whan he gaue the scripture to be writton or els that he could not tell all things or els that he hidde certeÌ„ things from us of purpose that so he myght damne and destroy us where as he had sayd before euidently that we shuld be iudged at the latter day by the word which he had spoken vnto us But thei be so blynded by the deuel that thei can not perceyue the abhominacion of this blasphemy Now to confirme all godly myndes and to call them back from their dotyng I haue gathered in order certen testimonys which do euidently proue that the wrytton word of god is the fowndacion of our christen fayth and that all the articles of our christen fayth ought to be prouyd by the holy scriptures The first is in the .iiij. of Deuteronoâ—ye shal not adde vnto the worde which I speake vnto yow neyther mynissh from it And who dyd euer expownd this to be vnderstand of the vnwritton word before thes lying false prophetys and antichrystes And if it ought to be vnderstoÌ„d of the writton scripture only than do thei playnly agaynst gods word which Imagyne that there shuld be any vnwritton word But I am not ignorant how these mockers are wont to iest or scoff a way and to face owt this place sayng that there is one kynd of adding which minyssheth a nother which altereth a nother which maketh largyer and a nother which fulfilleth thei grant that this sayng refuseth all maner of addings sauyng the last maner wherby the scripture is made more manifest and open But to coÌ„fute this fansy Imaginacyon the manifest scripture is suffycyeÌ„t deute the .vj. what I command that shalt thow do only vnto the lord thou shalt neyther adde nor minyssh any thing And in the last chapt of the Apoca. Who so euer addeth any thing vnto this the lord shal seÌ„d hym the plages which be writoÌ„ in this boke which place all the duns men euen duns him self granteth that it ought to be vnderstond of the whole scripture wherfore it is manifest that those synne against the commandment of god which affirme that there is any word of god vnwriton like as thei do which expownd the scripture after their own fansis or gyue iudgement of the wil of god with owt the manifest word of god For it is a deuillyssh lye to say that the scripture can not be vnderstond with owt mens commeÌ„tarys or glosys because it is so darke dowtful that it may be applyed to coÌ„firme all maner of heresys In the .xxviij. of deuter are proffred benedyccyons of all sortys vnto them that kepe those things which are writton in the boke of the lawe And in the .xxxij. chap. of the same boke Moyses doth manifestly say thus Set and fyxe your hartes vpoÌ„ all the wordes which I testyfye vnto you this day that ye may command your childern to kepe and obserue all things which are writton in the boke of this lawe for thei be not geuen and commanded vnto yow in vayne but that euery one of you should lyue after them Marke here is euerlasting life promysed vnto them which kepe those things that are writton in the scripture And Moyses doth playnly say that this is the fynal and only cause why god wold haue his word to be writton that all men in general and euery one in sâ—eciall of what order degre or occupacyon so euer he be shuld haue the word of god where by thei might be saued wherupoÌ„ it foloweth that it is a manifest blasphemy to say that we may be saued or damned by any tradicyoÌ„s of man And here thei are conuyct to be starck idyotes which asscrybe this ignoraÌ„ce neclygence vnto god as though he either could not or els wold not coÌ„myt all articles necessary vnto our saluacyon to be writton in the holy scripture For thei declare euydently that thei knowe not the final cause why the scripture is geuen vnto us but thei Imagyne god to be lyke some ignorant poete which hath geuen us a patched and an vnperfight worke For god wold that in the scripture his will shuld shyne as it were in a glasse and that the perfight image of hys deyte which paule calleth the prynt and seale of his substance shuld appeare therin Item s. Iohn sayth that this word doth shyne in darknes and that it is the lyght which shineth in mens hartes blynded of the deuyl thorow sinne and that christ doth open vnto us the wil of god thorow his gospel which will no mortal man did euer knowe but so farre as this word which is in the fathers bosom dyd open vnto him Wherfor we may perceyue that it is not only thorow the ignorance of man that the word of god is thus blasphemed but thorow the malyce of the deuyl For the deuel neuer ceaseth to disfigure this word namely the son of god whom he despysed before the world was made and shal fight with him euen with all his pour vntyl the day of iudgement In the .xvij. of deute The king is coÌ„manded to haue alweys in his handes and in his sight the boke of the lawe and to reade owt of it all the dayes of his life for this purpose that he shuld lerne to feare his lord god And for his study diligeÌ„ce this promes is made him that he shuld lyue loÌ„g and that his kingdome shuld be geuen to many of his progeny lynage And wold to god all christen kinges and princes wold think surely the reading of the holy bokes of scripture to be a part off their offyce not to reade them in lateÌ„ which thei vnderstand