they can not depart they seke a thousand gloses to turne it into an other sense to make it agree vnto their beastlynesse and where it will receaue no such gloses theyr they thinke that no man vnderstandeth it Then in the end of the Chapter M. More coÌ„meth vnto his wise conclusion and proueth nothing saue sheweth his ignoraunce as in all thyng He sayth we beleue the doctrine of the Scripture without Scripture as for an example the Popes pardons because onely that the Church so teacheth though no Scripture confirmeth it Why so because sayth he the holy ghost by inspiration if I doe my endeuour and captiuate mine vnderstandyng teacheth me to beleue the Church concernyng Gods worde taught by the Churche and grauen in mens hartes with out Scripture as well as he teacheth vs to beleue wordes written in the Scripture Marke where hee is now Afore hee saith the Scripture causeth vs not to beleue the Scripture for a man may read it beleue it not And much more the preacher maketh vs not to beleue y e preacher for a man may heare him and beleue him not also As we see the Apostles could not cause all men to beleue them For though the Scripture be an outward instrument and the preacher also to moue meÌ„ to beleue yet the chief and principall cause why a man beleueth or beleueth not is within That is the spirite of God teacheth his children to beleue and the deuill blyndeth his children and kepeth them in vnbeleffe and maketh them to consent vnto lyes thinke good euill euill good As the Actes of the Apostles say in many places there beleued as many as were ordeyned vnto euerlastyng lyfe And Christ sayth Iohn viij they that be of God heare Gods word And vnto the wicked Iewes he saith ye caÌ„ not beleue because ye be not of God And in the same place sayth he ye be of your father the deuill and his will ye will do and he bode not in the truth therfore will not suffer his children to consent to the truth And Iohn in y e x. saith Christ all that came before me be theeues murtherers but my shepe heard not theyr voyces That is all that preach any saluatioÌ„ saue in Christ murther y e soules Howbeit Christes shepe could not consent to their lyes as the rest caÌ„ not but beleue lyes so that there is euer a remanaunt kepte by grace And of this I haue sene diuers examples I haue knowen as holy men as might be as the world counteth holynesse which at the houre of death had no trust in God at all but cryed cast holy water light the holy candell and so forth sore lamentyng that they must dye And I haue knowen other which were despised as men that cared not for their diuine seruice which at death haue falsen so flat vppon the bloud of Christ as is possible and haue preached vnto other mightyly as it had bene an Apostle of our Sauiour and comforted them with comfort of the lyfe to come haue dyed so gladly that they would haue receaued no worlds good to bide still in the flesh And thus is M. More fallen vpoÌ„ predestination and is compelled wish violence of Scripture to confesse that which he hateth and studieth to make appeare false to stablish freewill with all not so much of ignoraunce I feare as for lucres sake and to get honour promotioÌ„ dignitie and money by helpe of our mitred monsters Take exaÌ„ple of Balam the false Prophet which gaue counsell sought meanes through like blynd couetousnesse to make the truth and prophesie which God had shewed him false He had the knowledge of y e truth but with out loue therto and therfore for vauntage became enemy vnto the truth but what came of hym But M. More pepereth his conclusioÌ„ lest men should feele the tast saying if we endeuour our selues and captiue our vnderstandyng to beleue O how betleblynd is fleshly reason the will hath none operation at all in the workyng of fayth in my soule no more then the child hath in the begettyng of hys father For sayth Paule it is the gift of God and not of vs. My witte must coÌ„clude good or bad yer my will can loue or hate My witte must shew me a true cause or an apparent cause why yer my will haue any workyng at all And of that peperyng it well appeareth what the Popes fayth is euen a blynd imagination of their naturall witte wrought without the light of the spirite of God agreing vnto their voluptuous lustes in which their beastly wil so deliteth that hee will not let their wittes atteÌ„de vnto any other learning for vnquietyng hym selfe and styrring from his pleasure and delectation And thus we be as farre a sunder as euer we were and his mighty argumentes proue not the value of a poding pricke M. More feeleth in his hart by inspiration and with his endeueryng him self and captiuatyng his vnderstandyng to beleue it that there is a Purgatory as whot as hell Wherein if a sily soule were appointed by God to lye a thousand yeares to purge him with all the Pope for the value of a groat shall commaunde him thence ful purged in the twinkelyng of an eye by as good reason if her were goyng thence kepe him there still He feeleth by inspiration and in captiuatyng hys wittes that the Pope can worke wonders with a Caiues skinne that he can commaunde one to eate fâ—esh though he be neuer so lusty and that an other eate none on payne of daÌ„natioÌ„ though he should dye for lacke of it and that he can forgeue sinne and not the payne as much and as litle of the payne or all if he lust and yet can neither helpe hym to loue the law or to beleue or to hate the flesh seyng he preacheth not And such thinges innumerable M. More feleth true and therfore beleueth that the Pope is the true Church And I cleane coÌ„trary fele that there is no such worldly and fleshly imagined Purgatory For I feele that the soules be purged onely by the word of God doctrine of Christ as it is written Iohn xv ye be cleane through the word saith Christ to his Apostles And I feele agayne that he which is cleane through the doctrine needeth not but to washe his feete onely for his head handes are cleane all ready Iohn xiij that is he must tame his flesh kepe it vnder for his soule is cleane all ready through the doctrine I feele also that bodyly payne doth but purge the body onely in so much that the payne not onely purgeth not the soule but maketh it more foule except that there be kynde learning by to purge the soule so that the more a maÌ„ beateth his soÌ„ne the worse he is except he teach him louingly shew him kindnesse besides partly to kepe hym from
the saints y t worshyp to stockes and stones that we should geue to God Math. 4. Glosâ— de coÌ„sec Dist. 3. c. venerabiles The blindnes ignoraunce of the malicious Papistes Math. 27. De media villa 4. sent A papistical reason well aunswered confuted An other Papisticall reason Iohn 4. Actes 19. Iob. 5. Papistes are wresters of the scriptures of God Psal 150. A foolishe papisticall argument well aunswered A foolishe reason of y e papistes Ad. Ro. c. 1. De consec Dist 3. c. perlatum Images are no more to bee worshipped theÌ„ the bookes that learned men reade 1. Tim. 1. Doctour Barnes conclusion A bold chalâ—nge of Doctour Barnes The Papistes lye manifestly displayed Iames Basil falsesied by the Papistes In regist lib. ca. 63. The simplicitie of celebratyng the communion in the primatiue Gayne and aduauntage maketh the Masse to bee the better loued of Papistes Cronic cro Fâ—sci temp Introitus Kirieleyson Diesque nostros Pater noster Fasc temp Orationes Tractus Cronic cro Gloria in excelsis Cronic cro Cronic cro Fasci temp Nicene Creede Bern. Abbas de officio Missa Cronic cro Fasâ—â— temp Sanctus Ratio di Cronic cro Fasci temp Doct. CraÌ„tz Fasci temp Sanctum sacrificium Croni cro Fasci temp Quorum solemnitas Cronic cro Cronic cro Ratio diui Qui pridiâ— quam pateretur Fasci temp Agnus Dei. Cronic cro Ambr. ad Rom. 3. Ambr. super Rom. 4. Super Rom. 2. Atha super Galat. 3. Aug. in prolâ— psal 31. De spiri lit cap. 12. â—3 quest c. 76. De spiri lit Super can â–ª ser 67. 2. quest 7. non omnes Episcopi De verb. Domi. ser 50. August ser 〈◊〉 de tempere â—yranus in Mat. cap. 〈◊〉 August de verbus Apostole ser 19. Augustinus De con D. D. 4. c. primaâ—gitur De penâ— Dis 2. Si in glosâ— 23. q. 1. Arecta iâ— glosa Hiero. in M. c. 16. August ser 〈◊〉 de sane Chriso in M. c. 15. Dâ— doctr christia li. 1. c. 15. 18. Super 〈◊〉 Origenes Super. M. Hâ— 1. Super Ioan. Trâ—… 124. c. 21. In M. c. 23. Li. de Cain Abeâ—â— Chriso s 6. de anathemate 24. q. 〈◊〉 Quodâ—uÌ„que Super Ioannem tract lxxi Barnarde lib. arbit In Enche ca. 29. De verbis Apost serâ—… De verbis Demi ser xv De verbis Apost ser xiij De temp ser lxiij De lib. arb cap. xvi De lib. arb cap. xvi De predest Cap. 8. August de verb. Apost sent xiij August Super Ioannem tract lxxxviij August ad fratres s 38. In Epis ad Ephes c. 6. In Gen. c. 9 hom 28. In Mat. c. 1. hom 2. In proâ—e In Epist. ad Ephes Li. 1. Di. 38. cap. Si iuxta 7. Sinod c. Omnes et di 38. 1. Cor. 7. 1. Tim. 4. 1. Cor. 8. Roma 15. Super Ioan. Tract 46. Hilarius in Mat. Cano. 14. Ad Paul Epist. 59. Epi. ad râ— propo 72. Ad Cornelium PapaÌ„ Ecclesiastica hist De consecr â–ª di 2. c. comperimus De consecr di 2. c. cum frangimus De consecr de 2. c. Si quocâ—esâ—umque Athanasius super 1. Cor. 7. Ciprian Epist 11. Aug. de bono coniugali ad Iulianum Ambro. 32. quest cap. 1 Integriâ—as Hie. d. 37. cap. Legans Ex tripertita historia Dist. xxxi ca. Niceâ—a Canon Apost Consilium Gangrens Canon 4. 6. Sinodus Dist xxviij c. Diaconi De vita honest clericorum Magister SeÌ„tentiarum lib. ij Dist xx Extra lib. i de filijs presbyterum c. Ad hac Ibidem cap. Litteras Imperator Constan lege Omnis Pa. Ad perangariam Codice de Epis â—le Ex tripertita historia lib. 9. cap. xxxviij Li iiij ca. xxiij Penitus Dionisius Eccle. hist lib. v. cap. xxiiij Exod. 20. Deut. 5. Esay 44. Abacuc 6. Deut. 13. Libro 5. ad Iacob Clemens in codem libro De vera reli ca. vlti Super Dani Roma 8. That we ought not to pray to Saintes 1. Iohn 2. Roma 8. 1. Cor. 1. Iohn 14. Iohn 14. Iohn 16. Iaco. 1. Psal 119. Psal 120. August de vera relig cap. vlti Apoc. 19. and. 22. Mat. 15. tom 6. ho. de profect Euange Chri. To. 6. ho. de profectu enangeliorum Ad Ro. c. 1. De electio 〈◊〉 significa Augustinus de bap li. 2. c. 3. contra Donatistas xxxiij q. ij Inter haec â—…iij q. viij Conueniter Origene Rom. 13. Dist 10. ca. Quoniam Super Gulat 4. All dayes bee a lyke Epist. c. 19. Aduersus Iudeos De consec dist 3. cap. peruenit Esay the last Math. 12. Collos 2. Galat. 4. 〈◊〉 Cor. 6. Math. 5. Athanasius S. Hiero. ad Cor. 6. Haymo ad Cor. 6. Luke 6. Psal 31. A publike offender ought to make publike satisfaction Secret offences require no secret confession for remission of them to necessitie for saluation Auricular confession is not necessary to saluation Is not this offensiue to godly eares slaunderous seditious and contumelious agaynst our fathers of the Churche What is a reproche if thys bee not Doe not the Byshoppes and Priestes vnderstand this place so manifest But pride and worldly pompe Iudas gayne maketh them as blynd as bittles to see any trueth To the fire to the fire with hym without any farther hearyng for wee must not dispute with heretickes And this felow is an notorious hereticke for hee sayth that all y e faythfull bee Peters successours whiche if it shoulde bee so let passe y t ChristiaÌ„s will come and take awaye your place and dignitie Wherfore you will deny him in this place because hee teacheth agaynst the determination of the Church O you Inquisitours of heresie awake it is brodeÌ„ day you sleepe to long Here you haue the originall of your secret confession whiche the Church of God knew not by the space of 300. yeares I say not this as vtterly condemning it yea rather as approuyng it but I doe teach it not to bee necessary to our saluation A notorious exaÌ„ple what mischief commeth by the single lyfe of the Clergy men Doth hee not here lyuely set forth our holy MoÌ„kes What maner of fast is yours who fare so deÌ„tely with your fishe who would not rather fast with you and to eate of a turbate theÌ„ with vs to eate porke or baken coÌ„pare one excesse to the other yet forsoth doe you seme to fast Beholde how manifestly by this Councell not y t eaters of flesh but the superstitious abstainers are counted heretickes Prou. 26. So you dâ— here condemne those for heretickes whoÌ„ Christe crowneth for saintes And you onely cast out y t faithfull and beleeuyng but whoremoÌ„gers and adulterers you blesse For if you should cast out all theÌ„ your church would bee but small
haue vowed that sauyng commeth of the Lord. For verely to confesse out of the hart that all benefites come of GOD euen out of the goodnesse of his mercie and not deseruing of our dedes is the onely sacrifice that pleaseth God And to beleue that all the Iewes vowed in their Circumcision as we in our Baptisme Whiche vowe Ionas now beyng taught with experience promiseth to pay For those outward sacrifices of beastes vnto which Ionas had happely ascribed to much before were but feble and childish thinges and not ordeined that the workes of them selues should be a seruice vnto the people but to put them in remembraunce of this inward sacrifice of thankes and of faith to trust and beleue in GOD the onely Sauiour whiche signification when it was away they were abhominable and deuilishe Idolatrie and Image seruice as our ceremonies and Sacramentes are become now to all that trust and beleue in the worke of them and are not taught the significations to edify their soules with knowledge and the doctrine of God When Ionas was cast vpon lande agayn then his will was free and had power to go whether God sent hym and to do what GOD bade his owne Imaginations layd a part For he had bene at a new schole yea and in a fornace where hee was purged of much refuse and drosse of fleshely wisedome whiche resisted the wisedome of God and led Ionasses will contrary vnto the will of God For as farre as we be blinde in Adam we can not but seke and will our owne profite pleasure glory And as farre as we be taught in the spirite we can not but seke and wil the pleasure and glory of God onely And as the iij. dayes iorney of Niniue whether it were in length or to go round about it or thorough all the stretes I commit vnto y t discretion of other men But I thinke that it was then the greatest Citie of the world And that Ionas went a dayes iourney in the Citie I suppose hee did it not in one day but went faire and easyly preachyng here a Sermon and there another and rebuked the sinne of the people for which they must perish And when thou art come vnto the repentauÌ„ce of the Niniuites there hast thou sure earnest that how soeuer angry God be yet he remembreth mercy vnto all that truly repent and beleue in mercy Whiche ensample our Sauiour Christe also casteth in the teeth of the indurate Iewes saying The Niniuites shall rise in iudgemeÌ„t with this nation and condemne them for they repented at the preachyng of Ionas and behold a greater then Ionas here meanyng of him selfe At whose preachyng yet thoughe it were neuer so mightie to pearce the hart and for all his miracles thereto the hard harted Iewes could not repent when the heathen Niniuites repeÌ„ted at the bare preachyng of Ionas rebukyng their sinnes without any miracle at all Why For the Iewes had leuened the spirituall law of God with their gloses had made it altogether earthly and fleshly and so had set a vaile or coueryng on Moses face to shadow and darken the glorious brightnes of hys countenaunce It was sinne to steale but to robbe widowes houses vnder a colour of long praying and to polle in the name of offerynges and to snare y t people with intollerable constitutions agaynst all loue to catche theyr money out of theyr purses was no synne at all To smite father and mother was sinne But to withdraw helpe from them at theyr nede for blynde zeale of offring vnto the profite of y e holy pharises was then as meritorious as it is now to let all thy kinne chuse whether they wil sincke or swimme while thou buildest and makest goodly foundations for holy people whiche thou hast chosen to be thy Christ for to supple thy soule with y t oyle of their swete blessinges and to be thy Iesus for to saue thy soule from the purgatory of the bloud that onely purgeth sinne with their watching fasting wolward goyng rising at midnight c. wherwith yet they purge not themselues from their couetousnes pride lechery or any vice that thou seest among the lay people It was great sinne for Christ to heale the people on the sabaoth day vnto the glory of God hys father but none at all for them to helpe their cattell vnto their owne profite It was sinne to eate with vnwashed handes or on an vnwashed table or out of an vnwashed dishe but to eate out of that purified dishe that whiche came of bribery thefte and extortion was no sinne at all It was exceeding meritorious to make many disciples but to teach theÌ„ to feare God in hys ordinaunces had they no care at all The hye Prelates so defended the right of holy church and so feared the people with the curse of God and terrible paynes of hell that no man durst leaue the vilest herbe in his garden vntithed And the offeringes and thinges dedicate vnto GOD for the profite of his holy vicars were in such estimatioÌ„ and reuerence that it was a much greteâ— sinne to sweare truly by them then to forsweare thy selfe by God What vengeaunce then of God and how terrible and cruell damnation thynke ye preached they to fall on them that had stolen so the holy thinges And yet sayth Christ that righteousnes fayth in kepyng promise mercy and indifferent iudgement were vtterly troden vnder foote and clean despised of those blessed fathers whiche so mightelye maintained Aarons patrimony and had made it so prosperous and enuironed it and walled it about on euery side with the feare of God that no maÌ„ durst touche it It was great holines to garnish the Sepulchers of the prophetes and to condemne their owne fathers for slaying of them and yet were they themselues for blynde zeale of their owne constitutions as redy as their fathers to slea whosoeuer testified vnto them the same truth which the prophets testified vnto their fathers So y t Christ compareth al the righteousnes of those holy patriarckes vnto the outwarde beauy of a painted Sepulcher full of stenche and all vncleannes within And finally to beguile a maÌ„s neighbors in subtle bargaining to wrap and compasse hym in with cautels of the law was then as it is now in the kyngdome of the Pope By the reason wherof they excluded the law of loue out of their hartes and consequently all true repentaunce for how coulde they repent of that they could not see to be sinne And on the other side they had set vp a righteousnes of holy workes to cleÌ„se their soules with all as the Pope sanctifieth vs with holy oyle holy bread holy salte holy candels holy dome ceremonies and holy dome blessinges with whatsoeuer holines thou wilt â—aue with the holines of Gods worde which onely speaketh vnto the harte and sheweth the soule hys filthinesse and vncleannes of synne and leadeth her
do no good worke freely without respect of some profit either in this world or in the world to come neither coulde we haue spirituall ioye in oure hartes in time of affliction and mortifiyng of the flesh Good workes are called the fruites of the spirite Gal. 5. for the sprite worketh them in vs and sometyme fruites of righteousnes as in the second Epistle to the Cor. and 9. chapter before all workes therfore we must haue a righteousnes within the hart the mother of all workes frō whēce they spring The righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharises of them that haue y ◠spirite of this world is y t glorious shew outward shining of workes But Christ sayth to vs Mar. 5. except your righteousnes exceede the righteousnes of the scribes Pharises ye cānot enter into the kingdome of heauen It is righteousnes in y t world if a mā kyl not But a Christen perceiueth righteousnesse if he loue his enemy euen when he suffreth persecution and torment of him and the paines of death and mourneth more for his aduersaries blindnesse then for his owne payne and prayeth God to open his eyes and to forgeue hym his sinnes as dyd Steuen in the Actes of the Apostles the vij Chapter and Christ Luke xxiij A Christen considereth him selfe in the law of GOD and there putteth of him all maner righteousnes For the law suffereth no merites no deseruynges no righteousnes neither any mā to be iustified in the sight of God The law is spirituall and requireth y t hart and commaundements to be fulfilled with such loue and obedience as was in Christ If any fulfill all that is the will of God with such loue and obedience the same may be bold to sell pardons of his merites and els not A Christen therfore when he beholdeth hym selfe in the law putteth of all maner righteousnes deseruinges and merites and mekely and vnfaynedly knowledgeth his sinne miserie his captiuitie and bondage in the flesh his trespasse and gilte and is thereby blessed with the poure in spirite Math. v. Chap. Then he morneth in his hart because he is in such bondage that he can not do the will of God and is an hungred and a thyrst after righteousnes For righteousnesse I meane which springeth out of christes bloud for strength to do the wil of God And turneth him selfe to the promises of God desireth him for his great mercy and truth and for the bloud of hys sonne Christ to fulfill his promises to geue him strēgth And thus his spirit euer prayeth within him He fasteth also not one day for a weke or a Lent for an whole yeare but professeth in his hart a perpetuall sobernes to tame the flesh and to subdue the body to the spirite vntil he waxe strong in the spirite and grow ripe into a full righteousnes after the fulnes of Christ And because this fulnes happeneth not till the body be slayne by death a Christen is euer a sinner in the law and therfore fasteth and prayeth to God in the spirite the world seyng it not Yet in y ◠promises he is euer righteous thorough fayth in Christ and is sure that he is heire of all Gods promises the spirite which he hath receaued in earnest bearyng him witnes his hart also and his dedes testifying the same Marke this then To see inwardly that y t law of God is so spirituall that no flesh can fulfill it And then for to morne and sorrow and to desire yea to hunger and thyrst after strength to do the wil of God from the ground of the hart and notwithstandyng all the sutlety of the deuil weakenes and feblenes of the flesh and wondryng of the world to cleaue yet to y t promises of God and to beleue that for Christes bloud sake thou art receaued to the inheritaūce of eternall lyfe is a wonderfull thyng and a thyng that the world knoweth not of but who soeuer feleth that though he fall a thousand tymes in a day doth yet rise agayne a thousand tymes and is sure that the mercy of God is vpon hym IF ye forgeue othermen their trespasses your heauēly father shal forgeue you yours Mat. in the vj. Chap. if I forgeue God shall forgeue me not for my dedes sake but for his promises sake for his mercy truth and for the bloud of hys son Christ our Lord. And my forgeuing certifieth my spirite that God shal forgeue me yea y t he hath forgeuē me already For if I consent to y t will of God in my hart though thorough infirmitie and weakenes I can not do the will of GOD at all tymes moreouer though I can not do the wil of God so purely as the law requireth it of me yet if I see my faulte mekely knowledge my sinne wepyng in myne hart because I cā not do the will of God and thyrst after strēgth I am sure that y t sprite of God is in me his fauour vpon me For the world lusteth not to do the will of God neither soroweth because he can not though he sorrow some tyme for feare of y ◠paine that he beleueth shall folow He that hath the spirite of this world can not forgeue without amendes makyng or a greater vauntage If I forgeue now how cōmeth it veryly because I feele the mercy of God in me For as a man feeleth God to him selfe so is he to his neighbour I know by mine owne experience that all flesh is in bondage vnder sinne and cā not but sinne therfore am I mercyfull and desire God to loose the bondes of sinne euen in mine enemy GAther not treasure together in earth c. Math. vj. But gather you treasure in heauen c. Let not you◠hartes be glued to worldly thynges studie not to heape treasure vpon treasure and riches vpon riches but study to bestow well that whiche is gotten already and let your abundaunce succour the lacke and neede of the power which haue not Haue an eye to good workes to which if ye haue lust and also power to do them then are ye sure that the spirite of God is in you and ye in Christ elect to the reward of eternal life which foloweth good workes But looke that thine eye be single and robbe not Christ of his honour ascribe not that to y t deseruyng of thy workes which is geuen the freely by the merites of his bloud In Christ we are sonnes In Christ we are heires In Christ god chose vs and elected vs before the begynning of the world created vs a new by the word of the Gospell and put his spirite in vs for because we should do good workes A Christē man worketh because it is the will of his father onely If we do no good worke nor be mercyfull how is our lust therin If we haue no lust to do good workes how is Gods spirite in vs If the spirite of God
