fleshe profiteth nothinge thought it were eaten euerie meÌ„bre after other But the spirite giueth life Who leadeth vs to the fode that bringeth lyfe euerlasteinge And thus by the spirite whiche onely isprofitable we vnder stande these wordes Take and eate thys is my bodie which is giuen for you That like as I geue the bread to be eaten wyth the bodilie tethe so do I geue mi bodie to be eaten bi faith and that of the spirite For nowe shal it be geuen vnto the death that you maye haue lyfe And thus is my fleshe verie meate and my bodie breade and fode whiche maye be taken and receiued onely spiritually and not carnally bodilie or really In lyke maner therfore as you do bodilie take this brad at my hande eate it wyth your mouth and so receiue it into your stomake and bodie for the fode and sustentacion of your naturall lyfe so muste â–ª you by fayth the onely meane wherby ye maye eate or haue me present vpon erth receiue my body beleueing that my bodie is geuen for you that where you were deade frome God by your synnes I haue brought youfurth to leue in good workes vnto my father who compteth you nowe aâ—… children an heâ—ers prepared to euerlasteingâ—… lyfe so many as belieue truste in my deathâ—… Thus doeth Christe geue the breade to bâ—… eaten bodily with the mouth but hys bodiâ—… to be eaten spiritually in the spirite by faith And thys is it that good byshop Augustine sayeth What doest thou prepare thy teeth and thy bealiâ—… Beleue and thou haste eaten It is fleshe as I haue saied before what so euer bringeh not lyfe and therfore it profiteth nothing so ar al things that ar don without faith wherfore if christ might be eaten with the mouth as he might be in dede if he were bodilie in the breade which boeth fayethfull and vnfaythful do eate then myght Christe be eaten wythout fruite whiche is contrarie to the manifeste worde of God which affirmeth that who so euer eateth him hath euerlasteinge lyfe We do conclude therefore that there is but one onely eateinge of the bodie of Christ whyche is perceiued of the faythfull onely none otherwyse then these wordes whyche is geuen for you and whyche is shed for the remission of sinnes are proper and peculiar vnto them onely And to tell you somewhat of your sophistrie WhaÌ„ you reasone in this wyse Thys is the bodie of Christe therfore 〈◊〉 is naturally really and bodily hys bodie It is a fallax or deceiueable argument of sophistrie affirminge that simpliciter quod est modo aliquâ— Thys câ—n euerie sophiste of Cambridge tell you And we knowe that it is small reasone to conclude that Iohn baptist was thâ— same Elias that was dead many hundred yeres before hys tyme because Christe saâ—ed that he was Elias except we shoulde be of the opinion of the fonde Phylosophers who helde that the soules of men departed went into other newe bodies and so coÌ„tinued stil immortal In like maner whaÌ„ Iosephe saieth that the. vii fatte oxen are vii good yeres and the. vii leane one 〈◊〉 vii yuell yeres â–ª we maye not coÌ„clude that oxâ— or â—ieÌ„ aâ— natural yeres More ouer wheÌ„ Christ saieth that the worde of God is a sede it is but a slender argument to saye therfore it is a bodylye sede An hundred suche places maye be brought And yet if thei can bring but one place where God hath sayed This is such a thynge and woulde haue at corporally so to be I wyll gladly geue place vnto them thoughe it be so that the thynge do not appeare to be as God hath sayed it is But I do know â—…m certaine in my beliefe that al the workes of the Lorde be trueth And as he hath sayed that they be so shall they be and are in dede either in spirite or else in the sight of all men bodilie ¶ An answere coÌ„cerneing the knowledge of The seÌ„ses and a declaracion of al the. xii Articles of the fayth whyche euerie true Christian man muste beleue in herte and Confesse wyth moUth THus far haue I brought in mi faith plainely contrarie to no place of scripture except you call Your gloses scripture And where I myght haue your owne doctours to confirme the same yet wyll I not stir contencion so farre Knoweinge that no thynge hath bene so popeishlie thaught neither worshiping of Images and Idoles praieing to saintes and fond pilgrimages nor yet monasteries monkes purgatorie and the poppe hym selfe but it hath bene by theÌ„ and their subtile argumeÌ„tes diuised and by their writeinges set forth and maintained Wyth dainger therfore haue we folowed them ouer long But nowe you maye not thyncke styll to leade vs captiues from Christe whome we loke for spedilye to come into iudgement wyth vs when we shalbe iudged by his word and not by their writeinges We haue folowed you to longe beinge but blynde guides gropeinge after your blynde wayes in the darcke wythout wit reasone or faith but onely because your holie father of Rome and that holie mother churche dyd so belieue and teach and nowe at lengh as our holy mother church of Englande doeth leade and therfore maye you worthyly cal vs as you do beastely blinde and therfore far from the knowledge of our religion But nowe that your father is fallen and weseke for our father in heauen desireinge hys kingedom to come vpon the erthe and praieing for the foode of our soules his heauenly breade whiche you haue so longe banished and neither woulde your selfe enter into his kingedome nor suffer them that woulde to enter accordeinge to the sayeinge of Christe our sauioure we knoweynge that what so euer is not of fayth is sinne and that fayth is of heareynge not of you Byshoppes and your doctours but of the worde of God whyche can deceiue no man nor yet be deceiued desire and require you to beate into oure heades no longer as articles of oure faith your chaunge of suâ—… staâ—… your accidentes qualities and quaÌ„tities in fourme and vnder the fourme of dreade to go awaye from it when the bread musteth and brenneth you knowe not how For thys your answere is an euident argument that you knowe as little howe it came ther. And thinke not much I praie you that we do in thys mattier â—…ye your crafte â—…d falsehode not onely wyth scriptures but also wyth oure reasones and outwarâ—e senses The whyche three that is to saye Fayeth grownded vpon the worde of God reasone that caâ—â—e not be resisted and the senses as sight tasteinge smellinge and felinge which can by no learneinge but by your schole be deceiued Yet you woulde haue vs wholely captiuated vnto you in all these thinges that you might leade vs wher you lyste to make vnseÌ„sible chauÌ„g where you blowe and blesse crosse and kisse No faile in thynges far distant as is the â–ª sinne moue and sterres and diuers other thynges he senses maye
wer of Angelles in the thinges thei se not being puâ—fed vp without cause through their own fleshly mindes not haueing the head wherof the whole bodie bi ioincies and coÌ„plings receiueth nourishemeÌ„t and is â—â—it together and encreseth with the eÌ„creasing that coÌ„ith of god Of this kinde is al your doctrine because it is not grounded on the worde of God I meane vayne superstition and blynde holynes EueÌ„ very belyed and misnamed knowledge as thys is whiche foloweth coÌ„cerning Iudas and the wicked For you saye Iudas and euyll men hauing the Deuyll in them haue yet receyued into their bodies the hoste consecrate wherein was the bodie of Christe God and man Nowe must we of necessitie demaunde of you what felowshippe there coulde be of lyghte and darknes lyfe and death Christe and Belzabub God and the Deuyll Scripture teacheth vs that the wycked haue the Deuyll dwellyng in them and the faythful haue Christe and the spirite of Christe dwellyng in them But howe Christ and the Deuyl can dwell together I am ryght sure you can not declare The good spirite departed from Saule and the wycked dyd entre into hym Likewyse the Deuyll possessed Iudas wholy when he ranne busily about his mischiefe for God departed from him immediatly after the soppe was gyuen hym We muste therfore at al tymes make our bodies temples of the holy goâ—te and oure membres the weapons of ryghtuousnes or els are we a dwelling place for the Deuyl and our meÌ„bres prepared for vnrightuousnes For there is no couplynge of good and euyl together heate and colde fyre and water This is our doctrine that we haue learned of the worde of God contrarie to that you teach by your Pope holie Doctours We affirme that no wycked man muche lesse any vnreasonable beaste can eate the bodie of Christ Our reason grounded vpoÌ„ scripture is this No wicked maÌ„ or brute beast hath fayth But Christ can not be eaten otherwise then by fayth no wycked man therfore or brute beast can eate Christ Agayne He that eateth my fleshe and drinketh my bloude hath euerlastynge lyfe and I wyl reyse him at the last day But the wicked haue not euerlasting life neither shal any vnreasonable beast be reysed agayne to lyfe wherefore neither of them doth eate the fleshe of Christe Agayne He that eateth my fleshe and drynketh my bloude dwelleth in me and I in hym But no beaste or wycked man can dwell in Christe or haue Christe dwellynge in hym wherefore they eate him not Agayne He that eateth me he lyueth for me And he that hath the sonne hath life An hundrede places mo there be whyche moue vs to speake more reuereÌ„tly of Christ then you do that is that the trewe fayethfull man onely maye be parte taâ—ar of the bodye bloude and death of oure Sauioure Christ Who as they onely are parte takers of the lyfe euerlastynge so are they onely and continually fedde wyth the fode whiche fedeth into the lyfe euerlastynge wyth thys breade that cometh downe from heauen whereof who so eateth shall neuer dye who so eateth or drinketh therof shal neuer be hun grie or thirstie Nowe for your substanciall solution for the subduinge of the senses You saye thus The trewe churche of Christe hath subdued theyr senses that they haue continually seene such notable repugnaunce to their senses and yet were not moued in theyr fayth For thys cause oughte we not to beleue theyr tales Thys is like as the Pharisies myghte haue answered Esaye Hieremie and other of the Prophetes cryinge out on theyr Idolles sayinge that they had eyes and could not see eares and could not heare mouthes and coulde not speake And feete and coulde not go They myght haue answered as they dyd to Ieremie Templum domini templum domini The church of the Lorde chosen by God furth of the stocke of Leuie hath so captiuated their senses that they haue sene continually these Idolles to be suche as you speake and yet were they neuer moued wyth them Let these tales passe therefore For thus dyd the priestes keepe the Israelites captyue in the tyme of Christe to their owne damnation We are the disciples of Moyses saye they and God dyd speake vnto Moyses But we knowe not thys Christe froÌ„ whence he cometh None of the princes or heades of holy church beleue in hym nor yet any of the Pharisies but onely thys vnlearned multitude The Rabbies see his miracles they heare his preachinges but they captiue their wittes and say that he is a sinner and al that confesse his name they caste out of their churches Thys church adourned and decked with much outwarde holines hauyng their office or duitie prescribed or appoynted vnto them by the worde of God longe tyme together rebuked the poore blinde man that reasoned the cause of Christ with them saying Thou arte borne all in synne and wilte thou teache vs Nowe because in all ages this cloke and craftie argumeÌ„t hath deceyued many wherfore we wyll are no more what you of the churche do saye but what Moyses the Prophetes the Apostles the scripture of God and Christ hym selfe do saye Of whoÌ„ with cleare voice and manifeste miracle it was hearde from heauen This is my dearly beloued sonne in whoÌ„ I delite heare you him For if we shoulde heare you in thys reason you woulde by the same brynge vpon oure neckes agayne the Pope his Pardones Pilgrimages Abbayes yea the filthy Stewes maynteyned continually in your eyes and vnder your nose so longe And yet in al these thinges you gentlemen of the churche haue so well captiuated your wyttes that you haue beleued and thought the open mainteinaunce of whoredome both bodily and speritually to be worthely cherished and that the one was seruiseable for the commune wealth the other profitable to Christes religion You haue so longe deceyued vs that vnlesse you do bring the worde of Christ with you we dare not truste you any longer vnder the name of Christes vicares and Christes church whiche termes you do vse as appeareth by your bokes not for any loue you haue vnto Christe for then woulde you persecute no maÌ„ professing Christ and cleauing vnto him onely and his worde but be ready to eâ— dauÌ„ger your souleâ— for youâ—… therne And by thys badge of loue should we know you to be Christes disciples In the meane season we wyll folowe the commaundement of Christe we wyll not folowe the voice of any straunger we wyll playnely proteste oure fayth in the simplicitie of lambes or doues Yet wyll we alwayes haue regarde vnto oure heade Christe And that is the proprietie of the serpente And we wyll stoppe our eares wheÌ„ you bringe in your inchauntmentes For those wordes of yours are of wouderfulle force Fyrste you do by them call downe into a litle cake or as you do glose it more fynely into a fewe accidentes God the seconde personne in trinitie who sitteth at the ryghte
is broken eaten and mouldeth And what so euer goeth into the mouth sayeth Christe the same goeth into the bealie and so is conueighed farder So that this whiche you teach of the reall carnall and bodilie presence of Christe may well be called deuellish sophistrie For seyng that al lies are of the deuell as the father and authoure of them these lienge blasphemies must neades be of him and verie dyuellesh sophismes to set forth his kyngdome of darkenesse The spirite of God and the spiritual doctrine of the holie goste can not dwell yn you bycause you be fleashe The spiritual eating of the bodie of Christ by fayeth How Christ who sitteth nowe at the ryght hand of his father and hath by his death and passion payed sufficient raunsome for all our sinnes hath pacified the wrath of his â—ather by the takynge our synnes on his backe hathe gotten vs life by hys death and whâ—â— so euer benefit we haue receyued by the deth of our sauioure Christe thys wyl you neuer teache and preache vnto vs in the ministring of the Sacramente and in your Pope holie Masse but you teache vs to gase and galpe at a thinge we knowe not whiche you saye is in your chalice and is holden vp betwexte your fingersto be worshiped with all godly honour vnder the forme of bread vnder outwarde accidentes qualities and dimensions And thus doe you bliude vs with your sophistrie termes that we can not perceyue what you meane But yf you woulde answere simpliciter as you are wonte to laye to our charge either that this sacrament is Christ God and man or that it is not Christ him selfe really carnally and naturalli then shuld this strife be sonâ—at an end But seyng that it shalbe Christe God and man bodilie present whan you will name it so and qualities accidentes and dimensions when you wil haue it so surely we can not but of force call you sophisters Agayne when Christe must be in the forme of bread and vnder the forme of breade I can not tell what scripture you haue for you you go frome your shâ—… â—nchor this is my bodie and other handfast I can se you take noâ—e Then procede you wyth your sophistrie and therby charge vs wyth the thinges in thys wyse i. First you saye that we woulde haue all in out warde miracle ii TheÌ„ that if accideÌ„tes were made impâ—ssible the deuell woulde require that mans bodie shoulde be impâ—ssible iii. Thirdly that the senses maye not empayre oure fayeth For the fyrste we answere that we do reâ—…ier no miracle other wise theÌ„ whaÌ„ we saâ—… that Christe is the lambe of God But you would haue suche a miracle dayely wrought is Christ neuer did vpon the erth euen such â—ne as 〈◊〉 her scripture testifieth nor any coÌ„mon sense wit nor reason should perceiue A miracle good for nothinge but to maintaine your powre A miracle that no maÌ„ caÌ„ espie but priestes and such as geue eares to pophish liâ—… A miracle muche more blinde then Magipharaonis for theirs dyd at the lestway sâ— appeare as they enchaunted it to be Secondly that mans bodie shoulde be impassible â–ª you ar the first that named it Wherfore if it be of the deuel as I thinke no lesse take it to your selfe for it is your own terme 〈…〉 â—â—l the seÌ„sâ—â— and reasoÌ„â— to do seruice and beare witnesse vnto our faieth iâ— like maner as the Apostles do witnesse the thinges that they sawe with their eies harde with their eares and haÌ„dled with their haÌ„dâ— We aske no forder signe nor miracle but those that Christ hath wrought alredie But you must haue â—…ie new miracles to streÌ„gtheÌ„ your faieth coÌ„tinualli â–ª makeing this cake of yours Christe boeth God and man And besides this which is more like madnesse theÌ„ miracle eueâ—… whoremoungar drâ—…ckarde and Idiâ—… shal haue a God of his owne making so sone as he hath â—…nbled â–ª vp iiii latine wordes And that the diuell maie playe his pagiaâ—t among the childreÌ„ of darcknesse he helpeth you forth with manie pretie miracles both by the appearauÌ„ce of the dede and other waies as your lieing bokes do testifie Thus maie you worthily be called Gens incredula que signum querit et signum non dabitur ei nisi signum Ione prophete You haue the sygne of Ionas the prophet that is to saye of Christe lieinge in the erth and riseing again Yet this wil not serue you onlesse you haue him impanate and bodilie carnallye reallie by a wonderful miracle in an hundred thousaÌ„d places at once Whether of vs twaine is nowe more like the capparnites You that wil eate christ flesh bloud and bones as they required and maye not abyd that we should â—eke in this supper onely the breade that did come downe from heauen as Christe taught or we that haue abundantly found this bread into life euerlasting and do coÌ„â—…esse with Peter that the wordes of Christ are lâ—fe euerlastinge and not the â—…heli eate inge of his bodie â–ª We belieue Mosses and the prophetes for they haue geuen clare testimonies of thys that I do writte in that thei teach one Messias and sauiour of the world â–ª We belieue also that which Paule doth saie of theym all that all the fathers were vnder the cloude Thei were'al Baptised in the sea they dyd all eate of one spirituall meate and drinke one spiritual drinke for thei dranke of the spirttual stone whiche folowed them the stone was Christe We do beleue al thinges that are written tuen froÌ„ the fyrst begining of Genesis to the last word of the reuelasions But as you say we can not beliue your newe miracles nor the appeareing of the dead No nor yet you bishopes pristes nor any of your doctoures forther then you bringe the word of God in your inouthes So long wil we saie Ane vnto you and receiue you most willing lie For our faieth hath hir onely ground vpon heare inge not of euerie fable but onelie the worde of God Nowe bishopes coÌ„sider that if you wil haue vs hear ani doctrin that is not grouÌ„ded on the scripture as your doctours youâ— dreames and visions you cause vs to sinne For that which is not of faith is sin Againe without fayeth it is impossible to please god and as faâ—e impossible is it to haue faith and to beleue the doctours For they are one coÌ„trari to an other so that no fayth can be grounded vpon theÌ„ Yea they theÌ„ selues woulde not be belieued father theÌ„ they bring the scripture for them Their owne coÌ„fession therfore and the coÌ„trarietie that is in them declareth them to be fleshe and we were accursed if we should make fleshe oure arme and settle our faith vpoÌ„ maÌ„s wordes for euery maÌ„ is a lia◠¶ Of the wordes and the meaneinge wherin the meaneinge of Christe is declared at large by the manifolde circumstances and certaine other thinges towcheing the occasion offered AN other point of the diuelles
