S. Cyril saieth Caro vitae the flesh of life and Corpus vitae the bodie of life but yt signifieth that liuelie flesh yt self For when sainct Cyrill as a litle before ye haue heard had saied that God powreth into the offred thinges mening the bread and wine the power of life howe that ys doen or what he meneth by that he immediatelie declareth saing turning those thinges into his owne verie slesh and bloode As who might haue saied He powreth into the offred thinges the power of life whē he turneth them into his owne flesh and bloode Thus trusting that Theophilact ys fullie deliuered from the wresting of the the Aduersarie and that the falhead of the same Aduersarie ys here detected Plain places of Paschasius against the Sacramentaries and the catholique trueth opened and defended I will ende with him and call in Paschasius who ys of the other side of Chrystes Parliament house who will verie aptelie come in this place to aunswer the Aduersarie who wolde in steade of Chrystes bodie place the vertue of his bodie For he vpon Chrystes woordes saieth thus Coenantibus autem illis accepit Iesus panem benedixit ac fregit deditue Discipulis suis ait Accipite comedite Hoc est corpus meum Audiant qui volunt extenuare hoc verbum corpus quòd non sit vera caro Christi quae nunc in sacramento celebratur in Ecclesia Christi neque verus eius sanguis When they were at Paschasiut li. de corp et sang Dom. supper Iesus tooke bread he blessed yt and brake yt and gaue yt to his Disciples and saied Take and eate this ys my bodie Let them heare that will extenuate or abase this worde bodie that yt ys not the verie flesh of Chryst that ys nowe celebrated in the Sacrament in the Church of Chryst neither that yt ys verie bloode And a litle before he saieth vpon the same text Nec ita dixit cùm fregit dedit eis panem Haec est vel in hoc mysterio est quaedam virtus vel figura corporis mei sed ait non fitè Hoc est corpus meum Et ideo hoc est quod dixit non quod quisque fingit Neither did he saie when he brake the bread and gaue yt them This ys or in this mysterie ys a certain vertue or figure of my bodie but he saieth plainlie This ys my bodie And therfore yt ys yt that he saied and not that that euery man feigneth And yet again after a fewe lines he saieth Vnde miror quid velint nunc quidam dicere non in re esse veritatem carnis Christi sanguinis sed in sacramento virtutem quandam carnis non carnem virtutem sanguinis non sanguinem figuram non veritatem vmbram non corpus Wherfore I woonder what some men doe meen to saie that ther ys not in dede the veritie of the flesh and bloode of Chryste but in the Sacrament to be a certain vertue of the flesh and not the flesh the vertue of the bloode and not the bloode a figure and not the veritie a shadowe and not the bodie What shall I trooble the reader with doing of that that ys allreadie doen As Euthymius Damascen Haymo and Theophilact doe auouche the presence of Chrystes bodie in the Sacrament and as yowe haue hearde them denie the Sacrament to be onelie a figure so doth this authour agree with them and denieng with them the Sacrament to be a figure shadowe or vertue or Chrystes bodie teacheth as they doe the verie presence of Chrystes bodie in the Sacrament and that by vertue of Chrystes woordes Paschas ibid. who saied This ys my bodie Wherupon again he saieth Hoc est corpus meum non aliud quà m quod pro vobis tradetur Et cùm calicem porrigeret Hic est inquit calix noui Testamenti qui pro vobis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum Nec dum itaque erat fusus tamen ipse porrigitur in calice sanguis qui fundendus erat Erat quidem iam in calice qui adhuc tamen fundendus erat in precium Et ideo ipse idemue sanguis iam erat in calice qui in corpore sicut caro vel corpus in pane This ys my bodie and none other but euen the same that shall be deliuered for yowe And when he gaue them the cuppe he saied This ys the cuppe of the newe Testament whiche shall be shed for yowe in the remission of sinnes Yt was not yet shed and yet the same bloode was geuen in the cuppe that was to be The same blood in the cuppe that was to be shedd shed Yt was trulie nowe in the cuppe that was to be shed in redemption And therfore euen the verie same blood was nowe in the cuppe that was in the bodie euen as yt was the same flesh or bodie that was vnder the bread Thus farre
