in these fewe wordes which are both so swéete and so comfortable we haue three godly promises First howe that he will take awaie our wickednes our synnes and offences whiche thyng he did already fulfil and performe by the death and passion of his sonne Iesu Christe our Lorde of whom Iohn Zacharias sonne did saie this is the Lambe of God that taketh awaie the sinnes of the worlde Doth not this sufficiently teache vs that it is God onely and none other that taketh awaie our synnes and that he doeth it by none other purgatorie but by the blood of his only begotten sonne our sauiour and redéemer The seconde promise is that he will put awaie our sinnes and offences for his owne sake and not for any respecte that he should haue either to the merites of our owne workes or to any satisfaction that we be able to make here in this worlde whiles we be yet aliue for he saieth that he will doe it for his owne sake or for his owne selfe that is to saie of his owne meere goodnes and mercie beyng prouoked thereto by no maner of merites or deseruinges of our behalfe as Paule plainely setteth it out when he saieth Commendat autem suam charitatem erga nos Deus quod cum adhuc essemus peccatores christus pro nobis mortuus fuit That is to saie God setteth out his loue towardes vs seeyng that while we were yet synners Christe died for vs. They therefore that saie that they onely doe escape the paines of purgatory that doe beare here a sufficient penauÌ„ce and make satisfaction for ther sinnes doe most shamefully belye the trueth of Gods promises wherby we are certified and assured that God doeth take awaie our synnes for his owne sake only and not for any merites or satisfaction that we can make either in purgatorie or any where els though we were able to liue Mathusalahes life yea by their owne doctrine as ye shall finde it written in the maister of sentences though all the paines griefes sorowes and torments that euer were suffered by men sence the beginnyng of the world and shal be suffered vnto the laste daie of iudgement were heaped together one vppon a nother yet they should not be able to put awaie the least synne that is committed in this worlde Sainct Augustine saieth very wel acccordyng to the truth in the Psalmes Non tibi deus reddit debitam paenam sed donat indebitaÌ„ gratiam That is to saie God doth not render to thée due punishment but doeth giue to thée his vndeserued grace For as Peter Marter saieth vpon the Romaines Christus enim nobis donatus est gratis nullis intercedentibus nostris meritis Christus autem sibi nos non gratis sed suo sanguine cruce acquisiuit That is to saie Christe is giuen vnto vs freely without any our merites but christ hath gotten vs vnto hym selfe not fréely but by his blood and Crosse. And Sainte Barnarde saieth plainely these words Traditus est enim propter peccata nostra nec dubium quin potentior efficatior sit mors illius in bonum quà m peccata nostra in malum That is to saie He was deliuered vp or died for our synnes neither is it to bee doubted but that his death is mightier and of more force and effect in good towards vs then our synnes in euill As though he in fewe wordes had saide Christes death is more stronger to get saluation to vs then our synnes was to get vs dampnation for wee haue gotten more by our newe Adam then we lost by our olde Adams fal ¶ The .viij. Chapiter ¶ Popishe purgatorie is flat against the worde of god For it maketh Christes death and passion of litle or none effectâ— WHereby we sée plainely that their purgatorie pickpurse is cleane contrarie to the true doctrine of Christes passion for if I maie or can make a satisfaction by suffring of paines in purgatory for my sinnes then Sainct Augustines wordes are false for he should saie he doeth render to thee thy deserued paine or punishment and not to saie he doeth not render to thée thy deserued punishment and againe thy deserued grace not vndeserued grace Saint Barnardes words are not true if I may make or get to my selfe satisfaction by suffering of punishment in purgatory for my synnes for he should haue saide we haue gotten more by our sinnes in sufferyng paine then we haue by Christes death And so consequently payne was more effectuall and strong to vs to obtaine heauen then was Christes passion which suffered for our synnes and therfore synne was good to vs by this reason for through sinne came punishment in purgatorie by punishment commeth life euerlasting as the Papist affirmeth so then we maie saie Christ died in vaine he shed his pretious hart blood in vaine The thirde promise is muche like vnto that whiche hee made before by the prophet Ezechiell he doeth promise here that he will no more remember our sinnes but vtterly forget them and neuer thinke vpon them Whiche is signified vnto vs in many other places of the scripture as when it is saide that the lorde hymselfe will caste awaie our sinnes in to the bottome of the Sea. Againe that as high as the Heauens bee from the earth and as farre of as the East is from the West so farre the Lorde will put awaie our synnes from vs Is it to be thought then that forgettyng his promises he will so tyrannously punishe our sinnes after that he hath once forgiuen and pardoned them and also so substauncially purged them by the onely and true purgatorie whiche is the moste precious blood of his onely begotten sonne our sauiour Christ who beyng the wisdome of the father appointed and ordeined of hym to be our onely teacher and instructour in thinges that parteine to his glory and to our saluation and whose doctrine we ought to content our selues withall doeth make mention onlie of twoo waies of the whiche the one beyng narowe and streight doth leade them that walke in it vnto life and saluation And that the other waie is both wide and broade vnto vtter perdition and death euerlastyng And as he doeth here speake onely of two waies that doth leade eâ—ther to life or destruction so doeth he in Sainct Luke appointe only two sundrie estates and conditions of the dead placing all the faithfull departed in the boâ—ome of Abraham where they were in felicitie and ioye and all the vnfaithfull and reprobates in the vttermost darkenes of hell where the riche glotton was in intollerable tormentes and paines But yet doeth he more liuely stoppe the mouthes of our purgatorie Scullians when he saieth verely verely I saie vnto you he that heareth my wordes and beleeueth on hym that sâ—nt mee hath euerlasting life and shall not come into iudgement or condemnation but is passed from death vnto life These
for vs he therefore had a loue to vs euen then when wee were enemies to hym and wrought wickednesse Therefore after a marueilous and diuine maner he loued vs euen then when he hated vs For he hated vs in that we were suche as he had not made vs and because our wickednesse had on eche side wasted awaie his woorke he knewe how in euery one of vs bothe to hate that whiche our selues had made and to loue that whiche he had made Thus farre Augustine Whereby we haue to learne what a comfortable doctrine the Predestination of GOD is whiche many can not abide of whom saincte Paule long before spake of Also howe so euer we bee synners by our owne faulte yet we remaine his creatures And howsoeuer we haue purchased death to our selues yet he made vs vnto life So is he moued by méere and free louyng of vs to receiue vs and also to reconcile vs by his sonne Christ into his fauour Therefore in respecte of our corrupte nature and then of euil life added vnto it truely we are in displeasure of God guiltie in his sight and borne to dampnation of hell But because the lorde will not loose that whiche is his in vs he findeth yet somewhat that he of his onely goodnesse maie loue vs without any goodnesse or worthinesse that is in vs through his Sonne Christe our onely Sauioure To this saincte Augustine saieth Due res sunt homo peccator Quod audis homo fecit deus Quod audis peccator ipse homo fecit dele quod fecisti vt deus saluet quod fecit oportet vt oderis in te opus tuum ames in te opus dei Theâ—e are twoo thynges Man and Synner That thou hearest man God made it That thou hearest synner Man hymself made take awaie that thou haste made that God maie saue that he hath made It behoueth that thou hate in thy self thine owne woorke that thou maiest loue the woorke of God in thee Hereto Dauid saieth Beholde I was borne in iniquitie and in synne hath my mother coÌ„ceiued me Pourge me with Hysope and I shall bee cleane Washe me and I shall bee whiter then Snowe â–ª c. This doctrine well waighed will easely teache vs that all the righteous Soules departed in the faithe before Christes commyng were in heauen And therefore no neede for Christe his soule to goe into hell to fetche them out for in that place thei neuer were nor none of Goddes predestinate and electe children was or euer shall bee For whom the Lorde euer loued saieth the Scripture be loueth vnto the ende Nowe if any man should aske me when Christe wente downe to hell I will aunswere hym When he praied to escape death he began to goe downe and so all his sufferynges that he suffered afterwarde in bodie and soule for our synnes was his goyng into hell For he felt the burden and waight of Gods wrathe for our iniquities in suche sort that no paine tormente griefe sorrowe nor punishement that euer synne and disobedience had deserued in hell But that it was laied vpon Christ for vs to bryng vs vnto God whiche paines and torments he felt in his bodie and soule Wherby we maie gather how greeuous and terrible tormentes he suffred wheÌ„ he knewe himselfe to be arained for our cause before the iudgemente seate of god For there can bee imagined no more dreadfull bottomelesse depth then for one to féele hymself forsaken and estraunged from God and not to bee hearde when he calleth vpon hym euen as if God hymself had conspired his destruction Euen thither wee see that Christe was throwne downe so farre that by inforcemente of paine and tormentes of hell did sweate and his sweate was like droppes of bloud trickelyng doune to the grounde And he was compelled to cry out My God my GOD why haste thou forsaken me c. Here thou maiest note that in the Crede we reade not in the singuler nomber descendit ad infernum hee descended into hell as thoughe it did speake of a place certaine where into he was gone but in the plurall nomber descendit in inferna he descended into the helles Comprehendyng all that was before saied in many woordes how he suffered vnder Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried in this one woorde helles Now gentle Reader I praie thee not to take me in this my writyng that I dooe deny this Article of Christes descendyng into hell for I doe constantly beleue it and will in no wise God willyng denye it but affirme that he descended into hell accordyngly But of the maner of his descension into hell is our question They saie his soule went downe thither whiche thei can not proue by the woorde of God and therfore I can not beleue it But I saie this that the force efficacie and strength of his death and passion did pearce vnto the damned soules in hell through his diuine power and godheade to the greater increase and certifiyng of their eternall and iust damnation For I saie vnto thée in the worde of God and lye not that all Christes sufferynges sorrowes and passions that he sustained here for vs vpon the earth and vpon the Crosse in body and in his soule for our sinnes was his going downe into the helles â–ª Wherefore let vs constantly beleeue this that he was once in the flesh a verie man like vnto vs in al thing sinne only excepted and came downe for vs men and for our saluation that he did verely suffer passion of bodie and soule that he hath verely died and been buried And that he hath been verely reuiued againe and the verie same soule retourned againe into his owne naturall bodie and after did ascende vp into heauen and there sitteth on the right hande of the father to make daiely and continuall intercession for all his electe and to saue all them that come to God by hym c. As many therfore as be Christians haue giuen their faith vnto Christ in their Baptisme vnder the witnesse of a greate meany There they promised to forsake the fleshe the world and the deuill If now thei will bee at league with the synner and at agreement with the deuill and the euill doer thei haue broken their firste promise and are founde vnfaithfull for wherevnto thei are ouercome his seruauntes thei are whether it bee of synne vnto death or of obedience vnto righteousnesse And for their faithe thus violated giuen vnto the immortall God God againe will breake with them his couenaunte of mercie if in tyme thei repente not Lette vs holde therefore vnitie in doctrine Secondlie vniuersalitie in ioynyng of voyces Thirdlie consente in spirite and iudgement For the Papistes haue tourned vnitie to diuision Uniuersalitie to singularitie Consente to open and plaine discention And so vnder the name of the faithe thei persecute the faithe c. For if thou doest forsake Christes Shippe and wilt rowe
good that heart can not conceyue Full well spake Barnarde Traditus est enim propter peccata nostra nec dubium quin potentior efficatior sit mors illius in bonum quà m peccata nostra in malum Christe was deliuered and suffered for our sinnes doubtles his death was stronger and more effectuall in goodnes towardes vs then our synnes was in euill For he hath vanquished death Sathan the deuill and all the whole power of hell ¶ The .xj. Chapter ¶ VVhat comfort we haue gotten by Christes rising from death againe And that it shoulde be vnto vs as a glasse in this life c. ANd did rise againe most gloriously and triumphantly on the thirde day for our iustification For as Saint Paul saith he was deliuered for our sinnes and rose againe for our iustification meaning thereby that as by the death of Christ sinne is takē away so by his resurrection or rising againe righteousnesse is restored vnto vs For if he had not risen againe it had béen an euident signe or token that death had gotten the victorie of him and that hell had swalowed him vp as the other children of Adam Nowe if death had vanquished him and not he death we should haue remayned still in our sinnes and also in death And againe howe shoulde he by his death haue deliuered vs from death if he him selfe had béen vanquished and ouercome How should he haue gottē vnto vs the victorie if he him self had been ouerthrowen in the battaile Therefore we doe so parte the whole matter of our saluatian betwene his death and his resurrection that as we doe beleue that by his death synne is taken awaie and abolished and death vanquished and ouerthrowen So by his resurrection or risyng againe righteousnesse is restored and life giuen vnto vs againe And thereof it commeth that although we haue our full saluation in the death of Christ for by it we are reconciled vnto God satisfaction is made vnto his righteous iudgement the curse is taken awaie and all the whole penaltie paied yet it is not said that we are begotten againe by his death vnto a liuely hope but by his resurrection from the dead to enioy an inheritaunce immortall and vndefiled and that perisheth not As then the resurrection of Christe whereby he did rise againe most gloriously from death in the selfe same body that he toke in the virgins wombe of whom he toke his vndefiled substaunce and in the whiche he did suffer a most bitter death for vs which was taken downe from the crosse and layde in the graue is an infallible and most sure token and signe of his diuine vertue and power and of his triumphant victorie that he hath gotten against death Sathan the deuyll and against all the whole power of hell for it was his office to swalowe vp death who coulde do that but life it selfe It was his office to ouercome sinne who coulde do that but righteousnesse it selfe It was his office to vanquishe the whole power of the enimie worlde and fleshe who coulde do that but an absolute power of him selfe So this is a full certifiyng and a most certayne assuraunce vnto vs that we shall rise againe with him For as when we see with the eyes of our faithe our sauiour Iesu Christe rise againe from death we doe see hym as a noble and valiaunt capitaine and as a most victorious kyng lead synne death Sathan the deuil and all the whole power of hell captiues before hym as all vanquished beaten downe and ouerthrowen so that they can haue no more power vpon the elect and chosen of God that beleeue in him then thei haue had vpon Iesus christ hym selfe So doe we see our fleshe rise againe with his fleshe sithe that our fleshe that he toke vpon hym in the which he suffred and did beare the terrible iudgement and curse of God diyng in it a most opprobrious and shamefull death for our sinnes is triumphantly and victoriously risen againe from death in him death and all other enemies beyng vtterly discomfited and put to flight And for this cause