/ and declareth therbye / that faith can not be without loue or charite Therfore will we discerne these thre thinges faith hope and charite one from another / but so / that they remayne vnseparated Faith onely iutifieth before god loue or charite worketh toward hir neghboure hope doth paciētly wayte for the promes of god / and shal not be confounded Thou saiest we lacke good workes / not such as come of loue / or that Christ shal requyre of vs at the daye of iudgment but to go a pilgremage / to set vp cādils before ymages / to nombre vp what we pray / to tell ouer a payre of beedes / to put deffence in clothing / in meates / in prayers / in titels or names / wher one had rather be called a charter house monck or a barfote frere / then a Christen man These and such like sklender and childishe workes requyrest thou of vs which though one had done them alltogether / it were euen asmuch as though he in the meane season had rydden vpon a sticke with boyes in the strete But declare thou vs thy faith out of such workes / as belong to a Christē man / and we wil shew the oure workes put of faith Seist thou how this Christē mam whom thou accusest stondeth here so weake fleble thorow the stynck and tedyousnesse of the preson / that he can scace stond vpon his legges And why I praye the. Hath he committed anye euell dede No. For yf he haue done ouhht that deserueth death / or so the Iudges haue the law / they haue the swerde / let thē execute it / I wil make no request agaynst it Wherfore is it than I wil tell the. Euen because he hath frely preached the gospell of Christ and the grace that is geuen vs thorow him for he beleued / therfore hath he spoken and hath taught that what soeuer is agaynst the gospell ought to be put dawne / to the intent that the kyngdome of god might come vnto vs / that his name might be santified thus of a feruent loue hath he endeuored himselfe to instructe all mē and to bring them to the true knowlege of god / and of his sone Iesus Christ Summa / his mynde was so set to serue his negboure / that he hath not abhorred the darck dongeon and preson / to be desolate and alone / in honger and thirst / yea in daunger of death Such are the workes of a Christē mā / which must not be ascrybed vnto vs / but vnto the lorde that worketh them in vs. Such true fasting is accepted of the lorde such true obediēce belongeth to his sayntes Now forasmuch as I haue sufficiently declared that oure aduersaries complaynte is cleane agaynst equyte / ther is no more to be requyred saue onely that ye / Right deare Iudges whose mynde is to do euery man right quyte this Christen man acording to youre beneuolēce A short recapittulaciō vnto the Reader Here haste thou harde moste Iētle Reader how beninge / how lovinge / how myndfull owre moste mercifull father is / and ever hatthe ben / ouer his electe and chosyn children / namely euē now And for an ensample haue we this poore and simple creture sett before owre iees / to calle vs to remembrance that he is ny vnto all them that / in tyme of tribulaciō or persecucion will calle / a pon hym in treweth and verite Se we not here how mercifully He stirechith owte his hande / he spredith a broude his wynges to hyde and cover this his tender birde frome the gleyde or bosarde And in conclusion he mollifieth and movith the harte of this verteouse prince and by hym as by an enstrumēt of his one / doeth he not only defende this poore mans cause / or rather the trewthyt selfe but also delyueryth him frome the cruell hādes of all his emnies / no otherwise / thē evin as it were frome death to lyfe soche is his godly nature / soche is his properte an a customed maner / that in the mydist of aduersytes tribulacion persecucion / where men thinck him moste furthist of / ther is he moste nyest and present / with soche cōsolacion and comforth as canne not be expressid wyth / tonge What more Ioye cāne ther come to them whiche be afflicted persecuted and vnder the swete crosse of Iesu Christ / then to calle to ther remembrance the confortable storyes of the scripture acording to the sayeng of sent Paul What so euer thyng is wrytten / it is wrytton for owre doctryne and lernyng / that throwgh pacience and the consolaciō of godes worde / we may haue sewre hope truste Hou lycke a loving lorde / saued he / Isaac / frome the mortall and deadly strock of the swerde / with howe petiful aneye lokyd he on Noe the precher of ryghteousnesse / restoryng hym frome the rough ragyng wawes of the vnmercifull see / he deliuerid Loth at an enstant frome the conuersacion and cōpany of they vngodly Sodomytes Gomorrians / keppt he not Ionas saue and sownde / after he was devoured and swaloed vp of that houge and monstruus fishe Sydrach / Misach / and Abdenago / preserued he frome the flamyng fornace of burnyng fyrd Daniel be deliueryd frō the devouryng mowthes / of the hongry liōs Moises amōge the reedes and flages hydde hangyd by the water syde in a baskyd / whas restored agayne to his naturall mother to be norsed of her Paul was left downe in a baskyt / and so escaped the handes of his persecuters / Susanna / whas preserued and defended pure and vndefiled / frome the lecherus lustes of the false prestes and Iudges / Iudith / with moche Ioye and