to their deseruinges And he that spake y e same to Ierusalem speaketh it to yow aÌ„d to all Cityes that committe like iÌ„iquite as ye do And whether ye haue serued y e Disciples of the Lorde like as ded the Cytezens of IerusaleÌ„ their Prophetes Iudge your seifes ande ye shall se that ye haue shed more bloud theÌ„ euer ded that moste synfull Ierusalem euen of theÌ„ that taught you Gods truth Well I can no more but beseche the Lord God that he wyll geue suche grace to some that in the time of hys wrath he maye finde .x. ryghteous persons in this Cytie whereby the wrath and veÌ„geauÌ„ce of God may be turned from it which is lyke to come shortly vppon vs or vppoÌ„ our childeren for our sinnes oure forfathers For we haue deserued a M. tymes more plages theÌ„ euer ded Tire SidoÌ„ or Sodoma Gomora ware it not for y e great mercy of God I thinke we had fouÌ„de it so or this tyme. For we haue an example of these Cities they be written for oure learninge to auoid such vices Yea no doubt the vices coÌ„mitted in y e oh LoÌ„don are as euell as euer ware in any of y e foure Cyties afore named And surely I thinke yf they had herd y e prechiÌ„g y t hath bene iÌ„ LoÌ„don this .xiiii. or .xvi. yeares past y t they had repeÌ„ted and â—orsaken their Iniquitye For I saye vnto youe that the gospell was neuer more siÌ„cerelye preached in the tyme of the Apostles then it hath bene of late in London Nor neuer more Godly exposicions vppoÌ„ the scripture and that a greate nombre whereby to drawe vs to Christ Iesus For why the same sprete euen the very holye Ghoste whych spake in the Apostles hath spokeÌ„ in meÌ„ now to vs. But alas as the Prophete sayth Esay xxix we haue eares heare not eyes see not See ye not nor yet perceiue ye how the blynde Prophetes haue led you euen now in our tyme Haue ye not slayne the seruauntes of the Lorde onely for speakynge agaynst y e autoritye of the false Bysshoppes of Rome that moÌ„struouse beast whoÌ„ now ye your selues do or shuld abhorre I meane all his lawes beynge contrary to Christ not his body yet ye se y t a fewe yeares past ye breÌ„t them for heretiques abhominable which preatched or wrote against his vsurped power now it is treason to vphoulde or maintayne any parte of his vsurped power aÌ„d he shal dye as a traytoure that so doth well worthy So saye I vnto you there shalbe yet thinges preched vnto you and ye shall be instructed by wryters of thiÌ„ges which ye be not yet able to beare and whosoeuer preacheth or writeth it if the Lorde defend him not out of your handes he shall dye for it aÌ„d yet out it will at y e leÌ„gth though all the deuelles in hell saye naye to it and so shalbe reformed Ande euen this followyng is one of y e chefest thiÌ„gs Oh ye Cytezens wyll ye neuer geue your selfes to the readynge pf the scripture whereby ye maye knowe the lawe of the Lorde to avoyde the euerlastynge damnacion which is ordayned for the deuell aÌ„d his angels Wyll ye euer be ignorant of Godes coÌ„maundemeÌ„t Exodi xx saynge I will haue none other Gods in my syght and that ye neyther bowe your selfe nor serue any thing as God y t is in earth benethe or in heauen aboue or in the water vnder the earth And do ye not yet se how thys whore of BabyloÌ„ hath altered the supper of the Lorde which was iÌ„stituted to haue y e blessed passion in continuall remeÌ„braunce for a perpetuall memorye of thankes geuinge which we shuld receiue with all reuerence and meaknes of hert geuinge thaÌ„kes vnto God onely for y t benefyte which we haue receyued obtayned through Christes dethe which this supper sygnifyeth and that we beleue as verely as we eate the breade driÌ„k y e wine which norissheth y e body is seane with our corporall eye spiritualli representeth the very body of Christ euen so verely as we haue tasted eateÌ„ seen this holy supper or SacrameÌ„t of thaÌ„ks geuinge euen so verelye to beleue y t Christ dyed for our sinnes and that his bloud onely hath pacyfied the fathers wrathe and so hath sett vs at peace with God For he hath payed y t which laye not in me nor in no man but onely in hym that was bothe God man and by none other meanes myght maÌ„ be redemed and so to aknoweledge y t he is dead hath shed his bloude for our synnes is rysen for our rightwysnesse Thus I seynge my synnes buryed in Christes woundes must euer more be thankfull to y e euerliuiÌ„g God onely And thus to eate his blessed body and to driÌ„ke his bloude spiritually in fayth is Gods institucyon Math. xxvi Marc. xiiii Luc. xxii.i. Corinth xi Where he sayth as ofte as ye shall eate of this breade drinke of this cuppe ye shall shew y e Lordes death till he come And saynte Austyn sayth what preparest thow thy teth thy belly beleue thow hast eateÌ„ Which agreeth with y e words of our sauiour Christ saing The fleshe profiteth nothynge it is the spryte y t quyckeneth Iohan in y e .vi. chapter But the institucioÌ„ of Antichriste is cleane contrary to thys For by his institucioÌ„ thow muste fall downe vppoÌ„ thy knees holdinge vp thy handes as to God In dede it is y e Bysshoppe of Romes God which they must see with theyr corporall eye because they haue no hope in the lyuynge God through the spyrituall eye And thus hath he chaunged the holy memory of Christes death in to the worshippynge of his God made of fyne flower and all to bringe him selfe and his membres alofte aÌ„d in the reputacion of the world aboue all degrees of men yea aboue Kinge and Emperour and therby to sitt in the consciences of men aboue God and his worde euen in the very teÌ„ple of God where God alone shulde fitt And by his institucioÌ„ of this his God is he crept vp in to this vsurped power Oh Antichrist the begynner of this Idoll which is heade of all Idolles after thyne institucyon Doth not God say as afore is sayde Exo. xx Thou shalt not worshyppe any symilitude that his in heaueÌ„ erth or in the waters vnder the earth And thou contrari to the euerlyuing Goddes coÌ„mandemeÌ„t hast seduced the people to honore thy God I tel the geÌ„tle reader ones againe it is the greatest Idoll vnder heaueÌ„ as it is vsed in his masse and a God of the makynge of Antichrist as is sayde whiche masse is after his institucyon an heape of folishe ceremonies without significacions to avaunce ande set out his God to the blearynge of the eyes of the symple Ande thu shalt see if thou wilt reade y e .xviii. chapter of the Apocal. callinge to God onely to open thyn eyes all the
trishtrashe y t Antychrist hath solde vs whiche be the onlye implementes of y e masse of Antichrist I meane not the Antichrist of Rome onely but also of all other popysshe Byshoppes w t all theyr brethern in Antichrist And in the sayde .xviii. chaptre thou shalt see the fall not onely of the whore alone but also of her merchaundyse the same tryshtrash with her For euen as y e whore is fallē in Englād already thākes onely be geuen to God therfore ād yet her trish-trash remaynīg for our iniquities sake euē so I saie ī y e saide xviii chaptre thou shalt see that her marchaundyse muste followe when the tyme is come that God hath appoynted No doubt our vnthākfulnesse sake āde y e geuinge of glorye vnto men whych shulde be geuen onely vnto God is the cause of the longe remainynge of y e premisses The wordes of y e xviii chaptre be these Alas alas y e greate Citie Babilon y t myghty Cytie for at one hour is her Iudgement come ande the Merchantes of the Earth shall wepe ande wayle in them selues for no mā wil bye their ware any more y e ware of gold and siluer ād precious stones nether of pearles and raynes and purple and skarlet and all thynne woddes and brasse āde yron and sinamom odours and oyntmentes ande frākencense and wyne and oyle ande fyne flower and sowles of mē This fine flower haue y ey made the chefeste of all theyr tryshtrashe ād a cloke or a cloude to shadow all the reste Rede the chapter and thow shalt perceiue more I praie y e Iētle reder iudge weare not y e pardoners Merchantes to them Yee it is well knowen that theyr pardons other of theyr tromperye hath bene bought and sold in Lombardstrete and in other places as thow wylt bye ande sell an horsse in smithfelde Yea ande at easter when thow shuldest come to the supper of the lord to receyue the Sacrament of thankes geuynge there muste thow receiue the God of Antichryst without significaciō or Godly instructiō yea ād thou must bye it ande paye for it as men somtime bought Pyes in Soper Lane yea ande thou must paye for his God or thou haue it yea I haue harde of pore mē for lack of two pens beē put from receyuynge of theyr God and for lack of paying y e parsō or vicare his dewtie many haue been put from it Ande more I tell the reader that the bodye of our sauiour Iesus Chryst can not be eaten wyth teth it must be eten with faythe as is a foresayde Ande further marke thys well that thynge that hath beginninge or endinge can not be God nor ought to be worshypped as God So cā thys sacramēt no more be God then was the pascall lābe For God ys wythout begynnynge and endynge and so is not the God of Antichriste for he is made manye tymes be a synnefull Ipocryte Well then it hathe a begynnynge ande maye peryshe ande moulde a waie ande the lytle mouse wyll eate it if he maye come by it And the wyne wyll waxe sower and stinke as doth theyr holy water in the founte by longe kepinge whiche hath bene the destruction ād deth of iunumerable childerne where as two or thre droppes of water takē out of it by the prestes handes and cast vppon y e childe weare sufficyent ād the childe neuer neade to be taken out of hys clowtes Now to my purpose agayne OH thou blynde man can the body of Chryst peryshe by any maner of meanes As to waxe sower or that any maner of beastes