their obedience they destroy the obedience that God ordayned in this world desireth no other With their pouerty they destroy the pouertie of the spirit which Christ taught onely whiche is onely not to loue worldly goodes With their fast they destroy the fast which God commaundeth that is a perpetuall sobernesse to tame the fleshe With their patteryng prayer they destroy the prayer taught by God whiche is either thankes or desiryng helpe with fayth trust that God heareth me Their holynesse is to forbyd y t God ordeined to be receaued with thankes giuyng as meate matrimony And their owne workes they maintayne let Gods decay Breake theirs they persecute to the death But breake Gods and they either looke through the fingers or els geue thee a flappe with a Foxe tayle for a litle money There is none order among them that is so perfect but that they haue a prison more cruell theÌ„ any iayle of theues and murtherers And if one of their brethren commit fornication or adultery in the world he finisheth his penaunce therin in three Wekes or a moneth and then is sent to an other place of the same religion But if he attempt to put of the holy habite he commeth neuer out is so straytly dioted therto that it is meruell if he liue a yeare beside other cruell murther that hath bene found among them and yet is this shamefull dyoting of theirs murther cruell inough Be not deceaued with visions nor yet with miracles But go to iudge their workes for the spiritual iudgeth all thinges sayth Paule i. Cor. ij Who is that spirituall not such as we now call men of holy Church But all that haue the true interpretation of the law written in their harts The right fayth of Christ and the true inteÌ„t of workes which God byddeth vs worke he is spirituall and iudged all thinges and is iudged of no man Not all that say to me Lorde Lorde shall enter into the kyngdome of heauen But he that fulfilleth the will of my father which is in heauen Many will say vnto me at that day Lord Lord dyd we not prophesie in thy name and in thy name cast out deuils and dyd we not in thy name many miracles Then will I confesse vnto theÌ„ I neuer knew you depart from me ye workers of iniquitie This doublyng of Lord hath vehemency and betokeneth that they which shal be excluded are such as thinke theÌ„ selues better and perfitter then other men and to deserue heauen with holy workes not for them selues onely but also for other And by that they prophesied by which thou mayst vnderstand the interpretyng of Scripture and by that they cast out deuils did miracles in Christes name and for all that they are yet workes of wickednesse and do not the will of the father which is in heauen it is playne that they be false Prophetes and euen the same of which Christ warned before And now for as much as Christ and his Apostles warne vs that such shall come and describe vs the fashions of their visures Christes name holy Church holy fathers and xv hundred yeares with Scripture and miracles and commaunde vs to turne our eyes from their visures and consider their frutes and cut them vp and loke with in whether they be sound in the core kernell or no and geue vs a rule to try them by is it excuse good inough to say God will not let so great a multitude erre I will folow the most part and beleue as my fathers dyd and as the preachers teach and will not busie my selfe chose them the faute is theirs and not ours God shall not lay it to our charge if we erre Where such wordes be there are the false Prophetes all ready For where no loue to the truth is there are y â— false Prophetes where such wordes be there to be no loue to y e truth is plame Ergo where such woordes be there be the false Prophetes in their full swyng by Paules rule ij Thessa ij An other conclusion where no loue to the truth is there be false Prophetes The greatest of the world haue least loue to the truth Ergo the false Prophetes be the Chaplaines of the greatest which may with the sword compel the rest As the kynges of Israell compelled to worshyp the golden Calues And by false Prophetes vnderstand falâ—e teachers as Peter calleth them and wycked expounders of the Scripture Who soeuer heareth these words of me and doth them I will lyken him vnto a wise man that built hys house vppon a rocke and there fell a rayne and the floudes came and the windes blew and beate vppon that house but it fell not for it was grounded vpon a rocke And all that heare of me these wordes and do them not shal be lykened vnto a foolishe man that buylt his house vpon the sand and there fell a rayne and the floudes came and the windes blâ—w and dashed vpon that house and it fell and the fall therof was great Christ hath two sortes of hearers of which neither of them do there after The one wil be saued by fayth of theyr owne makyng without workes The other with workes of their owne makyng without faith The first are those voluptuous which haue yelded them selues vp to sinne saying tushe God is mercyfull Christ dyed for vs that must saue vs onely for we cannot but sinne without resistaÌ„ce The second are the hypocrites which will deserue all with theyr owne imagined woorkes onely And of fayth they haue no other experience saue that it is a litle meritorious where it is paynefull to be beleued As that Christ was borne of a virgin and that he came not out the way that other children do he no that were a great inconuenience but aboue vnder her arme yet made no hole though he had a very naturall body as other meÌ„ haue and that there is no bread in the Sacrament nor wyne though the fiue wittes say all ye And the meritorious payne of this belefe is so heauy to them that except they had fayned them a thousand wise similitudes and lowsye lykenesses and as many madde reasoÌ„s to stay them with all and to helpe to captiuate their vnderstandyng they were like to cast all of their backes And the onely refuge of a great many to keepe in that fayth is to cast it out of their myndes not to thinke vpon it As though they forgeue not yet it they put the displeasure out of their myndes and thinke not of it til a good occasion be geueÌ„ to adueÌ„ge it they thinke they loue their neighbour well inough all the while and be in good charge And the fayth of the best of them is but like theyr fayth in other worldly stories But the fayth which is trust and confidence to be saued and to haue their sinnes forgeuen by Christ which was so borne haue they not at all
it impossible that thou shouldest loue Gods commaundementes If thou loue not the commaundementes so is Christes spirite not in thee which is the earnest of forgeuenesse of sinne and of saluation For Scripture teacheth first repentaunce then fayth in Christ that for his sake sinne is forgeuen to them that repent then good workes whiche are nothyng saue the comaundement of God onely And the commaūdements are nothyng elles saue the helpyng of our neighbours at their nede and the tamyng of our members that they might be pure also as the hart is pure thorough hate of vice and loue of vertue as Gods word teacheth vs which workes must procede out of the fayth that is I must doe them for the loue which I haue God for that great mercy which he hath shewed me in Christ or elles I do them not in the sight of God And that I fainte not in y t payne of the slaying of the sinne that is in my flesh myne helpe is the promise of the assistance of the power of God and the comforte of the reward to come which reward I ascribe vnto the goodnesse mercy and truth of the promiser that hath chosē me called me taught me geuen me the ernest therof not vnto the merites of my doynges or sufferynges For all that I do and suffer is but the way to the reward and not the deseruyng thereof As if the kynges grace shoulde promise to defende mee at home in myne owne realme yet the way thether is thoroughe the Sea wherin I might happely suffer no litle trouble And yet for all that if I might lyue in rest when I come thether I would thinke and so would other say that my paynes were well rewarded which reward benefit I would not proudly ascribe vnto the merites of my paynes takyng by the waye but vnto the goodnesse mercyfulnesse and constant truth of the kynges grace whose gifte it is and to whō the prayse and thanke thereof belongeth of duety and right So now a reward is a gift geuen freely of the goodnesse of the geuer and not of the deseruynges of the receauer Thus it appeareth that if I vowe what soeuer it be for any other purpose thē to tame my members and to be an ensample of vertue and edifying vnto my neighbour my sacrifice is vnsauery and cleane without salt my lampe without oyle and I one of the foolishe virgines and shal be shut from y t feast of the bridegrome whē I thinke my selfe most sure to enter in If I vow voluntary pouertie this must be my purpose that I will be cōtent with a competent liuyng whiche commeth vnto me either by succession of myne elders or whiche I get truly with my labour in ministryng doyng seruice vnto the common wealth in one office or in an other or in one occupatiō or other because that riches and honor shall not corrupt my mind and draw myne hart from God and to geue an example of vertue and edifying vnto other and that my neighbour may haue a liuyng by me as wel as I if I make a cloke of dissimulation of my vow laying a net of fayned beggery to catch superfluous aboundaunce of riches and hye degree and authoritie and thorough the estimatiō of false holynesse to feede maintaine my slouthful idlenes with the sweate labour landes and rentes of other mē after the example of our spiritualtie robbyng them of their faythes God of his honour turnyng vnto myne hypocrisie that confidence which should be geuen vnto the promises of GOD onely am I not a wily foxe and a rauenyng wolfe in a lambes skinne and a paynted sepulchre fayre without and filthy with in In like maner thoughe I seeke no worldly promotion thereby yet if I doe it to be iustified therewith and to get an hyer place in heauen thinkyng that I doe it of myne owne naturall strength and of the naturall power of my freewill and that euery man hath might euen so to do that they doe it not is their faulte and negligence so with the proude Pharisie in comparison of my selfe despise the sinnefull Publicanes what other thyng do I then eate the bloud and fat of my sacrifice deuouring that my self which should be offered vnto God alone and his Christ And shortly what soeuer a man doth of his naturall giftes of his naturall witte wisedom vnderstandyng reason will and good entēt before he be otherwise and cleane contrary taught of Gods spirite and haue receaued other witte vnderstandyng reason and will is fleshe worldly and wrought in abhominable blindnesse with whiche a man can but seeke him selfe his owne profite glory and honour euen in very spirituall matters As if I were alone in a wildernesse where no man were to seke profite or prayse of yet if I would seeke heauen of God there I could of myne owne naturall giftes seke it no other wayes then for the merites and deseruyngs of my good workes and to enter therin by an other way then by the dore Christe whiche were very theft for Christe is Lord ouer all and what soeuer any man will haue of God he muste haue it geuen hym freely for Christes sake Now to haue heauē for myne owne deseruyng is myne owne praise and not Christes For I can not haue it by fauour and grace in Christe and by myne owne merites also For free geuing deseruyng can not stand together If thou wilt vow of thy goods vnto God thou must put salt vnto thys sacrifice that is thou muste minister knowledge in this dede as Peter teacheth 2. Pet. 1. Thou must put oyle of Gods worde in thy Lampe and do it accordyng to knowledge if thou wait for the comming of the bridegrome to enter in with hym into his rest But thou peraduenture wilt hang it about the image to moue men to deuotion Deuotion is a feruent loue vnto gods commaundementes and a desire to be with God and with hys euerlastyng promises Now shall the sight of such riches as are shewed at S. Thomas shryne or at Walsingham moue a mā to loue the commaundements of god better and to desire to bee loosed from his flesh and to be with God or shall it not rather make his poore hart sigh because he hath no such at home and to wishe part of it in another place The priest shall haue it in Gods stead Shall the priest haue it If the Priest be bought with Christes bloude then he is Christes seruaūt not his owne and ought therefore to feede Christes flocke with Christes doctrine and to minister Christes Sacramentes vnto them purely for very loue and not for filthy lucres sake or to be Lorde ouer them as Peter teatheth 1. Pet. v. and Paul Acts. xx Beside this Christ is oures and is a gift geuen vs and we be heyres of Christ and of all that is Christes Wherefore the Priestes doctrine is oures and we heyres of it it
and vnto the tamyng of thy fleshe But thou mayst vowe neither of them vnto the slaying of thy body As Paule commaundeth Tymothe to drincke wyne no more water because of his diseases Thou wilt say that Timothy had not happely forsworne wyne I thinke the same and that the Apostles forsware not wedlocke thoughe many of them lyued chast neither yet any meate or drincke though they absteined from them and that it were good for vs to folow their example Howbeit though I vowe and sweare and thinke on none exception yet is the breakyng of Gods coÌ„maundemeÌ„ts except and all chaunces that hange of God As if I sweare to be in a certain place at a certain houre to make a loueday without exception yet if the king in the meane tyme commaunde me an other way I must goe by Gods commaundement and yet breake not myne othe And in like case if my father mother be sicke require my presence or if my wife children or houshold be visited that â—ny assistance be required or if my neighbours house be a fire at the same houre and a thousand such chaunces in whiche all I breake myne othe am not forsworne and so forth Read Gods word diligently with a good hart and it shall teach thee all thynges A Prologue into the fifte booke of Moses called Deuteronomy THis is a booke worthy to be read in daye and night neuer to be out of handes For it is the most excellent of all the bokes of Moses It is easy also lyght and a very pure Gospell y t is to wit a preachyng of fayth loue deducyng the loue to God out of fayth and the loue of a mans neighbour out of y t loue of God Herein also thou mayst learne right meditation or contemplation which is nothyng els saue y t calling to minde a repeatyng in the harte of the glorious and wonderfull dedes of God and of his terrible handling of his enemies and mercyfull entreatyng of them that come when hee calleth them whiche thyng this booke doth and almost nothyng elles In the foure first Chapters he rehearseth the benefites of GOD done vnto them to prouoke them to loue his mightie dedes done aboue all natural capacitie of faith that they might beleue GOD and trust in him and in his strength And thirdly he rehearceth the fierce plagues of God vppon his enemyes and on them which through impatiencie vnbeliefe fell from hym partly to tame and abate the appetites of the flesh which alway fight agaynst the spirite and partely to bridle the wilde ragyng lustes of them in whom was no spirite that though they had no power to do good of loue yet at the lest way they should abstaine from outward euill for feare of wrath and cruell vengeaunce whiche should fall vpoÌ„ them and shortly finde them out if they cast vp gods nurter and runne at riotte beyond his lawes and ordinaunces Moreouer he chargeth them to put nought to nor take ought away from Gods wordes but to be diligeÌ„t onely to keepe them in reeÌ„mbraunce in the hart and to teach their childreÌ„ for feare of forgettyng And to beware either of makyng imagery or of bowyng them selues vnto Images saying Ye saw no image when God spake vnto you but heard a voyce onely that voyce keepe and thereunto cleaue for it is your lyfe and it shall saue you And finally if as the frailtie of all fleshe is they shal haue fallen from God and he haue brought them into trouble aduersitie and combraunce and all necessitie yet if they repent and turne hee promiseth them that God shall remeÌ„ber his mercy and receaue them to grace agayne In the fifte he repeateth the x. CommauÌ„dementes and that they might see a cause to do them of loue he biddeth them remember that they were bound in Egypt and how God deliuered theÌ„ with a mighty hande and a stretched out arme to serue him and to kepe his maundementes as Paule sayth that wee are bought with Christes bloud and therefore are his seruauntes and not our owne and ought to seeke his wil and honour onely and to loue and serue one an other for his sake In the sixte he setteth out the fountaine of all commaundementes that is that they beleue how that there is but one God that doth all and therfore ought onely to bee loued with all the hart all the soule and all the might For loue onely is the fulfillyng of the coÌ„maundementes as Paule also sayth vnto the Romaines and Galathians likewise He warneth them also that they forget not the coÌ„maundementes but teache them their children and to shew their children also how God deliuered them out of the bondage of the Egiptians to serue him and his commaundements that the children might see a cause to worke of loue likewise The seuenth is all together of faith hee remoueth all occasions that might withdrawe them from the faith and pulleth them also from all confidence in them selues and sturreth them vp to trust in God boldly and onely Of the eight Chapter thou seest how that the cause of temptation is that a man might see his own hart For wheÌ„ I am brought into that extremity that I must either suffer or forsake GOD then I shall feele how much I beleue and trust in him and how much I loue him In like maner if my brother do me euill for my good then if I loue him when there is no cause in him I see that my loue was of God and euen so if I then hate him I feele and perceaue that my loue was but wordly and finally hee sturreth theÌ„ to the fayth and loue of God and driueth them froÌ„ all confidence of their owne selues In the ninth also hee moueth them vnto fayth and to put their trust in God and draweth them from confideÌ„ce of them selues by rehearsing all y e wickednesse whiche they had wrought from the first day he knew them vnto that same day And in the end he repeteth howe he coniured God in Horeb and ouercame him with prayer where thou mayest learne the right maner to pray In the tenth he reckeneth vppe the pith of all lawes and the keping of the law in hart which is to feare GOD loue him and serue hym with all their hart soule and might and kepe his coÌ„maundementes of loue And he sheweth a reason why they should that do euen because God is Lord of heauen and earth hath also done all for them of his owne goodnesse without their deseruyng And then out of the loue vnto God he bringeth the loue vnto a mans neighbour saying God is Lord aboue all Lordes and loueth al his seruauntes indiffereÌ„tly as well the poore and feble and the strauÌ„ger as the rich and mighty and therfore will that we loue the poore and the straunger And he addeth a cause for ye were straungers
bynde hym hand and foote and to cast hym into vtter darkenes and to geue the talent vnto hym that had ten saying to all that haue more shall be geuen but from hym that hath not that he hath shal be taken from hym That is to say he that hath a good harte toward the word of god and to garnish it with godly liuyng and to testify it to other y e same shall increase daily more and more in the grace of Christ But he that loueth it not to lyue therafter and to edify other the same shall loose the grace of true knowledge be blinded agayne and euery day wax worse and worse and blynder and blynder tyll he be an vtter enemy of the worde of God and hys hart so hardened that it shall be impossible to conuert hym And Luke xij The seruaunte that knoweth hys maisters wyll and prepareth not hymselfe shall be beaten wyth many stripes That is shall haue greater damnation And Mat. 7. All that heare the worde of God and do not therafter build on sande that is as the foundation laid on sand can not resist violence of water but is vndermyned and ouerthrowne euen so the fayth of them that haue no lust nor loue to the law of God builded vpon y t sand of their owne imaginatiōs and not on the rocke of Gods word accordyng to hys couenauntes turneth to desperation in tyme of tribulatiō and when God commeth to iudge And the vineyard Mat. 21. planted and hyred out to the husbandmen that would not render to the Lorde of the fruit in due tyme and therfore was takē from them and hyred out to other doth confirme the same For Christe sayth to the Iewes the kingdome of heauē shal be taken from you and geuen to a nation that wyll bring forthe y t frutes therof as it is come to passe For the Iewes haue lost the spirituall knowledge of God of his cōmaundementes and also of all the scripture so that they can vnderstand nothyng godly And the dore is so locked vppe that all their knockyng is in vayne though many of them take great payn for gods sake And Luke 13. The figge tree that beareth no fruite is cōmaunded to be plucked vp And finally hereto pertayneth with infinyte other the terrible parable of the vncleane spirite Luke 11. which after hee is cast out when hee commeth and findeth hys house swept and garnished taketh to hym 7. worse then hymselfe and commeth entreth in and dwelleth there and so is y t ende of the man worse then the beginnyng The Iewes they had cleansed themselues with gods word from all outward idolatry and worshipping of idols But their hartes remayned styll faythlesse to godward and toward his mercy and truth and therfore without loue also lust to his law to their neighbours for hys sake and through false trust in their owne woorkes to which heresy the chylde of perdition the wicked bishop of Rome with hys lawyers hath broughte vs christen were more abhominable idolaters thē before and become ten tymes worse in the end then at the beginning For the first idolatry was soone spyed and easie to be rebuked of the Prophets by the Scripture But the latter is more subtill to beguile withall and an hundreth tymes of more difficultie to bee weeded out of mens hartes This also is a conclusion nothyng more certayne or more proued by the testimony and ensamples of the scripture that if any that fauoureth the worde of God be so weake that he can not chaste hys flesh hym wyll the lord chastice and scourge euery day sharper and sharper with tribulation and misfortune that nothyng shall prosper with him but all shall go against him what soeuer he taketh in hand will visite him with pouertie with sickenesses and diseases and shall plague him with plague vpon plague eche more lothsome terrible and fearefull then other till he be at vtter desiaunce with his flesh Let vs therefore that haue now at this tyme our eyes opened agayne through the tender mercy of GOD kepe a meane Let vs so put our trust in the mercy of GOD through Christ that we know it our duetie to kepe the law of GOD and to loue our neighbours for their fathers sake whiche created them and for their Lords sake which redemed them and bought thē so dearely with his bloud Lette vs walke in y t feare of God and haue our eyes open vnto both partes of Gods couenaunts beyng certified that none shal be partaker of the mercy saue hee that will fight against the flesh to kepe the lawe And let vs arme our selues with this remembraunce y t as Christs workes iustifie from sinne and set vs in the fauour of GOD so our owne dedes through workyng of the spirite of God helpe vs to continue in the fauour and the grace into which Christ hath brought vs and that we can no longer continue in fauour and grace then our hartes are to kepe the law Furthermore concernyng the lawe of God this is a generall conclusion that the whole lawe whether they be ceremonies sacrifices yea or Sacramentes either or preceptes of equitie betwene man and man throughout al degrees of the world all were geuē for our profite and necessitie onely not for any nede that God hath of our keping thē or y t his ioy is encreased therby or that the dede for the dede it selfe doth please him That is all that God requireth of vs whē we be at one with him and doe put our trust in him and loue him is that we loue euery man his neighbour to pity hym to haue compassion on him in all his needes and to be mercyfull vnto him This to be euen so Christ testifieth in the. vij of Math This is the lawe and the Prophetes That is to do as thou wouldst be done to accordyng I meane to the doctrine of the Scripture and not to do that thou wouldest not haue done to thee is all that the law requireth the Prophets And Paul to the Rom. xiij affirmeth also y t loue is that fulfillyng of the law and that he which loueth doth of his owne accorde all that the law requireth And. i. Tim. i. Paul sayth that the loue of a pure hart and good conscience and faith vnfayned is the end and fulfillyng of the law For faith vnfained in Christes bloud causeth y e to loue for Christes sake which loue is the pure loue onely the onely cause of a good conscience For then is the conscience pure whē the eye looketh to Christ in all her deedes to doe them for his sake and not for her owne singular aduaūtage or any other wicked purpose And Iohn both in hys Gospel and also Epistles speaketh neuer of any other law then to loue one an other purely affirmyng that we haue God him selfe dwellyng in vs all that GOD desireth if we loue one the other Seyng then that
be not in vs how are we his sonnes How are we his heyres heyres annexed with Christ of the eternal life which is promised to all them that beleue in hym Now do our workes testifie and witnes what we are and what treasure is layd vp for vs in heauen so that our eye be single and looke vpon the commaundement without respect of any thing saue because it is Gods wil and that God desireth it of vs and Christ hath deserued that we do it Math. vij Not all they that say vnto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kyngdome of heauen but he that doth the will of my father which is in heauen Though thou canst lande God with thy lippes and call Christ Lord and canst bable and talke of the scripture and knowest all the stories of the Bible Yet shalt thou thereby neuer know thyne election or whether thy fayth be right But if thou feele lust in thyne hart to the will of God and bringest forth the frutes therof then hast thou confidence and hope and thy dedes and also the spirite whence thy deedes spryng certifie thyne hart that thou shal enter yea art already entred into the kyngdome of heauen For it foloweth he that heareth the word and doth it buildeth his house vpō a rock and no tempest of temptations can ouerthrow it For the spirite of God is in his hart and comforteth him holdeth him fast to the rocke of the merites of Christes bloud in whom he is elect Nothyng is able to plucke hym out of the handes of God god is strōger then all things And contrarywise he that heareth the word doth it not buildeth on the sande of his own imagination euery tempest ouerthroweth his buildyng The cause is he hath not Gods spirite in him and therfore vnderstandeth it not a right neither worketh a right For no mā knoweth the thyngs of God sayeth Paul in the i. Epistle to the Corinthians in the second Chapter saue the spirite of God as no man knoweth what is in a mā but a mās spirite which is in him So then if the spirite be not in a man he worketh not the wil of GOD neither vnderstandeth it though he bable neuer so much of the scriptures Neuerthelesse such a mā may worke after his owne imagination but Gods wil can he not woorke he may offer sacrifice but to do mercy knoweth he not It is easy to say vnto christ Lord Lord but therby shalt thou neuer feele or be sure of the kyngdome of heauen But and if thou do the will of God thē art thou sure that Christ is thy Lord in dede that thou in him art also a Lord in y ◠thou felest thy selfe loosed and free frō the bondage of sinne and lusty and of power to do the will of God Where the spirite is there is feelyng For y t spirite maketh vs feele all thinges Where the spirite is not there is no feelyng but a vayne opinion or imagination A Phisitian serueth but for sicke men and that for such sicke mē as feele their sicknesses morne therfore and long for health Christ lykewise serueth but for sinners onely as feele there sinne and that for such sinners that sorrow and morne in theyr hartes for health Health is power or strength to fulfill the law or to keepe the commaundementes Now he that longeth for that health that is to say for to do the law of God is blessed in Christ and hath a promise that his lust shal be fulfilled that he shal be made whole Math. v. blessed are they which hunger thurst for righteousnes sake that is to fulfill the law for their lust shal be fulfilled This lōgyng and consent of the hart vnto the law of God is the woorkyng of the spirite whiche God hath poured into thine hart in earnest that y ◠mightest be sure y ◠God will fulfil all his promises that he hath made thee It is also the seale marke which God putteth on all men that he choseth vnto euerlastyng life So long as thou seest thy sinne and mornest consētest to the law longest though thou be neuer so weake yet the spirite shal kepe thee in all temptatiōs from desperatiō and certifie thyne hart that God for his trouth shall deliuer thee and saue thee yea by thy good dedes shalt thou be saued not whiche thou hast done but whiche Christ hath done for thee For Christ is thine and all his dedes are thy dedes Christ is in thee and thou in him knit together inseparably Neither canst thou be damned except Christ be dāned with thee Neither can Christ be saued except thou be saued with him Moreouer thy hart is good right holy and iust For thy hart is no enemy to the law but a frend a louer The law and thy hart are agreed and at one and therfore is God at one with thee The consent of the hart vnto the law is vnite and peace betwene God and man For he is not myne enemy whiche would fayne do me pleasure and morneth because he hath not wherewith Now he that opened thy disease vnto thee and made thee long for health shall as he hath promised heale thee and he that hath loosed thy hart shall at hys godly laysure lose thy members He that hath not the spirite hath no felyng neither lusteth or longeth after power to fulfil the law neither abhorreth the pleasures of sinne neither hath any more certainetie of the promises of God thē I haue of a tale of Robinhode or of some iest that a man telleth me was done at Rome An other man may lightly make me doubt or beleue the contrary seyng I haue no experience therof my selfe So is it of them that feele not the workyng of the spirite therfore in tyme of temptatiō the buildynges of their imaginations fall MAth x. He that receaueth a Prophet in the name of a Prophet that is because he is a Prophet shall receaue the reward of a Prophet he y t geueth one of these litleones a cup of cold water to drinke in the name of a Disciple shall not lose hys reward Note this that a Prophet signifieth as well him that enterpreteth y e hard places of Scripture as him that prophesieth thyngs to come Now he that receaueth a Prophet a iust man or a Disciple shall haue the same or lyke reward that is to say shal haue the same eternall lyfe whiche is appointed for thē in Christes bloud merites For except thou were elect to y t same eternall lyfe haddest the same fayth and trust in God and the same spirite thou couldest neuer consent to their deedes and helpe them But thy dedes testifie what thou art certifie thy conscience that thou art receaued to mercy and sanctified in Christes passions and sufferynges and shalt hereafter with all them that folow God receaue the reward of eternall lyfe Of thy wordes
