in smal reputation And therfore that hee might the better shewe and put before our eyes the nature of originall synne and so moue men to haue the Sacramentes in better estimation and reuerence he doth declare that though the litle children haue yet no actuall sinne of their owne notwithstandyng they be not without synne that deserueth death euerlastyng damnation bicause of their corrupted nature whiche thei haue as it were by right of inheritaunce drawen of their fathers and mothers in their conception and birth Wherefore it was well sayde of one Gulielmus that a man is in suche maner conceaued in the wombe as if a man should fall into a mierie déepe and stony place and so shoulde both be drowned be arayed with myre and also be hurte So saieth he by originall synne we are drowned into the darkenesse of ignoraunce we are defiled with lustes and concupiscence and we are wounded in our powers and faculties of the mynde to doe any good For they haue both been conceaued and borne in synne and can be none other but such as the sinfull ofspryng originall is For that is borne of flesh is flesh What can be cleane that commeth of an vncleane seede A woolfe can engender none other then a woolfe nor yet a Serpent any other then a Serpent And as we doe not let to hate yong whelpes of a Woolfe though they haue yet killed no shéepe or the yong ones of a Serpent though they haue not yet cast out their poyson bicause of their wooluishe and poysoned natures So we must iudge that God hath no lesse occasion to hate and condemne vs euen from our mothers wōbe bicause of our peruerse and malitious nature that is engendered within vs. And that we might the better vnderstande that suche corrupted and peruerse nature is in the children and yong infantes euen from their mothers wombe the holy ghost doeth testifie vnto vs by the mouth of the blessed Apostle Saint Paul that they are also subiect vnto death whiche is the first fruicte and rewarde of synne Whosoeuer was then aucthour of this booke he had a good cause to aggrauate or set foorth to the vttermost this naturall corruption and to saie that not onely they that be of age but also the very infantes and children are euen from their mothers wombe guiltie of euerlasting damnation when thei die without Baptisme if he doe vnderstande by it the grace and mercie of God and the pourgyng that we haue in the blood of our sauiour Iesu Christe whiche by baptisme is signified and represented vnto vs and also communicated vnto the chosen and elect of God. And verely I thinke that he did so vnderstande it For if he will after the rigour of the letter take there baptisme for the visible signe and outwarde ceremonie I would in no wise hold with hym sith that he alledgeth no sufficient auctorities of the scriptures for to proue and confirme this saiyng of his which is both so rigorous and so repugnaunt vnto the goodnesse and grace of God as it hath been already sufficiently proued But I doe rather iudge that he doeth vnderstande by baptisme the vertue and efficacie of the blood of Christe whiche is signified and represented vnto vs by the visible signe and outwarde ceremony wherby neuerthelesse is signified and comprehended all the whole vertue of the true baptisme of Christe after the phrase and maner of speaking that the Scripture is wont to vse For in it the signe and the figure are many tymes taken for the thynges that are signified and represented bicause that the scripture doeth moste chiefly speake vnto the faithfull which do not receiue the sacramentes in vaine without the spirituall thyng that is represented by them And therefore the Apostle saieth all ye that are baptized are apparelled or clothed with Christe Simon Magus was baptized outwardly by Philip and yet I doe not beleeue that euer he had put on our sauiour Christe and that he was apparelled with him Neuerthelesse S. Luke who hath written the historie saieth that he did beléeue vsing the common phrase and maner that men doe vse commonly speakyng of thinges as they doe appeare outwardely and leauyng the iudgement of the hearte vnto god Whiche phrase and maner of speakyng is also customably vsed in the Scriptures And therefore Sainct Augustine and other auncient writers doe expounde this place of Sainct Luke after this sort and maner he did beléeue that is to say he did fayne him selfe to beléeue Now these thinges being diligently considered and weighed all men may easily perceyue what ought to be the right vse of the Sacramentes what ought to be the true baptisme and the true regeneration or newe birth of man Whiche if they do once vnderstande perfectly and well they shall be no more in doubt nor yet in any perplexitie touching the litle infantes and children that dye without baptisme but will leaue them in the handes of God and commit them to his bounteous goodnesse and mercis and so endeuour them selues that they them selues may be of the number of the faithfull the children of the euerlasting