When they sent to Iohn asking him whether he were Christ he denied it When they asked him what he was and what he sayd of himselfe he aunswered not I am he that watcheth prayeth drinketh no wine nor strong drinke eateth neyther fishe nor fleshe but liue wyth wilde hony and Grashoppers and weare a coate of camels heare and a gyrdle of a skinne but sayd I am a voyce of a cryar My voyce onely pertaineth to you Those outward things which ye wonder at pertayne to my selfe onely vnto the taming of my bodye To you am I a voyce onely and that which I preach My preaching if it be receaued into a penitent or repenting hart shall teach you how to liue and please God according as God shall shed out his grace on euery man Iohn preached repentaunce saying prepare y ◠Lordes way and make his pathes straight The Lordes way is repentaunce and not hipocrisy of mans imagination inuention It is not possible y t the Lord Christ should come to a man except he know himselfe and his sinne truely repent Make his pathes straight the pathes are the lawe if thou vnderstād it a right as God hath geuen it Christ sayth in the xvij of Mat. Helias shall first come that is shall come before Christ and restore all things meaning of Iohn Baptist Iohn Baptist did restore the law and the Scripture vnto the right sence vnderstanding which the Pharises partly had darckned and made of none effect thorough their owne traditions Math. xv where Christ rebuketh them saying why transgresse ye the commaundementes of God thorough your traditions and partly had corrupt it with gloses and false interpretations that no mā could vnderstand it Wherefore Christ rebuketh them Mat. 23. saying wo be to you Pharises hipocrites which shut vp the kingdome of heauen before mē ye enter not your selues neither suffer them that come to enter in and partly did beguile the people and blinde their eyes in disguising themselues as thou readest in the same 23. chap. how they made broade and large Philacteries and did all their workes to be seene of men that the people should wonder at their disguisinges and visuring of themselues otherwise then God had made them and partly mocked them with hipocrisy of false holines in fasting praying and almes geuing Mat. 6. and this did they for lucre to be in authoritie to sitte in the consciences of people and to be counted as God him selfe that people shoulde trust in their holynes and not in God as thou readest in the place aboue rehearsed Mat. 23. wo be to you Pharises hipocrites which deuoure widowes houses vnder a colour of long prayer Counterfet therfore nothing without y t worde of God whē thou vnderstandest that it shall teach thee all thinges how to applie outwarde thinges and whereunto to referre them Beware of thy good entent good mynde good affection or zeale as they call it Peter of a good minde and of a good affection or zeale chidde Christ Math. 16. because he sayde that he must goe to Hierusalem and there be slayne But Christ called him Satan for his labour a name that belongeth to the deuil And sayde that he perceaued not godly thinges but worldly Of a good entent and of a feruēt affection to Christ the sonnes of Zededei would haue had fire to come downe from heauen to consume the Samaritans Luk. 9. But Christ rebuked them saying that they wist not of what sprite they were that is that they vnderstoode not how that they were altogether worldly fleshly mynded Peter smote Malchus of a good zeale but Christ condemned his deede The very Iewes of a good entēt and of a good zeale slew Christ and persecuted the Apostles as Paule beareth them recorde Rom. x. I beare them recorde sayth he that they haue a feruent mynde to Godward but not according to knowledge It is an other thing then to do of a good minde and to do of knowledge Labour for knowledge that thou mayest know Gods will and what he would haue thee to doe Our mynde entent and affection or zeale are blinde and all that we do of them is damned of god and for that cause hath God made a testament betwene him and vs wherin is cōteyned both what he would haue vs to do and what he would haue vs to aske of him See therefore that thou do nothing to please God withall but that he commaundeth neither aske any thing of him but that he hath promised thee The Iewes also as it appeareth Act. vij slew Steuē of a good zeale because he proued by the scripture that God dwelleth not in Churches or temples made wyth handes The Churches at the beginning were ordeyned that the people shoulde thether resorte to heare the word of God there preached onely and not for the vse wherein they now are The temple wherein God will be worshipped is the hart of man For God is a spirite sayth Christ Ioh. 4. and will be worshipped in y t spirite in truth that is when a penitent hart consenteth vnto the lawe of God and with a strong fayth lōgeth for the promises of God So is God honored on al sides in that we count him righteous in all his lawes and ordinaunces and also trust in all his promises Other worshipping of God is there none except we make an Idoll of him IT shal be recompensed thee at the rising agayne of the righteous Lu. xiiij Reade the text before and thou shalt perceaue that Christ doth here that same that he doth Math. v. that is he putteth vs in remembraunce of our dutie that we be to the poore as Christ is to vs and also teacheth vs how that we can neuer know whether our loue be right and whether it spring of Christ or no as long as we are but kinde to them onely which do as much for vs againe But and we be mercifull to the poore for conscience to God and of compassion and harty loue which compassion loue spring of the loue we haue to God in Christ for the pure mercy and loue that he hath shewed on vs then haue we a sure token that we are beloued of God and washed in Christes bloud and elect by Christes deseruing vnto eternall life The scripture speaketh as a father doth to his young sonne do this or that and then will I loue thee yet the father loueth his sonne first and studieth with all his power and witte to ouercome his childe with loue and with kindnes to make him do that which is comely honest and good for it selfe A kynde father and mother loue their children euen when they are euill that they would shed their bloud to make them better and to bring thē into the right way And a naturall childe studieth not to obtayne his fathers loue with workes but considereth with what loue his father loueth him with all
nothing but as the father moueth it euen so hath God all tyrantes in hys hande and letteth them not do whatsoeuer they would but as much onely as he appoynteth them to do and as far forth as it is necessarye for vs. And as when the childe submitteth himselfe vnto hys fathers correction and nurture and humbleth himself altogether vnto the will of his father theÌ„ the rod is taken away euen so when we ar come vnto the knowledge of the right waye and haue forsaken our owne will and offer our selues cleane vnto the will of God to walke which way soeuer he will haue vs then turneth he the tyrantes or els if they enforce to persecute vs any further he putteth them out of the way according vnto the comfortable ensamples of the scripture Moreouer let vs arme our soules with the promises both of helpe and assistance and also of the glorious rewarde that followeth Great is your reward in heaueÌ„ sayth Christ Math. 5. And he that knowledgeth mee before men him will I knowledge before my father that is in heauen Math. 10. and Call on me in time of tribulation and I wyll deliuer thee Psal 65. and Beholde the eyes of the Lord are ouer them thet feare hym and ouer them that trust in hys mercy to deliuer theyr soules from death and to feede them in time of hunger Psal 46. And in Psal 47. sayth Dauid The Lorde is nygh them that are troubled in theyr hartes and the meeke in spirite will he saue The tribulations of the righteous are many and out of them all will the Lord deliuer them The Lord keepeth al the bones of them so that not one of theÌ„ shall be brused The Lord shal redeeme the soules of his seruauntes And of such like consolation are all the Psalmes full woulde to God when ye read them ye vnderstood them And Math. 10. When they deliuer you take no thought what ye shall say it shall be geuen you the same houre what ye shall say for it is not ye that speake but the spirite of your Father which speaketh in you The very heares of your heades are numbred saith Christ also Math. 10. If God care for our heares he much more careth for our soules which he hath sealed with his holy spirite Therefore sayth Peter 1. Pet. 4. Cast all your care vppon him for he careth for you And Paule 1. Cor. 10. sayeth God is true he wil not suffer you to be tempted aboue your might And Psal 71. Cast thy care vpon the Lord. Let thy care be to prepare thy selfe with all thy strength for to walke which way he will haue thee and to beleue that he will goe with thee assist thee and strengthen thee agaynst all tyraÌ„tes deliuer thee out of al tribulatioÌ„ But what way or by what meanes he will do it that committe vnto him and his godly pleasure and wisedome and cast that care vpon him And though it seeme neuer so vnlikely or neuer so impossible vnto naturall reason yet beleue stedfastly that he will do it and then shall he according to his olde vse chainge the course of the worlde euen in the twinckling of an eye and come sodenly vpon our Gyantes as a theefe in the night and coÌ„passe them in their wyles and worldly wisedome when they crye peace all is safe then shall theyr sorrowes beginne as the panges of a woman that traueileth with childe and then shall he destroy them and deliuer thee vnto the glorious prayse of hys mercy and truth Amen ANd as pertayning vnto them that despise Gods worde counting it as a phantasie or a dreame and to them also that for feare of a little persecution fall from it sette this before thyne eyes how God since the beginning of the world before a generall plague euer sent his true prophetes preachers of his word to warne the people and gaue them time to repent But they for the greatest part of theÌ„ hardened theyr hartes and persecuted the worde that was sent to saue them And then God destroyed them vtterly and tooke them cleane from the earth As thou seest what followed the preaching of Noe in y â— olde world what folowed the preaching of Loth among the Sodomites the preachyng of Moses and Aaron among the Egiptians and that sodenly against all possibilitie of mans witte Moreouer as ofte as the children of Israell fel from God to the worshipping of images he sent his prophets vnto them and they persecuted and waxed harde harted and then he sent them into all places of the world captiue Last of all he sent his owne sonne vnto them and they waxed more hard harted then euer before And see what a fearefull example of his wrath and cruel vengeance he hath made of them vnto all the worlde now almost fifteene hundred yeares Vnto the olde Brittaines also which dwelled where our natioÌ„ doth now preached Gildas and rebuked them of theyr wickednes and prophesied both vnto the spirituall as they will be called and vnto the lay men also what vengeaunce would follow except they repented But they waxed hard harted and God sente his plagues and pestilences among them and sent theyr enemies in vppon them on euery side destroyed them vtterly Marke also how Christ threateneth theÌ„ that forsake him for whatsoeuer cause it be whether for feare eyther for shame eyther for losse of honour frendes lyfe or goodes â–ª He that denyeth me before men him will I deâ—y before my father that is in heauen He that loueth father or mother more then me is not worthy of me all thys he sayth Math. 10. And in Mark 8. he sayth Whosoeuer is ashamed of me or my wordes among this adulterous and sinfull generation of him shall the sonne of man be ashamed when he commeth in the glory of his father with his holy Angels And Luk. 9. also None that layeth his hande to the plowe and looketh backe is meete for the kingdome of heauen Neuerthelesse yet if any man haue resisted ignorantly as Paule did let him looke on the truth which Paule wrote after he came to knowledge Also if any man cleane against his hart but ouercome with the weaknes of the flesh for feare of persecution haue denied as Peter did or haue deliuered his booke or put it away secretly let him if he repente come again and take better hold and not dispayre or take it for a signe that God hath forsaken him for God ofttimes taketh hys strength euen froÌ„ his very elect wheÌ„ they either trust in theyr own strength or are negligent to call to him for his strength And that doth hee to teach theÌ„ to make theÌ„ feele that in that fire of tribulatioÌ„ for his wordes sake nothing can endure and abide saue his word and that streÌ„gth onely which he hath promised For the which strength he will haue vs to praye vnto him night and day wyth all
also no longer obey but resiste and rise agaynst their euill heades And one wicked destroyeth an other Yet is Gods word not the cause of this neither yet the preachers For though that Christ hym selfe taught all obedience how that it is not lawfull to resiste wrong but for the officer that is appointed thereunto and howe a man must loue his very enemy pray for them that persecute him and blesse them that curse hym and how that all vengeaunce must bee remitted to God and that a man must forgeue if hee wil be forgeuen of God Yet the people for the most part receaued it not They were euer ready to rise and to fight For euer when the Scribes and Phariseis wēt about to take Christ they were afraide of the people Not on the holy day sayde they Math. xxvj lest any rumour aryse among the people And Math. xxi They would haue takē him but they feared the people And Luke xx Christe asked the Phariseis a question vnto whiche they durst not aūswere lest the people should haue stoned them Last of all for as much as the very Disciples and Apostles of Christ after so lōg hearyng of Christes doctrine were yet ready to fight for Christe cleane agaynst Christes teachyng As Peter Math. xxvi drew his sword but he was rebuked And Luke ix Iames and Iohn would haue had fire to come from heauen to cōsume the Samaritanes and to auenge the iniury of Christe but were likewise rebuked if Christes Disciples were so long carnall what wonder is it if we be not all perfect the first daye Yea in as much as we bee taught euen of very babes to kil a Turke to slea a Iewe to burne an hereticke to fight for the liberties and right of the Church as they cal it yea and in asmuch as wee are brought in belefe if wee shed the bloud of our euen Christen or if the sonne shed the bloud of hys father that begat hym for the defence not of the Popes Godhead onely but also for what so euer cause it bee yea though it be for no cause but that his holynes commaundeth it onely that we deserue as much as Christ deserued for vs when he dyed on the crosse or if we be slaine in the quarel that our soules goe nay flye to heauen and be there ere our bloud be cold In as much I saye as we haue sucked in suche bloudy imaginatiōs into the bottome of our harts euen with our mothers milke and haue ben so long hardened therein what wonder were it if while we be yet young in Christ we thought that it were lawful to fight for the true word of god Yea and though a man were throughly persuaded that it were not lawful to resist his kyng thoughe he would wrongfully take away lyfe and goodes Yet might he thinke that it were lawful to resist the hipocrites and to rise not agaynst his kyng but with his kyng to deliuer his kyng out of bondage and captiuitie wherin the hipocrites hold hym with wyles and falsehode so that no man may bee suffered to come at him to tell him the trouth This seest thou that it is the bloudy doctrine of the Pope which causeth disobedience rebellion and insurrectiō For hee teacheth to sight and to defende hys traditions and what soeuer he dreameth with fire water and sworde and to disobey Father Mother Master Lorde Kyng and Emperour Yea and to inuade what so euer lād or natiō that will not receaue and admit his Godhead Where the peaceable doctrine of Christe teacheth to obey and to suffer for the word of God to remit the vengeaunce and the defense of the word to god which is mighty and able to defende it which also as soone as the worde is once openly preached and testified or witnessed vnto the world and when he hath geuen them a season to repent is ready at once to take vengeaunce of his enemies and shoteth arrowes with heades dipte in deadly poyson at them and poureth hys plagues from heauen downe vpon them and sendeth the moren and pestilence among them and sinketh the Cities of them and maketh the earth swalow them and cōpasseth them in their wyles and taketh them in theyr owne trappes and snares and casteth thē into the pittes whiche they digged for other men and sendeth them a dasyng in in the head and vtterly destroyeth them with their owne suttle councell Prepare thy mynde therefore vnto this litle treatise and read it discretly and iudge it indifferently and when I alledge any Scripture loke thou on the text whether I interprete it right whiche thou shalt easely perceaue by the circumstance and processe of thē if thou make Christ the foundation and ground and build all on him and referrest all to hym and findest also that the expositiō agreeth vnto the common Articles of the faith and opē scriptures And GOD the father of mercy whiche for hys truthes sake raysed our Sauiour Christ vp agayne to iustifie vs geue thee hys spirite to iudge what is righteous in his eyes and geue the strength to abyde by it and to mayntayne it withall patience and long sufferyng vnto the example and edifying of his congregation and glory of his name Amen The obedience of all degrees proued by Gods word and first of children vnto theyr elders GOd which worketh all in all thynges for a secrete iudgement and purpose and for hys godly pleasure prouided an houre that thy father and mother should come together to make thee throughe them He was present with thee in thy mothers wombe and fashioned thee brethed lyfe into thee and for y t great loue he had vnto thee prouided milke in thy mothers brestes for thee agaynst thou were borne moued also thy father and mother and all other to loue thee to pitie thee and to care for thee And as he made thee through them so hath he cast thee vnder the power authoritie of them to obeye and serue them in his stede saying honor thy father and mother Exo. xx Which is not to be vnderstand in bowyng the knee and puttyng of the cappe onely but that thou loue them with al thyne hart and feare and drede them and wayte on their commaundementes and seke their worshyp pleasure will and profite in all thynges and geue thy life for them counting them worthy of all honour remembryng that thou art theyr good and possession that thou owest vnto thē thine owne selfe and all thou art able yea and more then thou art able to doe Vnderstand also that what soeuer thou doest vnto thē be it good or bad thou doest vnto God Whē thou pleasest them y ◠pleasest god whē thou displeasest thē thou displeasest God whē they are angry with thee god is angry w t thee neither is it possible for thee to come vnto y ◠fauour of God againe no though all the aūgels of heauē pray for thee vntil thou
that Moses did all his miracles by the same craft and not by the power of GOD. And abode therfore in vnbelefe and perished in resisting God Let vs receaue all thinges of God whether it be good or bad let vs humble our selues vnder his mighty hand and submitte our selues vnto his nurture and chastising and not withdraw our selues from his correction Read Hebr. xij for thy comfort and let vs not take the stafe by the end or seke to auenge our selues on his rodde which is the euill rulers The child as long as he seketh to auenge him selfe vpon the rodde hath an euill hart For he thinketh not that the correctiō is right or that he hath deserued it neither repenteth but reioyseth in his wickednes And so lōg shall he neuer be without a rodde yea so long shall the rodde be made sharper and sharper If he knowledge his faute and take the correction mekely and euē kisse the rodde and amende him selfe with the learnyng and nurture of his father mother then is the rodde takē away and burnt So if we resiste euill rulers sekyng to set our selues at libertie we shall no doubt bring our selues into more euill bondage wrappe our selues in much more miserie and wretchednes For if the heades ouercome then lay they more weight on their backes make their yoke sorer and tye them shorter If they ouercome their euill rulers then make they way for a more cruell natiō or for some tyraunt of their own nation whiche hath no right vnto the crown If we submitte our selues vnto the chastisyng of God and mekely knowledge our sinnes for whiche we are scourged and kisse the rodde and amende our liuyng then will GOD take the rodde away that is he will geue the rulers a better hart Or if they continue their malice and persecute you for well doyng and because ye put your trust in GOD then will God deliuer you out of their tyranny for his truthes sake It is the same God now that was in the old time deliuered the fathers and the Prophetes the Apostles and other holy Saintes And what soeuer he sware to them he hath sworne to vs. And as he deliuered them out of all temptation combraūce and aduersitie because they consented and submitted them selues vnto his will and trusted in his goodnes and truth euen so will he do vs if we do likewise When soeuer the children of Israell fel from the way which God cōmaunded them to walke in he gane them vp vnder one tyraūt or an other As soone as they came to the knowledge of thē selues and repented crying for mercy and leaning vnto the truth of his promises he sent one to deliuer them as the hystories of the Bible make mention A Christen man in respect of God is but a passiue thing a thyng that suffereth onely and doth nought as the sicke in respect of the Surgion or Phisition doth but suffer onely The Surgen launceth and cutteth out the dead flesh searcheth the woundes thrusteth in tentes sereth burneth soweth or sticheth and leyeth to corsies to draw out y ◠corruption last of all leyeth to healyng plaisters maketh it whole The Phisitiō likewise geueth purgations and drinkes to driue out the disease and then with restauratiues bringeth health Now if the sicke resiste the raser the searching yron and so forth doth he not resiste his owne health and is cause of his owne death So likewise is it of vs if we resiste euil rulers which are the rodde scourge wherewith God chastiseth vs the instrumentes wherewith God searcheth out woundes and bitter drinkes to driue out the sinne and to make it appeare and corsies to draw out by the rotes the core of the poxe of the soule that freateth inward A Christen mā therfore receaueth all thyng of the hand of God both good and bad both sweete and sowre both wealth wo. If any person do me good whether it be father mother and so forth that receaue I of God and to God geue thankes For he gaue wherewith and gaue a commaundement and moued his hart so to do Aduersitie also receaue I of the hād of God as an wholesome medicine though it be somewhat bitter Temptation and aduersitie do both kill sinne and also vtter it For though a Christen man knoweth euery thyng how to lyue yet is the flesh so weake that he cā neuer take vp his crosse him selfe to kill and mortifie the flesh He must haue an other to lay it on hys backe In many also sinne lyeth hidde within and festereth and rotteth inward is not sene so that they thinke how they are good and perfect kepe the law As the younge man Math. xix sayd he had obserued all of a child and yet lyed falsly in his hart as the text folowing well declareth When all is at peace and no man troubleth vs we thinke that we are paciēt and loue our neighbours as our selues but let our neighbour hurt vs in woorde or deede and then finde we it otherwise Then fume we and rage and set vp the bristels bend our selues to take vengeaunce If we loued with godly loue for Christes kindnes sake we should desire no vengeaunce but pitie him and desire God to forgeue and amend him knowing well that no flesh can do otherwise the sinne except that God preserue hym Thou wilt say what good doth such persecution and tyranny vnto the righteous First it maketh them feele the woorkyng of Gods spirite in them and that theyr fayth is vnfayned Secondaryly I say that no man is so great a sinner if he repent and beleue but that he is righteous in Christ and in the promises yet if thou looke on the flesh and vnto the law there is no man so perfect that is not founde a sinner Nor any man so pure that hath not somewhat to be yet purged This shall suffice at this time as concernyng obedience BEcause that God excludeth no degree from his mercy But who so euer repenteth and beleueth his promises of what soeuer degree he be of the same shal be partaker of hys grace therfore as I haue described the obedience of them that are vnder power and rule euen so will I with Gods helpe as my dutie is declare how the rulers whiche God shall vouchsafe to call vnto the knowledge of the truth ought to rule ¶ The office of a Father and how he should rule FAthers moue not your children vnto wrath but bring them vp in y ◠nurtour and information of the Lord. Ephe. vi and Collos iij. Fathers rate not your children least they be of desperate minde that is least you discourage thē For where y ◠fathers and mothers are weywarde hastie and churlishe euer brauling and chiding there are y t children anone discouraged and hartlesse and apte for nothing neither can they do any thyng aright Bryng them vp in the nurtoure and information of