rather Idolatrie But she setteth her infirmities her lacke before her face and Gods promises sayinge Lorde for thy mercy and truth whiche thou hast sworne be mercyfull vnto me and plucke me out of this prison and out of this hell And loose the bondes of Sathan and giue me power to glorifie thy name Fayth therfore iustifieth in the hart and before GOD and the deedes iustifie outwardly before the world that is testifie onely before mē what we are inwardly before God Who soeuer looketh in the perfect law of libertie and continueth therein if he bee not a forgetfull hearer but a doer of the worke he shal be happy in his deede Iames. i. The law of libertie that is which requireth a free hart or if thou fulfill it declareth a free hart lowsed from the bondes of Sathan The preachyng of the law maketh no man free but bindeth For it is the key that byndeth all consciences vnto eternall damnation whē it is preached as the promises or Gospell is the keye that lowseth all consciences that repēt when they are bounde through preachyng of the law He shal be happy in his deede that is by his deede shall he know that he is happy and blessed of God whiche hath geuen hym a good hart and power to fulfill the law By hearyng the law thou shalt not know that thou art blessed but if thou do it it declareth y t thou art happy blessed WAs not Abraham iustified of hys dedes when he offered hys sonne Isaac vpon the altar Iames. iij. hys deede iustified hym before the world that is it declared and vttered the faith which both iustifieth him before God and wrought that wonderfull worke as Iames also affirmeth Was not Raab the harlot iustified whē she receaued the messengers and sent them out another way Iames. iij. that is lykewise outwardly but before GOD she was iustified by fayth which wrought that outward dede as thou mayest see Iosue ij She had heard what God had done in Egypt in the redde Sea in the desert and vnto the two kynges of the Amorreans Seō and Og. And she cōfessed saying your Lord God he is God in heauen aboue and in earth beneath She also beleued that God as hee had promised the children of Israell would giue thē the land wherein she dwelt and cōsented thereunto submitted her selfe vnto the will of God and holpe GOD as much as in her was saued his spyes and messengers The other feared that whiche she beleued but resisted God with al their might and had no power to submite themselues vnto the will of God And therefore perished they and she was saued and that through fayth as we read Heb. 11. where thou mayest see how the holy fathers were saued through fayth and how fayth wrought in them Fayth is the goodnes of all the deedes that are done within the lawe of God and maketh thē good glorious seeme they neuer so vile and vnbeliefe maketh thē damnable seeme they neuer so glorious AS pertaining to that which Iames in this 3. chapter sayth What auaileth though a mā say that he hath faith if he haue no deedes can fayth saue hym And agayne fayth without deedes is dead in it selfe And the deuils beleue and tremble And as the body without the spirite is dead euen so fayth without deedes is dead It is manifest and cleare that he meaneth not of the fayth whereof Peter and Paule spake in their epistles Iohn in hys Gospell first epistle and Christ in the Gospell when he sayth thy faith hath made thee safe be it to thee accordyng to thy fayth or greate is thy fayth so forth and of which Iames hymselfe speaketh in the first Chapter saying of his owne wyll begat he vs with the worde of life that is in beleuing the promises wherein is life are we made the sonnes of God Which thing I also this wise proue Paule sayth how shall or can they beleue without a preacher how should they preach except they were sēt Now I pray you whē was it heard that god sent any mā to preach vnto y ◠deuils or that he made them any good promise He threatneth them oft but neuer sent embassadours to preach any atonemēt betwene hym and them Take an ensample that thou mayest vnderstand Let there be two poore men both destitute of rayment in a colde winter the one strong that he feleth no griefe the other greuously mournyng for payne of the colde I then come by and moued wyth pitie and compassion say vnto hym that feeleth his disease come to such a place and I will geue thee rayment sufficient He beleueth commeth obtayneth that which I haue promised That other seeth all this knoweth it but is partaker of nought For he hath no fayth and that is because there is no promise made hym So is it of the deuils The deuils haue no fayth For fayth is but earnest beleuing of gods promises Now are there no promises made vnto the deuils but sore threatninges The olde Philosophers knew that there was one God but yet had no fayth for they had no power to seeke his wyll neyther to worship hym The Turkes and the Saresons know y t there is one God but yet haue no fayth For they haue no power to worship God in spirite to seeke his pleasure and to submit thē vnto his will They made an Idoll of God as we do for the most part and worshipped him euery man after hys owne imagination and for a sundry purpose What we wyl haue done that must God do and to do our will worship we hym and pray vnto hym but what God will haue done that wyll neyther Turke nor Sareson nor the most part of vs do What soeuer we imagin righteous that must God admitte But Gods righteousnes wyll not our hartes admitte Take an other ensample Let there betwo such as I spake of before and I promise both and the one because he feeleth not hys disease commeth not So is it of Gods promises No man is holpe by them but sinners y t fele their sinnes mourne and sorrow for them and repent wyth all their hartes For Iohn Baptist went before Christ and preached repētaunce that is he preached the lawe of God right and brought the people into knowledge of themselues and vnto the feare of God and then sent them vnto Christ to be healed For in Christ and for his sake onely hath god promised to receaue vs vnto mercy to forgeue vs and to geue vs power to resist sinne How shall God saue thee when thou knowest not thy damnation How shall Christ deliuer thee frō sinne when thou wilt not knowledge thy sinne Now I pray thee how many thousandes are there of them that say I beleue that Christ was borne of a Virgin that he dyed that he rose agayne and so forth and thou canst not bring them in beliefe that they haue any sinne at all
the Lord. Teach thē to know Christ and set Gods ordinaunce before them saying sonne or daughter God hath created thee and made thee thorough vs thy father and mother and at his commaundement haue we so longe thus kindely brought thee vp and kept thee from all perils he hath commaunded thee also to obey vs saying childe obey thy father and mother If thou meekely obey so shalt thou grow both in the fauour of God man knowledge of our Lord Christ If thou wilt not obey vs at hys commaundement thē are we charged to correct thee yea and if thou repent not and amende thy self God shall sley thee by hys officers or punishe thee euerlastingly Nurtoure thē not worldly with worldly wisedome saying thou shalt come to honour dignitie promotion and riches thou shalt be better then such and such thou shalt haue iij. or iiij benefices and be a great doctoure or a Byshop and haue so many men wayting on thee and do nothing but hauke and hunte and lyue at pleasure thou shalt not neede to sweate to laboure or to take any payne for thy lyuing and so forth filling thē full of pride disdaine and ambition and corrupting theyr myndes wyth worldly perswasions Let the fathers and mothers marke how they themselues were disposed at all ages by experience of their owne infirmities helpe their children and keepe them from occasions Let them teach their children to axe maryages of their fathers mothers And let theyr elders prouide mariages for them in season teaching them also to know that she is not hys wyfe which y ◠sonne taketh nor he her husband which the daughter taketh wythout the consent and good wyll of their elders or them that haue aucthoritie ouer thē If their frends wil not marry thē then are they not to blame if they marry thēselues Let not y t fathers mothers alwayes take the vtmost of their authoritie of their children but at a time suffer with them and beare theyr weaknesses as Christ doth oures Seeke Christ in your children in your wiues seruants and subiectes Father mother sonne daughter maister seruaunt kyng and subiect be names in the worldly regiment In Christ we are all one thing none better then other all brethren must all seeke Christ and our brothers profit in Christ And he that hath the knowledge whether he be Lorde or kyng is bounde to submitte hymselfe and serue his brethrē and to geue hym selfe for them to winne them to Christ ¶ The office of an husband and how he ought to rule HUsbandes loue your wiues as Christ loued the congregation and gaue hymselfe for it to sanctifie it and clense it Men ought to loue their wiues as their owne bodyes For this cause shall a man leaue father and mother and shall continue with his wife and shall be made both one flesh See that euer one of you loue his wyfe euen as hys owne bodye All thys sayth Paul Ephe. v. and Collo iij. he sayth husbādes loue your wiues and be not bitter vnto thē And Peter in the thyrd chapter of hys first epistle sayth men dwell with your wiues according to knowledge that is according to the doctrine of Christ geuing reuerence vnto the wife as vnto the weaker vessell that is helpe her to beare her infirmities and as vnto them that are heyres also of y e grace of lyfe that your prayers be not let In many thynges God hath made the men stronger then the women not to rage vpon them to be tyrantes vnto then but to helpe thē but to beare their weakenesse Be curteous thereaefore vnto them and winne thē vnto Christ and ouercome them with kyndnes that of loue they may obey y ◠ordinaunce that God hath made betwene man and wife ¶ The office of a maister and how he ought to rule PAule Ephe. vi saith ye maisters do euen y e same thinges vnto thē that is be maister after y e example doctrine of Christ as he before taught y ◠seruauntes to obey vnto their maisters as vnto Christ putting away threanings that is geue thē fayre wordse exhort thē kyndely to do theyr dutie yea nurtour them as thine own sonnes with y ◠Lords nourtour that they may see in Christ a cause why they ought louingly to obey and remember saith he that your maister also is in heauen Neither is there any respect of persons wyth hym that is he is indifferent and not parciall as great in hys sight is a seruaunt as a maister And the third chapter to the Col. saith he ye maisters do vnto your seruaunts that which is iust and equal remembring that ye also haue a maister in heauen Geue your seruaunts kinde wordes fode rayment and learnyng Be not bitter vnto them rayle not on them geue thē no cruell countenaunce but according to the ensample and doctrine of Christ deale with them And when they labour sore cherishe them agayne When ye correct thē let Gods worde be by and do it wyth such good maner that they may see how that ye doe it to amende them onely and to bring them vnto the way which God biddeth vs walke in and not to auēge your selues or to wreke your malice on them If at a tyme thorough hastines ye exceede measure in punishing recompence it an other way and pardon them an other tyme. ¶ The dutie of Landlordes LEt Christen Landlordes be content wyth their rent and olde customes not reysing y ◠rent or fynes bringing vp new customes to oppresse their tenauntes neither letting two or three tenauntryes vnto one man Let them not take in their communes neyther make parkes nor pastures of whole parishes For God gaue the earth to men to inhabite and not vnto sheepe and wilde deare Be as fathers vnto your tenauntes yea be vnto them as Christ was vnto vs and shew vnto them all loue and kyndnes What soeuer busines is among thē be not parciall fauouring one more thē an other The complayntes quarels and strife that are among them counte diseases of sicke people and as a mercifull phisition heale them wyth wisdome and good councell Be pitifull and tender harted vnto them and let not one of thy tenauntes teare out an others throte but iudge their causes indifferently and compell them to make their diches hedges gates and wayes For euē for such causes were ye made landlordes and for such causes payde men rent at the beginning For if such an order were not one should sley an other and all should goe to wast If thy tenaunt shall labour and toyle all the yeare to pay thee thy rent and when he hath bestowed al his labour his neighboures cattell shal deuoure his frutes how tedyous and bitter should his life be Se therefore that ye doe your duties agayne and suffer no man to doe them wrong saue the kyng onely If he doe wrong then must they abyde Gods iudgement ¶
groweth dayly in the operations workes therof ¶ Of Confession COnfession is diuers One foloweth true fayth insparably And is the confessing and knowledging with the mouth wherein we put our trust and confideÌ„ce As when we say our Credo confessing that we trust in God the father almighty and in his truth promises in his sonne Iesus our Lord and in his merites and deseruinges in the holy Ghost and in his power assistance and guiding This confession is necessary vnto all men that wyll be saued For Christ saith Mathew x. he that denyeth me before men hym will I deny before my father that is in heauen And of this confession sayth the holy Apostle Paule in the x. chapter The beliefe of the hart iustifieth and to knowledge wyth the mouth maketh a man safe This is a wonderfull text for our Philosophers or rather sophisters our worldly wyse enemies to the wisdome of God our deepe profounde welles wythout water our cloudes wythout moysture of rayne that is to say naturall soules without the sprite of God and feeling of godly thynges To iustifie and to make safe are both one thing And to confesse with the mouth is a good worke and the frute of a true fayth as all other workes are If thou repent and beleue the promises then Gods truth iustifieth thee that is forgeueth thee thy sinnes and sealeth thee with hys holy spirite and maketh thee heyre of euerlastyng lyfe through Christes deseruinges Now if thou haue true fayth so seest thou the exceeding and infinite loue and mercy which God hath shewed thee freely in Christ then must thou needes loue agayne and loue can not but compell thee to worke and boldly to confesse knowledge thy Lord Christ and the trust which thou hast in his word And this knowledge maketh thee safe that is declareth that thou art safe already certifieth thine hart and maketh thee feele that thy fayth is right and that Gods spirite is in thee as all other good workes doe For if when it commeth vnto the point thou hast no lust to worke nor power to confesse how couldest thou presume to thinke that Gods sprite were in thee An other confession is there which goeth before saith and accompanieth repentaunce For who so euer repenteth doth knowledge his sinnes in his hart And who soeuer doth knowledge his sinnes receaueth forgenenes as â—ayth Iohn in the first of his first Epistle If we knowledge our sinnes he is faythfull and iust to forgeue vs out sinnes and to clense vs from all vnrighteousnes that is because he hath promised he must for his truthes sake doe it This confession is necessary all our liues long as is repentaunce And as thou vnderstandest of repentaunce so vnderstand of this confession for it is likewise included in the sacrament of Baptime For we alwayes repent and alwayes knowledge or coÌ„fesse our sinnes vnto God and yet dispayre not but remember that we are washed in in Christes bloud which thing our baptime doth represeÌ„t and signifie vnto vs. Shrift in the eare is verely a worke of Sathan and that the â—alsest that euer was wrought and that most hath deuoured the fayth It began among the Greekes and was not as it is now to reckeÌ„ all a maÌ„s sinnes in the priestes eare but to aske couÌ„cell of such doubtes as men had as thou mayst see in S. Hierome and in other authors Neither went they to Priestes onely which were very fewe at that tyme no moe then preached the worde of God for this so great vantage in so many masses saying was not yet founde but went indifferently where they saw a good and a learned man And for because of a litle knauery which a DeacoÌ„ at Constantinople plaide thorough coÌ„fession with one of the chiefe wiues of the citie it was layde downe agayne But we Antichristes possession the more knauery we see growe thereby dayly the more we stablishe it A christen man is a spirituall thing and hath Gods word in his hart and gods spirite to certifie him of all thing He is not bound to come to any eare And as for the reasons which they make are but persuasions of mans wisedome First as perteining vnto the keyes maner of bynding and loosing is eough aboue rehearsed in other places Thou maist also see how the Apostles vsed them in the Actes and in Paules Epistles how at the preaching of fayth the spirite came and certified their harts that they were iustified thorough beleuing the promises When a man feeleth that his hart consenteth vnto the law of God and feeleth hymselfe meeke pacient curteous and mercifull to hys neighbour altered and fashioned like vnto Christ why shoulde he doubt but that God hath forgeuen him and chosen him and put his spirite in hym though he neuer cromme hys sinne into the priestes eare One blynde reason haue they saying How shall the Priest vnbynde loose and forgeue the sinne which he knoweth not How did the Apostles The Scripture forsake they and runne vnto their blinde reasons and draw the Scripture vnto a carnall purpose When I haue tolde thee in thyne eare all that I haue done my life long in order and with all circumstances after the shamefullest maner what caÌ„st thou doe more then preach me the promises saying if thou repent beleue Gods truth shall saue thee for Christes sake Thou seest not myne hart thou knowest not whether I repent or no neyther whether I consent to the law that it is holy righteous and good Moreouer whether I beleue the promises or no is also vnknowen to thee If thou preach the law and the promises as the Apostles did so should they that God hath chosen repent and beleue and be saued euen now as well as then How be it Antichrist must know all secretes to stablish his kingdom to worke his misteries withall They bryng also for them the storie of the x. lepers whiche is written in the. xvij Chapter of Luke Here marke their falsehoode and learne to knowe them for euer The fourtene Sonday after the feast of the Trinitie the begynnyng of the vij leâ—…n is the sayd Gospell and the viij the ix lessons with the rest of the seuenth is the exposition of Bede vpon the sayd Gospell Where saith Bede of all that Christ healed of what so euer disease it were he sent none vnto the Priestes but the lepers And by the lepers enterpreteth the folowers of false doctrine onely which the spirituall officers and the learned men of the congregation ought to examine and rebuke their learning with Gods word and to warne the congregation to beware of them Which if they were afterward healed by the grace of Christ ought to come before the coÌ„gregation and there openly confesse theyr true fayth But all other vices saith he doth God heale within in the conscience Though they this wise reade at mattens yet at hie masse if they haue any
of their heauenly father confirmed with y ◠bloud of their Lord Christ For vnto them it is harder to enter into y ◠kingdome of heauen then for a camel to enter through y ◠eye of an nedle Mar. 10. No they haue no part in the kyngdome of Christ God Ephe. v. Therefore is it euident why Christ so diligētly warneth all his to beware of couetousnesse and why hee admitteth none to be his Disciples except he first forsake all together For there was neuer couetouse person true yet either to God or man If a couetous mā be chosē to preach Gods word he is a false Prophet immediatly If he be of the lay sorte so ioyneth he him self vnto the false Prophetes to persecute the truth Couetousnesse is not onely aboue all other lustes those thornes that choke y t word of God in them that possesse it But it is also a deadly enemy to all that interprete Gods word truly All other vices though they laugh thē to scorne that talke godly yet they can suffer thē to lyue and to dwell in the countrey But couetousnes cannot rest as long as there is one that cleaueth to Gods word in all the land Take hede to thy preacher therfore and be sure if he be couetous and gape for promotion that he is a false Prophet leaueneth the Scripture for all his crying fathers fathers holy Church and fiften hūdred yeares and for all his other holy pretenses Blessed are they that mourne for they shall be comforted This mournyng is also in the spirite and no kinne to the sowre lokyng of hipocrites nor to the impaciēt weywardnesse of those fleshely which euer whyne and complayne that the world is naught because they cānot obtayne and enioy their lustes therin Neither forbiddeth it alwayes to be mery and and to laugh make good chere now and then to forget sorrow that ouermuch heauynesse swalow not a man cleane vp For the wise man sayth sorow hath cost many their lyues And Prouer. xvij an heauy spirite drieth vp the bones And Paule commaundeth Philip. iiij to reioyse euer And Roma xij he sayth reioyse with them that reioyse and sorow with thē that sorow and wepe with them that wepe which seme two contraries This mourning is that crosse without which was neuer any Disciple of Christ or euer shal be For of what soeuer state or degree thou be in this world if thou professe y ◠Gospell there foloweth the a crosse as warmenesse accompanieth the sonne shynyng vnder which thy spirite shall grone and mourne secretly not onely because the world and thyne owne flesh carie thee away cleane cōtrary to the purpose of thyne hart But also to see and behold the wretchednesse misfortunes of thy brethrē for which because thou louest them as well as thy selfe thou shalt mourne and sorow no lesse thē for thy selfe Though thou be King or Emperour yet if thou knowest Christ and God through Christ and entendest to walke in the fight of God and to minister thyne office truly thou shalt to kepe iustice with all be compelled to do dayly that which thou art no lesse loth to do then if thou shouldest cut of arme hand or any other member of thyne owne body yea and if thou wilt folow the right way and neither turne on the right hand nor on the left thou shalt haue immediatly thine own subiectes thyne owne seruauntes thyne owne Lordes thyne own coūsellours and thyne owne Prophetes thereto agaynst thee Vnto whose froward malice and stubburnesse thou shalt be cōpelled to permitte a thousand thynges agaynst thy conscience not able to resiste them at whiche thyne hart shall blede inwardly and shalt sawse thy swete soppes which the world weneth thou hast with sorowes mough and still mournyng studyeng either alone or els with a few frēdes secretly night and day and sighing to God for helpe to mitigate the furious frowardnesse of them whō thou art not able to with stand that all go not after the will of the vngodly What was Dauid cōpelled to suffer all the dayes of his lyfe of his own seruauntes the sonnes of Seruia Beside the mischaūces of his own children And how was our king Iohn forsaken of his owne Lordes when he would haue put a good and godly reformatiō in his owne land How was Henry the secōd compassed in lyke maner of his own Prelates whom he had promoted of nought with the secrete conspiracie of some of his own temporal Lordes with thē I spare to speake of y e mournyng of the true preachers the poore cōmon people which haue none other helpe but the secret hand of God and the word of his promise But they shal be cōforted of all their tribulatiō and their sorrow shal be turned into ioye and that infinite euerlastyng in the lyfe to come Neither are they without comfort here in this world for Christ hath promised to sēd them a comfortour to be with them for euer the spirite of trouth whiche the world knoweth not Iohn xiiij And they reioyse in hope of the comfort to come Rom. xij And they ouercome through fayth as it is written Hebr. xj the Saintes through fayth ouercame kyngdomes obtained the promises And. i. Iohn v. this is the victorie that ouercōmeth the world euē our faith But the blind world neither seeth our comfort nor our trust in God nor how God thorough faith in his word helpeth vs maketh vs ouercome How ouercome they wilt thou say that be alwayes persecuted and euer slayne verely in euery battaile some of them that wynne the field be slayne yet they leaue the victorie vnto their deare frēdes for whose sakes they toke the fight vppon them and therfore are conquerours seyng they obtayne their purpose maynteine that they fought for The cursed riche of this worlde whiche haue their ioye and comfort in their riches haue sence the begynnyng fought agaynst them to wede thē out of the worlde But yet in vayne For though they haue alwayes slayne som yet those that were slayne wanne the victory for their brethren with death euer increased the nūber of them And though they semed to dye in the sight of the foolish yet they are in peace and haue obtayned that euerlastyng kyngdome for which they fought And beside all this when God plagueth the world for their sinne these y ◠mourne and sorrow are marked with the signe of Thau in their foreheades and saued from the plague that they perish not with the wicked as thou seest Ezech. ix as Lot was deliuered frō among the Sodomites And contrariwise cursed are they that laugh now ▪ that is to say which haue their ioy solace and comfort in their riches for they shall sorrow and weepe Luke vj. And as it was answered the rich man Luke xvj sonne remember how that thou receauedst thy good dayes in thy life tyme and Lazarus likewise euill
