repay him againe The same also which S. Paul saith What is it that thou hast which thou hast not receiued And if thou hast receiued it 1. Cor. 4.7 why boastest thou thy selfe as if thou hadst not receiued it c. And the second Councel of Orange held about the yeare 450. doth conclude in these words Mans nature Concil Arans c. Can. 19. Man a great deale lesseable after his fall euen in his integritie could not keep his integritie without the help of God c. But after he had fallen and corrupted his waies being the second state that our first father fell into we became in farre worse and harder case Man euen in his integrity could not in respect of God merite or deserue any good thing but now in the daies of his corruption hee cannot chuse but merite yea he cannot merite any thing but the wrath of God his curse and eternall death For being become sinne and transgression it hath corrupted the most noble partes both of his humane bodie and diuine soule making the will to bee the slaue of vnbridled appetite vnderstanding of imagination vnto all euill and both of them faultie and corrupted in themselues the will estranged from the loue of God and the vnderstanding from the hauing of the knowledge of him both the one and the other carried from their naturall and one onely good state to the contrarie with all their power and abilitie euen to will and know that which is displeasing vnto him and hurtfull to themselues Man now in this estate what can he doe what can he but do amisse And notwithstanding this is the state of all men in themselues since the fall no man to be excepted God pronounceth this generall sentence in Genesis Genel 6. Iob. 14. Psal 51. All the thoughtes of the heart of man are set vpon euill continually The most holy do most freely confesse it Iob Who can draw any thing that is pure from that which is defiled Not one Dauid Behold I was begotten in iniquitie and my mother hath conceiued me in sinne and therefore he prayeth vnto God to create in him a new hart Ioh. 3.6 Christ in the Gospell That which is begotten of flesh is flesh and that which is begotten of the spirit is spirit If a man be not borne againe hee cannot enter into the kingdome of heauen Rom. 7.18 2. Cor. 3.5 Ephes 1. And Saint Paule expoundeth it Because that in the flesh dwelleth no good seeing that the naturall man doth not comprehend that which is of the spirite of God And because That we are naturally deadin sinnes our workes then are both dead and deadly and to bring vs to bring out any other it cannot bee without the working of a miracle Ephes 2.5 Rom. 6.8 it is requisite that wee should bee raised againe And it is God onely that must doe this Because saith he moreouer that We are children of wrath That All the desires and all the vnderstanding also of our flesh which we make so much of is enmitie against God Prou. 10. And without exception For There is no man saith Salomon that can say Rom. 5.17 1. Cor. 15. My heart is cleane I am without sinne And the Apostle more expresly All men haue sinned and are dead in Adam By a man sinne entred into the world into all men and by sinne death c. Yea into Moyses the meekest of all other men Thou hast sette before thy face Absconditum nostrum our sinne that was hidden from vs. This naturall viciousnesse which like vnto a naturall disease is hidden from vs is lesse perceiued or felt of vs. Pâ— l. 51. Psal 116. Rom. 7. 14. reâ—â— 23. And into Dauid a man according to Gods owne hearte Create saith hee in mee a new heart Because the hearte of man is altogether peruerted Ab occultis meis mundame Cleanse mee from that which is hidden from mee And into S. Paule an elect vessell of God The law saith he is spirituall and I am carnall sold vnder sinne I see a law in my members fighting against the law of my vnderstanding and leading me captiue to the law of sinne which is in my members Wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me from the bodie of this death c. Into S. Iohn Baptist Luke 2. the greatest amongst them that are borne of women who saith vnto our Lord I haue need to be baptized of thee that is to say to be washed to be regenerate by thy spirit c. And into the holy virgin likewise for she acknowledged her low and base estate she magnified nothing but the onely mercy of God she placed her selfe amongst them that being hungrie are filled with good things she reioyceth in God which is her Sauiour so farre is she off from disclaiming her parte in the saluation promised in Iesus Christ the author of the saluation which is in her And in deed the Apostle to the Hebr. Hebr. 7. hath not seperated or excepted from sin any besides Iesus Christ alone The holy virgine likewise was subiect to the law of purification ordained in the Church a signe of the inward purification which God requireth in all our actions Rom. 11.32 to the end that this word may abide true That God hath shut vp all vnder sinne That no man also should thinke to be excluded from that which followeth That he hath notwithstanding shewed mercie vnto all That this that all the Saints haue beene saued euen the virgin Marie her selfe commeth of his free grace of the riches and bountifulnesse of his great mercies Now our aduersaries that will not be called Pelagians How the aduersaries do extenuate originall sinne doe agree in outward shew vnto this corruption of mankind but when we come to lay the sore open and naked they are as it were afraid of taking some harme they make the maladie as light and little as they can fearing to be too much bound vnto God not considering how that for a man to lay open his wounds before him is to heale them to confesse our sinnes freely and franckly to him is to haue them quit forgiuen whereas the hiding and couering of them doth make them mortall to denie conceale or smooth them ouer is to cast himselfe prisoner and captiue into hell and eternall fire vntill hee haue paid the vttermost farthing Pighius therefore letteth not shamelesly to say Albert Pigh de peccat orig that the punishment of Adam seized vpon all his posteritie as one bond man begetteth another but that his sinne was not transfused and conueighed into his children What is there more contrarie vnto the whole scripture then this Yea how is it possible that this man should haue so little profited in the knowledge of himselfe Andradius a true interpreter of the ambiguities and doubtes arising in the Councell of Trent teacheth That concupiscence is in nature corrupted altogether such as it was when nature
