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
Chryst by faith and syncere charitie But that we haue no maner of cōiunctiō with him after the flesh that we verilie denie and that we saie ys altogether against the scriptures Doth he thinke the power of the mystical benediction to be vnknowen vnto vs which whē Chryst dwelleth in vs corporallie not onlie spirituallie The receaued doctrine in all the Church ys that Chryst ys verily and substātiallie present in the Sacramēt yt ys doen in vs doth yt not also by the communication of Chrystes flesh make Chryst corporallie to dwell in vs And a litle after he saieth Wherfor yt ys to be consydered that not by inward disposition onelie wihiche ys vnderstand by charitie Chryst dwelleth in vs but also by naturall participaciō c. These thinges haue we recited that what soeuer they be that shall read thys they shoulde the more clearly perceaue that we defende the doctrine receaued in all the Churche whiche ys that in the supper of our Lorde are verilie and substanciallie present the bodie and bloode of Chryst Thus moche the Germans in their Apologie I suppose this proclamer will nowe take a better minde with him and somwhat contracte and drawe in the large sales of his great bragge so vehementlie puffed vppe with a mightie vain gloriouse winde when he seeth the learned of Germanie so franklie and plainly publishing their faith whiche though yt be not in euery point sownde yet auouche they the contrarie to the doctrine of this proclamer and encoūter with him in this chalenge For first they cōfesse the very substāciall presence of the bodie and blood of Chryst in the Sacrament Secondarely they confirme the same by the authoritie of all the Christian churche as well the latin as the greke church for that in them both not nowe onely but of olde time also yt hath ben so taught receaued and beleued Thirdly they alleadge a clere and most plain place oute of Cyrill whiche by their iudgement as yt dothe appeare doth manifestly and inuinciblie proue the corporall presence of Chryst in the Sacrament And as yt so doth by their iudgement so doth yt by the iudgement of all catholike men not onelie withstand this prowde Goliath But yt plainly ouerthroweth hym Of the force of whiche sentence more shall be saied hereafter Fourthlie earnestly acknowledging this trueth and willing yt to be knowen to all the worlde they declare that the cause of their thus writing ys that all men might knowe that they do defende the trueth receaued of all the Churche which ys saie they that the bodie and blood of Chryst be verilie and substanciallie in the Sacrament This then being a treuth that ys and hath ben receaued of all the wholl Church of Chryste as besides these mens confession all catholique people through oute all christendome do acknowlege yt so to be I praie thee good Reader what parte doth this mā take to defende who with might and main dothe maintein the cōtrarie And impugneth that that the wholl Churche receaueth reuileth that that the whol Church reuerenceth blasphemeth that that the wholl Churche honoureth and that so arrogantlie and impudētlie Yt ys pittie that ther ys so moche impudencie and so moche arrogancie The Proclamer ys to be pitied mixed with vntrueth in him I saie pittie for that he ys Gods creature and in Baptisme once professed Christes name in this respecte charitie moueth me to pittie him and the more for that he receauing the plentifull giftes of God doth so wickedlie to the more encrease of his damnacion abuse them and forsaking God and his trueth becometh enemie to them bothe which he well declareth in that with soche violence he impugneth and blasphemeth them both In this parte and respecte as I cā not ioin with him so for my masters cause and the defence of my Mother the catholique Churche in whose house I desire to cōtinewe I cōtende with him and contēne him yea and hate him not the substance that God hath created in him but the wicked heresie that the Deuell hath breathed into him by which as he ys become enemie to God so must all the people of God become enemies to him as of the Prophet Heresiemaketh mā enemie to God Psalm 148 Dauid we haue good example Do not I o lord saeth he hate them that hate thee And am not I greiued with those that ryse vppe against thee Yea I hate them right sore euen as though they were my enemies And yet as I moue my penne against him So shall I moue my tounge to praye for him Possible yt ys that he being in the highest of his mischief maye be stryken downe as Paule