shal eate them vp in their youth that their enemies should haue y e vpperhand that the people of the land should be minished and the townes decayed and y â— land brought to a wildernesse and that a plenteous lande should be made barren or so ordered that dearth shall deuoure the enhabyters and wealth be amonge few that shoulde oppresse the rest with a thousand such like so that nothing they beginne should haue a prosperous ende all those cursses I say pertaine to vs as well as to them if we breake our temporall lawes Let England looke about them marke what hath chaunced them since they sâ—ue their right kyng whom God had annointed ouer them King Rycharde the second Their people townes and villages are minished by the third parte And of their noble bloude remayneth not the thirde nor I beleue the sixte yea and if I durst be bolde I wene I might safely sweare that there remaineth not the sixteneth part Their owne sworde hath eaten them vp And though pastures be enlarged aboue all measure yet rotte of sheepe Moren of beastes with parkes warennes with reising of fines and rent make all things twise so deare as they were And our owne coÌ„modities are so abused that they be the destructioÌ„ of our owne realme And right for if we will not know God to keepe his lawes how should God know vs to keepe vs to care for vs and to fulfill his promises of mercy vnto vs sayth not Paul Ro. i. of the heathen Sicut non probauerunt habere deum in noticia ita tradidit illos Deus As it seemed them not good or as they had no lust or as they admitted it not nor alowed for right in theyr hartes to know God as God to geue him the honor of God that is to feare him as God and as auenger of all euill and to seeke hys will euen so God gaue them vp to follow their owne blyndnesse and tooke his spirite and his grace from them and woulde no longer rule their wittes Euen so if we cast of vs the yoke of our temporall lawes which are y t lawes of God and drawen out of the ten commaundementes and lawe naturall and out of loue thy neighbour as thy self God shall cast vs of and let vs slippe to follow our owne wit And then shall all goe agaynst vs what soeuer we take in hand in so much that when we gather a parliament to reforme or ameÌ„oe ought that we there determine shal be our owne snare confusion and vtter destruction so that all the enemies we haue vnder heauen coulde not wishe vs so great mischiefe as our owne couÌ„cell shall do vs God shall so blinde the wisedome of the wise If any man haue any godly councell it shall haue none audience Errour madnesse and dasing shall haue the vpper hand And let the spiritualtie take heede and looke well about them and see whether they walke as they haue promised God and in the steppes of hys sonne Christ of his Apostles whose offices they beare For I promise theÌ„ all y e deuilles in hell if God had let theÌ„ lo wse coulde not haue geueÌ„ theÌ„ worse couÌ„sell then they haue geuen theÌ„selues this xx yeare long God gaue vp hys Israelites ofteÌ„ time wheÌ„ they woulde not be ruled nor know theÌ„selues and their dutie to God and brought them into captiuitie vnder their enemies to proue and feele saith the text whether were better seruice either to serue God and willingly to obay hys lawe coupled wyth so manifolde blessings or to serue their enemies and to obey their cruelnesse and tyranny spite of their heades in neede and necessitie And set the temporaltie remeÌ„ber that because those nacious vnder which the Israelites were in captiuitie did deale cruelty with them not to punishe theÌ„ for their idolatry and sinne which they had committed agaynst God but to haue their landes and goodes and seruice onely reioysing to make them worse and more out of their fathers fauour therefore when God had scourged his children mough he did beate the other for their labour But to our purpose what if the maÌ„ runne from his wife leaue her desolate Verely the rulers ought to make a law if any do so and come not agayn by a certaine day as with in the space of a yeare or so that theÌ„ he be banished the countrey and if he come agayne to come on his head and let the wife be free to mary where she will For what right is it that a lewde wretch should take his goods runne from his wife without a cause and sit by a whore yea and come agayne after a yeare or two as I haue knowen it and robbe hys wife of that she hath gotten in y e meane time goe agayne to his whore Paul sayth to the Corinthiaus that if a man or a womaÌ„be coupled with an infidell and the infidell depart the other is free to mary where they lust And. 1. Timo. 5. he saith if there be any man that prouideth not for his and namely for theÌ„ of his owne how should the same denieth the faith and is worse then an infidell And euen so is this man much more to be interpreted for an infidell that causelesse runneth from his wife Let I say the gouerners take heede how they let sinne be vnpunished and how they bring the wrath of God vppon their Realmes For God wil be aduenged on all iniquitie and punishe it with plagues from heauen In like maner if the woman depart causelesse and will not be reconciled though she commit none adultery the man ought of right to be free to marie agayne And in all other causes if they seperate them selues of impacieÌ„cie that the one can not suffre the others infirmities they must remaine vnmaried If any part burne let the same suffer y â— payne or infirmities of the other And the temporalitie ought to make lawes to bridle the vnruly partie Agayne ye haue heard howe it was sayd to them of old tyme forsweare not thy selfe but pay thyne othes vnto the Lord. But I say vnto you sweare not at all neither by heauen for it is the seate of God neither by the earth for it is hys footestole neither by IerusaleÌ„ for it is the Citie of the great king neither shalte thou sweare by thyne head for thou canst not make a white heere or a blacke But your communicatioÌ„ shal be yea yea nay nay For if ought be aboue that it procedeth of euill As to hate in the hart or to couet an other mans wife was no sinne with the Phariseis no more was it to hide one thyng in the hart to speake an other with the mouth to deceaue a maÌ„s neighbour if it were not bounde with an oth And though Moses say Leuit. xix Lye not nor deceaue any man hys neighbour or one an other yet they interpreted it but good councell if a man desired
As it is of y ◠Iewes though as Paul beareth them record they haue a feruent zeale to God yea and haue the Scripture therto yet because they haue not the true vnderstādyng all is dānable that they do Hypocrites with scrappes of almose get an hundred fold And with prayer they get prayse as thou seest here and pray therto and robbe widowes houses as thou readest Math. xxiij And with fastyng they get fat belyes full dishes euer more then inough And yet there is none almose praying or fastyng among them in the sight of God With their prayers they exclude all true prayers and make it impossible that there should be any amōg them For prayer is either a longyng for the honour of the name of God that all men should feare him and kepe his preceptes and beleue in him And contrary to that they seke their owne honour that men should feare them and keepe their ordinaunces and beleue in their swete blessings prayers pardons and what soeuer they promise If they byd fast thou must doe it or be damned and be an hereticke and rebellious to holy Church If they dispēce and geue thee cleane remission for to eate fleshe on good friday though thou be neuer so lustie thou must obey or els thou art damned and an hereticke because thou doest not beleue in holy Church Either prayer is to geue God thākes for the benefites receaued Contrary to which they will first haue thankes of the world for their prayers and robbe not onely widowes houses But also Lord Prince Emperour and all the world of house and land yea of their wittes to And then they bynde God to thāke them and to geue them Beside the thankes which they haue gotten in the world not onely heauē and an hygher place but that he geue heauen to no other man saue thorough their merites Either prayer is a complaynyng a shewyng of thyne owne miserie and necessitie or of they neighbours before God desiring hym with all the power of thine hart to haue compassion and to succour Coutrary to this they haue excluded with their prayers all necessitie miserie from among them They be Lordes ouer all and do what they will through the whole world Kyng and Emperour are their seruauntes they neede but say the word and their wil is fulfilled And as for their neighbours they haue no compassion vpon them to bryng their complaintes before God But with theyr prayers robbe them of that litle they haue and so make them more miserable Of enteryng into the chamber and shuttyng the doore to I say as aboue of that the lift hand should not know what the right hand doth the meanyng is that we should auoyde all worldly prayse and profite and pray with a single eye and true entēt accordyng to Gods word and is not forbidden therby to pray openly For we must haue a place to come together to pray in generall to thanke and to crye to God for the common necessities as well as to preach the word of God in Where the Priest ought to pray in the mother toung that the name of God may be halowed and his word faithfully taught and truly vnderstode and fayth and godly liuyng encreased and for the kyng and rulers that God will geue them his spirite to loue the common wealth and for peace that God will defend vs from all enemyes for wederyng and frutes that God will kepe away pestilence and all plagues And the Priest should be an example to the people how they should praye There be of such things as the Priests and other bable and not pray many good Collectes that should much edifie the people if they were spokē in the mother tounge And then while the Priestes sing Psalmes let euery man pray priuatly and geue God thankes for such benefites as his hart knoweth he hath receaued of God commende to God his priuate necessities and the priuate necessities of his neighbours which he knoweth is priuie to Neither is there in all such any ieopardie of vayne glory But and if God haue geuen any man the spirite of praying as all men haue not like giftes that he pray oft and when other do not thē to haue a secret place to pray in both for the auoydyng of vayne glory speach of people and that thou mayst be free to vse thy wordes as thou lustest and what soeuer gestures and behauiours do moue the most to deuotiō is necessarie and good And finally what soeuer necessitie thou hast though thou feele thy selfe a great sinner yet if thyne hart be to amend let not that discourage thee But go boldly to thy father seing thou hast his commaundemēt euer to pray and promise that he will heare thee not for thy goodnesse but of his goodnesse for his truth Moreouer when ye pray bable not much as the heathen do For they thinke that they shal be heard for theyr much bablinges sake Be not therfore like vnto them For youre Father knoweth of what thynges ye haue neede before ye aske hym Of this maner therefore pray ye O our father which art in heauen honoured be thy name thy kingdome come Thy will be fulfilled euen in earth as it is in heauen Geue vs this daye our dayly bread And forgeue vs our trespasses as we forgeue our trespassers And leade vs not into temptation But deliuer vs frō euill For thine is the kingdome the power the glory for euer Amen As before he rebuked their false entent in praying that they sought praise and profite of that worke which ought to be direct to God alone ether to geue him thākes that is to say to be a knowen and to confesse in the hart that al we haue commeth of hym or to call vpon hym for ayde and succour in tēptations and all necessitie Euen so here he rebuketh a false kynde of praying wherin the toung and lippes laboure and all the body is payned but y ◠hart talketh not wyth God nor feeleth any sweetnes at all nor hath any confidēce in the promises of God But trusteth in the multitude of wordes and in the payne and tediousnes of the length of the prayer as a coniurar doth in his circles Characters and superstitious wordes of his coniuration As ye see now to be amōg our Fryers Mōkes Chanons and Nunnes and euen thoroughout al the spiritualtie Which as I haue proued aboue haue with their false entent of praying excluded all occasions and the whole matter of true prayer haue turned it into a bodely labour to vexe the toung lippes eyes and throate with roaring and to weary all the members so that they say may truely sweare it that there is no greater labour in the world then prayer for no labour whatsoeuer it be when the body is compelled and the hart vnwilling can be other then greuous and painefull But true prayer if they complayned and
no King Lord Master or what ruler it be hath absolute power in this world is the very thyng whiche he is called For then they ceased to bee brethren still neither could they sinne what soeuer they commaunded But now their authoritie is but a limered power Which when they transgresse they sinne agaynst their brethren and ought to reconcile them selues to their brethren to aske forgeuenesse they are bounde to forgeue Finally let kynges rulers and officers remember that God is the very kyng and referre the honour that is geuen to them for their offices sake to him and humble them selues to him knowledge and confesse in their harts that they be but brethren and euen no better before God then the worst of their subiectes Amen For if ye forgeue men theyr fautes your heauenly father shall forgeue you also But and if ye do not forgeue men their fautes no more shall your father forgeue your fautes This is Gods couenaunt with vs and a confirmation of the petition aboue rehearsed in the Pater noster forgeue vs our trespasses as we forgeue our trespassers If thou wilt enter into the couenaūt of thy Lord God and forgeue thy brother then what soeuer thou hast committed agaynst God if thou repēt and aske him forgeuenesse thou art sure that thou art so absolued by these wordes that none in heauen nor earth can bynde thee No though our most holy father curse thee as blacke as coales seuen foote vnder the earth and seuen foote aboue and cast all his lightenyng vpon thee to burne thee to powder Keepe the couenaunt of y t Lord thy God therfore and feare no bugges But and if thon wilt not come within the couenaunt of God or if whē thou hast professed it and receaued the signe therof thou cast the yoke of the Lord from of thy necke be thou sure thou art bound by these wordes so fast that none in heauen or in earth can lowse thee No though our earthyshe God whisper all his absolutions ouer thee claw thee stroke thyne head with all his swete blessynges Furthermore though forgeuenesse of thy sinnes be annexed to thy worke and forgeuyng thy brother yet do not as I said thy workes iustifie thee before God But the fayth in Christes bloud in the promises made to vs for his sake doth bryng righteousnesse in to the hart And the righteousnesse of the hart by fayth is felt and knowen by the worke As Peter in the first of his second Epistle commaūdeth to do good workes for to make our vocatiō and election sure that we might feele our fayth be certified that it is right For except a man be proued and tryed it cannot be knowen neither to hym selfe or other men that he is righteous and in the true faith Take an example least thou be beguiled with sophistrie Christ sayth Math. xiij the kyngdome of heauen is like leuen which a womā taketh hideth in thre peckes of meale till all be leuenned or sour◠Leuen is sometyme takē in an euill sence for the doctrine of the Phariseis which corrupted the swetenesse of the word of God with the leuē of their gloses and sometime in a good sence for the kingdome of heauen that is to say the Gospell and glad tydinges of Christ For as leuen altereth the nature of dowe and maketh it through sowre euen so the Gospell turneth a man into a new life and altereth him a litle and a litle first the hart and then the members Faith in Christ first certifieth the cōsciēce of the forgeuenesse of sinnes and deliuereth vs from the feare of euerlastyng damnation and then bryngeth the loue of God of his law into the hart which loue is the righteousnesse of y ◠hart Loue bringeth good workes into the mēbers which workes are y ◠outward righteousnesse and the righteousnesse of the mēbers To hate the will of God is the vnrighteousnesse of the hart causeth euill workes which are the vnrighteousnesse of the members As whē I hated my brother my toung spake euill my handes smote so forth To loue is the righteousnesse of the hart and causeth good workes which are the righteousnesse of the mēbers As if I loue my brother and he haue nede of me be in pouertie loue will make me put myne hand into my purse or almory and to geue him some what to refresh him c. That the loue of God and of his commaundementes is the righteousnesse of the hart doth no man doubt saue he that is hartlesse And that loue spryngeth of fayth thou mayst euidētly see i. Ioh. ij he y ◠loueth his brother dwelleth in y t light But he that hate h his brother is in darkenes walketh in darckenesse and wotteth not whether he goeth for darckenesse hath blynded his eyes Why is he that hateth in darcknesse verely because he seeth not the loue of God in Christ For if he saw that he coulde not but loue his brother for so kynde a fathers sake If any man hate his brother be thou sure that the same mā is in darcknesse and hath not y e light of true faith nor seeth what Christ hath done If a man so loue that he cā forgeue his brother assure thy selfe that he is in the light of the true faith and seeth what mercy is shewed him in Christ This is then the summe of altogetheri workes are the outward righteousnes before y ◠world may be called the righteousnes of y e mēbers spring of inward loue Loue is the righteousnes of the hart and springeth of faith Faith is the trust in Christes bloud is the gift of God Ephes ij whereunto a man is drawen of the goodnesse of God and driuen thorow true knowledge of the lawe and of beholding his decdes in the lust and desire of the members vnto the request of the lawe and with seing his owne dampnation in the glasse of the lawe For if a man sawe his owne dampnation in y t law he should immediatly hate God hys workes and vtterly dispayre except God offered him Christ and forgaue all that were past and made hym hys sonne and tooke the dampnatiō of the lawe away and promised that if he would submit himself to learne and to do his best that he should be accept as well as an Angell in heauē and therto if he fell of frailtie and not of malice and stubbornnesse it should be forgeuen vpon amendment and that God would euer take him for his sonne and onely chastice him at home whē he dyd amisse after the most fatherlyest maner and as easely as his disease would suffer but neuer bring him forth to be iudged after the rigorousnes of y t law And as thou couldest not see Leauen though thou brakest vp a loafe except thou smelledst or tastedst the sourenes euē so couldest thou neuer see true faith or loue except thou
Not onely foule and beast but also tree herbe all the floures of the earth do crye vnto vs to trust God and to cast away all care that is coupled with couetousnesse of more then sufficient to beare the charges whiche we haue in our handes by the reason of the state we be in the world and all care that is annexed with mistrust that God shuld not minister inough to beare all our charges if we endeuer our selues to keepe his commaundementes and to do euery man his craft or office he is in truly and when God to proue vs suffereth vs to haue neede of our neighbours we first complayne to God desire him to prepare the hartes of our neighbours agaynst we come to desire their helpe But MaÌ„mon pypeth an other song saying if thou shouldest make no other maner of labour for a benefice then as if thou careddest not whether thou had dest it or haddest it not it would be loÌ„g ere thou gattest one all would be take out of thyne hand I aunswere as thy labour was to get it such shal be thy be hauiour in it as thou flatteredest to haue it so shalt thou it it And as thou boughtest and souldest to get it so shalt thou sell in it to bye â—auour and to be set by in the world If thy principall in tent that thou seekest a benefice for be lucre then take hede to the example of thy forefather Symon Magus Let thy care therefore be to do the office that God putteth thee in trulye and the blessyng that he coupleth thereto that take with thankes and neither care nor couet further Take no thought therefore saying What shall we eate or what shall we drinke or what shall we put on all these thynges the heathen seke Yea and your heauenly father knoweth that ye neede all these things But seke first the kyngdome of God and the righteousnesse therof and all these thynges shal be ministred vnto you Be not like the heathen which haue no trust in God nor his word nor beleue any life to come Let them vexe them selues and ech be a deuill to an other sor worldly thynges But comfort thou thy self with y â— hope of a better life in another worlde euer assured that y â— shalt haue here sufficient onely if thou keepe couenaunt with the Lord thy God and seke his kyngdome and the righteousnesse therof aboue all things The kyngdome of God is the Gospel and doctrine of Christ And the righteousnesse therof is to beleue in Christes bloud for the remission of sinnes Out of which righteousnesse springeth loue to God thy neighbour for his sake which is also righteousnesse as I haue sayd afore so farre as it is perfect and that which lacketh is supplied by faith in Gods word in that he hath promised to accept that til more come Then foloweth the outward righteousnesse of workes by the which and diligent recording of Gods word together we grow and waxe perfect and keepe our selues from goyng backe and losyng the spirite agayne And these haue our spiritualtie with their corrupt doctrine myngled together that is to say the righteousnes of the kyngdome of God which is fayth in Christs bloud the outward righteousnes of the meÌ„bers that we ascribe to the one that pertaineth to the other Seke the kingdome of heauen therfore and the righteousnesse of the same and be sure thou shalt euer haue sufficient and these thynges shal be ministred vnto the that is to say shall come of their owne accord by the promise of God yea Christ promiseth thee an huÌ„dredfolde euen in this life of all that thou leauest for his sake If that were true would some say who would not rather serue him then Mammon yet is it true For first if thou be seruaunt of MammoÌ„ thou must kepe thy God and thy God not thee And euery man that is stroÌ„ger then thou will take thy God from thee Moreouer God will take either thee from thy Mammon or thy Mammon from thee ere thou wouldest to aduenge â–ª him selfe of thy blynd vnkyndnesse that when he hath made thee and geuen thee all thou forsakest him and seruest his mortall enemy But if thou folow Christ all the world and let them take all the deuils in hell to them shall not be able to disappointe thee of a sufficieÌ„t lyuing And though they persecute thee from house to house a thousand tymes yet shall God prouide thee of an other with all things sufficient to liue by Now compare y e suretie of his with y â— incertaintie of the other then the blessed end of this that heaueÌ„ is promised thee also with the miserable departyng from the other so sore agaynst thy will and then the desperation that thy hart â—eeleth that thou art all ready in hell And theÌ„ may not this be wel called a thousand fold more then the other Care not then for the day folowyng but let the day folowyng care for it selfe For the day that is present hath euer inough of his owne trouble If thou looke well on the conenauÌ„t that is betwene thee thy Lord God on the one side and the temptations of the worlde the fleshe and Satan on the other thou shalt soone perceiue that the day present hath euer inough to be cared for for which thou must â—ry instantly to God for helpe also though thou do thy best Now theÌ„ seing y t day present is ouercharged with her owne care what madnesse is it to lade vpon her also the care of the day folowing yea the care of a yeare ye of xx yeare or as though thou neuer entendest to die and to torment and vexe the soule thorow mistrust and vnbeliefe to make thy life soure and bitter and as vnquiet â–ª as the lyfe of the deuilles in hell Therefore care day by day houre by houre earnestly to keepe the couenaunt of the Lord thy God and to recorde therein day and night and to do thy part vnto the vttermost of thy power And as for Gods part let hym care for it himselfe and beleue thou his wordes stedfastly and be sure that heauen and earth shal sooner perishe then one iote bide behinde of that he hath promised And for thine owne part also care not of that maner as though thou shouldest do all alone Nay God hath first promised to helpe thee Secondarily to accept thine hart and that little y â— thou art able to do be it neuer so imperfect Thirdly though wynde weather the streame cary thee cleane contrary to thy purpose yet because thou bidest still in thy profession ready to turne the right course as soone as y â— tempest is a little ouer blowen God promiseth to forgeue that not y t lesse to fulfill his promises of one iote Doth Christ so defend his that they neuer come in daunger of trouble yes they come into such straites oft that no witte
all thyng for vauntage leadeth in the darkenesse of death M. Tyndall doth knowe how that S. Augustine and S. Hierome do proue with holy Scripture that confessioÌ„ is of necessitie vnto saluation Tyndall That is false if ye meane eareconfession Why alledge ye not the places where But ye know by S. Hierome and other stories and by the conuersation with Erasmus how it came vp and that the vse was once farre other then now M. I meruell that Tyndal denieth Purgatory except he entend to go to hell Tyndall He entendeth to purge here vnto the vttermost of his power hopeth that death will end and finish hys purgation And if there be any other purgyng he will commit it to God take it as he findeth it when he coÌ„meth at it and in the meane tyme take no thought therefore but for this that is present wherewith all Saintes were purged and were taught so to be And Tyndall marueleth what secret pilles they take to purge them selues whiche not onely will not purge here with the crosse of Christ but also bye out theyr Purgatory therof the pope for a groat or vj. pence The xviij Chapter M. The Clergie doth nothyng vnto the heretikes but as the holy Doctours dyd Tyndall Yes ye put them in your prisons and diote them and handle them after your fashion as temporall tyrauÌ„tes and dispute with them secretly and will not come at light And ye slea theÌ„ for rebukyng you with Gods worde and so did not the old holy Doctours If a man slea his father ye care not But if any man touche one of you though he haue neuer so great an occasion geuen him ye curse him and if he will not submitte him selfe vnto your punishmeÌ„t ye leaue him vnto the temporall power whome ye haue hyred with y e spoyle of his goodes to be your hangman so that he must lose his life for geuyng one of you but a blowe on the cheke M. Saint Paule gaue two heretickes vnto the deuill whiche tormented theyr fleshe whiche was no small punishement and haply he slew them Tyndall O expounder of the Scripture like Hugo Charensis which exposideth haereticum hominem deuita take the hereticke out of his lyfe We read of no payne that he had whom the Corinthians excommunicated and gaue to Sathan to slea his fleshe saue that hee was ashamed of hym selfe and repented when he saw his offence so earnestly taken and so abhorred But ye because ye haue no power to deliuer them to Sathan to blynde theyr myndes ye deliuer theÌ„ to the fire to destroy their flesh that no more is seene of them after then the ashes ¶ FINIS ¶ The practise of papisticall Prelates made by Wylliam Tyndall ¶ In the yeare of our Lorde 1530. ¶ William Tyndall to the Christian Reader WHen the olde Scribes and Phariseis had darckned the Scripture wyth their traditions and false interpretacions and wicked perswasions of fleshly wisdome and shut vp the kingdome of heauen which is Gods word that the people coulde not enter in vnto the knowledge of the true way as Christ complayneth in the Gospell Math. x. iij. Then they sat in the hartes of men with their false doctrine in the stead of God and hys word slew the soules of the people to deuoure their bodyes and to robbe them of their worldly substaunce But when Christ and Iohn the Baptiste had restored the Scripture agayne vnto the true vnderstanding and had vttered their falsehead and improued their tradicions and confounded their false interpretations with the cleare and euident textes and with power of the holy Ghost had brought all their iuggling and hypocrisie to light theÌ„ they gat them vnto the elders of the people perswaded them saying this man is surely of the deuill and hys myracles be of the deuill no doubt And these good workes which he doth in healing the people yea and his preaching against our couetousnes are but a cloke to bring hym vnto hys purpose that when he hath gotteÌ„ him disciples ynow he may rise against the Emperour and make hymselfe kyng And then shall the Romaynes come take our land from vs and cary away our people and put other naâ—ions in our realme and so shall we lose all that we haue and the most part of our liues therto Take heede therefore betimes while there is remedy yer he go so far that ye be not able to resiste hym The elders of the people which were rich and welthy though before they in a maner fauoured Christ or at y â— least way were indifferent nor greatly caryng whether God or the deuil raigned so that they might bide in their authoritie feared immediatly as Herode did of the losse of his kingdome when the wise men asked where the new borne king of Iewed was and conspired with the Scribes and Phariseis against Christ and tooke him and braught him vnto Pilate saying We haue â—ounde this fellow peruerting the people and forbidding to pay tribute vnto Cesar and saying that he is king and mouyng the people from Galile vnto this place The Pilate though he likewise was before indifferent put now in feare of the losse of his office thorow such perswasions slew innocent Christ And in very deede as the Scribes Phariseis were all their liues before blynde guides vnto the destruction of their soules euen so were they at their last ende blinde Prophetes vnto the destruction of their bodyes For after that they had slayne Christ and diuers of his Apostles and persecuted those poore wretches that beleued on hym God to aduenge the poore innocent bloude that bare witnes vnto the truth poured hys wrath among them that they theÌ„selues rose against the Emperour And the Romaynes came according as they blyndly prophesied and slew the most part of them and caryed y e rest captiue into all nacions and put other nacions in the Realme But whose fault was that insurrection against the Emperour and mischiefe that followed Christes and his Apostles whom they falsely accused before hand Nay Christ taught that they shoulde geue Cesar that pertayned vnto Cesar and God that which belonged to God EueÌ„ that they should geue Cesar lawfull their bodely seruice God the hart and that they should loue Gods law repent of their euill come and receaue mercy and let the wrath of god be taken from of them And the Apostles taught that all soules should obey the hyer powers or temporall rulers but their obstinate malice that so hardened their harâ—s that they coulde not repent and their raylyng vppon the open and manifest with which they coulde not improue and resisting the holy Ghost and sleying of the preachers of righteousnes brought the wrath of God vpoÌ„ theÌ„ and was cause of their vtter destruction Euen so our Scribes and Pharises now that their hypocrisie is disclosed and there falshead so brought
