and liuely and not fayned and dead and declare as Dauid speaketh of hymselfe that he is as a trutefull Olyue tree in the house of the Lorde For if righteousnesse come by the lawe then dyed Christe in vayne A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good thinges And an euill man out of euill treasure bringeth forth euill thynges The good treasure is faith euill treasure is vnbelief Either make the tree good and his frute good or elles make the tree euill and hys frute euill The man must be good before he can bring forth good works Fourtenthly Auricular confession is set at nought and no more vsed I aunswere Auricular confession is the inuention of man no where grounded on the worde of God and hath bene the occasion of muche mischiefe in tyme paste Confession of our sinnes to God and to suche as we haue offended the Scripture teacheth and commauÌ„deth but such Auricular and caryshe confession to be made vnto a Priest with all circumstances where when howe with whom howe often c. as the pope commaundeth is no where founde in Gods booke Notwithstandyng we freely permitte and suffer any man that will to go vnto a Godly learned and discrete minister of Gods worde either for doctrine councell or comfort not only in the tyme of Lent but at all tymes of the yeare For it is written The lyps of a Priest kepe knowledge and at hys mouth they shall require the law for he is the Aungell or Embassadour of the Lorde of Hostes Fyftenthly The name of satisfaction is abhorred and counted vnworthy the Christen profession I aunswere To God there is satisfaction â—or sinns but the death of Christ alone as Sainct Iohn saith he Christ is the satisfaction for our sinnes Hereto agreeth the saying of S. Paul God made Christ to be sinne that is a satisfactory sacrifice for sinne which knewe no sinne that we by his meanes should be that righteousnesse whiche before God is allowed God requireth of vs repentaunce fayth and amendement of lyfe when we haue gone astraye but to satisfie the iustice of God for those our sinnes we are not able though al righteousnesse of the whole worlde shoulde be offered vp to God of one man for one sinne that he had committed agaynst God in whose sight the starres are not pure nor the Aungels of heauen free from imperfection if they shoulde be compared with the purenesse and perfection of God Therefore to make satisfaction to GOD for oure sinnes Christe came downe tooke our frayle nature vpon hym dyed for our wickednesses and rose agayne for oure Iustification And thys hys satisfaction is counted oure satisfaction if we beleue in hym as it is written Be it knowen vnto you ye men and brethren that thorowe thys man CHRIST is preached vnto you the forgeuenesse of synnes and that by hym all that beleue are iustifyed from all thynges from the whiche ye coulde not be iustifyed by the lawe of Moses There is an other kynde of satisfaction that concerneth oure neyghboure whome we haue offended eyther in worde or in deede That satisfaction ought in this behalfe to be made no man that feared God denyeth Yea we playnly affirme that whosoeuer hath offeÌ„ded his neighbour and seketh not to be reconciled vnto him by makyng due satisfaction vnto him to the vttermost of his power whether it be in worde or in dede that person is farre from the true Christianitie If the offence be in worde sactisfactioÌ„ must be made in worde If it be in deede then must the satisfaction be made in dede lykewise after the example of Zachee whiche sayd If I haue done any man wrong I restore him foure folde Sixtenthly Free will is denyed to be in vs that we haue no power to do any good I aunswere Our libertie of well willing well doing was lost in AdaÌ„ in whoÌ„ as all we sinned so are al we iustly coÌ„deÌ„ned Before AdaÌ„s fal we had freewill both to will wel and to do well but since his fall all perished in vs that good was and all grewe vp that euill and wicked was as it is writteÌ„ All the imagination of mans heart is only euill euery day Againe the imaginatioÌ„ of mans heart is euill euen from hys youth Hereof doth it manifestly appeare what free will there is in vs to do good or to will good seing that all our imaginations and thoughtes of our heartes are euill and wicked at al tymes eueÌ„ froÌ„ our very youth as the Prophet saieth Leude is the heart of man and vnsearcheable Saint Paule