in remembraunce in his absence That they had thys mattier in no admiration is an euidente argumente that they dyd take it for no suche straunge miracle aboue all miracles as you do make it for the circumstauÌ„ces as we haue largely spoken before and for the plainenesse of the wordes we merueyle why you wyll darcke them wyth your termes of reallie carnallie and suche other Why you â—yâ—de gloses sayinge Thys is in the fourme qualities quantities and accidentes of breade and do not saye playnely this breade is the bodie of Christ God and man This cuppe is the selfe same new testament that God dyd swere by him selfe he woulde perfourme vnto Abraham And euen lyke as the â—uppe is not the testament but the signe of the testament made before vnto the fathers and nowe perfourmed in the death of Christe the vnspotted lambe so thys breade whiche we see is not the fleshe of Christe gyuen for the lyfe of the worlde For then the worlde myghte haue bene saued and the synnes done awaye by the offeryng of the bread longe before Christ â—ad suffered For you do moste blasphemouslie teache that the offeringe of the same breade doeth take awaye synnes notwythstandynge that Christe hath by his owne onelie sufferynge fullie satisfied and taken them awaye But to your wordes agayne I thinke it much better to pretermitte further occasion of that myght be my prayse to expounde vnto you the scriptures Byshoppe Stephane You neede very litle to feare thys mattier For I neuer harde man prayse you nor but fewe of your felowes for expoundynge of the scriptures But for burnynge them I heare many men talke muche of you and saye it is no meâ—ueyle thoughe you hate them because you were broughte vp in the Popes lawe who in his moste highe holynesse treadeth the holie worde of God vnder his wicked feete In the bryngynge in of your greke authour where you taunte them that loue not your Popishe bablynge in the latine tonge that no man vnderstandeth sclaunderynge them that they loue not the latine tonge wherein no doubte they laboure more and are greater fartherers then you can or wyll be it myghte ryghte well haue bene passed ouer wyth silence if you had loued your owne honestie For you and all the Popishe Prelates in the worlde are not able to iustifie it that you shoulde thus babble before the people in a tonge they do not vnderstande if we moghte be hearde wyth indifferent iustice But you haue the worlde on your syde because you are of the worlde and the worlde loueth his owne And the lyghte is comen into the worlde but man loueth darckenesse more then the lyghte It muste needes be trewe that Christe oure maister sayeth to the Prelates before your tyme. The worlde can not hate you but me it hateth because I do wytuesse of it that the worckes of it be euyll ⧠The answeare to Doctoure Damascen whom Wynchester rehearseth in greke FOr the testimonie of Damascen whoÌ„ you brynge in as your chiefe wytnes thys I haue to saye Fyrste he is a suspected person beynge at the tyme when the Pompe of the Romayne byshoppe or Antichriste beganne to exalte hym selfe aboue euerie thynge that was god and godlie Secondly he maynteyned Idolatrie with suche contention that he deserued to haue his ryghte hande stryken of and hanged in the markette place as an open offender â—oeth in that crime and other whereof he was before the Emperoure Leo accused and condemned Thyrdelie you woulde mayuteyne his honestie by the wytnesse of an honeste man Ecolampadius But we discharge you of thys testimonie euen-by the testimonie of the same Ecolampadius in the begynnynge of his boke whiche he dyd wryte concernynge the wordes of the supper and reproued your blindenesse euen by your owne Doctours I am not mynded sayed thys greate Clerke Ecolampadius who translated your Doctoure Dasmascen to accuse and publyshe to theyr shame Thomas Aquinates neyther Alberte nor yet Dunsse nor any of the newe fellowes but Peter the patcher of the seÌ„tences whom they call theyr maister who also hath rubbed his erroure vpon other that patche vp other mennes wrytynges As Damascen and Gracian dyd Agayne a little after Peraduenture Damascen and other that folowed hym wryte in suche sorte but the reader that is wyse can be little moued thereby For he doeth by many argumentes declare hym selfe neyther to be sounde nor substantiall Agayne Lyke as Paule sayed When I was a chylde I dyd speake lyke a chylde sayth he When I had small knowledge and had all thynges in admiration wythout iudgemente I dyd wryte some thynges whiche nowe I do not onely not defende but I wyshe them abolyshed and burned if they be vnprofitablie published in any place and if I obteine my desire therein I wyll be glad and reioyce By lyke thys boke of Damascene whiche he had translated was one of them whiche he dyd not greatly allowe for it was not publyshed whylse Ecolampadius lyued but after his death within these sixe yeres Surely Augustine in that he made a boke of retractations wyllynge vs to receyue the wrytynges of no manne farther then they are agreable to the scriptures maye teache vs ryghte well that we maye refuse Damascene I wyll therefore aske none of your fellowes whether you be an honeste man But I wyll trye boeth Damascene and all your Doctours by the infallible testimonie of the worde of God And because you do defende hym wyth a miracle we put you out of doubte suche lyinge miracles openlie maynteynynge Idolatrie ' cause vs to gyue the lesse credite vnto hym For Christe sayeth that Antichriste shall come wyth wonders and lyinge signes in suche sorte that the verie electe if it were possible shall be deceyued Wherefore sayeth Christe if they saye lo here is Christe lo there is Christe beleue them not etc. Ireneus wrytynge agaynste heresies at the begynnynge of thys iuglynge aboute thys Sacramente in his tyme wytnesseth that there was one Marcus Magnus the scholar of Valentyne the heretike whyche puttynge mixed wyne into the chalice dyd fayne hym selfe to gyue thankes therewyth and caused the wyne to chaunge coloure sometyme redde and sometyme purple by longe multipliyng of his enchaunting wordes that grace from aboue myghte seme to droppe downe bloude into his chalice by his inuocation And therfore he did couet that they which were present should tast of that cup that the grace whiche was called downe by hys enchauntment might also drope vpon them Again he gaue â—uppes of mixed wine vnto women coÌ„maundeinge them to geue thankes in hys presens And when they had so done he toke a muche greater chalise than the other which he had geuen to the woman and poured out of the cupe wherin the Eucharistia and thaÌ„kes geueing of the womaÌ„ was made into the other greater cup and reherseing his charmes he caused the grater cup to be filled wyth the wine that was in the cup that was
that all such be put out from amonge my people And who so euer wilnot repēt this grosse errour beinge admonished be it knowen vnto them that they are not of my shepe For my shepe do heare my voice And being once raysed wyth my voice they wyll folowe no straunger but wil with open voice crie vnto the straunger and say Oh Idole shepeherde Al this haue I spokē because I your god am so opēly cōtemned and a weaks Idol embraced Gyue eare nowe and herken what I shal saye for my sonne whō I sent to be your sauiour and the onely sacrifice that can take awaye synne in my sight You make hym of none effect that so you maye establishe your owne glorious workes and sacrifices I was and am fully cōtented and satisfied wyth the offering of his body once done What neede is there then of your lyeinge sacrifice If his onely sacrifice be ynough as it is ynough more then ynough to satisfie for al what nedeth you to sacrifice and offer him vp again Wyl you or cā you kyl him againe For that which is sacrificed must needs be slayne and wythout bloude can there be no remission of sinnes I know your hertes bloudy bishops by the betrayinge of him whē he was in the earth amonge you nowe by the brennyng of his worde by the tirānous destroyinge of his flocke which wolde cal againe the memorie of his passiō which you haue extinguished wyth your sacrifice for the quycke the dead making it a cloke for your couetousnes and a buckler for the pompe and rigorous authoritie you chalendge ouer my litle flocke I appointed him priest according to the ordre of Melchisedech without successoure or felow I anointed him with the spiritual oile of my spirite that I mighte haue a bishop to offre vnto me sacrifice which should be pure and without spot whiche shoulde not neede many times to offer or to be offered but makinge al thynges perfecte by one onely offeringe of him selfe vnto me his father and by his bloude which all other sacrifices so oft iterated and repeted as thinges vnperfect dyd onelie signifie In this my dearly beloued sonne is my delyte He is the greate bishop whiche once for all hath entered into the place most holie And beinge founde lyke one of you in althings sinne only excepted he hath now penetrated and passed throughe into the heauens there to be your bishop for euer to offer hym selfe alwayes for you in my syghte by whom you maye come to the throne of my grace to haue healpe by tyme. If you wyl seeke any other bishoppe to offre for yo◠I tell you he is poluted and muste firste offre for hym selfe And because of the imperfection that is in hym he can not please me nor pacifie forhim selfe Yea you may also perceiue that his offeryng is vnperfecte or els should he not neede to reiterate it so oftē If you wil not be deceiued therfore sticke fast vnto the offering ofmy sōne once for all made for you And as I haue giuē him to the deth for your sakes so wyll I deny you nothinge that you aske in his name be you sure Hōse comethit that you be called christiās that Christ my sonne was for your sakes manifestly made man in the flesh was iustly declarede God by the spirite and shewed vnto the Angels and after receyued into glorie This must you beleue if you wyl be partakers of the same glorie That he was verie man as one of you are synne onely excepted conuersant vpon the earth in all humilitie care and miserie at my cōmaundemēt wherby for his obedience toward me he deserued to be ▪ crowned wyth a crown of glorie wherfore I sendynge the holye gost vnto you at his desyre whyche may teach you how you are become my chyldren by hym dyd take him vnto my selfe and raised him aboue al the heauēs euen to sitte at my ryght hand for euer Wher you shal seke him if you intende to find hime But neither here nor ther in ani corner of the earth He tolde you that he must departe from you And if you loke for my fauoure you muste not compt him a liar But wylt thou seke my sonne Lo he hath offered one offerynge for sinne and sytteth for euer at the ryght hande of me hys father lokynge for that whiche remayneth That is that hys enemies be made his fote stole And thus doeth my spirite witnes vnto you that in this my newe testamēt established in hys death your sinnes shoulde be done awaye so that I woulde no more remembre them Then if you beleue them to be forgyuen how can you offer for them any more It is a manifest token therfore that all you which wilbe styll sacrificeynge for your synnes do not beleue that they beforgeuē by the death of my sonne Christe You also whych wyll carnally and grosely eate hym and feade vpon hym as chaungeynge breade into hys fleshe can not worthly beleue vpon hym For he departeyngefrō the earth dyd cōmaund you to eate the bread of this supper which he louyngly called hys bodye for your weake remēbraunce and for the declaracion of the benefite which he then shewed vnto all the faythful beleuers in hys death and bloud shedeynge For the declaracion and remēbraunce I saye of this benefite he cōmaunded all his faythful folowers brotherly to deuide amonge them the bread and wyne so ofte as they woulde eate or drynke in the remembraunce of hym whom they shoulde not haue any longer presently conuersant amonge them For he was then commynge vnto me his father for your profyte And therfore byddeth he you do this thynge in the remēbraunce of hym wyll you then know what it is to do the worke that he commaundeth you or to worke the meate that ne neuer perisheth whiche meate he promised to geue vnto you and I haue sēt him downe and appointed hym for the same purpose If you wil knowe this worcke reade in the. vi of Iohn wher you shal learne that the worke of God is to belieue in hym whome he hath sent This is al that you can geue me This is all that I require at your handes I geue you therfore the breade of life if you can receiue it by faieth vnfainedlie That is to say trusteinge to my promise onely in the death of my sonne and to none other creature Yea my sonne is this breade of lyfe and he that cometh vnto hym shall not be hongry he that beleueth in hym shal not be thirsty And thys he tolde you was my wyll and pleasure that who so euer doeth see him and beliue in hym hath euerlasteynge lyfe For thys is the lyfe euerlasteynge to knowe me and to knowe my sonne whome I haue sent Iesu Christe By thys knoweledg do the Angelles and blessed spirites lyue reioyce and take their comfort Thys is the heauenlye fode Thys is the Manna that comethe frome heauen Therfore so muche haste
thou of euerlasteinge lyfe as thou haste of the knoweledge and fealeinge of my grace and goodnesse why che chiefely and principally was openned vnto the worlde in the sendeinge of my sonne into the worlde to be made fleshe leste al flesh should haue perished for wickednesse Thys is the breade then that comethe from heauen wherof who so eateth shal not perishe but lyue for euer And thys breade is the flesh of my sonne as it was geuen for the lyfe of the worlde for so was it a verye heauenly gifte and heauely breade comeinge frome heauen Other wayes was it but an erthly thynge and nothinge profitable For the phariseis and all the wicked that do not compt thys onely thynge to knowe me the father and my onely sonne Christe geuen for the lyfe of the worlde to be the onely saluacion therof but secke more helpe of saluacion at any creature in heauen or earth be it man saincte or Angell be it workes sacramētes or any other thynge that man can imagyne as they can not vnlesse they compt some insufficiencie and lacke in me shall not haue any parte in my sonne Christe whome they haue in so small estimacion howe grossely so euer they imagine to eate hym No to them that this slenderly and vilely esteme the hilpeinge and saueing that I haue geuen him he is the sauour of death vnto death and the stumblynge stone But vnto them that wholely and onely do cleaue vnto him feadeinge on hys bodye thus offered for the life of the worlde and drinckeinge of his bloude geuen for the remission of synnes he is the breade of lyfe hys fleshe is verie meate and hys bloude verie drinke so that you haue alwayes in mynde that it is the spirite that geueth lyfe and that the fleshe profiteth nothynge And take it for a generall lesson to vnder stande the worde of godly doctrine that the wordes which I and my sonne do teache you are spirite and lyfe And to beleue them is to eate the meate of the soule to worcke the worcke of God and therfore to haue lyfe For the ryghtuouse lyueth by hys belyefe ▪ And Abraham dyd beliue wherfore it was compted vnto hym as ryghtuousenesse before circumsicion or any other out warde sacrament was geuen hym Yea thys Abrahame maye teache you that without the regarde of any creature yea contrarye to the workeinge of all creatures thou muste belieue and be made sure of my goodnesse that thou mayeste wyth ▪ an vpryght face vp towordes the heauens saie O Lorde I haue belieued in the I shall neuer be ashamed For thys is the nature of fayth to loke strayght vp vnto me your heauenly father and to receyue at my hande by the merite of my sonne all grace fauour and goodnes Wher if you declyne asyd and appoynt your selfe meanes aydes and helpes of any creature otherwise thē I haue cōmaunded you must be compted miscreāts mistrustinge my goodnes Here falleth the Iustice that you seke for by your workes and sacramentes and here ariseth the Iustice of fayeth which is onely acceptable in my sight For Israell in the olde tyme folow ynge theyr lawes of righteousnes by their workes sacramentes and ceremoneis coulde not come to ryghteousnesse And wherfore I praye you Because they did not followe ther vpon by faieth but onelie by workes of the lawe They stombled at the stomblinge stone as it is written Lo I will put in Sion a stombling stone and a stone to fall vpō who so beleueth in him shal not be ashamed Because they haue beleued they haue attained this righteousnes which is of faieth of whiche if they will follow and not forsake they shall neuer suffer shame This faith one lie in the seede promised and no signe or sacrament was it that refreshed your first father Adain Neither was ther any other signe geuen vnto Achas but that a virgine shoulde cōceiue a child whiche by an holy and pure byrth of the holy gofle myght take awaye and purifie the corrupt byrth of the olde Adaine and deliuer the house of Iuda from the bloudie Sennacherib Vnto the whyche signe you must alwayes loke for you shall haue none other signe of saluacion but the signe of Ionas the prophete All the Israelites drinckeinge of the same spirituall drincke and eateinge of the same spirituall meate that you do for it is all one fayeth that saueth you boeth euen as I am all one God and no chauncelinge dyd in their lambe vnspotted feade and take comfort of no signe or sacramēt but onely of the bloude of our vnspotted lambe whyche I had promised to sende into the worlde For by the strayght commaundementes and son drye charges whyche my seruant Moyses dyd geue them for the choseynge and eateynge of thys lambe they dyd perceiue a thynge far more spirituall then coulde be finished in so grosse a banket Much more thē the Apostles of my sonne beynge vsed to suche spirituall feadeinges myght perceiue what my sonne ment in abolisheinge of the olde ceremonies of the lambe and cōmaundynge a newe memorie to be made of hys bodie geuen for them and hys bloude shed for the remission of synnes and for to delyuer vs frome the helly Pharao They dyd knowe that thys worde of the promise whiche is geuen for you shoulde be fulfylled vpon the crosse and therfore ought not to be applyed vnto any sacramēt It is not the offering of ani signe or sacramēt that I regarde but the osferinge of my sonne vpon the crosse whiche you muste by your sacramentes shewe your selues to haue in perpetuall memorie as the onely lyfe whereby your soules can liue Lyke as they also had learned before of the Prophetes that the Messias whome I shoulde sende shoulde be striken for the synnes of the people and then shoulde be exalted and sende hys gyftes plentuouslye from aboue spoyleinge all hys enimies wyth triumphe Thys dyd my sonne beate in theyr eares But he neuer tolde them of any such chaunges of bread into his flesh such carnall consecracions as you do teach wherin you wyll haue that without any profite my son christ shold come downe frō my bosome into your breade and Chalice blowen and blessed by your inuencion and worke so great a miracle without eyther necessitie or profite Haue you not inough that you haue euerlastinge life by hym ▪ hathe not he humbled him selfe lowe inough that he hath become manne for your sakes and died for your sinnes What woulde you haue more of him would you that he shoulde take the forme of breade for your sakes what are you the better if he so did Yea how much the worse should you be This is one thinge you shoulde brynge the veritie of his bodie into suspicion for that it should go and come so like a spirite which is no small hinderaunce to the perfection of your kinde For mine intēt was whē I made my sonne man to haue iust occasiō therby to