our sauiour Christe is called the firste fruictes of them that sleepe and the first borne of the dead not bicause that he hath been the firste that hath been raised vp againe among mē For many haue been raised vp againe before hym as wel by hymself as by his Prophetes but bicause that he is the first and he only that is risen againe by his owne diuine vertue and power and whiche is the offpryng original and fountaine of the resurrection and life of all other that dye and are raised vp againe in hym and by hym And for a better confirmation and sealyng vp of this hope in our heartes he hath geuen vs a pledge and taken one of vs Bicause he woulde not leaue vs in any doubte he hath taken our fleshe and hath borne it vp into heauen whereby we are already put in full possession of it and are set downe with hym in the heauenly seates On the other side he hath geuen vnto vs his holy spirite for an earnest peny for to seale vp his promises in our heartes whiche doeth testifie vnto our spirite that we are the children of God. Sith then that we are the children of god and haue his diuine and heauenly seede in vs we ought not to doubte but that our sauiour Christe hath made vs partakers of his diuine nature as he woulde be partaker of ours and would be made man to make vs Gods that is to say heauenly and spirituall As then the Corne that is sowed in the grounde diyng in it brauncheth and taketh roote and then commeth foorth and groweth and doth at length bryng foorth fruict so are we most sure that when we die and are layde in the grounde we be as sowen and that we shall braunche and rise againe immortall and incorruptible sith that we cary away with vs the grayne or seede of the holy spirite of God whiche cannot dye And although our fleshe shall corrupte yet the spirite of God shal deliuer from corruption this bodie which shal be raised vp again by the diuine vertue and power of hym that hath raised vp our sauiour Christ who shall viuiste and quicken againe our mortall members And whiles that we are yet in this mortall life we muste to the vttermoste of our power expresse this faith and beléefe that we haue in the resurrection of Christe and of our risyng againe through hym in our conuersation liuyng walkyng still in a newe life which in this worlde is to rise againe with Christ as Saint Paule testifieth saiyng We are buried with hym by baptisme for to dye that likewise as Christe was raised vp from death by the glory of his father euen so we should also walke in a newe life For if we be graft in death like vnto hym euen so
vnto it and beleued that thei should bee saued by the blessed promised seede haue all entered into the heaueÌ„ly ioye whiche hath been purchased vnto them and vs by our sauiour Iesus Christe And for thy better learnyng good reader marke this what I saie Although our Sauiour Christe hath been offered vp vpon the Crosse for to make satisfaction vnto the righteousnes of God for vs at the tyme that was appoincted him of the father yet was he slaine and offered in the presence of God froÌ„ the beginnng of the world For it is written The Lambe was slaine from the beginning of the world Againe Iesus Christe yesterdaie and to daie the same also is for euer In this the Apostle coÌ„prehendeth all the whole tyme passed â–ª presente and to come Iesus hym self had respecte hereto when he saied your father Abraham reioyced to see my daie and he sawe it and was glad Uerely verely I saie vnto you before Abraham was I am that is to say not onely God but the mediatour betwene GOD and man appoincted from before all eternitie For although in respect of vs he was crucified in the fulnesse of tyme and in the latter daies yet in the presence of God he hath been alwaies crucified and his Sacrifice hath been euerlastingly present with hym For in God is no difference of tyme as is in vs because that all thynges are presente vnto hym and for that he is aboue and beyonde the tyme and out of it For a thousande yeres are vnto hym but as as one daie So sainct Augustine saieth Apud deum autem nihil deest nec praeteritum igitur nec futurum sed omne praesens est apud deum That is With God there is nothing wantyng nothyng paste or to come but all thynges are presente c. Wherefore euen as the death and passion of Christe dooeth serue vs now vnto saluation whiche beleue that he hath been crucified for vs although he hangeth no more on the crosse So bee ye certaine and sure that it hath profited them â–ª that haue liued before that he was Crucified whiche beleeued that he should come and dye for them as wee dooe beleeue that he is come and hath died for vs. Therefore wee ought to acknowledge no iij. iiij.v.vj.vij.viij.ix.x or a xj places as if some soules had been lodged in hel some in Limbo some in a darke place in hell where was no paine Some in Paradise some in heauen some in earth belowe some in Purgatorie fire some in the water some in the ayre some in houses and cloisters and some in fieldes c. But notwithstandyng all these phantasies of mens deuises Christ giueth vnto them all their lodgyng either in Abrahames bosome or in the vnquencheable fire of hell that is to saie either in heauen or hell For so Augustine saieth Duâ— quippe habitâ—tiones sunt vna in igne aeterno alia in regno aeterno There are but twoo habitations one is in the euerlastyng fire of hell the other is in the euerlastyng kingdome of heauen Wherevpon wee maie gather that Christes soule wente straighte beyng separated from his bodie into heauen and not to helle For he saieth hym self to the Theife that honge on the crosse after he desired to remember hym when he came into his kyngdome to daie shalte thou bee with me in Paradise Also Christ commended his soule into the handes of his father His bodie was laied in the graue his soule was in heauen for so he saied the Theife should bee there that daie with hym c. And so he desired his father in his praier that al thei whiche his father had giuen vnto hym might bee with hym euen where hee is c. Now I maruaile what parte should goe into helle then The principalleste cause of this erroure is as I iudge for that thei thinke and suppose God the father did neuer loue vs nor fauour vs before we and thei were reconciled to hym by the death of his sonne whiche is cleane contrary For GOD the Father did with his loue preuente and goe before as the efficiente cause of our reconciliation in Christe Yea because he first loued vs therefore he afterwardes reconcileth vs vnto hym self And for this cause sainct Paule saieth God setteth out his loue towardes vs seyng that while wee were yet synners Christe died for vs And sainct Ihon saieth God so loued the worlde that he hath giuen his onely begotten sonne that who soeuer beleeueth in hym should not perishe but haue euerlastyng life For the free election of Goddes loue is the efficient cause of our Saluation Christes obeidience the materiall cause our callyng by the outwarde woorde the formall cause Our sanctification by the holie Ghoste the finall cause Herevnto agreeth that saiyng of saincte Augustine where he saieth Quapropter incomprehensibilis est dilectio qua diligit Deus neque mutabilis Non enim ex quo si reconciliati sumus per sanguinem filâ—â— eius nos caepit diligere sed ante mundi constitutionem dilexit nos vt cum eius vnigenito etiam nos filij eius essemus priusquam omnino aliquid essemus Quod ergo reconciliati sumus deo per mortem Christi non sic accipiatur quasi ideo nos reconciliauerit ei filius vt iam amare inciperet quos oderat Sed iam nos diligenti reconciliati sumus ei cum quo propter peccatum immicitias habeamus Quod vtrum verum dicam attestetur Apostolus Commendat inquit dilectionem suam deus erga nos quoniam cum adhuc peccatores essemus Christus pro nobis mortuus est habebat itaque ille erga nos charitatem etiam cum inimicitias aduersus eum exercentes operaremur iniquitatem Proinde miro diuino modo quando nos oderat dilegebat Oderat enim nos quales ipse non fecerat quia iniquitas nostra opus eius non omni ex parte consumpserat Nouerat simul in vno quoque nostrum odisse quod feceramus amare quod fecerat that is to saie in Englishe The loue of God is incomprehensible and vnchaungable For he began not to loue vs since the tyme that wee were reconciled to hym by the bloud of his sonne but before the makyng of the worlde he loued vs euen before wee were any thyng at all that wée might also bee his children with his onely begotten sonne Therefore whereas we are reconciled by the death of Christe it is not so to bee taken as though the Sonne did therefore reconcile vs vnto hym that he might now beginne to loue vs whom he hated before But wee are reconciled to hym that alreadie loued vs to whom wee were enemies by reason of synne And whether this bee true or no that I saie lette the Apostle beare witnesse He doeth commende saieth he his loue towardes vs because when we were yet sinners Christe died
119. Of the office and aucthoritie of the Churche and how it may erre and how it can not erre Cap. 39. fol. 121. Our offences and sinnes are forgiuen vs by faith through Christ and not by our workes and merites Cap. 40. fol. 123. Faith onely iustifieth vs before God. Cap. 41. fol. 127. It is no presumption to be sure and certaine of our saluation Cap. 42. fol. 132. Of free wyll Cap. 43. fol. 133. Of the generall resurrection both of the godlie and wicked at the last day Cap. 44. fol. 142. FINIS ¶ A breefe Summe of the Christian faith ¶ The firste Chapiter ¶ Of Gods creation and gouernaunce of all thinges of Christes conception and birth of his death and passion c. I Dooe not onely confesse that there is a true liuyng God who by his almightie power did of nothing make bothe heauen and earth and all the creatures that bee in theim bothe visible and inuisible but also I dooe vnfeignedly beleue that the same true liuyng God who by his almightie power hath created all thinges and now by his vnsearchable wisedome and vnspeakeable goodnesse doth gouerne rule and preserue all his creatures will bee a most louyng mercifull father vnto me and vnto all the faithfull beleuers for as he is almightie and able to dooe what soeuer he will bothe in heauen and in earth so that nothyng is able to resist or withstande his holy and blessed will for euen the very deuilles and wicked spirites will thei nill thei must be obedient vnto him and can doe no more then he doth appoint suffer and permit them so is he most louyng and mercifull vnto all those that putte all their whole trust and confidence in hym And therefore we muste take holde vpon his fatherly promises through a liuely faithe in our sauiour Iesu Christe his onely begotten sonne our Lorde Who beyng true and naturall God begotten of the father afore all beginnynges coeternall and coequall with hym in power and Godhead did at the fulnesse of tyme take our fraile nature vpon hym and was conceiued by the mightie operation of the holy ghoste in the blessed virgines wombe of whom he tooke his vndefiled substaunce to witte his mortall bodie that so he might offer hym self an omnisufficiente Sacrifice vnto God his father for the redemption of mankinde and deliuer vs all that take holde by faithe vpon the merites of his death and bloodsheddyng from the curse and malediction of the Lawe wherevnto all men of their owne nature are subiecte He then beyng bothe God and man and touchyng his māhode subiecte to all maner of infirmities that we are subiecte vnto synne onely beyng excepted Did suffer a moste cruell and opprobrious death vpon the crosse vnder Poncius Pilat who was at the same time the Emperours deputie and liefetenaunt in the land of Iewrie before whom he was brought and by his determinate sentence iudged and condemned and so deliuered into the handes of the tormentors to th ende that I and all faithfull beleuers should not bee condemned before the iudgemente seate of almightie God nor put into the handes of the deuill nor yet sent into the euerlastyng fire of hell but that I and all other that beleue truely should finde fauor and be quieted before the greate and euerlastyng iudge And saie boldly with the holy Apostle who shall laye any thing to the charge of Gods chosen it is GOD that iustifieth who shall then condemne it is Christ whiche is deade yea rather whiche is risen againe whiche is also on the right hande of God and maketh intercession for vs Let vs therefore goe boldely vnto the seate of grace that wée maie receiue mercie and finde grace to helpe in the tyme of néede Thus beyng iudged and condemned for to deliuer vs that beleue frō the fearfull iudgemente of God and from the condemnation that is due vnto vs for our synnes He was with all dispitefulnesse nailed vpon a Crosse as it was signified and prefigured before by the listyng vp of the brasen Serpente in the wildernesse For as the brasen Serpente was eleuated and lifted vp in the deserte by Moises for to heale all those that did looke vpon it so it was necessarie that our sauiour Iesus Christ as he hym self doeth expounde should bee hanged vpon the crosse and lifted vp on high for to heale all those that be deadly stonge and wounded by the olde serpent the deuill And as the brasen serpent had the figure forme and shape of a serpent and yet it was no serpent nor yet had any venime or poyson So our Sauiour Iesus Christe did take vpon hym the shape of a synner and yet he was no synner but was and is a moste wholsome medicine and salue vnto all poore synners that doe beholde and looke vpon hym by faithe and that seeke for saluation no where els but in the only merites of his death passion and bloodsheddyng although this meane and waie to saue men doeth séeme very vile and straunge vnto mans reason whiche iudgeth this wisedome of God and the preachyng of the crosse to be mere foolishnesse And yet notwithstāding as there was no phisick medicine nor salue that could heale those that were stong of the fierie serpents but only the loking vpō the brasen serpent that was erected set vp by the commaundement of god so haue we no maner of Phisick or salue against synne euerlastyng death for to bryng soule health saluation vnto vs but onely Iesus christ being crucified who is giuen vnto vs of God for it doth not belong vnto vs to choose the medicine or salue but it pertaineth only to god our soueraigne phisicion who alone is able to heale vs frō this deadly sickenes who alone knoweth what medicine or salue is necessarie for vs And giueth such as pleaseth him suche as he giueth is sufficient so that we can finde none other that is worth any thing and that doeth not rather bryng death then life if we do put any confidence in it or seke to obtain through it saluation and forgiuenesse of our synnes Also bicause that it is written cursed is euery one that cōtinueth not in all thynges whiche are written in the booke of this lawe to fulfill theim wherby all men were brought vnder the malediction and curse of the lawe and so made the children of euerlastyng damnation The onely begotten sonne of God did vouchsafe for to deliuer vs from this curse and malediction of the lawe to hang on a tree and to bee made accursed for vs for it is written Cursed is euery one that hangeth on tree that the blessyng of Abraham whiche was promised him in his séede who is our Sauiour Iesus christ might come vpon vs for whose sake and loue he was made lower then all men yea he was reputed as a worme and not as a man he