Testament wherein god hath promised that he will be our God the God of our séede after vs. If they do so they may be sure that God wyll according to his promise saue them and their children though he taketh them away in the very mothers belly or before that they can receiue the outward and visible baptisme which is but a signe of the spirituall and inwarde washing wherewith God is able him selfe to baptize the young infantes children of his faithfull seruauntes assoone as they begin to liue in the mothers wombe Againe they shall if they be once brought to this poynt espie out the deuillishe and abhominable errour of them that did cary their styll borne children vnto idols for to obteyne life vnto them as to our Ladye of Ipswiche and to our Ladye of Walsingham to Ioseph of Aramathia to Saint Rocke and to such other It ought to suffice nowe at this tyme that the soule of our sauiour Iesus Christ is deliuered from the paynes of the vnquencheable fire of hell and the poore séely soules of the christians that dye in the Lorde put out of pickpurse Purgatorie and brought into the heauenly rest and that the wofull prison that the papistes did builde for the poore children and infantes of the faithfull that be styll borne or dye without baptisme is quite ouerthrowen to their owne shame that deuised the place and to the comfort of the séely infantes in the euerlasting habitation so that in despite of all popishe heartes there shall remayne no more but heauen and hell as it is sufficiently declared vnto vs by the wordes and example of our Sauiour Iesu Christ. All these good benefites haue we gotten by Christes precious death bloodshedding and buryall such comfort I say that tongue can not expresse such
of them howbeit I thinke that he did vnderstande Origene Ierome and Tertullian But nowe we will sée howe well this doth agree with the person of Christe our Sauiour Firste and formoste if they will haue the punishmentes paines and tormentes that Christe suffered to be in all pointes corespondent vnto those synners for whom Christ died had deserued it had not been onely necessarie that he shoulde haue suffered here in the body vppon the earth And that the soule should also haue suffered in hell for a while but that hee shoulde haue suffered both in body and soule euerlastyng punishmentes with the damned But God his father did content hymself with the paines and tormentes that he was in for a while hauyng a respecte not onely vnto the paines that he did suffer but vnto his righteousnes innocencie and obedience whiche caused hym to take and allowe the paines whiche our Sauiour Christe did suffer for a tyme as sufficient for to obtaine and purchase vnto the faithfull beléeuers a full deliueraunce from euerlastyng paines and tormentes which thei had deserued through their synnes Moreouer it was no néede at all that the soule of our Sauiour Christe shoulde goe downe into hell for to suffer there for it hath suffered punishment enough here vpon earth sithe that in it I meane in his soule he did beare the same iudgement and condempnation that we had deserued for the bodie did not suffer without the soule yea if the sorowes and paynes of the one could bee separated from the sorowes and paynes of the other whiles the body and soule be ioyned together by life we should haue a iuste occation to saie that the soule did suffer afore the body and that the sorowes and griefes of the body did proceede and come firste of the soule For els what did these wordes meane my soule is heauie vnto the verie death whereof came this wofull sweate that did runne downe to the grounde as droppes of bloud and the complainte that he made to GOD his father in the Garden Wherof did also come that greate feare trouble and horror that he was possessed withall as the Euangelistes doe testifie vnto vs If he had not bene in an extreame agonie and much greater then mans wisdome can comprehende What neede should he haue of the Angels for to comfort hym Againe who would not wonder and marueile to sée christ our sauiour so sore affraide and troubled as the Euangelistes doe set hym foorth vnto vs for the death that he should suffer if he should haue had respect to none other thing but onely vnto the death Doe we thinke that there was lesse hearte lesse corage constancie and manfulnes in our sauiour christe then in many thousande of Martyres that haue gone so ioyfully and merely vnto their death for his sake But what doe I speake of Martyres howe many wicked doers doe we sée daiely goe to their death whiche they haue deserued with their wicked and abhominable doynges moste manfully and with suche a face and countenaunce that ye would thinke that they did goe to a feaste or banquet Shall we saie that the sonne of god had lesse corage then these haue in so good a cause as he did die in It must needes be then that there was some greater thing then death of the Crosse which was at hande somewhat there was I saie that was of more