nomen religionis seu verum seu falsum coagulari homines possunt nisi signaculorum seu Sacramentorum visibilium consortio colligantur quorum Sacramentorum vis inenarrabiliter valet plurimum Et ideo contempta sacrilegos facit Impie quippe contemnitur sine qua perfici nō potest pietas That is to say Men can not be ioyned into any kynde of religion whether it be true or false except they be knit in felowship by some visible tokens or Sacramentes the power of which Sacramentes is of such efficacie that can not be expressed And therfore it maketh them that despise it to be abhorred for it is wickednes to despise that thyng without whiche godlynes can not be brought to passe Thus it appeareth that necessitie is y ◠first cause For there can no congregation be seuered out of the multitude of men but they must néedes haue a signe tokē Sacrament or common badge by the which they may knowe eche other And there is no difference betwene a signe or a badge and a Sacrament but that the Sacrament signifieth an holy thyng and a signe or a badge doth signifie a wordly thing as S. Austen sayth signes when they are referred to holye thynges are called Sacramentes The second cause of their institution is that they may be a meane to bryng vs vnto fayth and to imprint it the déeper in vs for it doth customably the more moue a man to beleue when he perceiueth the thyng expressed to diuerse senses at once as by example if I promise a mā to mete him at a day appoynted he will somewhat trust my word Notwithstandyng he trusteth not so much vnto it as if I dyd both promise hym with my word and also clap hādes with him or hold vp my finger for he coūteth that this promise is strong and more faythfull then is the bare word because it moueth moe senses For the word doth but onely certifie the thing vnto a mā by the sense of hearyng but whē with my promise immediatly after I hold vp my finger then do I not onely certifie him by the sense of hearing But also by his sight hee perceiueth that that fact confirmeth my word And in the clapyng of handes hee perceiueth both by his sight and féelyng beside the worde that I will fulfill my promise And lykewise it is in this Sacrament Christ promised them that he would geue his body to be slayne for their sinnes And for to establish the fayth of his promise in them he dyd institute the Sacrament which he called his body to the entent that y e very name it selfe might put them in remēbraūce what was ment by it he brake the bread before them signifying vnto them outwardly euen the same thyng that he by his wordes had before protested and euē as his wordes had informed them by their hearyng that he entended so to do so the breaking of that bread informed their eye sight that he would fulfil his promise Then he dyd distribute it amōg them to imprint the matter more déepely in them signifying therby that euen as that bread was deuided among them so should his body frute of his passion be distributed vnto as many as beleued his wordes Finally he caused thē to eate it that nothyng should be lackyng to confirme that necessary point of faith in thē signifiyng therby that as verely as they felt that breade within them so sure should they be of hys body thorough fayth And that euen as that bread doth nourishe the body so doth fayth in hys body breaking nourish the soule vnto euerlasting life This did our mercifull Sauior which knoweth our frailtie and weakenes to establish strēgth their fayth in his body breaking and bloud sheding which is our shoteanker and last refuge without which we should all perishe The third cause of the institution and profit that commeth of it is this They that haue receiued these blessed tydinges and worde of health do loue to publishe this felicitie vnto other men And to geue thanks before the face of the cōgregation vnto their boūteous benefactour and as much as in them is to drawe all people to the praysing of God with thē which thing though it be partly done by the preaching of Gods worde and fruitfull exhortations yet doth that visible token and Sacrament if a man vnderstand what is ment thereby more effectuously worke in them both fayth and thankesgeuing thē doth the bare worde but if a man wot not what it meaneth and séeketh health in the sacrament and outwarde signe thē may he wel be likened vnto a fond fellow which when he is very drye and an honest man shew him an alepole and tell him that there is good ale inough would goe and sucke the alepole trusting to get drinke out of it and so to quench his thyrste Now a wise man will tell him that he playeth the foole for the alepole doth but signifie that there is good ale in the house where y e alepole standeth and wil tell him that he must go neare the house and there he shall finde the drinke and not stand sucking the alepole in vayne for it shall not ease him but rather make him more drie for the alepole doth signifie good ale yet the alepole it self is no good ale neyther is there any good ale in the alepole And likewise it is in all sacramentes For if we vnderstand not what they meane and séeke health in the outwarde signe then we sucke the alepole and labour in vayne But if we do vnderstand y ◠meaning of them then shall we séeke what they signifie and goe to the significations and there shall we finde vndoubted health As to our purpose in this sacrament wherof we speake we must note what it signifieth and there shall we finde our redemption It signifieth that Christes body was broken vpon the crosse to redeme vs from the thraldome of the deuill and that his bloude was shedde for vs to washe away our sinnes Therefore we must runne thether if we will be eased For if we thinke to haue our sinnes forgeuen for eating of the Sacrament or for séeing the Sacrament once a day or for praying vnto it thē surely we sucke the alepole And by thys you may perceiue what profite commeth of those sacraments which eyther haue no significations put vnto them or els when their significations are lost and forgotten For then no doubt they are not commended of God but are rather abhominable for when we knowe not what they meane then séeke we health in the outwarde déede and so are iniurious vnto Christ and his bloud As by example the Sacrifices of the Iewes were well allowed accepted of God as long as they vsed them aright and vnderstoode by thē y ◠death of Christ the sheding of his bloud and that holy oblation offered on the crosse once for euer But when they begun to forget this
in their Sacrament euery where which thing is not like but they would haue done if that opinion had thē bene a generall article of the fayth Neither was there any heresie or diuersitie of opinion or disputyng about the matter till the Pope had gathered a Councell to confirme this transubstāciation wherfore it is most likely that this opinion came vp by thē of latter dayes Furthermore all the law and Prophetes all the Christ dyd or can yet do is to bring vs to beleue in him and in God the father through him for the remissiō of sinnes to bryng vs vnto that whiche immediatly foloweth out of that belefe to loue our neighbours for hys sake as he loued vs. Wherfore if Christ did put his bodilie presence in the Sacrament and would we should beleue it It is done onely to bring vs to this fayth Now is this fayth no where lesse had then where that opinion is most strong neither so cruelly persecuted of Iew or Turke as of thē that most feruently defend that opiniō True fayth maketh a man to loue hys brother but that opinion maketh them to hate and slay their brethren that better beleue in Christ then they of that opinion do and that murther do they for feare of losyng that they haue gotten through that opinion Item they of this opiniō in stede of teachyng vs to beleue in Christ teach vs to serue Christe with bodily seruice which thing is nought els but Idolatry For they preach that all the ceremonies of the Masse are a seruice to God by reason of the bodily workes to obtayne forgeuenes of sinnes therby and to deserue merite therewith And yet Christ is now a spiritual substaunce with his father hauyng also a spirituall body and with the father to be worshypped in spirite onely And his seruice in the spirite is onely to beleue in hym for the remissiō of sinne to call vpon hym giue hym thankes to loue our neighbours for his sake Now all workes done to serue man and to bryng him to this poynt to put his trust in Christ are good acceptable to God but done for any other purpose they be Idolatry and Imageseruice and make God an Idole or bodily Image Agayne seyng the fayth of the Testament in Christes bloud is the lyfe of the righteous from the begynnyng of the world to the end and for as much as the Sacramēt was instituted onely to bryng to this lyfe Now when they which thinke not the body to be presēt in the Sacramēt haue by the preaching and confirmation of the Sacrament obtayned this lyfe or stedfast fayth in Christes bloud and by the dayly vse of the Sacrament are more more hardned therein and in the loue that springeth thereof What reasonable cause haue the contrary part whiche beleue the body present and bread turned into the very body as flesh bones her◠sinewes nayles all other as he was put on the crosse of length and quantitie I cannot tell what to rayle on vs as heretickes hate persecute and slay vs most cruelly as enemyes Christ sayth Qui contra me non est mecum est He that is not agaynst me is with me Now they that beleue in Christ for the remissiō of their sinnes and for his sake loue their foes are not Christes enemies Ergo they be on Christes side Why then should they that boast them selues to be Christes trendes slay thē Fayth in Christes bloud and in the father thorough him is Gods seruice in spirite And so haue they whiche beleue not the bodily presence serued God a long time and there to bene holpen by the Sacrament The other part fallen there from through beleuyng the body present seruyng God with bodily seruice which is Idolatrie and to make God an Idoll or Image in that they trust in the goodnes of their woorkes as they which serue tyrauntes not in the goodnes of God through trust in the bloud of Christ Ergo they that beleue not the bodily presence not a litle therto compelled through the wicked Idolatrie of the contrary belefe are not to be thought so euill as the other would haue them seme to be Paule teacheth 1. Cor. 13. that if a man had all other giftes that God can giue man and had not charitie to loue his neighbour it helpeth not For all other giftes and the remissiō in Christes bloud also are giuen hym of God to bryng hym to loue hys neighbour which thing had a mā hath all which not had a man hath nothyng And Phil. 2. how swetely and how vehemently cōiureth he them to draw all one way to be of one accorde one mynde or sentence And to do nothyng of strife or of vayne glory that is to say of hate or disdayne one of another or of affectiō to him selfe for to seme glorious but ech to preferre other through mekenes and to haue his opinion suspect and to feare least he hath not obtayned the vnderstandyng rather thē of presumption to his owne witte to despise hate the cōtrary party persecute as a tyraunt And in the thyrd of the same Paul sayth let as many as be perfect that is to say be truly taught and know the law truly and her office and the office and effect of fayth and know whiche be good workes before God and what the intent of them is let sayth he so serue as we be come procede in one rule that we may be of one accorde Now hetherto we be all come and this generall rule haue we gotten that fayth onely instifieth that is to say that the sinne is forgiuen onely for Christes sake againe that our duety is to loue our neighbours no lesse then Christ loued vs wherfore let vs procede forth in this rule exhort ech other to trust to Christ to loue ech other as Christ dyd and in this where in we all agree let vs bewise onely feruēt and striue who shal be greatest and go formost And in this which is not opened to all parties let vs be meeke sober and cold and keepe our wisedome secret to ourselues and abyde paciētly till God open it to other also The cause why the third part say that this worde is compelleth vs not to beleue the bodily presence of Christ to be there is this The Iewes say they are wont euer to name the memoriall and signes of thinges with the very name of the thyng signified that the very name might the better keepe the thyng in mynde As when Iacob Gene. 32. turned home agayne out of Mesopotamia saw the aūgels of God come agaynst hym hee called the place where he saw thē Mahanaim An host because his posteritie in tyme to come when they hard the field whiche was none host yet so called should aske why it was so named y t their elders might thereby haue an occasion to teach that Iacob saw there an host of
in his creatures and because he can do thynges impossible for man or any other creature to do or to thinke how they shuld be done therfore he is called the Lord almighty but because to braule about such possibilitie or impossibilitie is the lust of Sophisters and also the desire of the deuill to quench the profession of our Baptisme and to wipe out the Image of Christ out of our hartes and a thyng endelesse Therfore I compte it wickednes to wade forth in it and to giue them that seeke an occasion perpetually to scold The negatiue may a man hold till they can proue the affirmatiue Moreouer if bread be the very body of Christ whether abidyng the very body still or transubstantiated and enioy the glorye of the soule of Christ and also of the Godhead It semeth impossible to be auoyded but that Christ was made man dyed Also bread whiche semeth to some a great inconuenience Howbeit that great proclamation of bread and also that high power of Priestes aboue all aūgels I admit also to anoide all braulyng but one reasō I haue vnto which I cleaue somewhat and it is this All that is betwene God and man in the Scripture is for mans necessitie and not for any nede that GOD hath therof And other spirituall profite can none haue by that fayth in the Sacrament then to be taught therby to beleue in Christ our Sauiour and to do good to his neighbour now is that belefe loue had as well rather better as is aboue proued without such fayth with it Ergo where the Scripture compelleth to no such beleue it is wickednes to make it a necessary article of our fayth to slay them that cā not thinke that it ought to be beleued Notwithstandyng all these reasons and the damnable Idolatrie which the Papistes haue cōmitted with the Sacrament yet whether they affirme the body and bloud to bee present with the bread and wyne or the bread and wyne to be turned and transubstantiated into the body and bloud I am therewith content for vnities sake if they will there cease and let him be there onely to restifie and consirme the Testament or couenaunt made in Christes bloud and body for which cause onely Christ instituted the Sacrament But and if they will rage further with their blind reasons of their subtill sophistrie deuilish Idolatrie say where Christes bloud is there is his body and where his body is there is his soule where his soule is there is his godhead the trimty the father the sonne the holy ghost and there men ought to pray and say O father whiche art present with thy sonne Christ vnder bread wyne or in forme of bread wyne If I say they so raue thē as the old Prophet for like Idolatrie demeth God to dwel in the temple or to haue pleasure in sacrifice of bloud of goates shepe calues Euē so deny I the body of Christ to be any more in the Sacrament then God was in the goldē calues which Ieroboham set vp to be prayed to the one in Bethell and the other in Dan for though God bee present euery where yet if heauen of heauens can not compasse hym to make hym a dwellyng place as the Scripture testifieth and much lesse the temple that was at Ierusalem how should he haue a dwellyng place in a litle wafer or crome of bread God dwelleth not in the temple neither did our fathers which were of the true faith in the old Testamēt pray to God as present in the temple but the name of God onely was in the tēple 3. of the Kinges 8. and his law and couenauntes and wonderfull deedes were therin writtē in signes and were there preached and testified continually of the true Priestes and Prophetes vnto the people the fathers of the true fayth came thether Furthermore of the seruent loue which they had towardes the lawes couenauntes of God For the whiche Prophets Salomō prayed so earnestly vnto the Lord God saying Here thou O God in heauen thy dwellyng place and do all that the straunger calleth to thee for that all nations of the earth may know the feare thy name as do this people Israell c. Read the third booke of kynges the 8. chapter when God delighted onely in the fayth of the offerer whiche beleued in God onely for all mercy taking the sacrifice for a sure token and earnest of the mercy of God certified by that signe that God loued them and was at one with them for Christes sake to come As we should be certified by the Sacrament of God with vs for Christes death that is past And Christe taught vs in our prayers to looke vp to heauen and say Our father which ar◠in heauē he him selfe in all his prayers did lift vp his eyes to heauē to his father and so did hee when he instituted the Sacrament and rehearsed the wordes of the couenaunt ouer bread wyne as it is written Mathew 26. Marke 14. Luke 22. 1. Cor. 11. in these wordes Iesus tooke bread c. Christ though he affirme him selfe to be the sonne of God his father to be in him yet he taught not his Disciples to direct the prayer to the father in him but vp to the father in heauen neither lift he vp his eyes or prayer to his father in the Sacramēt but to his father in heauē I know diuers diuers mē know me which loue me as I do thē yet if I should pray them whē I mete thē in the strete openly they would abhorre me but if I pray thē where they be appointed to mete me secretly they will here me accept my request Euē so though gods presēce be euery where yet will he be prayed so vp to the place onely where he shall see him where he would haue vs for to lōg for to be Moreouer if I grannt you that the bloud of Christ is in the cup it will folow that his body is there also neither when I graunt that his body is in the bread or vnder the forme of bread will it folow that his soule is ther to Christ made y e bread the Sacrament of his body onely wherefore as the bread is no similitude of his bloud So am I not bound or ought to affirme y t his bloud is there presēt And he did institute the wyne to be the Sacramēt of his bloud onely And happely it was red wyne y t more louely to represēt it Now as the wine in no similitude doth represēt the body so am I not boūd or ought to affirme that his body is there present Ye say that Christ is so mighty that though he stode mortall before his Disciples eyes yet he was able to make y e same body y t same time to be in the Sacrament immortall to be vnder euery litle peece of bread or of the Sacramēt though it be no greater
eatyng of his flesh in forme of bread had this ben his meaning For he left them neuer in any perplexitie or doubt but sought all the wayes by similitudes familiar exaÌ„ples to teath them playnly He neuer spake them so hard a parable but where he perceiued their â—eble ignoraunce anone he helpte them and declared it them Yea and sometymes he preuented their askyng with his owne declaration thinke ye that he did not so here yes verely For he came to teach vs and not to leaue vs in any doubt and ignoraunce especially in the chief pointe of our saluation which staÌ„deth in the belefe in his death for our sinnes Wherefore to put them out of all doubt as concerning this eatyng of his flesh and drinkyng of hys bloud that should giue euerlastyng lyfe where they tooke it for his very body to be eaten with their teeth hee sayd It is the spirite that giueth this lyfe my flesh profiteth nothyng at all to be eaten as ye meane so carnally It is spirituall meate that I heare speake of It is my spirite that draweth the hartes of men to me by faith and so refresheth them ghostly Ye be therefore carnall to thinke that I speake of my flesh to be eaten bodely for so it profiteth you nothing at all How long will ye be without vnderstaÌ„dyng It is my spirite I tell you that giueth lyfe My fleshe profiteth you nothyng to eate it but to beleue that it shal be crucified suffer for the redemption of the world it profiteth And when ye thus beleue then eate ye my fleshe and drinke my bloud that is ye beleue in me to suffer for your sinnes The veritie hath spoken these woordes My flesh profiteth nothyng at all it can not therefore be false For both the Iewes and his Disciples murmured and disputed of hys flesh how it should be eaten and not of the offeryng thereof for our sinnes as Christ ment This therfore is the sure anker to hold vs by agaynst all the obiections of the Papistes for the eatyng of Christes body as they say in forme of bread Christ sayd My flesh profiteth nothyng meaning to eate it bodely This is the key that solueth al their argumentes and openeth the way to shewe vs all their false and abhominable blasphemous lyes vppon Christes wordes and vttereth their sleigh iuggling ouer the bread to mainteine Antichristes kyngdome therewith And thus when Christ had declared it and taught them that it was not the bodely eatyng of his materiall body but the eatyng with the spirite of fayth he added saying The wordes which I here speake vnto you are spirite and lyfe That is to say this matter that I here haue spoken of with so many wordes must be spiritually vnderstand to giue you this life euerlastyng Wherfore the cause why ye vnderstaÌ„d me not is that ye beleue not Here is lo the conclusion of all this Sermon Christ very God and man had set his flesh before them to be receiued with fayth that it should be broken suffer for their sinnes but they could not eate it spiritually bycause they beleued not in him Wherefore many of his Disciples fell froÌ„ him walked no more with him And then he sayd to the twelue Will ye go away to And Symon Peter aunswered Lord to whom shal we go Thou hast the wordes of euerlastyng life and we beleue and are sure that thou art Christ the sonne of the liuyng God Here is it manifest what Peter and his felowes vnderstode by this eatyng and drinkyng of Christ For they were perfitely taught that it stode all in the belefe in Christ as their auÌ„swere here testifieth If this matter had stand vpon so deepe a miracle as our Papistes fayne without any word of God not comprehended vnder any of their common senses that they should eate hys body beyng vnder the forme of bread as long depe thicke and as brode as it hanged vpon the crosse they beyng yet but feble of fayth not confirmed with the holy ghost must here nedes haue woundered stoned and staggerde haue bene more inquisitiue in and of so straunge a matter then they were But they neither doubted nor marueiled nor murmured nor were any thyng offended with this maner of spech as were y t other that slipt away but they aunswered firmely Thou hast the woordes of euerlastyng lyfe and we beleue c. Now to the exposition of the woordes of our Lordes Supper Among the holy Euangelistes writyng the story of Christes Supper Iohn bicause the other three had written it at large did but make a mention thereof in his xiij Chapter Mathew Marke and Luke declaryng it clerely orderly with iust number of wordes With whom Paule agreeth thus writyng vnto the Corinthians Our Lord Iesus yâ—â—ame night he was betrayed he tooke the bread and after he had giuen thankes he brake it saying Take ye it eate it This is my body whiche is for you brokeÌ„ Here is now to be noted the order of this action or act First Christ tooke the bread in his haÌ„des secondaryly he gaue thankes thirdly he brake it fourthly he taught it them saying take it fiftly he had them eate it At last after all this hee sayd This is my body which is for you broken this thyng do ye into the remembraunce of me Here ye see y t this bread was first broken deliuered them and they were coÌ„mauÌ„ded to eate it to ere Christ sayd This is my body And for bicause it is to suppose verely y â— they tooke it at his haÌ„d as he had them and dyd eate it to when they had it in their handes their master whose wordes they did euer obey coÌ„mmauÌ„ding theÌ„ It must needes folow if these be the wordes of the coÌ„secratioÌ„ that they were houseled with vnconsecrated bread or els now eaten or at lest wise part of it ere Christ consecrated it yea it foloweth that it was out of Christes handes and in theyâ— mouthes when Christ consecrated it so to haue consecrated it wheÌ„ it was now in his disciples handes or in their mouthes or rather in theyr bellyes Here it is manifest that Christ consecrated no bread but deliuered it to his Disciples and bad them eate it In somuch that S. Thomas their owne Doctour that made their transubstantiation coÌ„fesseth that some there were that sayd that Christ did first consecrate with other woordes ere he now reachyng the bread to his Disciples sayd This is my body c. And yet calleth he it no heresie so to say Now sith in all this acte and Supper there bee no woordes of consecration but of the deliueryng of the bread broken after thankes giuyng with a commaundement to eate it bryng vs your wordes of coÌ„secration and shewe vs by what woordes God promised you and gaue you power to make his body There is neither commaundement nor yet any wordes left in all the Scripture to make or
y t very sonne of God is that not auaylable belyke Rastell coūteth nothing auailable but that which iustifieth before God he will say the sonne is not auaylable because it iustifieth not fire is not auaylable in his eyes bycause it iustifieth not c. Then Rastell sayth that I make a wonders worke with y t Scripture alledgeth certaine textes y t we ought to do good workes which I neuer denyed and thereupon would conclude that woorkes saue and iustifie and playeth me the ball lustly ouer the corde but as God would there stode a post right in the way and he hytte it so full that it made the ball to reboūd ouer agayne backward for in the alledgyng of his purpose Paule sayth Ephe. 2. he hath cleane lost the game the wordes are these by grace you be saued by your fayth and that is not of you it is the gift of God and not of woorkes that no man should glorifie hym selfe we are the workes created of God in Christ Iesu whiche God hath prepared that we should walke in them here because he would haue the latter ende of the text to serue for hys purpose whiche teacheth good workes which I neuer denyed hée bryngeth in that thyng whiche cleane confuteth his opiniō for his opinion which in all places he hath laboured to proue is that we are saued by good workes but now marke what he alledgeth out of Paule by grace you be saued by your fayth and that is not of you it is the gift of God and not of workes For that no man should glorifie him selfe here Paule saith plainly that our saluatiō is not of workes and so hath Rastell cast down that he built before and may be likened to a shrewde cowe whiche when she hath geuen a large messe of milke turneth it downe with her hele Thus haue I aunswered to as much of Rastels treatise as I could get if there be any more whiche may come to my handes I shall do my diligence to disclose hys disceite so that God geue me leaue to kéepe the court with hym he shall wynne but litle except he conuey his balles more craftly and yet the truth to say we play not on euen hand for I am in a maner as a man bound to a post and can not so well bestow me in my play as as if I were at libertie for I may not haue such bookes as are necessary for me neither yet penne inke ne paper but onely secretly so that I am in continuall feare both of the Lefetenaūt and of my kéeper lest they should espy any such thyng by me and therfore it is litle meruell though the woorke be vnperfite for when soeuer I heare the keyes ryng at the doore strayte all much be cōueyed out of the way and then if any notable thyng had bene in my mynde it was cleane lost therfore I besech thée good reader count it as a thyng borne out of season which for many causes can not haue his perfeite forme and shape and pardon me my rudenes and imperfection ¶ FINIS Iohn Frithes iudgement vpon master William Tracyes Testament 1531. ¶ Iohn Frith to the Christian Reader THere is nothyng in this world that is so firme stable or godly but that it may be vndermined and frowardlye wrested of mē and specially if they be voyd of charitie As it is euident by William Tracyes Testamēt and last will that he left agaynst the which many men and that of long continuaunce haue blasphemously barked Whether of a godly zeale or of a dasing brayne let other mē iudge But this I dare boldly professe that his godly sayinges are vngodly hād led which thyng I can not so iustly ascribe vnto ignoraunce as vnto rancour vnto the furies I had almost sayd for if they had conferred all things vnto the rule of charitie which enuyeth not whiche is not puffed vp whiche is not styrred to vengeaunce which thinketh none euill but suffereth all things beleueth all thyngs trusteth all things and beareth all thyngs they would not so heddely haue cōdēned those thynges whiche might haue bene full deuoutly expounded howbeit they haue not onely attēpted that thyng but haue proceeded vnto such madnes that they haue taken vppon them to stryue with dead folkes for it is a most common iest in euery mās mouth that after the maker of this Testament was departed and buryed they tooke vp hys body and burnt it which thing declared their furye although he felt no fire Therfore we hūbly require our most redoubted Prince withall his nobles present assembly that euen as all other thyngs do of right depende of their iudgement that euen so they would by their discret aduise cure this disease ponderyng all thynges with a more equall ballaunce So shall this enormous facte be looked vppon with worthy correction and the condition of the common wealth shal be more quyet marke you therefore what thynges they are which they so cruelly condemne Master Tracie IN the name of God Amen I William Tracie of Todyngton in the Countie of Gloceter Esquier make my Testamēt and last will as hereafter foloweth c. The rest of whiche Testament you shall fynde before in the woorkes of William Tyndall fol. 429. Iohn Frith IT is maruell but here be somwhat that they improue for their mynde is so intoxicate that there is nothyng but they will note it with a blacke coale and yet all may be established by the testimony of Scripture for fayth is the sure persuasion of our mynde of God and hys goodnesse towardes vs. And wheras is a sure persuasion of the mynde there can be no doubtyng or mistrust for he that douteth is like the floude of the sea which is tossed with wyndes caried with violence and let not that man thinke that he shal obtaine any thing of God Ia. i. And therfore S. Austen sayth if I doubt I shal be no holy séede furthermore wheras he looketh through the grace and merites of Christ to obtaine remission of his sinnes surely it is a faythful saying and worthy to be cōmended for it is euen the same that Peter professed Actes xv where hee sayth vnto hym do all the Prophetes beare witnes that through his name as many as beleue in hym shall receiue remissiō of their sinnes moreouer in that he trusteth through Christ to haue resurrectiō of body and soule they haue no cause to blame hym for thus doth Paule argue if Christ be risen then shall we also ryse and if Christ be not risen then shall not we rise but Christ is risen for his soule was not lest in hell therfore shall we also rise whō Christ shall bryng with hym and be immortall both body soule 1. Cor. 15. And therfore he doth both righteously and godly deduce his resurrectiō by Christes by whom the father hath geuē vs all thinges or els we should not be but there are some that gather of his woordes that hee
