Christe agayne is contrary to fayeth and good workes For they glorifye the merittes of Christes passion when the offeringe of him agayne is greate derogacion to the same They do as a man that lyghteth a candle in a bright sunnye Daye saynge all thoughe the sunne giueth a light cleare inoughe it of selfe yet it is necessarye and profitable that more lyght be put thereto But a man maye answere sayeing why do you mocke your selfe You haue the bryghte daye in derision as if the sunne were not sufficiente wyth out your lyght So although the merites of Christes passion are sufficient to forgyue synne as the sōne is to make a light daye yet the popishe massmōgers wyll offer him vp againe The sacrifice of the Masse for remission of synnes thoughe there be none such is like a candel lighted in a bright sunny daye and so slander the true sacrifice to be vnperfect But as we se by the brightnes of the daye so by the knowledge of Christes merites we perceyue the goodnes of God towardes vs and fayeth is profitable to vs as a gifte of God and throughe faith we do good workes wyllinglie as obediente childerne but no other good workes ▪ then suche as are cōmaunded by God We haue nowe declared the sacrifice of the Masse to be agaynst godes commaundement the wordes of God and hys glorie And nowe we wyl proue these argumentes and assertions to be dreames of scriptur preposterously vnderstāded playne lyes which not onely cannot proue and affirme the Masse to be a sacrifice but also whollye make againste it It is therfore euidently perceyued that thys popishe Masse is an horrible abominacion before God That they ought to dispute proue and affirme by Christes ordinaunces wyth sure demonstracions and plaine textes of scripture that the Masse is a sacrifice But there is not one worde or example that maketh for them as I haue before declared They woulde wrast and turne thys sayinge Do thys in my remembraunce to mayntayne there lyes as who say God would these wordes shoulde signifie to offre or do sacrifice When they muste be this vnderstanded what so euer you haue seene hearde or done do it in remembraunce of me but they cannot fynde in all the supper That Christe dyd offre vp sacrifice They obiecte that euerie byshop chosen of men and appointed for men touchinge these thinges that belonge to god doeth offer gyftes and sacrifices firste for hymselfe and then for the people Thys assercion is of no vertue or strength for here Saynte Paule speaketh of the priestes of the olde lawe whiche were a figure onely of Christ as ye may easly perceiue by these wordes folowing the same texte saying No man muste take vppon hym the dignitye of priesthode cxcepte he be called of God as Aaron and thei which were of the lymage of Aaron But what is become of these priestes Al thei wer deposed and abolished by Christes death and Christe become a priest in their sted not of the order of Aaron but of Melchisedeche a man therefore maye knowe that thys place of Paule maketh nothynge for their Maskinge sacrifice And if they wyll haue it to agree both to the priestes of the olde lawe and newe Testamente they most proue whether they be priestes or no. As the name of prieste maketh not a prieste but his dedes like as a begger named prince heringe princes to be rulers of people and countreis If he claime a people and countrie which he maye rule and gouerne shal he therfore 〈◊〉 a people and countrie to rule ▪ So the popishe priestes that are priestes in name onlye hearinge that the priestes of the olde lawe did offer sacrifice for synnes after godes cōmaundemēte if they cleime the same authorite shal thei therefore haue it But thys is a harde sayinge to saye there are no priestes nowe in the newe law Let no man be offēded ther wyth for vndoubtedlye there be no priestes nowe appointed of God to offer for synnes but euerie christiā man is ordeined of Christe to be a prieste to praye to gyue thankes and prayse to god and to offre vp them selues in sacrifice Saynte Peter sayeth you are a chosē generacion a royall priesthode and a holly people meaninge therbye al christen people as by al christian men The holy gost teacheth the priestes of the newe testamente that is to saye al christen people are of muche more honoure and dignitye then weare the priestes of the olde lawe but none of these priestes can offre for synnes Yet they obiecte how can the churche continewe if we shall haue no priestes to teach correcte rebuke and exhort the people We answere that God wyll euer raise vp some in the congregacion to do these thinges And Christ hath ordeined in al congregacions a shepherde and preachers but no massmongers whiche haue brought in to the churche manye errous by theyr vaine ceremonies and maskynge Also where Saynt Paule sayeth if we synne wyllinglye after we knowe the trueth there is no sacrifice lefte to purchese vs remission of sinnes these papistes gather of this saing that ther is no sacrifice to helpe them that synne wylfullye but that there is a sacrifice