concealed and kept backe Concil Tolet. 1. c. 14. Concil Caesar August c. 3. Liturg. PraesanctificatoruÌ„ Interprete Genebrardo that they were condemned by the Councels The first of Toledo saith If any man do receiue the Eucharist of the Minister and doe not eate it let him be put backe and excommunicate as a Church robber And that of Saragosa If hee doe not eate it in the Church that is in the verie place let him be accursed for euer Whereas Bellarmine alleadgeth the lithurgie of the presanctified amongst the Grecians which was said in Lent pretending that therin they did not consecrate or take any moe then one kind for certaine the lithurgie saith expressly that after that the Minister hath sanctified the bread he powred out the wine and water into the cup pronounced the accustomed words And the praier of the faithfull saith For behold his bodie without spot and his quickning blood c. which are set vpon this table And in the Post-communion they giue thankes vnto God for the receiuing of the one and the other That which is more speciall proper herein is that they consecrate for many in one day whereof they alleadge some one or other tradition But these are their cold and friuolous arguments vpon this point and in deed how can they be otherwise against the expresse word of God But we against these particular deuotions so endles and bottomles doe set this Maxime and generall rule In vaine do you serue me after your owne fancies being properly called in the scriptures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will worship And against that custome Tertul. de virg veland Cypr. ad Quin. ad Iubaâ—â—num August lib. 2. contra Donatist c. 6. de Bapt. cont Donat. lib. 2. c. 14. that euerie man frameth and fashioneth to himselfe whether new or old as best pleaseth him let vs set the true antiquitie Iesus Christ saith Tertullian and S. Cyprian hath said I am the Truth and not Custome And whereas Custome hath preuailed against the law let vs say with S. Augustine We must waigh and ponder the doctrines in the right balance of the scriptures and not in the false and deceiptfull scales of Custome But let vs draw all vnto a conclusion and let vs not be ashamed with S. Cyprian his saying That what others before vs haue erred in and done amisse let vs correct at the admonition and warning of the Lord and where doth he speake lowder and more clearely then in his word to the end that when he shall come in his glorie and heauenly Maiestie he may find vs holding fast such admonitions as hee hath giuen vs obseruing that which he hath taught vs and doing that which he hath done So be it And now by this time wee haue looked into all the partes thereof A Recapitulation how and by what degrees the holy Supper of our Lord is degenerate and turned into the Masse how of the corrupting of the one the other was first begotten then nourished and afterward brought vp to that state wherein it hath stood for these certaine ages and that so long as vntill it hath vtterly brought the other to nothing in the Church of Rome So straunge an alteration as that in the whole frame and booke of nature there is not the like to bee met withall seeing the Masse now retaineth no more of the holy Supper either in his outward or inward partes seeing that the best sighted hauing considered the one could not obserue or find so much as one step or note of the other because also it is to go against and exceede the lawes of nature to passe from one extremitie to another a thing not credible not possible to be acknowledged if the diligent obseruation of histories did not point out vnto vs both the first proceedings and also the growing of the same till it came at the midst The holy supper was an assemblie a bodie of the faithfull vnited and knit together in one spirite strengthning the faith stirring vp the charity and kindling the zeale one of another in one common manner of celebrating of the seruice of God The Masse what containeth it being said by a priest in some corner of the church shuffled vp by a cleark who vnderstandeth not for the most part of the time one word that he speaketh The holy supper did resound with songs to the praise of God sung indifferently by all the people it taught them by the reading expounding of the holy scriptures it lifted them vp vnto God raised them out of themselues by feruent ardent praier But what impression can the Masse make in the heartes of men being a certaine kind of muttering noise posted ouer by one man alone not vnderstood of those which are present yea hardly vnderstood of himselfe where the scriptures are read of purpose so as they may not be vnderstood the praiers vttered with a low voice in an vnknown tongue that so they may not be heard with attention and lesse followed deuoutly by the people where by consequent they abide fixt vpoÌ„ that which they see not minding any higher matters it hath signes without any signification it hath pretended mysteries without any thing misticall in them except it be the muttered hums artificially affected by him that consecrateth and the carefull regard of a premeditated ignorance to be wrought and effected by such meanes vpon and in the poore silly people In the holy Supper was celebrated the memory of the death and passion of our Lord by a plaine and open rehearsall of the cause manner and benefites of the same and thereby the faithfull were taught to acknowledge and call to minde the greatnesse of their sinnes and to admire and magnifie the great and vnspeakeable mercies of God stirred vp consequently to renounce and forsake themselues to giue themselues vnto God to die vnto their lusts and concupiscences to liue vnto Christ to Christ I say who hauing once deliuered himselfe to the death of the Crosse for to giue them life did yet further vouchsafe to giue himselfe to them in his sacramentes euerie day as meate and drinke vnto their soules to the feeding of them vp vnto eternall life In the Masse I appeale vnto the consciences of all those that eyther say or see the same who of them it is that can say by being at the same euerie daye that hee can learne or carrie away any of all this that the infidell can thence playe the diuine that thence hee can receiue any instruction either of the deadly fall of Adam or of the quickning death of Christ that the Christian can profit therby any thing be it neuer so little in the true acknowledging of the mercies of God or in the knowledge of himselfe or in briefe that he can therein perceiue his transgressions that so he may run to seeke the remedie or this drynes alteration of the soule and mind which our Lord calleth the thirst of righteousnes
heard in their seruice Sursum Corda 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lift vp your heartes on hie and when their currant speech and common talke was but of one Altar and one celestiall sacrifice when in their entrance into the celebration of the sacrament it was saide vnto the people Shew yee forth the death of the Son of man and confesse his resurrection vntill his comming But there were two doctrines especiallie which springing vppe in those ages Transubstantiation and Purgatorie concuning and conspiring together establish this sacrifice and prospering and growing together at that time and that by equall degrees did aduance and set aloft this pretended sacrifice The one Transubstantiation for after such time as it was taught that the bread and the wine were chaunged that they were reallie the body and blood of our Lord then what honour was too great to giue vnto this sacrifice Who can then doubt that it should bee propitiatorie for the sinnes of all that were liuing this sacrifice offered in the Masse being the same in flesh and blood which was hanged vppon the Crosse for the sinnes of the world The other was that of Purgatorie for if we haue saide they both our friendes departing passing out of this worlde to abide the scorching flames of Purgatorie and that our owne sinnes also must bee purged there then let vs prouide a remedie let vs goe to this Masse which is so soueraigne and full of saluation let vs laye good foundations and powre out largelie for our selues and our parentes let vs leaue grounds