is forasmuch as faythe iustifieth and putteth away sinne in the sight of God bringeth lyfe health and the fauour of God maketh vs the heyres of God poureth the spirite of God into our soules and filleth vs with all godly fulnes in Christ it wer to great a shame rebuke and wronge vnto the fayth ye to christes bloud if a man would worke any thyng to purchase that wherwith fayth hath indued hym already and God hath geuen hym freely Euen as Christ had done rebuke and shame vnto hymselfe if he would haue done good workes and wrought to haue bene made thereby Gods sonne and heyre ouer all which thing he was alredy Now doth fayth make vs the sonnes or childrē of god Iohn 1. he gaue them might or power to be y t sonnes of God in that they beleued on his name If we be sonnes so are we also heires Roma viij and Gala. iiij How can or ought we then to worke for to purchase that inheritaunce withall whereof we are heyres already by fayth What shall we say thē to those scriptures whiche sound as though a man should do good workes and lyue well for heauens sake or eternall reward As these are make you frendes of the vnrighteous Mammon And Math. vij Gather you treasures together in heauen Also Math. xix If thou wilt enter into lyfe keepe the commaundementes and such like This say I that they whiche vnderstand not neither feele in their hartes what fayth meaneth talke and thinke of the reward euen as they do of the worke neither suppose they y t a man ought to worke but in a respect to the reward For they imagine that it is in the kyngdome of Christ as it is in the world among mē that they must deserue heauen with their good woorkes Howbeit their thoughtes are but dreames and false imaginations Of these men speaketh Malachias Chap. i. who is it among you that shutteth a doore for my pleasure for nought y t is without respect of reward These are seruauntes that seke gaynes and vauntage hyrelinges day labourers whiche here on earth receaue their rewardes as the Phariseis with their prayers and fastynges Math. v. But on this wise goeth it with heauen with euerlastyng lyfe and eternall reward likewise as good workes naturally folow fayth as it is aboue rehearsed so that thou nedest not to commaunde a true beleuer to worke or to compel him with any law for it is vnpossible that he should not worke he taryeth but for an occasion he is euer disposed of him selfe thou nedest but to put him in remembraunce and that to know the false fayth from the true Euen so naturally doth eternall lyfe folow faith and good liuing without sekyng for is impossible that it should not come though no mā thought there on Yet is it rehearsed in y ◠Scripture alledged and promised to know the difference betwene a false beleuer and a true beleuer and that euery man may know what foloweth good liuyng naturally and of it selfe without takyng thought for it Take a grosse ensample Hell that is euerlastyng death is threatned vnto sinners and yet foloweth it sinne naturally without sekyng for For no mā doth euill to be damned therfore but had rather auoyde it Yet there the one foloweth the other naturally though no man told or warned him of it yet should the sinner finde it and feele it Neuerthelesse it is therfore threatned that men may know what foloweth euill liuyng Now then as after euill liuyng foloweth his reward vnsought for euen so after good liuing foloweth his reward naturally vnsought for or vnthought vpon Euen as when thou drinkest wine be it good or bad the tast foloweth of it selfe thoughe thou therfore drinke it not Yet testifieth the Scripture and it is true that we are by inheritaunce heyres of damnation and that ere we be borne we are vessels of the wrath of God full of that poyson whence naturally all synnes spring and wherewith we can not but sinne which thyng the dedes that folow whē we behold our selues in the glasse of the law of God do declare vtter kill our consciences show vs what we were and wist not of it certifieth vs that we are heyres of damnatiō For if we were of God we should cleaue to God and lust after the wil of God But now our dedes compared to the law declare y ◠contrary by our dedes we see our selues both what we be and what our end shall be So now thou seest that lyfe eternall and all good thynges are promised vnto fayth and belefe so that he that beleueth on Christ shal be safe Christes bloud hath purchased life for vs hath made vs the heyres of god so that heauen commeth by Christes bloud If thou wouldest obtaine heauē with the merites and deseruinges of thine own woorkes so dyddest thou wrong yea and shamedest the bloud of Christ and vnto thee were Christ dead in vayne Now is the true beleuer heyre of God by Christes deseruynges yea and in Christ was predestinate and ordeined vnto eternall life before the world began And when the Gospel is preached vnto vs we beleue the mercy of God and in beleuyng we receaue the spirite of God which is the earnest of eternal lyfe and we are in eternal life already feele already in our hartes the swetnes therof and are ouercome with the kyndnes of God and Christ and therfore loue the will of God and of loue are ready to woorke freely and not to obtaine that which is geuen vs freely and whereof we are heyres already Now when Christ sayth Make you frendes of vnrighteous Mammon Gather you treasure together in heauen and such like Thou seest that the meanyng and entent is no other but that thou shouldest do good so will it folow of it selfe naturally without sekyng takyng of thought that thou shalt find frendes and treasure in heauē and receaue a reward So let thyne eye be single and looke vnto good lyuyng onely and take no thought for y t reward But be content For as much as thou knowest and art sure that the reward all thyng contained in gods promises folow good liuyng naturally and thy good workes do but testifie onely and certifie thee that the spirite of God is in thee whom thou hast receaued in earnest of Gods truth and that thou art heyre of all the goodnes of God and that all good thynges are thyne already purchased by Christes bloud and layd vp in store against that day when euery man shall receaue according to his dedes that is according as his dedes declare and testifie what he is or was For they that looke vnto the reward are slow false suttle and crafty workers and loue the reward more thē the worke yea hate the labour yea hate God which commaūdeth the labour and are wery both of the commaundement and also
also no longer obey but resiste and rise agaynst their euill heades And one wicked destroyeth an other Yet is Gods word not the cause of this neither yet the preachers For though that Christ hym selfe taught all obedience how that it is not lawfull to resiste wrong but for the officer that is appointed thereunto and howe a man must loue his very enemy pray for them that persecute him and blesse them that curse hym and how that all vengeaunce must bee remitted to God and that a man must forgeue if hee wil be forgeuen of God Yet the people for the most part receaued it not They were euer ready to rise and to fight For euer when the Scribes and Phariseis wēt about to take Christ they were afraide of the people Not on the holy day sayde they Math. xxvj lest any rumour aryse among the people And Math. xxi They would haue takē him but they feared the people And Luke xx Christe asked the Phariseis a question vnto whiche they durst not aūswere lest the people should haue stoned them Last of all for as much as the very Disciples and Apostles of Christ after so lōg hearyng of Christes doctrine were yet ready to fight for Christe cleane agaynst Christes teachyng As Peter Math. xxvi drew his sword but he was rebuked And Luke ix Iames and Iohn would haue had fire to come from heauen to cōsume the Samaritanes and to auenge the iniury of Christe but were likewise rebuked if Christes Disciples were so long carnall what wonder is it if we be not all perfect the first daye Yea in as much as we bee taught euen of very babes to kil a Turke to slea a Iewe to burne an hereticke to fight for the liberties and right of the Church as they cal it yea and in asmuch as wee are brought in belefe if wee shed the bloud of our euen Christen or if the sonne shed the bloud of hys father that begat hym for the defence not of the Popes Godhead onely but also for what so euer cause it bee yea though it be for no cause but that his holynes commaundeth it onely that we deserue as much as Christ deserued for vs when he dyed on the crosse or if we be slaine in the quarel that our soules goe nay flye to heauen and be there ere our bloud be cold In as much I saye as we haue sucked in suche bloudy imaginatiōs into the bottome of our harts euen with our mothers milke and haue ben so long hardened therein what wonder were it if while we be yet young in Christ we thought that it were lawful to fight for the true word of god Yea and though a man were throughly persuaded that it were not lawful to resist his kyng thoughe he would wrongfully take away lyfe and goodes Yet might he thinke that it were lawful to resist the hipocrites and to rise not agaynst his kyng but with his kyng to deliuer his kyng out of bondage and captiuitie wherin the hipocrites hold hym with wyles and falsehode so that no man may bee suffered to come at him to tell him the trouth This seest thou that it is the bloudy doctrine of the Pope which causeth disobedience rebellion and insurrectiō For hee teacheth to sight and to defende hys traditions and what soeuer he dreameth with fire water and sworde and to disobey Father Mother Master Lorde Kyng and Emperour Yea and to inuade what so euer lād or natiō that will not receaue and admit his Godhead Where the peaceable doctrine of Christe teacheth to obey and to suffer for the word of God to remit the vengeaunce and the defense of the word to god which is mighty and able to defende it which also as soone as the worde is once openly preached and testified or witnessed vnto the world and when he hath geuen them a season to repent is ready at once to take vengeaunce of his enemies and shoteth arrowes with heades dipte in deadly poyson at them and poureth hys plagues from heauen downe vpon them and sendeth the moren and pestilence among them and sinketh the Cities of them and maketh the earth swalow them and cōpasseth them in their wyles and taketh them in theyr owne trappes and snares and casteth thē into the pittes whiche they digged for other men and sendeth them a dasyng in in the head and vtterly destroyeth them with their owne suttle councell Prepare thy mynde therefore vnto this litle treatise and read it discretly and iudge it indifferently and when I alledge any Scripture loke thou on the text whether I interprete it right whiche thou shalt easely perceaue by the circumstance and processe of thē if thou make Christ the foundation and ground and build all on him and referrest all to hym and findest also that the expositiō agreeth vnto the common Articles of the faith and opē scriptures And GOD the father of mercy whiche for hys truthes sake raysed our Sauiour Christ vp agayne to iustifie vs geue thee hys spirite to iudge what is righteous in his eyes and geue the strength to abyde by it and to mayntayne it withall patience and long sufferyng vnto the example and edifying of his congregation and glory of his name Amen The obedience of all degrees proued by Gods word and first of children vnto theyr elders GOd which worketh all in all thynges for a secrete iudgement and purpose and for hys godly pleasure prouided an houre that thy father and mother should come together to make thee throughe them He was present with thee in thy mothers wombe and fashioned thee brethed lyfe into thee and for y t great loue he had vnto thee prouided milke in thy mothers brestes for thee agaynst thou were borne moued also thy father and mother and all other to loue thee to pitie thee and to care for thee And as he made thee through them so hath he cast thee vnder the power authoritie of them to obeye and serue them in his stede saying honor thy father and mother Exo. xx Which is not to be vnderstand in bowyng the knee and puttyng of the cappe onely but that thou loue them with al thyne hart and feare and drede them and wayte on their commaundementes and seke their worshyp pleasure will and profite in all thynges and geue thy life for them counting them worthy of all honour remembryng that thou art theyr good and possession that thou owest vnto thē thine owne selfe and all thou art able yea and more then thou art able to doe Vnderstand also that what soeuer thou doest vnto thē be it good or bad thou doest vnto God Whē thou pleasest them y ◠pleasest god whē thou displeasest thē thou displeasest God whē they are angry with thee god is angry w t thee neither is it possible for thee to come vnto y ◠fauour of God againe no though all the aūgels of heauē pray for thee vntil thou
the Lord. Teach thē to know Christ and set Gods ordinaunce before them saying sonne or daughter God hath created thee and made thee thorough vs thy father and mother and at his commaundement haue we so longe thus kindely brought thee vp and kept thee from all perils he hath commaunded thee also to obey vs saying childe obey thy father and mother If thou meekely obey so shalt thou grow both in the fauour of God man knowledge of our Lord Christ If thou wilt not obey vs at hys commaundement thē are we charged to correct thee yea and if thou repent not and amende thy self God shall sley thee by hys officers or punishe thee euerlastingly Nurtoure thē not worldly with worldly wisedome saying thou shalt come to honour dignitie promotion and riches thou shalt be better then such and such thou shalt haue iij. or iiij benefices and be a great doctoure or a Byshop and haue so many men wayting on thee and do nothing but hauke and hunte and lyue at pleasure thou shalt not neede to sweate to laboure or to take any payne for thy lyuing and so forth filling thē full of pride disdaine and ambition and corrupting theyr myndes wyth worldly perswasions Let the fathers and mothers marke how they themselues were disposed at all ages by experience of their owne infirmities helpe their children and keepe them from occasions Let them teach their children to axe maryages of their fathers mothers And let theyr elders prouide mariages for them in season teaching them also to know that she is not hys wyfe which y ◠sonne taketh nor he her husband which the daughter taketh wythout the consent and good wyll of their elders or them that haue aucthoritie ouer thē If their frends wil not marry thē then are they not to blame if they marry thēselues Let not y t fathers mothers alwayes take the vtmost of their authoritie of their children but at a time suffer with them and beare theyr weaknesses as Christ doth oures Seeke Christ in your children in your wiues seruants and subiectes Father mother sonne daughter maister seruaunt kyng and subiect be names in the worldly regiment In Christ we are all one thing none better then other all brethren must all seeke Christ and our brothers profit in Christ And he that hath the knowledge whether he be Lorde or kyng is bounde to submitte hymselfe and serue his brethrē and to geue hym selfe for them to winne them to Christ ¶ The office of an husband and how he ought to rule HUsbandes loue your wiues as Christ loued the congregation and gaue hymselfe for it to sanctifie it and clense it Men ought to loue their wiues as their owne bodyes For this cause shall a man leaue father and mother and shall continue with his wife and shall be made both one flesh See that euer one of you loue his wyfe euen as hys owne bodye All thys sayth Paul Ephe. v. and Collo iij. he sayth husbādes loue your wiues and be not bitter vnto thē And Peter in the thyrd chapter of hys first epistle sayth men dwell with your wiues according to knowledge that is according to the doctrine of Christ geuing reuerence vnto the wife as vnto the weaker vessell that is helpe her to beare her infirmities and as vnto them that are heyres also of y e grace of lyfe that your prayers be not let In many thynges God hath made the men stronger then the women not to rage vpon them to be tyrantes vnto then but to helpe thē but to beare their weakenesse Be curteous thereaefore vnto them and winne thē vnto Christ and ouercome them with kyndnes that of loue they may obey y ◠ordinaunce that God hath made betwene man and wife ¶ The office of a maister and how he ought to rule PAule Ephe. vi saith ye maisters do euen y e same thinges vnto thē that is be maister after y e example doctrine of Christ as he before taught y ◠seruauntes to obey vnto their maisters as vnto Christ putting away threanings that is geue thē fayre wordse exhort thē kyndely to do theyr dutie yea nurtour them as thine own sonnes with y ◠Lords nourtour that they may see in Christ a cause why they ought louingly to obey and remember saith he that your maister also is in heauen Neither is there any respect of persons wyth hym that is he is indifferent and not parciall as great in hys sight is a seruaunt as a maister And the third chapter to the Col. saith he ye maisters do vnto your seruaunts that which is iust and equal remembring that ye also haue a maister in heauen Geue your seruaunts kinde wordes fode rayment and learnyng Be not bitter vnto them rayle not on them geue thē no cruell countenaunce but according to the ensample and doctrine of Christ deale with them And when they labour sore cherishe them agayne When ye correct thē let Gods worde be by and do it wyth such good maner that they may see how that ye doe it to amende them onely and to bring them vnto the way which God biddeth vs walke in and not to auēge your selues or to wreke your malice on them If at a tyme thorough hastines ye exceede measure in punishing recompence it an other way and pardon them an other tyme. ¶ The dutie of Landlordes LEt Christen Landlordes be content wyth their rent and olde customes not reysing y ◠rent or fynes bringing vp new customes to oppresse their tenauntes neither letting two or three tenauntryes vnto one man Let them not take in their communes neyther make parkes nor pastures of whole parishes For God gaue the earth to men to inhabite and not vnto sheepe and wilde deare Be as fathers vnto your tenauntes yea be vnto them as Christ was vnto vs and shew vnto them all loue and kyndnes What soeuer busines is among thē be not parciall fauouring one more thē an other The complayntes quarels and strife that are among them counte diseases of sicke people and as a mercifull phisition heale them wyth wisdome and good councell Be pitifull and tender harted vnto them and let not one of thy tenauntes teare out an others throte but iudge their causes indifferently and compell them to make their diches hedges gates and wayes For euē for such causes were ye made landlordes and for such causes payde men rent at the beginning For if such an order were not one should sley an other and all should goe to wast If thy tenaunt shall labour and toyle all the yeare to pay thee thy rent and when he hath bestowed al his labour his neighboures cattell shal deuoure his frutes how tedyous and bitter should his life be Se therefore that ye doe your duties agayne and suffer no man to doe them wrong saue the kyng onely If he doe wrong then must they abyde Gods iudgement ¶
or xii yeare olde before they were admitted to receaue the sacrameÌ„t of Christes body haply And he apposed them of the lawe of God and fayth of Christ asked them whether they thought that lawe good and whether their hartes were to follow it And they aunswered yea And he apposed them in the articles of our fayth and asked them whether they put their hop and trust in Christ to be saued thorow his death and merites And they answered ye TheÌ„ coÌ„firmed he their baptim saying I confirme you that is I denounce and declare by the authoritie of Gods worde and doctrine of Christ that ye be truely baptised within in your hartes and in your spirites thorow prosessing the lawe of God and the faith of our sauiour Iesu which your outwarde baptim doth signifie and therupon I put this crosse in your foreheades that ye goe and fight agaynst the deuill the world and the flesh vnder the standard of our Sauiour in the name of the father the sonne the holy ghost AmeÌ„ Which maner I would to God for his tender mercy were in vse this day But after that the deuil was broken lowse and the Byshops began to purchase and the Deaâ—…s to scratch all to them and the spiritualtie to clime an hygh then because the labour seâ—… to tedious and paynfull to appose the children one by one they asked the Priests that presented theÌ„ onely whether the children were taught the professioÌ„ of their Baptisme And they aunswered yâ—â— And so vpon their wordes they confirmed theÌ„ without apposing So wheÌ„ they no lenger apposed them the Priests no lenger taught them but committed the charge to their Godfather and Godmothers and they to the father and mother dischargyng them selues by their owne authoritie within halfe an houre And the father mother taught theÌ„ a monstrous Latin Pater noster and an Aue and a Crede Which gibbresh euery Popâ—…iaye speaketh with a sundry pronunciation and fashion so that one Pater noster semeth as many languages almost as there be tounges that speake it Howbeit it is all one as loÌ„g as they vnderstand it not And in processe as the ignoraunce grew they brought them to confirmation straight from Baptisme so that now oftymes they be volowed and bishoped both in one day that is we be confirmed in blindnesse to be kept from knowledge for euer And thus are we come into this damnable ignoraunce and fierce wrath of God through our owne deseruyng because when the truth was told vs we had no loue therto And to declare the full and set wrath of God vpon vs our Prelates whom we haue exalted ouer vs to whom we haue geuen almost all we had haue persuaded the wordly Princes to whoÌ„ we haue submitted our selues and geueÌ„ vp our power to deuour vs vp body soule and to kepe vs downe in darkenesse with violence of sword and with all falsehead and guile In so much that if any do but lift vp his nose to smell after the truth they swap him in the face with a fire brande to seng hys smellyng or if he open one of his eyes once to looke toward y â— light of gods word they bleare daze his sight with their false iugglyng so that if it were possible though he were Gods elect he could not but be kept down and perish for lacke of knowledge of the truth And in like maner because Christ had institute the Sacrament of his body and bloud to kepe vs in remembrauÌ„ce of his body breaking blud sheding for our sinnes therfore went they and set vp this fashioÌ„ of the Masse and ordeined Sacramentes in the ornamentes thereof to signifie and expresse all the rest of his passioÌ„ The amice on the head is the kercheue that Christ was blynd folded with when the souldiours buffeted him and mocked hym saying prophecie vnto vs who smote thee But now it may wel signifie that he that putteth it on is blynd and hath professed to leade vs after him in darkenesse according vnto the beginnyng of his play And the flappe theron is the crowne of thorne And the albe is the white garment that Herode put on him saying he was a foole because he held his peace and would not auÌ„swere him And the ij flappes on the sleues and the other ij on the albe beneath ouer agaynst his fete behind and before are the. iiij nayles And the fanon on his hand the cord that his haÌ„des were bound with And the stole the rope wherwith he was bound vnto the piller when he was scorged And the corporiscloth the sindon wherin he was buried and the altare is the crosse or haply the graue and so forth And the casting abroad of his hands the splaying of Christ vpon the crosse And the light and sticking vp of candles bearyng of candles or tapers in procession happly signified this text Math. v. ye be the light of the world and let your light so shyne before meÌ„ that they may see your good workes glorifie your father which is in heauen And the salt signifieth the wisedome of Christes doctrine and that we should therewith salt our dedes and do nothing without the authoritie of Gods word So that in one thing or other what in the garmeÌ„tes and what in the gestures all his playde in so much that before he will go to Masse he wil be sure to sell hym lest Iudases part should be left out And so throughout all the SacrameÌ„ts ceremonies or signes iij. words of one signification there were significations vnto them at the beginning And so long as it was vnderstaÌ„d what was ment by them and they dyd but serue the people and preach one thyng or an other vnto them they hurted not greatly though that the free seruaunt of Christ ought not to be brought violently into captiuitie vnder the boÌ„dage of traditions of men As S. Augustine complayneth in his dayes how that the condition and state of the Iewes was more easy then the ChristiaÌ„s vnder traditions so sore had the tyranny of the shepheardes inuaded the flocke all ready in those dayes And theÌ„ what iust cause haue we to coÌ„plaine our captiuitie now vnto whose yocke from that tyme hetherto enen xij hundred yeares long hath euer somwhat more waight bene added to for to keepe vs bowne and to confirme vs in blyndnesse howbeit as long as the significatioÌ„s bode they hurted not the soule though they were paynefull vnto the body Neuerthelesse I impute this our greuous fal into so extreme and horrible blyndnesse wherin we are so deepe and so deadly brought a slepe vnto no thyng so much as vnto the multitude of ceremonies For assoone as the Prelates had set vp such a rable of ceremonies they thonght it superflnous to preach the playne text any longer and the law of God faith of Christ loue toward our