also sayeth that of our selues we be not able somuch as to think a good thought And our Sauiour Christ sayeth Without me ye can doe nothyng Notwithstandyng this we saye that in naturall and humane thynges we haue a certayne choise of will as to eate this or that meate to put on thys or that garment to speake or to kepe silence c. yea and to sinne or to abstayne from the grosse actes of synne as murther adulterye fornication false witnesse bearyng and such lyke whiche notwithstaÌ„ding we muste acknowledge and confesse to be thâ— gift of God as Saint Paule sayeth What hast thou that thou hast not receaued Also Sainct Iames Euery good gift euery perfect gifte is from aboue and come down from the father of lightes But with our whole hearts to asseÌ„t and consent to the holy will of God to accomplyshe and performe the same with such perfection and puritye as the lawe requireth that lyeth not in our power neither can the streÌ„ghts of free will do any thing in this behalfe eyther to wil it or to do it For as Saint Paule saith It is God that worketh in vs both the wil and the deede The regenerate man in Christe hath only this will and this dede as Christ sayth If the Sonne make you free then are you free in deede The naturall man perceaueth not those thinges that belong to the spirite of God Not they whiche are borne of bloud or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man but they that are borne of God haue this freedome Where the spirite of the Lord is there is libertie saith the Apostle Seuententhly Prayer is called lyppe labour I answere Outward prayer pronounced with the lippes without the affectioÌ„ of the heart and consent of the mynde is not onely lyppe labour but also vayne labour not approued but reproued of the Lorde our God as Christ hym selfe witnesseth saying This people draweth nye vnto me with their mouth and honoureth me with their lippes howbeit their hearts are farre from me Uerelye they worshippe me in vayne And to the woman of Samaria he sayd thus The houre commeth and nowe is when the true worshippers shall worshyp the father in spirite and in truth For suche the father also requireth to worship him God is a
of Aungels Martyrs virgins saints yea and of Christ and burnt them in the opeÌ„ market made a law that whosoeuer resisted his procedinges in this behalfe he should suffer death In the yeare of our Lord. 784 Blondus Eutropius Platin. Matth. Palmeâ—us c. Constantine the Emperour kept a couÌ„cell at Constantinople in the which were present a greate number of godly Bishops and other learned men where it was lykewyse decreed that Images should be cast out of Churches and by no meanes be suffred in such places as christen men resorte vnto for to praye vnto their Lorde God In the yere c. 739 Sigesb P. Aemilus Pantal. The noble and Godly Emperours Valens and Theodosius made a law that no man shoulde make or cause to bee made any Image of oure Sauioure Christ neyther by paynting nor by grauyng nor yet by any other waye but that wheresoeuer any such Image shoulde bee found it shoulde vtterlye bee taken awaye and destroyed And whosoeuer woulde attempte to doe contrarye to thys theyr acte they appoynted certayne greuous punyshementes to be executed vpon the transgressoures and breakers thereof as a lawe grounded both vpon the worde of God and vppon the decrees and constitutions of the most worthy aunciente Emperours and reuerende byshops Petrus Crinitus Lib. 9. de honestae disciplina Sabanus King of y e Bulgarians made also the lyke lawe in hys Realme for y e abolyshmente of Images oute of the Churches In the yeare of our Lorde 765. Sabell Mass. Pantal. Philip y e Emperour likewise made a straight lawe for the abolishyng of Images In the yeare of our Lorde 730. Sabel Paulus Diaconus The noble Emperoure Adrian commaunded y t there shuld be no Images set vp in temples or Churches Ioan. Laziardus Calcobertus King of England destroyed in hys Realme when he receaued the faith of Christ all the Idolls poppettes Maumettes and Images that he founde or coulde come by In the yeare of oure Lord. 640. Ioan. Laziard â–ª Vincentius Pope Gregory the fyrst after that he was appoynted Byshop of Rome coÌ„maunded that all the Idolles and Images of the Heathen should vtterlye be defaced theyr heades cutte of and theyr other members in all poyntes mangled and disgraced