goods with charge of hauing the same saide after vs. And hereto belong the lawes aboue mentioned to bee made in the time of Charles the Great and then euery day thinges grew from ill to worse The ignorance then of the age the coldnes of the people in deuotion the couetousnes of the Priestes the carelesnes of the Bishoppes and the barbarousnes of the speech of men begot fostered and maintained this abuse in the Church which hauing once taken roote and growne vppe to strength could not bee beaten downe againe but by the spirite of God which thing also manie men of good spirits did perceiue verie well Arnoldus de villa noua one of the great men of that time About the yeare 1200. helde in his positions That the sacrifice of the Masse was a manifest abuse and a plaine starting aside from the pure doctrine of Christ The Waldenses and Albigenses in France That Masses whether they were for the liuing or for the dead were directlie against the institution of the Lord. And these resistances and contradictions did so assaulte the maintainers of this abuse as that all Christendome was in an vprore and not without fruite for the spreading of them throughout all the nations of the west Church proued a good seed sowne by God to cause the truth to spring vp there againe in his time but what shall wee say if their greatest and grauest Doctors carried away notwithstanding with the streame do likewise speake against their doctrine Peter Lumbard saith the Maister of the sentences Distinct 12. l. 4. De Consec D. 2. Can. handleth this question aboute the yeare 1150. saying It is demaunded of some if that which the Priest doth bee properlie called a sacrifice and oblation and if Christ be sacrificed euery day or whether hee was onely once offered Whereunto this short aunswere may be shaped That that which is consecrated and offered by the Priest is called a sacrifice and oblation because it is the renuing of the memorie and representation of the true sacrifice and of the holy oblation made vpon the Altar of the Crosse And this hee proueth by manie places out of S. Augustine and of S. Ambrose c. Note here how well hee agreede with the Councell of Trent which pronounceth If any man say that the verie and proper body of Christ is not offered in the Masse let him be accursed The Schoolemen which came after him haue beene so bold as to rob the Crosse of Christ to hang the Iewels euen the power thereof about the necke of their Masse so that sometimes they break out into these speeches That the bodie of our Lord was offered for originall sinne but that hee is continuallie offered by them vpon the Altar for actuall sins A cursed blasphemie by which the Crosse of Christ is made of none effect by which there is lesse attributed vnto it then vnto the Table of their Altar directlie also against the expresse Scripture which sayeth comparing the fall of Adam with the benefite of Christ his death That the fault was through one offence vnto condemnation but the gift is of manie offences vnto iustification Againe after hee had spoken of all manner of sinners And such saith S. Paule were you but you haue beene washed you haue beene sanctified but you haue beene iustified by the name of Iesus Christ Rom. 5. 1. Iohn 3.8 c. And to bee briefe That the Sonne of God hath appeared to destroy the workes of the Diuell c. But so the case standeth as that Thomas their chief Champiō Thom. in Ep. ad Heb. 6. doth again in an other place agree with himself saying Christ was wounded for our iniquities Esa 53. and that not oftentimes but onely once 1. Pet. 3 Christ hath died once for our sinnes and his onely oblation sufficeth to drie vp the fountaine of the sinnes of all mankinde Idem in sūma part 3. q. 83. And as concerning the sacrament It is but the representation sayeth hee of the passion of our Lord for S. Augustine sayeth as oft as wee celebrate the Passeouer is Christ slaine euerie time yea rather this is but a yearelie renuing of the memory of that which was done otherwise thereby setting before vs such notable and famous monumentes thereof as if by them wee were brought to the verie beholding of his hanging vppon the Crosse Idem part 13.3 q. 73. art 6. And elsewhere It behoued that euermore there should remaine some representation of the passion of our Lord In the old Testament this principall sacrament was the Paschall Lambe Whereuppon the Apostle sayeth Christ our Paschall Lambe was offered And in place thereof hath succeeded in the new Testament the Eucharist which is a memoriall of his passion past and suffered as the other was a prefigurer and foreshewer of his passion to come Petrus Alphonsus at the same time Petr. Alph. l. 2. Ep. did not acknowledge either the Eucharist or the Masse for any other thing then a sacrifice of praise and this was at that time one of the questions disputed by the Albigenses and Petrus Brutis who was burnt aliue at Tholosa where he taught publikelie that it was not propitiatorie All these sacrifices sayeth hee which were offered vnder the lawe were nothing but signes of this great sacrifice Idem in Dialog tit 12. which was to destroy sinne But since the comming of Christ we vse
relieued if by grace we bee not borne againe in Christ. What then and what shall become of so many goodly vertues of the Pagans Let it neuer be imagined saith he that there can be any true vertue in him that is not iust let it neuer bee imagined that there is any truely iust if he liue not ex fide by faith Fabricius his torments shall be more easie then Catilines not because he was a good man but because he was not so wicked Without faith it is impossible to please God but they haue not expressed anie faith in their workes neither therefore had they anie in their heartes c. The man saith he in another place must first be changed before his workes be changed Antequà m iustificetur impius quid est nisi impius Idem serm 12. de verb. Dom. Idem cp 106. Before the wicked man bee iustified what is hee but a wicked and vngodly man c. Can there then be any thing in man whereby he may help himselfe to come vnto God except he bee first changed and regenerate by his spirite And where becommeth then our free will Hearken Man saith he abusing his free will Idem in Enchilid c. 30. hath lost both himselfe and his free will for as he which killeth himselfe in killing of himselfe liueth no more nor hath any power to raise himselfe to life againe hauing once slaine himselfe so man in sinning by his free wil and sinne becomming conqueror hath lost his free will For of whom a man is ouercome his seruant hee is and therefore man cannot be free and at libertie to worke iustly if he bee not deliuered from the thraldome of sinne and made the seruant of righteousnesse But how shall this libertie be purchased and restored to man againe being solde giuen vp and captiuated c. if he be not ransomed by him who hath said If the Sonne deliuer and set you free you shall be truely free that is to say if he cast you not in a new mould by his grace to be new creatures in Christ Idem de spirit liter tom 3. Tu non poâ—uâ—sti in te nâ—si perdere te Idem ad Bonif l. 1. c. 3. Idem de fide ad Petr. Diaco c. And therefore these are his ordinarie Maxims Free will auaileth vs nothing neyther standeth it vs in any stead it hath no power at all except it be to sinne Thou hast nothing resting