Paschall Lambe is offered for vs and hath deliuered vs as Paule sayth 1. Cor. v. whose signe and memoriall is the Sacrament of his body and bloud Moreouer we were not deliuered one of Egypt And therefore in as much as we be ouerladen with our owne I see no cause why we should become Iewes to obserue their ceremonies to And when he sayth holy straunge gestures I aunswere for the holynesse I will not sweare but the straungenesse I dare well auow For euery Priest maketh them of a sundry maner many more madly then the gestures of Iack anapes And when he sayth that they were left from hand to hand sence the Apostles time it is vntrue For the Apostles vsed the Sacramēt as Christ dyd as thou mayst see 1. Cor. xj More ouer the Apostles left vs in the light taught vs all the counsell of God as Paule witnesseth Actes xx and hid nothyng in straunge holy gestures and apes play the significations wherof no man might vnderstand And a Christen man is more moued to pitie sayth he at the sight of y e crosse then without it If he take pitie as Englishmen do for compassiō I say that a Christen man is moued to pitie whē hee seeth his brother beare the crosse And at the sight of the Crosse he that is learned in God wepeth not with ignoraūt womē as a mā doth for hys father when he is dead but mourneth for hys sinnes and at the sight of the crosse comforteth his soule with the cōsolation of him that dyed theron But there is no sight whether of the crosse or ought els that can moue you to leue your wickednesse for the Testament of God is not written in your hartes And when he speaketh of praying at Churche who denyeth hym that men might not pray at Church or that the church shuld not be a place of prayer But that a man could not pray saue at Church and that my prayers were not heard as well els where If I prayed with like feruentnesse strong sayth is a false lye And whē he speaketh of the presence of God in the temple I aunswere that the Prophetes testified how that hee dwelt not there so doth Paule Actes xvij so doth Steuē Actes vij Salomon iij. Of the kynges viij And no doubt as the madde Iewes ment he dwelt not there nor as we more mad suppose also But he dwelled there onely in his signes Sacramentes and testimonies which preached his woorde vnto the people And finally for theyr false confidence in the temple God destroyed it And no doubt for our false fayth in visityng the monumentes of Christ therefore hath God also destroyed them and geuen the place vnder the infidels And when he speaketh of the piller of fire and cloude I answere that god was no otherwise present there then in all fire and in all cloudes saue that he shewed his power there specially by the reason of the miracle as he doth in the eyes of the blinde whom he maketh see and yet is no other wise present in those eyes then in other nor more there to be prayed to then in other And in like maner he is no more to be prayed to where he doth a miracle then where he doth none Neither though we cā not but be in some place ought we to seeke God in any place saue onely in our hartes and that in veritie in fayth hope and loue or charitie accordyng to the woorde of hys doctrine And our sacramentes signes ceremonies Images reliques and monumentes ought to be had in reuerence so farforth as they put vs in mynde of Gods worde and of the ensample of them that liued thereafter and no further And the place is to be sought and one to be preferred before an other for quietnesse to pray and for liuely preaching and for y e preaching of such monumentes and so forth And so long as the people so vsed thē in the olde testament they were acceptable pleasaūt to God and God was sayd to dwell in the temple But when the significations being lost the people worshipped such thinges for the things selues as we now do they were abhominable to God and God was sayde to be no longer in the temple The fourth chapter ANd in the fourth he sayth that god setteth more by one place then an other Which doctrine besides that it should binde vs vnto the place and God thereto and can not but make vs haue confidence in the place is yet false For first God vnto whose worde we may adde nought hath geuen no such commaundement nor made any such couenaunt Neither is Christ here or there saith the scripture but in our hartes is the place where God dwelleth by his owne testimony if his word be there And when he proueth it because God doth a miracle more in one place then in an other I aunswere if God will do a miracle it requireth a place to be done in Howbeit he doth it not for the place but for the peoples sakes whom he would call vnto the knowledge of his name and not to worshippe hym more in one place then in an other As the miracles done in Egipt in the red sea in mount Sinay so forth were not done that men should goe in pilgrimage vnto the places to pray there but to prouoke them vnto the true knowledge of god that afterward they might euer pray in y e sprite whersoeuer they were Christ also dyd not his miracles that men should pray in the places where he did them but to stirre vp the people to come and heare the worde of their soules health And when he bringeth the miracle of Silo I answere that the sayd miracle and that Christ sent the blynde thether to receaue his sight were not done that men should pray in the poole but the second miracle was so done to declare the obedient fayth of the blinde and to make the miracle more knowen and the first for the worde of God that was preached in the temple to moue the countrey about to come thether and learne to know God and to become a liuely temple out of which they might euer pray and in all places Neyther was the miracle of Lazarus done that men shoulde more pray in that place then in an other but to shew Christes power to moue the people thorow wondering at the miracle to harkē vnto Gods word and beleue it as it is to see playnely Moreouer God so loueth no church but that the parishe haue libertie to take it downe and to builde it in an other place yea and if it be tymber to make it of stone and to alter it at their pleasure For the places yea and the Images must serue vs and not God which is a spirite and careth for none more thē other nor is otherwise presēt in one place thē in an other And
to hurt my neighbour and to shame y t doctrine of Christ And in like maner if I had forsworne flesh al the world had bound me yet if necessitie require it of me to saue my life or my health I ought to breake it And againe though I had sworne chastitie and the cōmon wealth or the necessitie of an other required the contrary I must breake it But on the one side of all that euer burnt in the Popes chastitie he neuer gaue priest licence to take wife but to keepe whores onely And on the other side all that vow any vow do it for the thing it selfe as though it were as I sayd seruice or sacrifice to God that had delite in the deede as young children haue in Apples and that for that deede they shall haue an higher roome in heauē then their neighbours which is the Idolatry of the heathen whē he ought to bestow his vow vppon hys neighbour to bryng him to heauen not to enuie him to seeke thereby an higher roome not caring whether his neighbour come thether or no. And finally to burne and not to vse the naturall remedy that God hath made is but to tempt God as in all other thinges But if God haue brought thee into a straite and haue therto takē the naturall remedy from thee then to resiste and to crie vnto God for helpe to suffer is a signe y t thou louest Gods lawes And to loue Gods law is to be sure that thou art Gods childe elect to mercy For in all his children onely he writeth that token And then he sayth euery man hath his choyce whether he will be Priest or no. But what nettes and snares doth Antichrist lay for them First his false doctrine where with the Elders beguiled cōpell their children and sacrifice them to burne in the Popes chastitie with no other mynde then those olde Idolaters sacrificed their children vnto the false God Moloch so that they thinke by the merites of their childrens burning after the Popes false doctrine to please god and to get heauen cleane ignoraunt of the testament made in Christes bloud Then what a multitude are blinded and drawen into the net with the baite of promotion honour dignitie pleasures freedome and libertie to sinne to do all mischiefe vnpunished things which all euill that feare not God do desire And what a number brought vp idely vnto xx and aboue then put their heades in his halter because they haue no other crast to get their liuinges not because they can liue chast Also some liue chast at xxiiij which same burne at xxx And that to be true dayly experience teacheth and good naturall causes there be And thē looke on the Apostles learning and ordinaunce When one or two young wydowes had brokē their chastitie he would neuer after let any moe bee chosen of the same age How commeth it then that the Pope for so many hundred thousandes that miscary will neither breake the ordinaunce or mitigat it or let any goe backe but if any burne sendeth them vnto the shame of Christes doctrine and offending and hurt of hys Church neuer vnto the lawfull remedie of mariage And when M. More calleth it heresie to thinke that the maried were as pleasaunt to God as the vnmaryed he is surely an hereticke that thinketh the cōtrary Christes kingdom is neither meate nor drinke nor husband nor wife nor widow nor virgine but the keepyng of the commaundementes and seruing of a mans neighbour louingly by the doctrine of S. Paul where not to eate helpeth me to keepe the commmaūdementes better then to eate there it is better not to eate then to eate And where to eate helpeth me to keepe the commaundementes and to do my dutie vnto my neighbour there it is better to eate then not to eate And in like case where to be without a wife helpeth more to keepe the cōmaundemētes and to serue a mans neighboure there it is better to be vnmaryed then maried and where a wife helpeth to keepe the commaundementes better then to be without there it is better to haue a wife then to be wythout That hart onely which is ready to do or let vndone all thinges for his neighbours sake is a pleasaunt thing in the sight of God And when he will haue the Priestes to liue chast for reuerence of the Sacramentes it is deuillishe doctrine hauing the similitude of godlines but the pith marow is away If he meane water oyle salt and such like then is y ◠wyfe with her body and all her vses in the lawes of God incomparable purer holyer If he meane the sacrament of Christes body I aunswere that the handes defile not the man nor ought that goeth thorow the handes be they neuer so vnwashed by the testimony of Christ and much lesse can they then defile Christ Moreouer the Priest toucheth not Christes naturall body wyth his handes by your owne doctrine nor seeth it with his eyes nor breaketh it wyth hys fingers nor eateth it wyth hys mouth nor chāmeth it with his teeth nor drinketh his bloud with his lippes for Christ is impassible But he that repenteth toward the lawe of God and at the sight of the sacrament or of the breaking feling eating chamming or drinking calleth to remembraunce the death of Christ his body breaking and bloud shedding for our sinnes and all his passion the same eateth our Sauiours body and drinketh his bloud thorow fayth onely receaueth forgeuenes of all his sinnes therby and other not And all that haue not this doctrine of the Sacrament come therto in vaine And therfore there is no more cause that he which sayth the Masse should liue chast then he that heareth it or he that ministreth the Sacramēt then he that receaueth it It is to me great maruell that vnlawfull whoredome couetousnes and extortion can not defile their handes as well as law full matrimonye Curssed therefore be their deuillishe doctrine wyth false appearing godlines the fruit and power away out of the hartes of all Christen men And when he bringeth the ensample of the heathen I prayse him For the heathen because they could not vnderstand God spiritually to serue hym in the spirit to beleue in him and to loue his lawes therfore they turned hys glory vnto an Image and serued hym after their owne imagination with bodely seruice as the whole kingdome of the Pope doth hauing lesse power to serue hym in spirite then the Turkes For when the heathē made an Image of the axes or feuers and sacrificed ther to they knew that y e Image was not the feuers but vnder y e similitude of y e Image they worshipped the power of God which plagued them with the feuers with bodely seruice as the Pope doth aboue all the Idolaters that euer were in the worlde As when we paint Saint Machael weying the soules
to light that it can no lōger be hid get thē vnto the elders of the people the Lordes gentlemen and temporall officers and to all that loue this worlde as they do and vnto whosoeuer is great wyth the kyng and vnto the kyngs grace himselfe and after the same ensample and wyth the same perswasions cast them into like feare of losing of their worldly dominions and rore vnto them saying ye be negligent and care nothing ot all but haue a good sport that the heretickes rayle on vs. But geue thē space a while till they be growen vnto a multitude and then ye shall see them preach as fast against you and moue the people agaynst you and do their beste to thruste you downe also and shall cry hauocke and make all common O generation of serpentes how well declare ye that ye be the right sonnes of the father of all lyes For they which ye call heretickes preach nothing saue that which our Sauiour Iesus Christ preached and his Apostles adding nought therto nor plucking ought therfro as the Scripture commaundeth and teach all men repentaunce to God and his holy lawe and fayth vnto our Sauiour Iesus Christ and the promises of mercy made in hym and obedience vnto all that God commaundeth to obey Neyther teach we so much as to resiste your most cruell tyranny with bodely violence saue wyth Gods worde onely entending nothing but to driue you out of the temple of Christ the harts consciences and soules of mē wherein with your falshead ye sit and to restore agayne Iesus our Sauiour vnto his possession and inheritaunce bought with his bloude whence ye haue driuen him out with your manifolde wyles and subtiltie Take heede therefore wicked Prelates blynde leaders of the blynde indurat and obstinate hypocrites take heede For if the Phariseis for their resisting the holy Ghost that is to say persecuting the open and manifest truth and sleying the preachers therof escaped not the wrath vengeaunce of god how shall ye scape which are farre worse thē the Phariseis For though the Phariseis had shut vp the Scripture and set vp theyr owne professions yet they kept theyr owne professions for the most part But ye will be the chiefest in Christes flocke and yet wyll not keepe one iot of the right way of his doctrine Ye haue therto set vp wonderfull professions to be more holy therby thē ye thinke that Christes doctrine is able to make you and yet keepe as little thereof except it be with dispensations in so much that if a man aske you what your maruelous fashioned playing coates and your other popatrye meane and what your disfigured heades all your Apishplay meane ye know not and yet are they but signes of thinges which ye haue professed Thyrdly ye will be Papistes and holde of the Pope and yet looke in the Popes lawe and ye keepe thereof almost nought at all but whatsoeuer soundeth to make for your bellyes and to maintaine your honour whether in the Scripture or in your owne traditions or in the Popes lawe that ye compell the laye people to obserue violently threatening them with your excommunications and cursses that they shal be damned both body and soule if they keepe them not And if that helpe you not then ye murther them mercilesly with the sworde of the temporall powers whom ye haue made so blinde that they be ready to sley whom ye cōmaūde and will not yet heare his cause examined nor geue him roome to aunswere for himselse And ye elders of the people feare ye God also For as the elders of the Iewes which were partakers with the Scribes and Phariseis in resisting the holy Ghost and in persecuting the open truth and sleying the witnesses therof and in prouoking the wrath of God had their parte with them also in the day of wrath and sharpe vengeaunce which shortly after fell vppon them as the nature of the sinne against the holy Ghost is haue her damnation not onely in the worlde to come but also in this life according vnto all the ensamples of the Bible and autenticke stories since the worlde beganne euen likewise ye if ye will wincke in so open cleare light and let your selues be led blyndfold and haue your part with the hypocrites in lyke sinne and mischief be sure ye shall haue your part with them in lyke wrath and vengeance that is like shortly to fall vpon them And concernyng that the hypocrites put you in feare of the rising of your commons agaynst you I aunswere if ye feare your cōmōs so testifie ye agaynst your selues that ye are tyrauntes For if your consciences accused you not of euill doyng what neede ye to feare your commons What commons was euer so euil that they rose against their heads for well doyng Moreouer ye witnesse agaynst your selues also that ye haue no trust in God For he hath promised the temporall officers assistence if they minister their offices truly and to care for the keepyng of thē as much as they care for to kepe his lawes The hypocrites happly byd you take an example of the Vplanoish people of Almany which they lye that Martin Luther styrred vp For first what one sentence in all the writyng of Martin Luther finde they that teacheth a mā to resist his superiour Moreouer if Martin Luther and the preachers had styrred vp the common people of Germany how happened it that Martin Luther other like preachers had not perished likewise with them whiche are yet all alyue at this houre Ye will aske me who styrred thē vp them I aske you Who styrred vp the commōs of the Iewes to resiste the Emperour after that the Scribes and Phariseis with the Elders of the people had slayne Christ his Apostles Verely the wrath of God And euen so here the wrath of God styrred them vp partly to destroy the enemyes and persecutours of the truth and partly to take vengeaunce on those carnall beastes whiche abused the Gospell of Christ to make a cloke of it to defend their fleshly libertie and not to obey it and to saue their soules therby If Kynges Lordes and great men therfore feare the losse of this worlde Let them feare God also For in fearyng God shall they prolong their dayes vpon the earth and not with sightyng agaynst God The earth is Gods onely his fauour and mercy doth prolong the dayes of kynges in their estate not their owne power and might And let all men be they neuer so great hearkē vnto this and let this be an aunswere vnto them Wicked kyng Achab sayd vnto the Prophet Elias Art thou he that troublest Israell And Elias aūswered it is not I that trouble Israell but thou and thy fathers houshold in that ye haue forsaken the commaundementes of the Lord and folow Idoles Euen so the preachers of the truth which rebuke sinne are not the troublers of
is my bloud of the new Testament takyng the cup for drinke by a maner of speaking vsed in all tounges as when we say I haue dronke a cup of wine we take there the cuppe for the wyne My bloud of this new Testamēt that is to say my bloud for whose shedding sake this new Testament and couenaūt is made to you for the forgeuenes of sinne The old Testament made betwene God and your fathers in mount Synai in whiche life was promised to thē onely that kept it and to the breakers death wrath and vengeance and to be accursed and no mētion made of mercy whiche was confirmed with bloud Exodus 24. Moyses offered halfe the bloud to God and sprinkeled the people with the other halfe to cōfirme the couenaunt and to bynde both parties neither was there any couenaūt made that was not confirmed with bloud as it is rehearsed Hebrues the 9. And as we see in the bookes of Moses whose custome of bloushedding was not onely to confirme those old couenauntes but also to be a prophecie of the bloud that should be shed to confirme this Testament That old cruell fearefull testamēt which drew y e people away so that they durst not abyde the voyce of thunder nor the terrible sight of the fire but went and stode a farre of was cōfirmed with the bloud of calues But this new and gentle Testament which calleth agayne and promiseth mercy to all that will amend And as it is a better Testamēt so is it confirmed with a better bloud to make men see loue to loue agayne and to be a greater confirmation of the loue promised For if he gaue vs his sonne what will he deny vs If God so loued vs whē we were sinners and knew him not that hee gaue his sonne for vs how much more loueth he vs now whē we loue agayn and would fayne kepe his cōmaundementes In the old couenauntes the people were sprinckled with bloud of calues without in their bodies to bynd thē to keepe the law els we were boūd to iust damnatiō for the breakyng of it Here it is sayd drinke of it euery one that your soules within may bee sprinkled and washed thorough fayth with the bloud of the sonne of God for the forgeuenes of sinne and to be partakers of a more easie and kynde Testament vnder which if you sinne thorough fragilitie you shal be warned louingly receiued to mercy if you will turne agayne and amend Marke in the. 14. And as they dyd eate Iesus tooke bread and when hee had geuen thākes he brake it gaue it to them sayd Take eate this is my body and he tooke the cup and when he had geuē thākes he tooke it to thē they al drāke of it And he said to thē this is my bloud of y e new Testament whiche is shed for many This is all one with Mathew as is aforesayd Luke in the 22. And he tooke bread when he had geuen thankes he brake it and gaue to them saying This is my body which is giuen for you this do in remembraunce of me Likewise also when he had supped he tooke the cup saying This cuppe is the new Testament in my bloud which is shed for you Here is also to be noted that y t cause of the institution was to be a memoriall to testifie that Christes body was giuē and his bloud shed for vs. And agayne where Mathew Marke sayd this is my bloud in the new Testament Luke sayth This cup is the new testamēt in my bloud whiche shal be shed for you This is a straunge speakyng far frō the vse of our toung to call the signe confirmation by the name of the thing that is signified confirmed The Testament is that Christes bloud is shed for our sinnes And Christ sayth This cup is that testament signifieng thereby that y e thing that is meant by this ceremony is that we beleue that his bloud shedding is the remissiō of our sinnes which is the very Testament Paul 1. Cor. 11. saith on this maner That which I deliuered vnto you I receaued of the Lord. For the Lorde Iesus the same night in the whiche he was betrayed tooke bread and when he had geuen thankes he brake it and said Take ye and eate this is my body which is broken for you this do in remembraūce of me After the same maner also he tooke the cup when he had supped saying This cup is the new Testament in my bloud this do as oftē as ye drinke it in the remēbraūce of me For as often as ye shall eate this bread and drinke this cup ye shall shewe the Lordes death vntill he come As Mathew and Marke agree in these wordes So do Lucas and Paul And as it is aboue declared vppon the wordes of Luke and so here by oft repeatyng one thyng This do in remembraunce of me This cup is the new Testament in my bloud This do as oft as ye drinke it in the remembraunce of me Agayne as oft as ye shall eate of this bread and drinke of this cup so oft ye must declare the Lordes death By this oftē repeatyng I say ye may euidently perceaue the cause entēt and whole purpose of the institution of this Sacrament was to testifie and confirme the fayth of the Testament made in the death of Christ how that for his sake our sinnes shal be forgeuen So do this in the remembraunce of me that is to say Take bread wyne and rehearse the couenaunt and testament ouer them How that my body was broken and my bloud shed for many and thē geue them to the people to eate and drinke to be a signe and earnest and the seale of the Testament crie vpon them without ceassing to beleue in me onely for the remission of sinnes and not to dispayre how weake soeuer they be onely if they hang on me and desire power to keepe the law after my doctrine and example of my lyfe and do morne and be sory bycause they cannot do that good thyng which they would For sayth Paul who soeuer shall eate of this bread or drinke of the cup of the Lord vnworthely shal be giltie of the body and bloud of the Lord that is to say whoso receaueth the Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ with an vncleane hart not forsaking the old lustes of the flesh Nor purposing to folow Christ and to loue his neighbour as onely Christ was to hym mercyfull The same sinneth agaynst the body bloud of Christ In that hee maketh a mocke of the earnest death of Christ as it is written Hebrues the. 10. treadeth Christ vnder foote and counteth the bloud of the Testament wherwith he was sāctified as an vnholy thyng doth dishonour to the spirite of grace Of this ye may perceaue agayne what the Sacrament meaneth what the entent of the ordinaunce
was and how such ceremonies came vp and whence they had their begynnyng and what the frute thereof is and what is therin to be sought And though this were inough so that I might here wel cease yet because the vnquiet scrupulous and superstitious nature of man wholy giuen to Idolatrie hath styrred vp such traditions about this one Sacrament most specially I cannot but speake therof somewhat more and declare what my conscience thinketh in this matter Ye shall vnderstand therfore that there is great dissention and three opinions about the woordes of Christ where he sayth in pronouncyng the testament ouer the bread This is my body And in pronouncyng it ouer the wyne This is my bloud One part say that these woordes This is my body This is my bloud compell vs to beleue vnder payne of damnation that the bread and wyne are chaunged into the very body and bloud of Christ really As the water at Cana Galilee was turned into very wyne The second part sayth we be not bound to beleue that bread and wyne are chaunged but onely that his body and bloud are there presently The thyrd say we be bound by these woordes onely to beleue that Christes body was broken and hys bloudshed for the remissiō of our sinnes and that there is no other satisfaction for sinne then the death and passion of Christ The first say these woordes This is my body This is my bloud compell vs to beleue that thynges there shewed are the very body and bloud of Christ really But bread and wyne say they cannot be Christes naturall body ther fore the bread and wyne are chaunged turned altered and transubstantiated into the very body bloud of Christ And they of this opinion haue busied them selues in seekyng subtilties and similitudes to proue how the very body and bloud might be there vnder the similitude of bread and wine onely the very bread and wyne beyng thus trāsubstantiated And these men haue ben so occupyed in slaying all that wil not captiue their wits to beleue them that they neuer taught nor vnderstode that the Sacrament is an absolution to all that therby beleue in the body bloud of Christ The second part graunt with the first that the wordes compel vs to beleue that the things shewed in the Sacrament are the very body and bloud of Christ But where the first say bread and wine cannot be the very body and bloud of Christ There they vary and dissent from them affirming that bread and wine may and also is Christes body really and very bloud of Christ and say that it is as true to say that bread is Christes body and that wyne is hys bloud as it is true to say Christ beyng a very mā is also very God And they say as the Godhead and manhode in Christ are in such maner coupled togegether that mā is very God and God very man Euen so the very body and the bread are so coupled that it is as true to say that bread is the body of Christ and the bloud so annexed there with the wyne that it is euen as true to say that the wyne is Christes bloud The first though they haue slayne so many in and for the defence of their opinion yet they are ready to receiue the second sort to fellowshyp not greatly striuyng with them or abhorryng the presence of bread and wyne with the very body and bloud so that they yee by that meanes may keepe hym there still and hope to sell hym as deare as before and also some to bye hym and not to minish the price The thyrd sort affirme that the wordes meane no more but onely that we beleue by the thyngs that are there shewed that Christes body was brokē and his bloud shed for our sinnes if we will forsake our sinnes turne to God to kepe his law And they say that these sayinges This is my body and This is my bloud shewyng bread wyne are true as Christ meant them and as the people of that countrey to whō Christ spake were accustomed to vnderstand such wordes and as the Scripture vseth in a thousand places to speake As when one of vs sayth I haue dronke a cup of good wyne that saying is true as the mā meant that he dranke wyne onely and not the cup whiche wordes happely in some other nations eares would sound that he dranke the cuppe And as when we say of a child This is such a mans very face the wordes are true as the maner of our land is to vnderstand them that the face of the one is very like the other And as whē we say he gaue me his fayth and hys truth in my hand the wordes are true as we vnderstand them that he stroke handes with me or gaue earnest in signe or token that he would byde by his promise For the fayth of a mā doth alway rest in his soule and cannot be giuen out though we giues signes and tokens of them Euen so say they we haue a thousād examples in the Scripture where signes are named with names of thynges signified by them As Iacob called the place where hee saw the Lord face to face Phenyell that is Gods face when he saw the Lord face to face Now it is true to say of that field that it is Gods face though it be not his very face The same field was so called to signifie that Iacob there saw God face to face The chief hold and principall ancre that the two first haue is these words This is my body This is my bloud Vnto these the third aunswereth as is aboue sayd other textes they alledge for them selues whiche not onely do not strength their cause but rather make it worse As in y e sixt of Iohn which they draw and wrest to the carnall and flesh ly eating of Christes body in y e mouth when it onely meaneth of this eatyng by fayth For when Christ sayd except ye eate the flesh of the sonne of mā and drinke hys bloud ye haue no lyfe in you This cannot be vnderstanded of the Sacrament For Abraham had life and all the old holy fathers Christes mother Elizabeth Zacharias Iohn Baptist Symeon Anna and all the Apostles had lyfe already by fayth in Christ Of which not one had eatē hys flesh and dronke his bloud with theyr bodily mouthes But truth it is that the righteous liueth by his fayth Ergo to beleue and trust in Christes bloud is the eatyng that there was meant as the texte well proueth if they say we graunt that life commeth by faith but we all that beleue must be Baptised to keepe the law and to keepe the couenaunt in mynde Euen so all that lyueth by fayth must receiue the Sacrament I aunswere The Sacrament is a confirmation to weake consciences and in no wise to be despised howbeit many haue lyued by fayth in the wildernes whiche in 20. 30.