not but so to reade it as thei may lerne the wil of god how he wil be feared by his word only and not by any popish lawes and mans tradicyons And if thei wold do thus I durst surely waraÌ„t them both that thei shuld lyue longer and also that thei shuld haue lesse tumult and sedicyon in their life tyme. For now seing thei play the tyraÌ„nes ouer the scripture and ouer the readers of it it is no meruel that god doth ponissh them for their cruelnes and that there be fewe of them but that dye some shameful and cruel death for such is the end of tirannes wont to be Ioachim king of Iuda sawe all his sonnes headed and he him self his eyes before put out was bownd and led presoner in to babylon and it was sayd openly vnto him because thow hast brent the boke of Iheremy there shal be none left of thy sede which shal sit vpon the throne of dauid and thy cark as shal be cast out in to the heate in the day time and in to the frost in the night tyme. Antiochus which coÌ„manded the holy bokes of scripture to be burnt perisshed miserably in desperacyon and thorow a meruelos falle Both daniel and paul do testifye that he was the figure of the last Antichrist that euer shuld be Wherfor I wil not spend my wordes in
Of the auctorite of the word of god agaynst the bisshop of london wherein are conteyned certen disputacyons had in the parlament howse betwene the bisshops a bowt the nomber of the sacrameÌ„ts and other things very necessary to be known made by AlexaÌ„der Alane Scot and sent to the duke of Saxon. There is nothing hydden that shal not be opened and come to lyght Math. x. Of the auctoryte of the word of god ABowt .v. yere agone I wrote to the noble king of scottys the father of my contry complayning of a certen proclamacyon wherin the bisshops had forbidden the holy scripture to be redd in the mother tong I answered also to certen slaunderos lyes of cochleus whom the bisshops had hyred to spewe out all the poison in his bely against me For I was at antwerp whan a contry man of myne whose name was Iohn foster did send a soÌ„me of mony vnto Cochleus by a marchant from the bisshop of S. Andrews which geueth him yerely so long as he liueth a certen stipend And it chaÌ„ced by the goodnes of god wherby he discloseth the wickednes of these hipocytes that a pistle of Cochleus which he sent vnto a certen bisshop of pole came vnto my handes wherin he complayneth that he hath gret losse and euel fortune in setting forth of bokes for as moch as no man wil wetesaue to rede his bokes And he beggeth a yâ—rely stipend of the bisshops of pole saing that he hath bene nobly rewarded of the king of scottys and of the archbisshop of s. Andrews and of the bisshop of glasguo And were it not for the loue of my contry and of the kinges grace I wold cause his pistle to be printed with the copy of the kings letters which he send vnto a certen bisshop of pole because he shal knowe that I haue a copy of the kings letters the king doth write manifestly that Cochleus boke dyd more please him for the coÌ„mendacyon of Kyng Ferdinandus and of Erasmus than for any study or diligeÌ„ce of the autor I wil not vtter other things contayned in the sayd letters neyther wold I haue disclosed thus moch but that I wold wissh that the king were admonisshed to coÌ„sidre whether cochleus were a man worthy to be presented with his letters and his princely reward or no. And because I wold auoyde the furios enuy of this blasphemos impudent rayler whoÌ„ the bisshops had hyred to bark agaynst me for beside slanderos raylyng wordes he made me no answer at all and he threatned me that he wold send me home agayne if he could bring it to passe vnto the bisshops with my handes bownd behynd me for the which cause I say I did cast in my mynd to chang agayne that coÌ„try where I was specially seing I was called in to Ingland by the right noble lord Crumwel and the Archbisshop of caÌ„terbery for the railyng wretch Cochleus did manifestly wright that he was sorer greued with me for dwelling in that place where I did remayne than he was with my matter or with any other thing els I considered that christ gaue place somtymes vnto the furiosnes of the Iewes agayne that curr dogges which be tyed at mens gates to bark whaÌ„ no man is by them thaÌ„ thei slepe and make no besynes at all And therfor I thought to auoyde his rayling writings by no meanes so well as if I shuld goo in to Ingland and euen stopp myne eares at his rauyng And in dede I was not deceiued for the serpeÌ„t left his hissing and I was louingly receyued not only of the Archbisshop and of the honorable lord Crumwel but euen of the right noble king himselfe also and I was sent vnto Cambridge to reade a lecture of the scripture there but the crosse foloweth alweys christes doctrine wher soeuer it goeth the deuel hath euer enuye that christ shuld haue any rest for euen in the wildernes he wold not suffer him to be quiet a lone vntil he had brought him vnto the crosse I had scasely declared out the .viij. psalme but I perceyued myne enemy going a bout to wrap me in contencions the which although I hate naturally and haue studied always to my powr to auoyde them yet I neuer submitted my self cowardly to the deuel nor