groweth dayly in the operations workes therof ¶ Of Confession COnfession is diuers One foloweth true fayth insparably And is the confessing and knowledging with the mouth wherein we put our trust and confideÌ„ce As when we say our Credo confessing that we trust in God the father almighty and in his truth promises in his sonne Iesus our Lord and in his merites and deseruinges in the holy Ghost and in his power assistance and guiding This confession is necessary vnto all men that wyll be saued For Christ saith Mathew x. he that denyeth me before men hym will I deny before my father that is in heauen And of this confession sayth the holy Apostle Paule in the x. chapter The beliefe of the hart iustifieth and to knowledge wyth the mouth maketh a man safe This is a wonderfull text for our Philosophers or rather sophisters our worldly wyse enemies to the wisdome of God our deepe profounde welles wythout water our cloudes wythout moysture of rayne that is to say naturall soules without the sprite of God and feeling of godly thynges To iustifie and to make safe are both one thing And to confesse with the mouth is a good worke and the frute of a true fayth as all other workes are If thou repent and beleue the promises then Gods truth iustifieth thee that is forgeueth thee thy sinnes and sealeth thee with hys holy spirite and maketh thee heyre of euerlastyng lyfe through Christes deseruinges Now if thou haue true fayth so seest thou the exceeding and infinite loue and mercy which God hath shewed thee freely in Christ then must thou needes loue agayne and loue can not but compell thee to worke and boldly to confesse knowledge thy Lord Christ and the trust which thou hast in his word And this knowledge maketh thee safe that is declareth that thou art safe already certifieth thine hart and maketh thee feele that thy fayth is right and that Gods spirite is in thee as all other good workes doe For if when it commeth vnto the point thou hast no lust to worke nor power to confesse how couldest thou presume to thinke that Gods sprite were in thee An other confession is there which goeth before saith and accompanieth repentaunce For who so euer repenteth doth knowledge his sinnes in his hart And who soeuer doth knowledge his sinnes receaueth forgenenes as â—ayth Iohn in the first of his first Epistle If we knowledge our sinnes he is faythfull and iust to forgeue vs out sinnes and to clense vs from all vnrighteousnes that is because he hath promised he must for his truthes sake doe it This confession is necessary all our liues long as is repentaunce And as thou vnderstandest of repentaunce so vnderstand of this confession for it is likewise included in the sacrament of Baptime For we alwayes repent and alwayes knowledge or coÌ„fesse our sinnes vnto God and yet dispayre not but remember that we are washed in in Christes bloud which thing our baptime doth represeÌ„t and signifie vnto vs. Shrift in the eare is verely a worke of Sathan and that the â—alsest that euer was wrought and that most hath deuoured the fayth It began among the Greekes and was not as it is now to reckeÌ„ all a maÌ„s sinnes in the priestes eare but to aske couÌ„cell of such doubtes as men had as thou mayst see in S. Hierome and in other authors Neither went they to Priestes onely which were very fewe at that tyme no moe then preached the worde of God for this so great vantage in so many masses saying was not yet founde but went indifferently where they saw a good and a learned man And for because of a litle knauery which a DeacoÌ„ at Constantinople plaide thorough coÌ„fession with one of the chiefe wiues of the citie it was layde downe agayne But we Antichristes possession the more knauery we see growe thereby dayly the more we stablishe it A christen man is a spirituall thing and hath Gods word in his hart and gods spirite to certifie him of all thing He is not bound to come to any eare And as for the reasons which they make are but persuasions of mans wisedome First as perteining vnto the keyes maner of bynding and loosing is eough aboue rehearsed in other places Thou maist also see how the Apostles vsed them in the Actes and in Paules Epistles how at the preaching of fayth the spirite came and certified their harts that they were iustified thorough beleuing the promises When a man feeleth that his hart consenteth vnto the law of God and feeleth hymselfe meeke pacient curteous and mercifull to hys neighbour altered and fashioned like vnto Christ why shoulde he doubt but that God hath forgeuen him and chosen him and put his spirite in hym though he neuer cromme hys sinne into the priestes eare One blynde reason haue they saying How shall the Priest vnbynde loose and forgeue the sinne which he knoweth not How did the Apostles The Scripture forsake they and runne vnto their blinde reasons and draw the Scripture vnto a carnall purpose When I haue tolde thee in thyne eare all that I haue done my life long in order and with all circumstances after the shamefullest maner what caÌ„st thou doe more then preach me the promises saying if thou repent beleue Gods truth shall saue thee for Christes sake Thou seest not myne hart thou knowest not whether I repent or no neyther whether I consent to the law that it is holy righteous and good Moreouer whether I beleue the promises or no is also vnknowen to thee If thou preach the law and the promises as the Apostles did so should they that God hath chosen repent and beleue and be saued euen now as well as then How be it Antichrist must know all secretes to stablish his kingdom to worke his misteries withall They bryng also for them the storie of the x. lepers whiche is written in the. xvij Chapter of Luke Here marke their falsehoode and learne to knowe them for euer The fourtene Sonday after the feast of the Trinitie the begynnyng of the vij leâ—…n is the sayd Gospell and the viij the ix lessons with the rest of the seuenth is the exposition of Bede vpon the sayd Gospell Where saith Bede of all that Christ healed of what so euer disease it were he sent none vnto the Priestes but the lepers And by the lepers enterpreteth the folowers of false doctrine onely which the spirituall officers and the learned men of the congregation ought to examine and rebuke their learning with Gods word and to warne the congregation to beware of them Which if they were afterward healed by the grace of Christ ought to come before the coÌ„gregation and there openly confesse theyr true fayth But all other vices saith he doth God heale within in the conscience Though they this wise reade at mattens yet at hie masse if they haue any
Iohn v. that ye haue not the loue of God in you I am come in my fathers name and ye receaue me not if an other shall come in his own name him shall ye receaue This doth God auenge him selfe on the malicious hartes whiche haue no loue to his truth All the promises of God haue they either wypte cleane out or thus leauened them with open lyes to stablishe their confession with all And to kepe vs from knowledge of the truth they do all thyng in Latin They pray in Latin they Christen in Latine they blesse in Latine they geue absolution in Latin onely curse they in the English toung Wherein they take vpon them greater authoritie then euer God gaue them For in their curses as they call them with booke bell and candle they commaūde God and Christ and the aungels and all Saintes to curse them curie them God say they father sonne and holy ghost curse them virgine Mary c. O ye abommable Who gaue you authoritie to commaūde God to curse God commaundeth you to blesse and ye cōmaunde him to curse Blesse them that persecute you blesse but curse not saith S. Paul Roma xij What tyranny wil these not vse ouer men which presume and take vpon them to be Lordes ouer God and to commaunde him If God shall curse any man who shall blesse and make him better No man can amende him selfe except God poure his spirite vnto him Haue we not a commaundemēt to loue our neighbour as our selues How can I loue him and curse him also Iames sayth it is not possible that blessing cursing should come both out of one mouth Christ cōmaundeth Math. v. saying loue your enemies Blesse them that curse you Do good to them that hate you Pray for them that do you wrong and persecute you that ye may be the children of your heauenly father In the marches of Wales it is the maner if any man haue an Oxe or a Cow stollē he commeth to the Curate and desireth him to curse the stealer And he commaundeth the Parish to geue him euery man Gods curse and his Gods curse myne haue he sayth euery man in the Parish O mercyfull God what is blasphemy if this be not blasphemy shamyng of the doctrine of Christ Vnderstand therfore the power of excommunication is this If any man sinne openly and amendeth not when he is warned then ought he to be rebuked openly before all the Parish And the Priest ought to proue by the Scripture that all such haue no part with Christ For Christ serueth not but for them that loue the law of God and consent that it is good holy and righteous And repēt sorrowing mournyng for power and strength to fulfill it And all the parish ought to be warned to auoyde the company of all such and to take them as heathen people This is not done that he should perish but to saue him to make him ashamed to kill the lustes of the flesh that the spirite might come vnto the knowledge of truth And we ought to pitie hym and to haue compassion on him and with all diligence to pray vnto God for him to geue him grace to repent and to come to the right way agayne and not to vse such tyranny ouer God and man commaūdyng God to curse And if he repent we ought with all mercy to receaue him in agayn This mayst thou see Mat. xviij and. i. Cor. v. and ij Cor. ij ¶ Confirmation IF confirmation haue a promise then it iustifieth as farre as the promise extendeth If it haue no promise then is it not of GOD as the Byshops be not The Apostles and Ministers of God preach Gods word and Gods signes or Sacramentes signifie Gods word also and put vs in remēbraunce of the promises which God hath made vnto vs in Christ Contrarywise Antichristes Byshops preach not their Sacramentes speake not but as the disguised Byshops mum so are their superstitious Sacramentes domme After that the Byshops had left preachyng then fayned they this domme ceremonie of cōfirmation to haue somwhat at the lest way whereby they myght raigne ouer theyr Dioceses They reserued vnto them selues also the Christenyng of Belles and coniuring or hallowyng of Churches and Churchyardes and of Altares and superaltares and holowyng of Chalices and so forth what soeuer is of honor or profite Which cōfirmation and the other coniurations also they haue now committed to their Suffragans because they them selues haue no leysure to minister such things for their lustes and pleasures and aboundance of all thinges and for the combraunce that they haue in the kynges matters and businesse of the Realme One kepeth the priuey seale an other y ◠great seale the thyrd is confessour that is to say a priuey traytor and a secreat Iudas he is President of the Princes Counsaile he is an Ambassadour an other sort of the Kynges secret Counsaile Wo is vnto the Realmes where they are of y t counsell As profitable are they verely vnto the Realmes with their Counsell as the Wolues vnto the Shepe or the Foxes vnto the Geese They will say that the holy Ghost is geuen thorough such ceremonies If God had so promised so should it be but Paule saith Galat. iij. that the spirite is receaued thorough preaching of the fayth And Actes tenth while Peter preached the faith the holy Ghost fell on Cornelius and on hys houshold How shall we say then to that which they will lay against vs in the eight chapter of the Actes of the Apostles Where Peter and Iohn put their handes on the Samaritans and the holy Ghost came I say that by putting or with putting or as they put their handes on them the holy Ghost came Neuerthelesse the putting on of the hāds did neither helpe nor hinder For the text sayth they prayed for them that they might receaue the holy ghost God had made the Apostles a promise that he woulde wyth such miracles cōfirme their preaching and mou◠other to the fayth Mar. the last The Apostles therefore beleued and prayed God to fulfill his promise and God for his truthes sake euen so did So was it the prayer of fayth that brought the holy Ghost as thou mayst see also in the last of Iames. If any man be sicke saith Iames call the elders of the congregation and let them pray ouer hym annointing hym with oyle in the name of the Lord and the prayer of fayth shall heale the sicke Where a promise is there is fayth bolde to pray and God true to geue her her petition Putting on of the handes is an indifferent thing For the holy Ghost came by preaching of the fayth and myracles were done at the prayer of fayth as well without putting on of the hands as with as thou seest in many places Putting on of the hands was the maner of that nation as it was to rent their clothes
Christ or entende to restore the Kynges agayne vnto their duties and right and to the rowme and authoritie which they haue of God and of shadowes to make theÌ„ Kynges in deede to put the world in his order agayne then the Kynges deliuer their swordes and authoritie vnto the hypocrites to â—lay him So dronken are they with the wine of the whore ¶ The text that foloweth in Paule wil they happely lay to my charge and others How shall they preach except they be sent sayth Paul in the sayd x. to the Romaines We wil they say the Pope Cardinals and Byshoppes all authority is ours The Scripture perteineth vnto vs and is our possession And we haue a law that who soeuer presume to preach without the authoritie of the Bishops is excommunicate in the deede doyng Whence therefore hast thou thine authoritie wil they say The old Phariseis had the Scripture in captiuitie likewise and asked Christ by what authoritie doest thou these thynges as who should say We are phariseis thou art none of our order nor hast authoritie of vs. Christ asked them an other question and so will I do our hypocrites Who seÌ„t you God Nay hee that is sent of God speaketh Gods word Iohn iij. Now speake ye not Gods worde nor any thyng saue your own lawes made cleane contrary vnto Gods worde Christes Apostles preached Christ not them selues He that is of the truth preacheth the truth Now ye preach nothyng but lyes and therefore are of the deuill the father of all lyes of hym are ye sent And as for mine authoritie or who sent me I report me vnto my workes as Christ Iohn v. and. x. If Gods word beare recorde that I say truth why should any man doubt but that God the father of truth and of lyght hath sent me as the father of lyes of darknes hath sent you and that the spirite of truth and of light is with me as the spirite of lyes and of darkenes is with you By this meanes thou wilt that euery man be a preacher will they say Nay verely For GOD will that not and therfore will I it not no more then I would that euery man of London were Mayre of London or euery man of the Realme Kyng therof God is not the author of dissention and strife but of vnitie and peace and of good order I will therefore that where a congregation is gathered together in Christ one be chosen after the rule of Paul and that hee onely preach and els no maÌ„ openly but that euery man teach hys houshold after the same doctrine But if the preacher preach false then whosoeuers harte God moueth to the same it shal be law full to rebuke and improue the false teacher with the cleare and manifest Scripture and that same is no doubt a true Prophet sent of GOD. For the Scripture is gods and theirs that beleue and not the false Prophet SAcrament is then as much to say as an holy signe And the Sacramentes which Christ ordeined preach Gods word vnto vs and therfore iustifie and minister the spirite to them that beleue as Paul thorough preachyng the Gospell was a minister of righteousnes of the spirite vnto all that beleued his preachyng Domme ceremonies are no Sacramentes but superstitiousnes Christes SacrameÌ„ts preach the fayth of Christ as his Apostles did thereby iustifie Antichristes domme ceremonies preach not y â— fayth that is in Christ as his Apostles our Byshops and Cardinals do not But as Antichristes Bishops are ordeined to kill who soeuer preach the true faith of Christ so are his ceremonies ordeined to quench the faith which Christes SacrameÌ„tes preach And hereby maist thou knowe the difference betwene Christes signes or Sacramentes and Antichristes signes or ceremonyes that Christes signes speake and Antichristes be domme Hereby seest thou what is to be thought of all other ceremonies as halowed water bread salt bowes belles waxe ashes and so forth and all other disguisinges and Apesplay and of all maner coniurations as the coniuring of church and churchyardes and of alter stones such like Where no promise of God is there can be no fayth nor iustifiyng nor forgeuenes of sinnes For it is more then madnes to looke for any thing of god saue that he hath promised How farre he hath promised so farre is he boduÌ„ to them that beleue and further not To haue a fayth therefore or a trust in any thing where god hath not promised is plaine idolatry and a worshipping of thyne own imagination in stede of God Let vs see the pith of a ceremony or two to iudge the rest by In coniuring of holy water they pray that whosoeuer be sprinckled therewith may receaue health as well of body as of soule and likewise in makyng holy bread and so forth in the coniurations of other ceremonies Now we see by dayly experience that halfe their prayer is vnheard For no man receaueth health of body thereby No more of likelihode do they of soule Yea we see also by experience that no man receaueth health of soule thereby For no man by sprinckling himselfe with holy water and wyth eating holy bread is more mercifull then before or forgeueth wrong or becommeth at one with his enemy or is more patient and lesse couetous and so forth Which are the sure tokens of the soule health They preach also that the wagging of the Byshops hand ouer vs blesseth vs and putteth away our sinnes Are these workes not against Christ How can they do more shame vnto Christes bloud For if the wagging of the Byshops hand ouer me be so precious a thyng in the sight of God that I am thereby blessed how then am I full blessed wyth all spirituall blessinge in Christ as Paul saith Ephe. j Or if my sinnes be full done away in Christ how remayneth there any to be done away by such phantasies The Apostles knew no wayes to put away sin or to blesse vs but by preaching Christ Paule sayth Gal. ij If righteousnes come by the law then Christ dyed in vayne So dispute I here If blessing come by the wagging of the Byshops hand then dyed Christ in vayne and his death blesseth vs not And a little afore sayth Paule if while we seeke to be iustified by Christ we be yet found sinners so that we must be iustified by the law or ceremonies is not Christ then a minister of sinne So dispute I here If while we seeke to be blessed in Christ we are yet vnblessed and must be blessed by the wagging of the Byshoppes hand what haue we then of Christ but curse Thou wilt say When we come first to the fayth then Christ forgeueth vs and blesseth vs. But the sinnes which we afterward commit are forgeuen vs through such thinges I aunswere If any man repent truely and come to the fayth and put hys trust in Christ theÌ„ as oft as he sinneth of frayltie at
into the world to condemne the world but that the world through him might be saued He that beleueth on him shall not be damned but he that beeleeueth not is damned alreadye Iohn iij. Paule Rom. 5. sayth Because we are iustifyed through fayth we are at peace with God through our lord Iesus Christ that is because that God which can not lye hath promised and sworne to be mercyfull vnto vs and to forgeue vs for Christes sake we beleue and are at peace in our consciences we run not hither and thither for pardon we trust not in thys fryer nor that monke neyther in any thing saue in the woord of God onely As a childe when his father threateneth him for his faâ—t hath neuer rest til he heare the worde of mercy and forgeuenes of his fathers mouth againe but assone as he heareth his father say Goe thy wayes do me no more so I forgeue thee this fault then is his hart at rest then is he at peace then runneth he to no man to make intercession for him Neyther though there come any false marchant saying what wilt thou geue me and I will obtayne pardon of thy father for thee Will he suffer him selfe to be beguiled No he will not buy of a wilie fox that which his father hath geuen him freely It foloweth God setteth out hys loue that he hath to vs. that is he maketh it appeare that men may perceiue loue if they be not more then stocke blinde In asmuch sayth Paule as while we were yet sinners Christ dyed for vs. Much more now sayth he seeing we are iustifyed by hys bloud shall we be preserued from wrath thorough him for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of hys sonne much more seeing we are reconciled we shall be preserued by hys life As who should say If God loued vs when we knew him not much more loueth he vs now we know him If he were mercifull to vs while we hated his Lawe how much more mercifull will he be now seeing we loue it and desire strength to fulfill it And in the viij he argueth If God spared not his owne sonne but gaue him for vs all how shall he not wyth him geue vs all thinges also Christ prayed Iohn xvij not for the Apostles onely but also for as many as should beleue through theyr preaching and was heard whatsoeuer we aske in his name the Father geueth vs Iohn xvi Christ is also as mercifull as the saintes Why go we not straight way vnto him Verely because we feale not the mercy of God neyther beleue his truthe God will at the least way say they heare vs the sooner for the saintes sake Then loueth he the saintes better then Christ and his own truth Heareth he vs for the saintes sake so heareth he vs not for his mercye For merites and mercye can not stand together Finally if thou put any trust in thine owne deedes or in the deedes of any other man of any saint then minishest thou the truth mercy and goodnes of God For if God looke vnto thy workes or vnto the workes of any other man or goodnes of the saint then doth he not all thinges of pure mercy and of his goodnesse and for the truthes sake which he hath sworne in Christ Now sayth Paule Tit. 3. Not of the righteous deedes which we did but of his mercy saued he vs. Our blinde disputers will say If our good deedes iustify vs not if God looke not on our good deedes neither regard them nor loue vs the better for them what need we to do good dedes I aunswer God looketh on our good deedes and loueth them yet loueth vs not for their sakes God loueth vs first in Christ of his goodnes and mercy and poureth his spirit into vs and geueth vs power to do good dedes And because he loueth vs he loueth our good deedes yea because he loueth vs he forgeueth vs our euill dedes which we do of frailtie and not of purpose or for the nonce Our good dedes do but testifie onely that we are iustifyed and beloued For except we were beloued and had Gods spirite we could neyther do nor yet consent vnto any good deed Antichrist turneth the rootes of the trees vpwarde He maketh the goodnes of God the braunches and our goodnes the rootes We must be first good after Antichristes doctrine and moue God and compell him to be good againe for our goodnesses sake so must Gods goodnesse spring out of our goodnes Nay verely Gods goodnesse is the root of al goodnes and our goodnes if we haue any springeth out of his goodnes Prayer OF Prayer and good deedes and of the order of loue or charitie I haue aboundantly written in my booke of the iustifying of fayth Neuer the later that thou maist see what the prayers and good workes of our monkes and friers and of other ghostly people are worth I will speake a woord or two and make an end Paule sayth Gal. 3. All ye are the sonnes of God through fayth in Iesu Christ for all ye that are baptized haue put Christ on you that is ye are become Christ himself There is no Iew sayth he neither Greeke neither bond nor free neither man nor woman but ye are all one thing in Christ Iesu In Christ there is neither french nor english but the frenchman is the englishmans owne selfe and the english the frenchmans owne self In Christ there is neither father nor sonne neyther maister nor seruaunt neyther husband nor wife neither king nor subiect but the father is the sonnes selfe and the sonne the fathers owne selfe and the king is the subiects owne self and the subiect is the kinges own self and so fourth I am thou â—hy selfe and thou art I my selfe and can be no nearer of kyn We are all the sonnes of God all Christes seruauntes bought with hys bloud and euery man to other Christ his owne selfe And Col. 3 Ye haue put on the new man which is tenned in the knowledge of God after the image of him that made him that is to say Christ where is sayth he neyther Greke nor Iew circumcision nor vncircumcision barbarous or Scithian bond or free but Christ is all in all thinges I loue thée not now because thou art my father and hast done so much for me or my mother and hast borne me and geuen me sucke of thy brestes for so do Iewes and saracens but because of the greate loue that Christ hath shewed me I serue thee not because thou art my maister or my king for hope of rewarde or feare of payne but for the loue of Christ for the children of fayth are vnder no law as thou seest in the Epistles to the Romanes to the Galathians in the first to Timothe but are free The spirit of Christ hath writteÌ„ the liuely law of loue in their hartes whiche driueth theÌ„ to worke of theyr owne