was moost despitefully and opprobriously hanged betwéene twoo theeues and counted among the wicked beyng a very scorne of men and the out cast of the people that the Prophecies of Dauid and Esaie might be fulfilled ¶ The seconde Chapiter ¶ Christes death and passion is a sufficient Sacrifice for all mankynde BUT as I doe beleue that the onely begotten sonne of GOD did suffer this mooste shamefull and opprobrious kinde of death vpon the crosse So this shall be my beleue and my faithe as longe as I liue that his bitter passion and bloudshedding is an omnisufficiente Sacrifice for the redemption of all mankinde and that who soeuer doeth acknowledge any other Sacrifice for synne he shall haue no parte in this moste perfect and consummate Sacrifice which beyng offered once for euer can be offered no more Except we will make the precious death and bloudsheddyng of the onely begotten sonne of God to bee of no more vertue efficacie and strength then the bloud of the brute beastes that were offered in the olde lawe whiche as the Apostle doeth testifie hauyng but the shadowe of good thynges to come and not the thynges of their owne fashion can neuer with the Sacrifices whiche thei offer yere by yere continually make the commers therevnto perfecte For would not then those Sacrifices haue ceased to haue been offered bicause that the offerers beyng once pourged should haue no more conscience of synne We see here plainly that the causes why the Sacrifices of the old lawe were offered more then once that is to saie many tymes often were the insufficiencie of theim and also bicause that thei could not make the commers therevnto perfect nor purge their consciences from deade woorkes for to serue the liuyng God. And therefore euery Prieste was readie daiely ministeryng and often tymes offered one maner of offeryng whiche could neuer take awaie synnes but our sauiour Iesus Christ being an high Priest of good thynges to come did by his owne bloud enter once for all into the holy place and hath founde eternall redemption so that hauyng offered one Sacrifice for synnes he is sette downe for euer on the right hande of God and frō henceforthe tarieth till his foes be made his foote stoole For with one onely offeryng he hath made them perfecte for euer that are sanctified That the saiyng of the Prophete might be fulfilled where the lorde hymself doeth speake these wordes Beholde I will bring forthe the braunche of my seruaunt For loe the stone that I haue laied before Iehosua vppon one stone shall bee seuen eyes beholde I will hewe hym out and take awaie the synne of the lande in one daie This braunche that the Lorde doeth speake of here is our Sauiour Iesus Christe who is the braunche of Dauid of whom he did come touchyng the fleshe He is also the sure rocke and stone wherevpon all the faithfull beleuers are builded hauyng the eyes of their faithe whiche be signified by the seuen eyes that should be vpon the stone fastened still vpon hym as vpō their mightie deliuerer and omnisufficient sauiour And this rocke or stone did the lorde hewe out when he did deliuer his onely begotten sonne vnto the bitter death of the Crosse whereby he did take awaie the synnes of the lande in one daie Therefore sithe that full remission and forgiuenes of synnes is purchased vnto all true and faithfull beleuers by this one onely Sacrifice I dare conclude with saincte Paule that there is no more offeryng for synne and that thei that go aboute to perswade the simple and ignoraunte people that thei dooe offer euery daie in the Churche an expiatorie satisfactorie or propitiatorie Sacrifice for the synnes bothe of the quicke and of the deade as thei are moste shamefull and abhominable lyers for why the holy ghost doeth testifie plainly that there is no more offeryng for synne so are thei most cruell and detestable murtherers of the onely begotten sonne of GOD whom as thei will make vs to beleue and that with fire and sworde thei doe offer daiely in their blasphemous sacrifice of the Masse For these are the very wordes of the holy Apostle Christ is not entred into the holy places that are made with handes whiche are but similitudes of true thynges but is entered into very heauen for to appeare now in the sight of God for vs not to offer hym self often as the high Priest entered into the holy place euery yere with straunge bloud for then muste he haue often suffered since the worlde beganne These wordes doe plainly declare that our sauiour Iesus Christe can not bee offered excepte he doeth suffer also and be slaine How many tymes then and in how many places doe these folke slea and murther our sauiour Iesus Christe I doe here let passe that thei will bée counted of the people although thei dare not saie so theim selues to bee of more dignitie worthinesse then the onely begotten sonne of God for he that offereth must be of more worthinesse then the sacrifice that he dooeth offer for the person is not accepted bicause of the Sacrifice but the Sacrifice is accepted bicause of the person whiche is made acceptable and worthie onely and solely through faithe in our Sauiour Iesus Christe who beyng holy harmelesse vndefiled separated from synners and made higher then heauen needeth not daiely as yonder Priestes to offer vp Sacrifice firste for his owne synne and then for the synnes of the people for that did he once for all when he offered vp hym self ¶ The third Chapiter ¶ The meanes whereby the death and Sacrifice of Christ maie be applied vnto vs. ANd as he is a Prieste for euer after the order of Melchisedech and needeth no successour for he indureth euer and hath an euer lastyng Priesthoode beyng able therfore to saue theim fully and perfectly that come vnto God by him so is his Sacrifice euer of one efficacie strēgth and vertue and worketh still a moste perfecte saluation in theim that take a sure holde vpon it by faithe And none other meanes doe I knowe whereby the Sacrifice I meane the benefites of Christes death passion and bloudsheddyng can be applied vnto vs but the true preachyng of Gods woorde and the right ministration of the Sacramentes accordyng to the Lordes institution and ordinaunce The trueth hym self saiyng Goe ye into all the worlde and preache the Gospell to all creatures he that beleueth and is baptized shall be saued Againe thus it behoued Christ to suffer and to rise again from death the third daie and that repentaunce and remission of synnes should bee preached in his name amongest all nations And in an other place goe therefore and teache all nations baptisyng them In the name of the father of the sonne and of the holy ghoste teachyng theim to obserue all thynges what soeuer I commaunde you And in the Gospell of Ihon these bée
also the woordes of our Sauiour he that heareth my woorde and beleueth in hym that sente me hath life euerlastyng he shall not come into condemnation or iudgemente but is passed from death to life Whervpon I do conclude that the true preachyng of gods worde apprehended and taken hold of by faithe and the right ministration of the Sacramentes beyng duely and worthely receiued are the onely meanes â–ª whereby this moste worthie Sacrifice should bee applied vnto vs and whereby we should bee putte in full possession of all the benefites of Christes death passion and bloudshedding whiche are iustification before God free remission of our sinnes peace of conscience and life euerlasting Beyng so farre of that their wicked and blasphemous Masse should applie this moste omnisufficient Sacrifice of Christes death vnto vs or that by it we should bee made partakers of the benefites thereof but rather by it the wrathe of God is still more and more kindeled and the death of his onely begotteÌ„ sonne made altogether vnprofitable and of no value vnto vs. Therefore I doe vtterly â—eteste and abhorre it and dooe from my very harte and with all thankfulnesse that can bee possible receiue and embrace those singuler and soueraigne meanes that haue been by Gods prouidence appoincted vnto vs that by them we might be made through faith partakers of all the benefites of the precious death and bloudshedding of his entirely beloued and onely begotten sonne our onely and sufficient sauiour Iesus Christe our Lorde ¶ The .iiij. Chapiter ¶ Of Christes buriall and the profite that we haue gotten thereby WHo for a better and more sure confirmation of his death and for to declare and testifie vnto all the worlde that touchyng his manhoode he was deade in deede without any faynednesse or dissimulation for sithe that he muste dye for our synnes if he had not been deade in verie deede wee should haue remained still subiecte vnto euerlastyng death would be taken downe from the crosse and by men of good and honest reporte that is to saie Nichodemus and Ioseph of Aramathia be decently and honourably buried Pontius Pilate who was certified of his death consentyng and agreyng vnto the same laied in a new graue that was he wen out of a rocke or stone and wherein no man was laied before lest it shoulde bee blowen abroade by his enemies and noysed among the people that it was not he that was risen againe but some other man that was there buried before hym or that he was not risen againe by his owne vertue but by the vertue of some holy prophete that was laied there before as he that was caste into the graue of Elizeus was reuiued restored vnto life again as soone as he did touche the deade bones of the Prophete And as for that that he was laied in an other mans graue and not in his owne the same was dooen for to signifie vnto vs that as he was come into our fleshe for to sanctifie it in the whiche he did dye not for his owne but for our sinnes thereby to take awaie the styng of death and to sanctifie our death to the ende that it should bee no more a dreadfull death vnto vs but a ioyfull passage vnto euerlastyng life so would he bee buried in a graue of ours for to sanctifie and open our graues and as it were for to constraine and compell theim to giue vp our bodies againe at the daie of the generall resurrection of al fleshe Againe the graue that he was laied in was newe whiche is a lesson vnto vs that if we will haue Christ to dwell in our hartes we must be no stinckyng graues but put awaie all filthinesse and sâ—incking abhomination we must be made newe creatures altogether and put of the olde Adam whiche is corrupted through the deceiueable lustes and put on that newe man whiche after the Image of God is shapen in righteousnesse and true holinesse And as the same graue was hewen out euen in the rocke so must we if at least we will haue Christe to dwell and continue in vs bee hewen out and created in hym who is that strong and sure rocke that the true Churche and faithfull coÌ„gregation is builded vpon we must be no waueryng children that bee caried with euery winde of doctrine by the wilinesse of men and craftines whereby thei laie awaite for vs to deceiue vs but abide stedfaste in the truthe and growe in hym that is the heade that is to saie Christe Who also would bee buried although he might haue risen againe without any suche thing I meane without the costes and charges of any buriyng for to signifie vnto vs that the misterie signe of the Prophete Ionas was fulfilled in him as he hym self doeth manifestly declare vnto the Iewes for as Ionas was caste into the Sea for to asswage and still the tempeste that was raised and stirred vp by the mightie winde of Gods wrathe and was receiued into the Whales bellie abidyng three daies and nightes in the deepe of the Sea beyng still in the Whales bellie And after three daies was caste out againe vpon the drie lande aliue and without any hurte so it was necessarie that the onely begotten sonne of God our sauiour Iesus Christe for to pacifie and still the wrathe of his father should be cast into the deepe and bottomelesse geulfes of death whiche thought to deuour and swallowe hym vp and that he shoulde be in the bowels of the earth as the Prophete Ionas was in the belly of the Whale and so rise againe the thirde daie Which truely is a misterie that passeth all misteries for who in all the worlde would haue thought that Ionas beyng thus caste into the bottome of the raging Sea should haue escaped death or who would haue beléeued that our sauiour Iesus Christ should in death finde euerlastyng life vnto vs and that after suche opprobriousnes and confusion of the Crosse hauyng been driuen downe euen to very hell gates he should rise againe with such an excellent glory power and maiestie and that by his death the wrath of God should be pacified as the tempeste of the Sea was pacified and ceassed as soone as Ionas was hurled into it that calmenesse should be giuen vnto the troubled consciences of synners peace made betwixt God and men And yet contrarie to the expectation of all the wicked worlde all these thinges I meane euerlastyng life forgiuenes of our synnes the pacifiyng of Gods wrath tranquilitie and peace of conscience and a moste sure attonement betwéene God and vs are mightely purchased vnto vs by the death and buriyng of the onely begotten sonne of God our sauiour Iesus Christe ¶ The .v. Chapter ¶ How many waies this worde hell is taken in Scripture and after what maner Christe descended into hell WHom I doe stedfastlie beléeue to haue descended into hell for whether
ye doe take this worde hell for death it selfe and for the extremest and greatest perils daungers griefes dolours and anguishes that a man can suffer here in this worlde and whereby hee maie bee brought vnto his death and consequentlie for the guiltinesse of synne for the sting and power of death for the iudgement and wrath of god and for the bottomlesse Pit of all miseries and calamities when our sauiour Iesus Christe was so outragiously dealte withall when he did sweate blood when his soule was heauie euen vnto the death and when he was hanged most opprobriously despitefully and shamefully betwixt twoo theeues as forsaken of God and al creatures without aide helpe or comforte and so hangyng on a tree did geue vp the ghoste bearing the curse anger and furie of God whiche is a verie hell and féelyng vpon hym the condempnation paines and tormentes that were due vnto vs for our synnes then went he in deede downe into hell whiche thought to ouerwhealme hym but it coulde not bicause he was without sinne Or if ye take this worde hell for the graue and sepulchre then did our sauiour Christ go downe into hell when he was laide in the graue and descended into the lower partes of the earth as the Apostle doth witnesse and testifie Or if ye doe vnderstande by it the estate and condition of the dead then did our sauiour Iesus Christe go downe into hell when he died But moste specially when he did by his diuine power and godly might make all the elect whose soules were in Abrahams bosome to feele the efficacie strength and vertue of his death that he suffered for them and the fruites of his passion and bloodsheddyng Or if ye will take hell in this place which the Latines do expresse by this worde Inferna in the plurall nomber for the place of the damned I saie that our sauiour Iesus christ went downe vnto them I meane vnto the reprobate and damned when they did feele perceaue and vnderstande through his diuine and godly power that they were depriued of the merites of his death and passion and of the grace health and saluation that he had brought and purchased vnto his electe and chosen children And when he did by the vertue efficacie and strength of his death and bloodshedding breake the Serpents head accordyng to the promise that was made vnto our firste parentes Adam and Eue that is to saie when he did so ouerthrowe Sathan the deuill and all the power of hell that hee and his can no more preuaile against the chosen and electe of God nor yet against his true church faithfull congregation Then went he in déede downe into hell and did harrowe it whiche is a phrase and manner of speakyng that many doe vse but verie fewe doe vnderstande it for why they doe not perceiue that it is borowed of an olde custome and fashion that was vsed commonly among auncient kynges and princes when thei did make any notable warre against their enimies for then if they had taken any citie or towne they were wont not onely to beate it downe euen to the grounde but also to plowe it sowe it with Salte and to harrowe it as the like ye maie reade in the booke of Iudges howe Abimeleche sowed Salte so we reade of Fredericke Oenobarbus the Emperour that ouerthrewe Millane and sowed Salt there for that cittie toke parte with Alexander the thirde being Pope against Caesar and harrowed it after the Salte was sowen thereby to declare that the same citie or towne was brought into vtter desolation and that it should neuer be builded anie more 〈◊〉 Therfore when it is saide that our sauiour Iesus Christ did harrow hell the meanyng of it is though it be vnderstanded of fewe that Christe our sauiour did giue suche an ouerthrowe vnto sathan the deuill that he did so bruse and breake his head and that he hath gotten such a victorie ouer all the whole power of hell that it is no more able to hurte or hynder the children of God for vnto them onelie this viâ—â—â—ie is gotten hell hauyng still his full power ouer the vnfaithfull reprobate than a citie or towne that is beaten downe euen to the grounde and whiche is ploughed so wen ouer with Salte and harrowed is able to recouer it selfe or to harme the enimies that haue serued it so We must not yet imagine that our sauiour Iesus Christ did in his owne person go downe into the hell of the damned and that breakyng the yron gates he did bryng out in a rowe the patriarches and other faithfull fathers of the olde Testament for they were not there but were in the bosome of Abraham whiche as the trueth doeth saie hym selfe is a place of ioye rest and comforte suche a space beyng betwixt it and hell that the one can haue no accesse vnto the other And as for those that saie that the soule of our Sauiour Christe did suffer in hell fire although they dooe bryng and alledge certaine reasons and argumentes for them selues whiche at the firste maie séeme to haue some colour for to â—â—sell the eyes of the simple and ignoraunt yet can I in no wise allowe their opinions and iudgement in this pointe ¶ The .vj. Chapiter ¶ Reasons and argumentes of those that holde that Christe went downe to hell in his soule Aunswered THeir reasons and argumentes are these sith that our Sauiour Christe saie they did come into this worlde for to deliuer mankinde from euerlastyng damnation it was necessarie that for to make satisfaction vnto the iustice and righteousnesse of God he shoulde beare the whole malediction curse and damnation that all mankinde did deserue but the malediction curse and damnation that our sauiour christ did beare in the bodie when he did suffer his death and passion was not sufficient for the synne of man whiche he hath deserued and doth deserue euerlasting damnation is not onelie in the fleshe and in the body of man but most specially in the soule Therefore it hath not béen ordained of God that the body and fleshe onely should suffer punishment but also the soule Sithe then that man was iudged and condemned bicause of his synne to suffer euerlastyng punishment both in body and soule It was also requisite that Christe for a full satisfaction for our synnes shoulde suffer the same that we shoulde haue suffered Whiche thyng he had not doen if he had not suffered punishment as well in the soule as in the bodie Whervpon they do conclude that as he hath suffred in the body here vpoÌ„ the earth so he did also suffer in soule beneath in hell that the satisfaction might be whole perfect and full And of this opinion many of the auncient and late writers haue been Bede maketh mention of it in a certaine place not affirmyng that it was so but alledgyng onelie the opinion of some and yet without namyng