was in the hyghest of his rage of persecucion Saincte Augustine when he walked in heresie and did most stowtly contempne the catholique professiō of Christes name yt pleased God sodenlie as yt were to geue him a newe minde and caused him to reuerence that that before he despiced The like happie chaunce I wishe this mā against whom yf I haue ben or in this boke shall seme to be sharpe let yt be referred to the euel cause wich the man defendeth and not the person himself The doctrine ys so wicked so directly against Gods holie woord so discrepant from the holie Councells so dissonant from the auncient Fathers so dissenting frō the common consent of Christian people so iniuriouse and contumeliouse to the wholl Churche that hath ben from Christ vntill this daie that yt ys by no means tollerable Nowe Reader I trust thowe seist that as moche as this iolie Chalenger required ys nowe perfourmed to him let him therfor perfourme his promesse and subscribe to the catholique faith and confesse Christes reall presence in the Sacrament Yf he will yet maliciouslie persist and saie ther ys no scripture nor doctour nor Councell brought furth that plainly proueth yt thē we must prouoke to iudges Yf he will not beleue the Germanes being Protestantes not Erasmus who ys accompted of them an vppright man not the Catholiques of our owne contrie and of other contries not the Councells which be alleaged not Cyrills plain and manifest sentēce not the cōmon receaued faith of the wholl Churche as well of that of the olde time as that that ys nowe bothe of the latines and of the grekes not the plain woordes of Christ who plainlie saith This ys my bodie Whiche woordes Erasmus saieth be owre sure and vmmoueable fundacion I praie thee Reader whome will he beleue besides himself Who shal bringe furth that one scripture doctour or Councell that he will accept as plainlie prouing the matter None but he himself or his likes moche like to the Felon that pleadeth not giltie and stoutlie crieth to be tried by God and the contrie And when by verdict of the iurie and sentence of the iudge he ys cōdēned he defieth thē all callinge bothe iudge and q̄st false harlotts ad saieth that true mē wolde neuer haue cōdēned him But the true mē that he meeneth be
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
seruus minor patre crucifigendus sed voluntariè inquit Ego dabo carnem meam pro mundi vita Manifestlie doth Chryst speake vnto vs of the mysticall communion of hys bodie For the bread saieth he whiche I will geue yowe ys my flesh which I will geue for the life of the worlde And shewing his power that he should be crucified not as a seruaunt and lesse then the Father but willinglie he saieth I will geue my flesh for the life of the worlde Note here that Theophilacte doth not onelie folowe and agree with Chrysostome but also he semeth to signifie that yt was a clere matter a plain matter a matter receaued of all men of Chrystes Churche in his time withoute controuersie when he saeth that Chryst in that text spake manifestly of the communion of his bodie A merueilouse matter that that Chryst did speake so manifestlie and of these Fathers was coÌ„ceaued so clerly shoulde nowe a daies be taken of these peruerters of Gods scripturs so obscurelie By this ye maie see that in the cler light they are blinde and can not see For blinde maliciouse ignorance hath vtterlie blinded them Therfore an other daie except in time they repente Sap. 5. they shall saie and lamentablie confesse as in the booke of wisdom ys saied in the persons of soch Errauimus à via veritatis et iustitiae lumeÌ„ noÌ„ illuxit nobis c. We haue erred from the waie of trueth and the light of righteousnes hath not shined to vs and the Sunne of vnderstanding rose not vppe vpon vs. We haue wearied our selues in the waie of wickednesse and destruction Tediouse waies haue we goen but as for the waie of the Lorde we haue not knowen Whiche maner of lamentacion God auerte from them and geue them grace in time to repent that the Sunne of vnderstanding maie rise vpon theme To procead and therby to trie whether soch as haue writen of late years I mene whiche were within these three hundreth years or ther aboute whiche haue ben so vilie estemed of these singular phantasied men of our time did dissent from these elders in the exposition of this scripture And whether the Church these two or three hundreth years last past did otherwise vnderstand the scriptures then the fathers did by the hearing of someone we shall perceaue And to