but inuisible and still bodely present hee would neuer haue couered hym selfe with the cloude shewyng them and testifying also by those ij men his very bodely AsceÌ„tion out of their sightes We may not make of hys very bodely AscentioÌ„ such an inuisible iugglyng cast as our Papistes fayne Fashionyng and fayning Christ a body now inuisible now in many places at once theÌ„ so great and yet in so litle a place not decerned of any of our senses now glorified now vnglorified now passible and then impassible and I wote neare what they imagine and make of their maker and all without any woorde yea cleane agaynst all the wordes of holy Scripture For surely in this their imagination and so saying they bryng in a fresh the heresie of that great heretike Marcian which said that Christ tooke but a phantasticall body And so was neither verely borne nor suffered nor rose nor ascended verely neither was he very man Which heresie Tertulian confuteth Christ toke verely our nature such a passible and mortall body as we beare about with vs saue that he was without all maner of synne In such a body he suffered verely and rose agayne from death in such a glorified body now immortall c. as euery one of vs shall ryse at the generall iudgement It is appropried onely to hys Godhead to be euery where and not to bee circumscribed nor conteined in no one place And as for our Papistes prophane voyde voyces his body to be in many places at once indifinitiue incircumscriptiue non per modum quaÌ„ti neque localiter c. which includeth in it selfe contradiction of which Paule warned Timothe callyng them the oppositions of a false named science for that theyr Scholasticall Diuinitie must make obiections agaynst euery truth be it neuer so playne with pro contra whiche science many that professe it sayth Paul haue erred from the fayth as for this contention and battayle about wordes profitable for nothyng els but to subuert the hearers I care not for them For I haue the almighty testimony of the euerlastyng word of God ready to soyle all theyr madde and vnreasonable reasons to wype them cleane away and to turne them into their own confession And for bycause they hold them so fast by Paule I shall loose theyr hold expoundyng the Lordes Supper after Paule which addeth immediatly vnto the cup this y t Luke there left foorth Doe ye this into my remembraunce This doth Paule repete so ofte to put vs in minde that these thankes giuing and Supper is the coÌ„memoration and the memoriall of Christes death Wherfore after all hee repeteth it yet agayne the thyrde tyme saying So oft as ye shall eate this bread hee calleth it still bread euen after the Popes consecration and drinke the cuppe he sayth not drinke this bloude see that ye gyue thaÌ„kes be ioyous and preach the death of the Lord for so much signifieth Anâ—â—â—ciate in this place vntill hee come that is to say froÌ„ the tyme of his death and Ascention vntill hee come agayne to iudgement Furthermore sayeth Paule who so eateth this bread he calleth it still bread or drinke of the cuppe of the Lord vnworthely is giltie of the body and bloud of the Lord. The body and bloud of the Lorde Paule calleth here the congregation assembled together to eate the Lordes Supper For they are his body and bloud which are redemed with his body and bloud as he said in the x. chapter before The cup of thankes giuyng whiche we receiue with thaÌ„kes is it not the felowshyp of the bloud of Christ The bread whiche we breake is it not the felowshyp of the body of Christ For we beyng many together are one bread and one body Loe here Paule expoundyng hym selfe vseth the same forme of spech that is vsed in these woordes This is my body takyng is for signifieth We are one bread one body that is to say we are signified by one loafe of bread to be one body he sheweth the cause addyng because we be all partakers of one lofe or peece of bread And in the xij chapter folowing he sayth plainly ye be the body of Christ and his particular members and in the first to the Ephesians God dyd set Christ to be the head ouer all vnto hys congregation whiche is his body c. And bicause the comparison in the x. chapter betwene the Lordes borde and his cup and the deuils borde and his cup do declare this matter I shall recite Paules wordes saying ye may not drinke the cup of the Lord and the cuppe of the deuill both together Ye may not bee partakers of the Lordes borde the deuils borde both at once The deuils borde and hys cuppe was not his body and bloud but the earing and drinkyng before their images and Idols as dyd the heathen in the worshyppe and thankes of theyr Gods Of the which thyng thou mayst gather what Paul meant by the Lordes borde and his cuppe Now let vs returne to Paule in the xâ— chapter They eate this bread and drinke of this cup vnworthely that come not vnto this borde with such faith and loue as they professed at their Baptisme They eate vnworthely that thrust them selues in among this congregation hauyng not the loue that this SacrameÌ„t and signe of vnity teacheth and signifieth Which maner of people Paule in y e same chapter rebuketh and bendeth all his Sermon agaynst them for that they were conteÌ„tious and came together not for the better but for the woorse So that their commyng together which should haue bene a token of fayth and loue was turned into the occasion and matter of disscution and strife bycause euery man dyd eate as Paule sayth hys owne supper and not the Lordes supper wherein the bread and drinke is common as well to the poore as to the riche But here the rich disdayned the poore and would not tarye for them So that some as the rich went theyr way dronken and full and the poore departed hungry and dry whiche was a token of no equall distribution of the bread and drinke and that the rich contemned the poore and so became sclauÌ„derous and giltie of the body bloud of Christ that is to witte of the poore congregation redemed with Christes body and bloud Thus they that came together appearyng to haue had that loue whiche the Supper signified and had it not vttered them selues by this conteÌ„tious and vnlouyng dealyng not to be members of Christes body but rather giltie and hurtfull vnto them As if a souldier of our aduersaries part shoulde come in among vs with our Lordes badge hauyng not that hart fayth and loue to our captaine that we haue we would if we espyed it by any token take him for a spye and betrayer rather then one of vs. Let a man therefore sayth Paule proue him selfe well before whether he hath this fayth to Christ
loue to God and his neighbour which all he professed at Baptisme and this Supper signified and so come in among the congregation to eate of this bread drinke of this cup he calleth it still bread and wyne neither his body nor bloud For he that eateth drinketh vnworthely eateth and drinketh hys owne damnation bycause he discerneth not the Lordes body He calleth still the Lordes body the congregation redemed with Christes body as he dyd before and also in the chapter folowyng fetching his analogie and similitude at the naturall body In which although there be diuers members one excelling an other one inferiour vyler and more cōtemptible then an other yet may not the body want them but must couer them reuerently and hold them in honour Agayn in the body though there be diuers members of diuers offices yet is there no discorde among them but euery member bee it neuer so low and vyle yet doth it minister and serue an other and all together hold vp and helpe the whole body This consideratiō with these cōparisons so eloquently so plenteously so liuely doth Paule set forth in that xij chap. that no mā cādesire any more And all to bryng vs into the consideration and discretion of the body of Christ which is his congregation without whiche consideration and discretion if we thrust our selues in with his signe and recognisance faynedly we be but hypocrites and eate and drinke our owne iudgement For this cause many are sicke among you and many are a slepe that is are dead Here it semeth some plage to haue bencast vppon the Corinthians for this abuse in the eatyng of the Lordes Supper For both the law the Prophetes threatened vs plagues as pestilence famine and sword for our sinnes For if we had iudged our soules that is if we had diligently examined our owne liuyng repented we should not haue ben iudged that is to say punished of y t Lord. But while we be punished we be corrected of the Lord lest we should be condemned with the world Wherfore my brethren when ye come together to eate tary one for an other Here is the cause of all this dissention wherfore Paule rebuketh them But here might some of them obiect tell Paul Syr we come thether hungry and may not tary so long wherunto Paul aunswereth as he dyd before saying Haue ye not houses to eate drinke in Do ye contemne the cōgregation of God and shame them that haue none Here he calleth the poore the church of God whom afterward he called the body of the Lord and now at last he sayth If any mā be so hūgry let him eate somewhat at home and so delay his hunger that he may the better tary for the pore lest ye come together vnto your condemnation And as for other thynges I shall dispose and set in order when I come These other thynges were concerning this Supper and such as were out of frame among them whiche if ye read the whole Epistle are easie to see that they were no necessary truthes for their saluation For all such truthes Paule had preached them before and written them to Neither were these other thinges Lent Fast the Assumption of our Lady halowyng of bowes Belles and Ashes halowyng of Vestimentes and crepyng to the Crosse with such other vnwritten vanities as M. More lysteth to lest and tryful out the truth Now haue ye the very pure sense of these Christs wordes this is my body that is to say This signifieth or representeth my body takyng Est for significat As M. More hym selfe vttered it in his Dialogue put forth in William Barlowes name recityng the opinions of Oecolampadius and Zwinglius saying this is my body is as much to say as this signifieth my body where he saith that Oecolampadius alledgeth for hym Tertulian Chrisostome and Austen but falsely sometyme addyng more to their wordes sometyme takyng away from theyr sentēces Which saying is playne false and hee belyeth the man now departed for first his incomparable learnyng and verye spirituall iudgement would not suffer hym to be ignoraunt in the vnderstandyng of these old holy Doctours whom I dare say he vnder stode as well as More And his couscience and faythfulnes would not suffer hym falsely to peruert them as M. More belyeth and peruerteth Christ Paule and all holy Scripture And if this mā had thus dealt with these Doctours sayinges Luther agaynst whom he did cōtende in this matter would not haue left it vntold hym But Christē reader to put thee out of doubt haue here these doctours own wordes both in Latine and Englishe And first heare Tertulian where thou must first vnderstād that there was an hereticke called Marcion saying that Christ tooke not to hym the very body of man but an imagiued and a phantasticall body to put of and on when he lysted and so not to haue ben borne verely of the virgine Mary nor yet to haue suffered verely death c. agaynst whom thus writeth Tertulian in hys fourth booke Professus itaque se concupiscentia concupisse edere pascha vt suum acceptum panem distributum Discipulis corpus suuni illum fecit hoc est corpus meum dicendo id est figura corporis mei Figura autem non fuisset nisi veritatis esset corpus Caeterū vacua res quod est phantasma figuram capere non posset Whiche wordes are thus in English spoken of Christ Whiche acknowledgyng hym selfe with how feruent desire he longed to eate the passeouer as his bread taken and distributyng to his Disciples made it his body saying This is my body that is to say the figure of my body For figure had it bene none except it were a very body For a voyde thyng which is a phantasie can receaue no figure Here it is playne that this is my body after the old holy Doctour is as much to say as this is the figure or signe that representeth or signifieth my body Also thus sayeth Austen Lex dicit non esse manducandū sanguinem quod anima sit sanguis Quod lex dicit sanguis est anima esse positum dicimus sicut alia multa penè omnia Scripturarum illarum Sacramenta signis figuris plena futurae predicationis quae iam per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum declarata est c. Possum etiam interpretari praeceptum illud in signo esse positum Non enim dubitauit Dominus dicere Hoc est corpus meum quum signum daret corporis sui Sic est enim sanguis anima quomodo petra erat Christus Nec tamen quum haec diceret ait petra significabat Christum sed ait petra erat Christus Quae rursus ne carnaliter acciperetur spiritualem illam vocat id est spiritualiter intelligi docet Whiche woordes be thus in English The law sayeth that bloud should not be eatē because the life is
make aunswere to thus Supper of the Lorde bringyng â—o â—or them their vnwritteÌ„ wordes dedes dreames for we haue compelled More with shame to flitte froÌ„ the Scripture strewed with their vame straunge termes which Paul damneth and geueth Timothe warning of I shall by gods grace so set the almighty word of God against them that all Christen shall see falshead and deceite in this SacrameÌ„t and so disclose theyr deuilish doctrine and fleighty iugglyng that all that can read Englishe shall see the trouth of Gods word openly beare downe their vnwritten lyes For it is verely the thyng that I desire euen to be written agaynst in this matter for I haue the solutions of all theyr obiections ready And know right well that the more they styrre this Sacrament the broder shall theyr lyes be spread the more shal theyr falsehead appeare and the more gloriously shall the trouth triumph as it is to see this day by long contention in this same and other lyke Articles which the Papistes haue so long abused and how More hys lyes vtter the truth euery day more and more For had he not come beggyng for the Clergy from Purgatory with his supplication of soules and Rastel and Rochester had they not so wysely played theyr partes Purgatory peraduenture had serued them yet another yeare neither had it so soone haue bene quenched nor the poore soule and Proctour there bene with his bloudy Byshop ChristeÌ„â—atte so farre coniured into hys owne Vtopia with a sachell about hys necke to gather for the proude Priestes in Synagoga Papistica When Christ was ascended into heauen and had sent his Apostles the spirite of truth to leade them into all truth perteinyng vnto our saluation euen â—nto hym that sayd I am the truth of whiche truth hee instructed them after his resurrection Luke xxiiij and they had preached the same truth nowe at IerusaleÌ„ Actes ij at which preachyng there were that receiued their wordes and were Baptised about iij. M. hys Apostles remembryng how their maistâ—â— Christ at his last Supper did institute and leaue them this holy Sacrament of his body and bloud to be celeâ—â—ated and done in his remembraunce among such as had receiued his Gospell were Baptised had professed hys fayth and would perseuer in his Religion dyd now in this first congregation celebrate the Lordes Supper breakyng the bread and eatyng it as Christ dyd teach them which Supper Luke and Paule called afterward the breakyng of the bread As Actes ij saying That they which gladly had now received Peters acte were baptised were perseuering in the doctrine of the Apostles and in the communioÌ„ and in the breakyng of the bread and in prayer whiche Sacrament was now a token of the perseueraunce in theyr Christen Religion now professed Of this breakyng of bread Luke writyng of Paule commyng vnto Troades sayth also that their vpon a Sabboth day when the Disciples were come together vnto the breakyng of the bread Paule made a Germon duryng to mydnight c. And that this was no common nor prophane vse but an heauenly Sacrament and a reuerent rite and vsage the circumstaunces of the action declare both in Luke and Paule shewyngit to be the very institutioÌ„ that Christ ordeyned at his Supper Paule thus recitynge this breakyng of the breake saying The bread whiche we breade is it not the felowshyp of the body of Christ y t is to say doth it not signifie vs to be the body of Christ that is hys congregation and people as doth the wordes folowyng declare Paule addyng the cause saying For we beyng many are all together siguified by the one loafe to be one body for that we be partakers of the same bread Also before he calleth in the same Supper the cup of thankes geuyng the felowshyp of the bloud of Christ that is to say the congregation redemed with Christes bloud The holy Sacrament therefore would God it were restored vnto the pure vse as y e Apostles vsed in it their tyme. Would God the secular princes which should be the very pastours and head rulers of their congregations coÌ„mitted vnto their cure would first coÌ„maunde or suffer the true preachers of Gods woorde to preache the Gospell purely and playnly with discrete libertie and constitute ouer eche particulare Parish such Curates as caÌ„ and would preach the word and that once or twise in the Weeke appoyntyng vnto theyr flocke certeyne dayes after their discretion and zeale to Godward to come together to celebrate the Lordes Supper At the which assemble the Curate would propone and declare them first this texte of Paule i. Corinthians xj So oft as ye shall eate this bread and drinke of this cuppe see that ye be ioyous prayse and giue thankes preachyng the death of the Lord c. whiche declared and euery one exhorted to prayer he would preach them purely Christ to haue dyed and bene offered vpon the altare of the Crosse for theyr redemption whiche onely oblation to be sufficieÌ„t sacrifice to peace the fathers wrath and to purge all the sinnes of the world Then to excite them with humble diligence euery man vnto the knowledge of hym selfe hys sinnes and to beleue and trust to the forgyuenesse in Christes bloud and for this so incomparable benefite of our redemption whiche were sold bondemen to sinne to geue thankes vnto God the father for so mercyfull a deliueraunce through the death of Iesu Christ euery one some singyng and some saying deuoutly one or other Psalme or prayer of thankes gyuyng in the mother toung Then the bread and wyne set before them in the face of the Churche vpon the table of the Lord purely and honesty layed let hym declare to the people the significations of those sensible signes what the action and deede moueth teacheth and exhorteth them vnto and that the bread and wyne be no prophane common signes but holy Sacramentes reuerently to be considered and receiued with a depe fayth and remembraunce of Christes death and of the shedyng of his bloud for our sinnes those sensible thynges to represente vs the very body and bloude of Christ so that while euery man beholdeth with his corporall eye those sensible Sacraments the inward eye of his fayth may see beleue stedfastly Christ offred and dying vppon the Crosse for his sinnes how his body was broken and his bloud shed for vs and hath giuen hym selfe whole for vs hym selfe to be all ours and what soeuer he dyd to serue vs as to bee made for vs of hys father our righteousnes our wisedome holynesse redemption satisfaction c. Then let this preacher exhort them louyngly to draw neare vnto this table of the Lord and that not onely bodely but also their hartes purged by fayth garnished with loue and innoceney euery man to forgyue eche other vnfaynedly and to expresse or at least wise to endeuour them to folow that loue whiche Christ dyd set before our
the poore become Peters patrimonie 352. b Altar 277. b Alteration of Gods word intollerable 23. a AlteratioÌ„ of bread into Christs body not proued by any scripture 465. b Alteration of thynges for the abuse therof 299. b Ambition 290. b. altereth her masters message 201. a Ambitious personnes haue neither fayth nor can doe good message 141. b Amendement of lyfe foloweth true faith 303. b. the same to be wished for 177. b Amendement may be in all thinges 393. a Amice 277. b Anger how no sinne 203. a Anker of our saluation 188. b Annoyntyng 408. b Annoyntyng of the head 227. a. and of Priestes sincerely 133. a Answere of the Popishe Churche 292. b. of Cloysterers to the poore 243. a Answere to the Papistes by Paule concernyng iustification 44. b Anselmus the Popes Chapleine 362. b Antichrist 406. b. What it signifieth 60. a. who it is 407. b Antichrist is knowen 286. b Antichrist his Churche 290. a. his properties 60. b Antichrist beleueth Christ to be commen in the fleshe 415. a. wresteth Scriptures 357. a Antichrist sendeth hys soorth with false names and signes 134. a Antichrist hath reigned among vs long tyme. 60. b. 407. a. subuerteth all thynges 162. b. turneth the roote vpward 130. a Antithesis betwene Christ and the Pope 175. b. betwene the Popes Church and Christes 292. b Antioch Peters see 358. b A poena culpa 151. a Apostles alledge not their owne authoritie 344. a. their fayth rayled on by Papistes 422. b. all had like authoritie of Christe 257. b. all sent out 358. a Apostles howe they blessed vs. 157. a. gaue vs no blynde ceremonies 129. a Apostles doubtfull 261. a. their ignoraunce 26. a Apostles howe they first celebrated the Lordes Supper 476. a. neither shauen shorne nor annointed 133. a. knew not the Popes vsurped authoritie 392. b Apostles taught thynges they write not 255. b. they taught obedience 340. preached Christ and not Peter 125. b. their doctrine is firme 256. b. must be cleaâ—ed vnto 40â— a Apostles preached repentauÌ„nce to the Iewes 28. a. made heretikes of the pope with their master Christ 265. a Apparaunt godlynesse in Popishe Decrees 312. a Appearaunce of godlynes 291. a Application of vowes 21. a Argumentes Popishe to bee noted 260. a. to know false Prophetes by 403. a Argumentes prouyng our saluation in Christ 432. a. Worthy notyng touchyng the Sacrament of the Lordes Supper 447. b Aristotle 103. a beleued of Papistes before Christ 61. b Aristotle and Plato cannot vnderstand the Scriptures 88. a Armour of the Popishe spiritualty 176. b. of a Christian man 423. a Armes sent into Fraunce 371. b A true story 369. a Attrition a new seyned word 148. b Auarice 405. a Aungels bound of the Pope 150. a Authority of Peter 358. b. of his successour onely is to preache 173. b. not aboue the rest 343. b Authoritie of the Pope 149. b. chalenged ouer God and man 150. a Auricular contession opened all secretes 116. b. standeth not with Gods Testament 155. b Austen his opinioÌ„ of the SacrameÌ„t Calleth it a signe of Christes body 474. b Austen his place of the Churche expouÌ„ded 266. a. he complayneth one hys tyme. 277. b B. BAdges of sundry fashions among the shauelynges 140. a Badge of loue 417. b Baggages superstitious 271. b Baggage all the Popes doctrine 248. b Balaam 251. a. 254. b Balaam an example 306. a Baptisme 14. b. 187. b. 226. a. description therof 14. b Baptisme figured by Circumcision compared with CircumcisioÌ„ 467. b. is euerlastyng 148. a. to vs as Circumcision to the Iewes 437. b Baptisme inward of the soule what 187. b â–ª Baptisme to what ende 411. a. teacheth repentaunce 14. b. what it woorketh in vs. 441. b. without fayth not auaylable ibidem Baptisme 〈◊〉 y t SacrameÌ„t of Christes Supper are most necessary 467. b Barren fayth without loue 332. b Bâ—…le betwene the spirite and the flesh 46. a Beauty of the tabernacle 9. a Beggers in times past not suffred to runne abroad 133. b Beggers Friers 355. a Begynnyng of penaunce and Purga toâ—… 97. b. of the Popes authoritie 352. b Behauiour in readyng Scriptures and Doctours 106. b Beleâ— in Christ what 131. a. in God and contempt of the world 7. b. of Christes humanitie and diuinitie 390. b Belefe in Gods promise iustifieth 117. b. in Christ 390. b Belefe must be takeÌ„ heede to 286. b Beâ—… of the resurrection is an article 〈◊〉 our fayth 431. b Belefe in Christ and that he dyed not alâ—â—e 130. b Belefe in God 238. b Beleuers in God whom 287. b. in man cursed 267. a Beleuers in Christ must folow him 132. b Beleuing remissioÌ„ of sinnes in Christ 321. a Belly Gods reproued of Christ 457. a Bels christined 152. a Benefite of Christes death of whom receaued 443. b Beren garius kyng of Lombardy 352. a â—…wyng of benefices wickedly 360. a Bibles searched for to bee burned 454. b 〈…〉 straunge worde to Popishe Curates 102. a 〈…〉 warnyng to y â— godly 454. b Byndyng lowsing 123. by the meanyng therof 174. a. and 150. a. b Byndyng and lowsing commeth thoroâ—…chyng 15. a. are of one 〈…〉 174. a Bâ—… 1â—4 a. and â—4â— b. ouerse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a. why ordayned 251. b Byshop described â—4 a Bysâ—… of Fraunce 114. b. of â—yn 〈…〉 b. 〈◊〉 Alâ—…e 114. b. of 〈…〉 â—â—essed downe the 〈◊〉 1â—… a 〈…〉 of Rome 〈◊〉 the proue 〈…〉 Their ofâ—… in primitiue 〈…〉 346. b 〈…〉 must not be â—â—gitiue 2â—2 a. 〈◊〉 should be 〈…〉 and not 〈…〉 285. b Bâ—â—hops 〈…〉 all 〈◊〉 b. they perseâ—… 114. b 〈…〉 not swâ—… 〈◊〉 kynges but 〈…〉 to them 〈◊〉 b. they 〈…〉 141. a 〈…〉 thâ—◠〈…〉 or reach false doctrine none of Gods annoynted 135. b Bishop of Durham 374. a Birdes and beastes examples of securitie 334. a Blasing of armes 113. a. and of hypocrites 291. b Blasphemy of Christes death by papistes 16. b Blessed who 34. b Blessednes through whom 394. a Blessyng 110. a. of God to Abraham 436. b. of Bishops 157. a Blessyng what it meaneth 145. a Blindnes through Allegories 14. a. of the Iewes 457. a. of our nature 44. a Bloud of Christ in whom lost 132. b Bloud of fayth feedeth Christ Gospell 453. b Bloud of Christ washeth away actual sinne 32. a. maketh perfect our workes 31. a Bloud sacrifices 424. b Bodyly exercise 280. a Bodyly seruice satisfieth not God 184. b. and 284. a. nor purgeth the soule 306. b Bodyly eatyng of Christe profiteth not 464. b Body of Christ spirituall in the Sacrament 310. b. naturally not in the Sacrament 316. b Body and bloud of Christ how to be receiued 316. b Body subiect to the Prince soule to God 271. b Boldnes of spirite in Christes cause bringeth immortalitie 454. a Bones not to be worâ—hypped 281. b Boniface the thyrd 347. b Bootes 134. b Borne of God all that loue hym 416. a Borowed spech 397. a Bountifulnes towarde our neighbour 383.