of them howbeit I thinke that he did vnderstande Origene Ierome and Tertullian But nowe we will sée howe well this doth agree with the person of Christe our Sauiour Firste and formoste if they will haue the punishmentes paines and tormentes that Christe suffered to be in all pointes corespondent vnto those synners for whom Christ died had deserued it had not been onely necessarie that he shoulde haue suffered here in the body vppon the earth And that the soule should also haue suffered in hell for a while but that hee shoulde haue suffered both in body and soule euerlastyng punishmentes with the damned But God his father did content hymself with the paines and tormentes that he was in for a while hauyng a respecte not onely vnto the paines that he did suffer but vnto his righteousnes innocencie and obedience whiche caused hym to take and allowe the paines whiche our Sauiour Christe did suffer for a tyme as sufficient for to obtaine and purchase vnto the faithfull beléeuers a full deliueraunce from euerlastyng paines and tormentes which thei had deserued through their synnes Moreouer it was no néede at all that the soule of our Sauiour Christe shoulde goe downe into hell for to suffer there for it hath suffered punishment enough here vpon earth sithe that in it I meane in his soule he did beare the same iudgement and condempnation that we had deserued for the bodie did not suffer without the soule yea if the sorowes and paynes of the one could bee separated from the sorowes and paynes of the other whiles the body and soule be ioyned together by life we should haue a iuste occation to saie that the soule did suffer afore the body and that the sorowes and griefes of the body did proceede and come firste of the soule For els what did these wordes meane my soule is heauie vnto the verie death whereof came this wofull sweate that did runne downe to the grounde as droppes of bloud and the complainte that he made to GOD his father in the Garden Wherof did also come that greate feare trouble and horror that he was possessed withall as the Euangelistes doe testifie vnto vs If he had not bene in an extreame agonie and much greater then mans wisdome can comprehende What neede should he haue of the Angels for to comfort hym Againe who would not wonder and marueile to sée christ our sauiour so sore affraide and troubled as the Euangelistes doe set hym foorth vnto vs for the death that he should suffer if he should haue had respect to none other thing but onely vnto the death Doe we thinke that there was lesse hearte lesse corage constancie and manfulnes in our sauiour christe then in many thousande of Martyres that haue gone so ioyfully and merely vnto their death for his sake But what doe I speake of Martyres howe many wicked doers doe we sée daiely goe to their death whiche they haue deserued with their wicked and abhominable doynges moste manfully and with suche a face and countenaunce that ye would thinke that they did goe to a feaste or banquet Shall we saie that the sonne of god had lesse corage then these haue in so good a cause as he did die in It must needes be then that there was some greater thing then death of the Crosse which was at hande somewhat there was I saie that was of more weight and importaunce then that whichâ— did appeare outwardly His body was not yet in the handes of the tormentours he had onely the death before his eyes and as it were an imagination of it whiche troubled hym nothyng so muche as the dreadfull iudgement of God which he knewe he must needes beare When he did then enter into this agonie then did heâ— begynne already to descende and go downe into this horrible hell where he was deteined and kepte a while for our sakes for what greater hell can one imagine to be vnto man than to féele gods wrath throughly kindled against hym to be faine to beare his terrible iudgement and furie and to bee in the same estate that our sauiour Christe was in when he did crie out saiyng My God my God why hast thou forsaken mée Although he was true and naturall God and also true and naturall man so that his godhead could not be separated from his manhoode yet the humanitie was then as if it had been vtterly forsaken of the diuinitie and left succourlesse and as if it had been both in body and soule driuen downe into the bottomlesse pit of hell and geuen ouer of God. Therefore it was no neede that the soule of christ should goe downe after any other sorte for to suffer the paines and tormentes that we had deserued For the places doo not agrauate the paines or make them more heauie and greeuous but the heauie and intollerable burden of Gods wrath and iudgement wheresoeuer it is felte or whersoeuer men are faine to beare it Therefore they that doe affirme that the soule of our sauiour Christ must néedes of necessitie suffer in hell do plainelie declare that they knowe not what hell is nor what our sauiour christ did suffer for them nor yet what the vertue and efficacie of his death and passion is I allowe better the opinion of them whiche saie that this is to be vnderstanded of a spirituall descendyng or goyng downe whereby it was declared and preached through the efficacie vertue and power of christes holy spirite vnto the soules of the reprobate that were in the vnquenchable fire of hell that their vnbeléefe and stubburnnesse was the cause of their eternall and euerlasting damnation and that they should haue no deliueraunce from it by the death and passion of the onely begotten sonne of god our sauiour Iesu Christe where vnto the wordes of sainct Peter seemeth well to agree saiyng Christ hath once suffered for synnes the iuste for the vniust for to bryng vs to God and was killed as pertainyng to the fleshe but was quickened in â—he spirite in whiche spirite he also went and preached vnto the spirites that were in prisone whiche were in tymes past disobedient So we perceiue by these wordes of the Apostle that both the damned and saued had alone maner of féeling of the death and passion of Christ but yet to diuers endes for the one that is to the godly that were in Abrahams bosome was certified by the diuine power and godhead of Christe that nowe was the fulnes of tyme come to fill vp the measure of their ioye and euerlastyng saluation that they long looked hoped and thirsted for And to the damned was preached christ crucified but to the encreasing and augmentyng of their owne damnation for that they had no parte or portion by his death of gods fauour But rather an heauie iudgement bicause as S. Paule saieth Christe is Odor mortis ad mortem his c. That is the sauour of death
words are most diligently to be noted and marked â–ª for many comfortable lessons may be learned of them to the quietyng of our owne consciences and to the greate comfort of our soules First and formost we learne that they shal take holde by faithe vpon the glad ioyfull tidynges of our sauation 〈◊〉 in his worde how that our sauiour Iesus Christ did bring into this worlde beléeue that God who did sende him is become a most mercifull louing father vnto vs being alwaies ready for his sonne Iesu christes sake who by his death hath pacified his wrath and made attonement 〈◊〉 hym and vs to receiue vs vnto his mercie and to pardone 〈◊〉 all ouâ— synnes haue already euerlastyng life beyng as sure of it as if they were alreadie in full possession of it triumphyng with their head in the glorious kindome of heauen For we do receiue it already in this life by faith we are already possessed of it by hope we are therin already coÌ„firmed by holines of life But how could it be verified that the faithfull beleeuers haue euerlastyng life as beyng already in full possession of it if after their death and departyng out of this life they must be broyled and rosted in their Purgatorie fire by the space of .vij. yeres for euerie sinne that they haue committed in this life if their doctrine be true it were in a maner better for them that they had neuer béen borne For thei say that the fire of purgatorie doeth differ nothyng from the vnquenchable fire of hel sauing only that the one is euerlasting and the other lasteth but for a tyme Is this the blesfull reste that the holy ghoste dothe promise vnto them that die in the Lorde that is to saie in the faith of the onely begotten sonne of God our Sauiour Christe The spirite saieth that they shall after their death reste from their labours verely that were a poore resse if when a man hath toyled and laboured all the daie long he should bee faine to lye all night in a whotte burnyng Ouen I iudge he would not be very hastie to goe vnto his rest Secondly here we shal marke that the true beléeuers shal not come into iudgement of condemnation that is to saâ—e nothyng shal be laide to their chardge no sinnes shal be imputed vnto them but through faithe in the onely begotten sonne of God they shal be accounted as righteous as if they had neuer committed any offence For why Christ our Sauiour is made vnto them righteousnes sanctification and redemption how can it be then that they must suffer such greeuous paines in a fire whiche is altogether like vnto hell fire as they saie if no iudgement shal be geuen against them No offendour is wont to suffer punishment excepte he be iudged and condemned to it But the trueth it selfe doeth saie that thei that beléeue shal not come into iudgement or condemnation whervnto the Appostle doth say Nulla igitur nunc est condemnatio his qui insiti sunt christo Iesu qui non iuxta carnem versantur sed iuxta spirituÌ„ That is to say there is now no condemnation to them that are in christ Iesu whiche walke not after the fleshe but after the spirite They therfore which doe saie and affirme that the faithfull shall in the other worlde suffer the paines and punishementes that are due to their offences and synnes are directly against the Scriptures and worde of God. Laste of all this aâ—e we assured of that they whiche take holde vpon the mercie of God declared vnto vs in our sauiour Iesu Christe are alreadie passed from death to life meanyng thereby that they bee deliuered from the styng and power of death whiche is synne and from all the penalties that are belongyng vnto it and that there remayned no more after this mortall life but to enioye and possesse that eternall euerlastyng life that the onely begotten sonne of god hath so dearely bought and purchased vnto vs whiche thyng the holy Scripture doth declare and set forth vnto vs by many goodly comfortable examples for there doe we reade that as soone as the poore Lazarus was deade his soule was by the handes of the Angels caried vp into the bosome of Abraham that is to saie into ioye and felicitie Againe as soone as the théefe that hong on a Crosse by christ did say remember mee O Lorde when thou commest into thy kyngdome straight waies our sauiour Christe gaue hym this most comfortable aunswere verely I saie vnto thée to daie thou shalt be with mee in Paradise that is to saie in my heauenly kingdome for so christ praied his father as Iohn recordeth in his Gospell saiyng â–ª father I wil that they which thou haste geuen me be with mee euen where I am that thei maie behold my glory So likewise the wise man in his boke nay rather the spirite of god in the wise man saith the soules of the righteous are in the hande of God and no torment shal touche them And whereas they doe bryng here a tricke of their wicked and vngodly sophistry saiyng that the théefe did obtaine this frée pardon at Christes handes by a singuler priuiledge which al men must not looke to enioy for priuiledges as the Lawiers be wont to saie be not common to all men I doe aunswere that no man is saued but by priuiledge whiche doth onely parteine vnto the true and faithfull beleeuers and not to the vnfaithfull and reprobate in comparison of whom the chosen and elect of god are very fewe in number for though many be called yet fewe are chosen and elected to these few doth the priuiledge of the childreÌ„ of god belong and not vnto all men so that the Lawiers saiyng shall also be verified in this pointe as then the poore Lazarus and also the in reste and quietnes and the soules of the vngodly 〈…〉 punishmentes vntill the bodies of those doe â—se againe vnto life euerlastyng and the bodies of â—hese vnto eternall death whiche is also called the seconde deaâ—h 〈…〉 plainely doth he yet in an other place 〈…〉 befoâ—e our eyes the whole substaunce of the matter when he saieth 〈…〉 locum fides catholicorum diuina 〈◊〉 regnum 〈◊〉 esse 〈◊〉 Secundum gehennam Vbi omnis apostatâ— vel à christi fide alienus aeterna supplicia experietur Tertium penituâ— ignoraâ—â—◠〈◊〉 nec esse in scripturis sanct◠〈◊〉 That is 〈◊〉 the faithe of the catholiques by the diuine 〈…〉 that there is the kingdome of heauen And secondly 〈…〉 is a hell fire wherin all Apostates and all they that be 〈◊〉 from the faithe of Christe â–ª do sâ—ffeâ— tormentes and paynes No thirde plaie at all doe we know nor finde in the holy Scriptures And 〈…〉 place â–ª he 〈…〉 saieth he 〈…〉 places the one 〈◊〉 the euerlastyng kyngdom and the other 〈◊〉 the eternall 〈◊〉 And againe