destroyed the law and the Prophetes interpretyng the Scripture after the litteral sence which killeth after his owne brayne cleane contrary to the common fayth of holy Church and myndes of great Clerkes and autenticke expositions of old holy Doctours Euen so here what other could they say then behold the hereticke and dyd not we tell you before whereto hee would come and that he kept some mischief behynd and spued not out all his venome at once see to what all his godly new doctrine that sounded so sweetly is come he preached all of loue and would haue the people saued by fayth so long till that now at the last he preached cleane agaynst all deedes of mercy as prayer fasting and almose deede and destroyeth all good workes His disciples fast no more then dogges they dispise their deuine seruice come not to Church yea and if the holyest of all S. Fraunces order aske themalmes they bidde hym labour with his handes and get hys liuing and say that he that laboureth not is not worthy to eate that God â—ad that no such strong lubbers should loyter and goe a begging and be chargeable to the coÌ„gregation and eate vp that other poore men get with the â–ª sweat of their booyes yea and at the last ye shall see if we resiste hun not betymes that he shall moue the people to insurrection as Cayphas sayd and the Romaynes shall come take our land from vs. As ye see in y e text Luk. xxiij How when they could not driue the people from him wyth those periwasions they accused hym to Pilate saying we haue founde thys fellow peruerting the people and forbidding to pay tribute to Cesar and saying that he is Christ a kyng Wherfore thou canst not be Cesars frend if thou let hym escape But after all these blasphemies yet must y â— holy ghost rebuke the world of their righteousnes yea of their false righteousnes and false holines which are neither righteousnes nor holines but colour of hipocrisy Christ here destroyeth not prayer fasting almes deede But preacheth agaynst the false purpose and entent of such workes and peruerting the true vse that is to say their seking of glory and that they estemed themselues righteous thereby and better then other men and so despised and coÌ„dempned their brethren With our almose which is as much to say as deedes of mercy or compassion we ought to seeke our fathers glory onely euen the wealth of our brethren and to winne them to the knowledge of our father and keeping of his lawe He that seeketh the glory of his good workes seketh the glory that belongeth to God and maketh himselfe God Is it not a blynde thyng of y e world that eyther they will do no good woorkes at all or will be God for their good workes and haue the glory themselues Concerning blowing of trumpets and ringing of belies or makyng a cry to call men to â—et almes though y e right way be that we should know in euery parishe all ourpoore haue a coÌ„mon coser for them and that strauÌ„gers should bring a letter of recommendation with them of their necessitie and that we had a commonplace to receaue them into for the tyme and though also we ought to flee all occasions of vayne glory yet while y e world is out of order it is not dampnable to do it So that the very meaning both that we blow no trumpets and that the left hand know not what the right hand doth is that we do as secretly as we can and in no wise seeke glory or to receaue it if it were proffered But to do our deedes in singlenes of conscience to God because it is his commaundement and euen of pure compassion and loue to our brethren and not y â— our good deedes thorough standing in our owne coÌ„ceite should cause vs to dispise them If thou be tempted to vayne glory for thy good deees theÌ„ looke on thyne euill thereto and put the one in the one balaunce and the other in the other And then if thou vnderstand the law of God any thyng at all tell me whether wayeth heâ—…er If that y â— thou doest do tempt thee then consider what thou doest not If it moue thee to set vp thy combe when thou geuest thy brother a farthyng or an halfepenny ponder in thine hart how farre thou art of from louing him as well as thy selfe and caring for him as much as for thy selfe And be sure how much y â— lackest of that so much thou art in sinne and that in dampnable sinne if God for Christes sake dyd not pardon thee because thine hart mourneth therefore and thou fightest with thy self to come to such persectioÌ„ If a Pecocke did looke well on his feete and marke the euilfauoured shriking of his voyce he would not be so proude of the beauty of hys fayle Finally that many dispute because God hath promised to rewarde our deedes in heauen that our deedes deserue heauen and because he promiseth to shew mercy to y e merciful that with our deedes we deserue mercy and because he promiseth forgeuenes of sins to theÌ„ y t forgeue y â— our deedes deserue forgeuenes of sinne and so iustifie vs. I aunswere first there is inough spoken thereof in other places so that to them that haue read that it is superstuous to rehearse the matter agayne Furthermore the argument is nought and holdeth by no rule See ye not y t the father and mother haue more right to the childe and to all it can do than to an Oxe or a Cowe It is their fleshe and bloud nourished vp wyth their labour and cost The life of it and the maintenaunce and continuaunce therof is their benefite so that it is not able to recompence that it oweth to father and mother by a thousand partes And though it be not able to do his dutie nor for blindnesse to know hys dutie yet the father and mother promise moe giftes still without ceasing and that such as they thinke shoulde most make it to see loue to prouoke it to be willing to do part of his dutie And when it hath done amisse though it haue no power to do satisfaction nor lust or courage to come to y e right way agayne yet their loue and mercy abydeth still so great to it that vppon appointment of mending they not onely forgeue that is past and fulfill their promise neuertheles but promise greater giftes then euer before and to be better father and mother to it theÌ„ euer they were Now when it cannot do y â— thousand part of his dutie how coulde it deserue such promises of the father mother as a labourer doth his hyre the rewarde therefore commeth of the loue mercy and truth of the father and mother as well when the childe keepeth the appointment as when they fulfill their promise when it hath broken the appointment and not of the deseruing of the
As it is of y ◠Iewes though as Paul beareth them record they haue a feruent zeale to God yea and haue the Scripture therto yet because they haue not the true vnderstādyng all is dānable that they do Hypocrites with scrappes of almose get an hundred fold And with prayer they get prayse as thou seest here and pray therto and robbe widowes houses as thou readest Math. xxiij And with fastyng they get fat belyes full dishes euer more then inough And yet there is none almose praying or fastyng among them in the sight of God With their prayers they exclude all true prayers and make it impossible that there should be any amōg them For prayer is either a longyng for the honour of the name of God that all men should feare him and kepe his preceptes and beleue in him And contrary to that they seke their owne honour that men should feare them and keepe their ordinaunces and beleue in their swete blessings prayers pardons and what soeuer they promise If they byd fast thou must doe it or be damned and be an hereticke and rebellious to holy Church If they dispēce and geue thee cleane remission for to eate fleshe on good friday though thou be neuer so lustie thou must obey or els thou art damned and an hereticke because thou doest not beleue in holy Church Either prayer is to geue God thākes for the benefites receaued Contrary to which they will first haue thankes of the world for their prayers and robbe not onely widowes houses But also Lord Prince Emperour and all the world of house and land yea of their wittes to And then they bynde God to thāke them and to geue them Beside the thankes which they haue gotten in the world not onely heauē and an hygher place but that he geue heauen to no other man saue thorough their merites Either prayer is a complaynyng a shewyng of thyne owne miserie and necessitie or of they neighbours before God desiring hym with all the power of thine hart to haue compassion and to succour Coutrary to this they haue excluded with their prayers all necessitie miserie from among them They be Lordes ouer all and do what they will through the whole world Kyng and Emperour are their seruauntes they neede but say the word and their wil is fulfilled And as for their neighbours they haue no compassion vpon them to bryng their complaintes before God But with theyr prayers robbe them of that litle they haue and so make them more miserable Of enteryng into the chamber and shuttyng the doore to I say as aboue of that the lift hand should not know what the right hand doth the meanyng is that we should auoyde all worldly prayse and profite and pray with a single eye and true entēt accordyng to Gods word and is not forbidden therby to pray openly For we must haue a place to come together to pray in generall to thanke and to crye to God for the common necessities as well as to preach the word of God in Where the Priest ought to pray in the mother toung that the name of God may be halowed and his word faithfully taught and truly vnderstode and fayth and godly liuyng encreased and for the kyng and rulers that God will geue them his spirite to loue the common wealth and for peace that God will defend vs from all enemyes for wederyng and frutes that God will kepe away pestilence and all plagues And the Priest should be an example to the people how they should praye There be of such things as the Priests and other bable and not pray many good Collectes that should much edifie the people if they were spokē in the mother tounge And then while the Priestes sing Psalmes let euery man pray priuatly and geue God thankes for such benefites as his hart knoweth he hath receaued of God commende to God his priuate necessities and the priuate necessities of his neighbours which he knoweth is priuie to Neither is there in all such any ieopardie of vayne glory But and if God haue geuen any man the spirite of praying as all men haue not like giftes that he pray oft and when other do not thē to haue a secret place to pray in both for the auoydyng of vayne glory speach of people and that thou mayst be free to vse thy wordes as thou lustest and what soeuer gestures and behauiours do moue the most to deuotiō is necessarie and good And finally what soeuer necessitie thou hast though thou feele thy selfe a great sinner yet if thyne hart be to amend let not that discourage thee But go boldly to thy father seing thou hast his commaundemēt euer to pray and promise that he will heare thee not for thy goodnesse but of his goodnesse for his truth Moreouer when ye pray bable not much as the heathen do For they thinke that they shal be heard for theyr much bablinges sake Be not therfore like vnto them For youre Father knoweth of what thynges ye haue neede before ye aske hym Of this maner therefore pray ye O our father which art in heauen honoured be thy name thy kingdome come Thy will be fulfilled euen in earth as it is in heauen Geue vs this daye our dayly bread And forgeue vs our trespasses as we forgeue our trespassers And leade vs not into temptation But deliuer vs frō euill For thine is the kingdome the power the glory for euer Amen As before he rebuked their false entent in praying that they sought praise and profite of that worke which ought to be direct to God alone ether to geue him thākes that is to say to be a knowen and to confesse in the hart that al we haue commeth of hym or to call vpon hym for ayde and succour in tēptations and all necessitie Euen so here he rebuketh a false kynde of praying wherin the toung and lippes laboure and all the body is payned but y ◠hart talketh not wyth God nor feeleth any sweetnes at all nor hath any confidēce in the promises of God But trusteth in the multitude of wordes and in the payne and tediousnes of the length of the prayer as a coniurar doth in his circles Characters and superstitious wordes of his coniuration As ye see now to be amōg our Fryers Mōkes Chanons and Nunnes and euen thoroughout al the spiritualtie Which as I haue proued aboue haue with their false entent of praying excluded all occasions and the whole matter of true prayer haue turned it into a bodely labour to vexe the toung lippes eyes and throate with roaring and to weary all the members so that they say may truely sweare it that there is no greater labour in the world then prayer for no labour whatsoeuer it be when the body is compelled and the hart vnwilling can be other then greuous and painefull But true prayer if they complayned and
may behold so to do and to beleue that he will forgeue vs. No maÌ„ therfore nedeth to dispayre that can repent and aske forgeuenesse how euer so deepe he hath sinned And me thinketh if we looked somewhat nerer to this text we neded not to make the Pope so great a God for his pardons For Christ which is a man to be beleued sheweth vs here a more sure way yea and that a sensible way by which we may feele that we be pardoned and our sinnes forgeuen We can haue no experieÌ„ce of the popes thyngs whether they be so or no. He can with all his pardons deliuer no man of any Purgatorie that God putteth vs vnto in this world He caÌ„ not blesse or heale any man so much as of a poore agew or totheach which diseases yet by hys owne confession God putteth on vs to purge vs from sinne But where we cannot see feele or haue any experience at all that it so is there is hee mightie If I were come whom out of a land where neuer maÌ„ was before and were sure neuer maÌ„ should come I might tel as many wonders as Master More doth of Vtopia and no man could rebuke me But here Christ maketh thee sure of pardon for if thou canst forgeue thy brother God hath bound him selfe to forgeue thee What if no man haue sinned agaynst me That were hard in this lyfe neuerthelesse yet if that profession be in thyne hart that y u knowest that it is thy dutie to forgeue thy brother for thy fathers sake and art obedient to thy fathers ordinaunce and wouldest forgeue if any of thy brethreÌ„ had offended thee and did aske thee forgeuenesse Then hast thou that same spirit which God desireth to be in the. Marke what Christ sayth aboue in the begynnyng of the fift chap. Blessed be the mercyfull for they shall haue mercy Doest thou pitie thy brethen that sinne and doest thy best to amend theÌ„ that thy fathers name may be honoured TheÌ„ hast thou that whereby thou art sure of mercy as soone as thou desirest it And agayne Blessed be the peace makers for they shall be Gods children Lo if there be any variaunce among thy brethren that one haue offended the other do thy best to set theÌ„ at one and thou hast the same thing that God desireth of thee and for which he hathe bound himselfe forgeue thee Leade vs not into temptation That is let vs not slippe out of thy lease but hold vs fast geue vs not vp nor cease to gouerne vs nor take thy spirite from vs. For as an hounde can not but folow his game when he seeth it before him if he be lowse so can we not but fall into sinne when occasioÌ„ is geuen vs if thou withdraw thine hand from vs. Lead vs not into temptatioÌ„ Let no temptation fall vpon vs greater then thine helpe in vs But be thou stroÌ„ger in vs then the temptation thou sendest or lettest come vppon vs. Lead vs not into teÌ„ptations Father though we be negligent yea and vnthankfull and disobedieÌ„t to thy true Prophetes yet let not the deuill lowse vpon vs to deceaue vs with his false Prophetes and to harden vs in the way in which we gladly walke as thou diddest Pharao with the false miracles of his sorcerers as thine Apostle Paule threateneth vs. ij Thes ij A litle threde holdeth a strong man where he gladly is A litle pullyng draweth a maÌ„ whether he gladly goeth A litle wynde dryneth a great shyp with the streame A light persuasion is inough to make a lecherous maÌ„ beleue that fornication is no sinne And an angry maÌ„ that it is lawfull to adueÌ„ge him selfe and so forth by all the corrupt nature of man A litle miracle is able to consirme and harden a man in that opinion and saith which his blind reason beleueth all ready A few false miracles were sufficiâ—t to persuade the couetousnesse of Pharao and his gredynesse to hold the children of Israell in boÌ„dage for their seruice that thy true miracles shewed by Moyses for their deliuerauÌ„ce were not of thee But of the same kynd and done by the same craft as were the miracles of his sorcerers and so to harden his hart Euen so father if thou geue vs ouer for our vnkyndnesse seyng the blynd nature of man deliteth in euill and is ready to beleue lyes a litle thyng is inough to make them that loue thee all ready not to walke in thy truth and therfore neuer able to vnderstand thy sonnes doctrine Iohn vij But for to beleue y t fayninges of our most holy father all is superstitions Poperie and inuisible blessinges and to hardeÌ„ them there in As a stone cast vp into y â— ayre can neither go any higher neither yee there abyde wheÌ„ the power of the hurler ceaseth to driue it Euen so father seyng our corrupt nature can but go downeward onely and the deuill and the world driueth therto y â— same waye how can we procede further in vertue or stand there in if thy power cease in vs. Leade vs not therfore O mercyful father into temptation nor cease at any tyme to gouerne vs. Now seyng the God of al mercy which knoweth thine infirmitie commaundeth thee to pray in all temptation and aduersitie and hath promised to helpe if thou trust in him what excuse is it to say wheÌ„ thou hast sinned I could not stand of my selfe when his power was ready to helpe thee if thou haddest asked But deliuer vs from euill First as aboue let vs not fall into temptation Secondarely if we be fallen as who liueth and falleth neuer for neuer to fall were inough to make a maÌ„ as euill as Lucifer and to beleue that he stode by his owne power If therfore we be fallen euen to the bottome how so euer deepe it be put in thine arme after for it is long strong inough and plucke vs out agayne Thirdly deliuer vs froÌ„ euill plucke vs out of the flesh and the world and the power of the deuill and place vs in thy kyngdome where we be past all ieopardy and where we can not sinne any more For the kingdome and the power and the glorie is thyne for euer Amen Because that thou onely art y â— king and all other but substitutes And because all power is thyne and all other mens power but borowed of thee therfore ought all honour and obedience to be thyne of right as chief Lord and none to be geuen other men but onely for the office they hold of thee Neither ought any creature to seeke any more in this world then to be a brother till thou haue put him in office theÌ„ if brotherlynesse will not helpe whiche he ought first to proue let hym execute thy power Neither may any maÌ„ take authoritie of him selfe till God haue choseÌ„ him that is to were til he be chosen by the ordinauÌ„ce that God hath set in y â— world to rule it Finally
their obedience they destroy the obedience that God ordayned in this world desireth no other With their pouerty they destroy the pouertie of the spirit which Christ taught onely whiche is onely not to loue worldly goodes With their fast they destroy the fast which God commaundeth that is a perpetuall sobernesse to tame the fleshe With their patteryng prayer they destroy the prayer taught by God whiche is either thankes or desiryng helpe with fayth trust that God heareth me Their holynesse is to forbyd y t God ordeined to be receaued with thankes giuyng as meate matrimony And their owne workes they maintayne let Gods decay Breake theirs they persecute to the death But breake Gods and they either looke through the fingers or els geue thee a flappe with a Foxe tayle for a litle money There is none order among them that is so perfect but that they haue a prison more cruell theÌ„ any iayle of theues and murtherers And if one of their brethren commit fornication or adultery in the world he finisheth his penaunce therin in three Wekes or a moneth and then is sent to an other place of the same religion But if he attempt to put of the holy habite he commeth neuer out is so straytly dioted therto that it is meruell if he liue a yeare beside other cruell murther that hath bene found among them and yet is this shamefull dyoting of theirs murther cruell inough Be not deceaued with visions nor yet with miracles But go to iudge their workes for the spiritual iudgeth all thinges sayth Paule i. Cor. ij Who is that spirituall not such as we now call men of holy Church But all that haue the true interpretation of the law written in their harts The right fayth of Christ and the true inteÌ„t of workes which God byddeth vs worke he is spirituall and iudged all thinges and is iudged of no man Not all that say to me Lorde Lorde shall enter into the kyngdome of heauen But he that fulfilleth the will of my father which is in heauen Many will say vnto me at that day Lord Lord dyd we not prophesie in thy name and in thy name cast out deuils and dyd we not in thy name many miracles Then will I confesse vnto theÌ„ I neuer knew you depart from me ye workers of iniquitie This doublyng of Lord hath vehemency and betokeneth that they which shal be excluded are such as thinke theÌ„ selues better and perfitter then other men and to deserue heauen with holy workes not for them selues onely but also for other And by that they prophesied by which thou mayst vnderstand the interpretyng of Scripture and by that they cast out deuils did miracles in Christes name and for all that they are yet workes of wickednesse and do not the will of the father which is in heauen it is playne that they be false Prophetes and euen the same of which Christ warned before And now for as much as Christ and his Apostles warne vs that such shall come and describe vs the fashions of their visures Christes name holy Church holy fathers and xv hundred yeares with Scripture and miracles and commaunde vs to turne our eyes from their visures and consider their frutes and cut them vp and loke with in whether they be sound in the core kernell or no and geue vs a rule to try them by is it excuse good inough to say God will not let so great a multitude erre I will folow the most part and beleue as my fathers dyd and as the preachers teach and will not busie my selfe chose them the faute is theirs and not ours God shall not lay it to our charge if we erre Where such wordes be there are the false Prophetes all ready For where no loue to the truth is there are y â— false Prophetes where such wordes be there to be no loue to y e truth is plame Ergo where such woordes be there be the false Prophetes in their full swyng by Paules rule ij Thessa ij An other conclusion where no loue to the truth is there be false Prophetes The greatest of the world haue least loue to the truth Ergo the false Prophetes be the Chaplaines of the greatest which may with the sword compel the rest As the kynges of Israell compelled to worshyp the golden Calues And by false Prophetes vnderstand falâ—e teachers as Peter calleth them and wycked expounders of the Scripture Who soeuer heareth these words of me and doth them I will lyken him vnto a wise man that built hys house vppon a rocke and there fell a rayne and the floudes came and the windes blew and beate vppon that house but it fell not for it was grounded vpon a rocke And all that heare of me these wordes and do them not shal be lykened vnto a foolishe man that buylt his house vpon the sand and there fell a rayne and the floudes came and the windes blâ—w and dashed vpon that house and it fell and the fall therof was great Christ hath two sortes of hearers of which neither of them do there after The one wil be saued by fayth of theyr owne makyng without workes The other with workes of their owne makyng without faith The first are those voluptuous which haue yelded them selues vp to sinne saying tushe God is mercyfull Christ dyed for vs that must saue vs onely for we cannot but sinne without resistaÌ„ce The second are the hypocrites which will deserue all with theyr owne imagined woorkes onely And of fayth they haue no other experience saue that it is a litle meritorious where it is paynefull to be beleued As that Christ was borne of a virgin and that he came not out the way that other children do he no that were a great inconuenience but aboue vnder her arme yet made no hole though he had a very naturall body as other meÌ„ haue and that there is no bread in the Sacrament nor wyne though the fiue wittes say all ye And the meritorious payne of this belefe is so heauy to them that except they had fayned them a thousand wise similitudes and lowsye lykenesses and as many madde reasoÌ„s to stay them with all and to helpe to captiuate their vnderstandyng they were like to cast all of their backes And the onely refuge of a great many to keepe in that fayth is to cast it out of their myndes not to thinke vpon it As though they forgeue not yet it they put the displeasure out of their myndes and thinke not of it til a good occasion be geueÌ„ to adueÌ„ge it they thinke they loue their neighbour well inough all the while and be in good charge And the fayth of the best of them is but like theyr fayth in other worldly stories But the fayth which is trust and confidence to be saued and to haue their sinnes forgeuen by Christ which was so borne haue they not at all