weight and importaunce then that whichâ— did appeare outwardly His body was not yet in the handes of the tormentours he had onely the death before his eyes and as it were an imagination of it whiche troubled hym nothyng so muche as the dreadfull iudgement of God which he knewe he must needes beare When he did then enter into this agonie then did heâ— begynne already to descende and go downe into this horrible hell where he was deteined and kepte a while for our sakes for what greater hell can one imagine to be vnto man than to féele gods wrath throughly kindled against hym to be faine to beare his terrible iudgement and furie and to bee in the same estate that our sauiour Christe was in when he did crie out saiyng My God my God why hast thou forsaken mée Although he was true and naturall God and also true and naturall man so that his godhead could not be separated from his manhoode yet the humanitie was then as if it had been vtterly forsaken of the diuinitie and left succourlesse and as if it had been both in body and soule driuen downe into the bottomlesse pit of hell and geuen ouer of God. Therefore it was no neede that the soule of christ should goe downe after any other sorte for to suffer the paines and tormentes that we had deserued For the places doo not agrauate the paines or make them more heauie and greeuous but the heauie and intollerable burden of Gods wrath and iudgement wheresoeuer it is felte or whersoeuer men are faine to beare it Therefore they that doe affirme that the soule of our sauiour Christ must néedes of necessitie suffer in hell do plainelie declare that they knowe not what hell is nor what our sauiour christ did suffer for them nor yet what the vertue and efficacie of his death and passion is I allowe better the opinion of them whiche saie that this is to be vnderstanded of a spirituall descendyng or goyng downe whereby it was declared and preached through the efficacie vertue and power of christes holy spirite vnto the soules of the reprobate that were in the vnquenchable fire of hell that their vnbeléefe and stubburnnesse was the cause of their eternall and euerlasting damnation and that they should haue no deliueraunce from it by the death and passion of the onely begotten sonne of god our sauiour Iesu Christe where vnto the wordes of sainct Peter seemeth well to agree saiyng Christ hath once suffered for synnes the iuste for the vniust for to bryng vs to God and was killed as pertainyng to the fleshe but was quickened in â—he spirite in whiche spirite he also went and preached vnto the spirites that were in prisone whiche were in tymes past disobedient So we perceiue by these wordes of the Apostle that both the damned and saued had alone maner of féeling of the death and passion of Christ but yet to diuers endes for the one that is to the godly that were in Abrahams bosome was certified by the diuine power and godhead of Christe that nowe was the fulnes of tyme come to fill vp the measure of their ioye and euerlastyng saluation that they long looked hoped and thirsted for And to the damned was preached christ crucified but to the encreasing and augmentyng of their owne damnation for that they had no parte or portion by his death of gods fauour But rather an heauie iudgement bicause as S. Paule saieth Christe is Odor mortis ad mortem his c. That is the sauour of death
also tréene vessels and earthen vessels and some to honour and some to dishonour Let vs geue diligence and labour as muche as it lieth in vs that we maie be a vessell of Golde or of syluer And truely this doctrine is moste necessarie to be marked and also to be folowed For as all the benefites that God doth of his méere mercie and goodnesse graunt vnto his Churche doe parteine vnto all bicause the Communion and felowship that is betwixt the members of Christes bodye So without this Communion and felowship of the sainctes there is no remission or forgeuenesse of sinnes but eternall and euerlasting condemnation For how coulde it be that they shoulde enioy the priuiledge of the true members of Christ that doe by a self willl deuide themselues from his body as the Papistes dooe now in these dayes Shoulde not that braunche deserue to be dried vp and to be caste into the fire that woulde wilfully deuide it selfe from the true vine The .xl. Chapiter ¶ Our offences and synnes are forgeuen vs by faith through Christe and not by our workes and merites ALso my beléefe is that in this church sinnes are freely forgeuen through faithe in the mercie of God obteined and purchased vnto vs by the merites of the death passion bloodsheddyng of our sauiour Iesu Christ wihout any of our owne deseruynges or merites or without any matter of satisfaction that we be able to make though wee were able to liue as long as euer any man did liue vpoÌ„ the earth For if any amendes coulde haue beene made for synnes or if any iustification could haue been gotten by the workes of the lawe Christ needed not to