maye eate the bodye of Chryste No surely God forbydde For he as concernynge hys Godheade was from the begynnynge and shall be without endynge As manyfestlye it appeareth in Iohan y e fyrste chapter The worde was in y e begynnynge wyth GOD ce But thys marke well that euē as the passeouer lābe was a Sygne a Token ande a remembraunce to put the Chyldern of ISRAEL in memory of their corporalye or bodely delyueraunce and also that Messias shulde cōe to be slayne for theyr sinnes paying theyr raunsome and delyueryng thē from euerlastyng dethe which moued the faithfull of them to be thankefull to God for that they beleued as verely as they dede eate of the lambe whych they had slayne euen so verely had God delyuered their forefathers frō the plages whyche fell vpō y e wicked vnbeleuers And also that a Redemer shuld come whyche God the Father had promised by the mouth of his Prophetes And thus dede they bothe eate Chrystes body and drynke Chrystes bloud in faith spiritually many yeares afore Chryste was borne Euen so the Sacramēt of thankes geuinge is to vs a signe a tokē a spyrituall memorye of our spirituall deliueraūce For y e faythfull beleued euē as verelye as they see and eate it so do they acknowledge the benefytt whych they receaue in āde through the immortall God whych y e same holy Sacramēt representeth ande no doubte y e very bodye of Iesus Chryst is spyritually in ande wyth vs in the receiuinge of the sacramēt if it be resayued with the fayth aforesayde Euen lyke as he is amonge two or thre whych be gathered together ī hys name as it is his godly promes Ma. xviii Thus ye maie se that the same faith which saueth vs saued the olde fathers for they beleued throughe y t outwarde sygne that a redeamer shulde come and we through the memory of thys holy Sacramēt of thanckes geuynge beleue y t he is come and hath fullfylled all that was of him prophecied And thus both thei we eate y e holy body of Christ spiritualie in one fayth And farther vnderstōd reader that vnto all beleuers the ceremonye of eatynge the pashcale lambe ceassed immediatlye when Chryst had chaunged it in to a maundye of thanckes geuing For why the next daie was fullfylled by the death of Chryst that thynge whyche the pashcall lambe to them ded represent Thou saiest it is a sacramēt which I both graūt writ If it be a Sacramēt as it is in dede thē it is a sygne of some holyer thīge then it selfe is Ande beynge a sygne of a holyer thīge then it selfe is so cā it not be God for what sygne or token wilt thou haue holier y eē God None Ergo thē it is not God hymselfe but some sygne tokē or remembraunce of some benefyt whych we haue through hym and thys holy sygne putteth vs in remembrāce for the same to be thanckefull to the Lorde Thou wylt saye it is God hymselfe euen flesh bloude ād bones yea and senewes therto as master Stādys one of your wise false Prophetes preached of late amonge you but yet denie I that for all hys vngodly learnynge For how can it be a Sacrament of God and God hym selfe also seynge there can be nothynge holyer then God And againe if it be GOD that is present thou foole what nedeth the of anye Sacramente or sygne
of that thynge whych is present it selfe AS touchynge this matter IOHAN fryth y e seruaūt of the LORDE whome ye ād youre False Prophetes haue burned whose bloude with others cryeth vengeance agaīst your Bysshoppes He I saye hath writē Inuyncibly in this matter whose worke I exhorte all those whiche fauoure the free passage of the gospell vnfaynedly to reade ād to studie For it is agreing to the touchstone of Gods worde ād to the olde aunciēt doctours As appereth by the same boke of his Ande I exhorte you in Gods name yf there be anie Chistian printer in London to prynte moo of those workes for there can neuer be to many of them Feare not man although death followe seīg Christ saieth he that loseth his lyfe for my wordes sake shall saue it Mathewe in the .xx. chapter And considre that neither Winchester nor London nor the rest of the Bisshoppes the vesselles of Gods Iustice without repentaunce haue no power to destroie but y e bodie onelye wherfore feare them not But feare hym onelye that can kyll both bodye and soule as apereth in the same .xx. chap. For if thou wilt liue godly in Christ thou must neades suffre persecutiō And truly he is not worthy to be a membre of the body that will suffre no dysplesure with the heade Therfor blessed are they that suffre persecucyon or anye trouble for ryghtousnes sake that is for Christes sake And in this matter I saye w t the sayde Iohan fryth that it is no pointe of our dampnaciō nor saluacyon If I beleue it not it dampneth me not But to haue the absēce of the benefyttes of his deathe and passiō in my hert may be cause of my dampnacion and in beleuynge of the sayde benefytes of ande through hys dethe shalbe my