wise The body of our Sauiour which was broken on the crosse for the sinne of all that repent and haue good hartes and would fayne keepe his law be broke vnto my danmation if I breake this othe then is it a terrible othe and they had nede to take hede how they make it and if it be lawfully made not to breake it at all But as they care for their othe whiche they make in wedlocke so they care for this What soeuer nede the Pope hath he wil not send to the Emperour to come and helpe him in Italy for feare lest he would take to him selfe what soeuer he conquered of the Frenchmen and waxe to strong and minish our holy fathers power and become our holy fathers Vicare as he is S. Peters Neuerthelesse if we Englishmen wil hyre the Emperour to come and fight agaynste Fraunce for the right of the Churche in these quarters that be next vnto vs his fatherhode is content to admitte his seruice When our kyng hath graunted to take our holy fathers part then the pretence and cloke outward must be that the kyng will chalenge his right in Fraunce And to ayde the kyng in hys right must the commons be milked till they blede agayne Thē to do the kyng seruice the Lordes sel or lay their lādes to morgage Then is cleane remission geuen to flea French dogges He that dyeth in the quarell shall neuer see Purgatory but flye to heauen streight euē with a thought WHen the Pope hath what he desireth in Italy then must we make peace with the Frēchmen agayn immediatly that Fraunce be not all to gether troden vnder the foote but that it remayne alwaye in a meane state strōg inough to match the Emperour and to keepe him downe but not to mighty for oppressing the Pope And then our Prelates to bryng the peace about send immediatly a Frier Forest or a Vicare of Croyden to preach before the Kyng and his Lordes which preacher roareth and crieth vnto them as though he halowed his houndes maketh exclamations saying Alas what will ye do spare Christen bloud will ye sea your owne soules Be not the Frenchmen as wel Christen as ye Moreouer ye slea poore innocētes that neuer offended Make peace for the passion of Christ Kill not one an other as though Christ had not dyed for you but fight rather agaynst the Turkes Then come in the Ambassadours of Fraunce and money a few Prelates certaine other the kinges playfelowes that be sworne with them to betray both the kyng and the Realme to And then is peace concluded But outwardly there is nothyng saue a truce taken for halfe an yeare till our souldiers be at home agayn for feare lest they wold not bee content Then commeth the whole host home beggarde both great and small And the poore that can not sodenly get worke fall to stealyng and be hanged at home This could More tell in hys Vtopia before he was the Cardinals sworne Secretary and fallen at his foote to betray the truth for to get promotion Take an example the Bishops sent kyng Henry the fifte out to conquere Fraūce The cause was saith the Chronicles that the kyng wēt about to take their temporalities from them And therfore to bryng the kyng into an other imagination they monyed hym sent him into Fraunce When they had sent out the kyng he conquered more then was their will and more then they supposed possible for him in so short space and brought Fraunce cleane vnder the foote so that our Prelates had much secret businesse to set it vp agayne but what is impossible vnto so great Gods In kyng Henryes dayes the vi our holy father of Rome made the Bishop of winchester a Cardinal which went shortly after into Fraunce to treate of a truce betwene England Fraunce And him mette a Legate of Rome a Cardinall also after which meatyng Englishemen had euer the woorse in Fraunce and their chiefest frende the Duke of Burgaine forsoke them For when Cardinals and Byshops mete together they haue their secret counsell by them selues wherin they conclude neither what is good for England nor yet for Fraunce but what is best for our holy fathers profite to kepe him in his state When kyng Henry was of age there was a mariage made betwen him and the Earle of Arminackes daughter in Gyan with the which should haue ben geuen many Castles and Townes in Gyan a great somme of money therto But that mariage was broken not without the secret working of our Prelates and dispensation of our holy father thou maist be sure And a mariage was made betwen him and the kyngs daughter of Cecile for which England gaue vp the whole Dukedome of Gyā and Earledome of Mayne wherby we lost all Normandy whereof they were the kaye And beside that the commons gaue a fiftene and an halfe to fette her in wyth pompe And then was the good Duke of Glocester trayterously murthered partly because he coulde iudge false myracles partly because of the deliueraunce of these two countryes For he beyng a liue they durste not do it And when kyng Edwarde had put downe kyng Harry a mariage was made and concluded betwene him and the kyng of Spayne this quenes mother that now is But yet the Embassadours were come home our Prelates had bewitched kyng Edwarde by their apostle Fryer Bongaye and maryed hym vnto a wydow that was a knyghtes wyfe least if Spayne and England had bene ioyned together kyng Edwarde should haue recouered Fraunce agayne But what folowed after the breaking of the mariage betwene kyng Edwarde and the Erle of Warwicke and what came of his children yea and what came on king Hēry of Windsores children also But what care our prelates what vēgeaūce or mischiefe fall on Princes or on their realmes so their kingdome prosper In kyng Henryes dayes the vij the Cardinall Murton and Byshop Fox of Winchester deliuered vnto y t kinges grace the confessions of as many Lordes as his grace lusted Who so euer was mistrusted if he shroue himselfe at the Charter houses Sion Grenewich at Saint Iohns or wheresoeuer it was the confessour was commaunded by the auctoritie of the Pope to deliuer his confession written sworne that it was all And Cardinall Murton had a licēce of the Pope for xiiij to to studie Necromācy of which he him self was one other I haue heard named which at this tyme I passe ouer with silence And how the holy Friers obseruauntes caryed fayned letters to trye who was true I passe ouer with silence also Howbeit such tēptations fayned profers were inough to moue thē that neuer would haue thought amysse yea in cōfession mē will shrine thē selues of thoughtes which they neuer went about in the outward deede Whē any great man is put to death how his confessour entreateth him what
to auoyde the trouble of the world and occasions that might plucke me there from and to serue my brother with all euen as one hand helpeth an other or one member an other because one feeleth an others grief the payne of the one is the payne of the other What soeuer is done to the lest of vs whether it be good or bad it is done to Christ and what soeuer is done to my brother if I be a Christen mā that same is done to me Neither doth my brothers payne greue me lesse then myne owne Neither reioyse I lesse at his wealth then at mine own if I loue hym as well and asmuch as my selfe as the law cōmaundeth me If it were not so how sayth Paule let hym that reioyseth reioyse in the Lord that is to say Christ whiche is Lord ouer all creatures I◠my merites obteined me heauē or a hygher place there then had I wherein I might reioyse besides the Lord. Here see ye the nature of the law the nature of the Euangelion How the law is the key that byndeth and damneth all men and the Euangelion is the keye that loseth them agayne The law goeth before and the Euangelion foloweth When a preacher preacheth the law he byndeth all consciences and when he preacheth the Gospell he looseth them agayn These two salues I meane the law and the Gospell vseth god his preacher to heale cure sinners with all The law driueth out the disease and maketh it appeare and is a sharpe salue and a freatyng corsey killeth the dead flesh and louseth and draweth the sores out by the rootes all corruption It pulleth from a man the trust and confidence that he hath in him selfe in his owne workes merites deseruinges and ceremonies and robbeth him of all his righteousnesse and maketh him poore It killeth him sendeth hym downe to hell and bryngeth him to vtter desperation and prepareth y e way of the Lord as it is written of Iohn the Baptist For it is not possible that Christ should come to a man as long as he trusteth in him self or in any worldly thyng or hath any righteousnesse of his own or riches of holy workes Then commeth the Euāgelion a more gentle paster which soupleth and swageth the woundes of the cōscience and bringeth health It bringeth the spirite of God which loseth the bondes of Sathā and coupleth vs to God and his will through strong fayth and feruent loue with bondes to strong for the deuill the world or any creature to lose them And the poore wretched sinner feeleth so great mercy loue kyndnes in God that he is sure in hym selfe how that it is not possible that God should forsake him or withdraw hys mercy and loue from hym And boldly cryeth out with Paul saying Who shall separate vs from the loue that GOD loueth vs withall That is to say what shall make me beleue that God loueth me not Shall tribulation Anguish Persecution Shal hūger Nakednes Shal sword Nay I am sure that neither death nor lyfe neither aungell neither rule nor power neither present thynges nor thinges to come neither hygh nor low neither any creature is able to separate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesu our Lord. In all such tribulations a Christen man perceaueth that God is his father and loueth hym euen as he loued Christ when he shed his bloud on the crosse Finally as before when I was bond to the deuill and his will I wrought all maner euill and wickednes not for hells sake which is the reward of sinne but because I was heyre of hell by byrth and bondage to the deuill dyd I euill For I could none otherwise do to do sinne was my nature Euen so now since I am coupled to GOD by Christes bloud do I well not for heauens sake which is yet the reward of wel doyng but because I am heyre of heauen by grace and Christes purchasyng haue the spirite of God I do good frely for so is my nature As a good tree bryngeth forth good frute and an euill tree euill frute By the frutes shal ye know what the tree is A mās dedes declare what he is within but make him neither good nor bad though after we be created a new by the spirite doctrine of Christ we waxe perfecter alwaye with woorkyng accordyng to the doctrine and not with blynd woorkes of our owne imagining We must be first euill yer we doe euill as a Serpent is first poysoned yer he poyson We must be also good yer we do good as the fire must be first hoate yer it heate an other thyng Take an example As those blynd and deaffe which are cured in the Gospell could not see nor heare till Christ had geuen them sight hearyng and those sicke could not do the dedes of an whole man till Christ had geuen them health So can no man do good in his soule till Christ haue losed hym out of the bondes of Sathan and haue geuē him wherewith to do good yea first haue powred into hym that selfe good thing which he shedeth forth afterward on other Whatsoeuer is our owne is sinne Whatsoeuer is aboue that is Christes gift purches doyng and working He bought it of his father dearely with his bloud yea with his most bitter death and gaue his lyfe for it What soeuer good thyng is in vs that is geuen vs frely without our deseruyng or merites for Christes bloudes sake That we desire to folow y t will of God it is the gift of Christes bloud That we now hate the deuils will whereunto we were so fast locked and could not but loue it is also the gift of Christes bloud vnto whom belongeth the prayse and honour of our good dedes and not vnto vs. Our deedes do vs three maner seruice First they certifie vs that we are heyres of euerlastyng life And that the spirite of God whiche is the earnest therof is in vs in that our hartes consent vnto the law of God and we haue power in our mēbers to do it though imperfectly And secondarily we tame the fleshe therewith and kill the sinne that remayneth yet in vs waxe dayly perfecter and perfecter in the spirite therewith kepe that the lustes choke not the word of God that is sowen in vs nor quench the giftes and working of the spirite and that we lose not the spirite agayne And thirdly we do our dutie vnto our neighbour therewith helpe their necessitie vnto our own cōfort also and draw all mē vnto the honoryng and praysing of God And whosoeuer excelleth in the giftes of grace let the same thinke that they be geuen hym as much to do hys brother seruice as for his owne selfe as much for the loue whiche God hath to the weake as vnto him vnto whom God geueth such giftes And he that withdraweth ought that he hath from hys neighbours neede robbeth
in his creatures and because he can do thynges impossible for man or any other creature to do or to thinke how they shuld be done therfore he is called the Lord almighty but because to braule about such possibilitie or impossibilitie is the lust of Sophisters and also the desire of the deuill to quench the profession of our Baptisme and to wipe out the Image of Christ out of our hartes and a thyng endelesse Therfore I compte it wickednes to wade forth in it and to giue them that seeke an occasion perpetually to scold The negatiue may a man hold till they can proue the affirmatiue Moreouer if bread be the very body of Christ whether abidyng the very body still or transubstantiated and enioy the glorye of the soule of Christ and also of the Godhead It semeth impossible to be auoyded but that Christ was made man dyed Also bread whiche semeth to some a great inconuenience Howbeit that great proclamation of bread and also that high power of Priestes aboue all aūgels I admit also to anoide all braulyng but one reasō I haue vnto which I cleaue somewhat and it is this All that is betwene God and man in the Scripture is for mans necessitie and not for any nede that GOD hath therof And other spirituall profite can none haue by that fayth in the Sacrament then to be taught therby to beleue in Christ our Sauiour and to do good to his neighbour now is that belefe loue had as well rather better as is aboue proued without such fayth with it Ergo where the Scripture compelleth to no such beleue it is wickednes to make it a necessary article of our fayth to slay them that cā not thinke that it ought to be beleued Notwithstandyng all these reasons and the damnable Idolatrie which the Papistes haue cōmitted with the Sacrament yet whether they affirme the body and bloud to bee present with the bread and wyne or the bread and wyne to be turned and transubstantiated into the body and bloud I am therewith content for vnities sake if they will there cease and let him be there onely to restifie and consirme the Testament or couenaunt made in Christes bloud and body for which cause onely Christ instituted the Sacrament But and if they will rage further with their blind reasons of their subtill sophistrie deuilish Idolatrie say where Christes bloud is there is his body and where his body is there is his soule where his soule is there is his godhead the trimty the father the sonne the holy ghost and there men ought to pray and say O father whiche art present with thy sonne Christ vnder bread wyne or in forme of bread wyne If I say they so raue thē as the old Prophet for like Idolatrie demeth God to dwel in the temple or to haue pleasure in sacrifice of bloud of goates shepe calues Euē so deny I the body of Christ to be any more in the Sacrament then God was in the goldē calues which Ieroboham set vp to be prayed to the one in Bethell and the other in Dan for though God bee present euery where yet if heauen of heauens can not compasse hym to make hym a dwellyng place as the Scripture testifieth and much lesse the temple that was at Ierusalem how should he haue a dwellyng place in a litle wafer or crome of bread God dwelleth not in the temple neither did our fathers which were of the true faith in the old Testamēt pray to God as present in the temple but the name of God onely was in the tēple 3. of the Kinges 8. and his law and couenauntes and wonderfull deedes were therin writtē in signes and were there preached and testified continually of the true Priestes and Prophetes vnto the people the fathers of the true fayth came thether Furthermore of the seruent loue which they had towardes the lawes couenauntes of God For the whiche Prophets Salomō prayed so earnestly vnto the Lord God saying Here thou O God in heauen thy dwellyng place and do all that the straunger calleth to thee for that all nations of the earth may know the feare thy name as do this people Israell c. Read the third booke of kynges the 8. chapter when God delighted onely in the fayth of the offerer whiche beleued in God onely for all mercy taking the sacrifice for a sure token and earnest of the mercy of God certified by that signe that God loued them and was at one with them for Christes sake to come As we should be certified by the Sacrament of God with vs for Christes death that is past And Christe taught vs in our prayers to looke vp to heauen and say Our father which ar◠in heauē he him selfe in all his prayers did lift vp his eyes to heauē to his father and so did hee when he instituted the Sacrament and rehearsed the wordes of the couenaunt ouer bread wyne as it is written Mathew 26. Marke 14. Luke 22. 1. Cor. 11. in these wordes Iesus tooke bread c. Christ though he affirme him selfe to be the sonne of God his father to be in him yet he taught not his Disciples to direct the prayer to the father in him but vp to the father in heauen neither lift he vp his eyes or prayer to his father in the Sacramēt but to his father in heauē I know diuers diuers mē know me which loue me as I do thē yet if I should pray them whē I mete thē in the strete openly they would abhorre me but if I pray thē where they be appointed to mete me secretly they will here me accept my request Euē so though gods presēce be euery where yet will he be prayed so vp to the place onely where he shall see him where he would haue vs for to lōg for to be Moreouer if I grannt you that the bloud of Christ is in the cup it will folow that his body is there also neither when I graunt that his body is in the bread or vnder the forme of bread will it folow that his soule is ther to Christ made y e bread the Sacrament of his body onely wherefore as the bread is no similitude of his bloud So am I not bound or ought to affirme y t his bloud is there presēt And he did institute the wyne to be the Sacramēt of his bloud onely And happely it was red wyne y t more louely to represēt it Now as the wine in no similitude doth represēt the body so am I not boūd or ought to affirme that his body is there present Ye say that Christ is so mighty that though he stode mortall before his Disciples eyes yet he was able to make y e same body y t same time to be in the Sacrament immortall to be vnder euery litle peece of bread or of the Sacramēt though it be no greater
be their God The lambe that was but the signe was called the passeouer and yet was not the lambe the passyng ouer but the signe onely excityng and monishing them to remember that deliueraūce by the aungell pasling by the Israelites in Egypt sinityng the Egyptians And sith this trope or maner of spech the Scripture did vse with so great grace in the old rites and ceremonies that figured our Sacramētes why may it not with like grace for that analogie and proper congruence of the figures with their verities vse the same phrase and maner of spech in their verities If the Scripture called the signe the thyng in Circumcision the passeouer why should we be offended with the same spech in our Baptisme in the Lordes Supper Sith such maner of spech haue no lesse grace and fulnes here then there to bryng the thyng signified into our hartes by such outward sensible signes For when that signe of Circumcision was giuen the child thē were they certified as an outword token may certifie that the child was of the people of Israell And therfore did the signes thē as they do now beare the names of thyngs which they signified as the lambe eaten in the passeouer was called the sacrifice the selfe passeouer none otherwise then in our new passeouer that is the Lordes supper the bread brokē c. is called the body of Christ the wyne poured forth and distributed to ech mā the bloud of Christ because the bread so broken and dealt signifieth vnto the receiuers and putteth them in remembraunce of the sacrifice of his body on the aulter of the crosse and of his bloud poured foorth for our redemption So that this maner of spech in the administration and vse of the Supper of our Lord to say This is my body this is my bloud is asmuch to say as this signifieth my body this signifieth my bloud Which Supper is here celebrated to put vs in remēbraunce of Christes death and to excite vs to thankes giuyng Neither let it offend thee O Christen reader That est is taken for significat that is to say This is that is as much to say as this signifieth that For this is a commō maner of spech in many places of Scripture and also in our mother toūg as whē we see many pictures or images which ye know well are but signes to represent the bodyes whom they be made lyke yet we say of the Image of our Lady This is our Lord and of S. Katheriue this is S. Katherine yet do they but represent and signify vs our Lady or S. Katherine And as it is writtē The in braūches are three dayes The thre baskets are three dayes which was not els but they signified three dayes Also in the xxviij chapter Iacob sayd This stone whiche I haue set vp an ende shal be Gods house which stone yet was neuer Gods house nor neuer shal be but onely did signifie gods house to be builded in that same place Agayne Pharao dreamed to haue sene vij faire fat Oxē eftsoones vij poore lene Oxē which Ioseph expoundyng sayd The vij fat Oxē are vij plētuous yeares in which phrase or maner of spech euery mā sith that the Oxē were no yeares but they signified such yeares Maruell not therfore though est likewise in this sentēce Hoc est corpus meum be taken for significat as much to say as this signifieth my body And yet for because the Scriptures conferred together expounde them selfe as sayth S. Austen And Peter That we haue before a firme and sure prophetical spech vnto which if we attend as vnto a light set vp in a darke place we do well I shall shew you a like phrase in Ezechiell where the destruction of Ierusalem was thus figured God commaundyng Ezechiell to take a sword as sharpe as a raser and shaue of his head and beard and then take a certain waight of the heares deuided into three partes The one he should burne in the middes of the Citie An other he should cut roūd about and cast the thyrd vp into the wynde c. which done he sayd Thus sayth the Lord God This is Ierusalem Which act and dede so done was not Ierusalem But it signified and preached vnto the beholders of it Ierusalem to be destroyed none otherwise thē the breakyng and distributing of the bread and wyne called Christes body and bloud signifieth and preacheth vs the death of Christ the figure and signe bearyng the name of the thyng signified as in the Prophetes spech saying This is Ierusalem which dyd but signifie Ierusalem When Christ dyd breath into his Disciples saying Take ye the holy ghost the same breath was not the holy ghost but signified and represented them the holy ghost with a thousand lyke maner of spech in the Scripture In the old passeouer thankes were giuen for the slaughter of the first begotten wherein the kynges posteritie of Egypt fell away The Hebrues spared passeouer and deliuered But in the new passeouer thankes were giuen that the onely begotten sonne of the most highest was crucified wherby all faythfull are spared passed ouer and not smittē with the sword of damnation but deliuered and saued in the lambes bloud that hath takē away the sinne of the world In the old passeouer The lambe or feast is called the Lordes passeouer and yet was neither the lambe nor the feast his passyng ouer but the signe and commemoration of his passyng by And euē so is it now in the new Supper of our Lord. It is there called the body of our Lord not that there is any thing wherin his very naturall body is contayned so long and brode as it hāged on the crosse for so is it ascended into heauē and sitteth on the right hād of the father but that thyng that is there done in that Supper as the breakyng and dealyng and eatyng of the bread and the whole like action of the wine signifieth representeth and putteth into our harts by the spirite of faith this cōmemoration ioyfull remēbraunce so to geue thankes for that inestimable benefite of our redemption wherin we see with the eye of our fayth presently his body broken his bloud shed for our sinnes This is no small Sacrament nor yet irreuerētly to be entreated but it is the most glorious and hyghest Sacramēt with all reuerence and thankes geuyng to be ministred vsed receiued preached solemnely in the face of the congregation to be celebrated of whose holy administration and vse I shall peraduenture speake in the end of this Supper But in the meane season Christen reader let these sensible signes signifie and represent hys death and print it in thy hart geuyng thankes incessantly vnto God the father for so incomparable a benefite that hath giuē thee his owne onely so dearely beloued sonne our Sauiour Iesus Christ to dye for thy sinnes yea and that
tormentes in his owne body to deliuer vs from the paines that we had deserued But seyng they thinke their reasō so strōg and inuincible I will confute it with one question that they shal not know whyther to turne them But first I will ground me vpon this Scripture S. Paule writeth 1. Thess 4. on this maner we that liue and are remayning in the comming of the Lord vnto iudgemēt shall not come yere they that sléepe for the Lord himselfe shall descende from heauen with a shoute and the voyce of the Archaungell and trōpe of God And the dead in Christ shall arise first then shall we whiche liue and remaine bée caught vp with them also in the cloudes to mete the Lorde in the ayre and so shall we euer be with the Lord. Now harken to my question Those men that shal be found alyue at the last day for as it was in the tyme of Noe euē so shall the last day come vppon vs vnwares and as a théefe in the night Math. 24. those men I speake of shall any of thē be saued or not There is no mā that liueth but hee may well say his Pater nostor of the which one part is Forgeue vs Lorde our trespasses as we forgeue them that trespasse against vs therfore is no man pure and with out all sinne And this confirmeth S. Iohn saying If we say we haue no sinne we deceaue our selues and the truth is not in vs. 1. Iohn 1. what remedie now shall they all be damned There is no doubt but some of them shall not be very euill although they haue not made sufficient satisfaction vnto God in this world they ought not to go vnto hell to euerlastyng dānatiō as your owne reason proueth and then shall there be no Purgatory to purge and punishe them Besides that if there were a Purgatory at y ◠time yet could they not be cast into it for all shall be done in the twinklyng of an eye 1. Cor. xv and they shall be caught vp to mete the Lord. 1. Thess 4. Is God not as iust then as he was before will he not haue punished as well then as before Nowe sée you no euasion for all your suttle imaginations for they are not pure and without spotte as you say except they make satisfaction them selues vnto God But they must be without spot or wrincle that shall enter into heauē as Rastell him selfe doth proue in the ix Chapter of hys thyrd Dialogue Howbeit I regarde not his testimony but the Scripture affirmeth that to be true as Paul sayth Ephesians 1. and. 5. Now sith they must be pure euē without spot or wrincle that shall enter into heauen and these persons are yet spotted with sinne and haue neither place nor space to purge them in you must néedes conclude whether you will or not that they must all bee damned and yet you thinke that vnreasonable to Sée whyther your Argumentes of naturall reason bring you But what sayth the Scripture verely Paule 1. Thess 4. espyed an other way for he saith and so shall we euer be with the Lord and not damned Of this may we euidently conclude that some shal be saued although they be sinners neuer come in Purgatory there taketh Rastell a fall all his faultours and sith God is as iust and mercyfull now as he shall be then why shall we go more in Purgatory thē they But marke I pray you how properly that substauntiall reason wherewith they go about to stablishe Purgatory concludeth which condemneth into hell so many thousandes yea and euen them whom Paule affirmeth to be saued And yet at the begynnyng it séemed very reasonable Now haue I proued you sufficiētly that this their reason can proue no Purgatory for as I sayd there shall sinners enter into heauen and neuer come in Purgatory Here peraduenture you bee desirous to know how Gods iustice is pacified For all sinne by the iustice of God must néedes be punished Now can the world espy no punishment here and therefore they thought it necessary to imagine a purgatory to purge punish sinne Here aunswere I with S. Paule Christ the sonne of God beyng the brightnes of his glory very image of his substaūce bearing vp all things with the word of his power hath in hys owne person purged our sinnes and is set on the right hande of God Behold the true Purgatory and consumyng fire whiche hath fully burnt vp and consumed our sinnes hath for euer pacified the fathers wrath towardes vs. Marke how he sayth that Christ in his owne person hath purged our sinnes If thou yet séeke an other purgation then are you iniurious vnto the bloud of Christ For if thou thought his bloud sufficiēt then wouldest thou séeke no other Purgatory but geue him all the thākes and all the prayse of thy whole health and saluation and reioyse whole in the Lord. Paul writeth ▪ Ephes 5. on this maner Christ loued the congregation And what dyd he for it sent he it into Purgatory there to be clensed Nay verely but gaue hym selfe for it that he might sāctifie it and clense it in the fountaine of water thorough the word to make it vnto hym selfe a glorious congregation without spot or wrincle or any such thyng but that it should bee holy and without blame Now if Christ by these meanes haue sanctified it and made it without spot wrincle and blame then were it agaynst all right to cast it into Purgatory wherfore I must néedes cōclude that either Paul saith not true which affirmeth that Christ hath so purged his congregatiō or els that Christ is vnrighteous if he cast them into Purgatory whiche are wtout spot wrincle and blame in his sight Christ those vs in hym before the begynnyng of the worlde that we might bee holy and without spotte in his sight Ephes 1. If through his chosyng and election we be without spot in his sight Alas what blind vnthāke fulnes is that to suppose that he will yet haue vs tormented in Purgatory Peraduenture euery man perceaueth not what this meaneth that we are righteous in hys sight seyng that euery man is a sinner 1. Iohn 1 Therefore I will briefly declare the meanyng of the Apostle This is first a cleare case that there lyueth no mā vppon the earth without sinne Notwithstandyng all they that were chosen in Christ before the foundatiō of the world were laid are without spot of sinne in the sight of God Ephes 1. So that they are both sinners righteous If we consider the imperfectiō of our fayth and charitie If we consider the conflict of the flesh and the spirite Gala. 5. If we consider our rebellious members which are sold vnder sinne Roma 7. then are we greuous sinners And cōtrarywise if we beleue that of mercyable fauour God gaue his most deare sonne to redeme vs