haue dyed And therefore the lorde saide right well I am he I am he that taketh awaie thy wickednesse and that for mine owne sake and thy sinnes wil I remember no more Here haue we a promise that God will put awaie our wickednesse and synnes not for our deseruinges or merites but for his owne sake that is to say of his frée mercie and goodnes as saieth sainct Paule Iustificamur gratis ex gratia ipsius Wee be iustified fréely of his grace Againe we iudge that a man is iustified by faith without the workes of the lawe And for this cause his only begotten sonne our sauiour was by the angell called Iesus bicause that he should saue his people from their synnes If our good workes merites and deseruinges could saue vs from our synnes why should they not be called by that name For there is none other name vnder heauen geuen vnto vs whereby we must or can be saued Therefore I doe thinke it moste conuenient and méete that we saie with Barnarde Mèritum meum miserationes domini Non sum ego inops meriti quam diuille non est inops miserationum Si miserationes eius multe multis ego sum in meritis Hoc totum est hominis meritum si totam spem suam ponat in domino That is to saie My merite is the mercie of god So long as god is not poore of mercy so long cannot I be poore of merites If his mercies be great then am I greate in merites This is the whole merite of man if he put his whole affiaunce and trust in the Lorde I marueile much of the papistes and meritmongers that are so bold to set vp their owne righteousnes and merites But before we seeme to speake any thyng to their obiections I thinke it best to declare in what signification this word to iustifie ought to be taken This worde iustificare to iustifie hath been of S. Paul borowed of the common vse of the lawe for in iudgement to iustifie a man it is to assoyle or quite him of the crime that is laide to his charge or that he is accused of and to pronounce him righteous iust innocent and guiltlesse After the same maner when we saie that God doeth iustifie vs our meanyng is that God doeth assoyle and quite vs of all crimes offences and trespasses that can bee layde to our charge or that we can be accused of that he doth pronounce vs iuste and righteous in his sight that is to saie that firste he doeth pardone and forgeue vs our synnes he couereth them and doeth in no wise impute them vnto vs but imputeth vnto vs righteousnes not our owne whiche is none at all but the righteousnes of his Sonne our Sauiour and so through his righteousnes doeth both saue vs and make vs blessed so doth the Apostle expounde this our iustification saiyng As Dauid doth set foorth the blessedfulnes of the man vnto whom God imputeth righteousnesse without woorkes where he saieth Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgeuen and whose sinnes are couâ—red Blessed is the man vnto whom the Lorde imputeth no synne As for the places of sainct Iames where he saith Was not our father Abraham iustified through workes when he offered Isaac his sonne vpon the aulter And a little after ye see then how that of workes a man is iustified and not of faithe onely It maketh little for their purpose if it be well considered We reade that Abraham beleeued the Lorde it was accompted vnto hym for righteousnesse whiche text is of Paule alledged after this sorte If Abraham were iustified by woorkes he hath wherein to reioyce or glorie but not with God for what saieth the Scripture Abraham beleued God and it was imputed vnto hym for righteousnesse Whereby the Apostle proueth strongly that Abraham was iustified by faith But this that saincte Iames doeth speake of whiche is the offeryng of Isaac was doen thirtie yeres after that the scriptures did pronounce Abraham iustified or that his faithe was compted vnto hym for rigteousnesse Uerely sithe that fifteene yeres afore that Isaac was borne Abrahams faith was imputed vnto hym for righteousnesse it was impossible that he should be iustified by the offryng of his sonne Isaac whiche was as I sayd before thirtie yeres after That that the Apostle goeth aboute here is onely to shewe that the faith which Abraham was iustified by was no idle or deade faithe but suche a faithe as made hym obedient vnto God as it is plainely set foorth to the Hebrewes Therefore if the circumstaunces bee considered there is no repugnaunce or coÌ„trarietie in the doctrine of the Apostles at all For what contrarietie or repugnaunce could there bee in their doctrine sithe that they were bothe led by one spirite Therefore we shall marke that the holie Apostle saincte Paule in his Epistle to the Romaines and to the Galathians did dispute and reason against them which did attribute iustification to workes But saincte Iames did write againste them which did vtterly contempne and despise good workes And therefore Paule sheweth the causes of our iustification Iames sheweth theffectes and fruites of the same Paul declareth how we are iustified Iames declareth how wee are knowen to bee iustified Paule excludeth
