our syns dyd in his body beare The small vertue of your patcht Masse you might perceiue by this The oft repeating of the same doth proue how weake it is For if it were of such a force as could remoue our synne Once being sayd you néeded not agayne it to begynne This was the cause that sacrifice was often done before Because they could no man agayne to righteousnes restore Besides a number here vntoutcht this errour is therein Your carnall adoration which late you haue brought in Whereby you do with daunger great the Sacramentes adore The creature for Creator what errour can be more What worship due is vnto God what vnto Christ the Lord Is not by mans wyll measured but by Gods holy word Such straūge worship as you do teach was neuer knowne before In bread and wine here vpon earth Christ Iesus to adore Take eate and drinke and do ye this in memorye of me And this deuyde amongst you all thus oft we charged be But mention finde we none at all of honour to it due This doctrine had not bene forgot if that it had bene true The Apostle did deliuer all receiued of the Lord Yet of this adoration he speaketh not a word Your ydle braynes hath set aworke the people so to do You haue a spirit reueald you this with many other mo But not the spirit of God for that doth alway well agree With gods pure word that written is your errours it doth flye Our sauiour departing hence hath left a pledge behinde Of his great loue and benefites which he wrought for mankynde Euen Sacramentes of bread and wine the which our eyes do sée The vertue of his bodye and bloud to teach vs sensiblye By bread our body strengthned is and noorished to lyue Christes bodye so vnto the soule the onely lyfe doth gyue As wyne the hart it doth reioyce and cherefulnes doth bring His bloud so comforteth the soule aboue all earthly thing Therfore the bread and wyne do beare we néede not thinke it straunge The names of thynges they signifye yet substance doth not chaunge The outwarde visible Sacramentes the mouth doth taste alone But spirituall foode is geuen therby which faith must feede vpon Of Christ to be partakers here it is no let at all Thoughe in his body he remayne in place celestiall The sunne in substance is aboue yet feele we here below The heate and power therof to worke on all thinges that do grow So though Christes body be in heauen yet here if is by grace Through working of Gods holy spirit as if it were in place No carnall presence then beleue lift vp thyne hart on hye There woorship Christ on Gods right hand if daunger thou wilt flye These creatures he willed vs with thankfulnes to take In memorye of that his death he suffred for our sake With Christ his Institution wherein doth Masse agree What he comaundeth that you breake and do cleane contrarie Christ in remembrance of his death these Sacramentes hath made But for the synnes of quick and dead your Masse is dayly sayd Christes Supper both the Sacraments of bread and wyne doth geue But of the cup your wicked Masse the faithfull doth bereue Wher we these sacraments shuld take as of his onely gift You offer them to God for synne as raunsome in his sight That he was once an offring made Christes Supper teacheth playne But Masse doth daily offer him for Sacrifice agayne Christes Supper common ought to be for all to feede thereon But Masse is priuate to the Priest to eate and drinke alone And when he hath deuoured all to shew his wickednes In mocking them with emptie cup he doth the people blesse You vse the wordes lyke to a charme as if with your intent They had the power substance to chaūge where Christ it neuer ment What straunge iesture vse you therin with turning to and fro You blesse and crosse on euery syde you becke and bowe therto You mocke you mow you breath and blow with coniuring among No meruel though wōders be wrought your breath it is so strong You stand some tyme as in a traunce your fingers in your eare Which signe doth shew you haue no mynd the truth at al to heare You speake the wordes all to your selfe and that most secretely Least other should your cunning learn to make your god thereby You lift the Sacramentes aloft aboue your shauen crowne Then when the Idoll is erect the people falleth downe You hang him in a rope of hempe A signe of small good will If any daunger make you flye your god there hangeth still And so doth stand in great distresse him selfe he cannot saue As Labans gods were stolne from him such help your God may haue You kéepe him till he mould agayne wher be you taught these thinges Then do ye him for synne applye to such as mony bringes He was by Iudas sold but once when he did him betraye Iudas herein you do excell you sell him euerye daye Your masse doth darkē Christ his death and driues it out of mynde If in the same as you do teach forgiuenes