in thee but the meanes of destroying thy selfe neither doest thou know to finde thy selfe except hee that made thee doe seeke thee vp Yea saith hee if he doe not draw thee that is to say if he giue thee not to belieue in Christ a power that hath no iotte of free will a power which is not but from God alone For hee concludeth in another place Euerie man is borne in originall sinnne by consequent the child of wrath and from that wrath no man can be saued but by the faith of the Mediator And no man can repent himselfe here if God doe not inlighten him if by his free and vndeserued mercy he do not conuert and turne him vnto him Prosp Aquit ad Capitul Vincent Prosper Aquitanus By the wound of originall sinne the nature of all men was corrupted and killed in Adam whence is sprung out the disease of all concupiscences and lustes and against the which there is no other remedie but the death of Christ c. Yea saith he a disease that he would needes haue and which by him was needfull for vs. For saith hee to him not to sinne was no other thing then not to be willing to sinne Idem de vita contemplat c. 2. but it is not enough for vs to be willing to liue without reprehension our will being vicious and hindered by our feeble and faint possibilitie that which was in him of pleasure choise is become to vs a necessitie euen to sinne And if you say any thing to him of the workes of infidelles hee aunswereth you in these verses Idem in epigram 81. in l. de ingrat passim Per omnes calles errat sapientia mundi Et tenebris addit quae sine luce gerit This light which he calleth faith when he saith in another place Omne etenim probitatis opus nisi semine verae Exoritur fidei peccatum est nique reatum Vertitur stirilis cumulat sibi gloria poenam Cyrillus Alexandrinus He that is become thrall to the seruitude and slauerie of sinne although that he haue cast himself of his owne free wil into this miserable slauerie cannot notwithstanding shake off this yoke when he pleaseth he must seeke deliuerance in another that is in the Sonne of God Let vs neuer make triall of or attempt any other way for the recouering of our libertie for by him alone is graunted our full freedome from sinne to the ende that sinne may not rule or raigne anie more in our mortall bodies and that in the world to come it may not find any place in vs. From whence in two wordes wee gather thus much That in our owne nature we are the seruants of sinne That it raigneth in vs without any gainsay to the procuring of the punishments that are after this life if we bee not renewed in Christ Petr. Diac. c. Episc Orient ad Fulgen. c. Episc Afric Damnatur mortis paena Petrus Diaconus ad Fulgentium Adam hauing willingly transgressed the law of God is by his iust iudgement condemned to suffer the punishment of death and is allâ— holly throughâ—ut that is to say both in bodie and soule changed into worse and hauing lost his owne freedome is become a slaue to serue the filthie drudgerie of sinne Thereupon it is that no man commeth into this worlde free from the bondes of sinne except hee who for the vnloosing of these bondes was begotten after a new kinde of conception the Mediator of God and men Iesus Christ. For what can base and vile man beget but that which is base and vile And therefore as euerie man is of Adam â—oret Pighius so by Adam euerie man is the seruant of sinne Rom. 5. c. And such deceiue themselues as say that death but not sinne hath passed throughout mankind when as there is not one of all the sonnes of men which is deliuered from this damnation death but by the grace of the redeemer c. without this grace a man might think and desire humane things but he could not either thinke of or haue any will vnto the things concerning God For the first principall foundation thereof is to belieue in the Lord of glorie crucified This commeth not from the libertie of our free will or naturall will for flesh and blood doe not reueale the same but the heauenly father to whom he will drawing him vnto this true libertie not by a violent necessitie but by a gentle infusing of his holy
c. Which the second Councell of Orange resolued vpon in these speeches If any man say that the verie beginnings of faith Et ipse credulitatis affectus by which we belieue in him which iustifieth the wicked and not the growth and increase onely are not the gift of grace by the inspiration of the holy Ghost calling and reclaiming vs from infidelitie to faith from impietie and vngodlinesse to pietie and godlinesse c. Let him bee accompted of as an enemie of the doctrine of the Apostles c. Thus Prosper handled the matter reasoning and arguing the same amongst our Frenchmen and this same controuersie or the like was stirred againe by one Abailardus a long time after against our Countrie man S. Barnard Barnar Dom. Serm. 1. for the vnreclaimable pride of man when all other things yeeld will still stand out and bee last in the field who though he be of the last and newest yet is hee not the least worth or comming behinde the rest for the well handling of this matter God saith he hath washed with the water of an other those who had beene defiled by the sin of an other And yet not in such sort altogether an other mans but that it was our owne withall for otherwise it had not polluted and defiled vs but thus an other mans for that wee haue all sinned in Adam ours because that we our selues also haue sinned And howbeit that wee haue sinned in an other yet it was imputed vnto vs by the iudgement of God a iust iudgement and sentence though secret and hidden And yet notwithstanding O man thou hast no cause to complaine thy selfe for in stead of Adam his disobedience thou hast the obedience of Christ freely giuen vnto thee c. Idem Serm. 4. in fer hebdo Of Christ saith he who is come freely to iustifie sinners to make seruants his brethren and slaues fellow-heires with him and banished men kings He hath said Consummatum est All is fulfilled and finished there is nothing left vndone that ought to bee done c. And how was this done Jn this saith hee that he was made sinne all manner of sinne as well originall as personall hath beene defaced yea euerie single and particular sinne hath beene banished and cast out shall mans miseries then ouercome Gods mercies or rather the mercies the miseries And he hath not onely taken vpon him the forme of a seruant to be made subiect but of an euill seruant to bee beaten and of a seruant of sinne to pay the punishment he himselfe notwithstanding being the partie in whome there was no fault c. Let not therefore the name of holinesse astonish thee Idem Serm. 3. ad fratres Propositum Idem in fest Sanctor For God calleth not Saints according to merite but according to his owne ordinance and decree that is to say according to his purpose not according to their affections but according to his owne intention And he rendreth a reason in an other place For saith he What can our righteousnesse bee before God but a menstruous cloth as the Prophet saith All our righteousnesse to be short but vnrighteousnesse And then by a stronger reason what shall our sinnes be And therefore let vs haue recourse with the Prophet vnto mercie alone for it is that alone that is able to saue our soules and only that mercie extended and exhibited in Iesus Christ alone Idem de sepulchro ad milites In Christ alone saith