maliciously resisted the open truth agaynst hys owne conscience sence the world began that euer I read For it is sinne agaynst y â— holy ghost which Christ saith shall neither be forgeueÌ„ here nor in the world to come whiche text may this wise be vnderstand that as that sinne shal be punished with euerlastyng daÌ„nation in the lyfe to come euen so shall it not escape vengeauÌ„ce here As thou â—eest in Iudas in Pharao in Balam and in all other tyrauntes whiche agaynst their consciences resisted the open truth of God So now the cause why our Prelates thus rage that moueth them to call M. More to helpe is not that they finde iust causes in the translation but because they haue lost their iugglyng and fayned termes wherewith Peter prophesied they should make marchaundise of the people ¶ Whether the Church were before the Gospell or the Gospell before the Church AN other doubt there is whether the Church or congregatioÌ„ be before the Gospell or the Gospell before the Church Which question is as hard to solue as whether the father be elder then the sonne or the sonne elder then his father For the whole Scripture and all beleuing hartes testifie that we are begotten through the word Wherfore if the word beget the congregatioÌ„ he that begetteth is before hym that is begotten then is the Gospell before the Church Paul also Rom. ix sayth how shall they call on him whom they beleue not And how shall they beleue without a preacher That is Christ must first be preached yer men can beleue in him And then it foloweth that the word of the preacher must be before the fayth of the beleuer And therfore in as much as the word is before the faith and faith maketh the congregation therfore is the word or Gospell before the congregation And agayne as the ayre is darke of it selfe receaueth all her light of the sonne euen so are all mens hartes of theÌ„selues darke with lyes and receaue all their truth of Gods word in that they consent therto And moreouer as the darke ayre geueth the sonne no light but contrarywise the light of the sonne in respect of the ayre is of it selfe and lighteneth the ayre purgeth it from darkenesse eueÌ„ so the lying hart of man can geue the word of God no truth but contrary wise the truth of Gods word is of her self and lighteneth the harts of the beleuers and maketh them true and clenseth them from lyes as thou readest Iohn xv ye be cleane by reason of the word Which is to be vnderstand in that the word had purged their harces from lyes from false opinions from thinking euill good and therfore from consentyng to sinne And Iohn xvij sanctifie them O father thorough thy truth And thy woorde is truth And thus thou seest that Gods truth dependeth not of man It is not true because man so sayth or admitteth it for true But man is true because he beleueth it testifieth and geueth witnesse in hys hart that it is true And Christ also sayth him selfe Iohn v. I receaue no witnesse of maÌ„ For if the multitude of maÌ„s witnesse might make ought true then were the doctrine of Mahomete truer then Christes ¶ Whether the Apostles left ought vnwritten that is of necessitie to be beleued BUt did not y â— Apostles teach ought by mouth that they wrot not I aunswere because that many taught one thyng and euery man the same in diuers places and vnto diuers people and confirmed euery sermoÌ„ wyth a sundry miracle therfore Christ his Apostles preached an â—…red thousaÌ„d sermons and did as many miracles which had bene superfluous to haue bene all written But the pith and substaunce in generall of euery thing necessary vnto our soules health both of what we ought to beleue and what we ought to do was written and of the miracles done to confirme it as many as were nedeful So that whatsoeuer we ought to beleue or do that same is written expresely or drawen out of that which is written For if I were bound to do or beleue vnder payne of the losse of my soule any thing that were written nor depeÌ„ded of that which is writteÌ„ what holpe me the scripture that is written And thereto in as much as Christ and all his Apostles warned vs that false prophetes shoulde come with false miracles euen to deceaue the elect if it were possible wherewith shoulde the true preacher confound the false except he brought true miracles to confound the false or els autenticke scripture of full authoritie already among the people Some man woulde aske how dyd God continue his congregation from Adam to Noe and froÌ„ Noe to Abraham and so to Moses without writing but with teaching from mouth to mouth I aunswere first that there was no scripture all the whyle they shall proue wheÌ„ our Lady hath a new sonne God taught Adam greater thynges then to write And that there was writing in the world long yer Abraham yea yer Noe do stories testifie Notwithstanding though there had bene no writing the preachers were euer prophetes glorious in doing of miracles wherwith they cofirmed their preaching And beyond that god wrote his testameÌ„t vnto them aâ—way both what to do and to beleue eueÌ„ in y e sacramentes For the sacrifices which God gaue Adams sonnes were no dumme popetrie or superstitious Mahometrie but signes of the testament of God And in them they red y e worde of God as we do in bookes and as we should do in our sacraments if the wicked Pope had not taken the significations away from vs as he hath robbed vs of the true sence of all the scripture The testament which God made with Noe that he woulde no more drowne the worlde with water he wrote in the sacrament of the rainebow And the appointment made betwene him and Abraham he wrote in the sacrament of circumcision And therefore sayd Steuen Act. vij he gaue them y â— testameÌ„t of circumcision Not that the outwarde circumcision was the whole testament but the sacrameÌ„t or signe there For circumcision preached Gods worde vnto theÌ„ as I haue in other places declared But in the tyme of Moyses when the congregation was encreased that they must haue many preachers also rulers temporall then all was receaued in scripture in so much that Christ and his Apostles might not haue bene beleued without scripture for all their miracles Wherefore in as much as Christes congregation is spred abroad into all the worlde much broader then Moses and in as much as we haue not the olde testament onely but also the new wherein all thinges are opened so richly and all fulfilled that before was promised in as much as there is no promise behinde of ought to be shewed more saue the resurrection yea and seyng that Christ and all the Apostles with all the Angels of
for the deedes that pertayne vnto our neighbours and vnto the common wealth we haue not regarded at all as thynges which seemed no holy workes or such as God woulde not once looke vppon And therfore we left them vnsene to vntill they were past remedy or past our power to remedy thē in as much as our slowbellies with their false blessinges had iugled away from vs that wherwith they might haue bene holpen in due season So that y ◠silly poore man though he had haply no wisdome to expresse hys mynde or y t he durst not or y ◠M. More fashioneth his tale as he doth other mens to lest out the truth sawe that neither Goodwinsandes nor any other cause alleaged was the decay of Sandwich hauen so much as that the people had no lust to mainteyne the common wealth for blynde deuotion which they haue to popeholy workes ¶ The solutions and answeres vnto M. Mores first booke IN the first chapter to beginne the booke wythal to bring you good lucke and to geue you a say or a taste what truth shall follow he fayneth a letter sent from no man The second Chapter In the second chapter besides that it is vntrue this vse to haue bene euer since the tyme of the Apostles he maketh many sophisticall reasons about worshipping of saintes reliques and Images yet declareth not w t what maner worship but iuggleth with the terme in comune as he doth with this worde church and this worde fayth when the wordes haue diuers significations for all faithes are not one maner fayth and so forth and therefore he beguileth a mans vnderstanding As if a man sayd the boyes will was good to haue geuen his father a blow and an other woulde inferre that a good will coulde be no sinne and conclude that a man might lawfully smite hys father Now is good will taken in one sence in the maior and in an other in y ◠minor to vse schollers termes therfore the conclusion doth mocke a mās wit Then disputeth he the seruaunt is honoured for the masters sake and what is done to the poore is done to Christ as the popishe shall once feele for their so robbing them And the xii Apostles shall haue their seates sitte and iudge with Christ as shal all that here preach hym truely as they dyd and Mary that powred the ointment on Christes head before hys passion hath her memoriall and therefore we ought to set candles before Images First I aske hym by what rule hys argument holdeth And secondarily I answere that the true worshipping of Saintes is their memoriall to follow them as they did Christ And that honour we geue them and so do not ye papists but folow the steppes of your father the Pope as he doth the steppes of his father the deuill And as for sticking vp of candles I aunswere that God is a spirite and in the spirit must be worshipped only Faith to his promises and loue to his lawes and longing for the life that is in his sonne are his due honour and seruice All bodyly seruice must be referred vnto our selues and not vnto the person of God immediatly All outwarde thynges which we receaue of God are geuē vs. to take our partes with thankes and to bestow the rest vppon our neyghbours For God vseth no such thynges in his owne person but created thē for to gene thē vs that we shoulde thanke hym and not to receaue them of vs to thanke vs for that were our praise and not his Fasting watching wolward goyng pilgrimage and all bodely exercise must be referred vnto y t taming of the fleshe onely For as god deliteth not in y ◠tast of meat drinke or in the sight of golde or siluer no more doth he in my fast and such like that I should referre them vnto hys person to do him a pleasure withall For God in himselfe is as good as he can be hath all the delectation that he cā haue And the refore to wish that God were better then be is or had more pleasure then he hath is of a worldly imagination And all the spirites that be in heauē are in as good case as they can be and haue all the delectation they can haue and therefore to wishe them in better case or to studie to do them more pleasure then they haue is fleshly mynded popishnes The pleasure of them that be in heauen is that we harken to god and keepe his commaundementes which when we do they haue all the pleasure that they can haue in vs. If in this life I suffer hell gladly to win my brother to folow God how much more if I were in heauen should I reioyce that he so did If in thys worlde when I haue neede of my neighbour by the reason of myne infirmities yet I seke nought of him saue his wealth onely what other thing should I seke of hym if I were in heauen where he can do me no seruice nor I vse any pleasure that he can do me THe deuill desired to haue his imaginations worshipped as God his popishe children desire the same compell men so to honour them and of their deuelishe nature describe they both God and his Saintes And therfore I say all such fleshly imaginations as to fast the wensday in the worship of S. Iohn or of S. Katerine or what Saint it be or to fast Sayntes eues or to go a pilgrimage vnto their images or to offer to them to do them pleasure thinkyng therby to obteyne their fauour and to make special adnocates of them as a man would winne the fauour of an other with presentes and giftes and thinking that if we did it not they would be angry are playne Idolatry image seruice for the saint deliteth in no such And when thou stickest vp a candle before the image thou mightest with as good reason make an holow bely in the image and powre in meate and drincke For as the Saint neither eateth nor drinketh so hath he no bodyly eyes to delyte in the light of a candle An other is this God geueth not the promises that are in Christ for bodyly seruice but of his mercy onely vn to his owne glorie Yea and of the fathers goodnesse do all naturall childrē receaue Aske a litle boy who gaue him his gay coate he aūswereth his father Aske him why and he annswereth because he is his father and loueth hym and because he is his sonne Aske hym whether his father loue hym and he sayth yea Aske him how he knoweth it and he sayth because he geueth me this or that Aske him whether he loue his father he sayth yea Aske him why he sayth for his father loueth hym and geueth him all thing Aske him why he worketh he aunswereth his father wil so haue it Aske him why his father geneth not such and such boyes coates to Nay saith he they be not
violence euen so once our hartes sinned as naturally with full lust and consent vnto the fleshe the deuill possessing our hartes and keeping out the light of grace What good towardnesse and endeuour can we haue to hate sinne as long as we loue it What good towardnes can we haue vnto the will of God while we hate it and be ignoraunt therof Can the will desire that the witte seeth not Can the will long for and sigh for that the witte knoweth not of Can a maÌ„ take thought for that losse that he wotteth not of what good endeuour can the Turkes children the Iewes children and the Popes infantes haue when they be taught all falshead onely with like perswasions of worldly reason to be all iustified with workes It is not therefore as Paule saith of the running or willing but of the mercy of God that a man is called and chosen to grace The first grace the first fayth and the first iustifiyng is geuen vs freely sayth M. More which I would faine wete how it will stand with his other doctrine whether he meane any other thyng by chosyng them to haue Gods spirite geuen me and fayth to see the mercy that is layd vp for me to haue my sinnes forgeuen without all deseruyng preparyng of my self God did not see onely that the these that was saued at Christes death should come thether but God chose him to shew his mercy vnto vs that should after beleue and prouided actually wrought for the bringyng of him thether that day to make him see and to receaue the mercy that was layd vp for him in store before the world was made The xij Chaptâ—… IN y t xij in chaffyng himself to heape lye vpon lye he vttereth his feleable blindnesse For he axeth this question wherfore serueth exhortatioÌ„s vnto faith if the hearers haue not libertie of their frewill by whiche together with Gods grace a man may labour to submitte the rebellion of reason vnto the obedieÌ„ce of faith and credence of the worde of God Wherof ye see that besides his graunt that reason rebelleth agaynst fayth coÌ„trary to the doctrine of his first booke he will that the will shall compell the witte to beleue Whiche is as much to say as the carte must draw the horses and the sonne beget the father and the authoritie of the Church is greater theÌ„ Gods word For the wil can not teach the wit nor lead her but foloweth naturally so that what soeuer the witte iudgeth good or euill that the will loueth or hateth If the witte see and leade straight the will foloweth If the witte be blynde and leade amisse the will foloweth cleane out of y t way I can not loue Gods worde before I beleue it nor hate it before I iudge it false and vanitie He might haue wiselier spoken on this maner wherfore serueth the preachyng of fayth if the wit haue no power to draw the will to loue that whiche the wit iudgeth true and good If the will be nought teach the wit better the will shall alter and turne to good immediatly Blindnesse is the cause of ali euil and light the cause of all good so that where the fayth is right there the hart can not consent vnto euill to folow the lustes of the flesh as the popes fayth doth And this conclusion hath he halfe a doseÌ„ tymes in his boke that the will may compell the witte and captiuate it to beleue what a maÌ„ lusteth Verely it is like that his wittes be in captiuitie and for vauntage tangled with out holy fathers sophistrie His doctrine is after his owne feelyng and as the profession of his hart is For the Popish haue yelded theÌ„ selues to folow the lustes of their flesh compel their witte to absteine froÌ„ looking on y e truth lest she should vnquiet them and draw them out of the podell of their filthy voluptuousnesse As a carte that is ouerladen goyng vp an hill draweth the horses backe and in a tough mire maketh them stand still And then the carter the deuill whiche driueth theÌ„ is euer by and whistelleth vnto them and biddeth them captiuate their vnderstaÌ„dyng vnto profitable doctrine for which they shal haue no persecution but shal reigne and be kynges and enioy the pleasures of the world at their owne will The xiij Chapter IN the xiij hee sayth that the Clergie burneth no man As though the pope had not first fouÌ„d the law as though all his preachers babled not that in euery Sermon burne these heretickes burne them for we haue no other argument to conuince them and as though they compelled not both Kyng Emperour to sweare that they shall so do yer they crowne them Then hee bringeth in prouisions of Kyng Henry the v. Of whom I aske M. More whether he were right heyre vnto England or held hee the land with the sworde as an heathen tyraunt agaynst all right Whom the Prelates lest he should haue had leysure to hearken vnto the truth sent into Fraunce to occupie his mynde in warre and led hym at their will And I aske whether his father slew not his leige kyng and true inheritour vnto the crowne and was therefore set vp of the Byshops a false kyng to mainteine theyr falshead And I aske whether after that wicked deede folowed not the destruction of the comminaltie and quenchyng of all noble bloud The xiiij Chapter IN the xiiij he affirmeth that Martine Luther sayth it is not lawfull to resiste the Turke I wonder that hee shameth not so to lye seyng that Martine hath written a singular treatise for the contrary Besides that in many other workes he proueth it lawfull if he inuade vs. The xvi Chapter IN the xvi he alledgeth Councels I aske whether Councels haue authoritie to make Articles of the faith with out Gods worde yea and of thynges improued by Gods word He alledgeth Augustine Hierome Cypriane Let him put their workes in English and S. Prosperus with them Why damned they the vnion of Doctours but because the Doctours are agaynst them And when he alledgeth Martyrs let him shew one and take the calfe for his labour And in the end he biddeth beware of theÌ„ that liue well in any wise As though they whiche lyue euill can not teach amisse And if that be true then they be of the surest side M. When Tyndall was apposed of his doctrine yer hee went ouer see he sayde and sweare he ment no harme Tyndall He sware not neither was there any man that required an othe of him but he now sweareth by him whoÌ„ â—e trusteth to be saued by that hee neuer ment or yet meaneth any other harme then to suffer all that God hath prepared to be leyd on his backe for to bryng his brethreÌ„ vnto the light of our Sauiour Iesus which the Pope thorough falshead and corruptyng such Poetes as ye are ready vnto
to light that it can no lōger be hid get thē vnto the elders of the people the Lordes gentlemen and temporall officers and to all that loue this worlde as they do and vnto whosoeuer is great wyth the kyng and vnto the kyngs grace himselfe and after the same ensample and wyth the same perswasions cast them into like feare of losing of their worldly dominions and rore vnto them saying ye be negligent and care nothing ot all but haue a good sport that the heretickes rayle on vs. But geue thē space a while till they be growen vnto a multitude and then ye shall see them preach as fast against you and moue the people agaynst you and do their beste to thruste you downe also and shall cry hauocke and make all common O generation of serpentes how well declare ye that ye be the right sonnes of the father of all lyes For they which ye call heretickes preach nothing saue that which our Sauiour Iesus Christ preached and his Apostles adding nought therto nor plucking ought therfro as the Scripture commaundeth and teach all men repentaunce to God and his holy lawe and fayth vnto our Sauiour Iesus Christ and the promises of mercy made in hym and obedience vnto all that God commaundeth to obey Neyther teach we so much as to resiste your most cruell tyranny with bodely violence saue wyth Gods worde onely entending nothing but to driue you out of the temple of Christ the harts consciences and soules of mē wherein with your falshead ye sit and to restore agayne Iesus our Sauiour vnto his possession and inheritaunce bought with his bloude whence ye haue driuen him out with your manifolde wyles and subtiltie Take heede therefore wicked Prelates blynde leaders of the blynde indurat and obstinate hypocrites take heede For if the Phariseis for their resisting the holy Ghost that is to say persecuting the open and manifest truth and sleying the preachers therof escaped not the wrath vengeaunce of god how shall ye scape which are farre worse thē the Phariseis For though the Phariseis had shut vp the Scripture and set vp theyr owne professions yet they kept theyr owne professions for the most part But ye will be the chiefest in Christes flocke and yet wyll not keepe one iot of the right way of his doctrine Ye haue therto set vp wonderfull professions to be more holy therby thē ye thinke that Christes doctrine is able to make you and yet keepe as little thereof except it be with dispensations in so much that if a man aske you what your maruelous fashioned playing coates and your other popatrye meane and what your disfigured heades all your Apishplay meane ye know not and yet are they but signes of thinges which ye haue professed Thyrdly ye will be Papistes and holde of the Pope and yet looke in the Popes lawe and ye keepe thereof almost nought at all but whatsoeuer soundeth to make for your bellyes and to maintaine your honour whether in the Scripture or in your owne traditions or in the Popes lawe that ye compell the laye people to obserue violently threatening them with your excommunications and cursses that they shal be damned both body and soule if they keepe them not And if that helpe you not then ye murther them mercilesly with the sworde of the temporall powers whom ye haue made so blinde that they be ready to sley whom ye cōmaūde and will not yet heare his cause examined nor geue him roome to aunswere for himselse And ye elders of the people feare ye God also For as the elders of the Iewes which were partakers with the Scribes and Phariseis in resisting the holy Ghost and in persecuting the open truth and sleying the witnesses therof and in prouoking the wrath of God had their parte with them also in the day of wrath and sharpe vengeaunce which shortly after fell vppon them as the nature of the sinne against the holy Ghost is haue her damnation not onely in the worlde to come but also in this life according vnto all the ensamples of the Bible and autenticke stories since the worlde beganne euen likewise ye if ye will wincke in so open cleare light and let your selues be led blyndfold and haue your part with the hypocrites in lyke sinne and mischief be sure ye shall haue your part with them in lyke wrath and vengeance that is like shortly to fall vpon them And concernyng that the hypocrites put you in feare of the rising of your commons agaynst you I aunswere if ye feare your cōmōs so testifie ye agaynst your selues that ye are tyrauntes For if your consciences accused you not of euill doyng what neede ye to feare your commons What commons was euer so euil that they rose against their heads for well doyng Moreouer ye witnesse agaynst your selues also that ye haue no trust in God For he hath promised the temporall officers assistence if they minister their offices truly and to care for the keepyng of thē as much as they care for to kepe his lawes The hypocrites happly byd you take an example of the Vplanoish people of Almany which they lye that Martin Luther styrred vp For first what one sentence in all the writyng of Martin Luther finde they that teacheth a mā to resist his superiour Moreouer if Martin Luther and the preachers had styrred vp the common people of Germany how happened it that Martin Luther other like preachers had not perished likewise with them whiche are yet all alyue at this houre Ye will aske me who styrred thē vp them I aske you Who styrred vp the commōs of the Iewes to resiste the Emperour after that the Scribes and Phariseis with the Elders of the people had slayne Christ his Apostles Verely the wrath of God And euen so here the wrath of God styrred them vp partly to destroy the enemyes and persecutours of the truth and partly to take vengeaunce on those carnall beastes whiche abused the Gospell of Christ to make a cloke of it to defend their fleshly libertie and not to obey it and to saue their soules therby If Kynges Lordes and great men therfore feare the losse of this worlde Let them feare God also For in fearyng God shall they prolong their dayes vpon the earth and not with sightyng agaynst God The earth is Gods onely his fauour and mercy doth prolong the dayes of kynges in their estate not their owne power and might And let all men be they neuer so great hearkē vnto this and let this be an aunswere vnto them Wicked kyng Achab sayd vnto the Prophet Elias Art thou he that troublest Israell And Elias aūswered it is not I that trouble Israell but thou and thy fathers houshold in that ye haue forsaken the commaundementes of the Lord and folow Idoles Euen so the preachers of the truth which rebuke sinne are not the troublers of