the decree confirmeth that doctrine Melchiades an aucther of the Papistes and a Pope saieth Sacramentum manus impositionis sicut nisi à maioribus perfici non potest ita maiori veneratione venerandum est tenendum The Sacramente of laiyng on of handes as it cannot be made but onely of the greater so is it to be worshipped with greater reuerence and so to be defended This is a verie straunge religion that a drop of grease enchaunted and coniured with mumblyng of a fewe wordes to be compared to Christes sacrament preferred before the water sanctified by the worde of god But this is their maner to depraue Gods lawes dignifie their owne I marueile what aucthoritie thei haue to make this a sacrament for I am sure that none can make a sacrament but he that can geue power strength and vertue to it but the Pope can geue no power strength and vertue to it therefore he cannot make a Sacrament for we are not makers nor cōsecrators of sacraments but ministrators Saint Augustine saieth Accedat verbum elemento fit sacramentum Let the worde come to the element and it is made a sacrament Here I consider two thinges that a sacrament consisteth of the worde and the element now let them shewe mée the worde for their sacrament of confirmation that it maye bee put to the elemente but here they are dumbe To speake further howe they haue brought this order of confirmation whiche at the beginnyng was ordained as you haue heard before for good purposes to toyes trifles and gewgawes As Oyle to grease them Spittle to poyson them Salte to drie them vp Bandes aboute their neckes to choke them Tapers burning in their hands to consume them with a nomber of other toyes and superstitions of them deuised without any foundation or warraunt in Gods worde Wherfore I perswade my selfe that rather fonde Nurses haue inured them then conscience or reason perswaded them Scriptures haue thei none but the same condemne them nor godly fathers any but the same be against them But now come againe to some other of the Anabaptistes saiynges and obiections that they bryng against the baptisme of infantes we doe not reade saie they that the Apostles did baptize any children in those families housholdes which thei did baptize Howe coulde it then be that they had baptized the whole housholdes as they them selues do write that thei did if thei had left the children that were in them if at least there were any vnbaptized Are not the children part of the householde yea are they not rather the chief parts of the houshold Isaac was so of the housholde of Abraham that for his sake Ismaell with his mother was driuen out of the doore and cleane put awaie If then the Apostles did baptize the whole housholdes as thei themselues doe testifie without all doubte they baptized also the litle infantes that were in them For as in the olde lawe when any straunger forsaking his Idolatrie would be ioyned vnto the people of God professe the same religion that they professed both he and all his men children were circumcised were they neuer so young so in the Apostles tyme and many yeres after when any were conuerted vnto the faith of christ not onely they but all their whole housholdes both olde and yong were sealed vp with the seale of the people of God. The holy Apostle saieth that any man that hath not the spirite of Christe the same is none of his Whereby it foloweth that whosoeuer hath the spirite of Christe the same is one of his And againe that any man whiche is Christes the same hath his spirite But the litle infantes children of the christians not only as soone as they be borne but also as soone as thei beginne to liue in the mothers belly are Christes that is to saie they pertaine vnto Christe and vnto his kyngdome as he hath plainely declared vnto vs by the example of Iohn Baptiste Ieremie and of many other Therefore I doe conclude that they haue his spirite and that thei ought to be baptized For Saint Peter saieth can any man forbid water that these should not bee baptized whiche haue receaued the holy ghoste as well as we Sith then that yong children haue the spirite of Christe bicause that thei are his who but Antichriste will forbid them to be baptized It is to be noted then that in Augustines tyme many were exceedyng negligent about the sacramentes which thing hath caused the auncient fathers to magnifie the same so muche And therefore they that did come after them not consideryng the causes why they had doen so did take the wordes rawly taking no héede to their figuratiue and hiperbolicall speaches wherby it did come to passe at length that thei did make plain ydols of the sacramentes as though the vertue of our sauiour Christ and the whole efficacie of our religion shoulde consist in the visible and corruptible elementes or signes There were many among them that had receaued the Gospell whiche did deferre to be baptized till the very houre of their death some of them doyng it by negligence and some againe bicause that thei were perswaded that in baptisme all the synnes that could be in man should be washed awaie for this cause thei taried as long as they coulde that so thei might depart out of this life cleane and pure from all synnes yea many whiche thyng was worse did take vpon that hope the greater boldenesse to synne Which thyng did moue S. Chrisostome also Basilius Magnus to write very sharply against their maner of doynges and to rebuke them that dye so very sore As they then that were of age did deferre and prolong their baptisme so it is not to be doubted but that thei did the like in their owne children for the causes aboue rehearsed And therfore it is no marueile if Saint Augustine or any other in his name whosoeuer he be hath written and spoken this of baptisme for to redresse suche faultes negligences and opinions and for to stirre and moue the christians to do better their duetie in that pointe aswell for themselues as for their children For this cause it was also ordained in the auncient catholike churche for as the ecclesiasticall histories doe testifie they baptized but once in the yere in Thessalia where it came to passe that many dyed without baptisme that baptisme shoulde be ministred twise in the yere that is to saie at Easter and at Whitsontyde There might be yet an other cause that did moue this authour to speake after this fashion He did see that many were infected with the heresie of the Pelagians which did attribute litle or nothyng vnto the grace of God and as they regarded nothyng originall synne so thei did wonderfully magnifie and extol the strength and power of man Wherfore thei had also baptisme
in smal reputation And therfore that hee might the better shewe and put before our eyes the nature of originall synne and so moue men to haue the Sacramentes in better estimation and reuerence he doth declare that though the litle children haue yet no actuall sinne of their owne notwithstandyng they be not without synne that deserueth death euerlastyng damnation bicause of their corrupted nature whiche thei haue as it were by right of inheritaunce drawen of their fathers and mothers in their conception and birth Wherefore it was well sayde of one Gulielmus that a man is in suche maner conceaued in the wombe as if a man should fall into a mierie déepe and stony place and so shoulde both be drowned be arayed with myre and also be hurte So saieth he by originall synne we are drowned into the darkenesse of ignoraunce we are defiled with lustes and concupiscence and we are wounded in our powers and faculties of the mynde to doe any good For they haue both been conceaued and borne in synne and can be none other but such as the sinfull ofspryng originall is For that is borne of flesh is flesh What can be cleane that commeth of an vncleane seede A woolfe can engender none other then a woolfe nor yet a Serpent any other then a Serpent And as we doe not let to hate yong whelpes of a Woolfe though they haue yet killed no shéepe or the yong ones of a Serpent though they haue not yet cast out their poyson bicause of their wooluishe and poysoned natures So we must iudge that God hath no lesse occasion to hate and condemne vs euen from our mothers wōbe bicause of our peruerse and malitious nature that is engendered within vs. And that we might the better vnderstande that suche corrupted and peruerse nature is in the children and yong infantes euen from their mothers wombe the holy ghost doeth testifie vnto vs by the mouth of the blessed Apostle Saint Paul that they are also subiect vnto death whiche is the first fruicte and rewarde of synne Whosoeuer was then aucthour of this booke he had a good cause to aggrauate or set foorth to the vttermost this naturall corruption and to saie that not onely they that be of age but also the very infantes and children are euen from their mothers wombe guiltie of euerlasting damnation when thei die without Baptisme if he doe vnderstande by it the grace and mercie of God and the pourgyng that we haue in the blood of our sauiour Iesu Christe whiche by baptisme is signified and represented vnto vs and also communicated vnto the chosen and elect of God. And verely I thinke that he did so vnderstande it For if he will after the rigour of the letter take there baptisme for the visible signe and outwarde ceremonie I would in no wise hold with hym sith that he alledgeth no sufficient auctorities of the scriptures for to proue and confirme this saiyng of his which is both so rigorous and so repugnaunt vnto the goodnesse and grace of God as it hath been already sufficiently proued But I doe rather iudge that he doeth vnderstande by baptisme the vertue and efficacie of the blood of Christe whiche is signified and represented vnto vs by the visible signe and outwarde ceremony wherby neuerthelesse is signified and comprehended all the whole vertue of the true baptisme of Christe after the phrase and maner of speaking that the Scripture is wont to vse For in it the signe and the figure are many tymes taken for the thynges that are signified and represented bicause that the scripture doeth moste chiefly speake vnto the faithfull which do not receiue the sacramentes in vaine without the spirituall thyng that is represented by them And therefore the Apostle saieth all ye that are baptized are apparelled or clothed with Christe Simon Magus was baptized outwardly by Philip and yet I doe not beleeue that euer he had put on our sauiour Christe and that he was apparelled with him Neuerthelesse S. Luke who hath written the historie saieth that he did beléeue vsing the common phrase and maner that men doe vse commonly speakyng of thinges as they doe appeare outwardely and leauyng the iudgement of the hearte vnto god Whiche phrase and maner of speakyng is also customably vsed in the Scriptures And therefore Sainct Augustine and other auncient writers doe expounde this place of Sainct Luke after this sort and maner he did beléeue that is to say he did fayne him selfe to beléeue Now these thinges being diligently considered and weighed all men may easily perceyue what ought to be the right vse of the Sacramentes what ought to be the true baptisme and the true regeneration or newe birth of man Whiche if they do once vnderstande perfectly and well they shall be no more in doubt nor yet in any perplexitie touching the litle infantes and children that dye without baptisme but will leaue them in the handes of God and commit them to his bounteous goodnesse and mercis and so endeuour them selues that they them selues may be of the number of the faithfull the children of the euerlasting Testament wherein god hath promised that he will be our God the God of our séede after vs. If they do so they may be sure that God wyll according to his promise saue them and their children though he taketh them away in the very mothers belly or before that they can receiue the outward and visible baptisme which is but a signe of the spirituall and inwarde washing wherewith God is able him selfe to baptize the young infantes children of his faithfull seruauntes assoone as they begin to liue in the mothers wombe Againe they shall if they be once brought to this poynt espie out the deuillishe and abhominable errour of them that did cary their styll borne children vnto idols for to obteyne life vnto them as to our Ladye of Ipswiche and to our Ladye of Walsingham to Ioseph of Aramathia to Saint Rocke and to such other It ought to suffice nowe at this tyme that the soule of our sauiour Iesus Christ is deliuered from the paynes of the vnquencheable fire of hell and the poore séely soules of the christians that dye in the Lorde put out of pickpurse Purgatorie and brought into the heauenly rest and that the wofull prison that the papistes did builde for the poore children and infantes of the faithfull that be styll borne or dye without baptisme is quite ouerthrowen to their owne shame that deuised the place and to the comfort of the séely infantes in the euerlasting habitation so that in despite of all popishe heartes there shall remayne no more but heauen and hell as it is sufficiently declared vnto vs by the wordes and example of our Sauiour Iesu Christ. All these good benefites haue we gotten by Christes precious death bloodshedding and buryall such comfort I say that tongue can not expresse such
must we be in the resurrection These wordes shal the easlier be vnderstanded if we will consider and marke that the whole life of our sauiour Christe ought to serue vs in stéede of an Allegorie wherby we should make our selues conformable vnto hym spiritually in those thynges that haue been truely and really or in very deede fulfilled in his body and can in no wise be fulfilled in ours As for an example our sauiour Christ hath been conceaued by the holy ghoste borne of the virgine Marie he hath been crucified and put to death he did rise againe the thirde daie and ascended into heauen All those thynges cannot be performed nor fulfilled in our bodies as they were in his But let vs endeuour our selues that our spirite or inwarde man maie be fashioned and made conformable vnto hym in these thinges Our bodies are conceaued and borne in synne not by the holy Ghoste nor in the wombe of a virgine as our Sauiour Christe was but they are conceaued by the carnall copulation of man and woman and of corruptible seede That wee maie therefore be conformable vnto hym in this pointe let vs come vnto his true Churche and beléeue his gospell And when we be in the true Churche of Christe whiche is both our mother and a chaste virgine wee shal be conceaued and begotten in it by the vncorruptible seede of the worde of God our heauenlie father and by the vertue of his holy spirite and shal be borne againe the children of god and made newe creatures we shall put of the olde man and put one the newe bearyng the image of the newe Adam whiche is Iesus Christ as we haue borne the image of the olde Adam and of the man of synne After that we be thus conceaued by the holy ghoste and borne of a virgine which is the true Church and spouse of our sauiour christ the residue of our life must also be conformable vnto the life of our sauiour christ as our spirituall conception and birth is We be not crucified and put to death as he was but we learne of him to beare the Crosse with hym and to be crucified vnto the world that the world may be crucified vnto vs as Sainct Paule writeth of hym selfe But to be crucified and dead vnto the world is to be crucified and dead vnto sinne And to be crucified and dead vnto synne is to forsake synne to haue no more acquaintaunce with it and to be no more a seruaunte vnto it then the dead bee wonte to serue the liuyng For as the dead hath no more to doe with the liuyng but are separated from them so thei be dead vnto the world that haue forsaken it for to serue the liuyng God and that will not fasshion themselues after it nor walke after the fleshe and the concupiscence of it Now it is vnpossible that they that be thus dead vnto the worlde should not liue vnto God and that the worlde shoulde not be dead vnto them As contrariwise thei that liue vnto the worlde and the worlde vnto them they are dead vnto GOD As Sainte Paul hath written of the widowe that liueth in pleasure saiyng that widowe that liueth in pleasure is dead euen yet aliue Bicause she liueth vnto the worlde and is dead vnto God that was the meanyng of our sauiour Christ when he saide to the yong man that would goe and burie his father let the dead burie their dead folow thou me wheÌ„ we die then vnto the worlde we rise againe vnto God. Againe wee practise spiritually in vs the example of the death of Christ when we doe mortifie our earthy members when we offer our bodies a liuely sacrifice vnto god when we doe slaie with the sworde of Gods worde and also burne with the fire of his spirite our concupiscences and carnal affections whiche are the brute beastes that we sacrifice vnto God that the offeryng and sacrifice of our bodies may be reasonable Therefore we dye with our Sauiour Christ when we do kill and mortifie our olde Adam we doe also rise againe with hym when we doe put on Iesus christ and be apparelled with hym when we serue to righteousnes and despise this worlde with all the pompe and pride thereof hauyng our myndes and conuersation in heauen where we doe seeke for our â—auiour Iesu Christe fittyng on the right hande of God the father The Apostles and specially Saint Paul doe teache vs that we ought after this maner to apply and set before vs the death and resurrection of our sauiour Christ of a liuely image and paterne of the Christian and spirituall life And do declare vnto vs that baptisme is a sacrament of all these thynges For the water that is powred vpon vs in baptisme it is firste and formost vnto vs a certificat signe token and seale of the free remission and forgeuenesse of our sinnes and of the holy ghost who is the liuely water that washeth and cleanseth our consciences from synne as the visible water doth washe away the filthines of the body Moreouer it is a sacrament of repentaunce which teacheth vs that as the water doeth come vpon vs as it were for to couer and ouerwhelme vs so it behoueth that our olde man of synne be drowned as Pharao and the Egiptians were drowned in the red Sea and that we must be buried with our sauiour Christe But in this that the water doth not remaine still vpon our heades nor yet drowne vs it is thereby signified vnto vs that the repentaunce and mortifiyng that god doeth require of vs is not vnto death but vnto life so that by death he maketh vs to enter into life as the children of Israell goyng through the red Sea were brought out of seruitude and boundage in to a goodly libertie And as our sauiour Christ did by his death and crosse enter into the glory of his father And so the grace and mercie of God are not only represented vnto vs in our baptisme we are not onely by it grafted in his Testament and receiued into his church but also we haue there the sacrament of the death buriyng and resurrection of our sauiour Christ and of our death buriyng and resurrection with hym We haue also there repentaunce and of remission of synnes and the summe of the whole doctrine of the Gospell and also a liuely image of al the whole christian life preached vnto vs. But to come againe to our purpose After that our sauiour Christe had by manye tokens and signes declared that he was truely risen againe for he was by the space of .xl. daies after his resurrection alwaies conuersaunt with his Apostles and disciples eatyng and drinkyng with them and biddyng them to handle and feele his body and for a further proofe or trial to put their fingers into his woundes that they might bee in no doubt but that it was the same selfe