he who taking vpon him the burden of the punishment but being nothing possessed of the fault hath merited life and righteousnesse for vs with God In Christ alone who dying for sinners hath remitted the sinne whereby it commeth to passe that there saith hee remaineth no more place for merite and yet notwithstanding our debt is paid In Christ alone in whose death death is hunted and chased away and his righteousnesse imputed vnto vs. But VVhat a peece of Iustice is it wilt thou say that the innocent and guiltlesse should die for the transgressor and guiltie person Yes And not iustice onely but a worke of mercie also c. But againe How may the gutltie be iustified by this death Nay why may or should hee not One shall haue sinned and all shall be guiltie Now then should the innocencie of one extend and bee imputed but to one The sinne of one hath brought death vpon all And the righteousnesse of one should it restore life but to one The sinne of Adam shall bee imputed vnto me and shall not the righteousnesse of Christ appertaine vnto me The disobedience of one hath spoyled me and shall not the obedience of the other doe me any seruice Multo germanius Idem in Psal 91. Serm. 14. Idem in Cant. Serm. 13.14.22.23 Illibata c Nay rather saith hee we are borne of God according to the spirite both more naturally and lawfully then of Adam according to the fleshe c. And therefore saith hee Iesus Christ hath power to forgiue sinnes as God and to die as man and in dying to acquit the debt of death in that hee was iust and himselfe to bee sufficient for vs all both vnto righteousnesse and vnto life c. Jn this righteousnesse saith hee thou art saued gratis and for nothing in respect of thy selfe but in respect of him not altogedound without any touch or stroke of man therein as hauing alone triumphed ouer the enemie alone deliuered the sillic captiues alone encountred and alone ouercome c. For such as will establish their owne righteousnesse which iustifieth not but accuseth there can no better fall out vnto them then that they should be giuen ouer to their owne righteousnesse which will ouerset and ouerwhelme them in stead of iustifying of them c. But on the contrarie O Lord the sweete smell of thy righteousnesse is so large and farre and wide spread euerie where throughout as that thou art knowne not onely to bee iust and righteous but iustice and righteousnesse it selfe euen that righteousnesse which iustifieth the sinner c. And it is saith hee in this righteousnesse that I am iustified and made righteous For inlighten thou mine eyes and I become prudent and of good vnderstanding remember not the sinnes of my youth and then I become iust guide me in the way and then I become holy but if thy bloud doe not sue for me I doe not attaine saluation But blessed and not iust alone is hee to whome sinne is not imputed c. It is sufficient therefore for me and in stead of all righteousnesse Indulgen Dei Idem Serm. 61 to haue him fauourable and mercifull vnto me against whome alone I haue sinned All that whatsoeuer he hath appointed not to bee imputed vnto me is as if it neuer had beene The righteousnesse of God is not to sinne the righteousnesse of man is Gods pardon Hitherto we see how this holy person cannot satisfie himselfe or thinke that he hath
Lord God The people It is meete and conuenient c. And then the Minister did handle in manner of a briefe preface the causes why they gaue thankes as namely for that he had created man after his owne image for that he hauing reuolted and forsaken him it pleased him to recouer and recall him in Iesus Christ for the giuing of his Law vnto him for hauing admonished him by his Prophets for hauing sent them his onely begotten Sonne in the fulnes of time to fulfill the law in his owne person for quickning by his death those that were dead in Adam to make them capable of eternall life and for that to this ende hee had dyed risen againe and ascended into heauen and for that also hee gaue himselfe freene to the death readie to deliuer vp his life for the life of the world and for hauing left vs a liuelie representation of this so great a benefite and for that he had taken the bread in his holie handes blessing sanctifying breaking and distributing it vnto his Disciples and Apostles saying Take eate This is my bodie c. and for hauing done in like manner with the cuppe saying Drinke yee all This is the cup of the new Testament in my blood c. And in this place in the processe of this goodlie Preface was read in a briefe manner the institution of the holie Supper as it is to be seene also in all the Lithurgies The Lithurgie of S. Basill The Lithurgie of S. Denys and this action was shut vp and ended with the answere of the people in these wordes Lord wee remember herein thy death and passion and do emfesse thy resurrection vntil the time of thy comming or as it is read in S. Denys with a protestation Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou hast said Do this in remembrance of me which done the bread and the wine were held consecrate sanctified and for sacraments by vertue of the institution of our Lord which is alwaies powerfull and hath his efficacie and not by vertue of certaine wordes spoken ouer the elementes Of which thing as shall bee declared in his place the purest old Churches neuer dreamed Then there followed a praier that it would please God to shew them all the mercie as that they may communicate the bodie and blood of his Sonne by a true and liuelie faith and not to their condemnation and iudgement as also that it would please him to knitte them altogether in true charity and loue in the communion of his Sonne by his holy spirit euen in so effectuall a manner as they did certainely eate and drinke all of the same bread and cuppe then the conclusion followed with the ioyning thereunto of the Lordes Prayer and after that for a signe of this holy vnion of their spirites and wils in Christ a mutuall kisse the signe and testimonie eyther of true and vnuiolate amitie or else of an vnfained reconciliation and that they had not vainely and for a fashion spoken The kisse of peace Forgiue vs our sinnes as wee forgiue them c. and thereupon also it was called Osculum pacis the kisse of peace as also further to signifie that this knot of the vnitie of the faithfull did not end in this world After this peace there was mention made of them who either had liued wel or which were dead in Christ especially of the Martyrs whose names were read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is out of a certaine register or catalogue partlie sayeth S. Denys to signifie that they were not dead but verilie liuing and therefore the Primitiue Church called the death of man by the name of birth natiuitie and partly to stirre vs vp to the same constancie by their example Now when this was finished the Pastors and Deacons which were to distribute the holie Supper did first communicate themselues and after deliuered the bread and the cuppe to the faithfull and gaue it them in their hands speaking the significatiue wordes of this holy Mysterie but so as that they did not all binde themselues to vtter them in the same tearmes And during this whole action Psalmes were sung by the people and that such as concerned the thing in hand and the same in the end was shut vppe with a solemne thankesgiuing and