we may fynde Christes testament of giuing lyfe and pardon of our synne By death it was confirmed once nothing to chaunge therein His testament you haue defaste his death you do denye For euery Masse doth it not graunt new righteousnes thereby And new forgeuenes of our synne euen for the worke once wrought What els do these new testamentes but set the first at nought But if you will haue them to stand and ratifyed to be To make them perfect Christ must com yet once agayne to dye This was the cause that numbers great your Masse so did embrace As bringing all saluation alone in euery place So beutifull it did appeare and shined all so bright The simple man bewitch did thinke it was a heauenly sight But who so throughly doth it know and looketh well thereon A damned thing most detestable will it confesse anon These few may serue but for a taste what of the rest to hold For of the errours of the Masse the third here is not told ¶ Against the praying to Saintes WHat profit of true prayer is no tong can well expresse What comfort to the heauy soule opprest with carefulnesse Thereby our God he present is when daunger is at hand Defending and eke strengthning vs temptacion to withstand His heauenly grace he graunteth soone if prayer do complayne Thereby forgeuenes of our synne and peace we do obtayne As walles the town doth compasse safe when enmyes force is bent So prayer doth the soule preserue when Sathan doth vs tempt But of all these great benefites the faithfull you bereue That in the Saintes of God do teache the people to beleue All contrary to Christian faith so leading them away From God the geuer of good giftes
length ¶ Against the iustification of workes FRom Adam euen as from the roote synne hath spred ouer all The braunches that be of his stocke through that his gréeuous fall Such is the poyson that from him all mankynde hath receiued That since we all be borne in synne and so in synne conceiued Therewith came all our myserye therewith did enter in Death both of body and of soule the iust reward of synne Then entred hate and ignorance of God and all distrust Of heauenly grace and righteousnes thus Man was spoyled furst And so became the childe of wrath once loued entirelye O Adam if thou hadst remaynde in that féelicitie Then honger cold nor yet disease had neuer man assailde Then Sathans power syn death nor hell had neuer so preuailde But fithe the Diuell such wickednes into the world hath brought And so betwixt God and mankynde such enmitie hath wrought Of our religion greatest poynt truly to learne is this How man to perfect righteousnes agayne restored is And how Gods fauour is obtaynd from whence we were exilde The meane we seeke to vnderstand how man is reconcilde Your Romish church doth falsely teach in workes of men to trust And righteousnes in vaine to seeke through merites of the iust But Scripture teacheth contrarie that righteousnes is none Whereby man can be iustefyed in workes that here be done But rightuousnes that shall auayle and euer more remayne By faith in Iesu Christ his death alone we do obtayne Before God he is iustefyed whom God for iust doth take And doth acquite as Innocent euen for his mercies sake This Iustification then is wrought when God doth synne forgeue And doth impute Christs righteousnes to such as doo beleue When man to grace God first did call his mercye for to show What worke of mā did once him moue such mercie to bestow He chose vs of his own accord not as he did foresée The worthynes of any worke that afterward should be The tree thus beyng all corrupt what good fruite can it bring What water cleare once can proceede from foule and filthie spring Euen such is man with al his thoughts his wordes and workes he hath All is corrupt and doth deserue of God nothing but wrath If any thing be worthy praise if any worke be good By grace the same is wrought in vs the praise is due to God. The natural strength of mans frée wil whereof so much you boast Not one good worke can worke in vs that fréedome now is lost When man was create then he had the power of free will To stand in grace and had the choise so to continue still But so his will he did abuse he lost him selfe withall That ryse he could not by his strength his wil he made it thrall Therefore what Sathan moueth to we do it readilye As captiues all he doth vs leade Christ onely maketh frée His holy spirite doth geue the grace all godly workes to chuse It is his onely gift also that synne we do refuse Were it not to great iniurye the inheritance to clayme Of landes or goods that were but lent a while to vse the same No lesse trespasse it is to God to challenge as our right The power to worke a godly worke which is his onely gift Then seyng no good worke we haue what righteousnes can be What merit wher