2. To pray for all mē and all degrees saying that to bee acceptable vnto our Sauiour God whiche will haue all men saued and come to the knowledge of the truth that is some of al natiōs and all degrees not the Iewes onely For sayth hee there is one God and one mediatour betwene God and man the man Christ Iesus whiche gaue him selfe a redemption and full satisfaction for all men Let this therefore be an vndoubted Article of thy fayth not of an hystorie fayth as thou beleuest a gest of Alexander or of the old Romains but of a liuely fayth and belefe to put thy trust and confidēce in and to by and sell theron as we say and to haue thy sinnes takē away and thy soule saued thereby if thou hold it fast and to continue euer in sinne and to haue thy soule damned if thou let it slip that our Iesus our Saniour that saueth his people from their sinnes our Christ that is our kyng ouer all sinne death and hell annoynted with fulnesse of all grace and with the spirite of God to distribute vnto all men hath accordyng vnto the Epistle to the Hebrues all the scripture in the dayes of his mortall flesh with fastyng praying sufferyng and crying to God mightily for vs with shedyng his bloud made full satisfaction both a poena a culpa with our holy fathers leaue for all the sinnes of the world both of theirs that went before of theirs that come after in the faith whether it be Original sinne or actual not onely the sinnes cōmitted with consent to euill in tyme of ignoraunce before the knowledge of the truth but also the sinnes done of frailtie after we haue forsaken euill and cōsented to the lawes of God in our harts promising to folow Christ and walke in the light of his doctrine Hee saueth his people from their sinnes Math. 1. and that he onely So that there is no other name to be saued by Actes 4. And vnto hym beare all the Prophets recorde that all that beleue in hym shall receaue remission of their sinnes in his name Actes 10. And by him onely we haue an entring in vnto the father and vnto all grace Ephe. 2. 3. and Rom. 5. And as many as come before hym are theues murtherers Iohn 10. That is whosoeuer preacheth any other forginenesse of sinne then through fayth in hys name the same slayeth the soule This to be true not onely of originall but of actual and aswel of that we commit after our profession as before mayst thou euidently see by the ensamples of the Scripture Christ forgaue the woman taken in adulterie Iohn 8 and an other whom be healed Iohn 5 And he forgaue Publicanes and open sinners and put none to do penaunce as they call it for to make satisfactiō for the sinne which he forgaue through repentaunce fayth but enioyned them the lyfe of penaunce the profession of their Baptisme to tame the flesh in kepyng the commaundementes and that they should sinne no more And those sinners were for the most part Iewes and had their Originall sinne forgiuen them before through fayth in the Testament of God Christ forgaue his Apostles their actuall sinnes after their professiō which they committed in denyeng hym put none to do penaunce for satisfactiō Peter Actes 2. absolueth the Iewes thorough repentaunce and fayth from their actuall sinnes whiche they dyd in consentyng vnto Christes death and enioyned them no penaūce to make satisfaction Paul also had his actuall sinnes forgiuen hym frely thorough repentaunce and fayth without mention of satisfactiō Actes 9. So that accordyng vnto this present texte of Iohu If it chaūce vs to sinne of frailtie let vs not dispayre for we haue an aduocate and intercessour a true attorney with the father Iesus Christ righteous toward God and man and is the reconcilyng and satisfaction for our sinnes For Christes workes are perfect so that he hath obtained vs all mercy and hath set vs in the full state of grace and fauour of God and hath shade vs as welbeloued as the aungels of heauen though we be yet weake As the yoūg childrē though they can do no good at all are yet as tenderly beloued as the old And God for Christes sake hath promised that whatsoeuer euil we shal do yet if we turne and repent he will neuer more thinke on our sinnes Thou wilt say God forgiueth the displeasure but we must suffer payne to satisfie the righteousnes of God A then God hath a righteousnes whiche may not forgeue paine al y t the poore sinner shuld go skotfre without ought at all God was vnrighteous to forgiue the theefe his payne and all thorough repentaunce faith vnto whom for lack of laysure was no penasice enioyned And my faith is that whatsoeuer exāple of mercy God hath shewed one that same he hath promised all ye will he peraduenture forgiue me but I must make amendes If I owe you xx l. ye will forgiue me that is ye will no more be angry with me but I shal pay you the. xx poundes O Popishe forgiuenesse with whom it goeth after the common prouerbe no peny no pardon His fatherhode giueth pardō frely but we must pay money aboundantly Paules doctrine is Rom. 9. if a man worke it ought not to be sayd that his hyre was giuē hym of grace or fauour but of dutie But to hym that worketh not but beleueth in hym that iustifieth the vngodly his faith he sayth not his workes although he commaundeth vs diligently to worke and despiseth none that God commaūdeth his faith saith hee is rekened hym for hys righteousnes Confirmyng his saying with the testimonie of the prophet Dauid in the 32. Psalme saying Blessed is the man vnto whō God imputeth or rekeneth not his sinne that is to say which man although he be a sinner yet God layeth not it to his charge for his faithes sake And in the. xi hee sayth If it come of grace then it cōmeth not of works For then were grace no grace sayth he For it was a very straunge speakyng in Paules cares to call that grace that came of deseruyng of workes Or that deseruyng of workes whiche came by grace for he rekened workes grace to be contrary in such maner of speach But our holy father hath coupled thē together of pure liberalitie I dare say not for couetousnes For as his holynesse if hee haue a cause agaynst any man immediatly bretheth out an excommunication vppon hym and will haue satisfaction for the vttermost farthing and somwhat aboue to teach thē to beware agaynst an other tyme yet he will blesse agayne from the terrible sentence of his heauy curse euen so of that blessed complection hee describeth the nature of the mercy of God that God will remitte his anger to vs vppon the appointment of our satisfaction When the Scripture sayth Christ is our
ignoraunce of Christ and of his owne sinne and without repentaunce faith that his sinnes be forgeuen him in Christ and therefore is mercilesse vnto hys brother whom Christ commaunded him to pitie and loue And in that ignoraunce he walketh that is worketh euill and loueth the thinges of the worlde and seeketh in them the lustes of the â—lesh which are the quenching of the spirite and death of the soule for loue of them hateth his brother And this ignoraunce of Christ which is vnbeleef is the cause of all the wickednes that we do vnto our brethren I write vnto you little children that your sinnes are forgeuen you for hys names sake I write vnto you fathers that ye know him that was from the beginning I write vnto you yong men how that ye haue ouercome the wicked I write vnto you that are yong in the fayth and yet weake and therefore fall now and then how that your sinnes are forgeuen you as soone as ye repent and reconcile your selues vnto your brethren whom ye haue offended euen for his names sake onely and not for our owne deedes whether afore or after or for any other mans deedes or satisfaction saue for his onely I write vnto you that are fathers in the doctrine of God to teach other how that ye know him that was from the begynnyng is no new thing though he newly receaued our nature And through knowledge of him which is the onely light and the dore vnto the knowledge of God ye are become fathers in the Scriptures Or els ye had neuer vnderstand it though ye had studied neuer so much as it appeareth by the indurate Iewes and also by oure owne new Pharisies which persecute the scripture and the true sence therof because they be drowned in the ignoraunce of Christ as their deedes and contrary liuing well testifie I write vnto you yong meÌ„ that are strong in suffering persecutions and fight for your profession not with the sword but with suffering how that ye haue ouercome that wicked which poisoned the world at the beginning and yet woorketh in the children of darcknesse and vnbeleefe and that in beleuing the woorde of truth as it foloweth anone after I write vnto you yong children howe that ye knowe the Father I write vnto you fathers howe that ye know him that was from the beginning I write vnto you young men that ye be strong and the woorde of God dwelleth in you and that ye haue ouercomme the wicked I write vnto you yong children how that ye know the Father whome yee loue thorough knowledge of the Sonne or els you had neuer knowne him as a father but as a Iudge and a tyrant and had hated him I write vn to you fathers as before howe ye are fathers of all trueth in knowing the Sonne Or els ye had euer continued in darknesse remedilesse I write vnto you youÌ„g men how y t ye are strong and that your strength is the word of God which dwelleth in your brest through fayth in which ye haue ouercome the wicked deuill and all his pompe as it foloweth chapt v. this is the victorye that ouercommeth the world euen our fayth Loue not the worlde nor the thinges that are in the worlde If a man loue the worlde the loue of the Father is not in him For all that is in the worlde as the lust of the fleshe the lust of the eyes and the pride of good are not of the Father but are of the world And the worlde vanisheth away and the lust thereof But he that doth the will of God abideth euer The loue of the world quencheth the loue of God Balaam for the loue of the world closed his eyes at the cleare light which he well saw For loue of the world the olde Pharisies blasphemed the holy Ghost and persecuted the maniâ—est truth which they coulde not improue For loue of the world many are this day fallen away and many which stood on the truthes side and defended it a while for loue of the worlde haue gotten them vnto the contrarye parte and are become the Popes mamalukes are waxed the most wicked â—…s vnto the truth and most cruel agaynst it They know the truth but they loue the worlde And when they espyed the truth could not stand wysh the honoures which they sought in the world they hated it deadly and both wittingly and willingly persecuted it sinning against the holy Ghost Which sinne shall not escape here vnpunished as it shall not be without damnation in the world to come but shall haue an ende here with confusion and shame as had the glory of our right reuerend father in God Thomas Wolfse late cardinall and legate a latere c. whome after his shitten death as the saying is his owne seruauntes which before exalted his glory haue sent to hel with grace and priuiledge By the lust of the flesh is vnderstaÌ„d lechery whiche maketh a man altogether a swine and by the lust of the eyes is vnderstoode couetousnes which is the roote of all euil and maketh â—o erre from the fayth 1. Tim. vlâ— And then followeth pride whiche three are the world and captaines ouer all other vices and occasions of all mischief And if pride couetousnes and lechery be the world as S. Iohn sayth then turne your eyes vnto the spiritualtie vnto the pope cardinals bishops aâ—bates and all other prelates and see whether suche dignities bee not the world and whether the way to them be not also the world To get the olde abbats treasure I thinke it be the readiest way to be the newe How fewe come by promotion except they buy it or serue long for it or both To be wel skilled in war and in polling to maintaine war and lustes and to be a good ambassadour is the onely way to a bishopricke or to pay truely for it See whether pluralities vnions totquets and chainging the lesse benefice bysshoprike for the greater for the contrary chainge I trow was neuer â—ene may be without couetousnes pride And then if such thinges be the world and the world not of God how is our spiritualtie of God If pride be seking of glory and they that seeke glory can not beleue Ioh. 5. How can our spiritualty beleue in Christ If couetousnes turne men from the fayth how are our spiritualty in the fayth If Christ when the deuill proferred hym the kyngdomes of the world and the glorie thereof refused them as thynges vnpossible to stande with hys kyngdome whiche is not of the worlde of whom are our spiritualtie whiche haue receyued them If couetousnes be a traytour and taught Iudas to sell his maister how should he not in so long time teache oure spiritualtie the same craft namely when they be of all kinges secretes and the ambassadours of their secretes and haue thereto thoroughout al ChristeÌ„dome a secret couÌ„sell of their
vse of the Masse to ours and see whether the Masse be not become the most damnable Idolatrie image seruice that euer was in the world We neuer reconcile our selues vnto our brethren which we haue offended we receaue vnto our Masse open sinners the couetous the extorcioners the adulter the backbiter the common whore and the whore keper whiche haue no part in Christ by y t Scripture ye such are suffred to say the Masse as the vse is now to speake ye such are we coÌ„pelled with the sword to take for our pastors and Curates of our soules and not so hardy to rebuke them Neither do they repeut and confesse their sinnes and promise amendement or submit them selues to holesome iniunctioÌ„s for the aduoyding of such sinnes and tamyng of their flesh We say Confiteor and knowledge our selues to be sinners in Latin but neuer repent in English The Priest prayeth in Latin and saith euermore a still Masse as we say For though he sing and streine his throate to cry â—onde vnto them that be by him yet as long as no man woteth what he prayeth or whether he blesse or curse he is doute and spechles And so in that part we abide frutelesse and vntaught how to pray vnto God And the Gospell is song or sayd in Latine onely and no preachyng of repentauÌ„ce toward the law fayth toward Christ had And therfore abide we euer faythles and without studieng to ameÌ„d our liuinges And of the ceremonies of the Masse we haue no other imagination then that they be an holy seruice vnto God which he receaueth of our hands and hath great delectation in them and that we purchase great fauour of God with them as we do of great men here in the world with giftes and preseÌ„tes In so much that if y â— Priest sayd Masse without those vestimentes or left the other ceremonies vndone we should all quake for feare thinke that there were a sinne coÌ„mitted inough to sinke vs all and that the priest for his labour were worthy to be put in the Popes purgatory there to be brent to ashes And of the very Sacrament it selfe we know no other thyng then that we come thether to see an vnseable miracle which they affirme the aungels in heauen haue no power to do Sed solis Presbyteris quibus sic congruit vt sumaÌ„t nec dent caeteris how that bread is turned into the body and wine into the bloud of Christ to mocke our seyng sinellyng feelyng and tasting which is a very strong fayth and more a great deale I thinke then the text compelleth a man to Neuerthelesse it were somewhat yet if they had bene as lonyng kinde carefull and diligent to teach the people to repent and to beleue in the bloud of Christ for the forgeuenes of their sinnes vnto the glory of the mercy of God of his excedyng loue to vs and vnto the profite of our soules vpon that preachyng to haue ministred the Sacrament as a memoriall remembraunce signe token earnest the seale of an obligatioÌ„ and clappyng of handes together for the assuraunce of the promise of God to quiet stablish and certifie our conscieÌ„ces and to put vs out of all waueryng doubt that our sinnes were forgeuen vs and God become our father at one with vs for which cause onely Christ ordeined it as they were zelous and feruent to mainteine the opinion of so turning bread and wine into the body bloud of Christ that it ceaseth to be bread and wine in nature vnto their owne glory and profite without helpe of Scripture but with sutle Argumentes of sophistrie and with crafty wiles First with taking away halfe the sacrameÌ„t lest if the people should haue dronke the bloud of Christ they should haue smelled the sauour and felte the tast of wine and so haue bene to weake to beleue that there had bene no wine And secondarily when they durst not robbe the people of all the Sacrament they yet tooke away common bread and imagined maunchetes which may not be handled and in sight haue no similitude of bread and in eatyng very litle â—ast if there be any at all And thyrdly whom they could not catch with those craftes against him they disputed with the sword For when they had taken away the signification and very intent of the Sacrament to stablish the eare confession their merites deseruynges iustifieng of workes and like inueÌ„tion vnto their own glory and profit what had the SacrameÌ„t bene if they had not made of that opinion an article of the fayth But now when they haue destroyed for the nonce that fayth which profited and haue set vp with wiles sutiltie falsehead guile and with violeÌ„ce that fayth which profiteth not we haue good cause to iudge and examine the doctrine of the spirites whether it be grounded vpon Gods word or no. But I aske wherfore we beleue that Christes body and his bloud is there preseÌ„t verely as many heades as many wittes euery man hath his meaning We take paynes to come thether to see straunge holy gestures wherof say they to their shame who knoweth the meanyng ye or of the other disguising and to heare strauÌ„ge holy voyces wherof say I also that no man knoweth the vnderstanding and to looke vppon the Sacrament and all to obteine worldly thinges for that seruice Why may not a man desire worldly thinges of God Yes we ought to aske of God onely sufficiency of all worldly things as we do spirituall thinges yet not for bodily seruice when God is a spirite but for the goodnesse and mercy of our father and for the truth of his promise and deseruinges of his sonne And so when we do men bodily seruice we ought to looke for our wages of God lest if hee moue not the hartes of our masters we be shrewdly payed like wise when we lende or bargen we ought to desire God for payment lest through our negligence he forget vs the appointementes be not truly kept Some there be yet that aske heauen but for bodyly seruice whiche is lyke abhomination But who commeth thether with repentaunce and faith for to obtaine forgeuenesse of his sinnes and with purpose to walke in the life of penauÌ„ce for the taming of the flesh that he sinne no more and to stablish his hart in that purpose and to arme his soule agaynst all that moue to the contrary and wheÌ„ he goeth home is certified in hys coÌ„science through that signe and token that his sinnes are forgeuen him as Noe was certified by the signe of the rayne bow that the world should no more be ouerrunne with water and as Abraham was certified by the signe of CircumcisioÌ„ that God would fulfill to him and his ofspring all the mercies that he had promised and as Abraham Genesis xv when he asked a signe to be sure that he should possesse that land of Canaan was certified through the signe that God gaue
was and how such ceremonies came vp and whence they had their begynnyng and what the frute thereof is and what is therin to be sought And though this were inough so that I might here wel cease yet because the vnquiet scrupulous and superstitious nature of man wholy giuen to Idolatrie hath styrred vp such traditions about this one Sacrament most specially I cannot but speake therof somewhat more and declare what my conscience thinketh in this matter Ye shall vnderstand therfore that there is great dissention and three opinions about the woordes of Christ where he sayth in pronouncyng the testament ouer the bread This is my body And in pronouncyng it ouer the wyne This is my bloud One part say that these woordes This is my body This is my bloud compell vs to beleue vnder payne of damnation that the bread and wyne are chaunged into the very body and bloud of Christ really As the water at Cana Galilee was turned into very wyne The second part sayth we be not bound to beleue that bread and wyne are chaunged but onely that his body and bloud are there presently The thyrd say we be bound by these woordes onely to beleue that Christes body was broken and hys bloudshed for the remissiō of our sinnes and that there is no other satisfaction for sinne then the death and passion of Christ The first say these woordes This is my body This is my bloud compell vs to beleue that thynges there shewed are the very body and bloud of Christ really But bread and wyne say they cannot be Christes naturall body ther fore the bread and wyne are chaunged turned altered and transubstantiated into the very body bloud of Christ And they of this opinion haue busied them selues in seekyng subtilties and similitudes to proue how the very body and bloud might be there vnder the similitude of bread and wine onely the very bread and wyne beyng thus trāsubstantiated And these men haue ben so occupyed in slaying all that wil not captiue their wits to beleue them that they neuer taught nor vnderstode that the Sacrament is an absolution to all that therby beleue in the body bloud of Christ The second part graunt with the first that the wordes compel vs to beleue that the things shewed in the Sacrament are the very body and bloud of Christ But where the first say bread and wine cannot be the very body and bloud of Christ There they vary and dissent from them affirming that bread and wine may and also is Christes body really and very bloud of Christ and say that it is as true to say that bread is Christes body and that wyne is hys bloud as it is true to say Christ beyng a very mā is also very God And they say as the Godhead and manhode in Christ are in such maner coupled togegether that mā is very God and God very man Euen so the very body and the bread are so coupled that it is as true to say that bread is the body of Christ and the bloud so annexed there with the wyne that it is euen as true to say that the wyne is Christes bloud The first though they haue slayne so many in and for the defence of their opinion yet they are ready to receiue the second sort to fellowshyp not greatly striuyng with them or abhorryng the presence of bread and wyne with the very body and bloud so that they yee by that meanes may keepe hym there still and hope to sell hym as deare as before and also some to bye hym and not to minish the price The thyrd sort affirme that the wordes meane no more but onely that we beleue by the thyngs that are there shewed that Christes body was brokē and his bloud shed for our sinnes if we will forsake our sinnes turne to God to kepe his law And they say that these sayinges This is my body and This is my bloud shewyng bread wyne are true as Christ meant them and as the people of that countrey to whō Christ spake were accustomed to vnderstand such wordes and as the Scripture vseth in a thousand places to speake As when one of vs sayth I haue dronke a cup of good wyne that saying is true as the mā meant that he dranke wyne onely and not the cup whiche wordes happely in some other nations eares would sound that he dranke the cuppe And as when we say of a child This is such a mans very face the wordes are true as the maner of our land is to vnderstand them that the face of the one is very like the other And as whē we say he gaue me his fayth and hys truth in my hand the wordes are true as we vnderstand them that he stroke handes with me or gaue earnest in signe or token that he would byde by his promise For the fayth of a mā doth alway rest in his soule and cannot be giuen out though we giues signes and tokens of them Euen so say they we haue a thousād examples in the Scripture where signes are named with names of thynges signified by them As Iacob called the place where hee saw the Lord face to face Phenyell that is Gods face when he saw the Lord face to face Now it is true to say of that field that it is Gods face though it be not his very face The same field was so called to signifie that Iacob there saw God face to face The chief hold and principall ancre that the two first haue is these words This is my body This is my bloud Vnto these the third aunswereth as is aboue sayd other textes they alledge for them selues whiche not onely do not strength their cause but rather make it worse As in y e sixt of Iohn which they draw and wrest to the carnall and flesh ly eating of Christes body in y e mouth when it onely meaneth of this eatyng by fayth For when Christ sayd except ye eate the flesh of the sonne of mā and drinke hys bloud ye haue no lyfe in you This cannot be vnderstanded of the Sacrament For Abraham had life and all the old holy fathers Christes mother Elizabeth Zacharias Iohn Baptist Symeon Anna and all the Apostles had lyfe already by fayth in Christ Of which not one had eatē hys flesh and dronke his bloud with theyr bodily mouthes But truth it is that the righteous liueth by his fayth Ergo to beleue and trust in Christes bloud is the eatyng that there was meant as the texte well proueth if they say we graunt that life commeth by faith but we all that beleue must be Baptised to keepe the law and to keepe the couenaunt in mynde Euen so all that lyueth by fayth must receiue the Sacrament I aunswere The Sacrament is a confirmation to weake consciences and in no wise to be despised howbeit many haue lyued by fayth in the wildernes whiche in 20. 30.