body that he died and was buried in ¶ The .xij. Chapiter ¶ Of Christes ascention into heauen and how it is saide that he sitteth at the right hand of god c. And after what maner he is here amongest vs. AND he did most triumphantly in the sight of al his Apostles and Disciples ascende vp into heauen where a clowde receaued hym vp out of their sight the Angels testifiyng that as he was taken vp from vs into heauen so he shall be séene come againe at the dreadfull daie of iudgement when he shall being accompanied with his holy angels come downe to iudge both the quicke and the dead In the meane season we must not thinke though he hath taken the reall presence of his body away from vs that therfore he hath forsaken vs or that he doth not assist ayde and helpe his chosen and elect as long as they be pylgrimes and straungers here in the earth For according to his promise ▪ he is alwayes with vs vnto the worldes ende Which thing must be vnderstanded of his godly power and inuisible grace So doeth Saint Augustine saie Secundum presentiam maiestatis semper habomus christum Accordyng to the presence or as he is God we haue alwaies christ with vs againe he saieth in the same place Nam secundum maiestatem suam secundum prouidentiam secundum ineffabilem et inuisibilem gratiam impletur quod ab e◠dictum est ecce ego vobiscū sum omnibus diebus vsque ad consummationem seculi That is to saie in englishe as concernyng his diuine maiestie his prouidence his inestimable and inuisible grace these words are fulfilled that were spoken by hym beholde I am with you all the daies of your life vnto the worldes ende For as touching his humanitie or manhoode he is absent from vs and wyll be to the worldes ende vntyll he shall be séene visibly of all fleshe to come againe thereto accordeth S. Augustine saiyng Secundum presentiam carnis recte dictum est discipulis sui◠me autem non semper habebitis Accordyng to the presence of his fleshe or body it was rightly and truely saide vnto his disciples mée you shal not haue alwaies For it is to be noted that as he is both God and man so touchyng his manhoode or humanitie that he tooke in the virgines wombe ▪ he is in all thynges like vnto vs synne onely beyng excepted as the holie apostle doth write saiyng he tooke not on him Angels but the séede of Abraham that in all thinges he might be like vnto his brethren As then he did hunger and thirst in the same body was subiect to all maner of infirmities that we his brethren are subiect vnto sinne alwayes being excepted therefore Barnarde very pretily sayde Christe loued vs dulcior sapientior fortior Swéetely in that he toke our fleshe vpon him wisely in that hée had no sinne by takyng our nature vppon him strongly in that he vanquished Sathan death and sinne So hauing fulfylled the thinges that he toke it for he dyd cary it vp into heauen and there he sitteth in the same humaine body being nowe glorified and immortall on the right hande of God the father Almightie which is as much to say as that he is exalted aboue the heauens hauing receaued a full aucthoritie and power ouer all creatures both in heauen and in earth and raigning there in glorie with the father tyll his enimies be made his footstoole For when we heare that Christ is set downe on the right hande of his father we must put all grosse imaginations out of our mindes We must beware that we imagine not that God the father is set downe as an earthly king in some visible and materiall seate and that Iesus Christ is set downe by him in another as his son or one of his princes and lordes Againe we must not thinke that God the father in his diuine essence hath a right hande and a left hande with other humayne lymmes as we sée mortall men to haue For that were to fall into the heresie of the Antropomorphites but rather we must marke that it is spoken by a similitude being borowed of princes and kinges of the worlde For as a king doth commonly cause that man to sit by him and at his right hande whom he wyll most honour and vnto whom he wyll geue most aucthoritie and power so we do vnderstande by these wordes that our Sauiour Christe is exalted aboue all creatures and that he hath power geuen vnto him both in heauen and in earth and that he raigneth with the father hauing equall power with him Or by the right hande of God we may right well vnderstande with Saint Augustine the place of felicitie and ioye where our Sauiour Christ doth raigne nowe in glorie with the holy angels and with all the blessed spirites and soules of the chosen and elect of God As contrarywise by his left hand the state and condition of the reprobate is vnderstanded and signified vnto vs. Againe it is not knowen to them that reade the scriptures that to syt is many tymes taken for to be in quiet peace and rest as when Moyses saith to the children of Gad and of Ruben Shall your brethren go foorth vnto the warre and ye syt here Againe in the prophete Euery man shall syt vnder his Figge trée When we say then that our Sauiour Christ is set downe we do vnderstande that he is after the paynefull labours of this life and the wofull death of the crosse entred into a ioyfull and quiet rest where he shal be touching his humanitie and manhoode as lorde and head ruler of all creatures both in heauen and in the earth vntyl the time that all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophetes since the worlde began be restored againe as the holy Apostle saint Peter doth testifie vnto vs in the Actes For a better vnderstanding of the whole matter and also that the ignoraunt and simple persons may the better auoyde the subtile trickes of the deuyls Sophistrie which is wont to dasill the eyes of the vnlearned with this like argumentes The right hand of God is taken for his almightie power but his almightie power is can be euery where Ergo sith that Christ touchyng his manhoode is on the right hand of God the humanitie or manhoode of Christe can be euery where It is to be noted and marked that the right hand of God is taken two maner of waies First by it the almightie power of God is vnderstanded as when Moyses doeth saie in his Canticle Thine hande Lorde is glorious thine hande hath all too dashed the enimie And in the Actes of the Apostles Saint Peter saieth him hath God lift vp with his right hande In these places and such like the right hande of god is taken for his almighty power wherwith he
Christe had meant some other thyng then the bare wordes do sounde but one or other woulde haue expounded them Againe how could it be that they that do eate of that bread and drinke of that Cup vnworthilie shoulde be guiltie of the body and blood of Christ and receaue their damnation bicause they make no difference of the Lordes body excepte the verie naturall body and blood of the Lorde were there present in the holy communion Firste and formost I graunt that the worde of the Lorde must be fulfilled and that it must néedes be as the truth saith But then we muste take the wordes of that the Lorde doeth speake in their right sence and according to the meanyng that he hath spoken them and not after the vaine imagination of of mens wittes For that holy father Tertullian saieth we must not bryng our owne sences to the readyng of Scriptures but we muste take the sence that the Scripture doeth geue by conferryng one Scripture by another and therefore he saieth Oportet secundum plura intelligi paâ—ciora The fewer places must be expounded by the mo Saint Hierome also saieth Non in verbis scripturarum est euangelium sed in sensu The Gospell standeth not in the bare wordes of the Scriptures but in the meanyng Saint Augustine also saith Solet circumstantia scripturaruÌ„ illuminare sententiam The circumstances of the scriptures is wont to geue light and to open the meanyng Else it will bee verie straunge as when he saith I am the dore I am the true vine we might by as good reason imagine that hee is a materiall dore and a material vine and that his Apostles are vine brauÌ„ches because that he saieth and ye are the braunches Againe ye are speakyng to his Apostles the Salte of the earth Againe when Paul did saie and the rocke was christe men readyng or hearyng the same might haue surmised that the Apostles were verie Salt that the Rocke whiche the Isralites dranke of in the wildernes was very Christ in deede why bicause that the wordes doe sounde so and seeme vnto the ignoraunt to signifie so Therfore if we will haue the true and liuely worde of god to take effect we muste with diligent conferryng of the Scriptures searche out the meanyng and right sence of it as wee haue saide a little aboue out of the Fathers else we may saie long enough euen vntil our heades do ache this is gods word thus and thus did the Lorde say before that we can proue any thyng And whereas they doe boast and crake so much of their witnesses which do al with one consent rehearse these words of the lordes institution This is my body after one maner and fashion they do in that point but deceaue the poore simple and ignoraunt people For although thei doe nothyng varie in the repeatyng of these wordes This is my body yet when they rehearse the wordes of our Sauiour Christe whiche he spake touchyng the Cuppe they doe sufficiently declare howe these wordes of Christe ought to be taken and vnderstanded and what is the true sence and meanyng of them For where Matthewe and Marke doe saie in the persone of Christ This is my blood both Luke and the blessed apostle S. Paul as faithfull interpreters of our sauiour christes wordes doe saie This cup is the newe Testament in my blood Which wordes if they be well considered and marked doe open the vnderstandyng of all the whole matter For as the Cup or that whiche is in the Cup is the newe Testament by the newe Testament hee doeth vnderstande the frée remission of our sinnes that we haue through the merites of his death passion and bloodshedding so the bread is the body of Christe But the cup doeth onely signifie and represent vnto vs the newe Testament that is to say the forgeuenes of our sinnes whiche we haue in the blood of Christ whereof we are made partakers in his holy and blessed Sacrament therefore we can conclude none otherwise but that the bread doeth onely represent and signifie vnto vs the blessed body of christ which was broken for vs the vertue of which body is communicated and geuen vnto vs by the due ministration and worthy receauyng of the holy and blessed Communion Againe if the multitude of witnesses ought to take place three of the chéefe Euangelistes do testifie vnto vs that our Sauiour Christe did saie Ye shall not haue me alwaies with you vnto whom we may adde Peter for the fourth whose wordes are these Repent ye therefore and turne that your sinnes may be done awaie when the time of refreshyng commeth whiche we shall haue of the presence of the Lorde and when God shall sende hym whiche before was preached vnto you that is to wit Iesus Christ who must receaue heauen vntill the tyme that all thynges whiche God hath spoken by the mouth of his holy prophetes sence the worlde began be restored againe Here Doctour Harding with the residue of the louanistes â–ª wil replie and saie why sir this place of Peter maketh litle or nothyng for you for this worde oportet in the Actes whiche signifieth must dooth not importe so much as you woulde inferre of necessitie as may euidently appeare by Saint Paul where hee saieth Oportet Episcopum esse vnius vxoris virum A Bishop must be the husbande of one wife Here you maye see saie they that oportet doeth not importe suche a necessitie as you make that he that neuer was maried may be a Bishop Here gentle reader vnderstande thou that this place of Paul by them alledged is not alike whiche these Papisticall Louanistes goe about to compare For in comparyng of the Scriptures we must not consider the naked words but the meaning thereof for as saint Hierome saieth Ne putemus in verbis scripturarum esse euangelium sed in sensu That is let vs not thinke the Gospell standeth in the words of the scriptures but in the meanyng For this place of Sainct Paul by them alledged doeth declare of what equalitie a Bishop ought to be But in the other place S. Peter teacheth vs the place where Christe must necessarily be vntill the ende of the worlde whiche wee ought to beléeue to be true accordyng to our Creede And this comparison of this worde oportet doth no more aunswere this place of Peter in the Actes then if I woulde saie of you being here present Oportet te hîc esse You must néedes be here which importeth such necessitie for the time that you can none otherwise be but here And yet our Popecatholiques goe aboute in wordes to auoyde this necessitie with an other oportet in another sence as this Oportet te esse virum bonum You must be a good man here oportet doeth not in verie deede conclude anye such necessitie but that you may be as euill a man as a papist Thus you maie see
the yron gate that leadeth into the citie it did open vnto them of his owne accorde Shall wee saie nowe that an Angell was able so to open and shut againe the doore of the prison that the apostles were in that none of the keepers coulde perceaue nor espie it when it was doen And that our Sauiour Christ who is the Lorde of al angels was not able to open and shut againe the doore of the Parlour where his apostles were either by the ministerie of his angels or by his owne diuine and godly power but that he must be seen and hearde when hee was doyng of it Shall the yron gate of Herodes pryson open of his owne accorde vnto Peter and vnto the Angell and shall not the doore of the Parlour where the apostles were gathered together open and shut againe of his owne accorde vnto the onely begotten sonne of god but that either it must be opened by mans hand or els the sonne of God must creepe through it Here then do we learne that all power is geuen vnto our sauiour Christ both in heauen and in earth and that all creatures be subiect and obedient vnto him For he did declare no lesse by this miraculous commyng in to his apostles and disciples Therefore when they do say and all to mainteyne their monstrous doctrine that Christe went through the doores as they were fast shut whiche thing they do by false interpreting of the Scriptures as it doth appeare both by the Gréeke and Latine text they do not a litle derogate to his diuine and godly power For they make that he coulde not come to his apostles the doores being shut fast except he should put away from him all the properties of his true and naturall body that he tooke of vs in the virgins wombe of whom he tooke his vndefiled substance specially sith that after their doctrine and saiynges he went through the same doores beyng shut as he is in their sacrament where they will haue his body to bee without his due proportion of lymmes and all other dimentions that doe pertaine to a perfecte mans bodye whiche is nothyng els but to take awaie altogether the veritie truth of his manhoode But let vs graunt vnto them that he went as they will haue it through the doores as they were made faste what shall they get by it For after our sauiour Christ was gotten in and the apostles were abashed and affraied supposing that thei had seen a spirite he saide streight waies vnto them why are ye troubled and why doe thoughtes arise in your hartes Beholde my handes and my feete that it is euen I my selfe Handle mee and see for ▪ spirites haue not fleshe and boones as ye see mee haue And when he had thus spoken he shewed them his handes and his feete Now hauyng the scriptures so plaine vnto vs as we haue whiche doe witnesse vnto vs that our sauiour Christe hauing in his owne person pourged our synnes is set downe on the right hande of the maiestie on high wee are abashed at their doctrine and be afraied lest they will haue vs to receaue and worship a false Christe we are troubled at the straungenesse of this newe learning of theirs and thoughtes doe arise in our heartes Therfore if they will haue vs to be without trouble in our consciences and myndes if they will haue vs to beléeue and credite them let them so worke that we maie handle and see hym let them shewe vs his handes and his feete and then the battaile is fought and the victory theirs For Saincte Augustine saieth plainely without any darke speakyng Christum secundum humanitatem visibilem corporeum localem atque omnia membra humana veracitèr habentem credere conuenit confiteri That is to saie in englishe we muste beléeue and confesse that christ accordyng to his humanitie is visible hath the sustaunce and properties of a body is conteined in place and verely