neuer recanted any thing sins I had any knoulege of christes true gospel And whan I wold haue made answer there for such doctrine as I had tawght I came to the scholes of the vniuersite where a gret nomber of auditors was gathered and there before the whole multitude I taryed an howr or ij loking whan myne aduersary shuld come but he although he refrayned from disputacyon for what purpose or consideracyon I can not tel yet he coÌ„spired me such enuy that there were some that were not a frayd to threaten me that it shuld cost me my life which thing after I had opened to the vychanceler by the councel of certen of the wisest men there and sawe him winke at the matter I gaue place to this malyce also and departed from thens specially for as moch as I perceyued there were statutes sent forth from the bisshops and from the whole councel of the reame which were such that it had bene wickednes not to haue spoken openly against them and yet to haue reproued them it shuld haue bene counted a poynt of sedicyon The man was not hyndered nor put in feare by me but the chanceler of the vniuersyte which sent me thether by the commandment of the king wold suffer none of his vniuersyte to speak against any of the comon lawes wherfor I determined with my self to serue the tyme and to change the preaching of the crosse with the scyence of physik wherin I had a litle sight before And thus I went vnto a very well lerned phisyciaÌ„ called doctor Nicolas which hath practised phisyk in loÌ„doÌ„ thes many yeares with high prayse whose company I dyd vse certen yeares wherby I did both see and lern many things euen the principal poyntes concerning that science In so moch that at length certen of my frindes did moue me to take in hand to practise which thing I did I trust not vnluckyly But yet not withstonding this coÌ„trary to all my expectacion I chanced to fall agayn in to such a disputacyon as I was in before and in maner with like aduersarys for before I was vexyd with my contry bisshops and with an hyred railer Cochleus about the reading of the scripture in the mother tong And it fortuned me to haue a like contencion with certen bisshops of Ingland which maynteyne still the bisshop of rome so farre as thei dare whether all things necessary vnto our saluacyon be conteyned in the scripture or but a part only and the resydue to be taken out of the gloses of the doctors out of the actes of old councels and out of popes lousy decreys And vnto this disputacioÌ„ I came sodenly vnprepared for as I did mete
neyther one sparke of lerning nor yet of godlines in yow And thus shal ye lose all your estimacyon and auctoryte with them which before toke yow for lerned men and profitable membres vnto the comon welth of Christendome For that which yow do hope vpon that there was neuer heresy in the church so gret but that processe of tyme with the pour and auctorite of the pope hath quenched it it is nothing to the purpose But ye must turne your opinyon and think this surely that there is nothing so feble and weake so that it be true but it shal find place and be able to stand against all falshode Truth is the doughter of tyme and tyme is the mother of truth And what so euer is beseged of truth can not long continue and vpon whose syde truth doth stand that ought not to be thought transitory or that it wil euer falle All things consist not in painted eloquence strenght or auctorite For the truth is of so gret pour strength and efficacite that it caÌ„ neyther be defended with wordes nor be ouercomne with any strength but after she hath hidden hir self long at length she putteth vp hir head and appereth and as it is written in Esdra a king is strong wyne is strongar yet wemen be more strong But truth excellyth all He spake many more things to this purpose effect very discretely to the high delyte of all that hard him And I thinking my selfe to be encoraged by his oracyon I began thus to reason against the bisshop of london Sacramentes be signes or ceremonys which make us certeÌ„ and sure of the wil of god But no mans hart can be certen and sure of the wil of god with out the word of god wherfor it foloweth that there be no sacramentes without the word of god and such as can not be proued out of the holy scripture ought not to be called sacramentes The first part of this reason is Sanct Pauls own saing the .iiij. to the Romanes where he saith that circumcisyon is a tokeÌ„ and a seale of the rightwisnes of faith Ergo it requyreth faith to certify mans hart of the wil of god But the word of god is the foundacyon of faith the .x. to the Roma Faith cometh bi hearing and hearing cometh by the word of god For the mynd must be taught and instruct of the wil of god by the word like as the ey is taught instruct by the outward ceremony And Paul by this saing confuteth this opinyoÌ„ that the sacrameÌ„tes shuld make meÌ„ rightuos and iust before god for the very outward work without faith of them that receyue theÌ„ and after this maner doth Paul speak vnto the Ephesyans that christ doth sanctifie his church thorow the bath of water in the word of life And for as moch as he ioyneth the word vnto the ceremony declareth the vertu and pour of the word of god that it