nothing doth raign but great iniquitie Yea though we be regenerate and borne in Christ agayne No worke yet here so perfect is Gods fauour to obtayne Our righteousnes all stayned is whose hart is pure within Who lyueth here so innocent that dayly doth not synne The starres that be in firmament are not pure in Gods sight The Sun and Moone comparde to him at all they giue no light Then Man that is corruption how can he iustefye Hym selfe when God as iudge shal sit hys righteousnes to trye But when we haue done what we can euen then both more and lesse Vnprofitable seruantes all our selues let vs confesse Our dutie for we haue but done nothing here can be founde Of supererogation in workes that doth abounde If any thing we do besides that God doth not require It is but synne and doth deserue nothing but wrath and ire A frée gift is our rightuousnes obtayned all by grace Least any man should boast him selfe our workes here haue no place For where to workes reward is due there grace is none at all The worke once done the workman may by right for wages call Thus make you God in debt to man if that without delaye The hyre that we haue labourd for he do not trulye paye But those that in the vineyard wrought a penny did receaue Not as their labours did exceede but as the Lord it gaue So our inheritance in heauen by promise frée we haue Mercye doth measure all reward no merites can it craue Their rightuousnes who leaneth to Christes righteousnes doth leese All workes reiecte the Publicane by faith the Lord did please And Abraham his righteousnes by fayth he dyd obtayne Because to God his promise made constant he did remayne So fréely are we iustefied by Christes redemption Through faith sure fixed in his bloud we haue remission As Iacob did his father please the garment hauing on That was his brothers and thereby the blessing gat anon So in Gods presence when we shall at any tyme appeare Christes righteousnes the garment that we must onely weare The swéete sauour that Isaac felt our faith doth signifie The smell whereof so pleaseth God it doth vs iustefye Faith is the hand wherwith we reach forgeuenes of our synne For this we say our righteousnes onely doth stand therein Fayth onely therefore and no workes doth synners iustefye Because Christes righteousnes to vs alone it doth applye Faith it doth purifye the hart then God doth vs accept From Faith if they do not procéede all workes he doth reiect Abell therefore God dyd regarde his offryng he dyd chuse But Cain and his sacrifice as wycked dyd refuse Yet meane we not of such a Faith as fruite hath none at all For that which dead is without works true Faith we cannot call But Faith which is effectuall whereby the iust doth lyue As fire his heate alway doth yeld so good fruite doth it gyue As tyme doth serue and néede require so Faith doth worke withall Therefore good workes through onely Faith are not destroyd at all The company of godly workes Faith euermore doth loue But when our Faith doth iustefy then workes we do remoue For vnto Faith is promised all our saluation Which to obtaine no works can help but power of Fayth alone But here the slaūderous tong doth say good workes we néede not
augment your fault the greater is your syn The Heathen so know welinough their Idols what they were Euen Images of fained gods which they did worship there They were not yet so fond to thinke that stones or wood so wrought Could be the gods whom they did séeke this was not in their thought The Israelites that made the Calfe they wist it was of gold For of their earinges it was formde their eyes might this behold They did not take that Calfe for God which did them so deliuer But as a signe their god in déede the better to remember Yet were they all Idolaters you can it not denay Though vayne excuses here be made you be as ill as they For though you say you meane it not to th Image that is there Yet what your meaning is in deede by this it may appeare For where no Idoll present is there present few will bée To offer or to knocke or kneele there candell none we sée Therfore since Idoles were remoude all pilgrimage is gone Crouches ships nor men of ware the people offers none Those Idols haue these euils wrought and caused to offend Destroye them all and suche abuse will soone be at an end But sundrye meanes the Deuill hath taught these Idols to vphold They serue they say for Lay mens bookes when they do them behold But knowledge of God and of Christ the Scripture doth vs teache His power and wisdome infinite all creatures do preache These are good bookes to learne vpon these God appoynted hath But Images accursed are and do prouoke his wrath If any would be ignoraunt of God his holie will These bookes will stand them in good stede so to continue still How Christ for vs was crucified