where one I pray ye but also done by the commoÌ„ course of nature here in earth If they be done by the common course of nature so be they no miracles And some thynges made also by mans hand As one face beholded in diuers glasses and euery peece of one glasse broken into twenty c. Lorde how this pontiâ—icall Poete playeth his part Bicause as he saith we see many faces in many glasses therefore may one body be in many places as though euery shadow and similitude representing the body were a bodely substauÌ„ce But I aske More when hee seeth hys owne face in so many glasses whether all those faces that appeare in the glasses be his owne very faces hauing bodely substaunce skynne fleshe bone as hath that face which hath his very mouth nose eyen c. wherewith he faceth vs out the truth thus falsely with lyes And if they be all his very faces then in very deede there is one body in many places and he him selfe beareth as many faces in one hode But accordyng to his purpose eueÌ„ as they be no very faces nor those so many voyces sownes and similitudes multiplied in the ayre betwene the glasses or other obiect the body as the Philosopher proueth by naturall reason be no very bodyes no more is it Christes very body as they would make thee beleue in the bread in so many places at once But the bread broken and eaten in the Supper monisheth and putteth vs in remembraunce of his death and so exciteth vs to thankes giuyng to lande and prayse for the benefite of our redemption and thus wee there haue Christ present in the inward eye and sight of our fayth We eate his body and drinke hys bloud that is we beleue surely that hys bodye was crucified for our sinnes and hys bloud shed for our saluation At last note Christen reader that M. More in the third booke of his confutation of Tyndall the. CCxlix side to proue S. Iohns Gospell vnperfit and insufficient for leauing out of so necessary a point of our faith as he calleth the last Supper of Christ his MauÌ„dy sayth that Iohn speake nothyng at all of this SacrameÌ„t And now see againe in these his letters agaynst Frith how him selfe bringeth in Iohn the vj. chap. to impugne Frithes writyng and to make all for the Sacrament eueÌ„ thus My flesh is verely meate my bloud drinke Belike the man had there ouer shotte hym selfe foule the young man here causing him to put on his spectacles and poore better and more wisely with his old eyen vpoÌ„ S. Iohns Gospel to finde that thing there now written which before he would haue made one of his vnwritten verities As yet if he looke narowly hee shall espy that him self hath proued vs by Scripture in the xxxvij leafe of his Dialogue of quoth he and quoth I our Ladies perpetuall virginitie expoundyng non cogâ—osco id est non cognoscam whiche now written vnwritten veritie hee numbereth a litle before among his vnwritteÌ„ vanities Thus may ye see how this old holy vpholder of the popes church hys woordes fight agaynst him selfe into his own confusion in findyng vs forth his vnwritten written vanities verities I should say But returne we vnto the exposition of S. Iohn When the Iewes would not vnderstand the spirituall saying of the eating of Christes flesh and drinkyng of hys bloud so oft and so playnely declared he gaue them a strong stripe and made them more blynd for they so deserued it such are the secrete iudgementes of God addyng vnto all hys sayinges thus who so eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud abideth in me and I in him These wordes were spoken vnto these vnbeleuers into their farther obstinatioÌ„ but vnto the faithfull for theyr better instruction Now gather of this the contrary say who so eateth not my fleshe and drinketh not my bloud abydeth not in me nor I in him and ioyne this to the foresayd sentence Except ye eate the flesh of the sonne of maÌ„ drinke hys bloud ye haue no lyfe in you let it neuer fal froÌ„ thy minde Christen reader that faith is the lyfe of the righteous and that Christ is this lyuyng bread whom thou eatest that is to say in whoÌ„ thou beleuest For if our Papistes take eatyng drinkyng here bodely as to eate the naturall body of Christ vnder the forme of bread and to drinke hys bloud vnder the forme of wyne theÌ„ must all young children that neuer came to Gods borde departed all laye men that neuer drancke hys bloud be damned By loue we abyde in God and hee in vs loue foloweth faith in the order of our vnderstanding and not in order of succession of tyme if thou lookest vpon the selfe giftes and not on their fruites So that principally by faith wherby we cleaue to Gods goodnes and mercy we abide in God and God in vs as declare his wordes folowyng saying as the liuyng father sent me so liue I by my father And euen so he that eateth me shall lyue bycause of me or for my sake My father sent me whose will in all thinges I obey for I am his sonne And euen soverely must they that eate me that is beleue in me forme and fashion them after my exaÌ„ple mortifying their flesh chaunging their liuing or els they eate me in vayne and dissemble theyr belief For I am not come to redeme y t world onely but also to chaunge theyr lyfe They therefore that beleue in me shall traÌ„sforme their life after my example doctrine not after any mans traditioÌ„s This is the bread y t came froÌ„ heaueÌ„ as the effect it selfe declareth whoÌ„ who so eateth shall lyue euer But he y t eateth bodely bread lyueth not euer as ye may see of your fathers y t eate MaÌ„na yet are they dead It is not therfore any materiall bread nor bodely foode that may geue you life eternall These wordes did not onely offende them that hated Christ but also some of hys Disciples They were offended sayd the text and not merueyled as More trifleth out the truth which said This is an hard saying who may here this These Disciples yet stoke no lesse in Christes visible fleshe and in the barke of his wordes then did the other Iewes and as doth now More beleuing him to haue had spoken of his naturall body to be eaten with their teth Which offence Christ seyng sayd doth this offend you what then will ye say if ye see the sonne of maÌ„ ascend thether where he was before If it offend you to eate my flesh while I am here it shal much more offend you to eate it when my body shal be gone out of your sight ascended into heauen there sittyng on the right hand of my father vntill I come again as I weÌ„t that is to iudgement Here might Christ haue instructed his disciples in the truth of the
sinnes 95. b Phocas an Emperour 347. b. hys priuiledge to the see of Rome ibid. Phrases of speach expounded 77. b Pilgrimages 282. a. how lawfull 20 a. not needefull to a ChristiaÌ„ for his saluation 155 a Pilgrimages true what they be 272 a Pitie 282. b Pipinus 348. a Places of Scripture shewing Christes departure hence as touchyng his naturall body 470. b Places hauing prerogatiue for prayer 283. a Plerophoria how knowen 414. a Pluralitie of benefices 373. b Poetry Scripture to Popish schole men 168. a Pollaxes borne before high Legates what they signifie 142. b Pope with his Prelates set foorth 53. b. a God on earth 349. a. Antichrist 262. a 289. a. 308. a. the deuilles vicare 359. a. persecuteth Gods word 25. b. 290. a. a deniâ—…h blasphemer ibid. hath no Martyrs 294. a. a peacebreaker 365. b. a tyrauÌ„t 318. a. a breaker of bondes of Matrimony 350. a commaundeth murder 106. a. cause of great periury 115. a Popes haue ben bloudsheders aboue this 700. yeares 351. a Pope a mercyles tyraunt 362. b. curseth his enemyes 395. b. wilnot be rebuked 364. b. onely forbyddeth mariage 127. b. halfe a God 461. b aloft ouer all Byshops and Kings 353. a. aduaunceth his in worldlynes 353. b. hath moe kyngdomes then God 135. b. a maker of lawes 356. a. selleth Gods free gift 151. a. chalengeth authoritie ouer God and man 159. a. commauÌ„deth God to curse 151. b. may doe all at his pleasure 364. b. wilnot obey Princes 286. a. made a God for his dispensations 230. a. coÌ„meth in Christes name with miracles 301. b. sayth he cannot erre 264. a. distributeth his fathers kyngdome 354. a thrusteth downe Christ 292. a. lycenseth all thynges to bee read sauyng the truth 21. a. forbiddeth that God commaundeth 21. a Pope how hee remitteth and retayneth sinnes 306. b. maketh heretikes of true preachers 134. b selleth all thynges 289. b. receiueth hys possessions of the deuill 354. a. howe he raigneth vnder Christ 151. a. expoundeth Scripture contrary to Christ and his Apostles 173. b. byndeth that Christ louseth 102. a Pope not to be beleued why 304. b. lonseth all honesty 123. a. more mercyfull for money then God for Christes death 151. a. deuideth poore people and how 354. b chosen without consent of the Emperour 360. b. purposed to be Emperour 349. made two Empyres of one 349. b Pope Pipine put downe the right French kyng 348. a Pope and Cardinals their opinions concernyng kyng Henry the eight 288 b Pope Iuly 369. a Pope his fast 229. b. his traditions are wicked and breake Gods commaundements 108. a. his authoritie improued 12. 4. b. his clergy subtill 1. a. his doctrine corrupt 24. a. his doctrine doth persecute 97. a. his sect not of Christes church 261 b. his doctrine bloudy 106. b. his saying of the scripture 306. b. his authoritie is onely to preach Gods word 123. b. his false authority defended by kynges 114. b. his false workes 289. a. his iugglyng 114. b. his widowes 354. b. his priests ibideÌ„ his law 355. a. his fayth 410 b. his Church 292. b. his practise with all Princes 365. a. his Deacons 354. b. his Prelates taught of Caiphas 122. b Popish tyranny 475. b. ceremonyes more obstinate mo in nuÌ„ber then the Iewes 101. b. forgiuenes 395 a. Purgatory not feared of a true ChristiaÌ„ 434. b. Prelates would be highest 341. a. superstition 425 b. doctrine 447. a. hath caused the truth to be set forth more playnely 476. a. woorkes 396. a. oyle more feared then Gods commaundementes 131. a. confirmation 277. a Pope holy woorkes a cloke for the wicked 27. a Possessed with deuines fled from Christ 285. a Poore meÌ„ 408. a. in spirite who 189 a. must be cared for next our owne houshold 84. a. called of Paule Gods Churche 473. b. pouertie 242. b Pouertie wilfull 16. b. her vow 19. a Power good and euill whence 321. b Poyson of our byrth resisteth the spirite 165. a A prayer 228. a Prayer 22. b. 242. b. 219. b. defined 81. b. of how many sortes 220. a. a commaundement 238. b. heard in all places of God 282. b. the fruite of fayth 93. a. heard of God at all tymes 20. b. winneth the victory 238. b. of fayth doth miracles 152. b vayne without hart and toungue 221. a. of shauelynges breaketh Gods commaundement 139. b. of Monkes robbeth 201. a. not sold in old tyme. 139. b. to Saintes superilitious 296. a. without fayth nothyng 274. b. to Saintes not before Christes tyme. 296. a Practises 371. a. of Parliamentes 315. a. of Prelates 363. a. of Popish Prelates in these dayes 340. b. with poore Priestes 367. b. of fleshly spiritualitie 249. a Prayers and our deedes accepted accordyng to our fayth 154. b Prayers of all good women accepted aswell as our Ladyes 326. a. to Saintes damnable 433 b. all in Latin 151. b. commaunded to the ignoraunt 135. a Prayse sought of hypocrites 373. b Prayse of Paule Epistle to the Romanes 39. a Preacher his office 206. a. may not preache vnlesse he be sent of God 156. why accused of heresie treason 202. 〈◊〉 Preachers who are sent and who not how to knowe 156. a. of Gods word their miracles 302. a. neede no miracles 301. a. must preach repentaunce 86. b. why not beleued wheÌ„ they preach truth 101. b. must haue a competent lyuyng allowed them 133. b. must not be violent 214. b. who ought to be 198. b Preachyng is byndyng and lousing 359. a. of Christ 391. the authoritie of Peter his successour 173. b. the chief authoritie that Christ gaue his Apostles 126. a. extinct with ceremonies 278. a Predestination 306. a. in Gods haÌ„d 48. b. not rashly to be disputed vppon 48. b. how farre to be proceded in ibidem Presbyter 144. b Priestes 310. b. must be vertuous 314. b Priestes how truly annoynted 133. a ought not to bee annoynted with oyle 144. b. tell the confessions of the rich to the Officials and Commissaries and why 136. b. may haue whores but no wiues 311. b. must haue wiues for two causes 133. b Prieste disguiseth hym selfe with Christes passion 132. a Priestes vnderstand no Latin 103. a Prelates why so wicked 118. b. Courtiers 347. a. vnderstand not Scriptures and why 287. b. why clothed in red 142. b Pride 405. b. of the Pope 363. a. of the Cardinals 372. b Princes why ordained 117. a. not to be resisted though they be infidels 111. a. whether they may be resisted or no. 213. a Principles of Scriptures 386. b Processions abused 299. b Profession of our Baptisme 388. b. first to be learned 387. a Profession of newe lyfe procureth Christes mercy 219. b Promise how we may chaleÌ„ge 218. b Promise of God fulfilled for Christes and not for Saintes merites 160. a. left out in all thynges by the Pope 154. a Promises of the Gospell comfortable to a sinner 378. a Promise commeth of the promisers goodnes 196. a Promises of
in lawe whom he did so valiauntly fight withall and confounde that he connerted Rastall to his part Then he was â—â—ryed to Lambith before the Bishop of Caunterburie and afterward to Croydon where was present StepheÌ„ Gardiner Bishop of Winchester who had béene his tutor in Cambridge as aforesayd and séemed to owe vnto him greate loue and fauour but in the stéede thereof he found in the ende his great malice and tyrannye and last of all he was called before the Bishoppes in a Common assemblye at London where he so costantly defended him selfe that he had preuailed if he might haue bene heard as indéed he was not The order of his iudgment with the maner of his examinatioÌ„ and Articles which were obiected agaynst him are comprised and set forth by himselfe in a letter written to his frendes which letter also is imprinted and set forth in this booke After sentence geuen against him by the Byshop of London he was delyuered to the Maior Shirifes of the sayd Citie Syr Stephen pecocke a simple man being then Maior and forth with he was committed to new gate where he was put into y e Dungeon vnder the sayd Gate and laden with Boltes and Irons as many as he could beare and his necke with a Coler of Iron made fast to a post so that he could neyther stand vpright nor stoupe downe yet was he there continually occupied in writing of diuerse thinges namely with a candell both day and night for there came none other light into that place And in this case he remayned iij. or iiij dayes and then was from thence caried into Smithféelde y e iiij day of Iuly 1533. where with great pacience and constancy he suffered that most hâ—lly and cruell death of burning And when the fyer was set on the faggottes he embraced the same in his Armes and with all pacience commytted his spirite vnto almighty God But this one thing is yet to bee remembred that he being bounde to the stake with an other good Martyr which was a very simple young man named Andrew Hewet there was present one Doctour Cooke that was person of the Church called Allhalowes in hony lane scituate in the myddes of Chepesyde And the sayd Cooke made an open exclamation and admonished the people that they should in no wise pray for them no more then they would doe for a dogg At which wordes Frith smyling desired the Lord to forgeue him But the vngodly and vncharitable wordes of the sayd Doctour did not a litle offende the people And thus for the testimony of the true doctrine of Christ which the sayd Frith sealed with his bloud the day and yeare afore sayd he dyed in the xxiiij yeare of his age as some saye but his parentes reported in the xxx yeare of his age IOHN FRITH VNTO the Christen Reader GRace and peace bee with thee ChristeÌ„ reader I am sure there are many that will much meruell couÌ„t it a great presumptioÌ„ that I beyng so young and of so small learnyng dare attempt to dispute this matter against these thre personages of the which nuÌ„ber two that is to say my Lord of Rochester and Sir Thomas More are auncient men both of great witte and dignitie Notwithstanding I will desire theÌ„ paciently to heare myne aunswere not aduertisyng who speaketh the wordes but rather what is sayd And as coÌ„cernyng myne youth let them remember what Paule monisheth i. Timot. iiij willyng that Timotheus should instruct the coÌ„gregration and that no maÌ„ should despise his youth for as the spirite of God is bound to no place cueÌ„ so is he not addict to any age or person but inspireth when hee will and where he will makyng the young to see visioÌ„s and espye the truth and the elders to dreame dreames and to wander in phantasies Actes 2. Ioel. 2. And as touchyng my learnyng I must nedes acknowledge as the truth is very small neuerthelesse that litle as I am bound haue I determined by Gods grace to bestow to the edifying of Christes congregation which I pray god to encrease in the knowledge of his word I would not that any man should admit my wordes or learnyng except they will stande with the Scripture and be approued therby Lay them to the touchstone and trye them with Gods word If they be found false and counterfaite then damne them and I shall also reuoke them with all myne hart But if the Scripture allow them that you can not deny but it so is then resist not y e doctrine of God but knowledge your ignoraunce and seduction and returne gladly into the right way For if you caÌ„ not improue it by Gods word and yet of an hate and malicious mynde that you beare to the truth labour to resist it condemne it that it should not spread I ensure you your sinne is irremissible and euen agaynst the holy ghost and the bloud of them that perish for fault of instruction shal be required on your handes Peraduenture some of you will say your fathers old progenitours â–ª with many holy men and Doctours haue so beleued that therfore you will abyde by the old I aunswere The wayes iudgementes of God are meruelous who knoweth whether God haue suffred his elect to erre and be seduced for a season to the entent that the vnfaithfull which would not beleue the truth but had pleasure in iniquity might stoÌ„ble at their errour into their vtter confusion and ruine Although a man be neuer so faythfull and holy yet is there much imperfectioÌ„ in him as long as he is included in this mortall body how be it it is not imputed vnto him but through y e fayth in Christes bloud who lye pacified and forgeuen And therfore it is not sure that we folow their exteour workes or other imaginatioÌ„s but let vs euer coÌ„ferre them vnto the pure word of God and as the Scripture testifieth so let vs receaue them My Lord of Rochester doth testifie him selfe writyng vpon the xviij Article that there are many pointes both of the Gospels and other Scriptures which are now discussed more diligeÌ„tly and more clearely vnderstand then they haue bene in tymes past And addeth furthermore that there are diuerse places in Scripture yet some deale darke which he doubteth not but that they shal be more open and light vnto our posteritie for why shal we dispaire of that saith he sith that the Scripture is for that entent left with vs that it may be vnderstaÌ„d of vs exactly and to the vttermost point Of this may you euidently perceaue that the old fathers and holy Doctours haue not sene all the truth But somewhat is also left through the high prouision of God to be discussed of their successours And therfore is it not mete that we straight wayes cleaue vnto their wordes with out any further ensearchyng the scriptures but we must examine all thyngs by the