a Brasen Serpent 274. b. it was not God 299. a Bread 323. a. not coÌ„secrate by Christ 467. b. howe it signifieth Christes flesh 59. a Bread and wyne are Sacramentes to holy vses 477. a Bread and wyne in the Sacrament called the body and bloud of Christ 469. a Breakyng of promise 290. b Breakyng the Sacrament among Princes 295. b Bribetaking a pestilence in Iudges 123. a Brothers weakenes must be considered 40. b Buildyng of Abbeyes 351. b Buildyng on sande 246. a. 35. a Burbon the Emperours chief Capiâ—ayne 37â— a Burden of spirituall Lawyers 140. a Burtals are to be celebrated honorably and why 434. a C. CAlil what kynde of sacrifice 291. b Candles 280. a. 277. b Canonization 297. b Captiuitie of the Israelites 97. b Captious Papistes how to be aunswered 268. b Cap of maintenaunce 114. b Carnall man 293. b Carnall man ignorauut of Gods spirite 407. a Carnall weakenes comforted 454. a Cardinall Wolsey most false 375. a. his practise 368. b. had twoo faces 371. b. his hat 375. a Cardinal Wolsey and his Chaplems passed the xij Apostles in pompâ— 370. b Care of what sorte forbidden 236. a. of the Scripture 305. b. of a Christian man 100. b. of the spiritualtie for the temporaltie 192. b Care for worldly wealth to be reiected 234. b. to keepe Gods couenauÌ„â— the chief care 235. b Care due to euery man of what sort 236. b Carefulnes of god for y â— weake 189. a Carolus Magnus 348. b Cause of false miracles 301. a. of Turkish Iewish obstinacy 301. b Cause of loue searched of the spirituall 247. b Caution in swearyng 209. a Cautels in vowes 21. b Ceremonies 9. a. 12. a. 237. b. preferred by Papistes 278. b. Scholemasters to the Iewes 12. a. cause of ignoraunce 278. a. bryng not the holy ghost 152. b. cannot iustifie 10. a. reiected without good doctrine 248. a Ceremonies with their true signififations tollerable 278. b. confirme fayth 12. b. contayne profitable doctrine 12. b Ceremonies had significations generally at the begynnyng 277. b. why geuen 10. a Ceremonies of the communion how first they came into the Churche 277. a Ceremonies of the new Testament 226. a Ceremonies and Sacraments their vses 12. a Certification of pardon for sinnes 213. a Charles the Great his life 349. b. a whoremonger and a saint 350. a. b receiueth the Empyre of the Pope 349. a. an Emperour for the popes purpose 350. a. compelled all to obey the Pope 349. b Charles called of the Pope most Christian kyng 349. b 253. b. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Charitie 242. b. moderateth the law 209. a Charitie â—eruent in the primitiue Church 346. a Charitie hath diuerse significations 253. b Chastitie 242. b. fayned 20. b. wilfull 16. b. of the Clergy 315. a Chastitie of Priestes originall therof 347. b Chast vnchastitie of Papistes 311. a Chastising of the body is for our profite 328. b Cheeke to be strikeÌ„ on the other side what it meaneth 210. a Chief cause of the institution of the Sacrament 440. b Children of fayth Abrahams children 63. a. they woorke of loue 163. a Children of God obedient to the law 325. a. why tempted with aduersitie 236. a ChildreÌ„ all of wrath by Adam 337. b how to be brought vp 120. b. not to be rigourously dealt withall of pareÌ„tes 120. b. howe destroyed 120. b to be taught Gods word 101. b Choise put to vs in ij thynges 99. b Christ 226. a. he onely is holy 407. a a store house of mercy 64. b. our onely Sauiour 394. b. our example 195. b. our fayth and rocke 173. a. our lyfe 390. b. father of all righteousnes 72. a. our aduocate 395. a. our anker hold 6. a. our hope 91. a. our onely Phisitian 75. b. our righteousnes 82. b Christ purchaseth all goodnes for vs 70. b. his burden is easie 286. a. asure foundation 92. a. A perfect coÌ„forter of Christians 292. a Christ dyd good workes and why 383. a. his workes rewarded in vs. 92. b. his loue 164. b. the fulnes of all goodnes 424. a. the way to saluation ibid the comforter in all afflictions 440. b. no sinner 160. b. iustifieth the greatest sinner 120. a. loueth all ChristiaÌ„s alike 162. b. he brought saluation as AdaÌ„ brought sinne 46. a. his generall rule 63. b. an example of all goodnes 383. a. In hym we are all in all 75. a. his saying to hypocrites 409. a Christ ignoraunt of worldly matters 163. b. hys Church 187. b. he is very God 390. a. possessed by fayth bryngeth all goodnes 89. a. to whoÌ„ geuen 185. a. neither shaueÌ„ shorne nor annoynted with oyle 132. b. how hee was entreated 97. b. hys doctrine and the Popes contrary 409. b. his exchauÌ„ge with vs. 402. a. why he deliuered vs. 22. a. geuen to sinners 161. a. his coÌ„maundemeÌ„t to preach maketh Pristes 145. b. what authoritie he gaue his Apostles 150. b. onely without sinne 336. b Christ dyd all thynges for our saluation 382. b. onely mediatour betwen God and man 431. b. dwelleth in vs by fayth 464. a. In no cause to bee denyed 101. a. his seate is hys preachyng 175. a. will not falsefie the Scriptures 461. a. is very maÌ„ 390. a. his Vicare who 411. b. his flocke a litle flocke 105. b. his Disciples are acquaynted with hys phrases 460. b. his three witnesses 421. b. sent his Apostles with lyke authority 126. a. why he came from heauen to earth 458. a. Raignyng in vs all is good 163. b. Gods mercy stoole 379. a. his Churche euer persecuted 289. b. a kyng 401. a. kyng ouer death hell and sinne 394. b. preached in the old Testament 23. a Christes Gospell must bee fed with the bloud of fayth 453. b. hys passion to saluation not vnderstode of whom 187. b. most contrary to the Pope 145. a. and. 362. b. his steps how to be folowed 108. b. and. 73. a told his Disciples of hys AscentioÌ„ 470. b. playnly declareth his bodyly departure ibid. Christ causeth God to loue vs. 164. b openeth hym selfe to the Iewes 457. b. playnly declareth his bodyly departure 470. b. condemneth Phariseis and why 17. a. sought of many for a worldly purpose 105 b. compared with Ionas 27. b. persecuted and slayne with ChristiaÌ„s 139. a. his wordes offend y t Iewes and his Disciples 464. a. he is all to a Christian 163. a. 54. b. all in all things 102. a. his mercyfulnes 394. b. mercyfull to the penitent 29. a. preached repentaunce 28. b Christ why slayne 138. b. once sacrificed is a sacrifice for euer 447. a. onely an acceptable sacrifice 18. a. why he gaue hym selfe 394. a. hys bloud putteth away all sinne 72. b. an euerlastyng satisfaction 14. a. apprehended by faith 457. b. expoundeth the paschall lambe 439. b. his glorified body in heauen 471. a. his memoriall Masse 323. a. his bloud onely purchaseth remission of sins 55. b. his flesh y e foode of our soules 459. b. a
Sweete wordes baytes oâ—… 〈◊〉 â–ª b Sâ—… a. haue 〈…〉 Sâ—â—â—de of Pâ—pistes 〈…〉 T. Tâ—… why so â—…ull 〈…〉 Te Deâ—… the French kyng 372. 〈◊〉 Teâ—… 270. 〈◊〉 Temple 274. b Temâ—… reâ—…ment 211 〈◊〉 Temâ—… are not belongâ—… 〈…〉 342. 〈◊〉 Tâ—… of God what 〈◊〉 a. 〈…〉 Apostles 〈…〉 Tempâ—… Teâ—… of the Sacrament 4â—… a Testâ—…ie of God in true beleuers harts 〈◊〉 a Teâ—…tes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of obserâ—aâ—nt Fâ—… Tâ—… 〈◊〉 a Thankesgeuyng â–ª 477. b. â—o â—od 478. 〈◊〉 Thankes must be geuen to the graâ—ter of 〈…〉 433. a These dayes why called euill 71. b Thomâ—s of Câ—…er 302. a. â—61 b 〈…〉 â—40 b Thomas Aqâ—… a. 361. b Thoâ—…es 〈…〉 â—…nces 45â— a Thomas â—olsâ—y â—…d 36â— a â—…mas Arâ—… 363 â–ª 〈◊〉 â—…râ—es heare no sigges 〈…〉 â—hree 〈◊〉 at once 3â—4 〈◊〉 〈…〉 of man not to be â—…d 4â—… 〈◊〉 made Bâ—shâ—â— by 〈…〉 Paule 〈…〉 Tindall why he vseth the woâ—…â—…taunce 37. a. his submission to the learned 3. 〈◊〉 â—oyde of maâ—… 376. b. deceiued 2. b Tindall sweaâ—â—th 〈◊〉 b. moued to transâ—ate the Sâ—… protâ—… 〈…〉 1. a. 〈…〉 bookes and 〈…〉 Tindall 〈…〉 Tokens 〈…〉 Toâ—… b. 207 b Toâ—… 260. a Tâ—… 3â—â— a 〈…〉 b 〈…〉 Prâ—…es 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 by 〈…〉 Byâ—… 340. b 〈…〉 â—73 a. to the 〈…〉 wrought through conâ—… 155. 〈◊〉 layd agaynst the 〈…〉 373. 〈◊〉 〈…〉 practises 363. 〈◊〉 oâ— Preâ—…s 370. 〈◊〉 â—…ther of the 〈◊〉 of 〈…〉 〈…〉 by the 〈…〉 〈…〉 b. ofâ—… Gosâ—…er 3. a. of 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈◊〉 b. 9â— b 〈…〉 for the Gospell bringeth 〈…〉 〈…〉 payd oâ— the Popes 〈◊〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 Chriâ—…endâ—… the popes 〈…〉 preachyng of Gods 〈…〉 why 10â— b 〈…〉 Christ 〈◊〉 b 〈…〉 〈◊〉 a 〈…〉 271. b â—…es 〈…〉 â—08 〈◊〉 〈…〉 415. a. 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 〈…〉 â—…nce 254 â–ª a Truâ— prayer 〈…〉 pleasaâ—…t 221. a Truâ— preaâ—…ng bindeth and â—ouseth â–ª 15â—…â—28 〈◊〉 〈…〉 from Christes bloud 74. a True watchyng 81. b True woorshyppyng of the Sacrament what 324. a. Truth none in the Popish spiritualtie 376. b Trumpets blowyng 217. b Turkes 267. b. must bee resisted 338. b. haue no fayth and acknowledge one God 94. b. moe in number then Papistes 276. a. must be lameÌ„ted for their ignoraunce 248. a Turkes and Iewes thinke they can not dye 268. a Turkes their almose voyde of fayth abhominable 244. a Tullius chief of Orators 128. a Tunstall Byshop of London after Byshop of Durham 2. a Turney 371. a Tyrauntes why geuen vs. 207. a. cannot haue all their will 100. a. why God suffreth them to prosper 236. b Tyranny of Papistes 277. a. to cause a man to accuse him selfe 122. b V. VAgaboundes from fayth 358. b Vandales 351. b Vayne disputations 323. a Vayne names 123. a Vbiquetie cannot be proued 455. b Vengeaunce is Gods 110. b. must be remitted to God 93. a. will fall on tyraunts 342. a. poured on the vnpenitent by God 28. a. pertayneth to God onely 194. a Verb est taken for significat 469. a VenetiaÌ„s 364. b. neglected the pope 365. a Verities Papall vnwritten are not to be credited 389. a Vertue of Christes bloud 381. a Vertues inward knowen by the outward deedes 117. b Vertues diuine inseperable 188 a Vicare 102. b Vicar of Troydon 366. a Vigilancy required in Bishops 53. b Violence 211. a Victory of Christ 396. b Virginitie of our Lady 286. b Vnbelefe 321. a Vnbelefe sinne how taken in scriptures 41. b Vnfaythfull Iewes their sacrifiâ—â— despised 274. b Vnfaythfull woorshyp of God with outward Popery 422. b Vngodlynes 290. b Vnions 267. a Vnion of Doctours 327. a. a good booke 338. b Vnitie must not be broken 237. b Vnlawfull othesmust bee broken 124. a Vnmercyfull are saythles 334. a Vnrighteous steward who 72. a Vnspeakable mercy of God 416. b Vnthankefulnes 290. b VnthaÌ„kefull receauers eate drinke their damnation 473. a Vntowarde reasonyng of More 282. a Vnwoorthy receauers of Christes Supper who 443. a Voyde of fayth in Christ are wanderers 423 a Volowyng 152. a Voluptuous persons 380. a Votaries admonished 21. a Vowes 18. a. 315. b. and 326. b. of religion 398. b. made in generall for three caused ibidem howe to bee made and how applyed 21. a. vnlawfull not to be obserued 328. a. must be made warely 328. a. how they be good and what is a good vow 20. a Vpright officers in Gods sight 270. a Vprightnes required in all men 208. b Vprising sinner his chief ioy 384. a Vse of the Masse abhominable 427. a. of signes and ceremonies 269. a. of Gods creatures 328. a. of inferiour creatures to manward 270. b Vse of Popish vniuersities 361. a Vse of Christes Supper 466. a. and. 470. a W. WAlshmen 299. b Walsh customes 151. b Walking in light or darkenes 392. a Warre betwene kyng Henry and the Earle of Warwicke 366. b Warriour 212. a Warnyng to repent 376 a Watchyng superstitious 81. b Water and wyne mixed together 287. a Way to saluation Christ 424. a Way how we may bee made righteous 44. a Weake fleshe hath a strong spirite to God 99. b Weake brethren must bee louyngly dealt withall 49. b Weakenes of the flesh 393. b Weakenes and frayltie cause sinne in vs. 258. b Weakelynges to the world strong to Christ 99. b Weakelynges should bee taught and not deceiued 159. a Weddyng garment of fayth must bee put on at the Communion 477. b Well of swearyng 436. a Weying of soules 317. a Whore of Babylon 115. a. the Pope is she 384. a Whore caried about with the Emperour Charles the great 350. a Whores not wiues embraced of the Popes broode 134 a Whores please Papistes 362. b Whoredome licensed by the Pope 262. a Whoredome allowed and maringâ— forbidden 267. a Wicked Princes 341. b Wicked doynges of the Pope 320 a Wickednes of false Prophetes 239. a of Phariseis 202. a Wickednes remoued by preachyng 300. a Wickednes destroyeth wickednes 105. b Wickednes where committed 48. a Wiclesâ—e 28. a Widowes 313. a. and 345. b Widowes their office in the primitiue Church 313. a Wife 205. b Wilfull sinners feele not Goddes wrath in his law 44â— a Wilfull chastitie 16. b. not to be vowed of all 20. b Wilfull pouertie 16. b. howe to be vowed 18. a Wilfull obedience 17 a William Kyng 249. b William Roye a false Disciple 59 b Wild Irish 299. b Will in bondage 113. a Willes and Testamentes altered at the Popes pleasure 359. b Witte and will 306. b Witte leadeth the will 338. a Witte reason and iudgement go before will 329. a Witnesses many of Christes ascension into heauen 471. b Witches 300. b Witchcraft sorcery c. 8. b Wolsey the Cardinal in great estimation with the kyng 368. a. his subtiltie 371. a. vayneglorious 374. b. Legate a Latere 405. b. a traytour 373. a Wolsey ruled all 369. a Wolsey his last potion 404. a Wolfe in a lambes skinne is the pope 343. a Woman made whole by Christ and not by his coate 298. a Woman
be turned bodely into Christes bloud then is it also neâ—essarye that the water which is admixed be bodely turned into the bloud of the faythfull people For where as is one consecration must follow one operatioÌ„ And where as is lyke reason there must followe lyke mystery But whatsoeuer is signified by the water as concerning the faythfull people is taken spiritually Therefore whatsoeuer is spoken of the bloud in the wine must also néedes be taken spiritually Thys reason is not myne but it is made by one Bartram vppon a 700. yeares since when thys matter was first in disputation Whereupon at the instance of great Charles the Emperor he made a booke professing euen the same thyng that I do and proueth by the olde Doctors faythfull fathers that the Sacrament is Christes body in a mystery that is to say a signe figure or memoriall of hys body which was broken for vs and not hys naturall body And therefore that doctrine is new which other wyse teacheth not mine which is not myne but the doctrine of Christ and of the olde fathers of Christes Church till Antichrist began to sit and reigne in the temple of God Besides that Cyprian sayth that the people is annexed in the Sacrament through the mixture of water Therefore I maruell me much that they are so contentious and will not sée that as the water is the people so the wyne is Christes bloud that is to say in a mystery because it representeth Christes bloud as y e water doth the people Furthermore Eusebius sayth DuÌ„ in sacramentis vino aqua miscetur Christo fidelis populus incorporatur iungitur quandam ei copula perfecta charitatis vnitur That is to say Whiles in the Sacrament water is admixte with the wyne the faythfull people is incorporate and ioyned with Christ and is made one with hym with a certayn knot of perfite charitie Now where he sayth that we are ioyned and incorporate with Christ what fondnesse were it to contend sith we are there onely in a mystery and not naturally to contend I say with such pertinacitie that hys naturall bodye must be there and not rather that he is ioyned with vs as we are ioyned with hym and both in a mystery by the knot of perfite charitie The young man perceaueth well inough that an allegorie vsed in some place is not a cause sufficient to leaue the proper significations of Gods word in euery other place and seeke an allegorie and forsake the playne common sense For he confesseth that he would not so do saue for necessitie because as he sayth that the coÌ„mon literall sense is impossible For the thing he saith that is ment therby caÌ„ not be true That is to witte that the very body of Christ can be in the sacrament because the sacrament is in many diuers places at once and was at the Maundy that is to witte in the handes of Christ and euery of his Apostles mouthes And at that time it was not glorified And then he sayth that Christes body not being glorified could no more be in two places at once then his owne can And yet he goeth after further and sayth no more it can wheÌ„ it is glorified too And that he proueth by the saying of Saint Austen whose wordes be that the bodye with which Christ arose must be in one place c. Hetherto hath M. More reasoned reasonably but now he beginneth to decline from the dignitie of diuinitie into the dirtie dregges of vayne sophistrye For where I say that I must of necessitie séeke an allegorie because the literall sense is impossible and caÌ„ not be true meaning that it can not stand with the processe of Scripture but that other textes doe of necessitis constrayne me to construe it spiritually There catcheth he thys worde can and thys worde impossible and woulde make men beleue that I ment it coulde not bee true because reason can not reach it but thinketh it impossible And there he triuÌ„pheth before the victory and would know what article of our fayth I coulde assigne in which reason shall noâ—driue awaye the strength of my proofe and make me leaue y e literall sense wherin my proofe shoulde stand and send me to séeke an allegorye that might stand with reason and driue away y e fayth But now deare brethren sith I speak not of the impossibilitie of reason but of the impossibilitie to stand with other textes of Scripture ye may sée y t thys royall reasoÌ„ is not worth a rush TheÌ„ would he fayne know the place where S. Austen so sayth which thing although it were harde for me to tell sith I haue not hys bookes to looke for it yet I thanke God my memorye is not so bad but I caÌ„ shew hym where he shall finde it And because I thinke that hee is more accustomed to the Popes lawes then to Saint Austens workes sith hee is become the Prelates proctour and patrone I say he shall not fayle but find it in hys lawes de consecratione And where as hee would wrest the words of S. Austen which sayth that the bodye in which Christ arose must néedes bee in one place saying that he might meane not that hys body myght not be in diuers places at once but that it muste be in one place that is to say in some one place or other he speaketh sayth M. More nothyng of the sacrament nor sayth not hys body with which he rose must néedes be in one place that it can by no possibilitie be in any moe Thys seemeth to some a goodly glose and yet it shall proue but a vayne euasion For if a man woulde saye that the kings graces body must be in one place and then an other woulde expound y e notwithstaÌ„dyng hys wordes hys graces body might be in two places at once I thinke meÌ„ myght soone iudge that he delighted to delaye and myght say what néede bee to determine that he must be in one place except he thought in deede y â— he myght be in no moe but onely one And though men myght so argue on other mens words yet of S. Austens words thys must néedes follow for he bringeth them in as God would by a contrary Antithesis saying Corpus in quo resurrexit in vno loco esse oportet veritas autem eius vbique diffusa est That is to say Hys body wherein he rose must be in one place but hys truth is dispersed in all places Where he plainly concludeth by the coÌ„trary Antithesis that as hys truth is dispersed in all places so must hys body néedes be in one place onely As by example if a man shoulde say The kyng hys graces bodye must needes be in one place but hys power is throughout hys realme Where no maÌ„ doubteth but that in saying one place he meaneth one place onely And therefore though in some place y e worde must doth
naturall reasons be not worth the reasoning I will alledge you some moe to sée what you can say to them First euery sacrament is the signe of an holy thyng but the sacrament of the altar is a sacrament as all faythfull meÌ„ confesse ergo it must follow that the sacrament of the altar is the signe of an holy thyng Now if it be the signe of an holy thyng then it is not the holy thyng it selfe which it doth signifie and represent Why shoulde we then feare to call that bread a figure that is to say a sacrament of that holy body of our Lord and Sauiour 2. Besides that I woulde know of what necessitie or profite hys fleshe must be present in the sacrament For the presence of hys fleshe can no more profite vs then doth the remeÌ„brance of hys body but thys remembraunce may as well be done by the sacrameÌ„t as though hys bodye were present And therefore â—ith God and nature make nought in vayne it followeth coÌ„sequently y t his naturall flesh is not there but onely a memoriall therof 3. Furthermore the end and finall cause of a thyng is euer better then those thynges which are prouided for the end as the house is better then the lyme stone and timber which are prouided for the house but the ende and finall cause of the sacrament is the remembraunce of Christes body and thereupon it must followe that if the sacrament be hys naturall bodye that the remembraunce of Christes body should be better then hys body it selfe Which thyng is to be abhorred of all faythfull men 4. It were fondnes to fayne that the soule did otherwise eate then do the Angels in heauen and their meate is only the Ioy and delectation that they haue of God and of his glory and euen so doth the soule which is here vpon the earth eate through fayth the body of Christ which is in heauen For it deliteth and reioyceth whiles it vnderstandeth through fayth that Christ hath taken our sinnes vpon him and pacified the fathers wrath Neyther it is necessarie that for that or for this cause that his flesh should be present For a man may as well loue and reioyce in the thing which is from him not present as though it were present by hym of that manner 5. Moreouer the bread is Christes body euen as y e breaking of y e bread is the death of his body Now the breaking of bread at the maundy is not the very death of Christes body but onely a representatioÌ„ oâ— the same al be it the minde through fayth doth spirituallye behold his very death euen likewise that naturall bread is not the very body of our Lord but only a sacrament signe memoriall or representation of this same albeit through the monision therof y e mynde through fayth doth spiritually behold the very body And surely therof if a man be faythfull the sprite of God worketh in his hart very swéetely at his communion 6. Finally it was not lawfull to eate or drinke the bloud not onely of man but also of a brute beaste and the Apostels them selues moued by y e rule of Charitie did institute y â— meÌ„ should abstayne from bloud somewhat sauâ— ring the infirmitie of y â— Iewes Now if the Apostels had taught as ye do that in the sacrament his very fleshe and bloud is eaten and dronke with the téeth and mouth of faythfull and vnfaythfull what could haue bene a greater occasion to haue excluded the Iewes from Christes fayth euen at once Thinke you that Apostles would not haue bene to scrupulous to haue dronkeÌ„ his very bloud seing it was so playne agaynst Moses lawe if they had vnderstand hym so grossely as ye do Peter had a cloth sent downe from heauen in which were all manner of beastes forbidden by y e law and was commaunded to slay eate them And he aunswered God forbid for I neuer eate any vncleane thing meaning therby that he neuer eate any thing forbidden by the law Wherof it must néedes follow that either he neuer receiâ—ed the sacrameÌ„t whiche is playne false or elles that hee more spiritually vnderstode the wordes of Christes maundie then ye falslye fayne For it was plainely forbidden by the law to eate or drinke any maner of bloud And I know but one reason that they haue which they count insoluble how â—e it by Godes grace we shall sone auoyde it There reason is this Paule sayth he that eateth and drinketh this sacrament vnworthely shall be gilty of the body and bloud of the Lord. Now say they how should they be gilty of the Lords body and bloud which receiue it vnworthely except it were the very body and bloud of the Lord This argument I say is very weake and slender For I can shew many examples by the which it may be dissolued for he that despiseth the kinges seale or letters offendeth agaynst his owne person and yet the letter or seale is not his owne person He that violently plucketh downe his graces armes or breaketh his broade seale with a furious minde or violence committeth treason against his owne person And yet his armes and broad seale are not his owne person He that clippeth the kings coyne committeth treason against y e kynges person and the common wealth and yet the mony is neither his graces person nor the common wealth And therfore your argumeÌ„t is but weake and slender For euen as a man doth offende against the princes person by dispising his armes seale or letters So doth a man offend agaynst Christes body and bloud by abusing the sacrament of his body and bloud although he be not there present as y e kinges person is not present in his armes seale or letters Besides that S. Paule saith that euery man which prayeth or prophecieth with couered hed shameth his hed and his hed is Christ shall we therfore Imagin that Christ is naturallye in euery mans hed as your argument coÌ„cludeth For soth that were a prety phantasie Finally S. Austen sayth y â— he doth no lesse sinne which negligently heareth y e worde of God then doth the other whiche vnworthely receiueth y e sacrament of Christes body bloud Now if this be true then is your reason not worth a rishe For Christes naturall body is not in y e word which is preached as all men knowe And yet he sinneth no lesse that negligently heareth it then doth he that vnworthely receiueth the sacrament And thus you see their insoluble argument easely dissolued ¶ But now must this yong man consider againe that him selfe confesseth that the cause for which him selfe sayth that Christ in so saying did so meane is because that if he should haue ment so it was impossible to God to bring his meaning about that is to say that Christes body might be in two places at once And therfore but if he proue that thing impossible for God to doe els he