god and his sonne Christ but euerlasting damnation For this is lyfe Euerlastinge to knowe the true God and whoÌ„ he hath sent Ihesu Christ TheÌ„ must it nedes be euerlasting death thus blasphemously to Iudge of them bothe He that beleuethe in me hathe Euerlastinge lyfe saithe Christ we do thus beleue on the sone of god therfore haue we this witnesse within our selues And seing we haue life euerlastynge and are made the chyldren of God by the testimony of the spirite we do seke no farther merite But this worde merite is one of our iugling termes wherewyth you blynde the people You promise merite for your matteÌ„s merite for your masse merite for your eatynge of fishe merite for al maner holines that you haunte Worshippinge of Images Creping to the crosse Setting vp of Candles and all our workes must be done for our merites so that the merites of Christe who onely hath deserued euerlasting life for vs is cleane for gotten and fordone Agayne you saye A good true christian beleuinge man knoweth this by faithe that god is inuiolable impassible incorruptible immortall and that our sauiour the seconde persone in trinitie verie god haueing the humayne nature now vnite to the godhed whiche beinge glorified can not any more suffer violence or corruptioÌ„ nor be violated or brought to mortalitie All thys is playne agaynst your owne doctrine for seinge that the bodie of bread is cleane gone and yet there remaineth a body that the mouse or ape catcheth in his mouthe or eâ—s they coulde not carie it awey What shal we conclude by your doctrine but that the mouse or ape runneth awaye wyth that bodie whiche by your enchauntment is conceiued into the place of the bread which blasphemously do name the body of Christ coÌ„secrated into the fourme of breade But you do answere that lyke as Christ wheÌ„ he was here in the fleshe dyd fyrst escape the handes of Herode when he slewe the chyldren and afterwarde the furious Iewes when they woulde haue precipitate hym transiens per medium illorum ibat Christe escapped thorowe the middest of them So doth he nowe saye you Your similitude is euyll applied For besydes that there is no comparison of Christe comynge in the fleshe for the wealth of the world vnto the bread thus altered for your pompe and pryde we knowe and Ioseph and Mary do wytnesse vnto vs that they knewe and perceyued by the benifite of theyr senses that thys same oure Sauioure Christe was in shape a very man And we knowe also by the testimonies of the scriptures that he continued here very man in fourme and shape beinge subiected vnto all our infirmities synne alwaye excepted for the space of xxx yeres and more and that then he suffered death and rose agayne his fleshe neyther being consumed nor putrified but styll remayneth fleshe incorruptible and immortal Where as in the fourme of bread wherein you say we see hym and eate him we perceyue neither incorruption nor immortalitie For it neuer continueth paste the date of one moneth if you incurre not the daunger of your fathers decrees and commonly not one quarter of an houre muche after the rate of the dayly newe created monstros of whoÌ„ Aristotle maketh meÌ„tion Who doubtles if he had harde of these monstrous gods made and marred all in an houre woulde haue wrytten wonders vnto his posteritie If the cakes were preserued from corruption and dyd continewe styl immortal as Christ his fleshe did then woulde your similitude in these two miracles serue you somewhat better But seing that your cakes do mould and corrupte and his fleshe escaped Herode and the handes of his enemies and coulde neuer see any corruption thys your similitude proueth that those cakes of yours can by no meanes be his naturall body These two miracles therfore as all his other were done to declare hym to be subiecte to no power of man but to worke all his workes so that no man can lette and hyndre ought that he hath determined to be done but you must wrest all that you can to cloke your Sophistrie wythall Nowe your affirmation of xv hundred yeres wythout any proufe but only because you say so hath ben answered by many learned men As â—adinius EcolaÌ„padius Zwin glius and other prouing by your doctours that the true fayth and spirituall vnderstandyng of thys mattier continued longe in the best sorte of them Howe be it surely I wyll graunt this much vnto you that this blinde grosse and carnall opinion of the carnall eatyng of Christe hath ben crept vp euer sence the deuyl was lowsed This thousaÌ„de yeres that thys enemy hath troubled the worlde wyth popishe pompe and pryde keepynge and lockyng vp the worde of God from vs God hath not destituted and forsaken but hath alwayes from tyme to time steared vp witnesses of his truth whom partly the popishe haue slayne but some God hath reserued and alwayes the good simple people haue had theyr eyes vnto the lyuynge God in heauen what so euer the priest dyd babble of thys his owne haÌ„dy worke Neither could those termes of your straite lawes really substaÌ„tially the chaunge of the bread so that â—here remayne onely accidentes wythout subiecte and consecration into the quantitie and qualitie of breade euer be vnderstande of the pore simple people For those termes do sprynge and haue their beginnyng of the schole learnyng and Sophistrie as all men of knowledge can testify with me and were neuer gyuen in coÌ„maundemeÌ„t to thys bloudy generation to be deliuered vnder payne of death It were but foly to striue with you concerning your doctours Howe they haue in ordre and course by litle and litle fallen from the trueth in thys and other thynges For it is no merueile though you caÌ„ expound your doctours to maynteyne your opinion seinge you dare be so bolde to cause Christes wordes to serue for your carnall purpose I entende not therfore to brynge in any proufe of doctours but only of the worde of God leauyng you to your doctours to trye them at leasure But thys one thynge I shal desire you To bringe some apparant proufe of your termes and I promise you it shall be answered Good men be neuer offended wyth the breakynge of the hoste beinge persuaded Christes body to be present in the sacrament really and materially whereunto wyth worshippinge they dyd lift vp their handes and nothinge doubted but God was impassible â—e vsed not to mistâ—uste God his immortalitie when they haue sene a sicke man receyue the sacrament a quarter of an houre before his naturall death as though in that maÌ„ the hoste consecrated wherin the body of Christ is preseÌ„t should wyth Gods iniury moulde or corrupte wast or consume Here is muche mattier offered but that I perceyue my selfe to tary somwhat to longe vpon your occasions Who shall trye theâ—e good men therfore but eueÌ„ the boke of wisedome where it is sayed Blessed be
of the fleshe nor by the wyll of man but are borne of God as Peter sayeth Borne againe not of mortall seede but by the worde of the lyuinge God This is the milke not of the bodie saieth Peter but it is the meate and milke of the soule that knoweth no gile Thus renneth all the scripture by metaphors and borowed speache from bodilie meate to spirituall meate from the bodilie teeth and eatinge to the spirituall eatinge by the soule whiche can be done by faith onely So that he whiche is not borne from aboue of the spirite can neither see the kingdome of God nor come vnto Christe let him eate the breade wherein you saye is really the fleshe so longe as you luste For this muste needes be true That whiche is borne of the fleshe is fleshe and that whiche is borne of the spirite is spirite Euen like as Moyses set vp the serpent in the wildernesse that so many as woulde come vnto it mighte be saued from the firie serpentes so likewise was the sonne of man exalted that al that do beleue in him shoulde not perishe but haue euerlasting life Againe So hath God loued the worlde that he hath giuen his onely sonne that who so beleueth in him shall not perishe but haue life euerlastinge Againe He that beleueth in him shall not be condemned And he that beleueth not in him is condemned all readie because he beleued not in the name of the onely begotten sonne of God Thus may we see that fayth and not eaâ—…inge of Christ really in the sacrament doeth â—…aue and bringe life euerlasting And not to â—…eleue in the onely begotteÌ„ sonne of God is â—…amnation of bodie and soule So is it not to â—…enie your gloses really present and bodilie â—…aten Yea mainteininge this grosse opinion â—…ou can not esteme him to be the sonne of the â—…uinge God nor beleue the worke that his â—…ather hath wronght in his death For God the father dyd not sende hys â—…ne in the fourme of breade or any other creature but onely in the fourme of man to the entent to exalt man therby to make man of his householde to giue life vnto man by his sonne Christe to raise him againe wyth Christe and cause him to sit together wyth Christ amonge the heauenly spirites And to shewe furth in the worlde to come the passing richesse of his grace in his godnesse towardes vs by Christe Iesu We beleue in the onely begotten sonne whiche was made man to saue the worlde â–ª wherefore we can not be condemned though we do seeke none other straunge beliefe of really present and bodisie eaten to feede the bodies whiche thinges are not taught in the scriptures You do not beleue in the onely begotten sonne made man but made breade to take awaye sinnes wherfore vnlesse you do repent your daÌ„natioÌ„ is at hande because you beleue not in the name of the onely begotten sonne of God whiche is the onely begotten sonne as he is man coÌ„ceiued by the holie goste and borne of the virgin Mary not as he is bread blowen with your stinkinge breathes Neither is he the onely begotteÌ„ sonne of God as he is wine whispered into your chalice Howe do you beleue in this name the only begotten sonne of God wheÌ„ the scripturâ—… teacheth you that there is none other name vnder heauen wherby men should be saued and yon do saye that there is an other thinge whiche some name the Masse and some the sacrament of the aultare that saueth from sinnes and is a sacrifice boeth for the quicke and the deade and as your man Damascen wryteth it purgeth all diseases and incommodities Furthermore We do beleue that Iesu Christe is the Christ that is the anoynted of God to offre the sacrifice wherewyth onely the father coulde be pleased and therefore are we borne of God You do say that you are the Christes and anointed priestes to offer styll for the sinnes of the people Who is your father but he that woulde darken the sacrifice of the onely begotten sonne of God and sit in the temple of God boasting him selfe for God being in deede the aduersarie and is lifted vp agaynst euerie thinge that is God or godly the wycked man the cursed childe Againe God the father sayed this is my dearly besoued sonne in whoÌ„ I am pleased and pacified heare you him We beleue this worde and wyll seeke no further but to thys onely begotten dearly beloued sonne of God Neither to pacifie the wrath of God for oure trespasses nor yet to seeke any other teacher of his wyll then the sonne of God whom we are commaunded to heare You wyll sette vp the Masse your owne worke to pacifie the father for the sinnes of the quicke the deade You wyll haue your owne doctours to descant newe gloses and these must the pore flocke of Christ heare beleue and confesse or els they shall be brent But to heare Christe the onely begotten sonne of god speake in the scriptures is poyson to al men vnder the degree of gentlemen and punishable by your lawes as in the cases of heresie What call you this but to make the onely begotten sonne of God an hereticke Call you thys the beleuynge in his name Thus maye we proue that you beleue in the Popes name whose lawes and wrytynges are reserued of certeyue men for certeyue purposes and are as muche practised and more stoutely defended then any thynge that Christ coÌ„maundeth Yea howe can we thinke but that you beleue more in the Pope when you defende his Actes more styfly then the lawes of the lyuynge God What if it shoulde be proclamed that no maner boke concernynge any parte of the Popes reâ—igion shoulde be broughte into the Realme and that al those which are brought in alreadie shoulde be brent coulde you byshopnes beare this thynge so guietly as you dyd diligently laboure to haue all sâ—che bokes of christen religion brent and banished But to make an ende where we beganne Iohn sayeth that euerie spirite that contelleth Christe to be comen in the fleshe is borne of God Thys do we conâ—esse that denie him to be come in breade wherefore we be borne of God And thus beleâ—ing in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 oâ—ten sonne of God we can not be condemned But that spirite whiche doeth not confesse Christe to be comen in the fleshe is not of God And thys is the spirite of Antichriste of whom you haue hearde that he shal come and he is in the worlde alreadie Nowe seinge that we so many of vs as confesse Christe to be come in the fleshe be borne of God why shoulde nor we for the glorie of oure heauenly father aâ—d for oure saluation be so readie to laye downe oure soules in the faythfull handes of his câ—…todie as the spirite of Antichriste and the chyldren of this worlde are to speake 〈◊〉 â—or the mainteinaunce of Ido atric â—he kingdom of Antichrist to their owne 〈◊〉 â—amnation Worldly Pompe and
as in all hys other preacheinges and scripturs so heare he calleth to the heauenly â—ateinge wherby we haue lyfe and at once stoppeth the mouth of carnal iudgmeÌ„ts How you do examine this texte it shall be opened when we come to the place In the meane ceason we wyl take this text the fleshe auaileth nothynge wyth out any contencion onely to driue awaie the grosse opinion of the Capernits and all such as styke to muche to the fleshe and can not lyfte vp their heades to the misteries of the spirite for the whiche purpose these wordes were spoken by Christe and not to thincke that Christe whose worckes were al wayes profitable woulde teache any suche wayes or do any suche deades as were nothynge profitable vnto man For no man I dare well saye is able to proue any more profite by the fleshe bodily eaten in the sacramente than wee haue in scripture graunted vnto vs whiche do worshipe hym and eate hym in spirite and trueth Let vs therfore consider the greate goodnesse of our sauiour Christ in thys sacrameÌ„t Who beinge the verie lambe that taketh awaye the â—…es of the worlde caused al the Iewes ceremonies to cease and their passeouer to haue an ende and therfore saieth that he hath greatly disired to eat thys passeouer that the promises of God the father concerneâ—ge thys newe testameâ—t might be fullfilled Namely that the sede of the woman shoulde breake the heade of the serpent That by thys sede all the nacions of the earth shalbe blessed That the saluacion and sauiour of the worlde shoulde be declared the light of the heathen and the glorie of Israell published Al these thinges were fulfilled in hys passion and suffereinge accordinge to hys owne saieinge Whan I shalbe exalted from the earth I shall drawe all vnto my selfe And when he had dronken that bitter drinke vpon the crose he saied that all was finished and fulfilled All these thinges together do we receiue in the supper of the Lorde whiche he dyd therfore celebrate and make the nyght before he suffred for to enstructe hys Apostles more deapelie in these great misteries of the saluacion of the whose worlde by hys death wherin he would geue him selfe frely vnto them and therefore dyd he testifie vnto them the selfe same thinge be fore hande in thys holie sacrament And because the life of the rightuouse standeth here in that they beleue in the same he geueth charge that they haue hys death in remembraunce saiâ—inge Thys is my bodie whiche is geuen for you do thys in the remeÌ„braunce of me Likewyse the cup after he had supped sâ—â—einge This cup is the newe testament in my bloude which is shed for you That like as by thys sensible meate corporall lambe whiche they had eaten in theyre supper their bodies was nourished cherished and streghned â–ª so by this spiritual lambe and heauenly meate bi this blessed memorie â–ª I saie wherby we knowe that oure sauiour and redemer Christ Ieâ—â— died for vs that we might liue are our soules certified that the same oure sauiour dyd so clearely take awaye our trespasses that hys father wyll nowe take vs for his children and heires and geue vs frely euerlasteinge lyffe Wyth thys therfore we maye continually fede oure soules that they encreaseinge in full fayeth of goddes mercie whiche is the lyfe of the rightuouse myght be nourished growe and encrease to the full age of a perfect man in Christe Iesu If you marke the wordes of Christe wyth a singuler eye you shalbe coÌ„pelled to grauÌ„te these two thynges onely to be taught therin That Christ gaue hys bodie for vs and eoÌ„maunded vs to do thys thinge That is to take and to eate thys Accipite et manducate The wordes are plaine do thys in the remembraunce c. For by what scripture maye it be fouÌ„de true that you do glose saieinge God dyd consecrate hym selfe into accideÌ„tes qualites of breade And that you shoulde make God in the remembraunce of God in mine opinion is agaynst reasone I maye saye and raile not it is a made heresie Christe sayeth Take and eate He geueth no prieste powre to consecrate and to make his bodie neither with his worde nor by his worde And thys whiche is the chiefe pointe of your newe beldame whyche you establishe wyth the fire we require you for the loue of Christe if you â—eale any thynge of hys mercies either to proue it by some scripturs whiche I knowe is impossible for you or else to call backe your tiranye You haue no worde of God wher vp on onely fayeth maye be gâ—ownded that commaundeth you once to repeâ—e these wordes agayne Thys is mi bodie much lesse are you able to proue that these wordes at any tyme repeted and rehersed by any one of you shoulde chaung the nature of thynges and not onely worke in creatures but also in the creatoure and maker of all God and man whose maiestie ought rather to be praised and had in admiracion than thus vnreuerenly to be taingled wyth your transsubstanciacion whyche is muche after the arte of magike thus by prescript wordes to worcke wonders God hath appoynted hys holy worde to be preacheâ— to vs reasonnable creaturs and that moste especially in this sacrament as the most sure token of our saluacion As it is plaine by the wordes of Paule So ofte as you shal eate thys breade sayeth he and drinke of thys cup you shall shewe forthe the death of the Lorde vnto that he come So that it is ouer muche shame to vse Christes worde as an enchauntmeÌ„t ouer deade creaturs to chaung them no man can tell howe to call downe Christe into breade to bringe hym into the chalice Where he beinge a whyle blessed and blowene wyth your stinkeinge breathes shall taâ—ie so longe a god as it shall please man yea and that scant an honest man sometymes Surely it maketh vs leude people to thinke that you do not take him as a God when we se you so vnreuerently breathe oa him make himâ—…eape about the chalice break hym â—…nd that nothinge after the institucion wherin we shoulde all together be partetakers of the breade and cup of Christe for the foode of oure soules And where as the stength of your sophistrie lieth in the blinde worde consecracion whych you do not leâ—ne here of Christ but you thinke you maie haue some cloke because it is reade that Iesus when he dyd take the breade in hande blessed and breake it you shal heaâ—… an answere I truste that maye satisfie any herte that is not bent vpon contencion In al places wher Christ dyd take breade in hys handes he blessed and gaue thankes as it appeareth Iohn vi and Luke ix where as we reade the same wordes that he hath at thys supper as the treade of hys commone vsage wherby we shall lerne to blesse renowme praise god alwayes to geue him humble thankes wheÌ„ so euer we do vse any