the decree confirmeth that doctrine Melchiades an aucther of the Papistes and a Pope saieth Sacramentum manus impositionis sicut nisi à maioribus perfici non potest ita maiori veneratione venerandum est tenendum The Sacramente of laiyng on of handes as it cannot be made but onely of the greater so is it to be worshipped with greater reuerence and so to be defended This is a verie straunge religion that a drop of grease enchaunted and coniured with mumblyng of a fewe wordes to be compared to Christes sacrament preferred before the water sanctified by the worde of god But this is their maner to depraue Gods lawes dignifie their owne I marueile what aucthoritie thei haue to make this a sacrament for I am sure that none can make a sacrament but he that can geue power strength and vertue to it but the Pope can geue no power strength and vertue to it therefore he cannot make a Sacrament for we are not makers nor cōsecrators of sacraments but ministrators Saint Augustine saieth Accedat verbum elemento fit sacramentum Let the worde come to the element and it is made a sacrament Here I consider two thinges that a sacrament consisteth of the worde and the element now let them shewe mée the worde for their sacrament of confirmation that it maye bee put to the elemente but here they are dumbe To speake further howe they haue brought this order of confirmation whiche at the beginnyng was ordained as you haue heard before for good purposes to toyes trifles and gewgawes As Oyle to grease them Spittle to poyson them Salte to drie them vp Bandes aboute their neckes to choke them Tapers burning in their hands to consume them with a nomber of other toyes and superstitions of them deuised without any foundation or warraunt in Gods worde Wherfore I perswade my selfe that rather fonde Nurses haue inured them then conscience or reason perswaded them Scriptures haue thei none but the same condemne them nor godly fathers any but the same be against them But now come againe to some other of the Anabaptistes saiynges and obiections that they bryng against the baptisme of infantes we doe not reade saie they that the Apostles did baptize any children in those families housholdes which thei did baptize Howe coulde it then be that they had baptized the whole housholdes as they them selues do write that thei did if thei had left the children that were in them if at least there were any vnbaptized Are not the children part of the householde yea are they not rather the chief parts of the houshold Isaac was so of the housholde of Abraham that for his sake Ismaell with his mother was driuen out of the doore and cleane put awaie If then the Apostles did baptize the whole housholdes as thei themselues doe testifie without all doubte they baptized also the litle infantes that were in them For as in the olde lawe when any straunger forsaking his Idolatrie would be ioyned vnto the people of God professe the same religion that they professed both he and all his men children were circumcised were they neuer so young so in the Apostles tyme and many yeres after when any were conuerted vnto the faith of christ not onely they but all their whole housholdes both olde and yong were sealed vp with the seale of the people of God. The holy Apostle saieth that any man that hath not the spirite of Christe the same is none of his Whereby it foloweth that whosoeuer hath the spirite of Christe the same is one of his And againe that any man whiche is Christes the same hath his spirite But the litle infantes children of the christians not only as soone as they be borne but also as soone as thei beginne to liue in the mothers belly are Christes that is to saie they pertaine vnto Christe and vnto his kyngdome as he hath plainely declared vnto vs by the example of Iohn Baptiste Ieremie and of many other Therefore I doe conclude that they haue his spirite and that thei ought to be baptized For Saint Peter saieth can any man forbid water that these should not bee baptized whiche haue receaued the holy ghoste as well as we Sith then that yong children haue the spirite of Christe bicause that thei are his who but Antichriste will forbid them to be baptized It is to be noted then that in Augustines tyme many were exceedyng negligent about the sacramentes which thing hath caused the auncient fathers to magnifie the same so muche And therefore they that did come after them not consideryng the causes why they had doen so did take the wordes rawly taking no héede to their figuratiue and hiperbolicall speaches wherby it did come to passe at length that thei did make plain ydols of the sacramentes as though the vertue of our sauiour Christ and the whole efficacie of our religion shoulde consist in the visible and corruptible elementes or signes There were many among them that had receaued the Gospell whiche did deferre to be baptized till the very houre of their death some of them doyng it