he did sanctifie and blesse yt The catholique Churche folowing them saieth likewise that he gaue not onelie thankes but also that he blessed yt The Proclamers Church saieth no more but that he gaue thanks and liketh not to saie that Chryst blessed yt or sanctified yt And wote yow whie Bicause they feared that the trueth might be sooner perceaued that by the blessing and sanctificacion of Chryste his verie bodie and blood were consecrated as they were in dede which by all shiftes and meanes they labour to hide But I wishe the wholl woordes of S. Iames Masse not onely to be well noted but also continuallie to be remembred that he saieth that Chryste gaue thankes he sanctified he blessed and fylled the cuppe with the holie Gost For these woordes not onelie impugne the wicked assertion of the Sacramentarie but also commende to vs the excellencie of the B. Sacrament and Woordes of S. James Masse proue the presence of that blessed bloode whiche the catholique Churche teacheth there to be present For who can saie that after these great doings of Chryste of sanctifieng blessing and filling with the holie Gost that ther ys nothing ells made but a bare hungrie figure This godlie acte of Chryste the Apostles and Fathers foloweing as S. Iames in his Masse S. Basill and Chrysostom in their Mases did not onelie make mencion of his blessiing and sanctifieng but did them selues sign and blesse the Sacrament as in their Masses yt ys plain to see Which acte of Chryst of the Apostles ād fathers the catholike church embrancing signeth with the sign of the crosse and blesseth the Sacrament signifieng the sanctificacion their doen to be doen by the power of him that by his crosse sanctified all the faithfull But these wicked bretheren of the late fownd Church geue as fewe termes of excellencie to yt and vse as fewe gestures and actes signifieng blessing and sanctificacion as they maie that the estimacion of that gloriouse Sacrament maie be impaired Thus nowe ye haue seē the conference made ye see the catholique Churche Conference of the catholeque authoritie of preists withe the lacke of authoritie of newe ministers in euerie poinct agreing with Chryste withe Apostles and with the pritiue Churche Contrarie wise ye see the newe fownd Churche allmost in all pointes disagreing Finallie I thinke yt expedient that as I haue here spoken of consecracion and conferred the doing of the catholique Churche and of the newe Churche with the Apostolique and primitiue Churche So to saie a fewe woordes of the preist of the one and of the minister of the other And here not moche to tarie the reader yt ys to be remēbred that Chryste when he had instituted this diuine and noble Sacrament willing yt to be continued gaue his Apostles and in them to all their successours power authoritie and commaundement to doo that that he had doen. By which commaundement euery catholique preist duelie executing this ministracion doth consecrate the verie bodie and blood of Chryste by vertue of Chrystes ordeinance and woordes duelie pronouced The ministres of the newe churche not being of the catholique succession as they haue no soche power authoritie or cōmaundement from Chryste Newe ministres haue no authoritie to consecrate to consecrate his bodie and blood and as their monstrouse heades neither can geue them soche neither mindeth that they shoulde doe anie soche thing but raither as they finde yt bread and wine so to let yt remain and so to receaue yt they do not so rehersing Chrystes woordes consecrate his blessed bodie no more then they doo that read those woordes vpō the booke in their cōmon studies For if the historie of Chrystes supper rehersed of a minister not endewed with laufull authoritie descending to him by catholique ordre did consecrate then shoulde consecracion haue ben doen in manie a querulouse and contenciouse dinner and supper aswell in Tauerns as ells wher wher the like woords haue ben spokē and rehersed of men of as good authoritie for that pourpose as the ministre Be not deceaued therfor gentle readers to thinke that of sochemens hands yowe receaue the bodie of Chryste Yt ys to moche that yowe receaue ther schisinaticall bread yt were lamentable therwith also to committee Idolatrie And now although this might suffice to prooue the Masse to haue benvsed of the Apostles yet for thy better confirmaciō gentle reader I shall adde Addias hist Apost li. 7. the testimonie of Abdias Bishoppe of Babilon and a Disciple of the Apostles who writeth thus of the Masse and death of S. Matthewe Cumue respondissent amen misteria Domini celebrata Missāsuscepisset omnis Ecclesia retinuit se vt iuxta altare vbi corpus ab eo fuerat Christiconfectum illic martyriū Apostolicū exultaret S. Matt hew saied Masse And when all had saied Amen and all the Churche had receaued the Masse and the ministeries that were celebrated he staied him sem self that by the aultar wher the bodie of Chryste was by him cōsecrated ther should his martidom be solemnised Thus ther. In this place ye heare plain menciō made of the Masse doen and celebrated by S. Mathewe whiche if the Aduersarie wil seke to auoid as put in by the translatour yet he can not denie these two thinges whiche be in effect equiualent that ys the aultar and the consecracion of the bodie of Chryste Nowe if he did clerebrate at the aultar and on the aultar did consecrate the bodie of Chryste yt foloweth that he did