victorye whas delyueryd frome the feyrce violence / and myghty power of all they emnies of god These / and many mo godly ensamples be lefftt in the holy scripture to the great comforth and consolation of them that suffer persecuciō for Christes sake / acording to the saieng of Christ hym selfe Blessed are all they which suffer persecucion for ryghteousnes sake for theyr is the kyngdome of heauen Agayne / as many as will lyue godly in Christe Iesu muste suffer persecution / it is the blessyng of god the swete rodde of correctiō / where wyth all the feathe of the feathfull must ther wyth betryed For evyn as owre lorde and god / doeth all wayes and at all tymes preserue / kepe / and defende his poore persecuted afflicte in al extremites so doeth he caste downe / and neuer rayse vp agayne / all soche that so obstinatly and wilfully resistyth his eternall testament and worde / oppressyng his prechers / and persecutyng Christ / the only sone of god in his members Seyeng now that soche trowble and persecucion chansith all wayes apon the simple and pore afflicte / specially now / in these dangerus perelus seyson let not therfore the wordes of Paul be owte of they remēbrāce of thē that be at liberte / where he sayeth Remēbre them that are in bandes / evyn as though ye were in bandes wich thē and be myndfull off them whiche are in aduersite Lett this shorte an bresse lesson / be suffycient at this tyme to put the / moste Christen reader in remēbrance of some paerte of thy dewty and to render thanckes vnto the lorde for the great strength and power he gaue vnto this Christē prynce to confesse his lord god / before all men hym shalle the lorde cōfesse agayne before the father of heven / the lorde sende vs many soche prynces that wil wyth so redy a mynd defende the lyuely worde of god / deliuer the innocent / cōfute the false accuser / and to conclude to be prest redy to gyue his lyffe for his pore brother To the great discomforth of that hongry horse leche / and bloude thyrsti Romanyst the generation of wome ys never satisfied tyl yt hathe bloud God defende all thē that beleue in hys worde frome ther cruelite / and ylluminate they hertes of all prynces that they maye onest spye and perceyue what kynde of people they be that cause thys great dissencion discorde and warres / now in this trowbelous tyme / and thou I put no dowte but that kyngdome of antichriste / whyche now hangyth by a twyne threde / shall shortly take a falle / the kyngdome of Christe magnyfied amōge all nacyons to the great honor and lawde of god to the consolacion and confort of the wolle Christen congregatiō of Iesu Christe / to whome be praise both now euer AMEN ¶ Printed at Nurenbergh / And translated owt of douche in to Englishe by Myles Couerdale / in the yeare of our Lorde M.D.XLV in the laste of Octobre
Christen / good and euell / wherin also the tares groweth with the wheate vntill the tyme of the haruest Neuertheles this is not an one onely church / but destributed in to many partes for it were vnpossible to haue / in one place an one onely coÌ„gregacioÌ„ of all Christen together / seyng they dwell so farre one from another / be of so sondrie lanhages maners Therfore the Apostles as we do rede / haue in all partes ordyned as many churches / as they thought necessary acording to the nature of the countrees And gaue vnto euery church their peculiar bishoppe / to kepe the lordes flocke whom the also called prest or elder geuyng them a tytle of reputacion / either because of their age / or by reason of their excellent grauyte vertuous conuersacion To such men was coÌ„mitted the care of Christes flock and the mynistracion of gods worde / to rule the people / and to fede the flock of Christ with all As for hye bishope / vnder Christ they knew none They had al like auctorite Euery one had the ouersight of the flock that was coÌ„mitted vnto him But whaÌ„ anye doubte arose / they vsed not to shew it vnto one alone as to the head / or to theÌ„ all which was vnpossible but vnto certeyne who whan they had called vpoÌ„ the name of the lorde / knew in the holy goost / what was to be done / as we maye openly se in the Actes of the Apostles Wherfore me thinketh it a great wonder that euer the church of Rome came in such reputation / that it hath hither to bene taken of many for the head of all churches / yea for the one onely Catholike or vniuersall church coÌ„sidering that in holy scripture it hath no testimonye that maye truly be alledged to any such purpose For we haue declared now allready / that ther is not one onely visible church which thing appeareth euideÌ„tly out of the wordes of Christ / whan he saieth tell it vnto the church Shulde he now runne froÌ„ hierusalem vnto Rome / to tell his brothers faulte Therfore be there many churches or coÌ„gregacions / wherin the children of god in this vayle of misery are myxte amoÌ„g childreÌ„ of the deuel / which incoÌ„uenieÌ„ce also they daylie coÌ„playne of But let vs se with what reasoÌ„s or rater cauillacions / oure aduersary goeth aboute to maynteyne this his Romshe church / his grauÌ„dsyre pope or bishoppe of Rome We reade in the gospell / that Christ asked his disciples who saye ye that I am Peter ansuered sayde thou art the soÌ„ne of the