by negligence and some againe bicause that thei were perswaded that in baptisme all the synnes that could be in man should be washed awaie for this cause thei taried as long as they coulde that so thei might depart out of this life cleane and pure from all synnes yea many whiche thyng was worse did take vpon that hope the greater boldenesse to synne Which thyng did moue S. Chrisostome also Basilius Magnus to write very sharply against their maner of doynges and to rebuke them that dye so very sore As they then that were of age did deferre and prolong their baptisme so it is not to be doubted but that thei did the like in their owne children for the causes aboue rehearsed And therfore it is no marueile if Saint Augustine or any other in his name whosoeuer he be hath written and spoken this of baptisme for to redresse suche faultes negligences and opinions and for to stirre and moue the christians to do better their duetie in that pointe aswell for themselues as for their children For this cause it was also ordained in the auncient catholike churche for as the ecclesiasticall histories doe testifie they baptized but once in the yere in Thessalia where it came to passe that many dyed without baptisme that baptisme shoulde be ministred twise in the yere that is to saie at Easter and at Whitsontyde There might be yet an other cause that did moue this authour to speake after this fashion He did see that many were infected with the heresie of the Pelagians which did attribute litle or nothyng vnto the grace of God and as they regarded nothyng originall synne so thei did wonderfully magnifie and extol the strength and power of man Wherfore thei had also baptisme
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
and hauyng taken vpon him a mortall body in the virgins wombe As then he did speake vnto vs by his sonne beyng made man and hauyng taken our frayle nature vppon him so his sonne I meane our sauiour Christe beyng man that is to say touchyng his manhoode and not touchyng his Godheade is the image or figure of his substaunce For the image or figure of a thing must be visible and apparaunt to the eye else it can not be called an image or a figure But the godhead or diuine substaunce of Christ coulde not be séen no more than the diuine substaunce of the father therefore he coulde not touching his Godhead or diuine substaunce be the image or figure of his fathers substaunce but onely touching his humanitie and manhoode As he him selfe doth testifie saying He that séeth me séeth the father And it ought to séeme no straungenesse that we say that Christe touching his humanitie or manhoode is the image or figure of the father For if the first Adam whiche notwithstanding that he was created in the estate of innocencie could fall and breake the commaundement that was geuen vnto him was called the image of God how much more ought the second Adam in whose mouth no guile was founde and which coulde not sinne to be called the image of the fathers substaunce yea the holy scriptures doe testifie of vs that when we be regenerated or borne a newe we are the image of God And shal not he by whose spirite and worde we are begotten a newe and regenerated be most liuely and most effectuously the image of the fathers substaunce Thus then may we conclude that as God did in these last daies speake vnto vs by his sonne beyng made man or hauyng taken vpon hym a mortall body so his sonne beyng man or touching his manhoode is the image of his diuine substaunce But no man will saie that Christe touchyng his humanitie or manhoode is one with the father in substaunce for that were to affirme that the father is a creature Therefore the argument that they make vppon this teâ—te of Paule affirmyng that Christe is the figure of a thing that he is hym selfe is not worth a blewe button And though thei would maintaine still that this place must be vnderstanded of his diuitie and Godhead yet shoulde they winne nothyng by it For the Greeke hath not the figure or image of his substaunce if they would goe to the rigour of the letter but the image or figure of his persone â–ª And takyng it so â–ª I should agree with the Councell of Nice wherein it was decreed that in the blessed Trinitie there is but one substaunce whiche the Greekes call Vsia and three persons whiche thei call Hypostases We doe graunt then after this interpretation that Christ touchyng his diuinitie or Godhead is the image of the persone of the father But we will in no wise graunt that the person of the father and the person of the sonne be all one For that were a plaine heresie whiche ought in no wise to bee suffered in the churche of christ Let them turne themselues whiche way soeuer they will yet this place will helpe them nothyng no more then the places aboue rehearsed But that they shal be faine to confesse Mawgrie their shauen crownes that the auncient fathers haue expounded these wordes This is my body and this is my blood as we do now