of hys benifites That this blesseinge is nothynge but a thankes geueinge to God the father and no suche coÌ„secracion as you do mataine Mathewe and Luke maye satisfie you Whoe haue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is geueinge thankes Wheras Mark hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And agayne when he spake of the cuâ— he hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to blesse and to geue thankes are all one Wherfore suche cousecracion as you make when you saye God consecrateth hym selfe can not be grounded here But you blinde the people wyth your darcke termes to blinde vs styl captiues vn der your tirannie The worde of thys heauenly supper maye clearely driue awaie al dreames if they were deapely considered wythout your gloses Wherfore I wyll reherse them out of the euangelistes and the Apostle Paule the wonderfull opener of goddes secretes Firste Christe when the Apostles were eateinge dyd take the breade and when he had geuen thaÌ„kes he dyd breake it and gaue it to hys disciples and sayed Take eate this is my bodie And when he toke the cup also he did geue thankes and gaue it vnto them saieing drinke al of this This is my bloude whyche is of the newe testament whyche is shed for many in the remission of synnes I saye vnto yon I wyll not after thys tyme drinke of the fruite of the vyne vnto that daye that I shall drinke it newe wyth youâ—… the kyngedome of my father Agayne As they dyd eate sayeth Marke Iesus toke the breade gaue thankes brake it and sayed Take eate thos is my bodie And he toke the cup thanked and gaue it them and they dyd all drinke therof And he sayed vnto them thys is my bloude of the newe testament whyche shalbe shed for many Verely I saye vnto you that from heuse fourth I wyll not drinke of the fruite of the vine vnto the daye that I drinke it newe in the kingedome of God In Luke thus we reade I haue with great desier desired to eate this passouer with you be fore I suffer For I saye vnto you that heuse forth I wyll no more eate therof tyll it be fulfilled in the kingdome of God And he toke the cup gaue thaÌ„ges and saied Take thys and deuide it amonges you For I saye vnto you I wyll not drinke of the fruite of the vyne vnto the kingedome of God do come And he toke the breade and gaue thankes and brake it and gaue it vnto them and saiede This is my bodie whiche shalbe geueÌ„ for you This do ye in the remembraunce of me Lykewise the cup after they had supped and sayed Thys cup is the newe testament in my bloude whyche shalbe shed for you Here be al the wordes of the Euangelistes concerning the last supper of the Lord wherin you do not heare one word that the priest by reherseinge of these wordes shall make God either that Christe is materially and bodily tourned into a fourme of breade or that God doeth tourne hym selfe and consecrate hym as you cal it into the quantities of breade neither any other of those blaphemies that you defende so with tirany That the lewde man shoulde receiue it but in one kind vpon paine of death though you haue pertily excused the matier saieâ—…ge that wee â—ewde soles wyll not haue it Ah shall we suffer you thus to captiue vs still We are captiues in deede For we must ransome ful largely if we either speake writte or kept a-any boke of christian religion contrarie to your popeishe doctrine But as you tender the helth of your soules deare brethern who so euer shall reade thys speede you to the scriptures of God and make them iudges boeth of those mens gloses my writtinges Whan they woulde iuggle with this worde consecrate remeÌ„bre â–ª the wordes of the Euan gelist that he blessed or gaue thankes for all is one thinge as it is proued WhaÌ„ they wil saye no more but thys is my bodie and leue out the chiefe purpose and conforte set furth in thys supper that is whyche is geuen for you then saye We wyll eate heare the bodie that was geuen for vs vnto death which Mari Magdalen might not touche whiche is gone into heauen and as you saye your selfe is not come downe agayne But ther sitteth at the right hande of the father as the scripture recordeth and fayth beleueth from whence he shal come to iudge the quicke and the deade â–ª In whose remembraunce we must do thys sheweinge forth his death as Paule saieth tyll he come The whiche wordes vntyll he come and doeâ—…ge it in the remembraunce of Christe maye plainely declare what is ment by all to gether Besides this wheÌ„ it is named bread wine and the fruite of the grape after that Christ had blessed why shall one set Christe to the schole and tell hym he lieth But if he come into Englande a monge the popeishe prelates they wyll teache him to lerne it other wyse Heare is no sophistrie but eternal tiranie Marke therefore the ende intent purpose of these Christes wordes and doeinges and theÌ„ shal eueri thing be easie and plain vn to vs. Thys maye be shewed by these wordes in boeh the parâ—es of the misteries plainly added which was geuen for you Which shalbe shed for the remission of sinnes Bi the whyche wordes we can not denie but that Christe taught that he woulde die for vs. And where he addeth as the ende of altogether doe thys in the remeÌ„braunce of me this is the cup of the newe testameÌ„t in my bloud what other thing can we lerne but that this is the newe testameÌ„t and couenaunt of grace bitwen God and vs that he wil haue mercie vpon his for the bloud of his soÌ„ne â–ª And that we ought to kepe thys in perpetual remembraunce Nowe seâ—ge that these wordes do leade vs vnto these thinges hys deads must of good congruence worke thesame And therfore doeth the breake breade and geue it to be eaten commaundeinge the cuppe to be drunken Whyche deades dyd in maner represent before the eyes of the disciples the thynges that he had spoken euen in lyke maner as we se it generally vsed in all contractes and couenauntes of greate wayght and valewe which are made without warde signes as represeÌ„tations of the same to the eyes of all men and cleare testimonies for remembraunce of couenauntes to be performed Nowe where as they wyll not speke al the text but sticke in these iiii wordes oneli this is my bodie answere thou againe that thou beleuest it to be the verie bodie euen as thou beleuest the cuppe to be the newe testament But for as muche as the chaunge of any of these creaturs can not be taught â—i any scriptures thou canst in no case beleue it For thy faith asketh the word of god Wherfore saye thou I wyl stick to the worde of Christ that the
be deceiued wythout the helpe of reasone set in man to be their lady and masters and wyth hir helpe they maye iudge of all bodily and sensible creatures muche more are they able to iudge of breade their continuall obiect dayely offered vnto them wherin not one sense but the sigh taste smelle and feleinge doe wittnesse together reasone approueth and alloweth theyr iudgment and faythfully established in the worde of God affirmeth the same Christe hym selfe as we haue sayed calleth it â—reade and wynne Paul to the Corth â–ª calleth it breade that we breake and sayeth that weaâ—e one bread and one bodie so many as are pertakers of the same breade Againe in the. xi So ofte as we â—ate thâ—s brâ—ode and drinke thys cup we shewe the death of the Lorde vnto he come Therfore who so â—ateth this bread drinketh this cup vnworthily is gilty of the bodye and bloude of the Lorde Let a man proue hym selfe therfore and so eaâ—e of this breade and drinke of thys cuppe Agayne in the Actes of the Apostles Thei coâ—…ed in the doctrine of thapostles In feloweshipe and breakynge of breade Againe he was knowne vnto them in breakeinge of breade Luke xxiiii dayely continuinge with one accorde in the teÌ„ple and brake bread froÌ„ house to house oure sences also do one after other beare witnesse hereunto We heare Christ and his apostles saye This is bread We smell tast and feale it to be breade We se it is breade and so coÌ„clude â—i reasone after thys sorâ—e The baker dyd bake it as breade before it was put to thys vse and in this vse it is nothyng chaunged froÌ„ the kind of bread for it musteth mouldeth and wil be eateÌ„ of â—…sse as other breade wyl Wherfore we be inge enstructed firste by liâ—… fayeth and thaÌ„ by our senses ruled by reasone dare boldelye conclude thys same to be breade If you myght leade captiue all these three â–ª then shoulde we folowe where you woulde haue vs as oure fathers haue done before As for the misteries and principles of our religion wherof you saye we stande greate neade to be taught â–ª you teache fâ—ll slender lie that is to saye onely wyth a sentence of doctour and a verse songe in the churche But we knowe that so many of them as be corporal and therfore sensuall it hath pleased God so to wrocke them that the verie senses maie perceiue them and therfore be as a testimonie of our fayeth beareinge witnesse of their trueth Nowe as for the misterie of the Trinitie and the vnitie of godhed you do know full well they are not in the numbre of sensible and bodilie thinges and therfore can in no wyse be offerred vnto the sâ—ses wherfore it is no good proffe to iudge them vnable to declare vnto our reasone what is breade and what is wine because the can not attain to that wherwyth they maye by no meanes meddle Or to thynke them not murtified in other thynges because thei witnesse heare agaynste you But you go aboutte to slander vs as thought we dyd not beleue We knowe by our fayeth grounded vpon the boke of Genesis and all other scriptures settinge forth the almyghtie powre of God teacheinge vs to belieue in God the father almyghtie maker of heauen an erth and in hys onely begotten sonne oure Lorde Iesus Christe who was coÌ„cerned by the holy gost and borne of the virgine Marie wherin resteth the chiefe poynte of religion and onely saluacion So sone as he came into the worlde ther were called to wittenesse three herdemen or shepeherdes and three wyse men out of the easte to se wyth theire eyes and testifie vnto other thys the cheife misterie of oure religion that Christe was come in the fleshe bisides the resorte of the men of Bethlehem to se theyr sauioure wyth theyr eyes and the plaine testimonie of Simion saieinge Now haue mine eies sene thy saueing helth More ouer Christ thus comeinge in the fleshe was bodily present in the syght and eyes of al the worlde the space of xxx yeres and what so euer miracle he wrought in the dodient appeared to the eyes and outwarde senses As when he chaunged water into wyne streigh waye it appeared wyne to all the outwarde senses Inlyke maner such as Christe healed bodeli were thei lame blind or lazar streigth waye they appeared whole And so conseqeÌ„tly in all the miracles that Christ wrought in sensible thinges bodilie they so appeared vnto oure senses Whan he raysed Lazar us froÌ„ death to lyffe it was not countertaite for he dyd eate and drinke in the sight of all men So lykewyse when Christe suffered moste paynefull death in the syght of the whole world vnder ponce Pilate he was crucified deade and buried that no eie or tonge shoud wittnesse the contrarie He desended into hel as Peter witnesseth in spirite which falleth not vnder the knowelege of our sences because the spirite goeth and cometh man knoweth not howe Than haue wee wittnesses that God raysed hym the thirde daye and shewed hym to all the people but firste to his wittnesses appoynted for the same purpose whyche dyd eate and drinke with hym after he was risen from death Moreouer that we should nothinge doubt of this misterie so darcke vnto reasone christ appered vnto them agayne and commaunded Thomas Didimus who was before in doubte to put hys fynger in hys syde to see hâ—s handes and the woundes of the nayles that thei al might knowe it to be his natural bodye thus risen frome death yea a bodye whyche hath fleshe and bones contrarie to your doctrine whyche wyll haue ve belieue in a bodie that hath neither fleshe nor 〈◊〉 quantitie nor qualitie that is as much to â—aie as no propretie of a bodie excepte it be borowed of the bread But we beieue according to the â—…e spirite that Iohn describeth that Iesu Christe is comen in the fleshe and hath died in the same accordinge to the saieinge of Paule and testimonies of al scripture in the which he is also raised againe and â—owe sitteth at the right hand of God the father froÌ„ whence he shal come to iudge the â–ª quicke and the deade Vnto whom al the propheres geue wittnesse that who so euer beleueth in hym shall haue remission of â—ynnes by hys name We beleue in the holy gost one God with the father and the sonne euen from the beginninge as appeaâ—eth by the firste creacion of the worlde Now that the euerlasteing Lord and euer liueinge God hath created al thinges by his worde oure Christe and sauiour wyth so vniforme powre of thys holie goste that nothinge coulde come forth to any shap or forme vntyll this spirite procedeing from them boeth dyd mone vpon the walte depe or vnformed waters Wherfore thys almyghtie powre of the trâ— and euer lasting God is in Hebrue called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 plurallye for the diuersitie of persoÌ„es throughout
the good man for he hath no Idoll I know there haue ben good men whiche haue hated all Idolatrie and the persecution of al ages can report the same The bokes also of theyr fayth so many as haue escaped your handes do yet testifie that they were sore offended wyth thys blynde chaunge of these dead ceremonies in the steede of the lyuely feaste of the Lorde where al men shoulde be fed wyth the body and bloud of Christ the sonne of God not turned into bread but lyuely workynge by the spirite in our soules And they do aâ—he thys question why you do breake his body in three and why you do put one piece into the chalice to the wyne seinge you dâ— teache that the wine alone is fleshe bones though you do put no grosser substaunce thereunto For because it is liquidum you can make it what you lust and dare entre some deale far ther then Christe did for he at the vttermost made it but bloude but you wyll make it bloud bones and fleshe say we shalbe breÌ„t if we do not beleue you and yet for all the stickinge to the bare letter you haue not one word through out the whole Bible wherby you maye clooke thys matter that the wyne shalbe the whole body fleshe bloud bones though ye crie The worde the word Faith fatyh These heritickes wyll not beleue the worde of God For your terme really preseÌ„t you shal vnderstande that after Bonifacius the thirde about the yere of our Lorde vi C. and. iij. obteyned of Phocas the false Emperour to be the heade of the churche by the craftie practise of the monkes Paschasius Humbertus Guimundus Algerus Rogerus Frauciscê° Anselmus and such other was realitie inueÌ„ted and termed to the sacrameÌ„t Before that time the spiritual eating only was magnified amonge the olde doctours But then beganne the churche of Rome to be gyueÌ„ ouer to al poÌ„pe wickednes and Idolatrie the mother church of al mischiefe The bishop his adhereÌ„tes of the Antichistes generation are now fully bent to lifte vp theÌ„ selues against euery thynge that is good and godly commaunding Images and other vile creatures to be worshypped But the Emperour Leo the. iiij gathered a counsayle at Bysantium of CCC bishoppes which decreed that only God ought to be worshypped and caused the Images to be breÌ„t and destroyed Then Damasâ—en becommeth their proctoure stubburnely resistynge the Emperour so longe tyll he had his ryghte hande cut of howe he gatte it agayne you must bringe some credible authoure or els we wyll not beleue you longe after when Idolatrie had gotten the vpper hande then dyd Petrus Lombardus maister of your sophisticall senteÌ„ces bringe vp your transmutation and transaccidentatioÌ„ About the yere of our Lorde M. Cxlvi gathered out of certeyne blynde wordes of the doctours afore his tyme. Then Pope Innocent the thyrde gaue it thys newe name that you maynteyne wyth fyre He called it Accidens sine subiecto Of the whiche Sophisme doctoure Duns doctoure Dorbell and doctoure Thomas de Aquino do dispute verie subtilely Theyr termes you may see more at large by the moste diligent confounder of theyr errours Ihou Bale in his boke named the misterie of iniquitie Then folowed the blynde rable of Scotistes and Thomistes and they haue broughte the worlde into thys contention that we nowe heare and are busyed wyth all Thus was thys high misterie of mannes saluation and moste comfortable sacrament cleane chaunged from the institution of Christe whiche was to be taken wyth