before that it was not lawfull for anie man to depart and goe away and all this was alwaies done in a tongue which the people vnderstoode and with so loude a voice as might be that so the people might bee able to say Amen And this order will wee runne ouer againe particularlie according to euery parte of same Of the Preface speaketh Chrysostome saying when we beginne to say The Lord bee with you Of the Preface Chrysost in 1. ad Corint hom 36. in 2. hom 18. Chrysost hom de Eucharist ad Heb. hom 22. the people doth aunswere And with thy spirite Againe In the holie and reuerende Misteries the Pastor praieth for the people and the people for the Pastor for these wordes and with thy spirit can not tell vs or giue vs to vnderstand any other thing The councell of Nice 1. sayth Let vs not rest our selues in the bread and wine which are set vpon the Table but let vs lift vp our heartes on high that is Sursum Corda namelie to the Lambe of God c. Chrysostome Hast not thou promised to the Priest who saieth Lift vâ—â—o your hâ—artes and mindes on high we haue them fixed and setled in the Lord This table is altogether furnished with mysteries the Lambe of God is offred for thee c. And in an other place Wee lift vp our mindes on high This is a table for Eagles and not for Crowes to feede at c. S. Augustine August de bono perseuer cap. 13. de vera elig c. 3. de bono vid. cap. 16. Epist 15. in Psalm 85. c. Chrysost in hom 26. in Genes That which is saide in the sacrament of the faithfull namely that wee should haue our heartes raysed vppe to God on high Vt sursum corda habeamus ad Dominum sheweth that it is a gift of God as also in asmuch as the Pastor saieth vnto vs afterwarde that we are to yeelde him thankes and that wee make answere that it is meete and right that we should so doe c. And these wordes are repeated in an infinite sort of places And yet sayeth Chrysostome not because hee hath neede of our thankes doe wee say vnto him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c for who is able sufficientlie and worthilie to performe such a seruice seeing the Cherubius cannot attaine vnto it but he willeth it to the end that the gaine may redound to our selues c. And the reasons of this thankesgiuing laid downe by the Minister of the Church in the short abridgement of the historie of the redemption of mankinde or rather of the Church are no lesse to bee noted and marked of vs. Chrysostome We
bee able to make it to serue in the distinction that followeth of her that had brought forth a sonne or a daughter and how in the number of dayes of the one or of the other But the point is that they haue neither Greeke nor Hebrew Paraphrast neither Iewish nor yet Christian Commentarie which euer could finde out Purgatorie by this text Origen who hath made an expresse Homily vpon this verse notwithstanding he be greatlie delighted in allegorizing Orig. hom 9. in Leuit. Ieronym in Ezech. c. 49.47 Theod. in Leuit c. 12. could not perceiue anie such matter therein And as farre off was Saint Ierome expounding the same in his Commentarie vpon Ezechiel Theodoret likewise who handleth this question Wherefore there is appointed a double time for the purging of her that hath brought forth a daughter in respect of her which hath brought forth a sonne Caietan sayeth verie well From all these lawes this instruction and point of pietie Caietan in Leuit c. 12. 1. Sam. 2.6 may verie well bee drawne That wee were borne from our mothers wombe subiect to sinne c. In the first of Samuell Hanna sayeth in her song The Lord is he which destroyeth and raiseth to life which throweth downe into the graue and raiseth vppe againe from thence which giueth pouertie and riches which humbleth and exalteth And because that this worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie a graue and hell they wil haue it to signifie hel in that place and notwithstanding that it may bee vnderstoode for Purgatorie But this place is expounded by it selfe for these wordes Which throweth downe to the graue and bringeth backe againe are no other thing but according to the manner of the Hebrewes the expositors of the former which killeth and bringeth to life againe as in the verse following which humbleth and exalteth is contained the exposition of the wordes going before Who maketh poore and filleth with riches c. Psal 30. Psal 71. But Dauid himselfe without any other will expound it vnto vs The Lord hath lift vp my soule out of the graue or out of hell And in another place Thou hast shewed me manifold troubles but afterward thou turnedst vnto me and hast quickened me and brought me from the depth of the earth But this did no man euer vnderstand to be meant of purgatorie and the Chaldie Paraphrast whom they alleadge is against them God saith he carieth to the graue and bringeth backe againe Ad vitam saeculi to the life of this world that is to say to the life present as appeareth by this word Rursus And Lyranus saith There is not hell in Hebrew but the pit that is to say the graue And that it is his purpose to declare how that he oftentimes giueth life vnto them whom men are giuen to iudge past recouerie as it was with Ezechias But if wee should allegorize their Glosse saith Hee bringeth the obstinate Iewes to hell in as much as he suffreth them to bee led into the condemnation thereof He bringeth backe from thence the Gentiles who did deserue it in calling them backe from idolatrie Tertullian maketh this kind of argument Tertul. l. de resurre carn 28. Contr. Marcion l. 4. c. 34. Cyril Catech. 6 de Monarch Dei Sophron. in serm de Natiuit Dom. August de ciuit Dei l. 17.6.4 That seeing it is the flesh properly which is mortified that is to say which suffereth death that it followeth likewise that it shall bee quickned namely by the resurrection And againe against Marcion That one and the same Christ hath in his power the sentence of eternall death as also of eternall life Cyrillus Hierosolymitanus reasoneth after the same manner against Manes Sophronius Bishop of Constantinople proueth the greatnesse of our redeemer who hath turned the curse by Adam into a blessing his death into life and his fall into a rising againe But S. Augustine standeth more amply vpon it and in better sort saying The Lord killeth and quickneth againe c. and this is nothing els but that which he repeateth againe when he saith He bringeth to the gates of hell and bringeth backe againe He killeth saith he according to that which the Apostle saith If you be dead with Christ seeke the things which are aboue c. For you are dead c. And afterward he addeth And our life is hid with Christ behold how he killeth them holesomely behold how he reuiueth and quickneth them againe But hee bringeth them likewise saith he to hell and bringeth them backe againe Without doubt saith he this was accomplished in our head in whom our life is hid For he that hath not spared his owne Sonne hath slaine him for vs and in that he hath raised him vp againe he hath also quickened him brought him to hell and backe againe according to that which hath beene said Thou wilt not leaue my soule in hell and of his pouertie we are made rich c. By their accompt it should follow holding the exposition of Saint Augustine that our Lord had beene in purgatorie Saint Gregorie God slayeth and bringeth backe againe to life Gregor in 1. Reg. c. 