bringeth with him life he doth manifestly teach that the word of god is the principal thing euyn as it were the very substance and body of the sacrament and the outward ceremony nothing els thaÌ„ a token of that lyuely inflaÌ„macyon which we receyue thorow faith in the word and promes S. Paul also in ministring the sacrameÌ„t of the lordes supper doth manifestly adde the wordes of Christ He toke bread saith he and whan he had geuen thankes he brake it and sayd take ye this and eate ye this for it is my body Item do ye this in my rememberans Beside this he teacheth euidently that only christ and none but he had pour to institute a sacrameÌ„t and that neither the apostels nor the church hath any auctorite to alter or to adde any thing vnto his ordinaÌ„ce where as he saith For I receiued of the lord that which I dâ—lyuered vnto yow et ce To what purpose shuld he go a bout to moue the peple to bileue him and to wiÌ„ne their hartes with this protestacyon if it had bene lauful for him to haue made any sacramentes or to haue altered the forme maner of ministring this sacrament as some men both wickedly and shamelesly do affirme that the apostles did alter the forme of baptyme WhaÌ„ I had spoken thus moch the bisshop of loÌ„don did interrupt me and sayd let us graÌ„t that the sacramentes may be gathered out of the word of god yet are you farre deceyued if ye think that there is no nother word of god but that which euery sowter and cobler do reade in their mother tong And if ye think that nothing perteyneth vnto the Christen faith but that only that is writton in the byble than erre ye playnly with the Lutheranes For. S. Iohan saith that Iesus did many things which be not writton And. S. Paul commandeth the Thessalonians to obserue and kepe certeÌ„ vnwritton tradicyons and ceremonys .ij. Thessa. ij Moreouer he him self did preach not the scripture only but euen also the tradicyons of the elders Act. xvj Finally we haue receyued many things of the doctors and councels by tymes which although thei be not writton in the bible yet for as moch as the old doctors of the church do make mencyon of theÌ„ we ought to grant that we receiued them of the apostles and that thei be of like autoryte with the scripture and finally that thei may worthily be called the word of god vnwritton Now whan the right noble lord Crumwel the Archbisshop with the other bisshops which did defend the pure doctrine of the gospel hard this thei smyled alytle one vpoÌ„ a nother for as moch as thei sawe him flee euen in the very beginning of the disputacyon vnto his old rusty sophistry and vnwritton verites And I wold haue disputed further with the bisshop to haue coÌ„futed this blasphemos lye But the lord Crumwel bad me be content for the tyme began to go away and it was .xij. of the clock and thus I made an end with this protestacyon Right reuerend master bisshop ye denye that our ChristeÌ„ faith and religyoÌ„ doth leane only vpon the word of god which is writton in the bible which thing if I can proue and declare than ye wil grant me that there be no sacrameÌ„tes but those that haue the manifest word of god to confirme them vnto this he did consent and than immediately that assemble was dissolued for that day Now the next day whan the bisshops were assembled agayne and I was present with the lord crumwel there came vnto me a certeÌ„ archdeacon in the name of the archbisshop of caÌ„torbery which told me that the other bishops were greuosly offended wâ—th me that I being a stranger shuld be admitted vnto their disputacyoÌ„ which thing whan I had shewed vnto the lord crumwel he thought it best to gyue place vnto the bisshops specially be cause he wold not procure me their hatred for he knewe wel that if thei had ones conceiued in their hartes any malyce against any maÌ„ thei wold
told yow Must not Christ nedes haue suffred all these things so entre in to his glory Agayne it was impossyble that the son of god shuld be holdē down of death but that he shuld breake the paynes of hell ryse vp agayne As peter doth proue in the actes out of Dauyd and lyke wise Paul to proue his ascensyon vnto heauen alledgeth this verse out of the psalm Thou didst ascend vnto the highth And tokest captyuyte prysoner and gauest dyuers gyftes vnto men And dauyd speaketh of this son saing The lord sayd vnto my lord syt at my right hand vntyl I make thy emnys thy fotestole Which place paul expowndeth of the kingdom of christ after his resurrectiō and ascensyon .j. to the coryn .xv. Furthermore if thou byleuest Iesus to be the son of god than thou shalt grant that he hath sent the holy gost to sanctifye the congregacyon that is to say all the faythful according to his promes and that he is the god in whose name he cōmanded that we shuld be baptysed lyke as in his fathers name and his Itē all the prophetes do beare witnes of the holy gost namely that we must receyue remissyon of synnes thorow his name and he promyseth that he wil rayse us vp againe vnto euerlastīg life These thinges haue I spoken the more largely for the shameful cauellacyon and blasphemy of London which denyeth that all the articles of our faith can be proued by the scripture because s. Iohn saith that Iesus dyd