are all ready damned in hell and some are all ready in heauen And to proue this true he alledgeth the parable of the rich mā Luke xv I am sure my Lord is not so ignoraūt as to say that a parable proueth any thyng But the right vse of a parable is this to expound an harde texte or poynte that was before touched could not entre into euery mans capacitie Neither are all thynges lyke which are spoken in a similitude neither yet all thynges true that are touched in a parable but we must consider the thyng wherefore they be spokē and apply them onely to that they are spoken for and let the residue go as William Tyndall hath well declared vnto you in the parable of wicked Mammon This parable is very hard to be expounded The cause is this no man can wel espye by the text for what purpose it was spoken But this should séeme to be the cause that there were many of the Phariseis other multitude which would not beleue the preaching of Christ although he confirmed his wordes with the authoritie of Moses and the Prophetes but they were curious and some deale phantasticall and therfore would they not beleue his woordes except some apparitions had bene made vnto thē that they might haue bene assured by them that were before dead that hys wordes were true Vnto such it is lyke that hee speaketh this parable playnly concludyng that they should haue no such apparitions of the dead and also that it was not necessary but that they had Moses the Prophetes to whom if they would geue no credence then should they not beleue although one of the dead should ryse againe tell it them Notwithstandyng let me graunt it hym that some are all ready in hell and some in heauen which thyng he shall neuer bee able to proue by the Scripture yea and which playnly destroyeth the resurrection and taketh awaye the argumentes wherewith Christ and Paule doe proue that we shall ryse yet I say let me graunt it hym to sée how he will cōclude What foloweth on that Neither it is credible sayth he that all whiche are cast into hell should streight way goe to heauen therfore must we put a Purgatorye where they may be purged I aunswere All that liue are faythfull or vnfaythfull If he be vnfaythfull then is he damned Iohn 3. If he beleue then is he not condemned but is gone from death to lyfe Iohn 3. 5. The righteous man when hee dyeth shall rest in peace Sapi. 3. And euery faithful mā is righteous before God as y t whole Epistle to the Romaines proueth Ergo then euery faythfull man shall rest in peace and be tormented in the paynes of Purgatory And as touchyng this poynte where they rest I dare be bold to say that they are in the hand of God and that God would that we should be ignoraunt where they be and not to take vpon vs to determine the matter Peraduenture you would enquire of me sith the parable sayth that Lazarus rested in Abrahams bosome what Abrahams bosome is To that would I aūswere that Abrahams bosome were nothyng els then Abrahams fayth For all we are called the children of Abraham because of hys perfite fayth whiche we ought to folow In this fayth are many and in a maner infinite degrées notwithstandyng if it be no greater thē a mustard séede that is to say very small yet shal it saue vs. He that departeth in this fayth resteth in peace and wayteth for the last day when God shall geue vnto hys faythfull that is to his elect for onely are the elect faythfull the faythfull elect the crowne of his glorie which he hath prepared for them that loue hym This crowne doth Paule say that he shall receaue it in that day 2. Timo. 4. that is in the day of iudgement And in the meane season God hath so prouided for vs that they shall wayte vntill the number of their brethren which dayly suffer and shall suffer for Christ be wholy fulfilled and so shall they not be made perfite without vs. Hebr. xj If my Lord will vnderstād by Abrahams bosome heauen I will not be contentious let the Christen iudge which sentence semeth most true But this is once a cleare case that of this he cā proue no Purgatory For the vnfaythfull are all ready dāned and the faythfull rest in peace let him call that what he wil whether to rest in heauen or to rest in their fayth vntill the last day For I am sure there is no man so madde as to say that to rest in peace should signifie to lye in the paynes of Purgatory Furthermore this text shal rather make sore agaynst hym thē any thyng with hym For Lazarus whiles hée was lyuyng was not without sinne nor no man els 1. Iohn 1. so that no man as long as he hath breath in hys body can say that he is without sinne for then should hee make S. Iohn a lyar And yet was not Lazarus caried into purgatory to be purged of his sinnes which were remainyng in his body the houre of his death wherefore I may conclude that there is no such Purgatory For God is as iust vnto hym as vnto vs and therefore would he purge hym as well as vs agayne he is as mercyfull vnto vs as vnto him and will as wel forgeue vs as hym without broyling on y t coales in purgatory for his iustice and mercye are euer one and not alterable But our perfite purgatiō is the pure bloud of Christ which washeth away the sinne of the world And albeit we euer haue the remnauntes and dregges of sinne and rebellion of our mēbers as long as we haue lyfe yet are they wholy finished in death for of such efficacitie is Christes death that it hath turned the death of hys faythfull which was layed vpon vs as the payne of sinne into a medicine agaynst sinne which fully cureth it and maketh an end of it as it was well figured in Golias that was slaine with hys owne sword ANd where as my Lord bryngeth for his purpose Math. xij that mē shal geue accoumptes of euery idle worde I haue soluted that before agaynst M. More that I thinke he shal say hym selfe that he is aunswered For if men shall geue a rekonyng for them on the day of dome as the text sayth that should rather argue that there were no Purgatory wherein those sinnes should be purged for if they had bene purged before of them then shoulde they not geue an accoumpte for them And if it proued any thyng at all it should proue that there were a Purgatory after domesday which no man was euer so foolish as to graunt But the true vnderstādyng of this text is this There are two kyndes of men one faythfull the other vnfaythfull The faythful through their fayth in Christes bloud are all
ready fully purged in their hart and their rebellious meÌ„bers through death are wholly subdued These men shall geue no reckoning neyther of idle woorde nor euill déed for all theyr sinnes are couered of Christ and hys bloud shall geue the whole accomptes for them The vnfaythfull to theyr vtter confusion shall haue the booke of theyr conscience opened and there shall be presented before them all theyr euill deades woordes and thoughtes And these are they that Christ speaketh of which shall geue thys great accompt Note also that in the text they are called men which woord in Scripture is euer for the most part taken in the worste sense and signifieth wicked men fleshly men and men that folow their own lustes and appetites THen confirmeth he purgatory out of the 66. Psalme which sayth we haue gone through fire and water and thou hast brought vs into colenesse I am sure you haue not forgotten that M. More alledgeth the Prophet Zachary in the ix and affirmeth that thâ—re is no water in Purgatory It were hard to make these two agrée for when meÌ„ ground them on a lye then for the most part theyr tales and probations are coÌ„trary and will not well stand together Neuerthelesse in one poynte they agrée full well that is both of them say vntruly for neither nother text serueth any whit for Purgatory And as concernyng the place of Zachary it is sufficieÌ„tly declared what it meaneth And now wil I also declare you the vnder standyng of this text and first that it can not serue for purgatory I besech you that haue the psalter once to read the Psalme I thinke you shal wonder at their doâ—yng dreames and ignoraunce which allege this text for Purgatory The text of y e Psalme is this Thou hast brought vs into a straite laden our backes with trouble or heuynesse Thou hast set men vpon our heades we haue gone through fire water and thou hast led vs out agayn into a place of refreshyng The textes before and after in the same Psalme will not suffer that this place should be vnderstand of Purgatory For the text immediately before sayth thou hast set men vpon our heades But the chiefest defenders of Purgatory and eueÌ„ M. More hym selfe say that they are not men but deuils which torment the soules in Purgatory notwithstandyng my Lord of Rochester good man affirmeth that they are aungels whiche torment the soules there but neuer man doted so farre as to say that men torment the soules in Purgatory wherefore I may conclude that this text is not ment of purgatory but that the Prophet meÌ„t that men ranne ouer the childreÌ„ of Israell subdued them and wrapped theÌ„ in extreme troubles which in the Scripture are signified by fire and water Besides that the textes folowyng wil not admit that this should be vnderstaÌ„d of Purgatory for it foloweth immediatly I will enter into thy house with â—urt offrynges I shall offer vnto thée fat sacrifices with the reke of wethers I shall burne to the Oxen Goates Now is there no maÌ„ so mad as to thinke that the soules of Purgatory should offer vnto God any such sacrifices So that the text is playnly vnderstand of the children of Israell which through the Lord were deliuered from their afflictioÌ„s and enemies then offred theyr loyall sacrifices of prayse and thankes to the Lord theyr shield and protection NOwe flyeth my Lorde vnto the Church sayth that because the Churche hath affirmed it we must needes beleue it for the Church caÌ„ not erre As touchyng this poynte I will referre you vnto a woorke that William Tyndal hath writteÌ„ agaynst M. More wherin ye shal wel perceiue what the Church of Christ is that hys Churche neuer determined any such thyng But that it is the Sinagoge of Sathan that maketh articles of the fayth bindeth meÌ„s conscieÌ„ces further then the Scripture will THen waxeth his Lordshyp somewhat hote agaynst Martine Luther because he would that no man should be compelled to beleue Purgatory For my Lord sayth that it is profitable and wel done to compel men to beleue such thynges whether they will or will not And to stablishe his opinion hée plucketh out a word of the parable of Luke xiiij that a certayne man made a great supper and sayd vnto his seruauÌ„tes go forth quickly into the wayes and compell them to enter in Verely there Christ ment no other thyng but that his Apostles should go forth into all the world and preach his word vnto all nations openyng vnto them the miserable state and conditioÌ„ that they be in and agayne what mercy God hath shewed theÌ„ in his sonne Christ This would Christ that his Apostles should expound and lay out so euidently by reasons Scriptures and miracles vnto the Gentils that they should eueÌ„ by their manifest persuasions be compelled to graunt vnto them that he was Christ and to take vpon them the fayth that is in Christ On this maner did Christ compel the Saduces to graunt the resurrection Math. xxij And by these meanes compelled hee the Phariseis to graunt in theyr consciences that he dyd his miracles with the power of God yet afterward of very hate knowyng in theyr hartes the contrary they sayd y e he dyd them by the power of the deuill Math. xij But to say that Christ would haue his Disciples to compell men with prisonment fetters scourgyng sword and fire is very false and farre from the mildenesse of a ChristeÌ„ spirite although my Lord approue it neuer so much For Christ dyd forbyd his Disciples such tyraÌ„ny yea and rebuked them because they would haue desired that fire should descende from heauen to consume the Samaritanes which wold not receiue Christ Luke ix But he commaunded them that if meÌ„ would not receiue their doctrine they should departe from thence and spryncle of the dust of their féete to be a testimony agaynst the vnfaythfull that they had bene there preached vnto them the word of life But with violence will God haue no man compelled vnto his law Paule also testifieth 2. Cor. 1. that he had not rule ouer the CorinthiaÌ„s as touchyng theyr fayth By our fayth we stand in the Lord by our infidelitie we fall from hym As no man can search the hart but onely God so can no man iudge or order our fayth but onely God thorough his holy spirite Furthermore fayth is a gifte of God which he distributeth at hys owne pleasure 1. Cor. 12. If he geue it not this day he may geue it to morow And if thou perceaue by any exterior worke that thy neighbour haue it not enstruct him with Gods word and pray God to geue hym grace to beleue that is rather a poynte of a christen man then to compell a man by death or exterior violence Finally what doth thy compulsion and violence
Verely nothing but make a starke hypocrits for no man can compel the hart to beleue a thing except it sée euidence and sufficiente profe I haue herd tell of a boy which was present at hys fathers burning for hys beléefe and assone as the officers had espyed the boy they sayd ech to other Let vs take hym and examine him also peraduenture we shal finde him as great an heretike as hys father When the boy saw that hys father was dead and that the catchpoles began to snatch at him he was sore dismayed and thought that he should dye to And when one of them apposed him asking him how he beleeued he aunswered Master I beleue euen as it pleaseth you Euen so by tormentes and crafty handling a man may be compelled to say that he beleueth the thing which he neyther thinketh nor yet can beleue for a mās fayth is not in his own power But how doth God accepte thys thing to say that I beleue that which indéede I beleue not Verely he vtterly condemneth it whether the opinion be true or false For if the opinion be true as by example that the fayth in Christes bloud iustifieth me before God and I confesse it before all the byshops in England with my mouth and beleue it not wyth mine hart then am I nothing the better for I should haue no part of Christes bloud but I am much the worse For first God condemneth me which iudgeth me after myne hart and also mine owne hart condemneth me because I haue openly graunted that mine hart denyeth And contrariwyse if I should beleue thys fully in mine hart and yet for feare of persecution should deny it when I were examined openly of my fayth then shall I be condemned of God except A repent and also myne owne hart shall be a witnes to condemne me And so it is very noisome vngodly to be compelled vnto any thing for God euer searcheth the hart which can not be compelled BVt my Lord obiecteth writing vppon the xviij article saying If a man take away Purgatorye for what entent shall we need any pardons As long sayth he as no man regarded purgatory there was no man that sought any pardon for all the estimation of pardons hangeth thereof so that we shall haue no neede of them if there be no purgatorye Verely I care not though I graūt him that to And I thinke that mouy was the mother of them both For out of the scripture shall he be able to proue neyther nother But Mammon is a great god euē of power enough to innent such knackes yea and to make them articles of the fayth and to burne those that can not beleue them And it was a preaty practise to make such pointes articles of the fayth For after that our holy fathers had geuen vp preaching and would take no more paynes neyther serue theyr brethren any more then sette they vp such articles of the fayth as shoulde bring in money to vpholde theyr estate withall And he that would not beleue them rid him out of the way for feare of disclosing theyr iugling for he that doubteth of pardons and purgatory he plucketh our holye father by the bearde NOtwithstanding my lord confirmeth both pardons and purgatory by the text that Christ spake vnto Peter Math. 16. To the will I geue the kayes of the kingdome of heauen and whatsoeuer thou bindest vpon the earth it shall be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer thou losest on the earth it shall be losed in heauen But these woordes sayth my lord had bene spoken in vayne if he could not geue pardons and lose men out of purgatory c. As touching the kayes albeit they haue oftentimes bene declared and in maner in euery treatise that hath bene put forth in the english tongue yet will I somewhat shew my minde in them There is but one kaye of heauen which Christ calleth the kaye of knowledge Luc. 11. And this kay is the worde of God Christ rebuked the law geuers for taking away thys kay from the people for they wyth theyr traditions and false expositions had fully excluded the kaye of knowledge which is the word of God and had cleane shut vp the Scripture as ours haue done nowe a dayes It is also called the kaye of Dauid whych shutteth and no man openeth openeth and no man shutteth Apoc. 3. And because of these two effectes which it worketh for it both shutteth and openeth hath it the nomination of kayes and yet as I sayd indéede it is but one which is the worde of God Thys kay or kayes now call it as you wyll sith you know what it meaneth Christ deliuered vnto Peter and vnto hys other Apostles a like which you shall easely perceaue if you marke where and when they were geuen For Mat. 16. they were onely promised and not yet geuen for Christ sayd I will geue thée the kayes and not I geue thée But after he was risen from death then performed he hys promise and gaue the kayes to all indifferentlye as thou mayst sée Ioh. 20. And Luke cap. 24 expoundeth it that he opened theyr wittes to vnderstand the Scripture that repentaunce and forgeuenesse might be preached c. Therfore it is the woord that bindeth and loseth thorough the preaching of it For when thou tellest them theyr vices and iniquities condemning thē by the law then bindest thou them by the woorde of God And when thou preachest mercy in Christ vnto all that repent then doost thou loose them by the word of God Therfore he that preacheth not the woorde of God can neyther binde nor lose no though he call him selfe pope And contrarywise he that preacheth his worde he bindeth and looseth as well as Peter and Paule although he be called but Sir Iohn of the countrey And consequently to say that the pope cā deliuer any soule out of purgatory if there were one is but a vaine lie except he can proue that he goeth downe vnto them and preacheth vnto them the woorde of God which is the salt that must season them and kay that must let them out for other loosing there is none And likewise to say that the Pope can geue any pardon to redéeme sinnes except he preach me that Christes bloud hath pardoned me is euen like vanitie Me thinketh also that he wadeth to déepe to descende to purgatorye by thys text For the text saith that what soeuer he bindeth on earth shall be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer he looseth on earth c. But now they graunt themselues that purgatory is not on earth but the thirde place in hell And therfore it passeth his bondes to stretch his hand to purgatory and so this text can not serue him NOtwithstanding my lorde is not content to geue him thys power onely but he hath so farre waded in the popes power that he hath graunted him full auctoritie to
the world and to preach the Gospell to euery creature The Pope and hys Byshops forbyd it in the payne of disobedieÌ„ce and excommunication saue onely such as they will assigne 16. Christ was naked beaten scourged and false witnesse brought agaynst hym The Pope and his adherentes are wel clothed with precious garments and haue chaunge for ech day false witnes they haue inough not against them but to testifie with them what soeuer they will haue agaynst the innocentes 17. Christ came to séeke the poore comfort them he was not chargefull vnto them but was milde and had pitie on them The Pope and Byshops somon cite them be they neuer so poore not regarding their aduersitie But curse if they come not So that they go away soryer and sicker in soule and in purse then they were before 18. Christ commaunded that we should not sweare at all neither by heaueÌ„ neither by the temple c. But that our wordes should be yea yea nay nay The Pope sayth if any man wyll receaue any office vnder vs he shal be sworne before yea and geue a great summe of money Ca. Signifi de elect 19. Christ had a crowne of thorne thrust vpon his head so that y e bloude ranne downe vpoÌ„ his amiable countenaunce and sharpe nayles thorow his precious handes The Pope must weare thrée crownes of golde set with riche precious stones he lacketh no Diademes hys handes and fingers with owches and ringes are royally dight he passeth poore Christ farre 20. Christ tooke the crosse of painfull affliction vpon himselfe and coÌ„mauÌ„ded his disciples to folow him saying he that taketh not his crosse and folow me is not méete for me The Pope and hys Byshops take the crosse of pryde and haue it borne before them well gilt and amelde to haue a worshippe of thys worlde as for other crosse know they none 21. Christ prayed his father to forgeue them that trespassed hym yea and for them that put him to death Our Byshoppes pray the kyng to be auenged on them that resiste their mindes with forgeuenes they haue no acquaintance 22. Christ bad his disciples to preach the Gospell The Pope and his Byshops wyll haue men to preach fables and therto graunt letter and seall and many dayes of pardon 23. Christ commaunded hys disciples to know his lawe and bad the Iewes to serche the Scriptures And Moses exhorted y e Israelites to teach the lawe of God to their younge children And that they shoulde haue it bounde as a signe in their handes that it myght euer be before theyr eyes And caused them to write it on the postes and doores of their houses The Pope and his Bishoppes say that it is not méete for vs to know it they make it heresie and treason to y e kyng to know Christ or his lawes they haue digged cisternes of theyr owne traditions and haue stopped vp the pure fountaynes of Israell Oh Lord in whom is all our trust come downe from the heauens why doost thou tary so long seyng thyne aduersary thus preuayling agaynst thée 24. Christ approued hys lawe and confirmed it with his owne death The Pope and Bâ—shoppes vs full busie how they may destroy it and magnifie more theyr owne lawe then Christes to maintayne theyr fatte bellyes 25. Christ would men visited prisoners to comfort and deliuer them The Pope with his adherentes discomfort the poore and the true and put them in prison for the truth 26. Christ whom they call their example did neuer prison nor persecute any The Pope and his champyons persecute punishe prison and put to death them that are disobedient to their voluptuous pleasures Ye sée how strayghte they followe Christes steppes 27. Christ coÌ„maunded his disciples that if any man trespassed agaynst them they shoulde go reproue hym priuely if he would not obey and be reconcyled then shoulde they take with them one witnes or twayne if he would not then heare them that they should tell it to the whole coÌ„gregation And if he would still continue in his stubbernes that they should auoyde his company The Pope and Byshoppes wyll cast straight into prison there to remaine in yrons to make them reuoke the truth and graunt to their willes and if he be stronge and will not forsake the truth they will condemne him without audience for feare of losing of their temporall winning And offering to their wombes and taking away of their temporaltyes wherewith the church is venomed 28. Christ charged Peter thrise to kéepe well and nourishe his shéepe The Pope chargeth much more to kéepe well his money As for the shéepe he shereth and punisheth wyth infinite exactions 29. Christ healing the sicke and doing many myracles did lightly euer commaunde that they shoulde tell no man who did heale them The Pope and Byshoppes geue great giftes to minstrelles and messengers to leude lyers and flatterers to crye their name about that they may haue worshyppe in this worlde 30. Christ had no secular courtes to pleade y e matters of his disciples for they would not resist euill The Pope and Bishoppes haue many with men of lawe to oppresse y e poore against mercy forgeue they will not but euer be auenged 31. Christ in cities and townes hunted the féendes out of men that they dwelled in with the wordes of hys mouth The Pope and Byshoppes hunt the wilde Deare the For and the Hare in their closed parkes wyth great cryes and hornes blowinge with Hâ—undes and ratches running 32. God was called the holy father of Iesu Christ his sonne The Pope is called most holy father of SathaÌ„s children taketh that name on him wyth Lucifers pride his disciples say y e he is god on earth and we are taught by Christes lawe to haue but one God 33. Christ sate in the middes of the Doctors asking and hearing them The Pope and Byshoppes sit in thrones wyth glorious myters iudgeing and condemning by theyr owne made lawes A litle matter long in pleating which myght be soone determined by the lawe of God if they would vse it but then were their winning the lesse and their lawe wythout profite 34 Christ taught that a man shoulde forsake his wife for no cause but for aduoutry The Pope and Byshoppes wyll make deuorces for money as often as they list and so they pille the poore and make themselues rich nothyng regardyng to breake the law of God 35. Christ sent the holy ghost in feruent loue to teach all the truth vnto them which were chosen of God The Pope and Byshoppes sende commaundements all about to curse and aske auengeaunce on them that resiste theyr tyranny And absoile theÌ„ agayne cleane for money all their doctrines haue golden tayles for money is euer the ende geue them money and you haue fulfilled all theyr lawes 36. Christ fulfilled and kept the olde lawe and the new and all
restreynt with the Lubeckes After this he went agayne to Whittembergh to the Duke of Saxson and to Luther and there remayned to set forth his workes in Print that he had begonne And from thence shortly after he returned agayne into England in the tyme of Quéene Anne Boleyn and continued a faythfull preacher in this Citie of London all the time that shée remained Quéene And was well enterteyned and promoted After this by the meane of the Lord Cromwell he was sent Ambassadour from K. HeÌ„ry the viij to the Duke of Cleue for the mariage of y t Lady Anne of Cleue betwéene the king and her and was well excepted in that Ambassade and in all his doinges vntill the tyme that Stephen Gardiner came out of Fraunce But after he came neither Religion prospered nor the Quéenes maiestie nor Cromwell nor the preachers who after the mariage of the Lady Anne of Cleue neuer ceased vntill he had graffed the mariage in an other stocke by the occasion whereof he began his bloudy broyle For not long after the dissolution of y t sayd mariage betwéene king HeÌ„ry y t viij and y t Lady Anne of Cleue y t sayd Doctour Barnes with two of his brethreÌ„ felow preachers named Iherome and Garret were apprehended and caried before the kynges maiestie to Hampton court and there were examined where the kynges maiestie séeking the meanes of Barnes safetie to bring Winchester and him agréed at Winchesters request graunted him leaue to goe home with the Byshop to conferre with hym and so he did But as it happened they not agréeing Gardiner his comparteners sought by all subtile meanes how to entangle and intrappe them into farther daunger which not long after was brought to passe For by certayne complayntes made to the king of them they were enioyned to preach iij. SermoÌ„s the next Easter folowing at the Spittle beside London At the which Sermons besides other reporters which were thither sent Stephen Gardiner Byshop of Winchester was there present sitting wyth the Maior either to beare recorde of their recantation or els as the Phariseys came to Christ to trippe them in their talke if they had spoken any thing awry When the aforesayd thrée had preached their Sermons among whom Barnes preaching the first SermoÌ„ and hée séeing Stephen Gardiner there present humbly desired him in the face of all the audience to forgéeue him and that if he forgaue hym to holdâ—… vp his hand and the sayd Gardiner thereupoÌ„ helde vp his finger Yet notwithstaÌ„ding by the meanes of y t said reporters they all iij. immediatly after they had preached were sent for to Hampton court and from thence caryed to the Tower by Syr Iohn Gostwyke and there they remayned vntill the xxx day of Iuly next folowing TheÌ„ ensued processe against them by the kynges counsaile in the Parliament to the which Gardiner confessed himselfe to be priuy among the rest Whereupon all the aforesayd thrée Saintes and true Martyrs the xxx day of Iuly not comming to any auÌ„swere nor yet knowing any cause of their coÌ„demnation without any publique hearing were drawen on herdelles from the Tower to Smithfield where they preparing them selues to the fier had there at the stake diuerse sondry exhortations amongest whome Doctour Barnes first beganne with this protestation folowing I am come hither to be burned as an heretike and you shall heare my beliefe wereby you shall perceaue what erronious opinions â–ª I holde God I take to record I neuer to my knowledge taught any erronious doctrine but onely those thinges which the Scripture leade me vnto and that in my sermons I neuer mainteyned any errour neither moued nor gaue occasioÌ„ of any insurrection Although I haue béene slaundered to preache that our lady was but a Saffron bagge which I vtterly protest before God that I neuer ment it nor preached it But all my study and diligence hath beene vtterly to confound and confute all men of that doctrine as are the Anabaptistes which denie that our Sauiour Christ tooke any fleshe of the blessed virgine Mary which sectes I detest and abhorre And in deede in this place there hath beene burned some of them whom I neuer fauoured nor mainteyned but with all diligence I did studie euermore to set forth the glory of God the obedience to our soueraigne Lord the King and the true and sincere religion of Christ And now harken to my fayth I beléeue in the holy and blessed Trinitie three persons and one God that created and made all the world And that this blessed Trinitie sent downe the second person Iesu Christ into the wombe of the most blessed purest virgin Mary And heare beare me recorde that I doe vtterlye condemne that abhominable and detestable opinion of y e Anabaptistes which say that Christ tooke no fleshe of the blessed virgine For I beléeue that without the consent of mans will or power he was conceaued by the holy ghost and tooke fleshe of her and that he suffered hunger thirst colde and other passions of our body sinne except according to the saying of S. Peter he was made in all things like to his bretheren except sinne And I doe beléeue that he liued here among vs and after he had preached and taught his fathers will he suffered the most cruell and bitter death for me and all mankinde And I doe beléeue that this his death and passion was the sufficient price and ransoÌ„e for the sinne of all the world And I beléeue that through his death he ouercame the deuill sinne death and hell and that there is none other satisfaction vnto the father but this his death and passion onely and that no worke of man did deserue any thing of God but onely his passion as touching our iustification For I knowledge the best worke that euer I did is vnpure and vnperfect And here withall he cast abroad his handes and desired God to forgeue him his trespasces For although perchauÌ„ce said he you know nothing by me yet I doe confesse that my thoughtes and cogitations be innumerable Wherefore said he I beséech the o Lorde not to enter into iudgmeÌ„t with me According to the saying of the Prophet Dauid Non intres in iuditium cum seruo tuo domine And in an other place Si iniquitates obseruaueris domine quis sustinebit Lord if thou straightly marke our inniquitie who is able to abide thy iudgment Wherefore I trust in no good worke that euer I did but onely in y e death of Christ I doe not doubt but through him to inherite y e kingdome of heauen Take me not here that I speake against good workes for they are to bée done and verely they that doe them not shall neuer come to the kingdome of God We must doe them because they are commauÌ„ded vs of God to shewe and set forth our profession not to deserue or merite for that is onely the death of Christ I beléeue that there is a holy Church