1. and behold saith he the order in as much as hee bringeth to hell and bringeth backe againe For in respect of God to bring downe to the gates of hell that is to strike amased the hartes of sinners with the apprehension of eternall torments and to bring them backe from thence that is to relieue their astonished hearts sorrowing and bewailing their faultes by the hope of eternall life c. And yet euerie one knoweth if hee fauour purgatorie or no. Hugo the Cardinall This is a metaphoricall speech He bringeth Phenenna euen into extreame affliction taking her children from her hee bringeth againe Hanna making her fruitfull when she was barren And so saith he by hell in many places is vnderstood great affliction Caietan in l. 1. Reg. c. 2. Cardinall Caietan in like manner In Hebrew saith he it is He bringeth downe into the pit and causeth to rise vp againe And for that he vseth a verbe of the Preter-tense and not of the future I am constrained by the name of pit to vnderstand in this place neither hell nor graue but rather a prison For from the creation vnto the time of Hanna there was not any that rise out of hell none that rise againe from the dead but God hath often caused many free and innocent persons to be put in prison and hath brought many out from thence againe In the last of the first of Samuel it is said That the valiant men of Israel 1. Sam. the last Chapt. ver the last 2. Sam. 1.12 after the ouerthrow of Saule did burie the bodie of Saule and of his children burned them in Iabes tooke their bones buried them and fasted seuen daies And in the 2. Sam. 1.12 that Dauid mourned wept and fasted And thereupon Bellarmine reasoneth thus He fasted therefore
houshold of God doe sing in their psalmes of thankesgiuing we haue passed by fire and by water c. meaning that the hard measure of aduersitie hath not beene able to breake their course by causing them to faint neither the soft bedde of prosperitie make them to become slacke cold through delicacie c and he speaketh by name of the blessed death of S. Malachie Archbishop of Ireland Cassiodorus Because a vessell saith he well hardned and baked in the fire doth hold water better Another saith As S. Laurence passed through fire S. Clement and others through water And let this be set as a brand vpon our aduersaries that they alwaies take hold of the expositions that are least receiued and of all others the worst Caiet in psal 66. I could haue wished that they would at the least haue satisfied themselues in Caietanus his exposition saying He comprehendeth vnder these words of fire and water in briefe all the tribulations of Israel from their comming out of Egypt vnto Iordan that is we haue endured all manner of miseries and in the end thou hast made vs to come ad irriguam to a well watered soile that is to say into the land of promise Neither doth it auaile them Amb. in psal 118. serm 3. that Bellarmine to dasle the eies of the world doeth here alleadge S. Ambrose For this baptisme of fire whereof he speaketh setting the same at the entrance of Paradise allegorizing vpon the Cherubin that kept the passage in is but an appendance and limme of that ancient opinion that the world in that day when the end and consummation thereof commeth and all the creatures therein euen men and of them the most holy and sanctified should bee purged by fire and not in that space of time which shal be betwixt their death and resurrection It appeareth by these words This baptisme saith he shall bee after the end and consummation of the world when hee shall send his Angels to seperate the good from the euill Then shall the fierie furnace feed vpon iniquitie and burne it vp to the end that the iust may shine in the kingdome of God as the Sonne in the kingdome of his father And in deed saith he if that Peter and Iohn be there they shall haue their part in that baptisme Now in deed the truth is that Bellarmine doth not hold or meane that the Apostles haue passed or at any time must passe the fire of purgatorie In the Psalme 107. They cried vnto the Lord in their distresses Psal 107. v. 13. and hee deliuered them from their necessities from darknesse and from the shadow of death Thus wheresoeuer they reade darknesse the graue fire or the shadow of death there alwaies purgatorie must bee summoned to appeare This text is cleare and plaine wherein Dauid maketh a long catalogue or repetition of all the perils whereunto the life of man is subiect the deliuerances that God giueth vnto them that call vppon him although they should bee within two fingers breadth of death But they wil not belieue vs. Lyranus therfore telleth them They were stricken with remorce and sorrow in their afflictions called vpon God who deliuered them And these words frō the shadow of death August Hieron Theodor in psal 106. he expoundeth them by the psalme 23. the daunger of death As Caietan simplie vnderstandeth the same of the inconueniences of the prison S. Ierome did not acknowledge any such like thing to be contained therein but let it passe as he declareth by that which goeth before Et eduxit eos in viam rectam Neither yet S. Augustine who vnderstandeth it of the difficulties lets and impediments that the regenerate find when they should go about to do good and that after such time as God hath opened their knowledge Prosp in psal 107. Haim in psal and enlightned their vnderstanding except himselfe doe worke in them And thus doeth Prosper Aquitanicus also take it Neither Theodoret who vnderstandeth it of the darknes of ignorance and of the seruitude of sinne Haimo In darknesse that is in ignorance out of which no man can free himselfe in the shadow of death that is to say in the villanous and loose course of life which leadeth vnto death And Hugo the Cardinal taketh it in the same sence Darknes that is of ignorance the shadow of death that is faults transgressions bound that is the punishment c. Some others thus Of such as are inwrapped in heresie and are reclaimed by wholesome instruction But and if they wil cleaue to the plaine literall sence it is said There was no man to help them Where were then become the Masses and Suffrages Againe he speaketh of such as had beene rebellious vnto the word of God which had despised the counsell of the most high a mortall sinne and one of the most hainous ones that can be Now purgatorie by their owne speech is not but for veniall ones And yet furthermore if wee will credite the expositions of the old writers Dauid was but a simple fellow and knew nothing in the matter of purgatorie In the booke of the Preacher Ecclesiast 4.14 There is such a one saith Salomon which commeth out of prison for to raigne that is to say according to their vnderstanding out of purgatorie to go into the kingdome of heauen In this whole booke he discourseth of the courses alterations and changes of things happening in mans life and that which followeth in the same verse doth ouerthrow their mistaking And in like manner saith he there is such a man as of a king becommeth poore Now this should fall out contrarie to their owne doctrine that those which are once glorified do neuer fall away If this be not sufficient yet Hugo the Cardinall will help and afford vs some aid This is saith he Christ who from the prison of Pilate the graue and his handes is gone vp to receiue his kingdome Lyranus alleadgeth for an example of the one Ioseph taken out of prison to gouerne Egypt and Sedechias pulled downe from his throne of Maiestie to to be cast into the dungeon for the other I am ashamed to stand vpon the refuting of these fooleries Esay 4. yet notwithstanding we must go through to the end of them In Esay When the Lord shall haue washed away the filthinesse of the daughters of Sion and wiped the blood of Ierusalem from out of the midst of her by the spirit of iudgement and of zeale This iudgement and zeale are purgatorie Let them reade that which goeth before and that which followeth they shall perceiue that the prophet speaketh of the desolation of Ierusalem and of the restoring of the same in Iesus Christ But the Paraphrast saith By the word of iudgement and by the word of consummation He felt no smell of fire And the Glosse In the spirit of iudgement the lightest and least sinnes and in the spirit of zeale the more