and so in fine destroyed that no occasion of Idolatry mighte afterwarde be geuen In the yeare of our Lorde 590. Ioan. Laziard Chronica Pope Constantine the second whom the seditious tirannicall and superstitious papistes did afterward violently depose cruelly thrust into a monastery as into a vyle and stincking prison and most vnmercifully put oute hys eyes commaunded that no Christian shuld worship any Image eyther of God or of any Saint or inuocate or call vpon the Uirgine Marye or any other saint in heauen with their prayers but worship God in spirite and truth and call vpoÌ„ his glorious name thorow Iesus Christ our alone Mediatour Aduocate and Intercessoure In the yere c. 769. Ioan. Laziard The Councel Agathense made a decree that there shoulde be no pictures in Churches and that no thyng should be painted on the walles of Churches that is honoured and worshipped In the yeare of oure Lorde 440. Libro Concil Durand The Councell Toletane the twelfth holden in Spayne made constitutions both agaynst Images and agaynst the worshippers of images In the yere c. 712. Chron. Concil The Councell Elibertine likewise holden in Spayne decreed that all pictures should be had out of churches and that nothyng that is honoured or worshipped shoulde be paynted on the church walles In the yeare c. 345. Isidorus Tom. 1. Concil The holy Byshop Epiphanius commyng into a churche to praye sawe a vayle there haÌ„ging wherin was paynted y e image of Christ or of some saint So sone as he saw it he cutte y e Image away and sayd that it is contrarye to the authoritye of the holy scriptures to haue the Image of any man in the Churche of Christ. In the yere of oure Lord. 565. S. Hieronymus Chron. Thys Epystle which the aforesaid holy and godly learned Byshop Epiphanius wrote of thys matter vnto Iohn Byshop of Ierusalem in the Greke toung and Sainte Hierome translated into Latyn and the words are these in Englishe WHen we went forth together vnto the holye place whiche is called Bethel y t we shuld make there a collectioÌ„ for the poore accordyng to the custome of Christs Church came vnto a village which is called Anablatha and as I passed by sawe there a candle burning I demaunded what place it was And when I had learned that it was a Churche I entred into it for to praye where I found a vayle hanging on the dore of the same church dyed paynted and hauing an Image as it were of Christ or of some saint For I do not well remember whose Image it was Therefore when I sawe thys in the church of Christ contrary to the authority of the scriptures that the Image of a man did hang there I cutte it away and gaue rather couÌ„cell to the kepers of y e same place that thei shuld lappe and burye some poore dead man in it But they murmured at the matter and said If he wuld cutte it it wer conuenient that he shoulde geue an other vayle in the steade of the other Which thing wheÌ„ I heard I promised y t I would geue theÌ„ one send it vnto them out of hand But while I sought to send a good vaile for y e other I haue made some delay in the matter For I thought I shuld haue had one sent vnto me froÌ„ Cyprus But now haue I sent such as I could gette and I pray thee y t thou wilt commaunde the priests of the same place to receaue the vayle of the bringer y t we haue sente to geue commaundement y t froÌ„ henceforth no such vayles be hanged vp in y e church of Christ as be contrary to our religion Here thys most Godly byshop with manyfest playne and euident wordes pronounceth and declareth that it is agaynst the holy scripture our religioÌ„ that the Image of Christ shuld be had in the temples of the Christians so far is it of that the Images of any saints ought to be placed in theÌ„ Hereof maye we easely gather that S Hierome also and all the other godly Byshoppes whiche were both before and in hys tyme dyd agree in thys poynte with Epiphanius that the Images of Christe and of the Saintes are by no meanes to bee suffered in the Churches of the Christians For in the tyme of Saint Hierome and certayn yeres after him we do not reade that any Byshop beeing of a sounde and perfect iudgement coulde euer abyde that images should be placed in the temples of such as professe Christ. The Godlye learned Byshop S. Athanasius proueth euidentlye agaynste all Imagemongers that men maye learne to knowe God better by liuyng creatures whether they be