thankesgyuynge in coÌ„mune amongest christian men that wyth open herte euerie man myght reioyce in the death of his Sauiour and gyue thankes for his redemption that thereby fayth myghte be established and brotherly loue nourished But nowe it is become a vayne gasyng and starynge vpon the sacrament in the steede of the Sauiour takyng the sacrament for hym that made it a sacrament Worshippyng the creature in the steede of the creatoure as we see nowe thys blynde swarme whiche for the lyuely preachynge of the death of Christ to be the life of the soule do cause mumbling al in a straunge tonge that the people might surely be kept from the consideration of the misterie And where Christ coÌ„maundeth vs to deuide it amongest vs and that we shoulde all dryâ—… of the â—â—ppe the popishe priest muste get him into a corner alone and there so many shall be part takers of the merites of his blowing blessyng and other coniuringe aâ—… wyll gyue hym any thynge They shall be prayed for in the middest of his Masse and shal haue their sinnes takeÌ„ away This winâ— they that wyll be the priestes benefactouâ—s The other shal see Christ really they saye but because he is dombe there and can not speake and the pristes lesson is no peny no Pater noster they maye knocke hande on breast and worship they wot not what lyfte vp their haÌ„des and stroke their heades lyke the Popes owne deare chyldreÌ„ but they shal haue no parte there neither of the sacrament whereof they are appoynted to be part takers by the opeÌ„ worde of Chiste eate and drinke of this you all nor yet of the remissioÌ„ of those synnes that the priest worâ—heth for â—nlesse they gyue some money Thys money it is that causeth it to fyght so sore agaynste Christes institution and to maynteyne your gaynful sacrifice and reall preseÌ„ce This money for the maynteinaunce of your dignities and Lordelyke porte hath caused you euer sith you were first poisoned therewyth to magnifie your owne handy worke But the God immortal wil aduenge his iniuries vpon al Idols and Idolatours Nowe to mistrust the immortalitie of the euerlastynge God as you laye vnto oure charge by whom all thynges endure were extreme blindnes And so likewise to compt your God which neuer had breath of lyfe immortall when the priest that hath made him and perchaunce eaten him the same day that he dyeth is mortall and goeth to the graue with his newe made God and many other meÌ„ as you say that dye wythin a quarter of an houre after they haue eaten him In whoÌ„ you make the doubte whether the hoste consecrate shall mouide corrupte or coÌ„sume lyinge in their bodies beinge deade for you are the first to my knowledge that euer moued that question To call this immortall I saye that neuer lyued lyeth in the grounde wyth the dead man maye well be called foâ—de Sophistrie But to toutche your wordes a little more You call thys the hoste wherein the body of Christ is preseÌ„t You begynne me thynketh to waxe ashamed to call this your hoste the bodie of Christ contrary to your playne text of scripture Thys is my bodie I must also laye thys vnto your charge Why you dare call hym hoste by a newe terme and not breade by the olde terme Some thynke it is because you take your owne wordes to be wyser then the wordes of Christe and his chosen Apostles And surely it is
sophistrie is betwene the words and the meaneinge wherein the deuell shifteth the mattier thus Where the wordes of scripture be plaine euident manifest and coÌ„firme the catholike truth ther the deuill diuiseth an other meaneing aduâ—…eth his scholers that the words be nothing without the meaning and therfore sayeth he we must vnderstand Christes wordes as he â—…eut theÌ„ therfore saith the deuil be ware of the words take hede to the meaning Christ saith the deuil saith this is my bodie But take hede sayth the deuill what Christ meÌ„t Thus far you bring in the wordes of the diuell you saie Nowe if you wyll geue me leaue to bring in your wordes folowing a litel after thei wil declare the meaning of these faithfull interpretours of Christes wordes whom you do slaunder by the name of sathaÌ„ the deuil for non other cause as I suppose but for that you lacke mattier scriptures and substaÌ„cical argumeÌ„tes Your wordes be these Who so hath the wordes of scripture per uersely taken is therwith infected and poisoned to his coÌ„fusion as the Arians and Sabel liaÌ„s and an infinite numbre of heretikes haue ben So that it must nedes be graÌ„ted that in the meaning of scriptur is the marow and kenel the swetenes the fode the hony of scripture without which the words be bitter shale and an hard bone without fode or sustinance This must nedes be coÌ„fessed of al men as an euident truth ¶ Hitherto you agre ful wel but nowe lo you braste fourth into your father lyke eloquence and say The deuil abuseth this by caâ—ellacioÌ„ and sophistrie to ouertourne the trueth in the most bessed sacrament of the aultare It is a more redy maner of sophistical solusioÌ„ thaÌ„ substaÌ„â—ical forme of artificicial coÌ„futacion to crie cauillation cauillacioÌ„ sophistrie sophistrie the deuil saeth it when you your selfe doo speake the same thynge Forther more you adde herunto these wordes It is in dede a tâ—ue lessoÌ„ that the verie word of God is the true meaning of scripture If you would speak plainli saie the coÌ„paring of scriptures whiche are the verie word of god vttereth the wil meaning pleasure of God vnto vs you shoulde make much for our purpose If you saye otherwyse that the worde is the meaning you make the letter to be the spirit the bitter shale to be the kernel it selfe for such is your owne similitude Yea If the verie word be the meaning so that we mai waigh no farther which thinge if you beâ—…ed in herte you would not sticke so much to your own interpretacioÌ„s I could driue you to much incoÌ„uenience But how whau the scriptures ar to be examined and the tru meaning as the kernel to be tried the old rule of al ages mai lead and teach sufficieÌ„tly That is that no one place of scripture be set or aledged coÌ„trarie to other But if suche one place bee alledged it ought to be declared and made playne by the coÌ„pareing of mo places more plaine by the sence and vnderstandinge agreable vnto the faythe gethered of other Reade the rule of Augustyne for that same purpose how scripture which coÌ„maundeth any absurditie is to be vnderstaÌ„ded TheÌ„ saye you But for the openynge of thys sophistrie it is to be coÌ„sidered that somtime in scripture the wordes be so placed and ordeyned as the meanynge is vttered and opened wyth the wordes at once and hath such lyght of the wordes as they appeare both to gether and wythout farther serche be strayte coâ—ueyed to our vnderstaÌ„dynge If these wordes This is my bodie this cuppe is the newe testament were so playne for your purpose that they neded no farther serche or interpretacion what neded it you to seeke these gloses The bodie is in the qualities accidentes quaÌ„tities dimeÌ„sions ann other pretie wordes whiche I am sure can not be founde among the wordes of god noz his sonne Christ really carnally naturally and other termes of traÌ„substaÌ„ciasioÌ„ bisides other wrasted gloses That the cup is not the newe testameÌ„t but the whole bodâ— flesh and bones as wel as it is in the bread and such like But by your straite slightes and subtile interpretasioÌ„s it may be perceyâ—ed that these wordâ— are such as folowe Somtime againe the wordes be suche and so placed that they bring not theyr meanyng straight wyth theÌ„ in the same lyght but more darkely and as it were hyd vnder the words Your scripture Humiliauit hespethe to fyll your boke more ouer you saye When we reade of Christ that he sayed hym selfe I am a waye I am a dore I am a vpne here should the meanynge be callid for and here should good men say these wordes must be taken as Christ ment them For the meaning is hyden and apeareth not straight wyth the wordes which be suche as in their coÌ„mune knowne sens be not spokeÌ„ of Christ but by a similitude and in an other meaning as the circuÌ„stances of the place do declare bâ— which circumstaunces the wordes varie froÌ„ theyr coÌ„mune significacion So likewise must we like good men call for the meanynge of these wordes Thys is my bodie This cuppe is the newe testament seynge we know perfectly that in the â—oÌ„mune seus and significatioÌ„ nether the bred is Christes bodie nor the cup the newe testament And seynge that we haue so iust occasion offered of the circumstances First let vs loke what Christ did intende at his last supper when he spake theâ—e wordes Truly his intent was to admonishe his disciples that all the olde sacrifices of the olde testamente which wer but shadowes shoulde in thys onely offeringe of hys bodie vpon the crosse haue an ende as he him selfe sayeth vnto theÌ„ before he goeth from supper The thynges that wer of me haue an end according to the psalme Sacrifice and oblatioÌ„ thou wouldest not but a bodie thou hast ordeyned me And also to arme them wyth coÌ„fortable wordes a gainst the daingers that were at hand boeth of hys betraynge by hym that did eat of the same dyshe wyth hym selfe and of hys death and departynge forth of the world as appeareth in all the Euaugelistes but especialli in Iohn the. xiii xiiii xv xvi xvii Chapi I besech al christen herts to marke the circumstaÌ„ces and iudge whither they do leade Christ saieth in the. xxi of Luke Wyth gret desyre haue I desiered to eate this passeouer wyth you before I suffer Christ ioyneth together this olde sacrifice of the passeouer and the geuyng of hys bodie in this only ceremonie Wherfor we may not part them in searchinge the meanynge of hys worke and wordes seinge that he hym selfe coupled theÌ„ to gether bothe in dede and speache We must therfore coÌ„sider and marke how and after what maner Christe and his disciples are named to eate the passeouer when they eate the lambe onely which was onely the signe or remeÌ„braunce of the
passouer In the passeouer they gaue thankes for theyr deliueraunce wheÌ„ the EgyptiaÌ„s and the kinges seede were slayne In this sacrameÌ„t thaÌ„kes are gyueÌ„ that the sonne of the high king is slayn for the saluatioÌ„ of the worlde The lambe and the feast itselfe are called the passeouer The one was but a signe the other was but the remeÌ„brauÌ„ce of the passing angell So lykewise this breade or sacrameÌ„t is callyd the bodie of Christ when it is but the remeÌ„braunce and thankes geuynge for the death which Christ suffered in hys bodie The cupe also he calleth the newe testameÌ„t in his bloude where the bloud of the lambe sprynkled vpoÌ„ the postes was but a shadow of the old testameÌ„t and a token to the angell of godes fauour And thys bloude of our sauiour Christ is a coÌ„firmacioÌ„ and establishemeÌ„t of his testameÌ„t as both the epistle to the galathians and the Hebrues do witnesse and the testameÌ„t so loÌ„g before promised was this I wylbe theyr God and they shall be my people Agayne In the boke of Exodi he coÌ„maundeth them to tel theyr chyldren of that greate benifite So now when they shal no leuger speake of theyr delyuerauÌ„ce forth of Egypt but of a far greater deliueraunce from all the infernall powres by hys death He coÌ„maundeth them to do thys in the remeÌ„braunce of hym Thus he goynge from the olde testameÌ„t to the newe from the olde passeouer in shadow to the bodie whyche is Christ our passeouer offâ—ed for vs as Paul sayeth vseth the same phrase in speakynge And after that he had eaten thys passeouer whiche he desiered so greatly he preached of hys betrayeing and departeynge saiynge The sonne of man must go as it it wryteÌ„ But woe vnto that man by whoÌ„ he is betrayed It had beÌ„ better for hym that he had neuer ben borne This text may somwhat make for the declaracion that Iudas though he were par takare of the same breade and cupe yet he did not eate the fleashe and bloude of Iesus Christ which he must neades haue done if the thynges had ben chaunged and therfore haue had euerlasteynge lyfe as it is sayd in Iohn the vi cha Who so eateth my fleash c so that he had ben happye that euer he was borne The most parte of the longâ— sermone that Iohn reherseth is concernynge hys departyng from his disciples where as after your doctryne he mygh haue coÌ„forted them wyth one worde sayeinge I wyl not depart froÌ„ you but wilbe inuiseble wyth you vnto the worldes ende in a litle cake But he sayth plainely that he must go from theÌ„ and that he will no more drincke of that fruite of the vine vnto he dryncke it newe agayne in the kingdome of his father wher he manifestly calleth it the fruite of the vine euen after the coÌ„secrasion as you cal it and that the verye same thing that you cal the bloude the bodi the fleshe and altogether Christ saieth thys is my bodie You marke no circuÌ„stauÌ„ces but adde her unto realli naturallie carnalli christ sayeth do thys in the remembraunce of me You saye Naie we will make a litle cake to be Christ God and man Christ saieth thys is the cup of the newe testament in â—…bloud You saye Naye we wil make ii sponeful of wyne whole Christ bodie bloud and bones Loke your Estatute of vi Articles Christe saith my litle children yet a litle while am I with you The papistes do saie we haue him heare stil Christ saieth you shal seke me but you can not come to me The papistes dâ— saye thei make hym and haue hym in there haÌ„ds ther maist thou seke him But I beleue thou canst not find him there for Christ did geue warneinge alitle before hys death that ther should arise false Christs and false prophetes to deceiue the elect if it wer possible with false miracles and wonders Thei shal 〈◊〉 â—o hear is Christ and ther is Christ But beleue them not saith Christ for lyke as the lightning cometh froÌ„ the east and appeareth vnto the weste so shal the comeinge agayne of the sonne of man Let not your herte be troubled beleue in God and beleue in me I go to prepare you a place and thoughe I go yet I wyll come agayne and take you vnto me The papistes saye beleue in the breade that we haue coÌ„scerated for it is boeth God and maÌ„ Christ shal not go awaye We wyl haue it so that euerie shauelinge shall maâ—e him a place in a rounde cake and breake one pice of him into the chalice and drinke it and rate the residue drie I am the waie the truth the life saieth Christ no man cometh to the father but bi me Yes marie â—aith the bishop of Winchester bringeing in the blind lessoÌ„s of Damascen concerninge the worshipeinge of Imageâ— by the intercessione of saintes come we to God And by the sacrament of the aâ—â—tare are we made partetakers of the god heade of Iesu Christe Christ goinge froÌ„ the erth saith for the câ—…forte of his disciples what soeuer ye aske in my name I wil do it But the papistes wyll haue vs asâ—e in the name of other and by the praier of saintes do they promise many verâ—… â–ª but wythout any worde of scripture and therfore ought we not to beleue them Christ promiseth none other coÌ„forter but the spirite of trueth whiche shall dwell with vs for euer The papistes promise comfortin al deade creatures Again Let not your hert be troubled sayth Christ nor be ye afraied thoughe I go I do leane my pease wyth you I geue you my peace Not as the world geueth do I geue it vnto you Well saye the papistes If thou saye that Christ is gone thou shalt haue little peace among us kepe the peace of Christ as wel as thou canst For we haue him wheÌ„ we luste bodielie reallie naturallye carnally present But O you papistes all your wordes ende in a lie For Christe saieth You haue hearde that I haue said vnto you I goe and come agayne to you And if you loued me suerli you woulde reioyce that I sayed I goe vnto my father You papistes I saye do ye not beleue that Christe died did ryse agayne ascended into heauen and ther sitteth at the ryght hand of the father bodilie really naturally carually that is to saye in plaine euglishe in bodye in substance as he was a natural man and verie flesh taken of the virgyne Marie If you did beleiue this thynge you woulde reioice that man is so highly exalted that oure kinde is so far aboue the angelles auaunced that we haue our bishoppe not in the erth but in the heaueÌ„s not offering ofte tymes for our sinnes which were imperfection but once for al makinge perfecte for euer so many as by hym wyll go vnto the father Agayne Christe sayeth I am the verie vyne and my father is the housbande man â–ª I am the vyne and