the scripture doth it shew The Sacramentes in memory the same doth oft renew These are true witnesses of Christ his death they set foorth playne These be good meanes to thinke on him vntill he come agayne Errour and vanitie is taught by Images of wood They be all dumme and cannot speake nor teach ought that is good But when the Pastors waxed dumme and true light did declyne Their office to those Images the Pastors did resigne For if that preaching had bene vsde and people trulye taught Those lying and dead Images they néeded not haue saught For Iesu Christ cannot be knowne by sight of eye so cleare But faith and truth obtayned is by hearyng of the eare When th Image stately standes a lost more power it hath to crooke The wretched soule thē truth to teach to serue for any booke Therfore vnworthie is the worke vngodly is the intent To know the liuing God thereby an Image to inuent For if a mortall liuing man whom God him selfe hath made To know God or remember him cannot at all persuade Then dead men carued out of wood how can they moue therto That haue no speeche no sight nor life to stir them to or fro No knowledge then can come thereby nor any good at all They are most daungerous stomblyng blocks occasion of great fall Wherfore for warning briefly take and kéepe it well in mynde The fearfull cursse that God doth geue in Scripture as we fynde Accurssed be the man that shall a molten Image frame In any mettall or by arte of caruing do the same And shall it place so beyng wrought in secret corner then All people with one free consent shall therto say Amen ¶ Against the sacrifice of the Masse and the wicked adoration GOD hath his loue vnto mankinde declarde in sundry wyse But most when Christ hys Sonne he gaue for synne a sacrifice Such was the greuousnes of synne such wrath it did deserue No sacrifice that euer was could man from death preserue Vntyll Christ Iesus offred vp his body on the trée An euerlasting Sacrifice for all our synne to bée Christ is the onely Lambe of God whose bloud was shed for synne And in full force remayned since the world dyd first begynne The sacrifices that haue bene and offringes long before They were but figures of this one induring euermore This sacrifice was offred once Christ was the Priest alone To offer vp him selfe for vs mo Priestes he néedeth none How dare you then so wickedly this office to you take To offer vp the Sonne of God new sacrifice to make Though malice let you to confesse your errour yet is playne No Priest on earth ought to presume to offer him agayne Both bread and wyne for Sacraments we offer thankfullye We offer almes for the poore with prayse to God on hye An offring of our selues we make renude in hart and mynde Our praiers so presented be such offringes do we fynde To offer these the Priests them selues God doth not onely chuse For Priestes we all appointed are such sacrifice to vse But Christ was neuer offered nor yet shall be agayne But once when he dyd yelde him selfe to death for to be slayne Therefore herein your wycked wyll your purpose doth bewray You would againe him crucifye if in your power it lay Or els why then do you attempt to offer so in vayne Christes body which yet cannot be except he dye agayne You say your sacrifice doth purge both synnes of quicke and dead But no forgeuenes can there be except some bloud be shed By bloud into the holy place the hye Priest entred in By bloud our Sauiour purchased remission of our syn And if your Masse such merite haue for lyuing and for dead Vndoubtedly Christes sacrifice doth stand in litle sted What haue we got by Christ his death but Masse can it obtayne From syn from hell it can discharge and from etternall payne Such holynes is hid therein that onely hearing Masse No daunger can vs then assaile all thinges come well to passe Such Masse we may blasphemous call if blasphemy there be Yea full of wicked sacriledge full of Idolatrie Of all abomination it is the wicked head Your god on earth you néede not looke for other in your néede The sacrifice of Christ you make no better in effect Then Oxe or Calfe or then the Gaote whose bloud are now reiect For those before were offered but could not synne remyt Remembraunce onely they did bryng of synnes we dyd commyt As féeble make you Christ his bloud from synne vs to redéeme Els would you not so vertuous your wicked Masse estéeme But Christ hath found redemption that perfect is in déede For euermore sufficient none other do we néede And beyng yet vpon the crosse our raunsome to fulfyll And yelding vp the Ghost such were the woordes of hys last wyll Mans health and his saluation it is now consummate And perfectly is finished your Masse it comes to late Why do we then his wordes mistrust a Straungers voyce to heare And leaue our Christ who all