many miracles which be not writton in this boke Now wil I alledge the myndes of Cirillus and. s. Austen to confute this wicked and blasphemos opinyon Cyrillus writing vpon Iohn the .xij. chap. speaketh thus Iohn saith there is a gret multitude and an infinyte nomber of the myracles which the lord did but those saith he which we haue shewed yow be sufficyent to them that reade them diligently for the stablysshing confirmacyon of a perfight fayth and I am not to be blamed though I haue not writton them all For if all were gathered one by one none left out the whole world wold not receyue the multytude of the bokes Wherfor all that he did were not writtō But all things which the writers thought sufficyent both for the fayth and bylefe and also for the life and conuersacyon of men that we myght shyne with a right and perfight fayth and with true workes vertues and so come vnto the kyngdom of heauen thorow our lord christ be wrytton wherfor it is a newelye lately inuēted in the deuels shop to say that all the articles of the christen fayth can not be proued by the scripture and that mēs tradicyōs besyde the scripture be good workes and please god Now ye may see that the church in Cyrillus tyme did not acknoulege this wicked blasphemy Austen affirmeth the same writing vp on this place of Iohn these be writton that ye shuld byliue etc. Our lord Iesus saith he did many miracles but all be not writton for those that shuld be writtō were specialy chosen pyked owt as many as wer thought necessary and sufficient for the saluacyō of the faithful By these auctorites ye may see that thei belye the old doctors which say that they maynteyne any such blasphemy But now to make an end of alledging any more testimonies I wil cyte only .ij. specyal and most faithful witnesses against this deuelyssh sophistical cauillacyon and opinyon namely Peter and Paul and so wil I make an end For euery man that hath any witt at all may plaīly perceyue that Peter wrote his second pistle against such blasphemers as do imagine a new word of god besyde that which is writton For he calleth the scripture euen a very true prophecy and he calleth them false or lyeng Prophetes which teach cōtrary to this prophetical and Apostolical prophecy or any thing which is not conteyned in it and he teacheth this rule wherby we shuld auoyde all maner of lyes that we shuld trye and examine them by this prophetical word or prophetical scripture wherunto he cōmandeth us to haue a specyal eye as vnto the candel which dryueth out and banisheth away all darknes and lyes of the deuel His wordes be these I wryte vnto yow this second pistle to prick you vp to quyckē your hartes that ye might remember the wordes which haue bene told now before by the holy prophetes and also the wordes of our message and cōmandment which be the Apostles of the lord and sauior for ye must knowe that in the latter dayes there shal come mockers Now these mockers he paynteth with specyal colors wher by thei may be known Thei shal bring in saith he pernicyos and dānable sectes or as Paul saith thei shal speake lies in hypocrisy vnder the color and pretense of holynes Forbidding to mary to absteyne from the meates which god hath created to be receyued of the faithful with thankes geuyng And thei shal denie the lord saith he which hath bought or redemed them and the way of the truth shal thei slander and reuyle as certen blasphemers do now a dayes speake blasphemosly of paul because he doth manifestly confute mans satisfaccyons rightwisnes and redempcyō by workes And therfor saythe he for couetosnes sake thei shal make marchādise of now thorow fables and false doctryne inuēted of their own braynes and he compareth thē to Sodom and Gomor and he sayth that thei haue eyes ful of adultery But their doctryne peter calleth disceitful fables and he sayth that their suttelty must be disclosed by the lantern of the prophetycal scripture And we haue the word of prophecy saith he wher unto ye do well to harken as vnto a candel geuyng lyght in the dark nyght tyl the daye lyght appeare and the mornyng sterre ryse in your hartes for as moch as ye know that no prophetycal scripture belongeth to mās interpretacyō nor it was neuer thrust vnto us by mās wil But the holy men of god were inspyred of the holy gost and moued to speake it This is a sure and a substancyal testimony to cōfute all maner of doctrines and tradicyons besyde the scripture yea and to refuse all maner of doctors and writars which speake any thing of their own brayne without scripture to confirme it For. s. Peter putteth a speciall difference betwene prophecy or prophetical scripture and an Interpretacyon which is inuented of mās own brayne and tradicyons which are made and enioyned at mans cōmandmēt and he calleth all maner of doctrines which be not conteined in the scripture of the holy goost capcyos disceyghtful fables and he ascribeth an high auctoryte vnto the old prophecy and prophetical scripture For whan he had alledged for his doctryne the diuinite of christ which he had sene and the voyce of the father which he had hard and agayn the witnes of Moyses and Elyas te in wickednes and thei shal subuert bewitch their hearers that thei shal