do it before I knowe I shoulde commit Idolatrie Which thyng was ful wel considered of the olde counsayles for they did forbid kneleing vpon the same daies in these misteries Now your maÌ„ scrapeth together certayne figures out of the olde teastament to be the figures of thys figuâ—e And yet they serue little for your purpose The cole that Esai sawe the bread and wine of Melchizedeche the bread of proposicioÌ„ make verie litle for thys purpose but that you muste wreaste some what leste you be vtterly destituted of scriptures Let al men that dare for feare of your threatninges read the scriptures iudge the places Nowe concerneinge your vnbloudie sacrifice it is to be noted you wil haue hym eaten bodie bloud bones and sacrificed againe for sins and yet you saye it is no bloudie sacrifice I thinke no maÌ„ wil be so mad as once to take your parte herin notwithstandeinge the text of Malachie the prophet which you rehersse for your purpose but nothyng to the purpose From the easte to the west sayeth he my name is greate a monge the heathen and euerie where do they bren inseÌ„se and offer vnto my name euen a pure offeringe for great is my name among the heathen saieth the Lorde of hostes Al men maye easily perceiue how litle this maketh for your purpose It is harde shifte of scriptures when you brynge in suche places for your purpose as do rather make agaynst you then wyth yow as here after this shalbe declared to do That the bodie of Christ can not be chaâ—ged into our corruptioÌ„ euery man knoweth and beleueth and this is one reasone that moneth vs to saye that this bread which is receyued into our mouthes and so goeth into the stâ—â—alie and somtyme is vomited vp againe as we haue seue in speke folke somtyme goeth forth other wayes is nothynge the fygure set aparte but verie breade the substaunce nothinge chaunged Wher your doctour hath learned to caâ— it the remedie for all diseases and vpon what coÌ„sideratioÌ„ you terme it the armoure of defence from all adâ—â—yaunce the fyer that tryeth out golde the purgacion of all fylth and diseases I caÌ„ not tel I know no such tytles it hath by the scriptures though your doctour alledge the apostle for his purpose Notwithstâ—dyng make it what you wyll so you make it not God settynge it vp as an Idole to be worshyped I wyll neither coÌ„â—eÌ„d nor striue agaynst you But the lorde that made bothe heauen and the earthe he is the lorde besydes whoÌ„ ther is none other God â–ª He is the true God and sauiour and ther is none but he He is the cole that consumeth wickednes He is the fyre that purgeth and clenseth He is the lorde the lyuynge God As for the healeyng of all diseases I doubt not but the phisicians wyll answer you Your doctour dareth not brynge in the sentence of the Apostle truly as it is for fear least we shulde call it breade as the Apostle doeth But he sayeth who so euer eateth the bodie and bloude vnworthelye he eateth and drynketh condemnation to hym selfe And this semeth quite coÌ„trary to the text of Iohn which he cited but a lytle before he that eateth me shall lyue for doubtlesse Christe can not be eaten wythout profyte He beyng the foode of lyfe bryngeth lyfe to all them that once may fede of hys fleashe For thys cause sayeth Christe if any man be thyrsty let hym cum vnto me and drynke He that beleueth in me the flouds of lyuing water shall flowe forth of hys bealy But he that beleueth not is condemned all ready Thus do we either eate thys sacrament of Christes death wyth fayt he and theÌ„ haue we lyfe aboundantly or els nothyng regardyng the bodie and bloude wherof we shold be partakers spiritually in thys sacramente we offend in vnbelyfe or lacke of charitie Both the which thynges Paule laieth to the charge of the Corinthians and therfore biddeth he them Iudge them selues leste they be condemned wyth the worlde Agayne where your doctour sayeth that thys bread is the fyrste fruites of the bread to come coÌ„pare his laste wordes to the same and you shall se he speaketh lyke a doctour These be hys wordes though you cloke theÌ„ wyth your interpretacion They are called the examples of thynges to come Not that they are not the verye bodye and bloude of Christ in verie dede but bycause that by theÌ„ we be made nowe partakers of the Godhed of Christe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But then by the contemplacion of the minde by the onely vision If thys mans doctryne be true we haue not onely the fruites in this life but the veri fulnesse For we haue Christ bodilye and are also partakers of the God heade Yet in time to come we shall haue hym by the vision of the mynde onely as he affirmeth in hys last lines Oh how moch better were it to followe the open scriptures then blynde doctoures For the scriptures teach that now we do see â—…t in a darke shadow wheras after this life in the newe Ierusalem we shall se face to face Then shall we knowe as we be knowne â–ª we shall eate and drynke at hys table Yea no tonge caÌ„ tel no eie hath senâ— or eare heard neither hath it entred into the herte of man The glorie that God hath prepared for theÌ„ that loue hym Excuse your authour as wel as you can from the heresie of the Marcionistes he muste needes be in the daunger thereof so longe as he reasoneth that Christes bodie is a spirite For a spirite hath neither fleshe nor bones Agayne when your doctour taketh vpon hym to make gloses he descanteth vpon the wordes of the godly enstructed Basilius and when he calleth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the exemple your marchaunt sayeth that he spake this of the breade and wyne before the consecration I praye you who was euer so mad to say that it did signifie any thinge before it was taken to this holy vse but that it was commune breade as other is whiche we eate Then gyueth he warning like a doctour that heretikes shoulde haue no parte hereof leste the margarites be caste vnto hogges notwithstanding that Christ suffered Iudas to be parte taker thereof I knowe you are a great lawier bishoppe Stephane and haue bene muche vsed in the triynge of wytnesses I praye you what creâ—ite should suche a man haue that is founde fantie so many tymes in so small examination ⧠The foundation whereupon oure fayth is grounded BUt I do take our doctours and reade them wyth lyke iudgement as I do the Rabines of the Hebrues That is to say to be meÌ„ learned and highly endued with knowledge of secret thynges and therefore that they caÌ„ open deaply hid misteries But yet al men of iudgemeÌ„t may know that they haue their gyftes but vnto a certeyne measure and as they are meÌ„ so do they erre many tymes in the mattiers
in whiche three lyeth all the knowledge that man can haue of thynges naturall or aboue nature as is afore proued can perceyue no maner of miracle seinge the breade and wine remayne in their kinde vnchaunged as Luke and Paule do wytnesse So that by your owne wordes you seme worthy to be one of those that affirme you knowe not what beinge puffed vp wyth the fleshly Imaginations of your owne myndes Seinge all the other workes of God do appeare as God made them if they were spirituall they dyd appeare spiritually if they were bodily they dyd so appeare you mighte haue added with like shamelesse forhead This thinge that we bishoppes do say must needes be true though it agree neither with his workes nor his worde For all men maye see that you maynteyne boeth this and all your other doinges But in this sophistry the deuyl maketh maÌ„ to forget gods omnipoteÌ„cie exceding our capacite causeth vs to measure gods doinges by our natural imbecillitie because we caÌ„ not be in two places at once distant one from an other we iudge the same repugnant in God For soeth here you speake vntruly of vs. For we al do beleue in hert and coÌ„fesse wyth mouth that God onely is almightie and filleth al the heauen and the earth with his presence euen as sure as he made al thynges in the heauen the earth and the seas This high estimation that we haue coÌ„ceiued of god by liuely faith causeth vs to take it as a thynge cleane coÌ„trary to the power of the almightie to be enclosed in a box turned or coÌ„secrated as you cal it into alitle cake But the manhode of Christe whiche was very man as we are synne onely excepted haue we already proued to be in heaueÌ„ at the right hande of his father and therfore not in earth in the box hanged ouer the aultare But Christes being in heaueÌ„ which s Stephane truly coÌ„fesseth was nothyng coÌ„trary to saint Paules true affirmation that Christ was sene to him in earth after his ascencion Nowe surely both their visions of the glory of Christ our sauiour the testimonies of the woÌ„derful sight that they did se doth both stablish our purpose and coÌ„fute your errour but that you deale like a sophister with thys word erth speaking it after such sort that the simple reader should refer it vnto Christ being vpoÌ„ the erth after the asceÌ„tioÌ„ which Paul neuer taught nor any of the apostles These are the playne wordes of the scripture touching this mattier After that he had taught that the highest dwelleth not in teÌ„ples made with maÌ„s haÌ„de againste the opinioÌ„ of the hie priestes Stephan replenished with the holy spirite loking vp into heaueÌ„ did see the glory of god and Iesu staÌ„ding at the right haÌ„de of god And he cried with a loude voice Lo I se the heaueÌ„s opeÌ„ and the sonne of maÌ„ staÌ„dyng at the right hande of God Here it is described woÌ„derful plainely that Stephane being vpon earth dyd see Christe in heauen by the wonderful worke of God thus confortynge his first martyr and witnesse of the glorie of his sonne Christe Paule lykewyse prepared from his mothers woÌ„be to beare the testimonie of Christ amonge the heathen as he went to Damascus was so daynely beset wyth a wonderful greate lyghte from heauen And then fallyng to the ground he hearde a voice whiche sayed vnto hym Saule Saule why doest thou persecute me Then answered he Who arte thou Lorde And the Lorde sayed I am the same Iesus of Nazareth whom thou doest persecute Of thys vision and suche lyke doeth Paule saye Dyd not I see Iesu Christe He sayeth also Laste of all as vnto one borne out of course dyd Christe appeare vnto me Whyche be the wordes whiche you do alledge as makynge muche for your purpose And you dyd brynge in thys texte out of course if you be well aduised â–ª agaynste Lamberte as thoughe it shoulde haue gotten the victorie and stopped the mouthes of all men At what tyme I promise you me thoughte your Argumentes were not so stronge as your shamelesse audacitie was out of measure whyche wythout any cause or commaundement dyd in the presence of so noble a prince take the tale out of the mouth of your Archbishoppe to whom in that Audience it mighte ryghte well haue becomed your sclender diuinitie to haue shewed some reuerence But if the mind of Paule maie serue you for this declaracioÌ„ he sayth in an other place that whether he were in the bodie or out of the bodie he coulde not tell but rapt he was into the thred heaueÌ„ and into Paradise wher he sawe suche thinges as is not lawefull for man to speake Whiche wonderfull visions were shewed by God to strengthen his chosen vessell like as the other were vnto Stephane and are written to encrease our faieth and hope which do beleue in Christ bi them I maruaile much what fantasie was in your heade at that time and how it remaineth stil in you causeinge you to bringe this vision of Paule for the confirmacion of Christes naturall bodie to be present in the sacrament But you are of such powre that for to stricâ— your pore brethren whom you compt worsse then doges callinge them diuelles at euerie word euerie thing is weapon good inough God is the aduenger of hys people and wil callenge vnto him selfe his owne glorie It repugneth not to Christes powre to sit at the right hand of the father in heaueÌ„ and yet to fede the infinitie nuÌ„bre of his people wyth the saine his precious bodie in earth It is not repugnauÌ„te to gods goodnesse being creatoure of all ther wyth in the fourme of breaâ—e to feade vs hys creatures Surely it is no repugnaunce vnto hys powre thus to fead al that shal beleue in him takeing the wordes spiritually as thei are in dede spirite and life and admiâ— no grosse nor carnal vnderstandeing But carnally as you do vnderstande theÌ„ with the fleshely minded Caparnites that the natural bodie shoude be eaten fleshe bloude and bones a fewe men shoulde deuoure it But I am in doubt whether they be men that haue so cruel hertes to eate mans flesh Nam canis â—aninam non tangit that is to you that vnderstande not the latine I speake it A dogge wil not eate dogges flesh Telâ—… theÌ„ whether it do not abhor nature that man should eate mans flesh Yet seâ—…e you to haue a cloke for thys Scithian crueltie in that you chaunge hym into the fourme of bread In the which wordes if you shewe the spiritual vnderstanding that is to saie That like as the body is fed with bread so liueth the soule by this fode of life the offering vp I saye of the bodie of our sauiour Christe vpon the crosse to saue vs froÌ„ death Or lyke as we eate the breade wyth oure mouth bodily so do we receiue Christe into your soules by fayth These sences and â—uch like beinge
interpretations and similitudes shal sone perceine your gloses to be of smale knoledge For Paule knowyng that suche shoulde come after hym as woulde not suffer holesome doctryne expouneth his owne wordes strayght wayes declaryng them to be of the outward remembraunce of Christes death which is doone in this Sacramente as in all other bothe of the olde Testamente and of the newe and not of the inwarde memorie must be continual at al tymes and not in the eating of this bread only So oft as you eate thâ—s bread and drinke this cup sayth Paule you shewe forth the death of the Lorde to the tyme that he come as Erasmus doeth translate it and after the olde translation you shal shewe furth the death The greke worde â–ª 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 causeth thys ambiguitie For it may be either the present tyme of the indicatyue or the present of the imparatiue commaundyng the memorie to be done And so agreeth it wyth Luke Do thys in the remeÌ„braunce of me So agreeth it with the passeouer in whose steede we haue it for they had speciall commaundemente of lyke remembraunce of the worke of God Thus agreeth it wyth diuers other commaundementes for the merueylous worke of God to be had in memorie as appeareth by Iosue the. iiij and Erod xiiii And vpon these are the verses of Dauid knowen to be true Great are the workes of the Lorde and worthy to be searched furth that all delite and pleasure maye be in them Glorie and maiestie are his workes and his ryghtuousnes remayneth for euer He made a memoriall of his workes etc. The Hebrues do vse the imparatyue for the future tens of whose phraces the newe testament is full Thys memorie of the workes of God and highe estimation of his loueinge mercies ought to be had in perpetual remembraunce therfore doth Dauid brast furth into suche wordes by the vehemeÌ„cie of the spirite saying Oh al you seruauÌ„tes of the Lorde praise you the Lorde Optabilis laus eius Psalme Cxlvii His praise is to be wished and desired and therfore we desire praye that his name may be sanctified hallowed renowmed and praysed Sanctificetur nomen tuum Ex ore infantium et lactantium perfecisti laudem The prophete truly instructed by the spirite of God knoweth that he hath made perfecte his prayse by the mouth of infautes suckelynges and babes and therefore byddeth he that yonge men and maydens olde men and childreÌ„ should prayse the name of the Lorde sayinge that this prayse becometh all his holions It was the course of the olde testameÌ„t and the Iewes vse the same at thys daye that the whole congregation shoulde after the lawe and prophetes reade vnto them acknowledge theyr synnes and gyue thankes for theyr beuefiâ—es or elles promise to do the thynges commaunded and wyth one herte and mouth thus glorifie God And the same ordre continued amongest vs tyl suche tyme as you byshoppes by your arrogant ignoraunce dyd shutte vp the kyngdome of heauen whiche standeth chiefely in the renowmynge praysynge and glorifiynge of God and neither woulde entre in your selues no suffre them that woulde entre Paule alloweth thys generall praysynge and preachyng of Christes benifites and woÌ„ derous workes saying So oft as you come together euery one of you hath a songe hath a doctrine hath a tonge hath a reuelation hath an interpretation Agayne you maye all prophecie one by one that al may learne and al maye haue conforte But bishoppes wyll none of thys It is ynough say you to haue it done once for all it needeth not to be done againe Yea you wyll not haue it done at all You wyl haue vs muÌ„ble al our life longe in a blinde and vnknowne laÌ„guage But the sermon and preaching and shewing furth of the lordes death muste be in our liuing after the exeÌ„ple of the bishoppes and prelates in loue charitie and the contempt of the worlde Not in makynge a sermon wyth the tonge declaring howe Christe died for vs. Oh blynde guides you oughte to wishe that the name of God and the special worke of his mercies in the death of his sonne Christe mighte be moste largely renowmed praised and sanctified in the coÌ„gregation not only by the mouth of sucklinges and babes by the lowest by the highest by the smallest by the greateste but if it were possible that the very stones should brast furth his praise And wheras we are all to slacke and negligeÌ„t in reÌ„dering thankes for this great benifit that we haue thorow the death of Christ good bishoppes woulde encourage vs and steare vp this heauy slackenes in vs callyng vpoÌ„ vs to be thankeful But coÌ„trariwise you discourage vs so muche as you can possibly commaundinge that we shall not euery man preache furth the Lordes death in this moste worthy sacrameÌ„t but in steede therof you do by your coÌ„maâ—â—demeÌ„t establishe your Idolatrous sacrifice wherwith we must be fully contented and satisfied and not so hardy as once to demaunde in it any one worde to be spokeÌ„ to the edification of the vnlearned So that your bishoppe Deuyll lurketh in thys worde not more wickedly working his purpose to put to silence the death of Christe theÌ„ in the greatest but that euer was made Howe be it if we myghte opteyne of our noble Prince as no doubte we shall if your Deuyll do not ouer renne all together if we myghte opteyne I saye the thynge that Paule commaundeth that nothynge shoulde be spoken in straunge language in the congregation wythout an enterpretoure that we myghte all wyth knowledge and not wyth blynde mumblynge matteâ—s worship god gyue glorie to his name your Idol woulde wax so sicke Idoubte not that you should staÌ„de nede of some expert maister of phisicke to see his water Doctour Buttes if he were on lyue coulde do it ryght well Where as you deride thys thynge that euerie man shoulde make a sermon I wyshe that euery man coulde do it and wyll exhort them that can do it eneÌ„ for the loue of God that they do it more diligently For I do nothynge feare that they wyll be ouer ready to the thinge that is good No I haue dwelled fully seuen yeres in a place where I neuer hearde sermon But for the declaration of the text vnderstande that we do not thynke euery maÌ„ bounden and coÌ„maunded to make a sermoÌ„ but to reioyce blesse God Which is all one borowed of the Hebrue language to acknowledge in our herte and if occasion to profite the coÌ„gregation or the ordre of the churche and assemble do permitte it to confesse wyth the mouth the death and benifite of Christe and generally to gyuâ— thankeâ— together in comlinesse and ordre that by the multitude thus praysyng and gyuing thankes the honoure of God maye be amplified and we the better reseÌ„ble that heauenly HierusaleÌ„ where they do incessantly syng praise criynge wyth one voice Sanctus sanctus that is holye holy holy And