celebrate the Masse And here I wish these two thinges to be well noted forsomoch as they were written of one that was disciple to the Apostles and did write diuerse bookes of their liues The one ys that S. Matthew did celebrate at the aultar the other that he did consecrate the bodie of Chryste Yf these two were to be writtē as in vse thē yt maie easelie be iudged who doth offēd he that doth vse both in these daies or he that refuseth both And wher the Proclamer as ys of late saied prouoketh so moche to the primitiue Churche iudge nowe again Reader how well yt liketh him to folowe the order of the primitiue Churche whē he abādoneth and flieth frō these two thinges as frō a serpēt and yet both vsed as ye perceaue of the Apostles and the Primitiue Church Hauing nowe saied sufficiētlie for the vse of the Masse in the Apostles time to cōclude this chapter this maie be saied that as yt pleased our Sauiour Christe to cōmend to the worlde the trueth of his holie Gospell principallie by foure Euāgelistes and S. Paule his chosē vessell So yt hath pleased him to cōmēd the trueth of the holie ministracion of his bodie and blood called the Masse by foure Apostles namelie S. Peter S. Andew S. Iames and S. Matthew and also by S. Paule He of his mercie graūt that as by the Euangelistes his Gospell was receaued and beleued so by the testimonie and doinges
receaued in the bl Sace but spirituallie howe ean the sinner presume vpon the bodie which he nor will nor cā receaue moche greater Chryst ys then the temple so moche more greuouse and horrible pain remaineth for them that being defiled in the soule dare touche the bodie of Chryst than doeth them that touche but Rammes and bulls In whiche woordes the sacrifices of both lawes are expressed The sacrifice of the olde lawe were Rammes and bulls The sacrifice of the newe lawe ys the bodie of Chryst The euell or vnworthie partakers of the sacrifices of the lawe were soche as were vnclean with vncleānesse described in the lawe The vnwoorthie partakers of the Sacrifice of the Gospell are soche as with deadly Sinne or the pourpofe of yt being defiled in Soule doe presume to receaue Chrystes bodie in the holie Sacrament The pain of an vnwoorthie partaker of the Sacrifices of the lawe was death corporall The pain of an vnwoorthie receauer of the sacrifice of the newe lawe which ys the bodie of Chryst ys death eternall This he prooueth by the scriptures of S Paule whiche we nowe haue in hand For saieth he S. Paule saieth Whosoeuer shall eate the bread and drinke the cuppe of our Lorde vnwoorthilie shall be giltie of the bodie and bloode of our lorde Nowe gentle Reader weigh with me I paraie thee that wher S. Basil saied that so greuouse and horrible condemnacion shall fall vpon them that with vncleannesse of soule presume to touche the bodie of Chryst howe doth he prooue the same by this sainge of S. Paule yf by the bread and cuppe therin spoken of be not vnderstand the bodie and bloode of Chryst Yt ys therfor most certē that holie Basil so aleading S. Paule vnderstood him by the bread and cuppe to haue most assuredlie mēt that blessed bread of Christes bodie and the cuppe of his holie bloode in the Sacrament Basill was not so base in learning nor so simple in iudgement that he speaking of the vnworthie receauers of Chrystes bodie wolde for the confirmacion of his sainge alleadge a text that speaketh but of a peice of bread and nothing to his pourpose No he was of an other maner of learning and grauitie of iudgement As this text by his iudgement ys vnderstanded of the bodie and bloode S. Basill vnderstandeth Sainct Paule to speake of the bread of Chrysts bodie of Christ So ys the other also which saieth he S. Paule speaketh by repeticiō Vpon the which text he maketh like exposition as he did of the other before but in more compendiouse maner saing thus Si verò qui in sola immundicia est adeo horrendum habet iudicium quanto magis qui in peccato est contra corpus Christi audet horrendum attrahet indicium Yf he that ys in the vncleanesse of the lawe onelie hath so horible iudgement howe moche more he that ys in sinne and dare presume vpon the bodie of Chryst shall drawe vnto him horrible iudgement In the wiche who seeth not that he as one expownding and declaring S. Paules wordes geueth vs to vnderstand that S. Paule by the bread meneth the bodie of Chryste For wher S. Paule saieth He that eateth this bread vnwoorthilie eateth his owne damnacion S. Basill saieth He that presumeth vpon the bodie of Chryst shall haue horible Damnacion A moche like questiō the same S. Basil moueth in the same booke which also openeth the trueth of our matter This ys the questiō Whether yt be withoute daunger that he that ys not pure in heart from an euell conscience and vncleannesse of life maie doe the office of a preist In the aunswere of which questiō he saieth thus Dominus dicens