speake here what I thinke verilie I thinke the subtle and craftie conueighance of the Aduersaries and this Proclamer also was and ys to contemne and despise these late authours first bicause they wer as they saie not cloquent and therfore Erasmus moche inueigheth against Lyra. Then these are not auncient and therfor not to be alleaged Last they open theÌ„selues a litle more and saie these authours are not to be alleaged but reiected bicause their doctrine ys not sownd but corrupted And they haue corrupted saie they and peruerted and destroied Gods woord with the inuentioÌ„s of meÌ„ And by this were al the learned writers which were within these sixe or seuen huÌ„dreth years defaced and reiected as S. Tho. Aquinas S. Bonauentura Petrus Lombardus Dionysius Carthusianus Hugo Cardinalis Holcot and N. Lyra Fathers in olde time spake of the mysteries couertlie with a great noÌ„bre mo of that age which are not esteemed nor accepted as of authoritie nor none that haue writen within the compasse of these thousand years can be allowed by some of the Aduersaries And why was this Bicause they wrote so plainlie that they coulde not be wrested As for other Fathers that were before a thousand years though manye of them did writte verie plain as occasion did serue when they did write to christen men Yet oftentimes when they did preache to the people or write to soche as were weake in faith as in those daies the Churche was mingled with those that had not receaued the faithe then bicause PerfectoruÌ„ est solidus cibus strong meat ys for them that be perfecte and Paruulis in Christo lac dandum To â—onglinges in Christe milke ys to be geuen therfore they oftentimes as yt was necessarie that the mysteries of our faithe shoulde not be vttered to them that coulde not beare them did speake of the same couertlie and closelie and therfore they were fain oftentimes to knitte vppe ther talke of the Sacrament with this or like saieng Norunt fideles the faithful do knowe And by like occasion did in manie places write obscurelie in this matter and did not so manifestlie and plainly vtter yt bicause ther was no occasion geuen them by heresie in that matter but all were of one minde in yt hauing most godlie peace and quietnes in the same And therfore the Aduersarie more delighted with obscure places which he thinketh better to drawe to his sence then the plain places whiche will Heretikes â–ª how they alleage the fathers not suffer them selues to be drawen hath laboured to reiecte soche as did write since the Churche was well settled and staied and might therfore write plainly what their faith taught them in this mysterie But cheiffie all them that did write since the time of Berengarius whiche vpon occasion of heresie were enforced to write plainly in this matter But God be praysed the eldest and auncientest Fathers haue yet in diuerse places written so moche in plain maner that yt ys able to conuince and ouerthrowe the heresies of the Aduersaries as partelie ye haue heard allreadie And yet for all the pretensed auncientie they sought refusing these learned men that were within a thousand years yet one of them wolde alleage Like to lik Zuinglius slain in a rebellioÌ„ begoÌ„ by himself an other as Bullinger alleaged Zuinglius in his exposition vpon sainct Paules epistles whiche Zuinglius was so holie and so auncient a father that he was slain in a sedicion raised by him and his disciples against the magistrates of hys contrie And this ys as good a chaung as the heretiks made in the beginning of this wicked time of heresie when they putte the holy saincte and Polycarp put out of the KaleÌ„der Martyr Policarpus that was saincte Iohn the Euangelistes disciple oute of the kalender and putt in the heretike Thomas Hutten that was bournt for heresie Nowe notwithstanding their craftie iniquitie in reiecting these good catholique authours I will vse plain simplicitie in the accepting of them that the trueth which they professe being auncient though the authours be of late daies and the consonancie of these with the most auncient authours in teaching and vttering the same trueth maie be perceaued For yf these of late yeares agree with them of the olde time in the truerh Thautoritie of late writers approued by good reasons and teache the same trueth that thother do what shoulde lette vs to heare them and accepte them Yf none shoulde be receaued but soche as were a thousand years since and soche also as be of this our time shal be refused theÌ„ preachers must ceasse For of what more