this is meÌ„t by the worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in diuers places of Deutronomie The wordes are these Thou shalte come to the priest that shall be in those daies and say vnto hym I acknowledge this day before the Lorde my god that I am entred into the lande for the whiche he sweare to our fathers that he woulde giue it vnto vs. Here is a like memorie of God commaunded by Moyses Whereby as in thys sacrament is ment a reuerent thankes gyuyng and acknowledgyng for sâ— is the Hebrue word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 traÌ„slated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iudicum iâ— Whereby we may perceyue the worde blessing to agree with the other greke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus we therfore haue by the healpe of the Hebrue tonge and the olde testament furth of the whiche two all rites and ceremonies and the trueth of al the principal places of the newe testament haue both their coÌ„firmation and declaration and by the circumstaÌ„ces of the places proued vnto you first that in this sacrament there muste be a general profession of oure sayth in the death of Christ outwardly and theÌ„ priuately euery one must in hert acknowledge giue thaÌ„kes And if the profite of his brethren do so require it or the ordre of the coÌ„gregaâ—ioÌ„ permit they muste with mouth celebrate and prayse this great benifite to the glorie of God and the conforte of the congregation Your first declaration that we must haue Christ present in this memorie by fayth maketh nothinge agaynst vs. For this is it that we do beleue and teach that vnto the eyes of our faith there is preseÌ„t in the sacrament the natural body of our sauiour Christ the same body that suffered And your similitude of the maried womaÌ„ that wyl make an Image of her husbaÌ„de for a remeÌ„brauÌ„ce of him maketh much against you For this I dare saye that al the eloqueÌ„ce you haue â—aÌ„ not proue vn to a righte selêder witted woman that the Image thus made for a memorial is hir owne natural housbaÌ„de and so make hir do honor and reuerence vnto him at bed and at bourd as you woulde haue vs to do to this very Image as you cal it of Christ beinge departed in body froÌ„ his churche and leauing this most perfect Image of him selfe and as you say him selfe for a memorie Furthermore If you coulde proue vnto this womaÌ„ that this image were the natural body â—lesh bloud and bones of hir husband what neede she to loke for hym in any other place abseÌ„t whoÌ„ she hath thus really present at all tymes What shal we say Is hir husbande gone Nay verely hir husbande lyeth hid in and vnder the Image Lo whither your blynde similitudes do leade you But to proue his body to be in diuers places wythout any chaunge of place you had neede to aske better counsayle of your sophisters and then we shal answere you agayne For the texte folowinge Non dâ—…dicans corpus domini makynge no difference of the Lordes body which wordes be so translated in the Bible that you haue allowed by Act of parliament For the scriptures suche is oure miserie can be no farther good and profitable for vs but as yon wyll allowe it That is to saye the laste yere good for all men but thys yere good for gentlemen onely In the last proclamation you condemned three translations and saued one But in thys your boke you seme to be wery of that one for you fynde fautes therein and wyll not haue at reade at suche tymes as men meete together in the churche But God is the Iudge of your doinges You do not Iudge and knowe that God is as presently in his wordes and scriptures whiche you do burne as he is in the Sacramentes whiche are made and take theyr strength of the same worde Oh byshoppes If thys thynge that you do be for the pure â—eale of Goddes worde then take so muche paynes amongest you al as to set furth one traÌ„slatioÌ„ so true â–ª that no man may fynde any faut therwyth But you caÌ„ not heare on that side You haue burned fiue thousande but of your translation we fynde not one It is easy therefore to iudge what your purpose hath bene But to returne to the wordes Non diiudi caÌ„s etc. Your english text is making no differeÌ„ce of the Lordes body But your owne interpretation is not vnderstanding not coÌ„side ring But if you wyl adde thereunto the signification of the greke worde not iudging I wyl say al is true and agreeth very wel For who so euer doeth eate this bread and drinke this cup vnworthily eateth his owne iudgemeÌ„t making no differeÌ„ce not vnderstanding consideringe or iudgynge the Lordes body Where he that doeth eate it worthily doeth by his faith eate the very body of the Lorde so ofte as he eateth of this bread and drinketh of this cup and fedeth his soule by the reioycing in the death of the lorde For who soeuer seketh the spirituall fode he regardeth nothinge but the body of Christ offered for his sinnes though with his mouth bodily he receiue the bread the figure of the same If any haue â—…scoÌ„strued this texte do not charge vs therewyth But if we do take it wronge reproue vs by scripture No man doubteth but that he is giltie of the bloud of Christ which taketh Baptisme vnreuerently Yet dare we not saye that in the water is really presente the body and bloud of Christe He despiceth me saith Christ that despiceth you speaking of his Apostles Yet is it no good argument to say therefore that Christe is corporally in his Apostles But spiritually we must boeth beholde most thaÌ„kefully receiue our Christ in al his sacramentes in al his messengers The third text Spiritus viuificat caro noÌ„ prodest quicquaÌ„ In english the spirite giueth life the flesh profiteth nothyng maketh much agaynste you Yea thoughe you take it after your owne glose which is that this text is a general lesson for the true vnderstandyng of oure whole religion But thys glose shall we touche hereafter This texte The spirit gyueth lyfe the fleshe profiteth nothynge is boeth proued true and manifestly declared in the. xvi chapter folowinge where Christe sayeth I tel you truth that it is profitable for you that I departe for if I do not go awaye that confortynge spirite shall not come vnto you But if I go I wyll sende hym vnto you etc. Whereby it appeareth playnely agaynste your wordes that the presence of the bodie carnally is not profitable vnto vs nowe after his ascendynge into heauen because Christe sayeth it is profitable that in bodie he shoulde departe but you saye it is profitable to haue hym here in a cake notwythstandyng that he sayeth that onlesse he go his waye the spirite of conforte can not come The exemple of Peter and all the Apostles who were stronger by the confort of the spirite then by the presence
myght repent me of my works I had eueÌ„ theÌ„ iust occasioÌ„ to haue sorowed for the benifites that I had shewed vnto your wicked kinde the wickednesse wherof was so greate that I could not other wise expresse it to the worthynesse then to saye that it repented me to haue made man Idolatrie was then spred thorowe the whole earth and fewe or none woulde call vpon my name For â—embroth the stoute hunter raysed Idoles in Babilon and the Chaâ—aneâ—s worshiped the fier After that Belus with his coÌ„plices builded a towre to withstaÌ„d my vengeaunce Sodome and Gomore prouoked myne heauie displeasure wyth theyr manifolde enormities To be shorte all the whole world refused â–ª me the leueinge God the wel of liuing waters and digged them cisternes which can holde no water Euerie citie inueÌ„â—ed a straung god Saturnus Iupiter Iuno Mars Mercurie and such othere moÌ„strous Idoles are newelye inuented whylse I destroie the olde But Israell whom I had chosen to be my people to be my holy people coÌ„mauÌ„ding him to haue no maner of Image doeth after so many my greate mercies shewed vnto Aabraham Isaake Iacob and the fathers after suche wonderfull deliueraunce from Pharao set vp a goldeÌ„ calfe the Idole of theire idle braine They renâ—e to Baall Pheger They fill the holy lande whyche I gaue them in heritage full of most filthy Idoles Worthily therfore are thei destroied wyth pistelence famine and swerde But you that heare the name of my soÌ„ne Christe and are named Christians whom I haue by the death of the same myne onely begotteÌ„ sonne made â—…e owne you are much more blame worthy and pour miserable waâ— wardnesse is no longer to be sufferred For you haue these xv hundred yeres prouoked my wrath vpon you renneing head long into al kindes of wickednesse But to pas with silence al other thinges wherin you haue offended my maiestie ther is nothing so vile amongest al my creatures but that you haue assaed to set vp the same as your God dispiceing therin both my powre and the rule that I gaue you ouer al other creatures forgettinge clearelie that I haue exalted myne elect aboue the Angelles and haue fent mine heauenly spirites io do seruice vnto them Al this notwithstanding haue not you worshipped stockes and stones dome and deade blockes and geuen my glorie whiche I do not wyllingely imparte vnto anie other abâ—un dantly to such monsters and I do les polluteinge your bodies with boweinge and beckeing crowcheing 〈◊〉 kneleing kisseing and more filthily defiled your mindes and soules with worshipeinge as goddes such insensible creatures so that you leaue no place of dewe reuerence vnto me your creatur nor to my son Christe whoe suffered moste bitter death to bring you out of bondage You do ofteÌ„ crie Lorde Lorde If I be your lord â–ª where is my feare where is the worship mete for a Lord wherfore do you forsake me your lord You do often times call me father but I meruaile whither the childeli reuerence is banished or into what contrey al brotherly loue is flede Yea muche more do I meruaile where you haue hyd the memorie of my soÌ„ne Christe of whom al fatherhod brotherhode and kinred froÌ„ me to you warde taketh his beginning For he is the firste begotten of euerie creature of whoÌ„ al kinred in heauen and in earth hath his original Who suffering most cruel death for your sinnes and most bitter tormeÌ„tes in his bodie asketh nothinge againe but that you wyll celebrate some thankefull memorie of hys name and not suffer his bountuouse benifite to be forgotten by vnworthy scilence For when he departed from the earth to come agayne to hys heauenlye mansion what dyd he commaund to any of you but onely this that as he had after hys last supper ministred the bread and wyne in misterie so shoulde you so ofte as you eate and drinke in the remembraunce of him Certifiinge you that so ofte as you shoulde eate thys breade and drink of his cup you should shewe his death tyl he come agane vnto you The charge that he geueth you is to do it in the remeÌ„braunce of him promiseing you that he wyll not forget you wher he siteth at the ryght hand of me hys father where he is a continuall mediatour and meane for you neuer ceasynge to opteyn for you what so euer you aske of me in his name But loe your ingratitud you acquite vs our mede Me you do cast cleane frome you and to a stone do you say Thou art my father and to a bloke thou hast begotten me Agayne to my sonne you are so vnkynde and vngentle that you haue pute awaye the memorie of hys death wherby you lyue not onlie forgetfull of the laboures whiche he susfered for your â—akes but also if any of my seruantes wolde renew his memory among you he shal with muche crueltie be put to silence And you boast of a certayn vayne and conterfayte gesture and mumblynge called the masse which you say is more holie and more wisely set forth then Christ my sonne could do it when he was in the worlde Thus do you forsake his coÌ„mauÌ„dement of preachynge his death to your brethern and posteritie for the maintenaunce of popyshe ceremonies the ware of Antechriste wher in you bable blasphemouse collectes with blynde mumblinges Yet pache you your matters wyth my scriptures that you may deceyue so much the more craftelie day lyinge so wyth the pore people in a tounge that they do not vnderstande nor know noâ— â—ne worde what you saye least they shoulde chaunce to dreame any thynge at al of the death of my sonne and haue him in any remembraunce at all Yea and to kepe the matter more secrete you are ryght well ware that when any mencion is made of hys bodie geuen for the worlde you speake not onelie in a strange tonge but also vnder suche scilence that a man had nead to crepe verie nere you and harâ—en verie diligently if he should vnderstaÌ„d any thinge though he were learned in y e tong that you whisper in Yea you blow forth your words so closeli into your chalice as though you intended nought els but to deceiueth people And they silâ—y soules being alâ—o gether astooied through theyr own ignoraunce and your strange gestures cease not to renne about you lyke men amased They fall down and worshyp they wonder at this newe and strangeâ— God in so little a piece of bread They striue who shaldo most honore and reuerence to this weake Idole Yea they falone in aâ—others necke at the soÌ„ne of the little bell They kysse theyr fingers they parte pardoÌ„ to their â—ies and other partes of theyr bodies They strok their heades What god Yea what mortal man coulde abid to be worshiped with such mad gestures But I the lord of hostâ—s for as muche as I am a spirite and the creatour of aâ— pure spirites wyth bodily gestur am I nothing delited but in spirit
as his auncient But let vs discusse no lenger how longe your poperie hath ben vsed but let vs trie by the touchston of God his holye word how trulye you popish prelates haue delâ— with Christes floke these thousande yeares that Sathan hath ben louse among you and how diligently you haue handeled led and fed them For no lenght of time may make wickednes good No no the abhominacion of thinges that be wicked doeth dayly encrease For the second day addeth â–ª some thing to the wickednesse of the first And so doeth errour beyng wicked dayly growe and encrease til it come to the highest abomination so that in coÌ„tinuaunce it vttereth it selfe most clearly For as tyme by the prouidence of God doeth first cloke couer and hyde all thinges good and bad so doeth the same opeÌ„ and disclose all thinges euen by the same prouidence and wisdome And for this cause hath God apointed the darke nyght and coÌ„fusion of thynges to go before boeth in the creacioÌ„ and ordre of his creatures that after â—at the tyme appoynted whan the bryght light measure and ordre of al thinges should appeare that his glorie might the more worthelye be extolled magnified and renowmed by the comparison of these thinges so farre contrarie This is it that SolomoÌ„ sayeth He hath alwayes made ij against ij and euerie thing is well done in his due tyme. First darkenes then light First night then daye First sinne theÌ„ grace First wrath theÌ„ mercie First blindnesse then knowledge Firste erreoure then trueth For what worthye cause coulde we haue had to renowne and prayse the grace and mercie of God if ther had ben no sinne felte or wrath deserued or feared And now contrarie wise what an inestimable richese of Godes goodnesse may we accompt wher we are deliuered from sinne shame wrath death and restored vnto grace fauour ioye confort lyfe We are brought from darkenesse vnto this marueilouse light frome blyndnesse vnto the cleare sight of the treasures of God laied vp in his son Christ ⧠Of the worde sacrament ABout the word sacrameÌ„t I inteÌ„de not long to trifle But to take your owne wordes and somthinge to examine them You do bring in an argument of your aduersaries made by the stronge places of reasoning called Definitiorei in english the definition of the thing that is to them that vnderstand not these termes grounded vpon the oracion or sentence that declareth what the thinge is A sacrament therfore is as well by the definition that your doctours haue made as that you your selfe do make a visible signe of an inuisible grace Vpon this definition foloweth a double argument First because it is a signe it is not the thinge signed or tokened And this reasone is proued true a relatiue oppositis if you haue learned so muche logike and by many fold examples As the ale pole the yuie bush beinge the signes of wyne ale within the tauerne house can not be the thing signed and tokened your 〈◊〉 foâ— ked myter signifiynge the. ij lawes can not be ij lawes Your white rachet signifiynge chastitie can not be chastitie it selfe Your glitteringe shoese signifiynge the preciouse fete of the preachers of the gospel are not the fete signed and tokened Your brode shauen crown signifiyng folishnesse is not the thing it selfe I trow onlesse you haue chaunged all the thinges into theyr signes shadowes You haue caused vs longe and woulde haue vs still to gape after signes and shadowes as the dogge doeth in Isopes fables and so lose the thinge it selfe which shoulde be oure fode and confort You tell vs that the signe token or shadowe is the thinge it selfe Shal we beleue you still Naye your definition telleth vs of two things to be in this sacrameÌ„t That is to say A visible signe and an inuisible grace What other thinge I praye you without contencion can thys visible sygne be but the breade whyche Christ taketh in hand and breaketh For other visible thynge ther is â–ª none That is to saye in playne englyshe that all men maye knowe what we speake and wryte ther is none other thingâ— open to the eies of man to be sene Thys breade thus broken therfore is the sygne or token that maye be sene of a grace that can not be sene That is to say of the forgeuenesse of synnes in thys bloude of the newe testament of Christe oure sauiour Thus frame I therfore the secounde reasone A thynge visible and inuisible can not be boeth one to be senne and not sene But this sacrament as you haue coÌ„fessed in your definicion is a thynge visible and maye be sene therfore can it not be the thynge inuisible therby represented Al that you haue spoken in thys cause byshoup Stephane is of your owne heade wythout either scripture or reasone ⧠Of the name breade VVHer you saie that we dallie with this worde breade and would in the meane tyme your selfe proue that it is no bread we dare because Paule calleth it bread take any christiaÌ„ herte to iudge who doeth more dallie and trifell Wil you reason in like maner of the cup and saie that because in the same place he calleth it this cup it is not the cup And a little after he calleth it that cuppe and that breade shall they nowe continue in theyr owne kynde styll What if he calle it breade wythout any addicion as he doeth in the same Chapiter Iesus the same nyght he was betrayed toke the breade And the Euangelistes do name it breade wythout any addicion shall it yet be breade You haue your â–ª excuse in redinesse It is not consecrated for so the. Well goe to foxes seeke your holes What is it in the breakeinge is it not then â–ª consecrated You can not for verie shame denie that Heare what Paule sayeth without addicion of this or that Panis queÌ„ frangimus nonne coÌ„municatio corporis Christi est The bread that we breake is it not the partakeinge of the bodye of Christe Wyll you nowe striue for the breade as you dyd for the Lorde scrape it out theÌ„ if you lust You are to much a wraÌ„ng lynge sophiste Wyl you heare no scriptures that you maye seke some starteynge holes we are one bread and one bodie saith Paule so many as are partakers of one breade Againe he was knowne vnto them in the breakeinge of breade They did continue in the doctrine of the Apostles in feloweshipe and breakeing of breade Dailie continuing with one accorde in the temple and brake breade frome house to house But lo nowe the wylie foxe stealeeth into agreate borough where he waloweth at wyll sayeynge that it beareth the name of breade because it was so before the chaung But if a man kepe hym frome takeynge ayre at thys chaunge he wylbe smothered and kylled in hys hole For thys chaunge is it that succoureth the foxes They are so wylye subtyle and chaungeable that they