yet remayninge for the fayethful which is their masse They faulsely vnderstande the texte For S. Paule sayeth a litle before the there is nomore sacrifice remayning for them whose synnes are forgyuen al readye and therefore one place expoundeth another and plainly declareth the there is lefte no more sacrifice for them that sinne of set purpose or for the that haue obtayned remission of sinnes alredie for Christ offered him selfe for the syn of those the beleue in him wil not offer him selfe againe for thē the beleue not but wilfully remayne in their sinnes They obiecte that we haue an aultar whereof it is not leaful for thē to eate which minister in the tabrenacle meaninge by thys aulter a heape of stones ioyned together whiche they call an aulter but Christe hym selfe is oure aulter wher on we laye oure prayers whiche are oure spirituall sacrifices for no prayeres are accepted of God the father but by Christ For he sayth if you aske my father any thynge in my name he wyll gyue it you And saynt Paulle expoundeth his owne sainge Let vs offer sayth he at al times by him a sacrifice of prayse whiche is the frutes of our lippes confessing his name We lye therfore when we call the masse our Lords aulter for Christ is our onely aulter and S Paule in all his Epistle to the Hebrues doth knoweledge none other sacrifice for sinnes but Christ once offred on the crosse The papistes haue no place of the newe testament to make wyth thē and therefore they seke helpe of the olde testamente And firste of the boke of Genesis they saye Melchisedech Was the Genes xiiii fygure of Christe for he was the prieste of the hygheste And as Dauid sayeth Christe is an eternall prieste after the order of Melchisedech And
without groudge of conscience prouide of the godes of the churche for suche thynges as they lacke And this argumēt is taken of the preistes of tholde lawe That as they had there liuinge for offringe of sacrifices so the ministres of the gospel should haue their liuinge for preaching of the same For Saynt Paul did no more meane by thys texte that priestes shoulde synge Masse for the quicke and deade then he purposed to teache men howe to war Their entēt is not to serue Christ oure true aulter but the god ther Heb. iii. owne bealies wo be to them that mayntayne thys patched popishe Masse either with rewardes coūsayle or any other waye for in so doinge they geue no lesse occasion to these papistes to commite moste heinouse offences then the Pharesies rulars of the people did to Iudas the traytoure Here we omyte and passeouer theyr filthye whoredome continual hate maliciouse enuie vnfruitful Idelnes and suche othere abominacions whiche make thē reprouable both before god and man and through thys theyr vngodlye conuersaciō all men for the most parte are driuen from the true seruice of God a man therfore cannot think how much god aborreth thē their dedes If these proude impudent papistes had neuer so little remorsse of conscience they would abhorre and be ashamed of them selues Fayne these Masse mongers the popes creatures to be godlie liberall and that they are not proude in their ornamentes and ceremonies but walke in christen libertie notwythstandinge the contrarie is playnly seene in them yet they woulde men shoulde haue suche oppinion in thē And let vs come to ther function and office wherin they can do nothing wel and truly nether wyth good wyll nor in knowledge Our lordes Supper ought neuer to be ministred with out the remembraūce of Christes death nor wythout a sermon or exhortaciō and that in a lāguage that the congregacion maye perfictly vnderstande to theyr edificacion ◠Cor. xiiii as Christe also taught his disciples In the masse is nothing but mockes and they make Idolatrie of the Gospel and Epistiles which the holy goste gaue vs for our consolaciō correction and exhortacion But these popish priestes haue made of thē an externe pompe extollynge them selues aboue the Iues and Gentiles with there glistringe shewes of vaine ceremonies the Ieues and Genetiles therfore laught thē to scorne vsinge them as foles and mad-men The Euangelestes require an other kynde of working and exercise then sensinge wastinge of candles singing of pricksong and kissinge of golden bokes It were more mete to preache the grace of our lord Iesus Christ but Christ is not spoken of at al amōges thē and the lyght the shoulde be set vpon the candelsticke is hide vnder the bushell Nowe where the worde of God is kepte vnder and hyd awaye ther is nothynge but darknes and errour we haue therefore plainly declared and proued that thys hinderaunce of Gods worde is an heinouse abominaciō in the syght of God And thys is out of question that euerie Masse wherin the word of god is not preached and that in a language that the congregacion maye vnderstande it is a moste pyuyshe Idolatrye But as they folowe not Christ in there sermons and preachinge so do thei not obserue his order maner of thankes giueinge and prayer For they haue suche a rable