spirite and they that worship hym muste worship hym in spirite and in truth Whatsoeuer is song or said with the mouth so that it brasteth out from the affection of the mynde we affirme to be not only tollerable but also commendable yea pleasaunt and acceptable to God as Dauid sayth I will geue alwayes thankes vnto the Lorde hys prayse shall euer be in my mouth My soule shall make her boaste in the Lorde the humble shall heare therof and be glad O prayse the Lorde with me and let vs prayse hys name together c. O be ioyfull in God all ye landes synge prayses vnto the honoure of hys name make his prayse to be glorious And the Apostle sayeth I will synge with the breath I will sing with the minde I will pray with y e breath I will praye with the minde If the mouth the mynde if the breath the heart if the lippes the spirit go together either in singing or saying It is a most acceptable melody to God highly to be praysed of al good godly meÌ„ This kynde of prayer is greatly coÌ„mended of the people of God as coÌ„trary wise prayer without the affection of the hearte is rather to be reproued than approued refused than receaued condemned than commended Eyghrenthly The holye dayes and solemne feastes whiche of oure Elders were obserued and kepte with hye deuotion and greate reuerence are nowe a dayes neglected and set nought by I aunswere We are free from the obseruation of dayes The Sabboth was made for man and not man for the Sabboth Therfore is the Sonne of man Lord also of the Sabboth A Christen mans Sabboth is euery day and endureth the whole tyme of hys life which is to reste from euill to cease to do hys owne will and to obeye the holy lawe and commaundement of GOD. We are no more tyed and bounde to the obseruation and kepynge of the Iewyshe Sabbothes from the whiche we are made free by Christe the true lyghte whose comming in the flesh expelled all the darke shadowes of Moses lawe as the Apostle sayth Let no man trouble your conscience aboute meate and drinke or for a pece of an holy daye or of the newe Moone or of the Sabboth dayes whiche are shadowes of thynges to come but the body is in Christe Let no man make you shote at a wronge marke c. Suche as yet sticke and abyde in the outwarde obseruation of dayes tymes and meates the Apostle reproueth on thys manner and sayth Now after that ye haue knowen GOD yea rather are knowen of God howe is it that ye turne agayne vnto the weake and beggarlye ordinaunces whereunto agayne ye desyre a freshe to be in bondage Ye obserue monethes and dayes and tymes and yeares I am in feare of you least I haue bestowed on you labour in vayne Agayne If ye be dead with Christ from the ordinaunces of the worlde why as though ye yet liued in the worlde are ye led with traditions Touche not taste not handle not â–ª whiche all perish thorowe the very abuse after the commaundementes and doctrines of men We graunte and confesse that we haue put downe yea and that worthely certayne supersticious Idolatrous holy dayes as the feasts of Thomas Becket that trayterous Rebell of Dunstone that wicked Nichromancer of Austen that superstitious and Popish Monke with such like notwithstanding the SoÌ„dayes and all such feastes as be grounded in the word of God bringyng vnto our remembraunce the actes of Christ and of his Saintes we not supersticiously but freely and religiously obserue and kepe accordyng to the libertie whiche is geuen vs in the Gospell by Christ. Other matters there are wherin the Papystes finde great faulte with the Protestantes whiche may be answered as easely as we haue done these aforesaid For we haue rehearsed the chief principall of what force strength they be who seeth not But forasmuche as they make the simple and ignoraunt people beleue that if these thinges be taken away the whole Religion of Christ falleth downe and vtterlye perisheth the people being persuaded that they are not tryfling traditions of meÌ„ but the graue and weyghtie ordinaunces of God And that therfore as an other Atlas they with their shulders holde vp the olde and auncient Catholyke Religion whiche otherwise would fall to ruine and vtter decay I pitieng and much lamenting the miserable state of the simple blinde and ignoraunt Christians so wretchedly seduced thorowe the suttle and craftye persuasions of these most suttle and craftye