lyuinge god Whervpon Iesus sayde vnto him Blessed art thou Simon Ionas sonne / for fleshe and bloude hath not opened that vnto the / but my father which is in heauen And I saye vnto the Thou art Petrus that is / apperteyning to the stonye rocke and vpon this rocke will I buylde my church / and the gates of hell shal not preuayle agaynst it And I will geue the the keyes of the kyng ome of heaueÌ„ what soeuer thou byndest vpon erthe / shal also be bounde in heauen And what soeuer thou loosest vpon erthe / shal be loosed also in heauen This promes of Christ / which we also beleue stedfastly to be fulfilled / taketh oure aduersary vpoÌ„ him to wraist vnto his opynion How now saieth he dyd not Christ playnlie saye Thou art Petrus / and vpon this rock wil I buylde my church and I will geue the the keyes of the kyngdome of heauen Who I praye the / denyeth that the church is buylded vpon a strong rocke who will not graunt / that the keyes were committed vnto Peter Neuertheles we will seke the true vnderstoÌ„ding of this promes Whan Peter had consessed Christ to be the sonne of the lyuinge god / the lordt sayd vnto him blessed art thou Simon the sonne of Ionas / for fleshe and bloud hath not opened that vnto the but my father which is in heauen Wherby Christ â—s the gifte of god / and commeth of the father of heauen Now foloweth the promes for the faithers sake and I saye vnto the / that thou art Petrus / here geueth he him another name / not Simon Ionas sonne / but Petrus / as one that cleueth or belongeth vnto the rocke And vpon this rocke saieth he wil I buylde my church as though he shulde saye blessed art thow / for asmuch as thorow gods reuelacion / thou coÌ„fessest / that I am the soÌ„ne of the lyuynge god And therfore art thou Petrus / that is / thou belongest vnto the rocke And vpon this rocke whervnto thou eleuest now by thy confession / wil I buylde my church For where as the church of god was norished first in hope of the redempcioÌ„ for to come / and after that the lawe came as a scoolmaster / stode much in outward ceremonies and coÌ„maundemeÌ„tes of the lawe now that the perfecte tyme is come / I wil buylde my church vpon my selfe / as on the strong rock that whosoeuer beleueth in me / shal not perishe / but haue euerlasting life Yf he had sayde Super Petrum / it might happlie haue bene vnderstonde of Peter but seyng he saieth Super haue petram / we will search the scripture / whether this rock maye signifie anye thing els saue onely Christ himselfe It is written beholde / I laye in Sion a stombling stone / and a rocke that meÌ„ shal be offended at And whosoeuer beleueth on him / shal not be confounded which scripture Paul and Peter also declare in maner with the same wordes And in another place saieth Paul they dranke al of the spirituall rocke that folowed them / which rocke was Christ And in the Actes of the Apostles this is the stone that was refused of you buylders / and is become the head couer stone / / nether is ther saluacioÌ„ in anye other Loo / here is a true sufficient interpretacion of this rocke For as the Apostel Paul saieth no man can laye another fundacion then that is layde all ready / namely Christ Iesus This much haue I sayd touching the fundacion of the church Now will we come to the keies And I saieth the lorde wil geue the the keies of the kyngdome of heauen The storie now of the gospell declareth / that this auctorite of the keies / was not geuen onely vnto Peter / but vnto all the Apostles alyke And whan he had so spokon saieth the Euangelist brethed he vpon them / and sayde â–ª receaue ye the holy gost Whose synnes ye forgeue / to them are they forgeuen and whose synnes ye reteyne / to them are they reteyned These are other wordes / then the lorde spake afore vnto Peter alone / and yet is it all one meanyng For what this bynding els saue onely reteyning of synnes And what eles is loosyng / saue onely remytting of synnes Wherfore not onely Peter / but al disciples also yea al such as haue the holy goost / haue
/ seynge they them selues afterward kepte it not Neuertheles they hauynge respecte vnto the tyme / thought to avoyde the offendyng of the weake But whan the gospel was more clearlye come to light / they ceassed frō such commaundmentes as thinges not necessary the verite beyng knowne Euē out of this occasion dyd Paul circumcyse Timothy / wher as neuertheles afterward whan the Iewes wolde nedes haue had him to circumcyse Titus also / he wold not geue place vnto them one houre Euen so me thenketh shulde it he now likewise For though the cuppe of the lorde be witholden from the laye people for certeyne causes which be but trifles / yet now for asmuch as it is euydent to all such as will know it that the memoriall of Christes holy supper was institute by himselfe vnder both the fourmes of bred and wyne / let vs forsake oure owne foolishe intentes / and turne agayne to the infallyble ordynaunce of Christ yea let vs aknowlege / that Christ / who is wyser then all angels or men / dyd not fornaught or without cause ordeyne this remēbraunce vnder both fourmes of bred and wyne and that yf ther were anye daunger for the laye people to haue the vse of the chalyce as our aduersaries make a bablyng ther of he coulde