together with you into the blinde pit of darknesse Thus haue you led our fathers before vs so many as would take you for their scho maisters and had none other secrete motion of the spirite to lifte their hertes vp into the heauens dâ—…nge the ayde and healpe of al other â—râ—… And yet 〈◊〉 can not content your selues with the kingdome that you haue vsurped in the consciences of men where none ought to reigne but God more then these thousande yeres onlesse you maye styll haue the same authoritie in establishinge your popetrie and Idolatrie beating euermore into oure eares that your Idolatrous and superstitious religion hath continued these M. D. yeres Where as we partly haue declared might more at large declare were it not to tedious that it hath crept vp onely with your wicked papacie and possessions of the churche and hath continued onely the tyme that Sathan hath bene lose and sent furth into the worlde to worke his wyll when you his stoute souldiour dyd shit vp the kyngdome of God his worde and neither woulde enter in your selues nor suffre them that woulde entre But now that the lambe hath vnlocked the boke Sathan begynneth to roare for feare of the fal of his kingdome and you bishoppes his champions do rage and fight agaynst God his worde yea agaynste euery thinge that is God or godly But we shal ouercome by the bloude of the lambe and by the worde of his witnesse And therefore do we ieoperde oure soules vnto death not onely against the Romishe Antichriste but the Mahumetaine also who is like to reigne ouer vs as a worthy plage for slidynge from the worde of God eueÌ„ as he hath many yeres reigned ouer many christian nations whiche boeth in life and learning were as holy as we be now coÌ„pted If thys thynge I saye shall come to passe as no man knoweth Goddes secrete working but suche onely as it shall please him to endue with this knowledge we shall be redie both to speake and write as we nowe do for the glorie of God against al Idolatours so far as God shal open our hertes and giue vs strength For without his audacitie and boldnesse of spirite poured into vs we shall stande in as gerate feare to perfourme thys as we shoulde be to write against your abominations knowing your crueltie towardes theÌ„ that haue hertofore moued your pacieÌ„ce What other men haue written in the fauour of Mahumete I can not tell But thys do I see with myne eyes that you bishoppes do opeÌ„ a great dore for him to entre in at by the Idolatrie that you do maynteyne in settyng vp so weake a creature to be God For what playner waye can ye haue to impunge the christian religion then to fynde it to be grouÌ„ded vpon so fonde a foundation as this weake Idol of yours And on the other side by your wicked life and tirannouse handlynge of the pore flocke of Christ you ministre great occasion for vs to thyinke that we shall lyue vnder the turckes as quietly and safly as vnder you both in auoydynge the Popishe Idolatrie and also in escapynge of outragiouse tiranny Beware howe your malice leadeth you to minister suche occasions For though we abhorre eueÌ„ froÌ„ the bottomes of our hertes the turrkeshe Mahumete and his lawes and are ready to wryte and speake agaynste them in the defence of our Christ and his religion rather wishyng to dye then to be subiect vnto him yet thys present necessitie and more greuous bondage that we suffre nowe vnder the byshoppes the lymes of the Romishe Antichrist are so intollerable that we had rather proue any thynge then longe to abyde it If they ouercome here the victorie wyll hardly be stayed from conquest in the reste Call backe your tiranny therefore aboute the worshyppynge of thys Idoll Surely it is full tyme as you saye for you to stryue for your God and to encourage your companions to sticke to their taklynge for if we maye once get the victorie herein all the residue of your Poperie wyl haue a foule fall Note our simplicitie as much as you wil and skoffe on styll wyth the Deuyll is simple iwys we wyll neuer be ashamed to call breade breade so longe as we haue Luke the Euangelist and Paule the Apostle of Christ to take our parte Come you in wyth your double gloses and put furth two faces in owne hoode in euerie thinge you go about as longe as you luste But it is an high mattier to vnderstand what breade meaneth and what the worlde signifieth you saye Go to go to And all the worlde what so euer the worlde signifieth wyll shortly deride you and thynke you worthy of your ii forcked myters for your doublenesse ⧠Of thys name Masse and of the diriuation of the same NOw labour you to haue this name Missa or Masse diriued of an Hebrue worde wherein I wyll not greatly contende thoughe it make not much for your purpose because I know the subtiltie of the generation that fyrste named it whose caste it is alwayes to busie mens myndes wyth straunge names darcke termes and subtile disputations aboute the same to holde men occupied in trifles and to keepe them froÌ„ the playnes of the trueth Other wise they could haue ben coÌ„tent to haue named it the breaking of the bread with Luke or the supper of the Lorde wyth Paule But for the nature of the Hebrue worde Lerne what Sanctes Pagninus wryteth in Thesauro lingue sancte 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Missa sufficientiaÌ„ significat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 id est Sufficientiam voluntatis aut spontis manns tue TarghuÌ„ Deut. xv xviii pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod est sufficieÌ„tia habet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rabbi Selomoh in coÌ„meÌ„taries exponit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sufficieÌ„tiaÌ„ Rabbi AbrahaÌ„ hoc pacto scribit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Daghessatur samech nam deducitur a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod est signâ—m Iheroâ—iâ—nus OblationeÌ„ spontaneaÌ„ manâ— tue Vnde dicuÌ„t noÌ„ nulli quod 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est oblatio que fit deo propter aliquod munus personale quibus non assentior cum nullus ex Hebreis doctoribus hoâ—dicat quos legerim Hactenus Pagninus These wordes declare the nature of this worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by diriuatioÌ„ euen froÌ„ the original Whiche howe wel it agreeth with our englishe word masse let the learned iudge It caÌ„ not be tried hereby that it is a sacrifice for the quicke for the dead but rather cleane coÌ„trarie by that whiche Pagninus affirmeth Ther is yet an other Hebrue worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifiynge a tribute whiche some men saye is the originall because of the contribution and payment that was gathered for the reliefe of the pore in the beginning There is also a verbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which betokeneth to melte or to be dissolued awaye where of you may diriue Missa if you wyll
bicause the houre is at hande wheÌ„ the Masse and all mans inuentions shal melt like waxe before the brenning fyre of the word of god But what mattier maketh it whereof thys worde cometh seinge al the worlde seeth that your Masse is a Masse and heape of ceremonies and fonde gestures nothinge after the forme that Christ our maister did institute it Seinge therfore you haue both geuen it a newe name chaunged the thinge it selfe also men that do mislyke your doinges maye wythout blame gyue it the name that they fynde in scriptures to call Christes deede into remembraunce whiche you haue almoste extinguished We therefore do coÌ„munely call it the supper of the Lorde as Paule doeth because at his last supper Christ dyd ordeine this sacrameÌ„t for a memorie remembraunce But for the worde Cena it is inough for chyldren to daly as you do in the scholes And the text of Paule is playne inough It is the mattier that we coÌ„tende for not the termes Thys terme the supper of the Lorde doeth signifie vnto vs the worke that Christe dyd and the thing that shoulde be had in memorie Your masse you say signifieth but no maÌ„ caÌ„ tell by what propertie of laÌ„guage al these thynges The gloriouse presence of the bodie and bloud of Christ the whole circumstauÌ„ces vsed and ceremonies done the deuoute prayers that be spoken by the priest Wel it is a smal mattier for you that can chaunge thynges and creatures to chaunge wordes and names at your pleasure Polidore semeth to speake in differeÌ„tly for vs both in this mattier where he sayeth that in the Masse there was an offeringe and gathering for the poore whiche fauoureth some thynge of the Hebrue worde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tributum collectum But the pore are dispised and therfore there remayneth only the songe that is called the Offertorie sayth he which was songe whiâ—se the money was in gathering Finally whether you prelates whiche cal your selues the church may say with Paule Ego accepi a domino quod et tradidi vobis Let al me iudge that haue knowledge to perceyue what is in your Masse and what the Lorde dyd at his supper when he coÌ„maunded vs to do this in the remeÌ„braunce of hym and that we shoulde al drinke thereof Yea that so ofte as we eate of this bread drinke of thys cup we shoulde shewe furth the death of the Lorde vnto that he come whiche is the onely thynge that we desyre to haue the death of Christe preached in thys sacrament for that is the only fode life of the soule where you wyll haue nothynge but blynde diguisinges wherwith neither the body nor soul caÌ„ be fed ⧠Of theues that steâ—e awaye the fode of the soule THey would steale awaye the precious fode of the body and bloude of Christ make it a bare drinking of breade and wine Iudge you that be of god how we would steale awaye the precious fode of the body bloud of Christ wheÌ„ we do coÌ„tinually teach that this is the only fode of the soule and the working of the meate that neuer perisheth to beleue hym whom the father hath sent And would haue therfore the coÌ„ming sufferyng of Christ preached vnto the people by this sacrameÌ„t that they mighte continually feede of his body brokeÌ„ for them for the only fode of their soules Yea rather you are the theues the whole worlde to witnes that robbe the shepe of the fode of their soules You rob the pore people of the testament of their father You rob vs lay leude meÌ„ of the one halfe of the sacrament You take froÌ„ vs the testament which only was strikeÌ„ and established in the bloud which was coÌ„mauÌ„ded in the olde testameÌ„t to be sprinckled vpoÌ„ al the people of the which we were al coÌ„mauÌ„ded in the new testament to drinke And bisides that in the ministering of this sacrameÌ„t you wyl preach nothing of the death of Christ vnto vs though it be the sacrament therof No you will not speake one worde of his death passion nor once name vnto vs his body broken and his bloude shed for our synnes that it mighte be the fode of our soules You cause vs to gape gase at dead dombe ceremonies whereby the soule that is spiritual caÌ„ not be fed Yea that is worste of al in the steede of this fode of Christ you do kyl the soule not only with famine for lacke of this fode but also wyth the moste present poyson of Idolatrie The vtter confusion and distruction of all that wyllyngly folowe it And where they wyll passe none of their owne suppers on the greatest fastinge daye without fleshe yet in this supper of the lorde they diuise a diete wythout deinties to haue nothynge present but breade and wyne In our owne suppers we do vse no superstitioÌ„ of meates nor daies because God hath created al his creatures to be takeÌ„ with thankes giuinge as his good creatures and hath made maÌ„ Lorde ouer dayes and times to vse theÌ„ to his necessitie to serue to his vse And though the Iewes were nourterid for a time with shadowes of daies meates like ordinauÌ„ces tyl Christ the body did come set vs at libertie froÌ„ al such boÌ„dage yet because we christiaÌ„s haue once professed to worshyp god in spirite truth we may not turne backe froÌ„ the same to folowe the grosse superstitioÌ„ that the Pope hath soweÌ„ thorowout his kyngdoÌ„ but labour to breake it to take it awaye for the wealth of our brethreÌ„ leste peraduenture they that be weake do stil thinke it an high honour vnto god great holines to eate fish vpoÌ„ certeine daies coÌ„mauÌ„ded by the Pope to be so fasted and coÌ„trariwise that the eating of fleshe on those daies is dishonour vnto him a crime deseruing sore punishment And thus by our streÌ„gth the weake be offeÌ„ded established in their errour EueÌ„ as thei did that dyd styll eate of the meate offered vnto the Idols amongest the Corhinthians though thei dyd know that nothing was poluted or vucleane of it selfe yet thei sitting at the table of the Idoles were the occasion that the weake brothers who fraimed their fayth after thexeÌ„ple of theÌ„ that had knowledge were established in their errour by seing theÌ„ sit at the meate of Idols For it was not the maner that any maÌ„ shoulde syt at the Idoles table but suche as would be partakers of the Idolatrie In this point dyd Peter offeÌ„de also wheÌ„ he disseÌ„bled in the eating of â—eat paul rebuked him therfore In our owne suppers therefore we eate flesh or fish indiffereÌ„tly as is offred vnto vs giue god thaÌ„kes for his creatures WheÌ„ we fast we absteine froÌ„ both And not regarding bodily things for the time we do occupy our selues in spiritual meditation in mournynge for our sinnes the sinnes of the people And wheÌ„
the vndefiled in the waye which walke in the lawe of the Lorde Blessed are they which serch his testimonies and ther shall you perceiue that the worde of God shoulde be the delyte of the life the fode of the soule the lyght â—o the foâ—e stepes the rode of the yonge man to breake his lustes the exercise of his lyfe the coÌ„forte in aduersite the bridle in prosperitie the medicine in sickenesse the onely fode in health the relefe in werinesse the banisment of vilanie sufferinge no shame to assalt the cause of reioyseinge in banisment and imprisoneinge in extreme age the releyfeinge of werinesse causeynge all quietnesse Yea in death the geuer of lyfe and in lyfe ioye euerlasteinge Is not this thinge worthie to be preached in the tyme of mattens and masse to be preached red and hearde inmattens masse and euensonge tyme to be learned of men women children plowemen yemen gentillmen fre men bound men and generally of al christen men Oh bishope recant for shame Now to discuse what place the doctrine of meÌ„ should haue in the worship of God marck that God sayeth That which I coÌ„maund the that onely do thou neither adde thou any thynge nor diminishe therfrom Marcke agayne howe Madaâ— and Abihu the chyldreÌ„ of Aaron dyd offre vnto the Lorde straunge fyre that was not commaunded them fyre came furth froÌ„ the Lorde deuoured them So straunge a thing it is to set vp a strauÌ„ge thinge of our owne braine Oze for touching the Arke of God was stryken to death notwythstandynge he dyd it of a good entent Howe thynke you then wyll God receyue your fonde doctrines and ceremonies Saule the firste kynge of the Israelites was thorowe a folishe intent of his owne put from his kyngdome Beinge commanÌ„dded to destroye the Amalechites wyth all theirs he saued the best and fayrest inteÌ„ding to do sacrifice therwyth vnto the Lorde But God asked hym by the prophet in this wise Wyl the Lorde haue holocastes offeringes and not rather obedience vnto the voice of the Lorde But thys place do you falsâ—y alledge for the obedience vnto men euen in like maner as you do wraste thys texte also In â—ayne do they worshyp me teachyng the doctrines and preceptes of men But we dare examine the maâ—tier by your owne gloses You are content to graunte that suche doctrines and preceptes of men as be taught of their owne braines wheÌ„ they were but in the state of men onely were but vayne worship And then talke you of Lycurgus and of Numa Pompilius but in the popes kyngdome al doctrine was good for he was aboue this state of a man as it should seme because you can fynde no faute wyth his doinges yea all you bishops and your priestes are more then meÌ„ also as may appeare by your boke for what so euer you saye we muste beleue you or els we dispise God Thus caÌ„ you alledge scriptures and can proue thys by a text of Paule Non spernit hominem sed Deâ—m He doeth not dispise man but God Whiche text is spoken of the precept of God wrytten in Leuiticus whiche forbyddeth the to defraude thy brother whiche Paule alledgeth a litle before and therfore warneth the Thessalonians not to set lyghte of that lawe the authour wherof was not any maÌ„ but God But you write of authoritie You may writh scriptures as ye luste As for your place to the Hebrues maketh for theÌ„ that preach the worde of God whose fayth we shoulde folowe and consider the ende of their conuersation If you wyl be tryed to be such ministers you must proue vnto vs your ministration in muche sufferaunce in afliction in necessitie in carefulnesse in strokes in imprisonment in seditioÌ„s in labours watchyng fastynges in purenesse in knowledge in gentlenesse of minde and liberalitie in the holy gost in loue not fayned and in the worde of trueth c. Dare you styll cal your selues ministers Then must you be the disposers of these misteries of God And so longe as you syt in the seate of Moyses preachyng the worde of God so far wyl we beleue you And so far as you are the folowers of Christe we wyll folowe you But if you bringe not his word we dare not saye Aâ—e vnto you nor receyue you into our â–ª houses No we do take you for the vncleane beastes that do not diuide the houffe Suche are the shepeheardes as Iheremie sayeth that are fed wyth the wynde whiche scatter the shepe caste them furth and do not visit the flocke The priest and the prophete are boeth defiled wherfore they do doeth folowe a slipperie waye in the darcke wherein they shalbe dryuen furth and fal in the same for I shall brynge the daye of their visitation vpon them sayeth the Lorde They are al like Sodomites in my sight the people lyke Gomorrha With wormewod and gaâ—â—e therfore wyll I feede theÌ„ For al pollution is coÌ„men vpon the earth sayeth the Lorde by the prophetes of Iherusalem men moste highly estemed in outwarde holinesse But thus sayth the Lorde of hostes Gyue none eare to the wordes of these prophetes that deceyue you For they speake the visioÌ„ of thir owne hertes not of the mouth of the Lorde Thus are we playnely taughte howe perilouse a thinge it is to folowe the doctrines of men be they neuer so highly aduaunced wyth titles of holynesse Yea we are by the mouth of God admonished aboue all thynges to beware of them that promise peace quietnesse folowinge but the shreudnesse of their owne hertes and folishe inuentions for it is a kynde of Idolatrie not to sticke vnto his worde as vnto the thynge onely sufficient Of suche prophetes therefore as brynge their owne inuentions doeth he saye I dyd not sende them they ranne I did not speake vnto them and they dyd prophecie If they had stande in my counsayle and published my wordes to my people they shoulde haue turned them from their wycked wayes and from their wycked inuentions I dyd heare howe they tolde lyes dreames in my name by the disceites of their herte causynge the people to forget my name for their dreames as is it come to passe thys daye Therefore sayeth the Lorde of hostes agaynst such prophetes He that hath a dreame let him tel his dreame and he that hath my worde let hym speake my worde truly What minglest thou chaffe wyth the â—heate Are not my wordes lyke fyre sayeth the Lorde and lyke the mall that breaketh the stone Therfore to you prophetes that steale my wordes euerie one froÌ„ his brother dreamynge furth your lyes deceyuyng my people wyth your lyes your miracles where as I dyd neuer sende you nor yet commaunde any suche thynge to my people as dyd not profite them You are the heauy burden that I can no loÌ„ger beare and therfore I wyl caste you awaye Agayne Ezechiell in the spirite of God doeth thus