hypocrites which being in deede greuous and rauenyng wolues clothe themselues with shepes apparell that they may the easelier make a rauine and spoyle of the Christen flocke I haue thought good to declare and shewe out of Chronicles and Hystories who were the Authors and inuentours of all these tryfling tradicions drowsie dreames and idle inuentions whiche heretofore haue bene counted for true Religion and Gods seruice Agayne at what tyme or yeare of our Lorde euery one of their beggarly ceremonyes were thruste into the Churche that by thys meanes suche as will open their eyes and no more be obstinatly blynde may easely perceaue and see how wickedly the wicked and Popish hypocrites haue in tymes past seduced and receaued the simple poore Christians while they haue made them beleue that whatsoeuer is done in their Churche is diuine seruice and God is hyghlye pleased therwith contrarye to thys saying of Christe They worship me in vayne teaching doctrines whiche are the commaundementes of men and that to leaue these thinges vndone is deadly sinne and worthye great punishement A Priest to rede the Gospell at Masse without candle lyght to receaue the Sacramentall wine without minglyng of water to say Masse abrode without a Superâ—ltare Againe the Lay man to come vnto the Lordes table without shrifte and absolution at the Priests hand not to beare a candle on Candlemasse daye not to take ashes in Lent not to beare Palmes on Palme Sonday not to crepe to the crosse on good Fridaye not to abstayne from fleshe on Fridayes other fasting dayes with a thousand such like was counted a greater offence among the Papistes than to transgresse and breake any of the commaundements of God It may worthily be sayd to them as Christe sayde to the Pharesees and Scribes Well Prophecied Esay of you hypocrites as it is written This people honoureth me with their lippes but their hearte is farre fro me Howbeit in vayne do they serue me teaching the doctrines and commaundementes of men For ye lay the coÌ„maundements of God a part and obserue the constitutions of men c. Ye cast aside the commaundement of God to maintaine your owne constitutions There is almost no constitutions no decree no ceremonye no Papisticall secte nor any other tradition appertaining to Churche ware and Romishe religion whiche I haue not both diligently and painefully sought out of Chronicle writers
y e worship of y e Trinity Set also .iii. candles burning before y e sacrament al y e masse tyme. Fede also three poore men or geue three almesses to the nedye Secondly on y e monday cause a masse to be song or sayde in y e worship of all Aungels Light also .ix. candles in the honoure of the â–ª ix orders of Aungells Fede .ix. pore meÌ„ or geue .ix. almosses Thirdly on y â— twesday cause a masse to be song or sayde in the honoure of S. Spirite and lighten .vii. candles in the worship of the .vii. giftes which he geueth Fede also .vii. poore men or geue .vii. almosses Fourthly on the Wednisday cause a masse to be song or said in the worship of S. Ihon Baptiste and of all the patriarches Light foure candles feede foure poore meÌ„ or geue foure almosses Fiftlye on the Thursdaye cause a Masse to be song or sayde of S. Peter and of the .xii. Apostles Lighten .xii. candles fede .xii. poore men or geue xii almosses Sixtly on the Fryday cause a masse to be song or sayd in the worship of S. Crosse. Lighten .v. candles Feede .v. poore men or geue v. almosses Seuenthly and finally on the Saterday cause a masse to be song or sayde in the honour of our lady and al virgines Lighten v. candles Fede .v. poore meÌ„ or geue v. almosses He y t thus doth truste to it verelye for he shall deliuer shortlye any soule that he will oute of purgatorye Ita est Probatum est Amen Fiat Fiat Iesu mercy Lady helpe Of Trentales for soules departed and howe they firste began THere was somtime at Rome a certaine Pope called Gregory whiche had a mother whome he loued aboue all thinges and chiefly for her goodnesse and vertue It chauÌ„ced thorow misfortune that the aforesaid womaÌ„ was big with child which for feare of her sonne shame of the people wheÌ„ the time of her labour drew nye killed the childe So like did she at an other time also no man knowing of it After ward â—t so chaunced that the aforesayd woman fell sicke and died The Pope and al the people did