hath all the members and the whole proportion of a man Therfore let them as we haue said shewe vnto vs that we may see Christ in the cake or otherwise the feelde is ours the ouerthrowe and shame theirs ¶ The .xv. Chapiter ¶ What it is to be guiltie of the body and blood of Christe BUt now I will come to their common obiection that thei be wonte to make out of the eleuēth chapter of the first to the Corinthians where the apostle doth say whosoeuer shal eate of this bread or drinke of this cup vnworthely shal be guiltie of the body and blood of the lorde or he shal eate and drinke his owne damnation bicause that he maketh no difference of the Lordes body How coulde it be saie they that they whiche doe eate of this bread drinke of this cup vnworthely should be guiltie of the body and blood of Christe or that they should eate or drinke their owne damnation bicause that they make no difference of the Lordes body excepte the verie natural body and blood of Christe were there present in the holy Sacrament I will first declare what it is to receaue this holy Sacrament vnworthely and then will I aunswere at large to al the rest They eate and drinke vnworthely this holy and blessed sacrament that come vnto it not hauyng truely examined their owne selues that come vnto it without faith in the merites of the death passion and bloodsheddyng of our Sauiour Iesus Christe or without true repentaunce vnfained confession of their synnes vnto God without amendement of their owne liues and without loue and charitie Thei do also receaue vnworthely that handle the misteries otherwise then the lorde hath instituted and ordained them For they can not haue a deuoute mynde to God that presume to minister or receaue the Sacramentes and misteries otherwise then the aucthour of them hath appointed For there shal be a iudgement where euery man shall geue aunswere howe he hath receaued euen at the day of the Lorde Iesu Christ. For they that come to it not obseruyng the tradition ordinaunces and institution of the Lorde and without a christian like conuersation are guiltie of the body and blood of the Lorde Sainct Ambrose saieth But what is it to be guiltie of the body and blood of the Lorde euen to bee punished for his death For he is dead for them that set nought by his benefit Saint Ciprian also saieth ▪ Impijs in morte christi nullus superest quaestus iustissimè eos beneficia neglecta condemnant That is to saie the wicked haue no gaine by the death of Christe but the benefites that they haue despised doe most iustely condemne them Saint Augustine plainely saieth Habent foris sacramentum corporis christi sed rem ipsam non tenent intus cuius est illud sacramentum Et ideò sibi iudicium manducant bibunt Outwardely they haue the Sacrament of Christes body but the thyng it selfe inwardely in their
vnto him that is signified by them Saint Ciprian therefore saieth full well Before prayer the priest with a preface prepareth the hartes of the brethren saying vnto them Lift vp your heartes that when the people aunswereth We lift them vp vnto the Lorde thei may be put in minde to thinke of nothing else but of the Lorde Chrisostome also saith Clamamus in conspectu sacrificij Sursum corda We crie a loude in the sight of the oblation Lift vp your hearts S. Augustine vpon the Psalmes saith Let vs lift vp our heartes if ye be risen againe with christ he saieth vnto the faithfull he saieth vnto them that receaue the body and blood of our Lorde If ye be risen againe with Christ sauour those thynges that are aboue where Christe is at the right hande of God seeke for the thinges that bee aboue not for the things that be in earth Their owne manipulus curatorum saith thus Before the Canon the Priest saith Lift vp your hartes As if he woulde saie who so will receaue this Sacramente ought to haue his hearte lifted vp vnto God. But lette vs graunt vnto them by waie of disputation that the naturall body and blood of Christe bee really present vnder the formes of bread and wine yet we shall alwaies bee in feare to commit Idolatrie if at least their doctrine be true For they saie excepte the Priestes doe pronounce the wordes of consecration which words they be in doubt of them selues and cannot wel tel which they be vpon the creatures of bread and wine Cum intentione consecrandi That is with an intent and mynde to consecrate they be not made the body and blood of Christe but remaine still nude nude and bare creatures of bread and wine Therefore Holtcot saieth vpon the maister of sentences Laicus adorat hostiam non consecratam The laie people saith he worshippeth a wafer that is not coÌ„secrated And therfore that perill and daunger of Idolatrie may be auoyded at all tymes Thomas de Aquino in a certaine booke geueth vs counsell that we worship it with a condition saiyng Lorde if thou be there I doe worship thee if thou be not there I worship thee not Is not this a sure and certaine doctrine thinke ye and most worthy to be mainteined with fire and sworde and with suche sheddyng of innnocent blood Repeâ—t then ye Magistrates and rulers of the people and be sorie in your heartes that euer ye consented to the death of so many Martyrs that in these our daies haue been most cruelly put to death for the truethes sake and crie God mercie betimes lest ye with the beaste and hir false Prophetes whose slaues ye are now become though some of you perceaue it not be cast for euer into the lake that burneth with fire and Brimstone which is the seconde death There be some in the world that alledge Saincte Ciprian to proue that the Sacrament must be worshipped And these wordes of his doe they bryng foorthe The Sacramentes as muche as in them is can neuer be without the proper vertue nor the diuine maiestie can in any wise absent it self from the misteries It foloweth then saie they that they must be worshipped sith that the diuine maiestie is neuer absent from them I would faine aske these greate doctours of diuinitie why they doe not then worship the water of baptisme wherin we are apparelled with Christ renewed with the holy ghost and receiue free remission of our synnes I am sure that the diuine maiestie of God is no more absent from the Sacrament of baptisme then from the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christe And yet none of them all will graunt that the water of baptisme should be worshipped Christ our sauiour who is the trueth hymselfe and can not lie doth saie in his Gospell He that loueth me keepeth my worde and my father shal loue hym and we will come to hym and dwell with hym Againe He that eateth my fleshe and drinketh my blood dwelleth in mée and I in hym These also are sainct Iohns wordes whosoeuer confesseth that Iesus is the sonne of god God dwelleth in hym and he in God. By these textes we doe learne that God the father God the sonne and God the holy Ghoste dwelleth in all the faithfull beléeuers yea I dare saie a thousande tymes more effectuously then in the inuisible elementes of water or bread or of wine And yet no godly honour ought to be doen vnto them for that were a plaine Idolatrie Christe our Sauiour saiyng Thou shalt honour the Lorde thy God and hym onely shalte thou serue and worship Now all men maie see that the saiyng of Saincte Ciprian helpeth them nothyng for to maintaine their Idolatrous worshippyng of the sacrament excepte they will also graunte that the water of Baptisme and euery true christian man must be worshipped also But peraduenture some man wil aske will ye haue no maner of honour to be doen vnto the Sacramentes I doe aunswere that we doe sufficient honour vnto them when we doe receaue them with an vnfained faith and as Christ hath instituted them submitting our selues obediently vnto his holy institution and ordinaunce If we doe otherwise we receaue them vnworthely â–ª to our vtter vndoing and condemnation If then S. Ambroses saiyng after they receaue the Sacrament vnworthely that handle the misteries otherwise than Christ hath instituted If they be also guiltie of the body and blood of the Lorde that come to this holy Supper not obseruyng the institution of hym that is the aucthour of it where shall our Pope catholiques become How shall they escape damnation For none in all the whole worlde if we consider well what hath been saide before doe more abhominably and shamefully breake the ordinaunce of God then they doe Can they therefore haue a deuout mynde towardes hym that saieth Ye shal not doe euery thing as ye thynke best but that whiche I commaunde you that shall ye doe onely I am the Lorde your god Adde nothyng vnto it nor take ought awaie from it but leauing them to the righteous iudgement of hym that with the fire of his wrath did consume Nadab and Abihu in the sight of all the people bicause that thei had offered straunge fire which the lorde had not commaunded them I will goe through by the helpe of God with the rest of their obiection We saide before that thei eate the bread of the Lorde and drinke his Cup vnworthely that come to the holy misteries not hauing truly examined themselues or that come to them without true faithe in the merites of the deathe passion and blood shedding of our Sauiour Iesu Christe and that presume to take or receaue them without true repentaunce vnfeyned confession of their synnes and without amendement of their owne liues I saide also that after the saiyng of Saincte Ambrose thei
other that was eaten vp and drunken euen of his owne selfe The body of Christ say they only when it is glorified and immortall can be euery where or in mo places then in one at once but it was not then glorified nor yet immortall for why he died the next day after howe coulde it be then all at once sitting at the boorde and in the handes and mouthes of all his Apostles rounde about him As for the first absurditie thei go about to put away by S. Augustines wordes which are these Christ was borne in his owne handes when commending or deliuering his body he did say This is my body For he did beare the same body in his owne handes As it is then no absurditie to say that Christ did beare him selfe or the same body that he gaue them in his owne handes so it ought to seeme no straungenesse if we say according to the scriptures and the fathers that christ did eate his owne body For as being borne in his owne handes he did declare that there was somewhat in him more excellent than in other men which though thei can be borne with other mens handes yet thei can not be borne in their owne so by eating his owne body which thing no mortall man is able to do he did shewe openly that he coulde worke aboue the possibilitie of man. I am well content to graunt that Christ our Sauiour did eate his owne body as he did beare him self in his own hands But howe was he borne in his owne handes For when he did coÌ„mende or deliuer the same body of his and also his blood he toke that in his handes which the faithfull do knowe and bare him selfe after a certayne maner when he did say This is my body These are Saint Augustines very wordes as hée wrote them also whereby he doth let vs to vnderstande how we ought to take his wordes before For adding this worde quodammodo after a maner he doth signifie therby how Christ did beare his fleshe in his owne handes that is to say Sacramentally For as he saieth in another place Except the Sacramentes shoulde haue a similitude of the thinges whereof thei be Sacramentes thei shoulde be no Sacramentes and by reason of this similitude or likenesse thei receaue many times the names of the things whereof thei be Sacramentes For as the Sacrament of the body of Christ is Secundum quendam modum after a certaine maner â–ª the body of Christ and the Sacrament of his blood his blood so is the Sacrament of faith faith By the Sacrament of faith he vnderstandeth baptisme which because of the similitude or affinitie that it hath with the thing whereof it is a Sacrament is called by the name of it When he saith then that Christe did beare him selfe in his owne handes after a certaine maner his meaning is that he did beare the Sacrament of his body But then peraduenture thei will say againe that if it were so Christ did no more then another man is able to do For any man is able to beare the signes of his owne body It is true that any man is able to beare his owne signe but we speake here of a sacrament which bringeth with it self the efficacie nature vertue strength of the thing that it is a Sacrament of For which properties it taketh the name of the thing it selfe which can not be sayde of the bare signe of a mans body Therefore all that the papistes are able to bring here for to â—asill the eyes of the simple and ignoraunt people is méere sophistication and iuggling Yet I am in doubt that thei will replie and say If a Sacrament doth bring with it selfe the nature efficacie vertue and strength of the thing that it is a Sacrament of being because of those properties called by the name of the thing it selfe what needeth Christ to eate the Sacrament of his owne body whose nature propertie and vertue is to worke bring life Was not Christ the life it selfe Chrisostome writing vpon the blessed Euangelist Saint Matthewe doth say That Christ him selfe did communicate that is to say eate drinke of the mysticall bread and wine for to make his Apostles to receaue the misteries without any maner feare or dread of conscience For before when he spake of the eatyng of his fleshe and of the drinkyng of his blood many being offended with that forsooke him and went away Left then the same shoulde happen nowe he did eate drinke with them of those visible creatures of the whiche he did say through grace as Epiphanius writeth This is my body and this is my blood Besides this thei will not denie that baptisme is a Sacrament wherin the worthy receauers are renewed by the holy ghost doe receaue free remission of their synnes and are made the children of God. Was not christ that newe Adam whom all we that séeke to be renewed must put on And vnto whom the holy Ghost was not geuen by measure Was not he that vnspotted Lambe in whose mouth no guile was founde was not he the true and naturall sonne of God What needed hee then to be baptized Had not he aboundantly and of his owne nature all those thynges that are geuen vnto vs in baptisme And yet did he with the Publicanes and Synners come to Iohn Baptiste for to be baptized of hym in the water of Iordane Therfore as he was baptized for to sanctifie our baptisme and for to certifie vs that we should al be baptized most truely and moste effectuously in his baptisme that he was baptized withall in his passion which was his death and bloodshedding whereby we are purged from all our synnes So besides the cause alledged before of Sainct Chrisostome he woulde communicate with vs that is to saie eate and drinke of the misticall bread and of the misticall wine for to signifie vnto vs sith that he was not onely partaker with vs of the coÌ„mon meates and drinkes but also of the holy misteries whiche he himselfe had instituted and ordeined that we are in deede fleshe of his fleshe and bone of his bones and that therefore we neede not to feare or to doubt if we continue stil his true members vnto the ende feedyng in those misteries whiche he hym selfe woulde be partaker of vppon his fleshe and blood through a liuely faithe but that we shal be partakers with hym both in bodies and soules of the glorie and ioyes of his heauenly kingdome Now as touching the seconde absurditie I knowe that for the auoydyng of it they will flée to the common refuge that is to saie vnto the omnipotencie of God whiche as I saide wil helpe them no further than their doctrine doth agrée with the holy Scriptures whiche testifie vnto vs that the body of Christ is in all thinges like vnto ours synne onely beyng excepted