expounde them But how many places out of the Doctours were I able to bryng for to proue that the Sacramentes are called by the names of the thynges whereof they be Sacramentes Thus doeth the blessed Martir S. Ciprian wryte Dedit itaque Dominus noster in mensa in qua vltimum cum Apostolis participauit conniuium proprijs manibus panem vinum in cruce verò manibus militum corpus tradidit vulnerandum vt in Apostolis saecretius impressa sincera veritas vera sincaeritas exponeret gentibus quomodo vinum panis caro esset sanguis Et quibus rationibus causae effectibus conuenirent diuersa nomina vel species ad vnam reducerentur essentiaÌ„ significantia significata eisdem vocabulis censerentur That is to saie in englishe The Lorde at his last supper whiche hee kept with his Apostles did with his owne handes geue bread and wine and vpon the Crosse he did with the handes of the souldiours deliuer his body to be wouÌ„ded that the sincere veritie and the true sinceritie beyng secretely printed in the Apostles should declare or expounde vnto the gentiles how the bread and wine is blood and fleshe and by what meanes the causes doe agrée with the effectes And how diuers kindes and names shoulde bee reduced or brought to one essence And the thynges that signifie and the thynges that be signified called by one name Sainct Augustine besides that place that I haue already alledged out of his Epistle that he did write to Bonifacius doth in his booke of Questions vppon Leuiticus saie these wordes Solet autem res quae significat eiuâ— rei nomine quam significat nuncupari sicut scriptum est septem spicae septem anni sunt Non enim dixit septem annos significaÌ„t Et septem boues septem anni sunt multa huiusmodi Huic est quod dictum est Petra erat Christus non enim dixit petra significat Christum sed tanquaem hoc esset quod vtique per substantiam non hoc erat sed per significationem Sic sanguis quoniam propter vitalem quandam corpulentiam animam significat in sacramentis anima dictus est In englishe it is to saie The thyng that doth signifie is wont to be called by the name of the thing that it doeth signifie Therefore it is written And the seuen eares of corne are seuen yeres and not the seuen eares of corne doe signifie or betoken seuen yeres And the seuen kyne are seuen yeres And many suche like places And thereof it commeth that it was saide And the Rocke was Christ he saide not the Rocke did betoken or signifie Christe as though it had been that thyng in substaunce whiche was onely in signification And bicause that the blood by reason of a certaine liuely substaunce doeth signifie and betoken the soule therefore in the Sacramentes the blood is called the soule But the wordes that haue been alledged before out of his epistle to Bonifacius make the matter most plaine Therfore I will thinke it no labour lost to repeate them againe as they lye in Latine first Si enim Sacramenta quandam similitudinem â–ª earum rerum quarum Sacramenta sunt non haberent omnino sacramenta non essent Ex hac autem similitudine plaerunque etiam ipsarum rerum nomina accipiunt Sicut ergo secundum quendam modum Sacramentum corporis Christi corpus Christi est Sacramentum sanguinis Christi sanguis Christi est ita Sacramentum fidei fides est If the Sacramentes
the onely foundation of the Christian faithe and of all godly doctrine and yet in an other place he saieth Ye are citizens with the Sainctes and of the housholde of God and are builte vpon the foundation of the Prophetes and Apostles And in the Apocalipse of Iohn we reade that the wall of the newe citie hath twelue foundations and in them the names of the twelue Apostles Here doe we see saie thei that Christ is called the light of the worlde and yet notwithstandyng the Apostles are called the light of the worlde also Likewise we see that christ is called the foundation yet notwithstanding the Apostles are called foundations also why should not then the virgine Marie and the sainctes be called Aduocates Mediatours and intercessours as well as our Sauiour Christe though it be not after one sorte and maner Why ought men to bee offended if folowyng the phrase of the scriptures wee doe attribute vnto the blessed virgine Marie and vnto the other Sainctes the office of mediation and intercession As for the first it is to bee vnderstanded that our heauenly father and his sonne Christe Iesus our Lorde haue many tymes of their speciall grace communicated or giuen that name vnto men that did not properly pertaine vnto them not for to saie that thei were so in very deede and of their owne nature but by reason of some office and dignitie that God did putte theim in also to the ende that thei should haue their office in greater estimation as it dooeth manifestely appeare by the example of Christe and of his Apostles whiche thei do commonly alledge For our sauiour Christ is the true and natural light of the worlde but the Apostles are the light of the worlde onely by the denomination or