disceatfulnes Then as meÌ„ past shame being both without feare of God and man spared not to put in executioÌ„ these abhominable doctrines insomuch that they deposed openly Princes and Emperours yea and assoyled all their subiectes from the obedience of them the commaundement of God not regarded But that my wordes should the better appeare to all men I shall recite some of their practises both out of AuteÌ„ticke crownycles and out af their owne lawe ¶ Zacharias did depose the king of Fraunce not all onely for his iniquitie but also because he was vnprofitable for so greate a power and set tâ— his â—â—éede Pipinum the Emperours father and did assoyle all Fraunce of their othe and alleagyaunce that they had made â—nto the olde king The which thing the holy church of Rome doth oftimes by hir auctorite c. ¶ Now would to God your grace earnestly would looke on this lawe or at the least to suffer and géeue the worde of God into y e handes of your subiectes to compare the obedience that these men both preache and practice to it But fayne would I know of them all who hath deposed any king syth Christes passion sauiÌ„g they onelye who will bée kinges felowes yea and coÌ„troulers sauing they only Is not this a subtile crafte of Antychrist to warne other men of heretykes and of traytours and in the meane season while men stand lokeing fhr traytours commeth hée in and playeth the parte of an open traytour sauing onely hée coloureth his name and calleth himselfe a true Byshop is ready to accuse other meÌ„ of treasoÌ„ that he might escape hymselfe but hée is sure that hée wil neuer accuse none of them that speake against the auctorite of Princes But if a man doe beginne but to open his mouth for to declare that hee hath no temporall power then rageth hée and cryeth out treason treason But let vs returne to their lawe sée how they can proue it by Gods word and how it standeth with true subiection Is this resonable that the Pope and they being by Gods lawe but subiectes shall depose a king what example have they of our master Christ or if any of his Apostles what scripture haue they to helpe them How dare they bée so bolde as to depose a king which is ordayned of God yea and by his holy worde hauing no example nor scripture for them Be they aboue God his blessed worde But they will say that the king was a wicked man I aunswere the crownicles geue contrary witnesse how y e he was a very good man and ryght simple And because hée was simple Therefore Pipinus which had all y e rule vnder him thought him self better worthy to rule then the king so wrote by a Byshop and by his chaplayne vnto the Pope desireth hym to geue senteÌ„ce whether he was better worthy to bee king that had all the paynes and labours or hée that had no labour could doe nothing Now the Pope to make Pipinum his frend and trusting by that meanes to haue helpe of hym agaynst the Emperour with whoÌ„ hée had then béene at variance gaue seÌ„teÌ„ce with him deposed the other and made hym a Monke that this falshod should not bée perceiued they fained that y e king had béene a MoÌ„ke afore called Samuell This can I proue by good cronicles Now let your noble grace consider if it were right not onely to depose suche a king but also to make him a MoÌ„ke Thus haue they done w t other noble kinges And no doubt but that same or worse will they attempt to doe vnto your grace if you displease them and at the least they will doe their vttermoste Let all the hole rable of theÌ„ tell your grace when a true preacher of Christes Gospell dyd such a déede There is no officer that hath néede to bée afrayde of Christes Gospell nor yet of the preachers thereof But of these preuye traytours can no man bée too wary But let vs graunt them that y e kyng was a wicked man The Scripture commaundeth vs to obey to wicked Princes and geueth vs none auctoritye to depose them as their owne glose testifyeth vpon this text Subdeti estote Who was more wicked then Herode yet S. Iohn suffered death vnder hym who was wyckedder theÌ„ Pilate And yet Christ did not put hym downe But was crucified vnder hym Bréeflye which of all y e Princes were good in the Apostles dayes yet they deposed none So that Gods worde and their owne learnynge and the practise of our Maister Christe and his holy Apostels are openly agaynst them Moreouer their owne glose sayth that he was not deposed because he was vnsufficient but because hée was wanton and lecherous with wéemen O my Lordes if you bee not afrayde of the vengeauÌ„ce of God at the least take a litle shame of the worlde vnto you that haue so long tyme with so great tyranny defended these lawes that bée so openly agaynst Gods ordinaunce agaynst Gods word and agaynst the common ordinaunce and coÌ„sent of all the world And this haue you done to the great iniury of noble Princes to the intollerable subduyng of all noble bloud to the oppression of their true subiectes to the destruction of all common wealthes and finally to the euerlastyng damnation of many a Christened soule Tell me by your fayth doe you beléeue that there is a liuyng God that is mighty to punish his enemies if you beléeue it say vnto me can you deuise for to auoyde hys vengeaunce which bée so openly contrary to hys woorde What aunswere thinke you to make to hym Thinke you that hée will suffer your worde to be heard and let his godly word bee despised Thinke you that it will bée sufficient for you to say that they bée the lawes of holy Churche Thinke you that hee will bee thus taught of you Then were it tyme to plucke hym downe and set you vp Nay my Lordes hée is no childe nor you shall finde it no childes game thus to trifle and playe with hys holy word and hys blessed ordinauÌ„ce yea and that to the despising of the maker both of heauen and earth Say what ye will ye are not able by no learnyng to defende this matter neither afore God nor yet afore our noble Prince nor afore any man of learnyng that will bee true to his prince For whiche way soeuer you turne you our master Christ all his blessed Apostles bee agaynst you will openly accuse you that you bée coÌ„trary to their worde and to theyr déede Aunswere you to them aunswere not to me If I hold my peace they will speake Nor it will helpe you but litle to crye after your old maner heresie heresie a traytour a traytour for now you crye agaynst your selues of those thynges Christ and his Apostles doe accuse you Doe you thinke it with the ordinaunce of God that you shal depose a kyng
articles that were agaynst the Byshops they did great diligence in a part of them gathered they my very true sentences and myne owne wordes though in those thinges they left out vncharitably those wordes that made for my declaration and also for the probation of my saying the which I haue also here lefte out all onely adding the articles as thye laid them against mée that all men may sée y t worst that they had against mée For all men may thinke that they wil neither lay the best nor yet the truth agaynst mée But this article dyd I thus preach that men should not in their peticiō and prayers put to their good workes nor their good déedes and their merites As O Lord I doe faste I doe pray I am no theife I am in charitie with all the world and for them defire God to bée mercifull vnto them But they shoulde desire the father of heauen to bée mercifull vnto them alonely for Christes merites For they were y e things wherby both wée and our prayers are accepted in the sight of the father And to prooue this I brought certayne Scriptures As this whatsoeuer yée shall aske the father in my name hée shall geue it you And also the figure of y e old law where there was no sacrifice done but with y e fire that was taken from the aulter Now did I say that Christ is our aulter But thys myne aduersaries vnderstoode not But I maruayle what this article doth amonge the other hereticall articles I thinke they doe not recken it heresie HEe did not praye for the thrée estates of holy Churche neyther made hée his prayers in y e beginning of his sermon according to the olde custome but at the last ende and for the true knowledge of all Christen men making no prayer to our Lady nor for the soules in gurgatory nor for grace expedient If the Byshops had had any indifferency in them or any charitie they woulde haue béene ashamed that such articles shoulde haue béene brought afore thē What is this to the purpose of heresie that I did not pray for the thrée estates of holy Church And yet they graunt that I prayde for all true Christē mē and that men might come to the true knowledge Is not all the church contayned in this But they bée vncharitable men without all cōsideration they bée so blinded in their worldly honour That I did not pray to our Ladye nor for the soules in purgatory what is that to heresy for then were the Apostles heretykes for they did not pray in their sermons to our Lady nor yet to y e soules in purgatorye And as for praying for grace expedient that is not the preacher bound to doe openly But mée thinketh by these articles that God gaue mée a greate grace that I durst so boldelye reproue their abhominable liuing not fearing the daunger that should come thereof but this I leue to other mens iudgement And I dare boldelye say y e if I had spoken tentymes asmuch against y e auctorite of our noble prince and agaynst all his noble dukes and Lordes had taken all power both spirituall and temporall from them and geuen it to our idle byshops then had I béene a faythfull christen man for I had defended y e liberties of holy church But god send them his grace and space for to conuert Amen The whole disputation betweene the Byshops and Doctour Barnes NOw most honorable gracious Prince here haue I shewed your grace the articles that myne aduersaries vncharitablie hath layd agaynst me In the whiche though a greate many of my wordes and sayinges were Yet neuerthelesse there was left out all those things that did make for my declaration and for probations of my wordes and also for mollifying and temperatyng of those thinges that séemed to bée somewhat hardly spokē agaynst the Byshops The whiche thinges were to longe to recite vnto your noble grace But as God is my iudge and also my conscience and all my wordes and déedes and all maner of my liuyng and conuersation I did neuer intende to speake agaynst the Byshops or els any other man further then their liuing and conuersation were agaynst the blessed word of God and the holy doctrine of Christes Churche For the truth is there was no great clerke in the Church of God this CCCC yeares that wrote any thyng but hée complained vehemently agaynst the liuing of the spiritualtie Let their bookes bée brought foorth to proue whether my saying be truth or not Alas is it not a pituous case yea and also agaynst all law and conscience that I poore man shalbée thus violently cast away for speaking agaynst these vices that béene damned by almightie God and by all hys holy creatures yea and the Byshops them selues and all the worlde must graunt that they doe liue as euill yea and rather worse then I did speake Oh Lord God where is loue to vertue where is the shamefastnes that Christen men ought to haue where is Iustice That I shalbée thus shamefully cast awaye for speakyng of that thynge that euery Christen man is bounde to speake They doe so lyue and I beyng a preacher of the verity must bée condemned for speakyng agaynst it But most gracious and mightie Prince God hath set your grace in the same honour and dignitie that you by Gods ordinaunce ought to defende those men that are oppressed wrongfully Wherefore humbly and méekely and with all lowlynes reuerence I beséech your grace to minister vnto me gracious iustice let me bée heard indifferently whether that I can iustifie my cause with learnyng or not If I can not iustifie it your grace is a minister of iustice I will refuse no maner of payne that shal bée due for my trāsgressiō Wherfore ones agayne with all méekenes and lowlynes in the way of charitie and in Christes name and for his swéete bloud sake that hée hath shed for your grace yea and also by y e vertue of your auctoritie that the heauēly God hath deliuered you I doe require and desire of your grace audience and iustice I and all my parētes bée your naturall subiectes borne and a great many of vs hath dyed in your graces quarell and yet is there none of vs but are ready to doe your grace that seruice with our bodyes bloud that shall become trewe subiectes to doe to their noble prince Wherfore thyrdely in my name and in all our names for al they are rebuked in me with all méekenes reuerence I béeseche your grace of gracious audience and of fauorable iustice This thing I trust your grace will not denye me Nor yet take any displeasure with me your poore subiect for thus requiring For I haue none other prince nor Lorde to séeke vnto here on earth but vnto your grace onelye Nor can I come to any charitable ende with myne aduersaries Wherefore I am compelled by extreme violence thus to complayne
sake onely And that we haue néede of nothyng towardes our saluation but of hym onely and wée desire no other saluatiō nor no other satisfactiō nor any helpe of any other creature eyther heauenly or earthly but of him onely for as Saint Peter sayth there is no other name geuen vnto men wherein they must bée saued And also S. Paule sayth by hym are all that beléeue iustified from all thynges Moreouer S. Iohn witnesseth the same in these wordes Hée it is that hath obtained grace for our sinnes And in an other place He sent his sonne to make agréement for our sinnes Now my Lordes here haue you Christ and his very nature full and whole And hée y e denyeth any thyng or any part of these thyngs or taketh any part of them applyeth them or geueth y e glory of thē to any other person then to Christ onely the same mā robbeth Christ of his honour and denyeth Christ and is very Antichrist Wherfore my Lordes first what say you to this and vnto the propertyes of Christ If you graunt them thē are we at a poynte For they proue that fayth in Iesus Christ onely iustifieth afore God Secondarily if you denye if as I am sure you will for you had leuer deny your Créede thē graūt it How can you thē auoyde but that you bée the very Antichristes of whō S. Iohn speaketh For now haue we tryed your spirites that they bée not of God for you deny Christ That is you deny the very nature the propertie of Christ You graunt y e name but you deny the vertue You graunt that hée descended from heauen but you deny the profite thereof For hée descended for our health this denye you and yet it is your Créede You graunt that hée was borne but you denye the purpose You graunt that he is rissen frō death but you deny the profit therof for hée rose to iustifie vs. You graūt that hée is a Sauiour but you deny that he is alonely y t sauiour I pray you wherfore was hée borne to iustifie vs in part to redéeme vs in part to doe satisfaction for part of our sinnes so y e we must set a payr of old shoes a lompe of bread cheese or a lousie gray coate to make satisfactiō for y t other part Say what you will if you geue not all and fully alonely to one Christ thē deny you Christ and the holy ghost And S. Iohn doth declare you to bée contrary to Christ This may also bée proued by a playne Scripture of the holy ghost which is this No man in heauen nor in earth neither vnder the earth was able to open the booke or to looke on y e booke till the lambe came vnto whom the seniours spake on this maner Thou art worthy to take y t booke to open the seales therof for thou wast killed and hast redéemed vs by thy bloud How say you to this my Lordes In heauen was there none founde neither by the aungels nor yet by the seniours worthy to open the booke but Christ onely And will you finde that they could not finde will you set an helper to Christ whō they set alone But I pray you tel vs what bée shall bée All the world knoweth that they hée good workes But now from whēce come your good workes whether from heauen or out of the earth or frō vnder the earth If they were in any of these places where were they when the aungels and the seniours sought them Haue you founde them whom they could not finde but let this passe I praye you what will you lay for your good workes or by what title will you bryng them in to ioyne them with the lābe in openyng of the booke The seniours haue layd for them that the lābe alonely was worthy to opē the booke because hée was slayne and redéemed them with his precious bloud Now what cause laye you for your good workes The lābe hath alonely dyed for vs The lambe hath alonely shed his bloud for vs The lambe hath alonly redéemed vs These things hath hée done alone Now if these bée sufficient then hath hée alone made satisfaction and is alonely worthy to be our redéemer and iustifier Moreouer they that bée in heauen confesse that this lambe is alonely worthy to redéeme them Bée your workes better then theirs or cā your workes helpe them If they can then is not the lambe alonely worthy to redéeme them Moreouer the seniours fall downe before the lambe geuyng him alonely prayse And shall your good workes stande vp by the lambe Then bée they better then the seniours But let vs proue this thyng by open Scriptures S. Paule tooke so great labours to proue this article as hée neuer tooke in any other all because hée would make it playne and stoppe the mouthes of the agaynesayers But all this will not helpe them that haue not the spirite of God Neuertheles we will by Gods fauour doe the best we can to confounde the crooked enemyes of Christes bloud thoughe we can not make them his frendes yet at the lest we will so handle them that they shall bée ashamed openly so to speake agaynst him as they haue done longe tyme and so will we handle them by Gods helpe that all the world shal know that they glory in Christes name and by hym bée they also so high promoted in this worlde that they can not bée higher And yet deserue they of Christ worst of all men But let vs goe to our purpose S. Paule sayth All men bée sinners and wante the glory of God but they are iustified fréely by his grace thorough the redemption that is in Christ Iesu What is this that all men haue sinned yea and are iustified fréely How shall a sinner doe good workes How can hée deserue to bée iustified what call you fréely if there bée any deseruing lesse or more then is it not fréely What call you by his grace if it bée any part of works then it is not of grace For as Saint Paule sayth Then grace were not grace Here can bée no euasion the wordes bée so playne If you bring in any helpe of workes then for so much is not our redēption fréely nor yet is it of grace as concerning the part that commeth of works but partly of workes and then doe you destroy all Saint Paule and his whole disputation For hée contendeth agaynst workes clearely excludeth workes in iustification and bryngeth in grace onely Nowe that that is excluded in the whole by contention can not bée brought in in parte to the cause This is open in his wordes where hée sayth Where is now thy reioysing It is excluded By what lawe by the lawe of workes Nay but by the lawe of fayth We doe iudge therfore that a man is iustified by fayth without y t workes of the lawe Heare you not that the gloriation
byshopryke of the kinges grace How will you bée able by your workes to deserue heauen and iustification before the king of all kynges When you haue aunswered to this before the kinges grace then come and dispute with God the iustification of your workes and yet shall they bée farre vnlike Wherfore I conclud of these scriptures and of these doctours that the fayth that we haue in Christ Iesus and his blessed bloude doth onely and sufficiently iustifie vs béefore God without the helpe of any workes And though y e all scripture bee no thing els but a holle probacion of this article that is alonely a perfect commeÌ„dation and a prayse of Christ and of his blessed merites that hée hath deserued for vs yet will I passe ouer to bryng in any moe places For they y e are not coÌ„teÌ„t with these scriptures wyll not bée satisfied nor yet content to geue al onely glory to God though I brought in all the newe testament Yea Christ hym selfe could not satisfie them if hee were here no nor yet though heauen and earth and all creatures therin were nothyng els but probations of this article it would not helpe Wherefore I let such infidels passe and leue them to the iudgement of God alonely certifieng them of this one thyng that is infallible how the day shall come that it shall repent them yea and that sorer then I can either write or thinke that they did not beléeue the lest pricke of this holy article But vnto our purpose The very true way of iustification is this First commeth God for the loue of Christe Iesus alonely of his mere mercy and geueth vs fréely the gift of fayth wherby we doe beleeue God his holy word and sticke fast vnto the promises of God and beléeue that though heauen and earth and all that is in them should perish and come to nought yet God shall bée founde true in his promises for this faythe 's sake bée we the elect children of God This is not such a fayth as men dreame when they beléeue that there is one God and beléeue that hée is eternall beléeue also that hée made the worlde of naught yea and beléeue that the Gospell is true and all thing that God speaketh must bée true and fulfilled with other such thynges This I say is not the fayth that wée bée iustified by for deuils and infidels haue this fayth â—and also wée may attayne to these thynges by strength of reason But the fayth that shall iustifie vs must bée of an other maner of strength for it must come from heauen and not from the strength of reason It must also make mée beléeue that God the maker of heauen and earth is not alonely a father but also my father yea and that thorow the fauour that Christ hath purchased mée from the whiche fauour neither heauen nor earth tribulation nor persecution death nor hell can deuide mée But to this sticke I fast that hée is not alonely my father but also a mercifull father yea and that vnto mée mercifull and so mercifull that hée will not impute my sinnes vnto mée though they bée neuer so great so long as I hang on the blessed bloud of Christ Iesus and sinne not of malice but of frailtie and of no pleasure Hée is also a lyberall father yea and that vnto mée liberall which will not alonely promise mée all thynges but also géeue them me whether they bée necessary to the body or to y e soule Hée is also not alonely lyberall but myghty to performe all thynges that hée promyseth vnto mée Briefely this fayth maketh mée to hang clearely of God and of his blessed promyses made in Christ and in his swéete and precious bloud and not to feare death nor any affliction nor persecution nor tribulation but to despise all these thynges and not alonely these but to despise also myne own lyfe for Christes sake Finally of a fleshely beast it maketh mée a spirituall man of a damnable child it maketh mée a heauenly sonne of a seruaunt of the deuill it maketh mée a frée maÌ„ of Gods both deliuered from the lawe from sinne from death from the deuill and from all myserie that might hurt mée My Lordes this is the fayth that doth iustifie and that wée do preach And because it is geuen from heauen into our hartes by the spirite of God therfore it can bée no idle thing But it must néedes do all maner of things y e bée to the honour of God and also to the profite of our neighbour In so much that at all tymes necessary it must néedes worke well also bryng forth all good workes that may bée to the profite and helping of any man But these workes bée not done to iustifie the man but a iust man must néedes doe them Not vnto his profite but alonely to other mens profites euen as our maister Christ suffered hunger and thyrste and persecution and tooke great labours in preaching of his worde yea and also suffered death All these thinges I say did hée not to further or to profite himselfe but for our merites and for our profite So likewise doth a iust man his workes And as a good trée in tyme of the yeare bryngeth forth good Apples not to make hym good for hée is good afore nor yet this apple is not to his profite but vnto other mens notwithstanding y e good nature that is in hym muste néedes bring it forth So likewise the iust man must néedes doe good workes not by them to bée iustified but alonely in them to serue his brother for hée hath no néede of them as concerning his iustification Wherfore now here haue you the very true cause of iustification that is fayth alonely And also the very true way and maner of doynge good workes And how that no man can doe good workes but a iustified man as our maister Christ sayth Eyther make the trée good and then his fruite good or els the trée euill and his fruit euill for a good trée must néedes bring forth good fruite and a badde euyll fruite But now let mée aunswere to the Scriptures and to the reasons that they bring to prooue that workes doe iustifie First commeth the fleshly and dampnable reason and shée sayth If wée bée iustified alonely by fayth what néede wée to doe any good workes what néede wée to crucifie or mortifie our fleshe for all these wil not profite vs and wée shall bée saued though wée doe none of theÌ„ all Thus did blinde reason dispute with Saint Paule when that hée had proued that God of his mercy had deliuered vs fréely from the damnable bondage of the law Anone hée iudged that he might do what hée would for hée was no loÌ„ger vnder the law To this S. Paule auÌ„swereth y â— if wée obey vnto y â— workes of sinne then are we the seruauntes of sinne if we obey to the workes of iustice