of vaine ceremonies the deuoute prayer can haue no place they haue also many collectes that true christen mē ought not to saye Many reade that which they vnderstand not When they Masse for monye other causes afore rehersed how can it be possible that they being whore mōgers and al togither carnally mynded shoulde praye and gyue thankes wyth a deuoute and pure consciēce Thoughe they also seme to them selues to be deuoute Math. vi men yet in prayinge they make much lip laboure and theyr Mal. ii hertes are far of Thei are therfor abominable before god For as he sayeth by Malachias there blessinge shal be accursed When they come to the distrubucion of the sacrament they breake it in there pieces one piece for the quicke another for them that are in heauen and the thyrde for the deade beinge in purgatorie and at laste eate all them selues but it were more mete to fede others and be without thē selues They ordeine a feast and cal no gestes to it nor wyll eate of one lofe and one cupe amonge them selues but euerye man wyll haue hys owne aultare his owne lof and cup. Wherin do these thynges agre with our Lordes supper Neither Iwe nor gentile can mocke and delude Christes ordinaūces more then these vngodly wretches it is maruaile that the eareth openeth not to swalowe thē quicke in to hell Nowe touchynge the laytye it were agaynste reasone to rebuke thē but rather to be sorye and beare wyth theire weaknes and ignoraunce Whosoeuer commeth to our Lordes table oughte to heare the worde of God as the apostles dyd But howe cā they here whē no mā preacheth They ought to make an answere and saye Amen to their prayer But thei nother know nor vnderstande what they saye and so they ertol and magnifie noughtie and vaine trifeles for frutfull and godli matters and for the liuely word of God they beleue in fonde folish fables It is necessarie that we praye to God that hys people maye be deliuered from the hūger of gods worde that they may knowe how miserabli they haue ben deceiued by these faulse preachers What shal the vnlearned people do whē lyes and erroures so muche preuaile and thei being captiues and prisoners vnder Antichrist godes enemie They receiue the sacrament but once in the yere and in one kind contrary to Christes ordinaunce It muste therfore be vnthankfull and abominable before God when hys churche is spoyled and distroyed after suche sorte Finally there are some erroures and abominacions founde in the very sacramente For the materiall substaunce of it ought to be bread and wyne as it is in dede as S. Paul i. Cor. xi so calleth it both before the cōsecration after But the papistes teach that not her bread nor wyne remayne after the cōsecracion but accidentes only the is collour sauour taste ruddines and such other And with such manifest lies they blind mens eies to beleue that y◠thing is in the sacrament whiche is not there and that that is not in the sacrament which is ther in dede Allexander first pope of the name decred and ordiened That water shoulde be menglide wyth wyne whyche thynge is repungnaunte to Christes ordinaunce For he cōmaunded no suche thynge to be done If we wyll expend and consider the wordes of Christe oure Master touching this sacrament we maye easly perceiue what Sathan goeth aboute The papistes mūble in latine the belles make such ringinge that the heares can not vnderstand what is sayde or song They haue put to also in the consecraciō wordes that are not in the Gospel as Enim trulie Eleuatis
in thys holie supper for he woulde haue gyuen hys bodie to thē reallie not in the sacramente It is not inoughe for these piuishe papistes to offer christes bodie to God except they offer it also for remission of synne for health of the bodie and for hope of eternal life For other wise it shuld not be so highly estemed If they continewe still in these errours against the plaine trueth they will The belefe of a true christian Ro. iiii deny Christ For he that knoweth Christe is certainely assured that he is god and man the sauiour of the worlde that in hym as in the true sede of Dauid al nacions are blessed and that no mā can come to the father but by him For the father Ga. iii. Iohn xi doth so loue him that for hys sake his angre toward vs is pacified for he is our rightuousnes holines and redempcion that nomā Cor. i. is saued but bi his name only that he alone fulfilled the worke of our Act. iiii redempcion with out any helper And finally that he did sufficiētly satisfie Esae lxiii for our sinnes on the crosse if we beliue truely on him This is the Heb. x. ground of our christen faith wher on christes church is builded And Math. xvi he that denieth Christe to be hys perfecte and sufficient redemer by once sufferinge death on the crosse maketh him an vnsufficient priest and vnable redemer And therfore they deny Christ in that they deni his ful power and vertue in our redemptiō These Maskinge Masse priestes in their often offeringe of Christe denye that we are Iustified by fayth only ascribinge part