c. which could not be both the signes and the things at one and the same time August ad Bonisacium Ep. 23. And therefore saith Saint Augustine The Sacraments that is to say the signes for the similitude and likenesse which they haue with the things doe take the names of the things themselues And he giueth this example To morrow shall be the passion of our Lord to day Christ is risen againe we are buried with Christ by Baptisme c. In like maner he saith not saith he we signifie the buriall but plainly and absolutely we are buried calling the Sacrament of the thing that is to say the signe by the name of the thing it selfe Againe Idem in Leuit. l. 3. q. 7. cōt Adimant c. 12 Ep. 102. The thing which signifieth hath bin accustomed to be named by the name of that which it signifieth As the seuen eares are seuen yeares hee saith not signifie the rocke was Christ hee saith not signifieth Christ as though it were that in substance which it is not but in signification c. Which thing Theodoret calleth a commutation of names of the signe or Symbole to the thing Seeing saith he that God would that those which receiue the diuine mysteries should not rest and content themselues with the things which they see but that they should beleeue through the change of names the transmutation that is made of grace Not saith he that the nature is changed but that grace is added thereunto That which is brought in as said by Saint Gregorie Gregor in Dial l. 4. may we also say together with him That in the celebration of the Sacrament the high and heauenly things are ioyned to the low and earthly and the visible to the inuisible c. But Saint Augustine giueth vs a rule which wee are not to exceede or passe August in doct Christ l. 3 c. 5. It is saith he a miserable seruitude and slauerie of the soule to take the signes for the things This is Carnaliter sapere not to taste any thing but flesh to be carnally wise which is the verie death of the soule c. The Iewes did obstinately pitch and rest themselues vpon the signes Christian libertie reuerenceth not a profitable signe instituted of God but that whereunto such signes are to be referred c. that is to say for that the signe and the thing are Correlatiues And as saith he it is a slauish weakenesse and a point of seruile infirmitie to take the signes for the things signified Idem de Trin. l. 9. quaest ex Nou. Test c. 59. Idem cont Maxim l 3. c. 22. Idem in 1. Cor. c. 10. Idem in 2. Cor. 3. Tho. in tract de differ verb. diuin Lum Summ. q. 1. art 6. vbi allegat Petra erat Christus so it is a verie deepe deceipt and errour to interpret them vnprofitably And by name he taketh for an example the Sacraments of the Christian Church especially Baptisme in an other place We see therein saith he water but the spirit which is not seene worketh therein which washeth away the sinnes of the soule and as visible things becom profitable to such as are able to see so the spirit to the spirituall c. And in another place In the Sacraments we are to regard not that which they are but that which they signifie sunt enim signa rerum saith he aliud existentia aliud significantia for they are signes of things which are another maner of thing in themselues then that which they signifie And Anselme in the same sense The holie Scriptures call the things signifying as the signified for that the signes seeme to make representation of the things they signifie whereupon it is said The rocke was Christ which was onely by the way of signification and not of substance And in another place It must bee carefully anoyded that a figuratiue speech be not expounded and taken according to the letter for this were carnaliter sapere to haue a carnall taste c. and Thomas in like maner And indeed the difference betwixt them is so great as that they cannot be made one For Saint Augustine saith oftentimes God onely giueth the thing but both the good and the euill may giue the signe And Chrysostome When thou art baptised August contr Maxim l. 3. c. 22 in Ioh. tract 5. con liter Petil. l. 3. c. 4.9 Chrysost in Mat. hom 51. Le◠de Natiuit serm 4. it is not the Minister which baptiseth thee it is God himselfe who holdeth thy head by an inuisible power neither Angell nor Archangell durst once touch thee therein And Leo the first Christ gaue to the water the same which hee gaue to his mother the same that made her to conceiue the Sauiour namely the operation of the holy Ghost giueth the power of the regenerating of man vnto the water c. And Anselme who is not one of the oldest writers Wherefore dooth God alone saith hee giue the thing and men the signe Verily because that without the mediation of his worde the signe is a meere naked and bare signe yea it ought to loose and forgoe the name of signe in as much as the thing whereof it is the signe cannot bee ioyned thereto So the Circumcision of the Turkes is nothing for it is without the institution of the Lord and as little is that of the Moores worth notwithstanding they be Christians and yet the signe is there intire the ceremonie intire And so although that Manna should raine downe to morowe yea and albeit water should gush out of the rocke yet this should be but Manna and water this should not likewise bee to Christians the participating of Christ it was that vnto the Iewes In the apple which Adam did eate in the Garden there was no venime and notwithstanding it was deadly vnto him for that the transgressing of the word of the Lord doth beget and bring forth death In these Sacraments how precious so euer they be there is no gaine or good to bee got without the institution of God for his word is the life therof And this is that which S. Augustine saith The signes of diuine things are visible wherein we honour the inuisible things Signacula August de Catech. rud c 26 and yet notwithstanding we must not hold the kind which is sanctified by the blessing thereof as that which is of common vse for there must regard and consideration be had what the word doth signifie which hath beene pronounced vpon it as also that which lieth hidden in the same and wherof it beareth the similitude likenesse Iren. likewise Iren. l. 4. c. 34. The bread hauing receiued his stile of the word of God is not any more common bread but it becommeth an Eucharist which consisteth in two things the one earthly and the other heauenly And the same had beene said by him of all the Sacraments S. Ambrose What hast thou seene