haue knowne it afore well ynough howbeit in the outward vse of the sacrament without faith / consisteth but small saluaciō / as it well hath apeared in the traytour Iudas For as soone as he had receaued this sacramēt with the other disciples at the hande of Christ immediatly went he forth / xecuted his treasō / dispayred / hanged him selfe For yf the outward vse of the bred and wyne were necessary to saluacion / it shuld not go well with thē that maye not awaye with wyne Therfore the right and wholsome remembraunce of the supper of the lorde / is it that is done in faith namely / whā we beleue that the body of Christ was geuen for vs and that his bloude was shed for vs But for asmuch as Christ wolde haue the same remembraunce kepte with outward vsyng of bred an wyne / therefore must so greate a sacrament in nowise belest vnmynistred / but still obserued / acording as Christ himselfe hath ordyned it / wothout all mens inuencions But now will we speake of Purgatory The opynion of Purgatory / I suppose / is taken out of the bokes wrytinges of the Heythen / for asmuch as in the holy scripture of the olde new Testament we haue no maner of recorde for the confirmacion of anye such thing Christ and his Apostles haue taught much and euidently of the eternall saluacion of the faithfull / and damnacion of the vnfaithfull but nothing of purgatory Wherfore I thinke it not nedefull to invoke sore agaynst it / considerynge it is a thing that hath no ground / and must nedes fayl of it selfe Oure aduersary neuertheles had certeyne argumentes / but so feble / and so wyde from the purpose / that I am allmoss ashamed to repete them We rerde in the boke of the Machabeus sent to Ierusalem twelue thousande peces of syluer / to offre for the synnes of the deed / because he had a good and deuoute mynde concernyng the resurrection Now I praye the what doth that to purgatory Who saieth / that it is not a good and deuoute thing to remembre the resurrection And wher as the Authour of the boke addeth these wordes therfore is it an holy and wholso-some cogitacion to praye for the deed / that they might be delyuered from synnes the same wordes do not I so esteme / that they ought to be taken for a certeyne / for asmuch as the authour of the same boke is vnknowne / and the boke it selfe not approuide with any testimony of holy scripture Furthermore / in the gospell / where as Christ counseyleth vs to agree with oure aduersary whyle we are in the waye with him / afore we come to the iudge / left the iudge delyuer us to the officer / and the officer cast vs in presō / whēce thou shalt not come forth saieth Christ till thou hast prayed the vttemost farthing With these wordes will Christ declare / that a gentle agrement is profitable / though it be done with some losse For yf we will not agree with our aduersary by the waye / but feare a litle losse / it is to be feared / that the iudge will cast vs in person / and put vs to sharper payment yea and more intollerable / then perauenture the other was / wherwith oure aduersary wolde haue bene satisfied But the person doth oure aduersary call here purgatory / and that which is spoken cōcernyng the busynesses of this world doth he take vpon him to wrest vnto the world to come / as though a man might feyne out of the wordes of Christ what he list In like mane ralledgeth he the testimonye of S. Paul i. Corintr iij. Wher he saieth / that the fyre shal proue euery mans worke what it is And yf anye mans worke burne / he shall suffre losse but he himselfe shal be saued / neuertheles as thorow the fyre Here expoundeth he fyre to be purgatory / where as S. Paul by a symilitude doth saie / that our workes shal be tried like as gold / syluer / and other metall is tried in the fyre But who can suffre such iuglyng Let him shew vs the leest lettre in the scripture / that playnlie proueth purgatory Yf we must pourge our synnes thorow purgatory / I praye the then for what intēt dyed Christ Wherfore shed he is bloud Yf god be with vs / who will be agaynst vs Who spared not his owne onely sōne / but gaue him for vs all / how shulde he not geue vs all thinges with him Who will accuse the electe of god It is god that maketh them righteous / who will condemne them Now sewe that the faithfull are made aighteous / and shal not be condemned And who is so vngodly as to thinke / that the righteous god doth after this world punishe one vncondemned Let this litle / but trew / be sufficent / to ouerthrow the vayne inuencion of purgatory And what nede was it / with this weake feare of payne / to witdrawe symple people from the holloue of Christ / who neuertheles in this world hath promised trouble euen vnto his faithfull / to make them fele som what of the punishment of mouch synne but after death an whole / frey parfite ioye and saluacion / which we vndowtedly loke for in the blessed hope haue thrust vs downe / and therfore feyned they this horrible bogg of purgatory to the intent that we dispayring in the assured and infinite mercie of god which cometh thorow Iesus Christe / mighte renne to their churches yea to their chistes to be fre from our synnes with vnreasonable money / whose iudginent tarieth not behinde Let noman therfore be moued by those disceatfull