greatly reioyse of her for they thought her to be a good woman to be saued But afterwarde when the aforesayde Pope song masse he saw iust by him a certain darknesse so that it semed rather night than day and in the same darknesse he behelde a certayne moste miserable creature to whom he said O thou creature I coniure thee in Gods behalfe that thou declare vnto me what thou art She auÌ„swered O most derely beloued sonne I am thy Mother The Pope maruellyng greatlye at the matter sayd vnto her We hoped that thou haddest bene a good woman and placed in the kingdome of Heauen Howe commeth it to passe that thou art now in such payne She opened vnto him all thinges that she had done in this worlde and tolde him y t therfore she suffred such paynes y t the very flames of fyre came oute of the mouth of her The Pope being moued with sorowe and payne of his mother said vnto her O mine owne mother caÌ„ any thing in the world deliuer thee out of this paine She said If any maÌ„ would sing a trentall of masses for me I should be deliuered out of all my paines be saued He said What masses shoulde they be She aunswered Thre masses of y e Natiuity of our lord Thre masses of y e Epiphanie of our lord Three of the Purification of our Lady Thre of the AnnuÌ„ciation of our Lady Thre of the Resurrection of our Lord. Thre of the ascensioÌ„ of our Lord. Thre of Penthecost Three of the Trinitie Thre of the AssuÌ„ption of our Lady and thre of her Natiuitie so y t these masses be celebrated within y e Octaues of y e said feasts as on the first day with the same Kirie eleyson Gloria in excelsis Credo also the same SequeÌ„ce Preface with Communicantes Hane igitur Sanctus and Agnus as it is contained in y e Canon of the Masse also with these prayers folowyng so that the prayers that folowe be sayde with the collecte of the Feast vnder one Oremus and vnder one Per dominum There must also be sayde euery daye thorowout the yeare Placebo and Dirige with ix Psalmes and ix lessons and ix Anthemes excepte it be at the tyme of Easter when it shal be said dayly with thre lessons only The commeÌ„dation also must be sayd as often so that both at Placebo and at Dirige the first collect or prayer shall be Deus summaspes c. also at the commeÌ„dacioÌ„ Againe at the masse of the day y e aforesayd prayer shall be sayde of him that celebrateth the masse thorowout the whole yeare The Collecte shall be alwayes Deus summaspes The secretes Omnipotens sempiterne Deus The post CoÌ„munion Deus cuius misericordia c. If any man wil doe thus much for me quod she I shall be deliuered from my paine And y e sonne said that he would gladly do that for his mother And he commaunded her that she should come againe vnto him at the very same time the yeare folowing All these thynges that she desired were done When the time drewe nighe that y e Pope appointed of her returne the Pope hymselfe song masse and sawe a great light and in it two Aungels commyng downe and a most goodly faire and beautifull Lady betwene them He beyng afraide thought her to be the Queene of Heauen and fell downe at the feete of her â–ª saying O Regina coeli miserere animae matris meae O Queene of Heauen haue mercye on my mothers soule But she aunswered O my most deare sonne I am thy mother Blessed be the houre y t I bare thee For of suche one as thou didst se me in tymes paste hath God made me as thou nowe seest thorowe thy masses and prayers And all they for whom the aforesayd Masses shalbe longe shalbe lykewise saued euen as I am Ex missali manuscripto Anno domini 1354. Of the vertues of the Masse THe masse hath xii vertues as it is specified in a certaine booke called The signification of the Masse imprinted in the Englishe tounge by Robert Wier Cum priuilegio regali ad imprimendum solum The first vertue or frute of the masse is as some doctours do write y t a man doth merite more whiles that he doth beare masse deuoutly than if he should geue for gods sake as muche grounde and lande as he coulde passe go ouer y e space of y e same masse O what may be then deserue which doth heare euery daye .iii. or .iiii. masses And what doth he lese and what compte shall he make afore God at the daye of iudgement whiche hath not so greate businesse but that he may heare one masse at the least euery daye O what shall it greue you that ye haue lost so muche This ye shal