very face in the glasse And euen so though the Sacrament doe represent the body of Christ yet the substaunce of the Sacrament is not hys very body no more then the glasse is my face neither is his very body in y e Sacrament no more then my very face is in the glasse and thus this exāple maketh well for vs. And for that one word comming whole to an hundreth eares I say that worde is but a sounde and a qualitie and not a substaunce and therfore it is nothyng to our purpose and can not be likened to Christs body which is a substaūce And as concernyng the sight of the litle eye I say that though the eye discry and sée an whole countrey yet is not that whole coūtrey in the eye but as the countrey is knowen by y e sight of eye though the countrey be not in it so is the death of Christ and hys bodye breakyng and bloude shedyng knowen by the Sacrament though his naturall body be not in it And thus his exāples make nothyng with hym but rather much agaynst hym And where hee sayth that the young man hym selfe can geue hym no reasō by what meane they may be done I may say vnto hys mastershyp that whē I was seuen yeare yonger then I am this day I would haue bene ashamed if I could not haue geuen an euident reason at the Austens in Oxford before y e whole Vniuersitie And albeit I now vouchsafe not to spend labour and paper about Aristotles doctrine yet haue I so much touched hys examples that he may be werye of them Also I can not see why it shoulde be more repugnaunt that one body may be by the power of God in two places at once then that two bodyes may bee together in one place at once And that poynte I thinke this young mā denieth not The beyng of our body in two places at once is against nature Scripture cā not alow it But that two bodyes should bee in one place séemeth more reasonable For I haue good experience that though my body cā not be in two places at once both in the Tower and where I would haue it beside yet blessed be God in this one place I am not without cōpany But if M. More meane that in one proper and seueral place may be two bodies at once that I will deny till he haue laysure to proue it And yet at the length I am sure his proue shall not be worth a poodyng pricke For I am sure it must bee Ratione porositatis vt in igne ferro nam penetrationem dimensionum nunq probabit And then he is as neare as he was before Now his last reason with whiche he proueth it impossible for the body of Christ to bee in two places at once is this you cā sayth he shew no reason why he should be in many places at once not in all But in all places he can not be Wherefore we must conclude that he can not be in many places at once This is a maruelous concluded argument I am sure that euery childe may soone see that this consequēt cā neuer folow vpon these two premisses of this antecedent When I made this reason compiled my treatise I had no regard to the cauillations of sutle Sophisters for I thought no Sophisters should haue medled with that meate But neuerthelesse sith nowe I perceiue that they principally are pouryng on it séekyng some pray to set their teeth a woorke In this booke I haue somewhat prouided for them and haue brought such hard bones that if they be to busie may chaunce to choke thē And yet is not the Argument so feble as he fayneth For the first part if he lyst to consider the sense and mynde and bee not to curious where I say that they can shew no reason why hée should bee in many places and not in all is thus to be vnderstand of wyse men that the very reason and cause that he shold be in many places must be because y ◠body is so annexed with the Godhead that it is in euery place as the Godhead is This I say must be the cause and reason of his beyng in many places And neither you nor no man els can iustly assigne any other Now of this maior or first proposition thus vnderstand doth the cōclusion folowe directly For if this should be y e cause as they must nedes graunt And this cause proued false by Scripture then must they néedes graunt that the thyng whiche so foloweth of this cause must néedes be false And so is my purpose proued they concluded As by example the Astronomers say that the naturall course of the Sunne is frō the weast to the East Now if a mā should aske them what is then the cause that we sée hym dayly take the cōtrary course from the East to the Weast agaynst hys nature they aunswere Because the hyghest sphere whose course is from the East to the Weast with his swift mouyng doth violently drawe the inferior spheres with hym This is the cause that they alleage and no man can assigne any other And now sith I cā proue this sense false by scripture And S. Austen for Scripture sayth that y e sphere is fastened Hebr. viij chap. And S. Austen expoundyng that text improueth the Astronomers whiche affirme that it moueth sith I say this cause is proued false by scripture they must néedes graūt that the thyng whiche foloweth of this cause must néedes be false And so we may conclude against them all that the naturall course of the Sunne is not frō the Weast to the East as the Astronomers say But contrary from the East to the West And lykewise sith the cause that Christes body should be in many places is assigned of learned men to be because hys body is so annexed with the Godhead which is in euery place that it is also in all places with it no man can assigne any other And that this cause is proued false by Scripture for when the women sought Christ at his graue an aungell gaue the aunswere that hée was not there But if his body had bene in euery place then the aungell lyed Also Christ sayd vnto his Disciples of Lazarus which died at Bethania Lazarus is dead And I am glad for your sakes that you may beleue because I was not there Now if hys body were in euery place as is the Godhead then Christ sayd not truly when he said he was not there Therfore sith as I sayd this is the cause assigned yet proued false by Scripture they must néedes graūt that the thyng whiche foloweth of this cause must also néedes be false And so we may cōclude against thē all y e Christs body is in one place onely And now you may sée how my consequent foloweth the premisses For he can no further conclude but that we can shewe no
speake This the old Doctours and faythfull fathers so taught or thought as ye fayne of them is very false For S. Austen as I haue shewed maketh wholly for vs. Besides that there is none of the old fathers but they call it a Sacrament a misterie and misticall meate whiche is not eaten with tooth or bely but with eares fayth And touchyng the honour and worshyp done vnto it I say it is playne Idolatry And I say that he falsely reporteth on the old holy doctours For they neuer taught men to worship it neither cā he alledge one place in any of them all which would haue men to worshyp the Sacrament Peraduenture he may alledge me certaine new fellowes for his purpose as Dunce Dorbell Durand such draffe which by their doctrine haue drenched the world with damnable Idolatrie But I speake of the old holy fathers Doctors as S. Austē Ambrose Hierom Cyprian Cirille Chrisostome Fulgentius and such other these I say do not teach mē to worshyp it and by that I dare abide Of this point I am so sure that I will vse it for a contrary argument that his naturall body is not there present For if the holy fathers before named had taken this text after the letter and not onely spiritually then in there woorkes they would haue taught men to worshyp it but they neuer taught men to worshyp this Sacrament therfore it foloweth they tooke not the text after the letter but onely spiritually Now do I prouoke you to séeke a proofe of your purpose Neuerthelesse I will not deny but y ◠these holy Doctors in diuers places do call it his body as Christ and Paule do so do we likewise and say also that his very body is there eaten But yet we meane that it is eaten with fayth that is to say by beleuing y t his body was brokē for vs and haue his body more in memory at this maundy then the meate that we there eate And therfore it hath the name of his body because the name it selfe should put vs in remembraunce of his body and that his body is there chiefly eaten euen more through fayth then the meate with the mouth And so are they also to be vnderstand Yet one great pleasure he doth vs in that he putteth vs all at libertie that we may without perill of damnatiō beleue as we did before that is to witte that in the blessed Sacrament the whole substance of the bread and the wine is transmuted chaunged into the very body and bloud of Christ For if we may without perill of damnation beleue thus as him selfe graunteth that we may then graunteth hee that we may also without perill of damnation beleue that him selfe lieth where hee sayth the truth of that beleefe is impossible The beleuing of thys poynt is of it self not damnable as it is not damnable to thinke that Christ is a very stone or a vine because the litterall sense so sayth or if you beleue that you ought to preach to fishes and goe Christen them an other while as ye do belles And I insure you if there were no worse mischiefe that ensued of thys beléefe then it is in it selfe I would neuer haue spoken agaynst it But now there followeth vppon it damnable idolatry For through the beléefe that thys body is there mē fall downe and worship it And thinking to please God do damnably sinne agaynst hym Thys I say is the cause that I so earnestly write agaynst it to auoyde the idolatry that is committed through it Part of the Germanes do thinke that his naturall body is present in the Sacrament and take the woordes fleshly as Martine taught them But none of them worshyp it for y ◠Martine forbyddeth both in hys wordes and workes and so blessed be god they auoyde that ieoperdy which thyng if you will also graunt and publish but this one proposition that it ought not to bee worshypped I promise you I will neuer write agaynst it For then is the ieoperdy taken away and then I am cōtent that your mastershyp thinke I lye But in the meane seasō I must thinke that ye fill the world with damnable Idolatry And thus haue you also aūswere vnto y e conclusion which you alledge out of the kynges graces booke For I say in your way is no hurt as lōg as you do but onely beleue the bare wordes of the text as S. Fraunces dyd whē he preached to fishes But if through the occasion of those wordes ye fall into the worshypping of it then I say that in your way is vndoubted damnation And so is there great ieoperdy in your way none at all in ours For though he were there in déede yet doe not we sinne if we worshyp it not for we are not commaunded to worshyp the Sacrament But if he be not there then do you commit damnable Idolatry ¶ The consecration of the Sacrament NOwe as for an other quietnes of euery mās conscience this young man biddeth euery mā be bold whether the blessed Sacrament be consecrate or vnconsecrate for though he most especially speaketh of the wyne yet he speaketh it of both byddeth vs not care but take it for all that vnblessed as it is because the Priest hee sayth can not deceiue vs nor take from vs the profit of Christes institution whether hee alter the woordes or leaue them all vnsayd Is not this a wonderful doctrine of this young man We wotte well all that the Priest can not hurt vs by his ouersight or malice if there be no fault vpon our owne partie for that perfection that lacketh on the Priestes part the great mercy of God as we trust of his owne goodnes supplyeth And therfore as holy Chrisostome sayth no man can take harme but of him selfe But now if we see the thyng disordered our owne selfe by the Priest and Christes institution broken if we then wittyngly receiue it vnblessed vnconsecrated care not whether Christes institutiō be kept and obserued or no but rekon that it is as good without it as with it then make we our selues partakers of the fault and leese the profit of the Sacramēt and receiue it with damnation not for the Priestes fault but for our owne I had thought that no Turke wold haue wrested a mans woordes so vnfaythfully for hee leaueth out all the pith of my matter for my wordes are these I will shew you a meanes how ye shall euer receiue it accordyng to Christes institution although the Priest would withdraw it from you First ye néede to haue no respect vnto the Priests wordes which ministreth it For if ye remember for what intēt Christ dyd institute this Sacrament and know that it was to put vs in remembraunce of hys body breakyng bloud shedding that we might geue hym thankes for it and bee as sure of it through fayth accordyng to his promises as we are sure
remēbraunce of his body breakyng and bloud shedyng and that we shuld eate it together reioysing with ech other declaryng hys benefites Now were the Corinthians fallen from this hunger and came not together to the intent that Gods prayse should bee published by them in the middest of the congregatiō but came to féede their flesh and to make carnal cheare In so much that y t rich would haue meate and drinke inough and take such aboundaunce y t they would be dronke and so made it their owne per not the Lordes as Paule saith and did eate onely the bread meate and not the body breaking as I haue before said the poore which had not that is to say that had no meate to eate were ashamed and hungry and so could not reioyse and prayse the Lord by the reason that the delicate fare of the riche was an occasion for the poore to lament their pouertie and thus the rich dyd neither prayse God them selues nor suffered the poore to doe it but were an occasion to hynder them They should haue brought theyr meate and drinke and haue deuided it with their poore brethren that they might haue been mery together and so to haue geuen them occasion to be mery and reioyse in the Lorde with thankes geuyng But they had neither lust to prayse God nor to comfort their neighbour Their fayth was féeble and their charitie cold and had no regard but to fill their body and féede their flesh And so despised y t poore cōgregation of God whom they should haue honoured for y t spirite that was in them fauour that God had shewed indifferently vnto them in y ◠bloud of hys sonne Christ When Paule perceiued that they were thus fleshly mynded and had no mynde vnto that spirituall maundy which chiefly shuld ther bee aduertised hée reproueth thē sore rehearsing y t wordes of Christ That which I gaue vnto you I receiued of the Lord. For the Lord Iesus the same night in the which hee was betrayed tooke bread and thanked and brake it and said take ye and eate ye this is my bodye which is broken for you this do ye in the remembraunce of me After the same maner hee tooke the cup when supper was done saying this cuppe is the new Testament in my bloud this doe ye as ofte as ye drinke it in the remembraunce of me For as oft as ye shall eate this bread drinke of this cup ye shall shew the Lordes death til he come As though hée should say ye Corinthians are much to blame whiche at this Supper séeke the foode of your flesh For it was institute of Christ not for the intent to norishe the belly but to strēghten the hart and soule in God And by this you may know that Christ so meant For he calleth it hys body which is geuen for you so that the name it selfe might testifie vnto you that in this supper you should more eate his body whiche is geuen for you by digestyng that into the bowels of your soule then the bread which by the breakyng and the distributyng of it doth represent his body breakyng and the distributyng therof vnto all that are faythful And that bée so meaneth is euident by the wordes folowyng which say this do in the remembrance of mee and likewyse of the cuppe And finally concludyng of both Paule sayth as often as ye shall eate this bread drinke of this cuppe in this place and felowshyp ye shall shew y t Lordes death vntill hée come praysing the Lord for the death of his sonne and exhortyng other to doe the same reioysing in hym with infinite thākes And therfore ye are to blame whiche séeke onely to féede the belly with that thyng which was onely institute to féede the soule And theruppon it foloweth Wherfore who soeuer doth eate of this bread and drinke of this cup vnworthely is gilty of the body and bloud of the Lorde He eateth this bread vnworthely which regardeth not the purpose for the which Christ dydinstitute it which cōmeth not to it with spirituall hūger to eate through fayth his very body which the bread representeth by the breaking and disstributing of it which commeth not with a mery hart geuing God harty thankes for their deliueraunce from sinne Which doe not much more eate in their hart y t death of his body then they doe the bread with their mouth Now sith the Corinthyans did onlye séeke their belly and flesh and forgat Gods honour and prayse for which it was instituted y ◠thākes should be geuen by the remembrance of his body breaking for vs they eate it to Gods dishonour to their neighboures hinderaunce to their owne condemnation so for lacke of fayth were giltye of Christes body which by fayth they should there chiefely haue eaten to their soules health And therefore it followeth †Let a man therfore examyne him selfe and so let him eate of the bread and drinke of the cuppe THis prouing or examinyng of a mans selfe is first to thinke with him selfe with what lust and desire he cōmeth vnto the maundy will eate that bread whether he be sure that he is the child of God and in the faith of Christ And whether his cōscience do beare him witnesse that Christes body was broken for him And whether the lust y t he hath to prayse God and thanke hym with a faythfull hart in the middes of the bretheren do driue hym thether warde Or els whether he do it for y t meates sake or to kéepe the custome for then were it better that he were away For he that eateth or drinketh vnworthely eateth and drinketh his owne damnation becaufe he maketh no differēce of the Lordes body That is as it is sayd before he that regardeth not the purpose for which it was instituted putteth no difference betwene his eating and other eating for other eating doth onely serue the bellye but this eating was instituted and ordayned to serue the soule and inward man And therfore he that abuseth it to the flesh eateth and drinketh his owne damnation And he commeth vnworthelye to the maundye where the sacrament of Christes body is eaten ye where the body of the Lord is eaten not carnally with the téeth and bellye but spiritually with the hart and faith Vpon this followeth the text that M. More allegeth and wresteth for his purpose For this cause many are weake sicke among you and many sléepe yf we had truely Iudged our selues we should not haue béene Indged when we are Iudged of the Lorde we are chastened because we should not bée damned wich the world Wherfore my bretheren whē ye come togither to eate tary one for an other Yf a man hunger let him eate at home that ye come not togither vnto condemnation For this cause that is for lacke of good examinyng of our selues as is before touched many are weake and sicke in
draught But this meate y t I here receaue is spirituall meate receaued with fayth norisheth vs euerlastyngly both body soule neuer entreth into the draught And euē as before the outwarde eyen doe sée the bread yet the outward eyen doe not regarde that or thinke vpō it So likewise the outward man digesteth the bread casteth it into the draught And yet the inward man doth not regarde that nor thinke vppon it But thinketh on the thyng it selfe that is signified by that bread And therfore sayd Chrisostome euen a litle before the wordes whiche they here alleaged lift vp your minde hartes sayd hée whereby hée monisheth vs to looke vppon and consider those heauenly thinges which are represented and signified by the bread and wyne not to marke the bread and wyne in it selfe Here they will say vnto me that it is not Chrisostomes mynde for by his example hée playnly shewith that there remaneth no bread nor wyne that I deny For the example in this place proueth no more but y t ye shall not think on y t bread wine no more then if they were not there but onely on that thyng whiche is signified by them And that ye may euidently perceiue by the wordes folowyng where hée saith thinke that the misteries are cōsumed by the substance of the body Nowe whether Chrisostome thought that there remained bread or no both wayes shall our purpose bée proued First if hée thought there remained still bread and wyne then we haue our purpose Now if he thought that the bread wyne remayned not but were chaūged then are the bread and wyne neither mysteries nor Sacramentes of the body and bloud of Christ For that that is not can neither bée mystery nor Sacrament Finally if hée speake of y e outward appearaunce of bread then we know that that remaineth still is not consumed by the substaunce of the body And therfore hée must néedes bée vnderstanded as I take him I thinke many men wonder how I can dye in this article seyng that it is no necessary article of our fayth for I graunt that neyther parte is an article necessary to bée beléeued vnder payne of damnation but leaue it as a thyng indifferent to thynke therein as God shall instill in euery mans mynde and that neyther parte condemne other for this matter but receiue eche other in brotherly loue reseruing eche others infirmitie to god The cause of my death is thys because I can not in conscience abiure and sweare that our Prelates opinion of the sacrament that is that the substaunce of bread and wine is verely chaunged into the fleshe and bloud of our sauiour Iesus Christ is an vndoubted article of the fayth necessary to bée beléeued vnder payne of damnation Now though this opinion were indéede true which thing they can neither proue true by scripture nor doctours yet coulde I not in conscience graunt that it shoulde bée an article of the fayth necessary to bée beléeued c. For there are many verities which yet may bée no such articles of our fayth It is true that I lay in yrons when I wrote this howbeit I would not haue you to receaue thys truth for an article of our fayth For you may thinke the contrary without all ieopardy of damnation ¶ The cause why I can not beleeue their opinion of transmutation is this 1 FIrst because I thinke verely that it is false and can neither hée proued by scripture nor faythfull doctours if they bée well pondered 2 The second cause is thys because I will not bynde the congregation of Christ by mine example to admitte any necessarye Article beside oure Creede and specially none such as can not bée prooued true by Scripture And I say that the Church as they caule it can not compell vs to receaue any such articles to bée of necessitie vnder payne of damnation 3 The thirde cause is because I dare not bée so presumptuous in entering into Gods iudgement as to make the prelates in this pointe a necessary article of our fayth For then I should damnably condemne all the Germanes Almaines with infinite moe which in déede doe not beléeue nor thinke that the substaūce of bread and wine is chaunged into the substaūce of Christes naturall body And surely I can not bée so foolishe hardy as to condemne such an infinite number for our prelates pleasures Thus all the Germaynes and Almaynes both of Luthers side and also of Oecolampadius doe wholy approue my matter And surely I thinke there is no man that hath a pure conscience but hée will thinke that I dye righteously For that this transubstantiation should bée a necessary article of the faith I thinke no man can say it with a good conscience although it were true in déede By me Iohn Frith An exact and diligent Table wherby you may readely turne to any speciall matter that is contained in all Iohn Frithes bookes 1572. A. ABraham 20 Abrahames bosome what it signified 55 Abraham by faith dyd eate Christes bodye and drinke Christes bloud 109 Ambrose opinion of Purgatory 52 Antithesis betweene Christ and the Pope 97 Argumentes to proue that Christes naturall body is not in the Sacrament 142 Articles of our faith are to bee beleeued vpon payne of damnation 111 Articles of our fayth are as many as are necessary for our saluation 145 Augustine beyng 400. yeares after Christ doubted of Purgatory 32 Augustines opinion of purgatory 52 B. BAptisme defined what it is 92 Baptisme is the founteine of our new byrth 94 Bishopricke in the primatiue church was a charge and not a Lordshyp 116 Blasphemie to saye that Christes bloud is not the full remission of our sinnes 11 Blessyng what it is 154 Bookes of the Machabees are not Canonicall 37 Bookes agaynst Rastall 60 Boasting that is modest is commendable 64 Body of Christe eaten by our fathers and his bloud dronke 109 Body of Christ is no more in the Sacrament thē a mans face in the glasse 146 Brethren is an auncient name in the holy Scripture 114 Bread and wyne remayne in the Sacrament 117 Bread why it is called our body 160 C. CAuse of our blyndnes and grosse errours 3 Causes why the Sacramentes were first instituted 112 Ceremonies of some sortes are guydes vnto the knowledge of God 95 Christ onely hath satisfied for our sinnes 14. 15 Christes merites putteth out the fier of Purgatory 14. 17. 18 Christ is our Aduocate 17 Christes sacrifice onely taketh away sinne 17. 38 Christ onely is our head 43 Christes death hath ouercōmed our death 55 Christ was meeke and gentle 57 Christ onely is the meane to put away our sinnes 73 Christes bloud is the strength of our Baptisme 94 Christ and the Pope compared togither 97. 98. 99. 100. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106 Christ is not to bee eatē carnally but spiritually 118. 119 Christes wordes are spirituall and not carnall 124 Christe gaue
vnto your grace for my name and fame and estemacion all thinges that belong to an honest poore man in this world is takē wrōgfully from mée hereby and haue bene by y e space of 9. or 10. yeres which is no smale tyme compelled to liue in misery and obloquy Wherfore most gracious prince lamentably I cry call vnto your grace for gracious audience indifferent iustice It were to long a processe to troble your grace with to tell all the vncharitable hand lyng that the Cardynall and the byshops apoynted by hym dyd vse with mée But I wil make vnto your grace a short somme of it as neare as I can call now to remembraunce In the yeare of our Lorde 1525. yt. 24. day of December dyd I make a sermon at the request of the parish in S. Edwardes church in Cambrige out of the which sermon dyd myne aduersaries gather these articles which when I knew I offered my selfe to preach agayne the sonday folowing And to declare my selfe and my meanyng clearely But Doctour Rydley and Doctour Preston chaplens and kynsmen to y t byshop of London foūd the meanes y t the Vicechaūcelour did inhibet me to preach But I could neuer know any reasonable cause why but that alonely hée sayde it shoulde bée for my profyt to holde my peace And with this I was so content Tyll at the last that these foresayd doctours with one master Tyrell gathered in in writyng certayne articles and presented them to the vicechauncelour which sent for mée and asked mée what I sayd to those articles I aunswered that they were none of myne But certayne wordes and sentences there were in them that I had spokē but that was left out y t should make for my declaratiō Wherefore I sayd they were none of myne And that I would bée reported by the audience To this hée sayde that I should take hede what I denied for if they brouht wytnes agaynst me thē must I nedes dye I aunswered that the witnes shoulde bée false for I neuer spake them Then sayde hée I could not proue a negatiue I aunswered that I woulde proue y t witnes false what so euer hée were Hée sayd whether they were true or false I must suffer for it if witnes come in agaynst mée for that was the lawe I sayd how y t was a piteous case And by that lawe they might condemne our M. Christ Hée sayd how y t I shoulde remember mée what I did for the matter was so daungerous and so haynous in the lawe that I might haue no counsell Then I aunswered sayd well let god helpe which knoweth all things This was in the vniuersite scholes the doores shut fast no man being w t in on my parte but I alone But of my aduersaries parte was there doctour Rydly doctour watson doctour Preston and a doctour of law whose name I haue forgotten their was also one master Fooke mayster Tyrel which was appoynted amonge them to bée the presenter of these articles Nowe the Vicechauncelour when hée coulde haue no more of mée in cōmunication béetwéene vs bée asked mée what I would doe I answered hée should goe his way and set hym downe and heare their complaint And I would make such an aunswere as God should put in my mynde Hée required mée instantly not to cast my selfe away So hée went and set hym downe and I was called before him As soone as I came then stoode forth M. Tyrell presented a roule in the which were certayne articles as hée sayd gathered out of my sermon of y t which some of them sayde hée were contentious some were sedicious some were sklaunderous and some were hereticall When hée had thus spoken Then sayd I to hym Good M. Tyrell wyll you present any of these articles as heresye At this word spake y t vicechauncelour to mée good mayster doctour let that passe Wyll you bée content to submyt your selfe Then sayd I where so euer I haue spoken against Gods word or against the exposition of holy doctours I will bée content to bée reformed and to submyt my selfe But with this was not doctour Rydlye nor doctour watson content except I should adde vnto it If I had offended the lawes of the church But at that I stopped and sayde it was to large for I knewe not what they ment by the lawes of the church nor I was no doctour of lawe Wherefore I iudged it sufficient for mée to bée reported by Gods worde by the exposicion of holy doctours For that was my facultie Thē the Vicechauncellour rekened that it was sufficiēt for mée But we could not agree in a great space in this thing Wherefore I sayd I woulde agrée to all maner of lawes y t were not gaynst Gods worde nor S. Agustine nor S. Hierome nor yet against none of the foure doctours So did it rest y t day at this poynt and no more was handeled For in this tyme was the whole body of y t vniuersitie gathered togither and knocked at the schoole doores and said they would heare the examination séeing the matter was manifest And these few persōs should not take auctorite on them onely to here and to determine such causes Than the Vicechauncelour sent the bedell to the doore requiring them to bée content but they were the more moued and knocked sorer So rose the Vicechauncelour and went hym selfe to the dore gaue them as good and as faire words as hée coulde But the conclusion was they woulde not departe except they might heare this matter iudged and as they sayd it apertained to learning And they were the body of the vniuersitie So ytVicechauncelour came backe agayne vnto vs all and sayde wée must geue ouer this matter for the vniuersitie is in a rumour so departed wée a sunder Thē within two or thrée dayes after was I cauled into Clare hall to ytVicechauncelours chamber where were also the foresayde doctours gathered agaynst mée There did they entreate mée with good wordes for to bée cōtent to bee ordered after master Vicechauncelours councell I did require that master Vicechauncelour woulde indifferently heare mee and myne aduersaries togither And then if I had sayde any thing agaynst learning I woulde bée ordered at master Vicechaūcelours cōmaūdement Thē sayd they that it was done for my profyt that mayster Vicechaūcelour did not sit in iudgmēt For as they sayd they were all my frends and woulde bée lothe that my matter shoulde bée heard in iudgemēt For if there came any witnes against mée as they were sure there would thē were I but lost I aunswered what witnes soeuer should come to proue those articles as they were layde against mée I would proue them false For I had preached openly and many learned men were at my sermon and I doubted not but they would testify the truth for both partyes But then aunswere was made mée that if thre witnesses came agaynst mée then would thrée and