communication that is to saie the Apostles were not called the light but onely because that thei were lightened and deliuered from darknesse by the light of our sauiour Christ. And for this cause the holy Apostle doeth call the Christians light when he saieth Ye were in tymes paste darkenes but now ye are light in the Lorde Now our sauiour Christ lighteneth no man but onely to this ende that he should shine vnto other with good workes as he him self sufficiently declareth saiyng Let your light so shine before men that thei maie see your good workes and glorifie your father whiche is in heauen Also Christe doeth geue this name to his Apostles because of the office that he called them vnto whiche was the preachyng of his holy Gospell and of the worde of God which in the scriptures is called light After the same maner Magistrates Kynges and rulers are in the Scriptures called gods not bicause they are so in deede or that suche a name doeth properlye pertaine vnto them but bicause of the dignitie that GOD hath placed them in and also to the ende that the subictes shoulde haue their princes in greater reuerence beyng obedient vnto them as vnto god But when god doth take awaie this office from them he doth also take awaie the name In like maner now the apostles are no more light For they be no more in place where thei can shine vnto men by good workes they be no more in the office of preachyng I would faine that these greate learned doctours shoulde shewe mee a place in all the scriptures wherein the wisdome of the Father our sauiour Christe or the angelles and apostles dyd euer geue either vnto the virgine Marye or vnto anye of the sainctes the name or office of mediatour intercessour ▪ and aduocate then would I saie that their distinction might take place but no suche place can they shewe though they shoulde breake their heartes As for the place that they doe aleadge out of the Epistle to the Ephesians it is plaine enough and néedeth no exposition at all For if we looke narowly vpon the wordes of Sainct Paul we shall finde that he doth not saie Ye are built vppon the Prophetes and Apostles but are builte vpon the foundation of the Prophetes and Apostles The Apostles then and Prophetes were not the foundation but they had all one foundation whiche is our Sauiour Iesus Christ vpon whom as vppon a sure and strong rocke they both builded the Churche of God. And in the Reuelation of Iohn by the twelue foundations wherein the names of the Apostles are written are all the Sermons that the twelue Apostles did make vnto the twelue tribes of Israell to be vnderstanded And they be called foundations bicause that by them Christ our sauiour who is the onely foundation of the Churche of GOD was preached vnto them bicause I saie that by them the true and only foundation whiche is our sauiour Christe was layde Saint Iohn doth not saie that the Apostles are foundations but that their names be written in the foundations Whereby it appeareth plainely enough that al that our Louanian papistes go aboute is to paruerte the true saiynges and meanyng of the sacred scriptures and worde of god Yea though it were so that they could prone by the places by them alledged that the Apostles were called foundations yet it woulde helpe them nothyng For as it hath been saide alreadie before we doe not finde in all the whole body of the Scriptures that either God our sauiour Christe or his Apostles did euer call the Sainctes intercessours aduocates or mediatours betwene God and men Therefore I saie againe that we neede no suche distinctions as they doe make to the vtter blasphemyng of the onely begotten Sonne of God our sauiour Iesus Christ whom I do stedfastly beléeue to bee the onely mediatour betweene God and vs as the Scriptures doe plainely testifie vnto vs in euerie place Some there be among them whiche beyng compelled by the Scriptures to confesse that our Sauiour Christ is the only mediatour betweene God and men are woont to replye on this maner and to saie that although christ our sauiour is an omnisufficient mediatour betwéene God and man yet wee must haue some intercessours aduocates and mediatours betweene hym and vs For howe durste we els beyng synners come before his presence or direct our praiers vnto hym Is it not written that God heareth not synners Moreouer when we haue a matter before any earthly Prince muste wee not haue mediatours for to bryng vs vnto his person And also to speake and intreate for vs Who of vs all durst be so bolde to come vnto an earthly kyng without suche meanes that is to saie not beyng brought to him either by some of his Counsell or by some of his Chaumber or else by some of his Lordes or Gentlemen How dare we then to bee so bolde to come without intercessours aduocates and mediatours vnto him that is Kyng of all Kynges Prince of all Princes and Lorde of all Lordes In comparison of whom all the Princes of the world are nothyng But who can be more meete for to bryng vs