but also his blessed worde all that longeth to hym Take awaye Christes word and what remayneth béehynde of Christ nothing at all I pray you my Lorde to whome was this worde fyrst preached to whome was this written all onely to priestes and not vnto lay men yea was it not written to all the worlde yes truely Wherby will you conuerte a Turke or an Infidell not by holy Scripture When they bée conuerted what wil you learne them what wyll you géeue them to reade any other thing then holy Scripture I thinke nay Now will you make your owne countreymen your owne citizens your owne subiectes yea your owne brethren redéemed with Christes blessed bloud worsse then Iewes and Infidels But there is no reason nor no brotherhod nor no Christen charitie that can mooue you or that can helpe you for you are so blynded and so obstinate against Christ that you had rather all the worlde shoulde perishe then his doctrine shoulde bee brought to light but I doe promyse you if God doe spare mée lyfe and géeue mée grace I shall so set it out if you doe not reuoke it that it shall bée to your vtter shame and confusion finde the best remedye that you can I doe beléeue stedfastly that god is mightier then you and I doe recken and faythfully beléeue that you are ten tymes worsse then the greate Turke for hée regardeth no more but rule and dominiō in this worlde and you are not therewyth content but you will also rule ouer mēs consconsciences yea and oppresse Christ and his holy worde and blaspheme and condemne his worde Was it not a holy connsell of the Chaunceler of London to counsell a certaine marchaunt to buye Robyn hoode for his seruauntes to read What should they doe wyth vitas patrum and with bookes of holy Scripture Also the same Chauncelour sayde to an other man what findest thou in the Gospell but a story what good canst thou take there out O Lord God where art thou why sléepest thou why sufferest thou this blasphemy Thou hast defended thy Prophetes with wild fire from heauen and wilt thou suffer thy onely fonne and thy heauenly word thus to bée despised and to bée reckened but as a story of Robin hoode Rise vp good Lorde Rise vp thy enemyes doe preuayle Thy enemyes doe multiplye shew thy power defend thy glory It is thy contumely and not ours what haue we to doe with it but alonely to thy glory Reuenge this cause or thy enemyes shall recken it not to bée thy cause O thou eternall God thoughe our sinnes haue deserued this yet looke on thy name yet looke on thy veritie Sée howe thou art mocked Sée how thou art blasphemed yea that by them that haue taken on them to defend thy glory But now heauenly father séeyng that thou hast so suffered it yet for the glory of thy name geue some man strength to defend it or els shalt thou bée clearely taken out of the hartes of all men Wherefore most gracious Lord of thy mercy and grace I beséech thée that I may haue the strength to defend thy godly word to thy glory and honour and to the vtter confusion of thy mortall enemyes Helpe good Lorde helpe and I shall not feare a thousande of thyne enemyes In thy name will I begyn to defend this cause First commeth thy faythfull seruaunt Moses true and iust in all thy workes and hée commaundeth faithfully truely with great threatnings that man woman and child should diligently read thy holy word saying Set your harts on all my wordes the which that I doe testifie vnto you this day that you may commaunde them vnto your children to kéepe to doe to fulfill all thynges that bée written in the booke of this law Marke how hée commaūded them to learne their children all thynges that bée written in this booke and so to learne thē that they might kéepe and fulfill all things that were written in y t booke Moses made nothing of secretnes will you make secretes therin how shall men fulfill those wordes that they knowe not How can men knowe the very true way of God haue not the word of God is not all our knowledge therin The Prophet sayth thy word is a lanterne vnto my féete and a light vnto my pathes Hée calleth it a lanterne and light yea and that vnto all men and you call it but a story darkenes and a thyng of secretnes yea and occasion of heresie how can the occasion of darknes geue light how can a lanterne bée a thing of secretnes how can the veritie of God bée occasion of heresie The holy Prophet sayth blessed is the man that setteth his delectation in the will of God and his meditation in Gods law night and day Here sayeth the spirite of God that men bee blessed that study the word of God and you say that men bée heretickes for studying of it How doth the spirite of God and you agrée Also S. Paule commaundeth vs to receiue the helmet of health and the sword of the spirite the whiche is the worde of God I pray you to whom doth hée here speake to Priestes onely How many of your Priestes dyd hée knowe yea was not this Epistle written to the whole Churche of the Ephesians And dyd not they read it were not they lay men and why shall not our lay men read that they red Moreouer doth not Paule call it the sword of the spirite is it not lawfull for lay men to haue the spirit of God Or is the spirite of God not frée but bound alonely to you Also S. Iohn sayth if any man come to you bring not this doctrine receiue him not into your house nor yet salute hym Here the holy ghost would we should haue no other doctrine but holy scripture and you will take it alonely from vs. Furthermore this was written vnto a woman and to her children and you will y t no other man wyfe nor childe shall reade it But if we should receiue your Priestes into our houses after this rule I thinke we should not bée greatly cōbered with them for their are few of them that haue this word Also our M. Christ saith vnto the pharesies search you scriptures for in them you thinke to haue eternall life Our Maister sent the Pharisies to scriptures and you forbyd Christen men to reade them who had a worse sprite then they and yet they iudged better of holy scriptures thē you doe For they iudged to haue lyfe in thē you iudge to haue heresyes in thē so that you bée ten tymes worse to scriptures thē euer were they Also Paule saith all scripture geuen by insperation of God is profitable to teach to improoue to enforme io enstruct in righteousnes that the man of God may bée perfect and prepared vnto all good workes You will not denye but but scripture is geuē vs of God Ergo
great threatning Goe tell the wolfe béehold I cast out deuils and I make men whole this day and to morrow and the third day am I consumed neuerthelesse I must continew this day to morrow and the next day c. So y e hée left not the ministration of y e word neyther for the kinges pleasure nor yet for feare of death Also we haue openly that the thrée children would not obey to the commaundement of king Nabuchodonosor but because it was against y e word of God Lykewise we haue an exaÌ„ple where as the king Darius commaunded that no man should aske any petytyon eyther of God or of man within the space of 30. dayes but of hym onely Notwithstanding Daniell weÌ„t into his house thrise in a day made his prayers to God of Ierusalem for the which thyng hée was put into the denne of Lyons the which hée dyd obey as in suffering of the payne but not in consenting to the vnright commaundement So that Christen men are bounde to obey in suffering the kinges tyraÌ„ny but not in consenting to his vnlawfull commaundement alwayes hauing béefore their eyes the comfortable saying of our M. Christ Feare not them y e kill the body which when they had done they can no more doe Also S. Peter happy are yée if you suffer for righteousnes sake neuerthelesse feare not though they séeme terrible vnto you neither bée troubled but saÌ„ctifie the Lord God in your hart And let them not feare but y e their father of heauen hath care for them and shall deliuer them and also brynge his godly worde vnto lyght when it shall please his eternall will agaynst the which no tyraunt is able to withstand But when the tyrants thinke themselues most sure of the victory and bée all ready prouided to burne Susanna then shall hée rayse vp a Daniell that shall caule agayne the senteÌ„ce of the lecherous priestes and when Ioseph is solde into Egipt and there cast in prison then will hée make him Lord ouer all Egipt yea and also ouer them that solde him He bringeth also to passe that proude Hamon bée hée neuer so great in the kinges fauour shalbée hanged on his owne gallowes that hée made for Mardocheus the Israelite Also when Pharao hath coÌ„mauÌ„ded vnder payne of death to destroy all y â— meÌ„ childreÌ„ of Israell Then caÌ„ hée finde the meanes to saue Moses yea that on y t water where as all y t power of Egypt could not saue the kyng yea and hee nourished him in the kynges house at the kynges cost yea and by the kynges daughter Did Pharao suppose this or was there any couÌ„sell of Pharaos that could preuaile agaynst this was there any wisedome or tyranny in the earth that was able to extinct Moses nay verely Furthermore when Israel hath béene in Egypt iiij C. yeres in great captiuitie and thraldome yet agaynst Pharaos will keepeth hee his promise and deliuereth them and maketh water fire earth to serue theÌ„ and when all Israell was in despayre and Pharao the tyraunt was ready to sucke bloud then shewed our God his mighty power What can Israell thinke when hée hath the read Sea béefore him And Pharao with all his might and power after him and of euery side a great mountaine what hope hath hée by mans might by maÌ„s power by mans wisedome by mans pollicie for to bée deliuered none at all But béefore Israels carnallâ—tye all thyng is in extreme desperation But now you Princes that Iudge the earth learne and take héede here commeth the God of Israell whom all Egypt hath despised scorned mocked and condemned and sheweth his might where as nothyng caÌ„ helpe but bée onely and where the tyrauntes recken to bée most sure of victordem there bryngeth hee all their malice to an end And when Herode hath Peter in prison fast bound in cheynes of euery side of him a souldier kéepers set at the prison doore euery man in his office watching that Peter shal not escape for Herode intendeth the day folowyng to bryng hym foorth to wonderyng and also to death Then agaynst Herodes will aboue all his might aboue all his wisedome pollicie notwithstandyng all the souldiers and gaylers of the prison coÌ„meth the power of our eternall God and ledeth Peter through the first and the second ward yea and the brasen gate must wilfully opeÌ„ and let Peter out whom our Lord God would deliuer Shortly what should I bring many examples to prooue Gods power to declare how the truth of God and his childreÌ„ bée alwayes in persecutioÌ„ but the ende is alwayes glory vnto them Wherfore this one exaÌ„ple of our maister Christ shall bée sufficieÌ„t to stablish to confirme all féeble harts also to mollifie all stony harts and finally to coÌ„found the violeÌ„t tyranny of mortall tyrauÌ„tes which bée but stubbles haye and dust in a momeÌ„t bee brought to a lumpe of stynkyng carryon CoÌ„sider our maister Christ which is the very true sonne of God God him selfe yet is hée crucified and put to death as a seditious persoÌ„ as a malefactor as a théefe as a traytor yea and as an hereticke hée is layd also in the graue and a great stone béefore the doore souldiours that were not of the common sort but of the Romaines hée set diligently to kéepe the graue with all the pollicie and wisedome that the byshoppes could deuise and all that hée should not rise vp agayne accordyng to his worde but all this could not helpe for the power of God woulde not bee let his veritie could not bée prooued false his worde could not bee oppressed but when the tyrauntes thought to make their triumphe of victory theÌ„ were they most ouercoÌ„med For it is neither water nor fire Sea nor land heauen nor earth death nor hell that caÌ„ let God to defend his children or to bring foorth his godly word to light and to kéepe his eternall promises Therfore let Christen meÌ„ not feare to kéepe the worde of God and fast there by to abyde and not to deny it for any tyranny for the day shall come when it shall bée greatly to their glory And Sodome and Gomorra shall bée more easely handled theÌ„ such Princes that doe persecute the holy word of God Now is it cleare made that we cannot resist this temporall power in no wise by viâ—leÌ„câ—â— but if we haue wrong eyther we must doe the thing that is commaunded vs or els flie but if any thing bée commaunded vs that is against the word of God whereby our fayth is hurt that we should not doe in any wise but rather suffer per secution and also death But against this power goeth not our article for it coÌ„maundeth nothing as consâ—â—rning the conscience but all onely as concerning the ordering of worldly thinges and therefore it mynistreth a temporall payne ouer the body onely and therwith is coÌ„tent
the foote Your grace may not consyder in this cause y t multitude nor the dignitie of men for you bée as good as the best of thē but your grace must consider that it is God omnipotentes cause it is Christes cause it is the word of God it is y t blessed bloud of Christ that is ouer troden it is the ordinaunce that commeth out of heauen and not out of counsels yea and geuen by God hymselfe and not by mans auctoritye And now shall your grace suffer thys thynge so lightly to bée broken béecause men doe inuent a carnall reason agaynst it the deuill was neuer without a reason but that proueth not the cause against Gods word King Saul had no smale reasō for hym whē hée dyd saue kyng Agag the best shéepe and Orē to offer to God was not this a resonable cause to saue the beastes to Gods honour and to offer thē vp vnto God was it not a goodly shine to saue the kyng rather then to kill hym What man will recken it euill to saue a mā what man can iudge it euill to saue beastes and that y t best to offer them to God Was not God best worthy was not this a good consideration was not this a good intent Finally it is ten tymes better then the reason of the counsell is and yet Saul with all his good reason wyth all his good deuotion with all his good purpose with all his fatte beastes is repelled of God for euer all bycause hée stucke to his good intention left the commaundement of God Some men will thinke it but a light thynge whether they receiue y t blessed bloud by it selfe or els with the body but as light as they thinke it yet is it Gods word yet is it Christes ordinaūce yet did the Apostles obserue it yet did the holy Church so fulfill it And if y t word of God were away by reason it were but a light thyng to Baptise in water or in wyne but the worde of God is open that it must bée done with water and not in wyne and yet there is no cause why but the worde of God Moreouer by reason it was but a light thyng to say Bée glad y ◠daughter of Siō behold thy kyng cōmeth to thée sittyng on an Asse on her fole This saying by reason is not alonely simple but also foolishe to say that a kyng shal come riding on an Asse yea and on a borowed Asse and therof to make so much a doe as though it wer a notable thyng who would not now mocke a kyng if hée dyd so ryde notwithstandyng all this these bée the wordes of God yea and also fulfilled in very déede of our maister Christ in his owne proper person Moreouer by reason it was but a madde token that the Sauiour of the world Christ Iesus was borne to say you shal finde a young child wrapped in cloutes layd in a cribbe what is this to purpose what is this to prooue that the sauiour of y t world is borne will not reason mocke this when wil reason bée persuaded by this token y t Messias whom all the Prophetes all the Patriarkes haue promised so many hūdred yeares afore was now borne and yet this token came from heauē yea and by the ministration of aungels and the shepheardes dyd beléeue y t word Briefly by reason what bée all the articles of the fayth where is Christ where is remission of sins where is y t lyfe to come Reason mocketh all these thynges but yet they bée true bycause alonely y t word of God speaketh them Wherfore most noble and excellēt Prince looke on the word of God and not of blynde reason and saue the honour therof for it shal saue your grace at your most néede Furthermore I doe exhorte and require with all honour yea and I doe cōmaunde in the vertue of Christ Iesus and his blessed word all Dukes all Earles all Lordes all maner of estates hygh and lowe that will bée Christen men that will bée saued by the vertue of Iesus Christes blessed bloud that they doe sée this ordinaūce of the God of heauen obserued to the vttermost of their power and when soeuer that they will bée houseled that they receiue the blessed Sacramēt vnder both kyndes and at the lest desire it with all their hart of their curates and so desire it that they may bée discharged afore the immortall God of heauen whiche will not bée mocked nor auoyded with a damnable reasō but what soeuer thyng there bée that is agaynst the holy word of God and the glorious ordinaūce what collour so euer it bryng with it of holynes let it bée a cursed and reckened of the deuill This doth S. Cyprian learne vs saying what thyng soeuer it bée that is ordeined by mans madnes where by the ordinaunce of God is violated it is whoredome it is of the deuil and it is sacrilege Wherfore fly frō such contagiousnesse of men and auoyde their woordes as a canker and as pestilence c. These woordes bée playne of all maner of men of what estate what dignitie or of what honour soeuer they bée and what collour of holynes soeuer they bryng with them Wherfore in this present writyng I doe counsel and exhorte all true Christen men to take héede what they doe The word of god is so playne in this matter that they can desire it no playner It is no childes game to trifle with Gods worde God will not bée trifled with nor yet mocked But nowe to helpe poore men that bée vnlearned I will assoyle certeine of their damnable reasons The first is we will not geue it vnder that kynde of wyne lest that there shoulde by negligence either of the Priest or of the receiuer fall any droppe on the grounde I aunswere our Christ dyd know that such a chaunce might come you can not deny it except you will say that hée was not God as you would not greatly sticke to doe if you might haue maintenaunce and yet notwithstanding dyd hée institute it in both kindes Aunswere you to this Moreouer why doe not by this reasō your owne priestes abstayne frō the wine séeing that this perill may also chaūce to them as your cautelles of y t Masse doe graunt Also if it bée a reasonable cause that you shal not kéepe Christes ordinaunce béecause of auoyding of perilles then may you take away all the whole Sacrament to auoyde perilles for in receauing of it in y e kinde of bread is ieopardous least there remayne any crumme in the receauers téeth This reasō is as good as yours so that now all the Sacramēt in both kindes is taken away Furthermore if you will auoyde all perilles then may you géeue thys Sacrament to no man for you can not tell who is in deadly sinne who not for you know not their hartes it were a sore perell and greatly
hée but by me bée not all saintes all your fayned mediatours with merites all other thinges cleane excluded in this word but wherfore it is plaine that what so euer hée bée y t maketh any other mediatour or goeth about by any meanes séeme it neuer so holy but by Christ onely to come to the father of heauē first he despiseth Christ if he despise Christe hée despiseth also hys father whiche hath alowed him onely to bée our mediatour way to him as it is writtē I am the way onely in the father therefore let thē bée sure y t séeke any other waye or any other mediatour but Christ alonely to heauē that they accordyng to the word of y t veritie which cā not lye shall neuer come there but as many as trust in him onely let thē not doubt but they shall not onely obteyne to come to heauen but also what soeuer they desire bée side in his name according to his own promise word which cā not deceiue vs What soeuer saith hée you aske in my name the father shall geue it you Marke these woordes what soeuer that we should runne to no other hée addeth also in my name Here is nothing excluded but all thinges fréely bée geuen vs and that for his names sake not for no sainctes name not for none of our holynes or merites but for Christes name Now what is it to runne from thys swéete promise of our most louing Sauiour redemer and onely mediatour Iesus Christ to saintes to other workes but a playne and an euydent token of our infidelity of our vnthankefulnes yée that we thinke hym vntrue and will not fulfill hys promise yée that he is not able to do it and to make hym a lyar vntrue in his worde Also S. Paul sayth He hath geuen his onely sonne for vs how can it bee y t hée shall not geue all things with him Marke he sayth with hym not with saints he sayth all thinges and not certaine things hée that faith all excludeth not the tooth ake leaueth it to S. Appolyne c. but hée excludeth nothing Now you Infidelles and mistrusters of Christ what will you haue of the father of heauen or what cā your hartes desire that Christ is not able to obtaine for you if you béeléeue him able It is his office and thereunto onely appointed of y t father none other yea all other bée excluded w t manifest scriptures Moreouer will you or bée you so foolish to aske a thing of one y t hath it not to géeue nor cā not geue it yea hath néede of it hymselfe leaue hym that hath aboundaunce yea and that hath made an open proclamation that fréely without goulde or siluer or any marchandise hée will géeue the selfe same thing to as many as come and aske of him whatsoeuer they bée Now the Lord hath not alonely goodnes but hée is all goodnesse himselfe and all Saintes haue sinned and néede of his goodnes and he hath made this proclamation by his blessed and euerlasting worde that whosoeuer commeth vnto hym shall haue of his goodnes aboundauntly now will you leaue him and goe to the saintes the which if they euer had any goodnes they receaued it of the father as S. Iames sayth All good giftes cōmeth from the father of lyght Marke how hée sayth all good giftes But here haue you a distinction y t onely God is good of his own nature and Saintes are good by receauinge goodnesse of him Well to doe you a pleasure I will allow your distinctiō to bée good for of it can you make no more with all your subtiltie but that Saintes haue no more goodnes then they haue receaued Now the goodnes that they haue receaued was for thēselues onely yea and they can géeue none of it to you for they receaued it not for you but for themselues yea and no more then was necessary for them and that but alonely of mercy as it is open in Mathewe in the parable of the fiue wise virgines and the fiue foolishe where as the wyse vyrgins had not so much oyle to lend the foolishe virgins as would kindle their lampes finally they had nothing at all that they coulde spare them and yet were they wise virgins and yet were they Saints and yet were they admitted to enter into heauen Farthermore doe you not openly against God when you desire any thing of saintes whether it bée prosperitie wealth health remission of sinnes or in aduersities consolatiōs or comfortes or any other thyng séeing that Scripture onely knowledgeth all these thynges to bée receaued of him and that hée is the onely géeuer of them yea and that all the prophets and fathers in all their tribulation cryed alonely to hym as Dauid testifieth of him selfe in these wordes When I am troubled I will cry vnto the Lord and hee will helpe me Hée cryed not to any Saint to speake to God for him but sayth I will cry vnto the Lord yea and hée doubted not that hée woulde not heare hym béecause hée was a man and a sinner but faithfully said hée will helpe mée as hée testifieth in an other place saying my helpe is of God that hath made heauen and earth Now will you runne from God and aske of Saints comforte prosperitie health or wealth or any other thyng séeing it béelongeth alonely to God to géeue seing hée alonely is the fountayne and auctor of all goodnes and not Saintes which haue no more but their parte and that that is géeuen vnto them Also our M. Christ teaching al creatures to pray biddeth them not to goe to any other thynge but alonely to the father of heauen hée maketh no mention of Saintes no not so much as to bée a meane betwéene them and the father but commaundeth them that pray to pray thē selues to the father The which thing I doubt not but hée would haue done if hée would that there shoulde haue béene other mediatour or géeuers of any goodnes Moreouer is not this a madde manner of prayer that men vse to our Lady O our father which art in heauē halowed be thy name c Thus doe you learne men to mocke our Lady when you learne them to say our Ladyes Psalter You infidels and mockers both of God man are you not ashamed of these open blasphemies Doubt you not if you call not for grace to y t Lord that you may amēde yea and that shortly but God shall straitly auēge this blasphemy on you hée hath suffered long no doubt but of his infinite mercy Notwithstādyng I wil neuer béeleue that hée wil much lēger suffer séeyng that hée hath brought so graciously his glorious veritie into the world and that so openly and so clearely that you can not deny it nor withstand it neither by reason nor by learnyng but your owne consciences bée confounded and marked with hote yrons notwithstādyng
you doe honour in sensible thinges And maketh you to beleeue that you bee not wicked when you hurt sensible and reasonable men c. 346. col 1 Clement sayth also in an other place What thing is there so wicked and vnthankfull as to receaue a benefyte of God and to geue thankes vnto stocks and stones Wherfore wake and vnderstand your health c. 346. col 2 Augustine sayth Let vs not loue any visible spectacles least by erring from the veritie and by louing shadowes we bee brought into darknes let vs haue no deuocion to our phantasies It is better to haue a trew thing what so euer it bee then all maner of thinges y t may bee fayned at our owne pleasure c. 346. col 2 Hierome Bee it knowē vnto y e King c. The properties of the wordes be to bee marked that hee sayth We will not worship thy Gods nor yet honour thy Image for neither of both become the seruauntes of God to doe c. 346. col 2 God for vs all hath geuen his sonne shall he not geue vs all thinges with hym 347. col 1 There is one mediatour between God and man the man Christ Iesus the which hath geuen him selfe for the redemption of all men 347. col 1 S. Iohn sayth If a man doe sinne we haue an aduocate by the father Christ Iesus 347. col 2 S. Paule sayth The spirite of God maketh intercession mightely for vs with mightie desires that can not be expressed with toung c. 347. col 2 Also S. Paule sayth Christ sitteth on the right hande of the father the which doth also praye for vs. c. 347. col 2 Paule sayth Hee is our wisedome he is our satisfaction and our redemption made of God c. 347. col 2 S. Iohn sayth No man commeth to the father but by mee c. 348. col 1 S. Iohn sayth I am the way onely in the father c. 348. col 1 S. Iohn also sayth Whatsoeuer you aske in my name the father shall geue it you c. 348. col 1 S. Iames sayth All good giftes commeth from the father of lyght 348. col 2 Dauid sayth When I am troubled I will cry vnto the Lord and hee will helpe me c. 349. col 1 Dauid sayth My helpe is of God that hath made heauen and earth 349. col 1 Augustine sayth Let vs haue no deuotion in honoryng of dead men for if they liued wel they may not bee counted for such men as to desire such honours but they will that God shall bee honored of vs by whose lightenyng they reioyce that we are made companions of their glory Wherfore saintes must bee honored by folowyng them but not by honoryng them of deuotion c. 349. col 2 That man was forbydden of the aungell to worship hym but alonely to worshyp one God c. 350. col 1 Chrisostome sayth Doost thou see this womā which was vnworthy but by her perseueraunce was made worthy wilt thou learne also that we praying vnto God in our owne persons doe more profite thē when other men doe pray for vs. This woman did cry and the disciples came and prayed him that hee would speed her for she cryeth on vs. But to them hee aunswered I am not sent but vnto the sheepe which are perished of y e house of Israell But when shee came her selfe and dyd perseuer crying and saying Yes Lord for the whelpes doe eate the crūmes that fall from their maisters tables thē dyd hee geue her the benefite and sayd bee it vnto thee as thou wilt Doost thou not see how hee dyd repell her when other men prayed for her but whē shee came her selfe and cryed hee did graūt her Vnto them hee sayd I am not sent but vnto the lost sheepe But vnto the woman hee sayth bee it vnto thee as thou wilt c. 350. col 1 Also Chrisostome sayth We haue no neede of Patrōs before God nor neede of much processe to speake fayre vnto other men but though thou bee alone and wantest a patron but prayest God by thy selfe yet for all that shalt thou haue thy desire God doth not so lightly graunt when other men pray for vs as when we pray our selues yea though we be full of sinnes c. 350. col 1 Ambrose sayth Men are wont to vse this miserable excusation that by these thynges may wee come to God as we may come to y e kyng by Earles I aunswere wee doe come vnto the Kyng by the meanes of Dukes and Earles because that the kyng is a mā and knoweth not to whom hee may commit the common wealth but vnto God from whom nothyng cā bee hid hee knoweth all mens merites wee neede no spokesmā nor no mediatour but alonely a deuoute mynde c. 354. col 1 ¶ That Councels may erre PAnormitanus sayth That Councels may erre as they haue erred as concernyng that contract of Matrimony Inter raptorem raptā the saying of S. Hierome was afterward preferred aboue the statuteof the Councell as it is proued 36. q. 2. Tria for in things cōcernyng the faith is the saying of a priuat persō to bee preferred before the saying of the pope if hee haue better reasōs scriptures of the new of the old Testamēt for him then y e Pope Nor it can not helpe to say that the Councell can not erre because that Christ dyd pray for his Church that her fayth should not fayle ▪ For I aunswere to this that though the generall Councell doe represent the whole vniuersall Church neuertheles in very deede there is not the very vniuersall Church but representatiue For the vniuersall Church standeth in the election of all faythfull men and all fayth full men of the world make that vniuersall Churche whose head and spouse is Christ Iesus and the Pope is but the Vicare of Christ and not the very head of the Churche this is the Church that cā not erre c. 248. col 1 Augustine sayth Those Councels that bee gathered in euery Prouince must without doubt geue place to the authoritie of the full Councels whiche bee gathered of all Christendome and also those full counsels oft tymes must bee amended by the full counsels that come after if any thing bee opened by any experience that was afore shut and if any thing bee knowen that was hidden And this may bee done without any shadow of superstitious pride with out any boasted Arrogancy without any contention of malicious enuy but with holy meekenes with holy peace and with Christen charitye c. 248. col 2 ¶ That the spiritualty is subiect to temporall power and lawes and ought not to resiste by violence THe holy Church of God hath no sworde but the spirituall sword w t the which shee doth not kill but quicken c. 191. col 2