iudge and if Christes worde condemne the couÌ„sell who shal approoue it who shall prayse it who shall defende it The temporall sworde nor the multitude of Byshops nor interdiction excommunication nor cursing can then helpe Wherefore let euery true ChristeÌ„ man looke on this matter indifferently it is no trifling wyth God nor with his holy worde for God will remayne for euer his holy word must bée fulfilled and if we wil not fulfill it bée shal cast vs down to the déepe pit of hell and make of stones meÌ„ in our stede that shall kéepe his worde It is no light thyng for it lyeth on the saluation and damnation both of body and soule froÌ„ the which we can not bée deliuered with these glorious wordes Concilium ConciliuÌ„ Patres Patres Episcopi Episcopi for all these may bée the ministers of the deuill yea though they were aungels Therfore ones agayne I doe monish and exhorte in the glorious name of the lyuing God and in y e swéet bloud of Christ Iesus all true ChristeÌ„ men to take héede what they doe agaynste Christes holy word whiche is their eternal God their mercyfull redemerand shall bée also their mighty and glorious iudge Now let vs examine the wordes of the Councell First of all the Councell graunteth that in the begynning of the church all Christen men were houseled vnder both kyndes nowe would I knowe of the Councell of whom the Church had receiued this maner of Christ or his holy Apostles as doubtles shée dyd then what authoritye had the Councell to chaunge the institution of Christ and of his holy Apostles and also the vse and practise of holy Church was not the first Churche of God Did shée not kéepe Christes institution did shée not fulfill Christes word Did not y e holy Apostles learne here so And now shall the Councell of Constance first condemne Christ and his blessed word then the learnyng of Christes holy Apostles and also the long vse and practise of Christes blessed Church without any Scripture without authoritie or without any speciall reuelation froÌ„ God but alonely for auoydyng of certeine perils Yea and not content alonely to coÌ„demne these thinges but vnder the paine of heresie to coÌ„demne them This is to sore a coÌ„demnation of Christes open woorde and of that thyng whiche they graunt that the Church dyd vse at the begynnyng Furthermore the Councell sayth that holy fathers and the Church dyd bryng in this custome to housell laye men vnder one kinde Are you not ashamed of these woordes Doth not your conscience prike you thus openly to lye yea of Christ and of his holy Church Christes worde is openly agaynste you and you graunt that the vse of the church was also otherwise And as for holy fathers here may you sée what they say to it but you are the children of the kyngdome of lyes and doubtlesse if you bryng not foorth the holy fathers that make for you you shall not alonely bée taken for abhominable and â—…en lyers but also for shameful and detestable sclaunderers both of holy Church and also of holy fathers But it is no wonder for Antichrist must declare him selfe openly to bée agaynst Christ yet is hée neuer without an excuse and a shaddow of holynes where by hée may blynd the poore people But what excuse had hée here in the Councell to coÌ„demne Christes worde That they might auoyde certaine sclauÌ„ders and perrils béecause that there is no body without bloud Bée not these lawfull causes to condemne Christes open word yea and that vnder the payne of heresie Is not this a new maner of law to make that hée that will not obeye a statute made agaynst Gods word which hée is bouÌ„de to obey vnder payne of euerlastyng damnation alonely for auoydyng perrils to bée condemned for an hereticke Briefely by this reason may they condemne all holy Scripture by laying icoperdies perrils thereto they may condemne all the creatures of God for there may bée perill in vsing of them all But what néede many wordes to prooue this Councell to bée of the deuill for if that bée not of the deuill that is contrary to Christ and hath no excuse for it but alonely to auoyde perrils I caÌ„ not tell what is of the deuill I am sure Antichrist shall neuer bée without some carnall excuse for if hée will deny Christ to bée both God man hée shall haue stronger carnall reasons for him then the Councell hath for this but this matter must not bée iudged by carnal reasons It is Gods worde that is aboue all creatures wherefore let vs goe to the Scriptures as a sure ancore to ouercome Antichrist with all his carnall reasons First our maister Christ when hée dyd institute this blessed Sacrament did vse these woordes take it and eate it this is my body c. Likewise takyng the challice hée gaue thankes gaue it vnto them saying drinke all of this this is my bloud of the newe testament the which shall bée shed for many into remission of sinnes These bée playne wordes drinke of it all hée that sayth all excepteth no man Furthermore hée knewe that there might bée ieoperdies in the receiuyng of it yet hée sayth drinke of it all for it is my bloud that shall bée shed for the remission of sinnes Now was it not shed for lay mens sinnes why shal they not then drinke of it The maister and the Lord sayth drinke therof and shall the miserable seruaunt withstand his commaundemeÌ„t yea commaunde the playne contrary and say drinke not therof But now commeth my Lord of Rochester which perceiueth that the Councel is connict in that that it consenteth that the whole Church in the begynnyng did receiue this Sacrament vnder both kyndes and yet forbiddeth that same thyng and sayth to mainteine this errour that Christe spake these wordes drinke of it all alonely to his Apostles for there were no other men there but the Apostles and therfore they must alonely drinke therof I aunswere My Lord if this thing were alonely lawfull vnto the Apostles how will you discharge the primatiue Churche in the whiche were those men that Christ ministred this Sacrament vnto yea the selfe men did minister it vnder both kyndes to the whole congregation accordyng to this commaundement drinke of it all Dout not but they vnderstoode Christes will as well as you in this commaundement But in the way of communication let vs grauÌ„t you that to the Apostles this was onely sayd how will you theÌ„ discharge your owne Priestes from deadly sinne the which receiue it vnder both kindes and yet bée they neither Apostles nor successours of theÌ„ but after your own learnyng the Bishops alonely bée their successours the Priestes doe represent lxxij Disciples Shal they in this thyng represeÌ„t the Apostles and in absoluyng from sinne but the Disciples But let vs sée farther in your for fetched reason tel vs how
many excellent and holy fathers and great Doctours of Diuinitie and so many noble Princes and wise men of the worlde and bée with these two poore men which bée of no reputation in this worlde Wherefore my Lordes procéede against them after the holy decrées that bée inuented agaynst heretickes sticke not for their names for it is neither Christ nor Paule that cā hurt you you haue also condemned theyr learning and preuailed against them why should you not condemne them as well you bée Lords and you haue the strength and the wisdome of the worlde with you and as a certayne Doctour of the law sayde they haue no man to holde with them but a sorte of beggers and despised persons of the worlde wherfore spare them not bée bolde Implete numerum patrum vestrorum All tyrantes bée not yet dead But now when you haue condemned them yet haue you as muche to doe as euer you had for your owne lawe is openly agaynst you in these wordes Wée vnderstand that certayne men receauing alonely the portion of the blessed body doe abstaine from the chalice of the holy bloud the which doubtles séeing I can not tell by what superstition they are learned to abstayne let them eyther receaue the whole Sacrament or els let them bée forbidden from the whole Sacrament for the diuision of one and of y e same mistery can not bée done wythout great sacrilege c. How thynke you by these wordes bée they not playne that all men shall eyther receaue both kyndes or none Here haue you an other hereticke for hée iudgeth and sayth that it is a sacrilege which is openly agaynst your Counsell to receaue it in one kynde But paraduenture you wyll say this law was written to priestes I aunswere to whomsoeuer it was writtē it maketh no matter for these wordes bée plaine the diuision of one misterye can not bée done without great sacrilege These words bée not spoken of the persons that shall receaue it but of the deuiding of the sacrament whosoeuer shall receaue it it is sacrilege to deuide this thynge aunswere you to that Marke also that your owne lawe cauleth it superstition to receaue but one kynde and no doubt they that did receaue it so were blynded by this damnable reason of yours that there is no body without bloude and yet hée calleth it superstition But let vs sée what your glose saith on this texte it is not superfluously sayth hée receaued vnder both kindes for the kynde of bread is referred vnto the fleshe and the kynde of wyne vnto the bloude The wyne is the Sacrament of bloude in the which is the seate of the soule therfore it is receiued vnder both kindes to signifie that Christ did receiue both body and soule and that the partaking thereof doth profite both bodye and soule Wherefore if it were receiued alonely vnder one kynde it shoulde signifie that it did profite allonely but one part c. How thinke you doth this glose vnderstand it of preistes onely haue lay men no soules May not this Sacrament profite them both bodye and soule Marke also that hée sayth it is not superfluously nor without a cause receiued vnder both kyndes Also an other lawe When the host is brokē and the bloude shed out of the chalys into the mouthes of faythfull men what other thyng is there signified but the immolation of our Lords body on the crosse and the shedding of hys bloud out of his side c. Here is it plaine that the bloud is géeuen out of the chalys and not out of the body and into faythfull mens mouthes and not alonely into priests mouthes Also an other lawe If that the bloud of Christ bée shed for remission of sinnes as oftē as it is shedde then ought I lawfully for to receaue it I which doe alwayes sinne must alwayes receaue a medecyne c. Here your owne lawe sayth that the receiuing of the bloude is a medycinall way to bée receiued of thē that sinne you will not denie but that lay men sinne Wherefore shoulde they not then receiue a medicyne for their sinne you may perceiue that thys is not alonely spoken of Priestes but of sinners c. Furthermore S. Ciprian sayth How doe wée teach or how can wee prouoke men to shed their bloude for the cōfession of Christes name if wée doe denye them the bloude of Christ when they shall goe to battayle Or how dare wée able them vnto the victordum of martyrdome if wée doe not firste by right admitte them to drincke the cuppe of our Lorde in the congregation c. Here is Cyprian openly against you which will that as many shall receiue y e bloud of Christ as doe confesse the name of Christ yea and that out of the cuppe and not out of the body Also S. Ambrose sayth to the Emperour Theodosius how shalt thou lift vp thy handes out of y t which doth yet droppe vnrighteous bloud how shalt thou with those handes receaue the body of God with what boldnes wilt thou receaue into thy mouth the Cup of the precious bloud séeing that through the wodnes of thy wordes so great bloud is shed wrongfully c. Marke that the manner was in Saint Ambrose tyme that lay men should receiue y t blessed bloud of Christ yea and that out of the cup seuerally and not out of the body onely wherefore my Lords see to your conscience how you can discharge your self before the dreadfull trone of Christ Iesus for making this detestable dānable statute agaynst y t heauēly word of God ▪ and agaynst the vse of holy Church ▪ contrary to the exposition of all holy doctours It were to great a thing for you so presumptuously to breake the statute of your mortall prince howe much more of your immortall God which will not bée auoyded with a carnall reason nor with condemnation of heresye nor yet with saying there bée ieoperdies perils and sclaūders for these proud crakes can not there excuse you nor yet helpe you For I doubt not but the great Turke hath as good reasons for hym as these bée also as proude crakes as you haue though peraduenture hée vseth them not so hipocritely agaynst God omnipotent as you doe but yet it will not helpe hym Wherefore now most excellent and gracious Prince I doe with all méekenes with all due subiection admonysh exhorte your most noble grace yea and y e father of heauen doth openly commannd you vnder the payne of his displeasure and as you will auoyde the daunger of eternall damnation and also by the vertue of Christes blessed bloud and as you will receiue remission from all your sinnes thorow the merites of his gloryous bloud that you doe defēd with all your might Christes blessed worde and his swéete bloud and his holy ordinaunce and suffer them not so lightly to bee oppressed and troden vnder
doctrine nedeth not now of miracles for it was confirmed by Christ with myracles Math. 24. The Pope commeth 〈◊〉 Christes name with false miracles The preachers of gods word confirmed the same with miracles whyle they were alyue God suffeâ—eth such as haue no loue to hys truth to be deceaued with lying miracles Why the Pope tell In the Popish church all miracles are wrought by dead Saintes S. Thomas of CaÌ„terbury Thomas de Aquino Dunce ☜ Miracles Our fayth may not be grounded onely vpon miracles but vpon the worde of God Math. 1â— Iohn 21. The Apostles of Christe knew no such authoritie as the Pope now vsurpeth What iâ— there had bene no scripture Grekes God to 〈…〉 â—…de heresâ—… caused the scriptures to be written â–ª Noe. What faith â—…th Where true faith is there is repentauÌ„ce and ameÌ„dment of 〈◊〉 ☜ Abraham The elderâ— did erre The elders in y e time of the Iewes did erre The Scribes Phariseis and Elders did erre The scripture was aucthorised by true myracles False bookes set forth by the Papistes Erasmus The true church teacheth nothing but that which the scripture proueth and mainteineth The Pope hideth the scripture The Papistes hide y e scripture The scripture is the cause why men beleue y â— scripture The Papistes docctrine is nâ—â— to be beleued wiihouâ— scripture Why the 〈◊〉 is not to be beleued wtout scripture why he is not the true church The doctrine of the Papistes hath bene 〈◊〉 resisted by y e scripture What thinges 〈◊〉 finde in scripture Rom. 〈◊〉 1. Cor. â— 1. Cor. 2. Iohn 5. Iohn 7. Heb. 8. The Papistes will neither by Gods lawe nor mans refraine froÌ„ their wicked liuyng Iohn 10. The Papistes will lose nothing that belongeth to them Christ deliuered the Iewes out of errour ☜ None haue more care of the scripture then those that beleue it not M. More reasoneth agaynst himselfe ☜ Actes 13. Iohn 8. They that preach not Christ truty are murtherers The end of hipocrites Predestination Balam Wit must first shew a cause and then will is sturted to worke More feeleth Purgatory Popish doe trine concernyng Purgatory The pope how he can both forgeue and receiue sinne Tyndall feeleth Purgatory Iohn 15. Iohn 13. Bodyly payne purgeth the body and not y e soule M. More â—o of an euil opinion Faith in Châ—… 〈◊〉 purchaseth forgâ—… of sinne Ephe. 5. There is no purgatory for hym that dyeth repentâ—unt beleueth Iohn 15. 1. Iohn 〈◊〉 Payne of sinne 〈◊〉 popes 〈◊〉 Purgatory prâ—… to y â— Pope Purgatory to a tormenting Iayle as y â— Pope maketh it Money dispatcheth Purgatory The Pope is Antichrist The fleshly children do naturally consent vnto lyes The fleshly mynded can neuer consent vnto Gods law The fleshly persecute them of the spirite The true church is not w t out a signe of a miracle to proue that it is Gods church The popes life doctrine is more wicked theÌ„ the Turkes all y e heatheÌ„ that euer were Euticus Actes 3. All glory and honour is to be geuen to the name of Iesu Iudges Deut. 17. Purgatory to the foundation of Abbeyes Colledges c. M. More is a commoÌ„â—ester and a scouÌ„er ☞ The Papistes are cruell and vnmercyfull Sweryng The oth of a witnes may be taken but no maÌ„ may be coÌ„pelled to sweare be a witnes A godly lesson M. More is a lyer The Papistes are obstinate will not repent Iudas Prayers of an euill Priest profite not A fond saying To minister SacrameÌ„ts with out signification is to be lead in darkenesse Sacrifice Heb. 10. Christes body in the SacrameÌ„t is not carnall but spirituall Christe was sacrificed on the crosse once for all More Deacons Tyndall Christes Deaâ—…s and the pâ—â—eâ— Deacons differ much More Priestes Tyndall More Tyndall 1. Iohn 4. M. Mores fayth was a common fayth More Tyndall More Tyndall As good no lawe as a law not executed Age is to be preferred before â—outh The chast vnchastirie of the Papistes is abhominable both to God and man S. Hierome The Pope iudgeth no sinne to bee sinne and sinne to be no sinne A Priest by the Popes order may haue a whore but not a wife Rom. 14. Mores doctrine is superstitious 1. Tim. 4. The Pope forbiddeth mariage Apparant godlynesse why the Priest may not haue y â— secoÌ„d wife Christes benefites toward vs are figured by matrimony We were Idolaters when we came to Christ S. Paules doctrine is that priests shuld haue wiues Widowes More is a scoâ—fer The office of the wâ—ddowes in y e primatine church Rom. 13 â–ª Young widowes were forbiddeÌ„ to minister in the commoÌ„ seruice Fishe no better then fleshe nor fleshe no better then fishe in the kingdame of Christ 〈◊〉 ☞ Tyndall More Tyndall Three lyes at â—…ce 〈…〉 Priestes must be endued wyth vertue and honesty Generall counsell Parlâ—…ment The 〈◊〉 vsed both in generall to â–ª â—…es and also 〈◊〉 parliamentes A practise vsed in all counsayles and Parlamentes The spiritualtie make heretickes of them that resist theyr power and will Why Priestes may haue no wyues The chastitie of the â—â—ergy pertâ—â—neth to the tempoâ—…ie as much as to the spiritualtie Vowes No oth is to be kept that is agaynst charitie or necessitie The popes snares 〈◊〉 2. 3. 4. 5. Tyndall doth here playnly proue More an hereticke That is euer best that moueth man to the kepyng of Gods commaundementes ☜ Deuilish doctrine Math. 15. Christes natural body is not in the Sacrament The Sacrament of the body 〈◊〉 bloud of Christ how it must be receiued ☞ S. Michael wayeth 〈◊〉 soules The true seruice of God what it is Whether it were best that priestes were gelded ☜ Leuit. 10. More Tyndall Paphnutius More had two wiues therefore was Bigamus More Tyndall The Pope a cruell tyraâ—nt More Tyndall The spiritualtie would not haue the scripture in Englishe Hunne More Horsey Tyndall If we be not giltie we neede no pardon More woulde excuse the murther of Hunne Hunne ☜ More Tyndall Doetour Lolet Olde translation More was a subtill Poet. The hauyng of the Scripture in English is vtterly agaynst the myndes of the Popish Clergie More Tyndall The scripture was first deliuered to the pâ—opâ—e in their vulgere toung More Tyndall More Tyndall The ordinaâ—… are hangmeÌ„ to such as desire the knowledge of the scripture None can vnderstand the Scripture except he knewe Christ to be his iustification More Tyndall More Tyndall Eare confession and pardons were neuer confirmed by miracle More Tyndall The Popish spiritualitie are tyrâ—unts persecutors More Tyndall Pope forbiddeth matrimony the eatyng of meates The wicked monstrous doynges of the Pope More Tyndall More Tyndall More Tyndall All Sacramentes teach vs what to do or what to beleue More Tyndall Eare confession destroyeth the beneâ—ite of Christes bloud More Tyndall More Tyndall RepeÌ„tauÌ„ce More Tyndall SacrameÌ„t More Fayth Tyndall The Pâ—pistes aâ—â— slaundâ—â—â—s of the Gospell More Woâ—… Tyndall â–ª More Tyndall We can do no
Dauiour of the world from their sins All that loue God loue all that beleue in him He that loueth God loueth also the sonnes of God The loue of God and the loue of my neighbour are in seperable Workes set forth 〈◊〉 declare faith To doe good to my neighbour is to do God good seruice A goodly similitude Al that are borne of God ouercome the world The conquestes of fayth Christ had three witnesses The true doctrine of the Sacramentes is away from vs. The faythfull haue the true witnes of God in their harts The vnfaythfull worshyp God in imageseruice and outward Popery The Papistes haue not the fayth of the Apostles neither do they know and therefore they rayle on it To aske in Christes name what it is Such as lacke fayth in Christ wander they wot not whether The sinne to y t death All that are borne of God câ— not sinne The armour of a Christen man The world seeth not the thyngs that are of God Christ eâ—e 〈◊〉 is the founteine and fulnes of all good giftes He that seketh any other way to eternall saluation then by Christ shal neuer come there Idolatrie Idolater As great Idolatry may be coÌ„mitted to the Image of a Saint as was by the Gentiles committed vnto Idoles Grosse worshyppyng of God Ceremonies Sacrifices The Iewes could beleue nothyng with out tokeÌ„s Sacraments and ceremonies were ordeined onely for remembraunces Idolatry We ought to be fraÌ„ke and to distribute to our poore brethren such as God hath sent vs. Supersticious Popery are Idolatry In all our needes wee must call vpon God in the name of Iesu Christ he will â—eare vs. The masse as the pope vseth it is damnable Idolatrie We must eâ—er cleaue vnto God and submit our selues to his mercy The masse at the first was a declaration of Christes passion 1. Cor. 11. 1. Cor. 10. and 12. Ephe. 1. What penaunce was Greuous sinne not passed vpoÌ„ Discipline vsed in the primatiue Church The description of the partes of the masse The abhominable vse of the masse The abuse of the Sacrament Halfe of the Sacrament kept from the lay people The frutefull and profitable doctrine of the Sacramentes are kept from vs. I descriptioÌ„ of God Iesus Christ the onely way to his father The belefe of the resurrection is an article of our faith Fayth is sufficient to iustifie vs. Christ the onely mediatour betwene God and man ArgumeÌ„to prouyng our saluation in Christ The false fayth of the downe falling sinner Fayth in the promise betwene â—â—od and 〈…〉 our soules Gods promises haue couenauÌ„tes annexed vn to them the breakers â–ª â—herof are â—…luded 〈◊〉 the promise An obiection of our aduersaries against iustificatioÌ„ by fayth A compendious declaration of our iustification by fayth A similitude of an earthly kyng pardonyng a condemned person The prayer of the faythfull for his brother taking effect thankes therefore muâ—â— wholly bee attributed to the geuer All our helpe is froÌ„ aboue for man can not helpe â—ut when God prepareth hys hart Praying to Saintes is damnable Saintes abhorre theÌ„ that pray vnto them M. Tracie studious in S. Austen Burials must be ceâ—â—brated honorably for the hope of our resurrection One must pray for an other and one helpe an other A true Christian feareth not the Popes Purgatory Couetousnes pretely described God graunteth all thynges to the faythfull Papistes burne both quicke and dead if they touch their roten sores Writinges and monuments preserue the memory of notable doynges Gene. 32. Gene. 50. A sure hande of all couenaâ—tes amoÌ„gst the Iewes Gene. 21. The well of swearing or the well of seuen Gene. 31. A heape of stones was a sufficient bande for all couenauntes Gene. 9. The rainebow a pledge of Gods promise Gene. 17. The blessing of God to AbrahaÌ„ Gene. 17. Circumcision the seale of Gods couenaunt with vs. Rom. 2. Gods promise recheth to all Abrahams posteritie Baptisme to vs is as CircumcisioÌ„ was to the Iewes Axod 13. Exod. 20. Nume 10. Nume 15. Iosua 4. 3. Reg. 11. 4. Reg. 13. Esay 12. Ierem. 27. Luke 1. Luke 1. Luke 2. Exod. 12. Exod. 12. The institution of y t Paâ—ch all lambe Christes death figured by the Paschall lambe Luke 22. Christes exposition of y t Paschall lambe The Scriptures of God 〈◊〉 full of hiâ—den misteries Nume 21. Iohn 3. 〈◊〉 the 〈…〉 was spiritually fulfilled in the kyngdome of heauen 〈◊〉 â—…tâ—t oâ— of y t SacrameÌ„t of y t body bâ—… of our 〈…〉 Christ The Paschall lambe 〈◊〉 the death and sacrâ—… 〈…〉 〈…〉 together 1. Cor. 11. The chief and onely cause of the institution of the Sacrament Actes 4. 1. Cor. 15. In all afflictions we must resoâ—â— to Christ We must be ordered by the congregation Onely by the name of Iesus Christ commeth our saluation Actes 4. The nature of the SacrameÌ„t of the Sâ—ppeâ— of our Lord. Sacramentes and ceremonies were first ordeined by God to kepe hys couenantes and promises in remeÌ„braunce Sacramentes are as stories to keepe Christes couenaunts in memory Circumcisio without fayth auayled noching Baptisme w t out fayth auayleth nothyng Baptisme and the Sacrament of Christes body and bloud are both necessary The Sacrament of Baptisme what it worketh in vs. The Sacrament of the body bloud of Christ what it worketh in vs. Marke 10. The law driueth a sinner to desperatioÌ„ The deuill enemy to man The flesh enemy to man The impeâ—…ent and wilfull sinner feeleth not the wrath of God in his law The law the flesh the deuill are three great enemyes vnto man Why the Sacramentes were chiefly ordeined by God God hath coÌ„maunded his Sacramentes to be had in dayly vse the cause why The Sacrament of Christes body bloud 〈…〉 to keÌ„ of Christes promise of our saluation in his death Iudi. 13. A brief collection of the premisses Math. 1. Math. 7. To an ignorauÌ„t and vnfaithfull person the Sacramentes and ceremonies are sinne Idolatry what it is The spirituall and right seruyng of God what it is Math. 26. Marke 14. Luke 22. 1. Cor. 11. The institution of the Sacramentes of Christes body and bloud Who they are that receaue the benefite of Christes death The cup of the bloud of Christ what it is Exod. 24. Hebr. 9. The great mercyfull differeÌ„ce betwene the old Testament the new The great mercy of God to maÌ„kynd Marke 14. Luke 22. The cause of the institution of y e SacrameÌ„t of Christes body The signe of the body of Christ is called by the name of Christes body whiche is there signified 1. Cor. 11. 1. Cor. 11. Hebr. 10. What the SacrameÌ„t meaneth why the same was instituted There are iij. opinioÌ„s about the SacrameÌ„t of the body and bloud of Christ The first opinion The second opinion The thyrd opinion A declaration made by them of the first opinioÌ„ aboue mentioned A declaratioÌ„ of them of the secoÌ„d opinion abouâ— mentioned A declaration of theÌ„ of the third opinion about mentioned