of oure iustificacion to good workes cōtrarie to the playne scriptures of Eph ii God for we are saued by grace and not of workes And they magnifie and extolle the Masse aboue all other good workes makeinge them sēlues fellowe priestes wyth Christ wherin they shew of what generacion they be euen as they sprynge of Lucifer the father of pride nowe let vs expende and cōsider whether Christe commaunded his disciples to make an offeringe of the sacrament of his holy supper or whether he offered hym selfe therein or no. Vndoubtedly Christes wordes diligently obserued and noted we maye perceyue easlye the Christ offred no sacrifice therein To take and breake bread doth not signifye to offre To geue thankes is not to do sacrifice for elles he hadde done sacrifice in fedynge fyue thousand with the fewe barlye loues to gyue his disciples to eate And to say do this in remēbraunce of me in shewynge furth the Lordes death vntyll he come is not an offering To belyue that Christ was giuen vs the he gaue his bodie to death for vs that he shed his bloud not at the supper but on the crosse to redeme vs frō syn is not an offering Finally to proue the testamēt the beleue on the which was cōmaunded in the testament doth not signifie to offre How wyl you nowe proue your offerynge in the Masse We come to the Lordes table we take and eate trusteinge in Christes promesses howe do we thē gyue to him againe If a king shoulde gyue a ringe to a pore mā for a gage not that he shoulde be heire of hys landes and goods but that it should helpe hym and that he thereby shoulde remember his liberalitye mercye and the people myght cōmende and prayse hym for that facte the pore man receyueth it to giue it agayne to the king thynkinge to do hym a great pleasure to make hym riche wyth hys own gift wer not this a mad mā So may al such be Iudged as offere to Christ agayne the whych he gaue vs for our owne vse and profite and that thereby we shoulde kepe in remembraūce his loue and mercye towarde vs. Christ did not lifte vp the sacramēt ouer his head as these proude papistes do They obiecte and saye that God cā giue some thynges and receyue them agayne as the sacrifices of tholde lawe Thoughe they were the giftes Psal x of God Yet they were gyuen to hym agayne and thoughe a cōtrite herte is the gyfte of god yet it is a sacrifice to God If we were cōmaunded to offer sacrifice as they were then theire obiection shoulde be of some strēgth and efficacie But wee haue no suche commaundemente neyther the scriptures make mencion of these popishe sacrifices For Christ is of greater power and reputaciō then that these proude popish prelates other can or oughte to offer hym to hys father Christe sitteth on the fathers ryght hande and once satisfied for the synnes of the Atc. vii true Christen church with a most sufficient and perfecte sacrifice Dare we then moste miserable wretches enterprise to do thys thynge agayne He that doth offre vp sacrifice is better thē the sacrifice They therefore are better thē Christe their sacrifice he offred vs a sacrifice to God and do we goo about to offer hym He that offerreth vp sacrifice ought to be as pure as the sacrifice Oh howe pure they make Christ nowe He as a testament maker gaue his disciples the sacramēt in his supper none other wise thē as a writtē testamēt wherin by fayth in Christ we receiue Christes bodie bloude the vertue and frutes of the same If wee gyue hym hys testamente agayne as if he required it of vs should not we haue the testament maker in a contempt And should Aba xi not the promise in the testamente be of effecte Who ahboreth not thys kynde of blasphemie whē we consider the hyghnes of Christes priesthod and what this worde sacrifice contayneth in it we maye easlye perceyue what Iniury we do to thynke that we offer Christes bodye as the papistes do S. Paule declareth vnto vs the pristhod of christ saiing it is mete the we Hebru vii haue suche a godly and vndefiled byshop made higher then heaues whych nedeth not to offre dayly First for hys owne sinnes and thē for the synnes of the people as the byshop of the olde lawe for Christ dyd thys once in offeringe vp hys owne bodye and in an other place he sayth Christe beinge the hyghe priest of the good thinges to come came by a greater and more perfecte Tabernacle whiche was not made wyth handes that is to saye was not of thys kynde of bulding Neither came he by the bloud of gotes and calues but by hys owne bloude he entred once into thys holly place and founde eternall redempcion for we are made hollie bi godes fre mercie through the offering of christes bodie done once for all For Christe verely beinge one sacrifice offred vp for our sinnes sitteth on his fathers right hand lokeing for the thing that remayneh vntil his enemise be made his fotestole for wyth one offring he made perfecte those that are sātified Saynt Paule teacheth vs by Melchisedech That Christ is king of peace rightuousnes By these places of scripture it is Manifest that Christ