thou haue peace in thy selfe and that thou take all to the best and be not offēded lightly and for euery small trifle and alway ready to forgeue ▪ nor sowe no discorde nor aduenge thyne owne wrong But also that thou be feruent diligent to make peace and to go betwene where thou knowest or hearest malice and enuie to be or seest bate or strife to arise betwen person and person and that thou leaue nothing vnsought to set them at one And though Christ here speake not of the temporall sword but teacheth how euery man shall liue for him selfe toward his neighbour yet Princes if they wil be Gods children must not onely giue no cause of warre nor begyn any but also though he haue a iust cause suffer him selfe to be entreated if he that gaue the cause repent and must also seke al wayes of peace before he fight Howbeit when all is sought and nothing will helpe then he ought and is bound to defend his land subiectes in so doyng he is a peacemaker as well as whē he causeth theeues murtherers to be punished for their euill doyng and breakyng of the common peace of his land and subiectes If thou haue peace in thy selfe and louest the peace of thy brethren after this maner so is God through Christ at peace with thee and thou his beloued sonne and heyre also Moreouer if the wrong done thee be greater then thou mayst beare as whē thou art a person not for thy selfe onely But in respect of other in what soeuer worldly degree it be and hast an office committed thee then when thou hast warned with all good maner him that did it and none amendement wil be had kepe peace in thyne hart and loue him still and complaine to them that are set to reforme such things and so art thou yet a peacemaker and still the sonne of God But if thou aduenge thy selfe or desirest more then that such wronges be forbidden thou sinnest against god in taking the authoritie of God vpon thee without his commaundemēt God is father ouer all and is of right iudge ouer all his children and to him onely partayneth all aduēging Who therfore without his commaundemēt aduengeth either with hart or hand the same doth cast hym selfe into the handes of the sword loseth the right of his cause And on the other side cursed be the peacebreakers picquarels whisperers backbyters sowers of discorde dispraysers of thē that be good to bring thē out of fauour interpreters to euill that is done for a good purpose finders of faultes where none is stirrers vp of Princes to battaile and warre aboue all cursed be they that falsly bely the true preachers of Gods word to bring them into hate and to shed their bloud wrongfully for hate of the truth For all such are children of the deuill Blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousnes sake for theirs is the kyngdome of heauen If the faith of Christ law of God in which two all righteousnes is contained be writtē in thine hart that is if thou beleue in Christ to be iustified frō sinne or for remission of sinne cōsentest in thyne hart to the law that it is good holy and iust and thy dutie to do it and submittest thy selfe so to do therupon goest forth and testifiest that fayth and law of righteousnes openly vnto the world in word dede Then will Sathan stirre vp his members agaynst thee and thou shalt be persecuted on euery side But be of good comfort and faynte not Call to mynde the saying of Paule ij Timo. iij. how all that wil liue godly in Christ Iesu shal suffer persecution Remember how all the Prophetes that went before thee were so dealt with Luke vj. Remēber the examples of the Apostles and of Christ him selfe and that the Disciple is no better then his Maistee and that Christ admitteth no disciple which not onely leaueth not all but also taketh his crosse to We be not called to a soft liuing and to peace in this world But vnto peace of cōscience in God our father through Iesus Christ to warre in this world Moreouer comfort thy selfe with the hope of the blessing of the inheritaunce of heauen there to be glorified with Christ if y u here suffer with hym For if we be like Christ here in his passiōs and beare his image in soule and body fight manfully that Sathan blot it not out suffer with Christ for bearyng recorde to righteousnes thē shall we be like him in glory S. Iohn iij. of hys Epistle yet appeareth not what we shal be But we know that whē he appeareth we shal be like hym And Paule Phil. iij. our conuersation is in heauen whence we looke for a Sauiour the Lord Iesus Christ which shall chaunge our vile bodyes and make thē like his glorious body It is an happy thing to suffer for righteousnes sake but not for vnrighteousnes For what prayse is it sayeth Peter in the second of his first epistle though ye suffer when ye be buffeted for your offences Wherfore in y e fourth of the same he sayth see that none of you suffer as a murtherer or a thefe or an euill doer or a busy body in other mens matters Such suffering glorifieth not God nor thou art therby heire of heauen Beware therefore that thou deserue not that thou sufferest But if thou do then beware much more of them that would beare thee in hand bow that such suffering should be satisfaction of thy sinnes and a deseruing of heauen No suffering for righteousnes though heauen be promised therto yet doth it not deserue heauen nor yet make satisfactiō for the foresinnes Christ doth both twaine But and if thou repent and beleue in Christ for the remission of sinne and then cōfesse not onely before God but also open before all that see thee suffer how that thou hast deserued that thou suffrest for breaking the good and righteous law of thy father and then takest to◠punishmēt patiently as an holesome medicine to heale thy flesh that it sinne no more and to feare thy brethren that they fall not into like offence as Moses teacheth euery where then as thy paciēce in suffering is pleasaunt in the sight of thy brethrē which behold thee pitie thee and suffer with thee in their harts euen so is it in the sight of God and it is to thee a sure token that thou hast true fayth and true repentaunce And as they be blessed which suffer for righteousnes euen so are they accursed which runne away and let it be troden vnder the feete and wyll not suffer for the fayth of their Lord and lawe of their father nor stande by their neighbours in their iust causes Blessed are ye when they reuile you and persecute you and say all maner of euil sayinges against you for my sake and yet lye Reioyce and be glad for
your rewarde is great in heauē Euē so verely they persecuted the Prophets that were before you Here seest thou the vttermost what a Christen man must looke for It is not inough to suffer for righteousnes But that no bitternesse or poyson be left out of thy cuppe thou shalt be reuiled and rayled vpon and euen whē thou art condempned to death then be excommunicat and deliuered to Sathan depriued of the felowship of holy Church the company of y ◠Angels and of thy part in Christes bloud and shalt be cursed downe to hell defied detested and execrat with all the blasphemous raylinges that the poysonfull hart of hypocrites can thinke or imagine and shalt see before thy face when thou goest to thy death that all the world is perswaded and brought in beliefe that thou hast sayd and done that thou neuer thoughtest and that thou dyest for that thou art as giltlesse of as the childe that is vnborne Well though iniquitie so highly preuayle and the truth for which thou diest be so low kept vnder and be not once knowen before the worlde in so much that it semeth rather to be hindered by thy death then furthered which is of all griefes the greatest yet let not thyne hart fayle thee neither dispaire as though God had forsaken thee or loued thee not But comfort thy selfe with olde ensamples how God hath suffred all his olde frendes to be so entreated and also his onely deare sonne Iesus Whose ensample aboue all other set before thine eyes because thou art sure he was beloued aboue all other that thou doubt not but thou art beloued also and so much the more beloued the more thou art like to the image of his ensample in suffering Did not the hipocrites watch hym in all his sermons to trappe hym in hys owne words was he not subtelly apposed whether it were lawfull to pay tribute to Cesar were not all hys wordes wrong reported were not his miracles ascribed to Belsebud sayd they not he was a Samaritane had a deuill in hym was he not called a breaker of the Saboth a wyne drinker a frende of Publicans and sinners did he ought wherewyth no fault was found and that was not interpreted to be done for an euill purpose was not the pretense of his death the destroying of the temple to bryng him into the hate of all men was he not thereto accused of treason that he forbad to pay tribute to Cesar and that he moued the people to insurrection Rayled they not on hym in the bitterest of all hys passion as he hanged on the crosse saying saue thy selfe thou that sauest other come downe from the crosse and we will beleue in thee fie wretch that destroyest y t temple of God Yet he was beloued of God and so art thou His cause came to lyght also and so shall thyne at the last yea and thy reward is great in heauē with him for thy deepe suffering And on the other side as they be cursed which leaue righteousnesse destitute and will not suffer therewyth so are they most accursed which know the truth and yet not onely flee therefrom because they will not suffer But also for lucre become the most cruell enemies thereof and most subtill persecutors most falssy lye theron also Finally though God when he promiseth to blesse our workes do bynde vs to worke if we will obtayne the blessing or promise yet must we beware of this pharesaicall pestilence to thinke that our works did deserue the promises For whatsoeuer God commaundeth vs to do that is our dutie to do though there were no such promise made to vs at all The promyse therefore commeth not of the deseruing of the worker as though God had neede of ought that we could doo but of the pure mercy of God to make vs the more wylling to do that is our dutie c. For if when we had done all that God commaundeth vs to do he then gaue vs vp into the handes of tyrauntes and kylled vs sent vs to purgatory which mē so greatly feare or to hell and all the Aungels of heauen with vs he did vs no wrong nor were vnrighteous for ought that we or they coulde chalenge of deseruing howsoeuer that God vseth his creatures he euer abydeth righteous till thou cāst proue that after he hath boūd him selfe wyth his owne woorde of mercy he then breake promyse wyth them that keepe couenaunt with him So now if nought were promised nought coulde we chalenge whatsoeuer we did And therefore the promise commeth of the goodnes of the promiser onely and not of the deseruing of those workes of which God hath no neede and which were no lesse our duty to do though there were no such promise Ye be the salt of the earth But if the salt be waxen vnsauery what can be salted therwith It is henceforth nothyng worth But to be cast out and to be troden vnder foote of men The office of an Apostle the preacher is to salt not onely the corrupt maners conuersation of earthly people but also the roten hart within and all that springeth out therof their natural reason their will their vnderstādyng and wisedome yea their fayth and belefe and all that they haue imagined without Gods worde concernyng righteousnes iustifieng satisfaction and seruyng of God And the nature of salt is to byte frete and make smarte And the sicke pacientes of the world are maruelous impaciēt so that though with great payne they cā suffer their grosse sinnes to be rebuked vnder a fashion as in a parable a farre of yet to haue theyr righteousnes theyr holynesse and seruing of God and his Saintes disalowed improued condēned for damnable and deuilish that may they not abyde In so much that y u must leaue thy salting or els be prepared to suffer agayne euen to be called a rayler seditious a maker of discorde and a troubler of the cōmō peace yea a schismatike and an hereticke also and to be lyed vpō that thou hast done and sayd that thou neuer thoughtest thē to be called coram nobis and to syng a new song forsweare salting or els to be sent after thy felowes that are gone before and the way thy master went True preachyng is a salting that stirreth vp persecution and an office that no man is mete for saue he that is seasoned hymselfe before wyth pouertie in spirite softnesse meekenesse patience mercifulnesse purenes of hart and hunger of righteousnes and lookyng for persecution also and hath all hys hope comfort and solace in the blessing onely in no worldly thing Nay will some say a man myght preach long inough without persecution yea get fauour to if he would not medle with the Pope Byshops Prelats and holy ghostly people that lyue in contemplation and solitarines nor wyth great men of the worlde I aunswere true preaching is saltyng and
c. that is I am a straunger and a pilgrime in the earth as all my fathers haue bene And therfore as a pilgrime he hasted vnto the common countrey of all saintes requiring for the filthines that he had receaued in this bodely mansion that his sinnes might be forgeuen him before he departed from thys lyfe For he that here hath not receaued forgeuenesse of hys sinnes shall not be there He shall not surely be there for he can not come vnto euerlasting life for euerlasting lyfe is the forgeuenes of sinnes And therfore he sayth forgeue me that I may be cooled before I depart Here may you euidently perceaue that S. Ambrose knew not of purgatory nor of any forgeuenesse that should be after thys lyfe But plainly affirmeth that he y t receaueth not forgeuenesse of hys sinnes here that is in thys life shall neuer come in heauen And for a more vehement affirmation he dubleth hys own wordes saying He that here hath not receyued forgeuenesse of hys sinnes he shall not be there he shall not surely be there He meaneth that he shall neuer come to Heauen which here hath not his remission SAint Hieromes minde may sone be gathered by hys exposition of the ix chapter of Ecclesiastes vpon thys text The dead haue no part in thys world nor in any worke that is done vnder the Sunne There addeth Sainte Hierome that the dead can adde nothing vnto that which they haue taken with them out of this life for they can neither do good nor sinne neyther can they encrease in vertue or vice Albeit sayth he some wyll contrarie thys exposition affirming also that we may encrease decrease after death Here are thrée things to be noted first that the Text sayth that the dead are not partakers of any work that is done vnder the sunne And there may you sée that all suffrages offringes and diriges for the dead are in vaine and profite them not for they are partakers of nothing vnder the sunne Secondarily you may sée S. Hieromes own minde that the dead can neyther do good nor euill neyther encrease in vertue nor vice And so is purgatory put out for if they can do no good what should they do in purgatory And agayne if they can not encrease in vertue they be lyke to lye long in purgatorye Peraduenture some man would thinke that they do no good but onely that they suffer good To that I aunswer that he that suffereth good doth good for if a man should suffer hys body to be burnt for the fayth of Christ would you not say that he did a good déed and yet doth he but suffer Thirdly ye may note that S. Hierome was not ignorant that certeine as they which did fayne purgatory would denye hys exposition and say that we might encrease and decrease in vertue and vyce after death yet notwithstanding he held his sentence condemning theyr opinion whych thing he would not haue done specially sith he knew that he should haue aduersaries for it except he had bene sure that his sentence was right Sée I pray you how that not onely scripture but euen theyr owne doctoures condemne this phantasticall purgatory and yet my lords are not ashamed to say that all make for them NEuerthelesse I wyll go further wyth hym Be it in case that all the Doctours dyd affirme purgatory as they do not what were my Lord the nearer hys purpose Verely not one iote for the authoritie of doctors by my lordes owne confession extendeth no further but is onely to be admitted whilest they confirme theyr wordes by Scripture or els by some probable reason For my Lorde writeth on this maner Article xxxvij The Pope hath not so allowed the whole doctrine of S. Thomas that men should beleue euery poynte he wrote were true Neither hath the church so approued eyther S. Austine or S. Hierome nor any other authors doctrine but that in some places we may dissent from them for they in many places haue openly declared themselues to be men and many times to haue erred These are my lordes owne words Now sith the doctours somtime erre and in certayne places are not to be admitted as he graunteth himselfe how should we know whē to approue them and when to deny them If we should hang on the Doctoures authority then should we as well alow the vntruth as the truth sith he affirmeth both Therfore we must haue a iudge to discerne betwéene truth and falsehode And who shoulde that be the pope Nay verely for he being a man as well as the Doctours were may erre as they did and so shall we euer be vncertaine Our Iudge therefore must not be parciall flexible nor ignoraunt and so are all naturall men excluded but he must be inalterable euen searching the bottome ground of all thing Who must that be Verely the scripture and woord of God which was geuen by his Sonne confirmed and sealed by the holy Ghost and testified by miracles and bloud of all martyres This word is the iudge that must examine the matter the perfit touchstone that tryeth al thing and day that discloseth all iuggeling mistes If the doctours say any thing not dissonant from this woord then it is to be admitted and holdē for truth But if any of theyr doctrine discorde from it it is to be abhorred and holden accurssed To this full well agréeth S. Austen whiche writeth vnto S. Hierome on this wise Deare brother I thinke that you wil not haue your bookes reputed lyke vnto the woorkes of the Prophetes and Apostles for I the Scripture reserued do read all other mens workes on that maner that I doe not beleue them because the author so sayth be he neuer so well learned and holy except that he can certifie me by the Scripture or cleare reason that he sayth true And euen so would I that other men should read my bookes as I read theirs These are S. Austēs wordes And thus haue I proued both by S. Austen and also by my Lordes owne wordes that no man is bound to beleue the Doctors except they can be proued true either by Scripture or good reason not repugnaunt to Scripture Therefore let vs sée what Scripture or good reason my Lord bryngeth to approue his doctours withall For els they can not helpe hym as we haue declared both by S. Austen my Lordes owne confession although they all made with hym as they do not First he bringeth in the sinne agaynst the holy ghost Math. 12. And Paule 1. Cor. 3. And. 1. Iohn 5. And Apoca. 5. which textes I passe ouer because I haue aunswered vnto them before in the seconde booke agaynst M. More THe first reason that my Lord hath which is not before soluted for as I sayd the reasons that are already dissolued will I now ouerhyp is this which he groundeth on diuers Scriptures Of the soules that are departed some
not signifie such a necessitie as excludeth all possibilitie yet in thys place it doth so signifie as the contrary Antithesis doth euidently expresse And where ye say that he speaketh nothing of the sacrament I would ye should sticke still to that saying For thys is playne that he speaketh of his naturall body and therefore if hee speake not of y e sacrament then haue you concluded that the sacrament is not hys naturall body the contrary whereof you would haue meÌ„ beleue Thus haue I shewed euidence both where he shall finde the wordes of S. Austen and also that I haue rightly alleaged them Notwithstandyng sith he maketh so much of hys paynted sheth I shall alleage hym more authoritye that Christes naturall body is in one place onely Which thyng proued doth vtterly conclude y t the SacrameÌ„t is not his naturall body but only a memoriall and a representation of the same And first let vs sée S. Austens mynde S. Austen writyng vnto Dardanus doth playnly proue that the naturall body of Christ must néedes be in one place only and also y t his soule can bée but in one place at once The occasioÌ„ of his Epistle is this Dardanus dyd write vnto S. Austen for the expositioÌ„ of those wordes that Christ spake vn to the theefe saying This day shalt thou be w t me in Paradise and wist not how he should vnderstaÌ„d it whether Christ meÌ„t that the théefe should be in Paradise with Christes soule or with his body or with his Godhead Thereupon S. Austen writeth that as touchyng Christes body that day it was in the sepulchre And saith that it was not Paradise although it were in a gardeÌ„ that he was buryed For Christ he sayth ment of a place of ioy And that was not sayth S. Austen in hys sepulchre And as for Christes soule it was that day in hel and no man will say that Paradise was there Wherefore sayth S. Austen the text must néedes bee vnderstand that Christ spake it of his Godhead Now marke this Argument of S. Austen and ye shall sée my purpose playnly proued For seing he erpoundeth this text vpoÌ„ Christes Godhead because his manhode as touching the body was in the graue and as touchyng his soule was in hell you may soone perceiue that S. Austen thought that whilest his body was in y e graue it was not in Paradise to because his soule was in hell it could not be in paradise also And therfore he verâ—o fieth the text vppon his diuinitie For if he had thought that Christes body or soule might haue bene in diuerse places at once hee would not haue sayd that the text must néedes be vnderstand of his diuinitie but it might full well yea much better haue ben vnderstand of his manhode Marke well this place which doth determine the doubt of this matter Notwithstandyng the faythfull father leaueth not the matter on this fashion but also taketh away such sonde imaginations as would cause men to surmise that Christes body should be in moe places at once then one For he saith Cauendum est ne it a diuinitatem astruamus hominis vt veritateÌ„ auser amus corporis Non est autem consequens vt quod in Deo est it a sit vbique Nam de nobis veracissime Scriptura dicit quod in illo viuimus mouemur sumus Nec tameÌ„ sicut ille vbique sumus sed aliter homo ille in Deo quoniaÌ„ aliter Deus in illo homine proprio quodam singulari modo Vna enim persona Deus homo est vtrumque est vnus Christus Iesus vibque per id quod Deus est in coelo autem per id quod homo That is to say we must beware that we doe not so affirme the diuinitie of the man that we take away the truth of his body For it foloweth not that the thyng whiche is in God should be in euery place as God is For the Scripture doth truly testifie on vs that we lyue moue and be in hym And yet are we not in euery place as he is Howbeit that man is otherwise in God and God otherwise in that man by a certaine peculiar and singular way For God and maÌ„ is one person and both of them one Christ Iesu whiche is in euery place in that he is God and in heauen in that he is maÌ„ Here S. Austen doth say that if we should grauÌ„t Christ to be in all places as touchyng his manhode we should take awaye the truth of his body For though his manhode be in God and God in hys manhode yet it foloweth not that it should bee in euery place as God is And after hee concludeth that as touchyng hys Godhead hee is in euery place and as touchyng his manhode hee is in heauen What néede he to make these woordes and Antithesis but because hee thought verely that though hys Godhead were in euery place yet his manhode was in heauen onely But yet this holy Doctour goeth further so that they may be ashamed of their party and sayth Secundum hominem namque in terra erat non in coelo vbi nunc est quando dicebat nemo ascendit in coeluÌ„ nisi qui descendit de coelo filius hominis qui est in coelo That is to say as touching his manhod he was in the earth and not in heauen where he now is when he sayd no man ascendeth into heauen but he y e descended from heauen the sonne of man which is in heaueÌ„ Now I trust you will be content and let the truth spred For I am sure it is not possible for you to auoyde it for he sayeth that as touching his manhode he was in the earth and not in heauen when he spake those wordes so proued that he was not in mo places at once then onely one place For els yf S. Austen had thought y e he could haue bene in mo places at once then one with his body then might he not haue sayd that he was in earth and not in heauen For then a man might sone haue deluded hym haue sayde you can not tell for he may be in euery place But they that so thinke after S. Austens mynde do take away y e truth of his naturall body and make it a very phantasticall body from the which heresie God deliuer his faythfull Besides this S. Austen doth saye Christum Dominum nostrum vnigenitum DEI â—ilium equaleÌ„ patri eundemque hominis filium quo maior est pater vbique totum presentem esse non dubites tanquam Deum in eodem templâ— DEI esse verum DE VM in aliena parte coeli propter corpo ris modum That is to say doubt not but that Christ our Lord the onely begotten sonne of God equall to the Father and the same being the sonne of man wherin the father is greater is hole present in all places as
touching hys Godhed and dwelleth in the same temple of God as God and in some place of heauen for the conditioÌ„ of his very body Here is it euident by S. Austens wordes that as touching his godhed he is in all places and as touching his manhode he is onlye in heauen yea and not that onely but that he being in heauen as touching the measure nature condicion and qualitye of his naturall body is only in one certaine place in heauen and not in many places at once Thus much is proued out of S. Austen Thys truth is not onely proued by S. Austens authoritie but also by y e noble clerke Fulgentius which writeth on this maner Vnus idemque homo localis ex homine qui est Deus immensus ex patre vnus idemque secundum bumanam substaÌ„tiam absens coelo cum esset in terra derelinquens terram cum ascendisset in coelum Secundum dâ—â—inam vero immensamque substantiam nec coeluÌ„ dimittens cum de coelo descendit nec terram deserens cum ad coelum ascendit Quod ipsius Domini certissimo sermone potest cognosci qui vt localem ostenderet suam humanitatem dicit Discipulis suis Ascendo ad patrem meum patrem vestrum Deum meum Deum vestrum De Lazaro quoque cum dixisset Lazarus mortuus est adiunxit dicens gaudeo propter vos vt credatis quoniaÌ„ non eraÌ„ ibi immensitatem vero suae diâ—initatis ostendens Discipulis dicit Ecce ego vobiscum sum vsque ad consummationem sâ—culi Quomodo autem ascendit in coelum nisi quia localis verus est homo aut quomodo adest fidelibus suis nisi quia ideÌ„ immensus verus Deus est That is to say The same one man is locall that is to say conteined in one place as touchyng his manhode which is also God vnmeasurable from the father the same one man as touchyng the substaunce of his manhode was absent from heauen when hee was in earth and forsakyng the earth when he ascended into heauen but as touchyng his godly vnmeasurable substaunce neither forsoke heauen wheÌ„ he descended from heaueÌ„ nor forsoke the earth when he asceÌ„ded vnto heauen Which may be knowen by the most sure word of the Lord which to shew his humanitie to be locall that is to say contained in one place onely dyd say vnto his Disciples I asceÌ„d vnto my father and your father my God and your God of Lazarus also when hee sayd Lazarus is dead hee said further I am glad for your sakes that you may beleue for that I was not there And agayne shewyng the vnmeasurablenesse of his Godhead he sayd vnto his Disciples behold I am with you vnto the worldes ende how dyd he ascende into heauen but because he is locall and a very man Or how is he present vnto his faythfull but because he is vnmeasurable very God Here may you conclude by the authority of this Doctour also that Christes body is onely in one place at once For he saith that Christ as touchyng his manhood is locall that is to say conteined in one place onely And that hee proueth by the Scripture euen of Christes owne woordes Now if this be true as my conscience doth testifie how so euer other men shall Iudge then must it néedes folow that his naturall body can not be in the Sacrament And the authoritie I am sure no man can auoyde it is so playne Now as for his natural reasoÌ„s be not worthy the reasonyng For first that the body of Christ vnglorified could no more be in ij places at once then his owne can because he is a naturall body as he is I will not examine no coÌ„parison betwen there ij bodyes but if Christ wold tell me that he would eche of both their bodyes to be in fiftene places at once I would beleue hym and would neuer aske hym whether he would first glorifie them or not But I am sure glorified or vnglorified if he sayd it hee is able to do it For the matter is not impossible to God Truth it is that if Christ so sayd in so saying so meÌ„t there is no doubt but he were able so to do But that he in déede so grossely ment ye shall neuer proue And in déede if he had so meant that hys owne body naturall should haue continued in the Sacrament which is the meate of the soule through fayth and not of the body by eatyng it and may as well be eaten through faith although it remayne in heauen as if it were here present to our mouthes if I say he had so ment theÌ„ wold he neuer haue geueÌ„ vs such Scriptures as he dyd For I say that this grosse imagination may not staÌ„d with the processe of the Scripture whiche is receiued as it shall appeare by certaine textes 1. First where our Sauiour sayth y e flesh profiteth nothyng The waight of those woordes doth compell vs to vnderstaÌ„d our matter spiritually for by this short sentence we are no lesse plucked backe froÌ„ the carnall eatyng theÌ„ was Nichodemus that he should not once dreame of the carnall regeneratioÌ„ when Christ sayd vnto hym that what soeuer was of y t flesh was flesh For this is a playne conclusion that when Christ sayd the flesh profiteth nothyng hee ment it euen of hys own flesh that it could not profite as they vnderstode hym to be eateÌ„ with the téeth Albeit it doth much profite to bee slayne for our redemption and eaten thorough fayth Whiche thyng we may do although his natural flesh be not in y e sacrament For I may as well beleue in hym though he be in heauen as if he were in earth and in the Sacrament before myne eyes And that Christ spake these woordes of his owne body it is playne by S. Austens wordes writyng vppon the same place And therefore he sayth that they must be vnderstand spiritually and addeth if thou vnderstand them spiritually they are spirite and lyfe And though thou vnderstaÌ„d theÌ„ carnally yet neuertheles they are spirite and lyfe But vnto thée they are not spirite and lyfe which vnderstandest not spiritually those things that I haue spoken Also Athanasius sayth Spiritus est qui viuificat caro noÌ„ prodest quicque verba quae ego locutus sum spiritus sunt vita Nam hoc loco vtrumquè de seipso dicit carnem spiritum spirituÌ„ ab eo quod est secundum carnem distinxit vt non solum visibile sed etiam inuisibile quod in ipso erat credentes discant quod ea quae dicit noÌ„ sunt carnalia sed spiritualia Quod enim comedeÌ„tibus suffecisset corpus vt totius mundi alimonia fiat Sed ea propter meminit ascensus filij hominis in coelum vt illos a corporali cogitatione auelleret posthac discant carnem dictam cibum coelestem superne venieÌ„tem