plus templo hic est erudit nos quòd tanto magis impius est qui audet tractare corpus Domini qui dedit semetipsum pro nobis oblationem hostiam in odorem suauitatis quantum corpus vnigeniti filij Dei excedit arietes tauros non in comparationis ratione Incomparabilis est enim excellentia Owre lorde saing This man ys greater then the temple mening him self teacheth Let schismaticall ād irreuerent preists note well this saing of S. Basill vs that he ys so moche the more wicked that ys so bolde to handle the bodie of our Lorde who gaue him self an oblacion and sacrifice of swete Sauour as moche as the bodie of the onelie begotten Sōne of God doeth excead Rammes and Bulls not by the mean of comparison For the excellencie ys incomparable Thus ther. Of Sainct Basill in this place we learn that the office of preists ys not as the Aduersarie saieth to handle a peice of Sacramentall bread but to handle the bodie of our lorde euen the same bodie that the same lorde gaue an oblacion and sacrifice to God the Father in the Sauoure of swetenesse And as that bodie incomparablie exceadeth Rammes and Bulls whiche were figures of that blessed bodie So doeth yt in cōparablie excead a peice of bread being also but a figure of that bodie And here Reader if thowe be desierouse to knowe the trueth note and marke well howe great condemnacion commeth to them that vnwoortilie handle the Sacrament aboue them that vnwoorthilie handle the sacrifices of the olde lawe ād Testament They are Saieth Sainct Basill as moche more wicked as the bodie of the onelie begotten Sonne exceadeth Rammes and bulls Yf the vnwoorthie receauer of the Sacrament be so moche more wicked aboue the vnwoorthie receauers of the Sacrifices of the olde lawe as the bodie of the onelie begotten Sonne of God exceadeth Rammes and bulls yt prooueth well that the receauer of the Sacrament receaueth the bodie of the onelie begotten Sonne of God or elles why shoulde he be so incomparablie wicked yf he did not wickedlie receaue that bodie Soche incomparable wickednesse so greuouse and exceading condemnacion can not be but vpō the abuse of an incōparable thing which ys the bodie of Chryst and not Sacramentall bread The receipt of Sacramentall bread ys but a receipt of a figure The receipt of a figure though yt be euell ys not incomparablie wicked Wherfor the receipt of the Sacramentall bread though yt be euell receaued ys not incomparablie wicked but the receipt of the Sacrament yf yt be euell ys incomparablie wicked Wherfore the receipt of the Sacrament ys not the receipt of Sacramentall bread And here plainlie to saie yf the Sacrament were but a figure of the bodie of Chryst and did not contein the same whie shoulde the receauer of yt be Yf the bless Sacr. be but a figure as the Sacramēts os the old lawe were whie do the euell receauers offend so incomparablie more wicked and suffer more greuouse and horrible damnacion then they that receaued the figures of Chryst in the olde lawe And here Reader vnderstanded that by the doctrine of the Aduersarie the Sacramentes of the newe lawe are no better then the Sacramentes of the olde lawe Which yf yt be
hurteth The Sacramentarie leaueth no more in the Sacrament by his doctrine but Sacramentall bread and Sacramentall wine whiche both saieth he remain in their substance and nature so that ther ys no other thinge taking thing for substance but the substance of bread and wine Certen yt ys that as God suffereth the Sunne to shine vpon good and euell and raineth vpon the iust and vniust So do the he suffre the substance of bread and wine to feede and nourish both good and euell as well to profitte the wicked as the rightwise no more measure beinge obserued to hurt the one then the other Yf than the substance of bread so indifferent that yt profiteth as well the wicked as the good the substance of bread ys not the thinge that holie Cyprian saith to be in the Sacrament which onelie prositeth the good and hurteth the euell yf yt be receaued Wherfor yt doeth necessarelie folowe that ther ys an other thing in the Sacrament than the substance of bread whiche ys the bodie of Chryst as the holie fathers before alleaged haue confessed and the holie Churche catholique professeth and beleueth Noweye haue heard the presence of Chrystes bodie and bloode taught by S. Paule in the epistle to the Corinthians ye haue heard yt testified yea and auouched by a nombre of auncient holie Fathers ye haue hearde yt prooued that by the testimonie ās well of S. Paule as the Fathers yt ys plain and euident that the euell and vnwoorthie receaue the same bodie of Chryst in the bless Sacrament that the good and woorthie doth Ye haue heard paines both temporall and eternall appoincted to soche vnwoorthie receauers Ye haue seen greate difference of the pains of the vnclean receauers of the figures of the olde lawe and of the vnwoorthie receauers of the