saluacion beinge repentaunt for my synnes But one thynge I will tell the and marke it well for it is trewe Though thou beleue he is there lyke as Antichrist and like his petye membre standish saythe ande so worshippe it as God I tell the that it is damnable For thou arte commaūded in the fyrste Table of y e cōmaundementes y t thow shalt not worshippe anye thynge y t is made after anye symylitude or lykenes that is in heauen or earthe as I haue afore sayde God is asprete ād wilbe honored in sprete and veryte I saie your blynde bloudy Byshoppes or rather butchers dishonour not onely the Sacramēt but the God of al Goddes also in mynystrynge the same And so do all prestes that other sīge or saye the popysh masse which they call a sacryfyce and therby wold haue Christes bodye daylye crucyfyed where as he offred vp his holy body vppon the crosse for our synnes ones for euer ande neuer shalbe offred agaī whyle the worlde endureth but hath instituted the holye supper or Sacrament of thankesgeuynge as afore is sayde to put vs in contynuall memory of that oblacion ād sacrifice y t we shulde beleue our sinnes to be forgeuen onely for Christes sake through his death ande so to be thankfull whych holye thynge as ye se is tourned into a popyshe masse and is to the people a domme yea no thīg els but a deade ceremonye Wherfore I will exhort all prestes that wylbe of Christes congregacion to fle and geue ouer that abhominable massinge which is a blasphemy to Christes bloude in that they make of it a sacryfice What sacryfice can y t be where no bloude is shedde Wherfore in Christes name all yow I saye that wolde be of Christes churche forsake thys whore w t all her abhominable rables ande rather begge with Christ then welthelye to lyue with the prestes of her God Beell and feare not but God shall prouyde both clothyng and foode sufficient for the bodye Considre the lylye dothe not spynne yet was Salomon neuer so gorgiouslie apparelled Mat. vi Who clothed the lilie ded not our heauenlye father clothe it And be not ye worth manye sparrowes Well then we se that pure heauēly father both clothed fedde all creatures and shall not he also clothe and feade yowe which seke his glorie trust only in him Yes yes doubt not And surely ye cā not remaine as ye do but ye muste be partakers of ther Idolatrye Perchaunce thou wilt saye I could be cōtented to liue porely to followe Christe but I feare the Byshoppes blessynge which is a fayre fyre Set afore the y e deth of Christ for prechynge his fathers will ād before hym the Prophetes ande after hym his Apostles and at this daye hys chosen seruauntes ande consydre as afore is sayde that the deuyllyshe Byshopes the vesseiles of Godes Iustyce can but destroye the bodye onelye that God will rayse it vp agayne at the great daye of y e Lorde euen as he is rysen And considre that alwayes it was the Bysshoppes ād the hyghe prestes y t put Christ and hys Apostles and his chosen seruauntes to deathe And by theyr deuellyshe sedusyng euer blynded the Prynces and other head rulers to geue ther consent ther vnto Math. in the .xxi. ande in the .xxvi. chapter O ye Babylonyshe Bisshoppes and generacion of Uipers where haue ye your auctoryte or how dar ye be so bold to kyll a man for his faith whych Christ neuer ded nor hys Apostelles For it is a gyfte which no man can eyther geue an other or yet hym selfe No no it is the gyft of God onely Ande that must be geuen a man before he can eyther do or thynke goode For all y t is done without fayth is synne Roma in y e xxiiii and Hebre. xi No nor ye put no man to death for Christes sake but for y ◠that no man shuld either preache teache or wrytte Chryst aryght which he can not do but he shall by force be constrained of the holye Ghost to wryte agaynst your pompe pryde vyle lyuinge and agaīst your abhomynable sedusing of the people leadynge them in an endlesse mase of dyrtye tradicions and folyshe ceremonyes And why cannot a man set for the Christ but he must write agaynst yow Euen bycause ye be the verye Antichristes No I saye it is not possible for anye man sent of God either to preache or wryte but he must open hys mouthe agaīst that moost wycked abomynable and detestable Antychryst of ROME as agaynste the enemy of Chryst which be you false Bysshops false Prophetes that beare the false signe of the new lawe the olde lawe with stoute stronge and sturdie Archedeacōs Deanes ād Chanons of Cathedrall churches and other your pyty membres prestes of Baall Ande he that openeth not his mouthe agaīst you cā not truly set out Christ and that is the cause why ye seke theyr deathes Ye bewytch Kīges other rulers and turne theyr laboures I meane the laboures of y e seruaūtes of God whyche crye against your Iniquytie sayīg they teache sedycyon and cause rebellyon against the higher powers Oh ye chylderne of Satan all y t