fleshe and drinke his blood not sacramentally but in very deede that is so to dwell in Christ that Christe maie also dwell in hym For he saieth this as if he should saie he that dwelleth not in mee and in whō I dwel not let hym not saie or thinke that he eateth my flesh or drinketh my blood And out of the Sentences of Prosper he doeth alledge these wordes he that doeth disagree from Christ doth neither eate his fleshe nor drinke his blood although he doth euery daie receaue indifferently the Sacrament of so high a thyng to the condempnation of his owne presumptuousnes Againe he saieth Discipuli manducabant panem domini Iudas panem domini contra dominum illi vitam ille paenam The disciples did eate the bread which is the Lorde but Iudas did eate bread of the Lorde against the Lorde they vnto life he vnto death Againe if any doe disagree from Christe the vngodly and vnfaithfull hipocrites doe disagree from hym Therefore if these wordes of Sainct Augustine be true they doe neither eate his fleshe nor yet drinke his blood though they doe euery daie receaue indifferently the Sacrament of so high a thyng to their owne condemnation and vtter castyng awaie of their owne soules Whereby I may also conclude that there is no such transubstantiation as they do falsely imagine but that there remayneth both bread and wine wherevpon the vngodly hypocrites do féede only the godly faithfull being most effectuously made partakers of the precious body and blood of Christ which as Saint Ambrose saieth is the foode of the saintes onely so that who soeuer eateth of it he shall not dye the death of a sinner For it shal be made vnto him remission of sinnes So likewise Saint Origene saith most plainely against these felowes these wordes Est verus cibus quem nemo malus potest edere Etenim s◠malus posse◠edere corpus Domini non scriberetur Qui edit hunc panem viue◠in aeternum The body of Christ is the true foode which no euyll man can eate for if the euyll man coulde eate the body of our Lorde it shoulde not be written He that eateth this bread shal liue for euer Saint Hierome also saith Haeretici non manducant corpus domini nec bibunt sanguinem suum The wicked heretiques do not eate the body of the Lorde nor drinke his blood And againe he saieth All that loue pleasure more then God eate not the fleshe of Iesu Christe nor drinke his blood Thus you sée plainly proued that the wicked do not receaue nor eate the body and blood of Christe although they eate the Sacramentall Sacrament neuer so often Againe if their doctrine were true that is to say if the bread and wine were really and substantially the bodye and blood of Christ then shoulde the Mice Rattes and other vermine that eate their sacramentall bread eate also the body of Christ which thing some of them are not ashamed to confesse and say Si dicatur quòd Mus sumat corpus christi non est magnum inconueniens If it be saide that a Mouse receaueth the body of Christe it is no great inconuenience And Alexander of Hales saieth also beyng a greate doctour of the Papistes transubstantiation Si Canis vel Porcus deglutiret hostiam consecratam integram non video quare corpus Christi non simul traijceretur in ventrem Canis vel Porci If a Dogge or a Pigge shoulde happen to swallow downe the whole hoste being consecrate I sée no reason but the body of Christe may passe withall into the belly of the Dogge or of the Pigge But others of them cōsidering the great absurdities of it do say that whē Mice or other like vermine do approche or come nie vnto it the body of Christ doth flée vp strayght into heauē the olde substaunce cōming againe miraculously vnto the accidētes Belike their fained Christ hath not so much power as a poore Cat or Mouse hath which being but a poore creature of our sauiour Christ whō we do worship and feede vpon aboue in heauen on the right hande of the father doeth with his sent only fraie awaie Mice and Rattes so that they dare not come where he is muche lesse that they shoulde venture vpon hym and eate hym vp as they doe their false Christe or else make him to finde his legges or winges for to be out of their reache and clawes Likewise when they burne their moulded God if their doctrine were true they coulde not choose but that they must burne also the body of Christ excepte they will saie that the substaunce of the ashes is made of meere accidentes But I knowe that they will saie that as soone as the bodie of Christ doth see the fyre come it flieth straight waies vp into heauen makyng the olde substaunce by his almightie power to come to his accidentes againe Who would not deride and laugh to scorne this vaine doctrine of theirs Is Christe now of lesse abilitie and power then he was before his resurrection or risyng againe What Mice what Dogs what Pigges what Rattes what Cattes what heate what fyre what water what bityng what chewyng with teeth what deuils what tyrauntes were not obedient vnto his diuine power when he was conuersant among men being subiect to all maner of infirmities that wee are subiect vnto synne onely excepted And shall he now that he hath all power geuen vnto hym both in heauen and in earth be faine to geue place not only to fyre and water but also to litle poore séely Mice which feare the Cat and dare not presume to approche neigh her no not as nigh as he may haue the sent of the cat And is christ of lesse power that they dare come nigh to eate hym vp or make him flée into heauen as soone as he séeth them comming or is Christe of lesse power then water whiche can quenche fyre or of lesse power then the Sunne that drieth vp water O blasphemous Papistes enemies to Christes body and Passion robbers cleane of his diuine might and power if thus we shoulde folowe your doctrine we shall at last cleane denie God and saie with you in our hartes Non est Deus There is no God at all ¶ The .xxij. Chapiter ¶ The true exposition of these worde◠hoc est corpus meum and that Sacramentes are called by those names wherof thei are Sacramentes I Wyll nowe come to the true exposition of these woordes This is my body Firste and formost it is to be noted and marked that the sacramentes are most commonly called by the names of those things that they be sacraments of Which thing may easyly be proued both by the scriptures and also by the aucthorities of the auncient fathers of the olde catholique Churche When the Lorde our God did institute and ordeyne circumcision he dyd say And my couenaunt shal be in your flesh Here
our mediatours of intercession I woulde faine knowe of them where they learne this in the holy Scriptures and worde of god I am moste sure that as they cannot finde in all the Scriptures that we ought to praie vnto the dead sainctes So shall they finde that Christ is there appointed to be our aduocate and intercessour euen after his glorious resurrection and ascension when he had alreadie performed all maner of thynges that parteine to our saluation and to the redemption of all mankynde For S. Paule saieth It is Christe whiche is dead yea rather whiche is risen againe whiche is also on the right hande of God and maketh intercession for vs And to the Hebrues he saith plainely that Christ our soueraigne Bishop and high priest liueth for euer for to make intercession for vs Else what should his continuall appearyng before the face of God for vs whereof he speaketh in the ninth Chapiter of this same epistle profit or auaile vnto vs Againe Sainct Iohn the Euangeliste who did write his Epistles a greate while after Christes ascension when our attonement was already made and our peace fully purchased doth sende vs to none other aduocate but only to Iesus christ the righteous He saith not there in that place If any of you do sinne ye shal haue me who am the deare beloued disciple of Christ and did sleepe vpon his brest to be your aduocate vnto the virgin Marie his mother whom he did commit vnto me and whiche dyd loue me so well that she toke me for her sonne Againe he doth not say Get you to the virgin Marie or to my felowes the Apostles or to the Patriarkes and Prophetes â–ª that be alreadie dead and in glorie with God but putting him selfe in the number of sinners he saieth If we haue sinned we haue an aduocate with the father Iesus Christe the righteous He had not forgotten the wordes of his maister whiche he him selfe had set foorth by writyng For Iesus Christ did not say All that ye shall aske my father in the name of my mother or of the Patriarches and Prophetes or of myne Apostles and Disciples it shal be geuen vnto you but he saieth Whatsoeuer ye shall aske the father in my name it shal be geuen vnto you And S. Paul doth not only testifie vnto vs that he did in the time of his flesh offer vp prayers supplications with strong crying and teares and that he was hearde but also he doth write as it hath been alredie aleaged that he is on the right handâ— of God where he doeth incessantly make intercession for vs. Moreouer where S. Paul doth say â–ª that there is one mediatour of God and men whiche is that man Iesus Christ hath he not a respect vnto the prayers that he had spoken of before For after that he had sayde that we must pray for all men for a confirmation of that saying he addeth by and by that there is one God and one mediatour And none otherwise doth S. Augustine expounde it when he saith Christian men do pray one for another in their prayers But he for whom no man doth pray but he for all men is the onely and true mediatour Paul the Apostle although he were a chiefe member vnder the head yet because that he was a member of the body of Christe and did knowe that the high and true priest of the Church was entred not into the holy places that be made with handes which were but similitudes of true thinges but into very heauen he doeth also commende hymselfe vnto the praiers of the faithfull Paulus non facit se mediatorâ—m inter populum deum sed rogat vt prose orâ—nt inuicem omnia membra corporis Christi Paul maketh not hymselfe a mediatour betwéene God and the people but requireth that thei praie all one for a nother beyng all the members of the body of Christ bicause that the members are carefull one for another and if one suffereth thei doe all suffer with it And set the mutuall praiers of al the members that be yet here labouring vppon the earth ascende vp vnto the head which is gone before into heauen In whom is the satisfaction for our synnes For if Paule were mediatour the other Apostles also shoulde be mediatours and so there shoulde be many mediatours Neither coulde the reason of Paule stande where he saieth For there is one God one mediatour of God and men that man Iesus Christe in whom we are also one if wee keepe the vnitie of faith in the bonde of peace Haec Augustinus c. And in another place hee saieth these wordes At verò sacerdotem si requiras super caelos est interpellat pro te qui in terra mortuus est prote But if thou seeke for the Priest he is aboue in heauen where he maketh intercession for thee which vpon the earth died for thee Here any man may sée if he wyll sée at least howe substantiall their distinction is and what grounde it hath in the scriptures worde of god Besides all this I might reason against them vpon the right vnderstanding of this word Intercession whiche among the Latines signifieth nothing els but the letting of a matter that it goeth not forwardes When we say then that Christe maketh intercession for vs our meaning is that that he doth by the merites of his death passion and bloodshedding let or stop the wrath and vengeaunce of God that it beÌ„ not powred vpon vs for our filthy sinnes and offences Againe we say that he maketh intercession for vs when he suffereth not the ears of the father to be stopped vnto our prayers but causeth them to be hearde and accepted And it is a maner of speaking borowed of the auncient Romanes For when the Consules and Senatours of Rome went about to make any decrée or lawe that did séeme to be preiudicial and hurtfull vnto the common weale then the officers of the people called Tribunes were woont to let that decrée or lawe that it should not go forwardes and thereof did come intercessio Tribunorum that is to say a let or prohibition of the Tribunes that some matter might not go forwardes Euen so that almightie and most righteous God the father of sauiour Iesu Christ hath euery day and euery houre â–ª a most iust occasion by reason of our detestable enormities to destroy vs both bodyes and soules and by his determinate decrée and sentence to condemne vs to the euerlastyng punishmentes of hell fire But we haue in the Senate house of heauen a most mightie aduocate which doth continually appeare before the face of God for vs that so he may by his omnisufficient intercession stop this determinate decrée and sentence of that righteous iudge that it do not proceede and go forward against vs. But what if any man besides the Tribunes had taken vpon him or presumed in the olde Senate
nother fol. 125. The imperfectioÌ„ of our owne workes fol. 130.2 Thre maner of powers to forgeue synnes fol. 132. Two thynges to be learned in S. Paules saiyng Ro. 8. fol. 137. The Lawe hath moe endes then one fol. 137.2 Twoo thynges to bee noted fol. 140.2 The spirite of god worketh in vs our regeneration fol. 24. V Unto whom hell is ouercome fol. 6.2 Uaine opinions of sundry meÌ„ fol. 29. Vsia fol. 73.2 VV Wherefore Christe was iudged and condemned before Pilate fol. 1.2 What the Serpent signified ibidem Why the Sacrifices of the old Lawe were offered often fol. 2.2 Why Christe was laide in a newe graue fol. 4.2 Why Christe was laide in a nother mans graue ibidem What the newe graue signified fol. 7. What was signified by the graue that was he wen out of the stone ibidem What is to bee vnderstanded when we saiâ— â–ª Christ barowed hell fol. â—â—2â— Whereto God had respecte in his sonne our sauiour fol. 5.2 What thyng caused Christ to be so heauie before his death fol. 8. What Abrahams bosome is fol. 9.2 What we learne by the third of Iohn fol. 23.2 Wherin the fire of purgatory doth differ froÌ„ the fier of hel 12.2 We are al saued by priuiledge fol. â—3 What is the firste foundation of our election fol. 18. What fruicte their doctrine doeth bryng that condemne children that dye without baptisme fol. 19. Without faith no man can be deliuered from condempnation fol. 20. What daunger it is to refuse to receiue the sacrameÌ„ts f. 20. What we ought to doe if we should followe the Fathers in all thynges fol. 22. Why the spirite of God is called fire fol. 24. Why the holy ghoste is called water fol. 24.2 What certaine of the learned called Augustine for his rigour towardes infantes not Baptized fol. 26.2 What moued Augustine to write as he did of children not Baptized fol. 27. Wherin the Anabaptistes exceeded fol. 27. Whereof Confirmation dyd come fol. 27.2 Why the Fathers did magnifie the Sacramentes so much fol. 29. What profite commeth to theÌ„ that are perswaded in this doctrine fol. 30.2 What many foolishe people vsed to doe in carriyng their children to Idols fol. 31. Wee doe parte our saluation betweene Christes death and his resurrection fol. 31.2 What it is to bee dead vnto synne fol. 32.2 What a large doctrine our baptisme doeth preache vnto vs. fol. 34. What it is to sit on the right hande of the Father fol. 35.2 What the Papistes must doe if they wyll haue vs to beleue them 47.2 What it is to receiue the Sacrament vnworthely fol. 48. Why the papists can not perceaue in what parell they bee fol. 49. Wherin the papists haue the Fathers in estimation fol. 53. Wherin we must beare with our weake brethren fol. 53. Why the sacramentes were ordeined fol. 16.2 We do make more then bare signes of the Sacramentes fol. 58.2 What honour we ought to do to the sacrament ibid. What we learne of the lordes wordes in Zacharie fol. 60. Why Christ would be baptized fol. 63.2 Who can choose but laugh at the papistes fol. 68. Why the sacramentes be called by the names of the thynges whereof they bee Sacramentes fol. 69. What this word Signum doth signifie in the .2 of Luk. f. 72.2 What it is to examine our selues fol. 57. and 76.2 Who they be that féede effectuously vppon the bodye and blood of Christe fol. 76.2 Why Christ our sauiour was man. fol. 81.2 What is the chief marke that the papistes shoote at fol. 89. Why the Apostles were called light fol. 87 2 What properties must bee in hym that we must pray vnto fol. 89.2 What was the meanyng of the Prophete Ieremie fo 96. What is signified by psalmes hymnes and songes fol. 104. What the Sunne doth signifie fol. 104.2 What the Moone doth signifiâ— fol. 105. What the Starres doe signifie ibidem We must beleue in Gods power Gods prouidence Gods goodnesse fol. 111. What the true Churche of Christe is fol. 111.2 Who can bee the heade of the Churche fol. 112. Who bee the kéepers of the keyes of Gods kyngd fo 114.2 What it is to loose ibidem What it is to bynde fol. 115. Wherof the certitude of gods worde doth depende fol. 118.2 When the Churche can not erre fol. 122.2 When the Churche can and doeth erre ibidem Whole vniuersall Churche doeth neuer fall awaie from God. ibidem Why it is called the inuisible Churche fol. 122. We muste not deuide our selues from the Churche bicause the wicked are among vs. fol. 123. Whence this worde iustificare hath been borowed and what it signifieth fol. 124. Why God doeth crowne his giftes in vs. fol. 129.2 What the nature of merite is fol. 130.2 What we are as long as we are without the spirite of god fol. 135. What this worde Apochripha is fol. 135.2 What this word CanoÌ„ is ibi Why the faithfull are saide to be free fol. 141. What thyng caused Christ to be so heauie before his death fol. 8. What Christes goyng downe to hell is fol. 9. Without faith no man can be deliuered from condemnation fol. 20. Whereto the Papistes haue brought the order of confirmation fol. 28.2 What it is to bee crucified to the worlde fol. 32. Wherefore the Sacramente was instituted fol. 56.2 What greate absurdities doe come of the doctrine of traÌ„substantiation fol. 67.2 What Christe meant by the keyes fol. 114. FINIS