not lawfull Israelites Gods peculiar people SacrameÌ„tes and figures thereof grossely vnderstode breede errors Roma 〈◊〉 Gods church largely taken what it is Math. 13. Math. 25. Gods elect Church is without spotte and onely knowen to God Man is vncertaine of his election vntill the holy ghost working in hym assure hym therof Good and bad are of the sensible Church Math. 〈◊〉 Luke 〈◊〉 Infanteâ— may be â—â—ptised because they be partakers of the promise although they as yet haue no fayth The second thyng to be considered in Baptisme Roma 6. Dipping in the water and liftyng vp agayne of intantes what it signifieth The whole course of mans life is a continuall Baptisme Galat. 3. Tit. 3. Baptisme is the fountaine of our new byrth The signification of Baptisme that is to say banishyng the old maÌ„ and puttyng on the new acquired onely by fayth Iohn 3. The wicked distrustyng in Gods promises dispayre Iohn 5. Christes bloud is the streÌ„gth of our Baptisme Roma 5. Matthew the last Math. 28. Causes why the SacrameÌ„t of Baptisme shold bee had in great reuerence Sundry sortes of meÌ„ which we haue conuersation withall diuersly affected Ceremonies of some sortes are as guides vnto the knowledge of God Actes 15. The perfection of man Math. 15. Tit. 1. 1. Cor. 8. Weake consciences eyther by breaking of any auncient custome or neglecting ceremonies not to be offended 1. Cor. 8. The obstinate which put trust in thinges not needefull to saluation must be resisted Actes 8. Philip the Apostle vsed not so many outward ceremonies in Baptisme as papistes doe Ministers must be circumspect in the vses abuses of ceremonies â—…i 33. Exod. 20. Deut. 5. Exod. 31. Sabaoth abrogated for feare of superstition Gallat 4. Sabaoth kept on the Sonday Coll. 2. Exod. 13. Deut. 4. and. 5. Ezech. 3. and. 30. Math. 7. 1 â–ª Cor. 11. 2. Timb 3. Exod. 8. Iohn 4. Math. 8. Iohn 6. Iohn 6. Iohn 17. Iohn 13. Luke 22. Phil. 2. Math. 21. Math. 10. Luke 22. Math. 14. and. 15. Math. 8. Math. 21. Luke 2. Math. 11. Math. 21. Mark 16. Iohn 19. Math. 5. Iohn 19. Ca. ConstaÌ„t dist â—â—vi Math. 10. Luke 23. Math. 10. Iohn 19. Exod. 16. Heb. 9. Math. 25. Math. 18. Iohn 21. Math. 8. Marke 1. Luke 5. Math. 5. Math. 8. 17. Iohn 22. Luke 2. Math. 5. Actes 2. Math. 3. Iohn 12. Iohn 9. Luke 10. Iohn 19. Math. 19. Luke 22. Math. 23. Marke 9. â—ath 17. Iohn 14. Marke 11. Math. 4. Math. 5. Math. 17. Math. 11. Luke 12. Math. 23. Math. 17. Math. 26. Math. 26. Iohn 15. Math. 19. 1. Cor. 7. Math. 15. Roma 14. Collos 2. Tit. 1. Math. 16. Math. 18. Iohn 15. Luke 17. Oh abhomination Math. 2â— Osea 〈◊〉 Math. 9. Roma 4. Iohn 11. 1. Iohn 2. Iames. 5. Math. 5. Roma 13. Ephe. 1. Collos 1. 1. Cor. 10. 2. Pet. 2. 2. Timo. 3. Tit. 1. Iohn 19. Luke 6. Luke 〈◊〉 Math. 5. Luke 6. Math. 23. Math. 23. Acte 7. Esay 66. 2. King 7. 1. Cor. 3. Actes 17. Exod. 20. Iohn 5. Iohn 1. Dist. xxij ca. sacrosancta Math. 10. 1. Timo. 3. Tit. 1. The order that Iohn Frith kepeth in shewyng his mynde in the Sacrament of the body bloud of Christ The occasioÌ„ that moued Iohn Frith to write on the Sacrament The spirituall eatyng of the Sacrament is by fayth The Sacrament to be the naturall body of Christ is no article of our fayth necessary to be beleued vpon payne of damnation Obiection Solution Obstinate defendyng of any cause is worthy of reprehention The foundation of Iohn Frithes first treatise vppon the Sacrament It is no article of our fayth to beleue it to be the naturall body of Christ The same fayth saueth vs that saued our fathers Adam Gene. 3. How our fathers did eate the body of christ and dronke his bloud Abraham Gene. 12. Circumcision was the Sacrament of Gods couenasit made with Abraham AbrahaÌ„ by fayth dyd eate and drinke Christes body and bloud Iohn 8. The spirituall eating drinkyng of Christ shall saue vs. Manna was to the Israelites the same that the SacrameÌ„t is to vs now August de vtilitate poenicentiae Aug. super Ioan. tract 26. A goodly saying of S. Augustine Beda suter 1. Cor. 10. To eate the SacrameÌ„t by fayth spiritually is to eate the body of Christ c. There is no cause why we should accompt the SacrameÌ„t to be Christes naturall body for that were to grosse an imaginatioÌ„ We are not boundâ— to beleue vpoÌ„ payne of daÌ„natioÌ„ more then our fathers beleued Gene. 1. Psal 1. Esay 7. Acte 3. Actes 2. Psal 16. We must beleue the articles of our fayth vpon payne of damnation but in the other there is no perill Aug. contra Faustum Lib. 19. cap. 11. There be thre causes why y e Sacramentes were instituted The first is necessity August ad MarcellinuÌ„ The second cause of the institution of Sacramentes How diligently Christ set forth y e Sacrament of hys body bloud that we might by that outward signe assure our fayth that his very true body was crucified for our sinnes The thyrd cause of the institution of Sacramentes The sacrament is profitable to none but to such as vnderstaÌ„d the doctrine therof An example of the Alepole The true significatioÌ„ of the sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ The sacrifices of the Iewes as loÌ„g as they were rightly vsed were well accepted More Frith 1. Pet. 2. Luke 22. Ephes 6. Math. 10. Mich 5. Iohn 6. Math. 10. 3. Cor. 11. Ioh. Frith mette with false brethren 2. Cor. 10. An exhortation to stand manfully by the profession of Gods word More Frith BrethreÌ„ is an auncient name in the scripture Amos. 8. Math. 11. Luke 18. Roma 1. Actes 24. More Frith Ioh. Frith feared not death Frith wisheth all his workes to be seene More Frith He that seeth his brother in peril of ieoperdy must warn him therof Deut. 12. Note here the earnest zeale of Frith An offer made to the Clergie by Io. Frith More Frith 2. Thes 2. 1. Iohn 4. Actes 20. The propâ—esie of S. Paule â—the latter times Siluester when corruption entred into y e Church Bishoprickes wer not gredely sought in y e primitiue Church for then it was a charge and not a Lordship Math. 27. Mark 15. Iohn 19. A great alteration in the church sithen the time of Christ and hys Apostles 1. Cor. 11. A litle flock is left that are not corrupted More Frith 1. Cor. 10. Paule calleth the Sacrament bread 1. Cor. 11. Actes 2. Luke 22. Nature sayth there is bread in the Sacrament The wyne will waxe sowre if it be kept loÌ„g The Doctors proue that bread remayneth in the Sacrament Gelasius a Pope Contra Eutych Nestorium This is the saying of Gelasius a Pope Wickleffe Wickleffe buried xv yeare and then brent Math. 10. Malach. 2. Oecolampadius Tyndall Tyndall declareth his innocency Zwinglius Zwinglius slayne in a iust and righteous cause
and good to such or such a poore man he biddeth him not there with to be made mercifull kinde and good but to testifie and declare the goodnes that is in him already with the outward deede that it may breake out to y t profite of other and that other may feele it which haue nede therof After the same maner shalt thou enterprete the Scriptures whiche make mention of workes that God therby wil that we shew forth that goodnes which we haue receaued by fayth and let it breake forth and come to the profite of other that the false fayth may be knowē and weded out by the rootes For God geueth no mā his grace that he should let it lye stil and do no good with all but that he should encrease it and multiplie it with lendyng it to other and with open declaryng of it with the outward workes prouoke draw other to God As Christ sayth in Mathew the v. Chapter let your light so shine in the sight of men that they may see your good workes and glorifie your father which is in heauen Or els were it as a treasure digged in the ground and hid wisedome in whiche what profite is there Moreouer there with the goodnes fauour and giftes of God which are in thee not onely shal be knowen vnto other but also vnto thyne owne selfe and thou shal be sure that thy fayth is right and that the true spirite of God is in thee and that thou art called and chosen of God vnto eternall lyfe and loosed frō the bondes of Sathā whose captiue thou wast as Peter exhorteth in y t first of his second Epistle through good workes to make our callyng and election wherewith we are called and chosen of God sure For how dare a man presume to thinke that his fayth is right and that Gods fauour is on him and that Gods spirite is in hym when hee feeleth not the workyng of the spirite neither him selfe disposed to any godly thyng Thou canst neuer know or be sure of thy fayth but by the workes if workes folow not yea and that of loue without lokyng after any reward thou mayst be sure that thy fayth is but a dreame and not right euen the same that Iames called in his Epistle the second Chapter dead faith and not iustifiyng Abraham through workes Genesis xxij was sure of his fayth to be right and that the true feare of God was in him when he had offered his sonne as the Scripture sayth Now know I that thou fearest God that is to say Now is it opē and manifest that thou fearest God in as much as thou hast not spared thy onely sonne for my sake SO now by this abyde sure and fast that a mā inwardly in the hart and before God is righteous good thorough fayth onely before all workes Notwithstandyng yet outwardly and openly before the people ye and before himselfe is he righteous through the worke that is he knoweth and is sure through the outward worke that he is a true beleuer and in the fauour of GOD and righteous and good thorough the mercy of GOD that thou mayst cal the one an open and an outward righteousnes the other an inward righteousnes of the hart so yet that thou vnderstand by the outward righteousnes no other thyng saue the frute that foloweth and a declaryng of the inward iustifying and righteousnes of the hart and not that it maketh a man righteous before God but that he must be first righteous before hym in the hart Euen as thou mayst cal the frute of the tree the outward goodnes of the tree whiche foloweth and vttereth the inward naturall goodnes of the tree This meaneth Iames in hys Epistle where he sayth fayth without workes is dead that is if workes follow not it is a sure an euidēt signe that there is no fayth in the hart but a dead imagination and dreame whiche they falsly call fayth Of the same wise is this saying of Christ to be vnderstande Make you frendes of the vnrighteous Mammō that is shew your fayth openly and what ye are within in the harte with outward geuing and bestowyng your goodes on the poore that ye may obtayn frendes that is that the poore on whome thou hast shewed mercy may at the day of iudgement testify witnesse of thy good woorkes That thy fayth and what thou waste within in thy harte before God may there appeare by thy fruites openly vnto all men For vnto the right beleuyng shal all thinges be comfortable and vnto consolation at that terrible day And contrariwyse vnto the vnbeleuing all thing shall be vnto desperation and confusion and euery man shall be iudged openly and outwardly in the presence of all men accordyng to their dedes and workes So that not without a cause thou mayest call them thy frendes which testifye at that daye of thee that thou liuedst as a true and a right Christen man and folowedst the steppes of Christe in shewyng mercy as no doubt he doth which feleth God merciful in his hart And by y t workes is the fayth knowen that it was right and perfect For the outward workes can neuer please God nor make frend except they spring of fayth Forasmuch as Christ himselfe Math. 6. and 7. disaloweth and casteth away the woorkes of the Pharises yea prophesiyng and workyng of miracles and castyng out of deuils which we count and esteeme for very excellent vertues Yet make they no frendes with their woorkes whyle their hartes are false vnpure and their eye double Now wythout fayth is no harte true or eye single so that we are compelled to confesse that the workes make not a mā righteous or good but that the hart must first be righteous good ereany good worke proceede thence SEcondarily all good workes must be done free with a single eye with out respect of any thing and that no profite be sought therby That commaundeth Christ where he fayth Mat. 10. freely haue ye receyued freely geue agayne For looke as Christ with all his workes did not deserue heauē for that was hys already but did vs seruice therewith and neither looked nor sought his owne profite but our profite and the honour of God the father only Euen so we with all our workes may not seke our own profite neither in this worlde nor in heauen but must and ought freely to worke to honoure God withall and without all maner respecte seeke our neighboures profite and do hym seruice That meaneth Paul Phil. 2. saying Be minded as Christ was which beyng in the shape of God equall vnto God and euen very God layd that a part that is to say hid it And tooke on hym the forme and fashion of a seruaunt That is as concerning himself he had inough that he was full had all plentuousnesse of the Godhed and in all his workes sought our profite became our seruaunt The cause
if there were one shuld be in earth partly because the body which offendeth with the soule might be purged with the soule partly to bee a good example to all men lyuing to put them in feare to doe any like offence and so should cause many to abstayne from committyng any such lyke offence and sinne or elles where should Purgatory be This reason hath no great pyth Notwithstanding if it were well prosecuted it would be to hard for Rastell to auoyde it For this is no formall argument it is méete y t the body which offendeth with the soule should be purged with the soule Ergo Purgatory must be vppon the earth For God may ioyne the body and soule together agayne after they be departed and so punishe them together although purgatory were not in earth euen where soeuer it be And therfore thus me thinketh it shoulde well followe The body was felow and partener with the soule in committyng the crime and sinne and shall also be partaker of the glory which is prepared for them that loue God Wherfore it is reason if the soule should bee purged and punished in Purgatory that the body should also suffer with hym in Purgatory fayne the place of Purgatory where you will in heauen in earth or in hell But wote ye what Rastell would here say vnto me forsooth euen as he dyd in the first chapter of the thyrd Dialogue that is to say hee would stoutely affirme that the body suffereth neither well nor woe ioy nor payne good nor euill and therfore it needeth not goe to Purgatory And by that reason it is follie that the body should go either to heauen or hell for it neither féeleth pleasure nor payne this is new learnyng in déede But I thinke there is no Christen man so foolishe as to beleue hym And as for the second poynt that it should be a good example to put men in feare for committyng such trespasses it were soone aunswered For we ought not to abstaine from euiâ—l because of y t punishmeÌ„t that foloweth the crime but onely for the loue that we haue to God without any respect either of saluation or of damnatioÌ„ If thou abstaine for feare so art thou vnder the law and vnder damnatioÌ„ The law of God and the law of man are farre vnlike for the law of maÌ„ is fulfilled by the exteriour act although the hart be farre from it As if I owe a man xx pound and be compelled by the law to pay hym at a certaine day if I then pay albeit myne hart be neuer so grudging and euill willing yet haue I fulfilled the law so that there shall no processe or sentence passe agaynst me But Gods law requireth a thyng to bee done with a well willyng hart and eueÌ„ for pure loue For if thou do it for feare or vnwillyngly y t shall be imputed vnto thée for sinne If thou do it for feare then workest thou not of loue but rather hatest both the thing that thou doest and also the law that constraineth the vnto it And if thou do it vnwillyngly then willest thou to do the contrary and so wouldest thou that there were no such lawe neither yet any God that should iudge thée in so doyng And sith God iudgeth thée after thine hart and will then must hée néedes condemne thée for thou willest contrary vnto his law and wil yea willest in thine hart contrary to that thou doest in thyne outward déede Now let vs sée his solution which is in the xi chapter and so foolish that if it were not for the great length of the chapter for losse of tyme and for the more cost in Printyng I would surely haue aunswered vnto it at length euen that he should haue ben ashamed of hym selfe But to be short we will touch some of hys woordes The first part of the argument which he entendeth to aunswere to is this that it should seeme coÌ„uenient that Purgatory should be here on earth because the body which offendeth with the soule should bee purged with the soule This reason is of no value as I haue shewed you before But what sayth Rastell That reason sayth Rastell proueth not onely that there is no Purgatory but also that there should be neither heauen nor hell For if a man haue lyued so vertuouslye in earth that he ought to be saued goe to the ioyes of heauen let vs pardon hym this lye for the Prophet sayth that no man shall be iustified in y e sight of God if he enter into iudgement with vs Psalme C. xliij And yet did neuer meritorious acte but onely when the soule was ioyned with the body then should he neuer be rewarded but here in earth while his soule is ioyned with the body Here may ye perceaue what Rastell thinketh of heauen and hell euen thus that the body shall neuer come in heauen nor hell whiche poynte I will touche more largely a none First where Comingo in hys argument sayth that it should séeme conuenient for Purgatory to be vpoÌ„ earth there sayth Rastell y t he would take away the libertie prerogatiue and authoritie of God As by example if I would say It should séeme coÌ„uenient that the Byshop of Londons palace should be in LondoÌ„ partly because it is y e chiefest Citie of his Diocesse and partly because it is nigh the Court whereto he may the better resort to get further promotion there would Rastell say by and by that I tooke the Byshops libertie prerogatiue and authoritie that he might not set it where he would belike this maÌ„ hath dronke of a mery cuppe He affirmeth also that this argument taketh away both heauen and hell why so Because hee supposeth it conuenient that Purgatory should be here vppon earth Albeit he say it is conuenient yet sayth hee not that it must needes be Nay but there is an other thyng that Rastels sore yes can not abyde What is that verelye for he added that it were most conuenient that the body whiche is partaker in committyng the crime should also be purged and punished with the soule And that as ye knowe plucketh Rastell by the beard for he went about to proue the contrary in the first chapter that y e body hath neither payne nor pleasure c. But how should this take away heauen and hell for sooth on this maner Rastell thinketh not that God caÌ„ and will ioyne the body agayne with the soule after this transitory life that they may together receaue ioye or payne for y t passeth his natural Philosophy But thus he imagineth when the body and soule are once departed theÌ„ say they adieu for euer and a day Therfore thinketh he if God will punish them in hell together or saue them together in heauen theÌ„ he must take them whiles they are here liuyng in earth And so this supposition that the body must suffer with y
e soule after Rastels learnyng must proue that heauen and hell be here in earth or els there cā be none Sée this learned man y t would proue Purgatory by good Philosophy The second cause that Purgatory should be a good example to the liuing to put them in feare to do any like offence is not soluted of Rastell but I haue soluted it before and will yet satisfie you agayne because Rastell leaueth it out We haue here in y e world Moses the Prophetes that is y e old Testament yea also Christ his Apostles which we call the new Testament now if we beleue not these thē shall we not surely beleue although we had Purgatory hel to amōg vs. And this may well bee gathered of Christes owne wordes Luke xvj Where he brought in y e parable of y e rich mā Lazarus for y e rich mā being in paynes desired Abrahā to send Lazarus vnto his v. brethrē to warne them that they might not come into that fire Abrahā aunswered agayne y t they had Moses the Prophetes And added let them heare them Thē sayd the rich mā Nay father Abrahā but if any of them that are departed appeare vnto them then will they beleue it And Abraham concludeth on this maner If they beleue not Moses and the Prophetes no more wil they beleue if any of the dead should rise agayne And therfore may I likewise conclude that if they beleue not neither yet feare the paynes which Moses and the Prophets yea and Christ and his Apostles haue prophesied to fall on the vnfaythfull then will they not beleue for feare of the paynes of Purgatory Now to the last pointe where Purgatory should be he aunswereth as you shall heare First y t it is a foolish question for hee can not aunswere vnto it by his Philosophy And then he sayth that no man can tell neither the place neither yet the maner of the payne Here maketh he S. Thomas yea and all our Scholemen fooles by craft partly because they take vpon them to aunswere vnto this question whiche he calleth foolish and partly because they fully determine that the place of Purgatory is the third place in hell and all to assigne fire to be the maner of y t payne And agayne in this last part hee proueth thē double fooles Once because they stoutly affirme that thyng which no man can tell as Rastel sayth And agayne because they restrayne God of his libertie that assigne any place make him oflesse authoritie then an inferiour iudge which hath no place assigned hym but may doe execution and punish the giltie in what place he will I wonder that our Scholemen may abyde this felow And then he sayth that Purgatory is in a place limitatiue And where soeuer God doth limitte the soule to bee purged there is the limitatiue place of that soule and there is the Purgatory of that soule So y t a man may gather by Rastell that the soules bee not limited to one place to be purged and punished And therto agréeth also his similitude of the iudge whiche assigneth one to be punished in one place and an other in an other place euen at his pleasure If such geare had come from beyond the Sea it should soone haue bene condemned although it had not bene halfe so greuous agaynst our Scholemen But let this passe as it is well worthy and let vs sée examine more of this new-fangled Philosophy NOw are we come vnto the sixte argument whiche begynneth in the. xij chapter the effect is this Repentaunce is the full payment and satisfaction of sinne and bryngeth remission therfore as soone as repentaunce is taken God of his iustice must geue remissiō and so there ought to be no Purgatory This argument is nothyng worth for the first part as we haue oftē proued is false For if repentaunce were the full payment and very satisfaction for sinne then dyed Christ in vayne Notwithstandyng if hee graunt this first part to be true neither he nor all his felowes shal be able to solute this argument whyle they lyue But because we will be short let vs passe ouer to his aunswere whiche is in the. xiij chapter In solutyng this argument hee groundeth hym on two lyes at once the firste is that God neuer geueth remission except he see in vs a conuenient cause counterpaysyng hys iustice What cause founde he in the man that was brought vnto hym sicke of the palsie to whom he sayd be of good comfort sonne thy sinnes are forgiuen thée Math. ix Marke ij Luke v. what cause found he in the théefe that was crucified with him but that hee had bene an vnthryft all his life lōg And yet euen the same day that hee suffred with Christ was he partaker of ioye with him in Paradise Luke xxiij Where was Purgatory then where was the punishment that hee should haue suffered for his enormities If any mā should suffer in Purgatory it is like that this théefe should haue done it But he went from death to life neuer came in Purgatory wherfore I may conclude that no mā shall come there if there were any What cause I pray you doth Paule assigne as touching our redēptiō remission of our sinne forsooth no other but y t we were wretched sinners and the very enemyes of God Roma v. For sayth Paule if whē we were his enemyes we were reconciled vnto God through the death of his sonne much more now we are reconciled shall we besaued by his lyfe So that in vs is no maner cause of remission but onely miserie and sinne But the whole cause of the remission of our sinnes of our saluation is the bloud of Christ which hath fully counterpaysed the iustice of God the father hath pacified his wrath towardes vs that beleue He is the very Purgatory for all faithful which hath already purged our sinnes sitteth on the right hand of the father Hebr. i. The secōd lye is this he sayth that God of hys iustice must geue to euery thyng his own which own is the thyng that it deserueth to haue If this were true then should not one of vs enter the inheritaunce of heauen for we haue euery one of vs deserued death and damnation For as Paul saith Roma iij. we haue all sinned and want the glory whiche before God is allowed But we are fréely iustified through his grace by y t fayth that is in Christ Iesu If it be fréely through his grace then is it not by our owne deseruyng for thē grace were no grace And contrarywise if it be by our own deseruing thē is it not of grace for then deseruyng were no deseruyng Roma xj But the truth is this that God of his mercy had promised vnto our forefathers his deare sonne Christ that hee should deliuer them