Sacrament of the newe lawe wherby also ys inuinciblie prooued a great difference of thinges receaued in both lawes For in the olde lawe Chryst was receaued figuratiuely In the newe lawe he ys receaued verilie In the olde lawe onelie spirituallie In the newe lawe of good people bothe spirituallie and substanciallie Thus moche beinge doen if grace be at hande with the reader ther ys enough doen to expell the Sacramentaries heresie and to moue to receaue the catholique veritie Wherfore although ther be other scriptures in S. Paule I will not stand and abide vpon them as hitherto I haue doen vpon other but I will touche them and so ende THE NINE AND FIFTETH CHAP. TREACteth of these woordes of S. Paule We are membres of his bodie of his slesh and of his bones by Irenaeus and Hylarius IN the epistle to the Ephesians S. Paule exhorting men to loue their wieues willeth them so to loue them and nourish them as Chryst doeth his Churche And for proof that they shoulde so doe he saieth that no man at anie time hath hated his owne slesh but nourisheth and cheriseth yt as Chryst doeth his Churche For we are saieth he mēbres of his bodie of his flesh and of his bones Whiche sainge forasmoche as the great auncient Father Irenaeus doeth vnderstande of the flesh bodie and bloode of Chryst in the Sacrament I haue thought good to lett the reader perceaue the same ▪ Thus he writeth Quomodò carnem negant esse capacem donationis Dei quae est vita aeterna quae sanguine corpore Christi nutritur membrum eius fit quemadmodum Apostolus ait in ea quae est ad Ephesios epistola Quoniam membra sumus corporis Iraen li. 5. eius de carne eius de ossibus eius non de spirituali aliquo inuisibili homine dicens haec spiritus enim neque ossa neque carnes habet sed de ea dispositione quae est secundùm hommem quae ex carnibus neruis ossibus consistit quae de calice qui est sanguis eius nutritur de pane qui est corpus eius augetun Howe denie they the flesh to be hable to receaue the gift of God whiche ys euerlasting life whiche ys nourished with the bodie and blood of Chryste and ys made a membre of him as the Aplain saing of Iren. agunst the Proclamer Apostle also saieth in the epistle to the Ephesians For we are membres of his bodie of his flesh and of his bones not speaking these woordes of any spirituall or inuisible man but of that disposition whiche ys after the nature of man whiche ys of flesh Sinnewes and bones whiche ys nourished of the cuppe whiche ys his blood and ys encreased by the bread whiche ys his bodie hitherto Iren. For the better vnderstanding of this sainge the occasion whie he wrote this ys to be declared although this Irenaeus were so auncient and so neare to the time of the Apostles that he was the disciple of Policarpus whiche Policarpus was the disciple of sainct Iohn the Euangelist yet before and in his time were risen manie heretiques as Symon Samarites who The flesh of mā shall haue euerlaing life bicause yt ys nourished with the flesh of Chryst. other wise ys called Symon Magus Menander Carportes Basilides Cerinthus Ebion and Marcion whiche fowlie and diuerslie erringe aboute the person of Chryst some of them also denienge the resurrection sainge that owre earthlie and grosse flesh coulde not be partaker of saluacion Against whiche heresies Irenaeus wrote fiue bookes and in the fiste booke amonge other thinges impugning that heresie that saied that owre flesh coulde not enioie euerlastinge life prooueth that yt maie and shall And by that yt ys nourished with the fleshe and bloode of Chryste And therfora sketh a question sainge howe denie they our flesh to be partaker of the gifte of God whiche ys euerlastinge whiche flesh ys nourished with the bodie and blood of Chryst and ys made a membre of him That our flesh ys nourished by the bodie and blood of Chryst and therby also made a membre of him he prooueth yt by this Scripture of S. Paule that we be membres of his bodie of his flesh and of his bones Both bodie and soule haue benefite by the bodie of Christe And here note howe goodlie he confirmeth the catholique faith and howe mightilie he ouerthrowe the heresie of the Sacramentarie The Catholique saieth that the wholl man bothe bodie and sowle taketh benefitte and ys nourished by the bodie and bloode of Chryste The Sacramentarie saieth that onelie the inwarde man the spirituall man ys spirituallie nourished by faith But this false glose ys here by expresse woordes reproued and conuinced S. Paule saieth Irenaeus speaketh not this of anie spirituall or inuisible man but of the verie naturall man which ys made of flesh sinnewes and bones whiche naturall man ys nourished and augmented by the cuppe whiche ys the bloode of our Lorde and the breade whiche ys the bodie of our Lorde Yt ys manifest then against the Sacramentarie yt ys manifest against the Proclamer that the naturall man doeth eate and drinke the