from our sinne If we beleue that he imputeth not our sinnes vnto vs but y â— his wrath is pacified in Christ and his bloud If we beleue that hée bath â–ª fréely geuen vs hys Christ and with him all thinges so that we be destitute in no gift Roma viij then are we righteous in his sight and our coÌ„science at peace with God not thorough our selues but thorough our Lord Iesu Christ Roma v. So mayst thou perceaue that thou art a sinner in thy selfe yet art thou righteous in Christ for through him is not thy sinne imputed nor rekened vnto thée And so are they to whom God imputeth not their sinnes blessed righteous without spot wrincle or blame Roma 4. Psal 31. And therfore will he neuer thrust theÌ„ into Purgatory Paule sayth there is no difference for all haue sinned and lacke y â— glorye whiche before God is allowed but they are iustified fréely by his grace through y â— redemption y â— is in Christ Iesu Roma iij. what saye you now shall they yet go into Purgatory Cal ye that iustificatioÌ„ fréely by his grace to lye in the paynes of Purgatory Surely that were a newe kynde of spéech whiche I thinke Paule neuer vnderstode Peraduenture some man will thinke myne Argumentes to bee of small pyth and to dissolue them by a distinction saying It is truth y t God hath so purged and clensed vs from all our iniquities neuerthelesse hys mercy purgyng forgeuenesse haue onely purified vs from the faulte and crime but not from the payne which is due to the crime To this obiection I aunswere that if God of his mercy and thorough the bloud of his sonne Iesus haue not remitted y t payne due vnto that crime then shall we all be damned for the payne due vnto euery disobedience that is agaynst God is eternall damnation And therefore if this payne were not forgeuen vs then are we still vnder coÌ„demnation and so were Christes bloud shed in vayne could saue no man If they will say that this euerlastyng payne is not wholy forgeuen vs but that it is altered into the temporall payne of Purgatory out of which the Pope may deliuer them by his pardon for els haue they no euasâ—on at all then may we soone confute them and that by diuers reasons First y t their wordes are nothyng but euen their own imagination for they cannot confirme their sayinges by the Scripture neither ought we to accept any thyng as an article of our fayth whiche is not approued by Gods word for we may neither decline vnto the right hand nor vnto the left but onely do that the Lord commaundeth vs. Deut. 4. 5. 12. 13. And agayne if a man should aske them by what authoritie the pope geueth such pardon They aunswere that it is out of y t merites of Christes passioÌ„ And so at the last they are compelled to grauÌ„t euen against them selues that Christ hath not onely deserued for vs the forgeuenes of y t cryme but also of the payne If Christ haue deserued all for vs who geueth the Pope authoritie to reserue a part of his deseruynges from me and to sell me Christes merites for money Besides that euery Christen man ought to apply vnto God all thynges whiche should employ his honour as farre forth as the Scripture will suffer Now seyng it is more vnto the honour of God that he should deliuer vs in his bloud both from the cryme and from the payne and also not repugnauÌ„t vnto the Scripture but that he hath relesed vs from the payne as well as from the sinne for what entent should we bee so vnkynde as to despoyle him of this great honour without any authoritie of Scripture imagine that he hath not deliuered vs from the payne as well as from the sinne Moreouer if he should reserue the payne then were it no full remission and forgeuenesse but what blasphemy is that to thinke y â— Christes bloud was not sufficient to geue full remission vnto his faythfull Furthermore for what entent should the payne be reserued to satisfie towardes God for their offences Nay verely for all meÌ„ liuyng are not able to satisfie towardes God for one sinne Neither are all the paynes of hell able to purge one sinne or satisfie for it for then at the length the damned soules should bee deliuered out of hell Finally I thinke that there was neuer any temporall punishment institute of God to be any satisfactioÌ„ for sinne but the vse of all teÌ„poral paines and chiefest cause why they were ordeyned is this Temporall paynes are profitable for the commoÌ„ wealth that they may be examples to learne the vnfaithfull which els feare not God that they may at the lest for feare of punishmeÌ„t absteine from committyng like offences for if theyr sinne were vnpunished then should all vice raigne to the vtter subuersioÌ„ of the coÌ„mon wealth They are also profitable for the faythfull for they try and purifie the fayth of Gods elect and subdue and mortifie their carnall members that they may bee the more able to serue their brethren and to withstand the vehemeÌ„t assaultes of teÌ„ptation which are euer at hand and lest they should waxe prowde and boast them selues for those giftes which they haue receiued of God Furthermore they set out and aduaunce the glory of God For after that we be put in remembraunce and made to féele our fraile nature that so continually displeaseth God our father then haue we occasion to ponder and compare this traÌ„sitory payne which we here suffer with those enor mous trespasses that we haue coÌ„mitted and so to espy the infinite mercy and fauour of God and euen in our aduersities to be compelled to prayse God our mercyfull and tender father whiche scourgeth vs so fauorably for those greuous offences that haue deserued a thousande tymes more punishment Howbeit to say truth there is no man that can take any such profite of them that men fayne to be punished in Purgatory For we neither sée it nor heare it neither haue we any meÌ„tion made of it in Scripture that we may be sure that it so is Now sith we haue no infallible euidence but onely phantasticall imaginatioÌ„s it is plaine inough that there was no such thyng ordemed neither to aduaunce Gods honour nor yet to the profit of the cominaltie or els of Gods elect for then I am sure that Christ and al his Apostles would not haue forgotteÌ„ to haue remembred vs of it NOw let vs sée some of Rastels reasons which he sayth that fond felowes lay for them selues to proue that there should be no Purgatory They say sayth Rastell that contrition which some call repentauÌ„ce is that whiche is the very payment and satisfaction for sinne and they say that when a man committeth a sinne and after is repentaunt therfore that God of his
no place euen so is he not addict to any age or person but enspyreth where he will when he will and bring in for an example that he enspyred yong Timothy prouing thereby that the youth of it selfe is not to be despised but according to the learning which it bringeth and that therfore they may not despise my youth but first read what doctrine I bring and therafter to iudge it No more in this I proue not that I am enspyred and haue the spirite of God as Timothie had but onely proue that God may enspyre youth as he did Tymothe and that therefore ye ought first to read before you condemne for you know not who is enspyred and who not vntill you haue read theyr workes or séene theyr factes Thus you may sée that my wordes define not that all youth is enspired although some may be but I exhort that no man despise prophesies but proue all and approue that is good And to make the matter more playne I shall bring you an example out of Paule to the Hebrues which exhorteth them to hospitalitie for by that some men vnwares haue receaued Angels to harbour be not therefore vnmindfull of it Here Paule exhorteth you to hospitalitie and shewing you that by those meanes some men haue receaued angels into their house he would not haue you thinke y t all the gestes that you shall receaue shall be angels but some shall be leud losels And likewise I in exhorting you to read my booke and not despising my youth because that sometime God enspireth the yong would not haue you thinke that the bookes made of yong men which ye shall receaue shall be holesome doctrine but some men be lewd and vnfruitfull neuerthelesse euen as if they receaued not those gests they should also put away angels if any came So if you despise to read such bookes as be written by young men you may also fortune to despise them which are written by the inspiration of Christes spirit and therefore ye ought to read But be it in case I had indéed praised my selfe as I haue not and that I had sayd that I had the Spirite of God what inconuenience should folow thereof would you therof argue that my doctrine were false If that were a good argument then were Christes Doctrine false then were Paule a false prophet and our fayth nothing for Christ said to the Iewes that he was the light of the worlde And againe he sayd It is my Father that glorified me whome ye call your God Now if it had bene a sufficient argument to condemne hys doctrine because the world calleth it boasting thē should we haue beleued no truth at all Besides that Paul séemeth not a little to boast him selfe if men looke on it with a carnall eye for he sayth that he thincketh not him selfe inferiour vnto y t hyest Apostles and sayth againe that if they glory to be the ministers of Christ though he speake vnwisely he is more copious in labours in stripes aboue measure in prison more often often at the poynt of death c. Should we for these words thinke that his doctrine were not right Nayverely that doth not improue the doctrine but that it may be good holesome for a man may boast him selfe do well so he referre y t prayse to God from whom all goodnes commeth but be it in case that I should say that God of hys mere mercy and for the loue that he oweth me in Christ and hys bloud had geuen me hys spirite that I might be to his laude prayse to whom be thankes for euer Amen would you thinke that this were so greate a boastyng that the doctrine should be impayred therby Ah blinde guides I pray God geue you the light of vnderstandyng I beseche you brother Rastell be not discōtent with me if I aske you one question be ye a Christen man or no I am sure you will aunswere yes then if I brought you the text of Paule which sayth he that hath not y t spirite of God is none of his I pray you how will you auoyde it notwithstādyng if you wold auoyde y t text yet will I lay an other blocke in the way that you shal not be able to remoue and that is the saying of Paule 2. Corin. 13. Know ye not your selues that Christ is in you except ye be reprobate persons now how soeuer you would iudge of your selues I thinke verely that I am no such therfore whereas before I dyd not so write Now I certifie you that I am Christes cōclude what ye wil the day shall come that you shall surely know that so it is albeit in meane season I be reputed a laughyng stoke in this world for I know in whom I trust and he can not deceaue me Then bryngeth he against me that I say we haue bene long secluded frō the Scripture and also that our fore fathers haue not had y t light of Gods word opened vnto them I maruell what Rastell meaneth by bryngyng this for his purpose for I thinke it no boastyng of my selfe but if ye thinke that it be vntrue I thinke he is very blynde For what Scripture hath the poore commons bene admitted vnto euen til this day It hath bene hid and locked vp in a straunge tounge and from them that haue attayned the knowledge of that toung hath it bene locked with a thousand false gloses of Antichristes makyng and innumerable lawes And where I say our forefathers haue not had the light of Gods worde opened vnto them I meane that they haue not the Scripture in their owne mother toung that they might haue conferred these iugglyng mistes with the light of Gods word as the processe of my wordes can testifie which he hath holy left out but I besech the Christē reader once to read the place for my discharge and his confusion ye shall finde it in the secōd leafe of my booke And now he alledgeth agaynst me that I should say this iudge Christen reader what reasons Rastell hath brought and how he hath soluted thē for in my minde both his reasons and solutions are so childish and vnsauery so vnlearned and baren so full of faultes and phantasies that I rather pitie the mans déepe ignoraunce and blyndnes which hath so deceiued him selfe through Philosophie and naturall reason then I feare that he by his vayne probations should allure any man to consent vnto hym I thinke Rastell layeth not this agaynst me because I boast my selfe in these wordes And verely as touchyng the truth of those woordes I will adde thus much more vnto thē that I neuer wyst man y t was coūted wise whiche hath brought so slender reasons except he entended to destroy a thing which ye séeme to haue build And finally where as I exhorte all men to iudge and conferre the Scriptures which Syr Thomas
are infinite other thynges wherein hee contrarieth Christ in so much that if it be diligētly examined I thinke there is no word that Christ spake but the other hath taught or made a law agaynst it Howbeit for to auoyde tediousnes we shall leaue them vnto your owne iudgement for they are soone searched out espyed Iudge Christē reader all these things with a simple eye be not parcially addict to the one nor to the other But Iudge them by the Scripture And knowledge that to be the truth which Gods word doth alow auoydyng all other doctrine for it springeth of Sathan be not ashamed to confesse poore Christ and to take him for thy head before these rauenous Wolues for then shall he cōfesse thée agayn before his father the aungelles in heauen Then shalt thou bee inheritour with Iesu Christe And the faythfull sonne of thy father whiche is in heauen to whom be all glory eternally Amen ¶ Here endeth the Antithesis betwene Christe and the Pope A booke made by Iohn Frith prisoner in the Tower of London aunsweryng vnto M. Mores letter which he wrote against the first litle treatise that Iohn Frith made concernyng the Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ vnto which booke are added in the ende the articles of hys examination before the Bishops of London Winchester and Lyncolne in Paules Churche at London for which Iohn Frith was condemned and after burned in Smithfield without Newgate the fourth day of Iuly Anno. 1533. ¶ The Preface of this booke GRace and increase of knowledge from God the father through our Lorde Iesus Christ be with the Christen reader and with all them that loue the Lord vnfaynedly Amen I chaunced beyng in these parties to be in company with a Christen brother which for his commēdable conuersation and sober behauiour might better be a Byshop then many that weare miters if the rule of S. Paule were regarded in their election This brother after much communication desired to know my mynde as touchyng the Sacrament of the body and bloud of our sauiour Christ Which thing I opened vnto hym accordyng to the gift that God had geuen me First I proued vnto hym that it was no article of our fayth necessary to be beleued vnder payne of damnation Then I declared that Christ had a naturall body euen as myne is sauyng sinne and that it could no more bee in two places at once thē myne cā Thirdly I shewed him that it was not necessarie that the wordes should so be vnderstand as they sound But that it might be a phrase of Scripture as there are innumerable After that I shewed him certaine phrases and maner of speakynges And that it was well vsed in our English toung and finally I recited after what maner they might receiue it according to Christes institutiō not fearyng the froward alteration that the Priests vse contrary to the first forme and institution When I had sufficiently published my mynde hee desired me to entitle the sūme of my wordes and write them for hym because they seemed ouerlong to be well reteined in memorie And albeit I was loth to take the matter in hand yet to fulfill his instant intercession I tooke vpon me to touche this terrible tragedie and wrote a treatise whiche beside my paynfull imprisonmēt is like to purchase me most cruell death which I am ready and glad to receiue with the spirite and inward man although the fleshe be frayle when soeuer it shall please God to lay it vpon me Notwithstādyng to say the truth I wrote it not to the intēt that it should haue ben published For then I would haue touched the matter more earnestly and haue written as well of the spirituall eating drinking which is of necessitie as I dyd of the carnall which is not so necessarie For the treatise that I made was not expedient for all men albeit it were sufficient for them whom I tooke in hand to instruct For they knew the spirituall and necessarie eatyng and drinkyng of his body bloud which is not receiued with the teth and bellye but with the eares and faith and onely neded instructiō in the outward eating whiche thing I therfore onely declared But now it is cōmon abroad and in many mēs mouthes in so much that M. More whiche of late hath busied hym selfe to medle in all such matters of what zeale I will not define hath sore labored to confute it but some mē thinke that he is ashamed of his part and for that cause doth so diligently suppresse the woorke whiche he printed For I my selfe saw the worke in Print in my Lord of Winchesters house vpon S. Stephens day last past But neither I neither all the frēdes I could make might attaine any copie but onely one written copie whiche as it seemed was drawen out in great hast notwithstandyng I can not well iudge what the cause should bee that his boke is kept so secret But this I am right sure of that he neuer touched the foundation that my treatise was builded vpon And therefore sith my foundation standeth so sure and inuincible for els I thinke verely he would sore haue laboured to haue vndermined it I will thereupon builde a litle more and also declare that his ordinaūce is to slender to breake it downe although it were set vppon a woorse foundation ¶ The foundation of that litle treatise was that it is no article of our fayth necessary to be beleued vnder payne of damnation that the Sacrament should be the naturall body of Christ which thyng is proued on this maner FIrste we must all acknowledge that it is no article of our fayth which can saue vs nor which we are bound to beleue vnder the paine of eternal damnation For if I should beleue that hys very naturall body both flesh and bloud were naturally in the bread and wine that should not saue me seyng many beleue that and receiue it to their damnation for it is not his presence in the bread that can saue me but his presence in my hart through faith in his bloud which hath washed out my sinnes and pacified y t fathers wrath toward me And agayne if I doe not beleue his bodely presence in the bread and wyne that shall not damne me but the absence out of my hart thorough vnbelefe Now if they would here obiect that though it be truth that the absēce out of the bread could not damne vs yet are we bounde to beleue it because of gods word which who beleueth not as much as in him lyeth maketh God a lyer And therfore of an obstinate mynde not to beleue hys word may be an occasion of damnation To this we may answere that we beleue Gods worde and knowledge that it is true but in this we dissent whether it be true in the sence that we take it in or in the sence that ye take it in And we say agayne that though
ye haue as it appeareth vnto you the euident wordes of Christ and therefore consiste in the barke of the letter yet are we compelled by conferring of the scriptures together within the letter to searche out the mynde of our Sauiour which spake the wordes And we say thirdly that we do it not of an obstinate mynde For he that defendeth a cause obstinately whether it be true or false is euer to be reprehended But we do it to satisfie our coÌ„scieÌ„ces which are coÌ„pelled by other places of Scripture reasons and Doctours so to iudge of it And euen so ought you to iudge of your partie and to defende your sentence not of obstinacie but by y e reason of Scriptures which cause you so to take it And so ought nether partie to dispise other for eche séeketh the glory of God and the true vnderstaÌ„ding of the Scripture This was the foundation of my first treatise that he hath left vnshakeÌ„ which is a great argumeÌ„t y â— it is very true For els hys pregnant wit could not haue passed it so cleane ouer but would haue assayled it with some sophisticall cauillation which by hys painted poetrie he might so haue coulered that at the lest he might make y e ignoraunt some appearance of truth as he hath done agaynst the residue of my first treatise which neuerthelesse is true and shall so be proued And first that it is none article of our fayth necessary to be beleued vnder payne of damnation may thus bee further confirmed The same fayth shall saue vs whiche saued the olde fathers before Christes incarnation But they were not bounde vnder payne of damnation to beleeue this pointe therefore it shall followe that we are not bounde therto vnder the payne of damnation The firste part of myne argument is proued by S. Agustine ad DurdamuÌ„ And I dare boldly say almost in an C. places For I thinke there be no propositioÌ„ which he doth more ofteÌ„ inculcate theÌ„ this y â— the same fayth saued vs which saued our fathers The second part is manifest that it néedeth no probation For how coulde they beleue y e thyng which was neuer saide nor done and without the word they could haue no fayth vppon the truth of these two parties must the conclusion nedes folow Notwithstanding they all dyd eate Christes bodye and dranke hys bloud spiritually although they â—ad hym not present to their téeth And by y e spirituall eating which is the fayth in his body and bloud were saued as well as we are For as soone as our forefather Adam had transgressed Gods precept and was fallen vnder condemnation our most mercyfull father of hys gracious fauour gaue hym the promise of health and comfort whereby as many as beleued it were saued from the thrauldome of their transgression the worde promise was this I shal put enmitie betwene thée and the woman betwene thy séede and her séede that séede shall treade thée on the head and thou shalt treade it on the hele In thys promise they had knowledge that Christe should become the séede or sonne of a woman and that he shoulde destroye the deuill with all his power and deliuer his faythfull from their sinnes And where he sayde that the deuyll should treade it on the hele they vnderstoode right well that the deuyll should finde the meanes by his wyles and wicked ministers to put Christ to death And they knew that God was true and would fulfill hys promise vnto them and hartely longed after this séede and so did both eate his body and drinke his bloud knowledging wyth infinite thankes that Christ should for their sinnes take y â— perfect nature of maÌ„hode vppon him and also suffer the death This promise was geuen to Adam and saued as many as did beleue and were thaÌ„k full to God for hys kyndnes and after it was established vnto our father Abraham by the word of God which sayde In thy séede shall all nacions of the earth be blessed And with hym God made a couenant that he would be his God and do him good And Abraham agayne promised to kéepe his preceptes and walke in his wayes Then God gaue him the sacrament of circumcision and called that his couenaunt which thing notwithstanding was not the very couenaunt in déede although it were so called But was onely a signe token â—acrament or memoryall of the couenaunt that was betwene God and hym which might expounde our matter if men had eyes to sée After that God promised him a sonne wheÌ„ his wife was past childe bearing and he also very olde Neuerthelesse he doubted not of Gods worde But surely beleued that he which promised it was able to performe it And that was recounted vnto hym for righteousnes This Abraham did both eate his body and drinke hys bloud through fayth beleuing verely that Christ should take our nature spring out of his séede as touching his fleshe and also that he shoulde suffer death to redéeme vs. And as Christe testifieth he hartely desired to sée the day of Christ And he sawe it and reioysed he sawe it in fayth and had the day of Christ that is to say all those thinges that shoulde chaunce hym playnely reuelated vnto him albeit he were dead many huÌ„dred yeares before it were actually fulfilled and reuelated vnto y e world And by that fayth was he saued and yet neuer did eate his fleshe with his téeth nor neuer beleued that bread shoulde be his bodye and wyne hys bloud And therfore sith he was also saued without that fayth and y e same fayth shall saue vs which saued hym I thinke that we shall also be saued if we eate him spiritually as he dyd although wee neuer beleue that the bread is his body Furthermore that mercifull Moses whiche brought the children of Israell out of Egypt into the wildernes obtayned of God by prayers both Manna from heaueÌ„ to féede his people and also water out of the stone to refreshe and comfort theÌ„ This Manna and water were euen the same thyng vnto them that the bread and wyne is to vs. For Saint Austen sayeth Quicunque in manna Christum intellexerunt eundem quem nos cibum spiritualem manducauerunt Quicunque autem de maÌ„na solam saturitatemquè sinerunt manducabant mortui sunt Sic etiam eundeÌ„ potuÌ„ petra enim erat christus That is to say as many as in that manna vnderstoode Christ did eate that same spirituall meate that we doe but as many as fought onely to fill their bellies of that manna the fathers of the vnfaythfull did eate and are dead And likewise y â— same drinke for the stone was Christ Here may you gather of S. Austen that the Manna was vnto them as y e bread is to vs and likewise that the water was to them as the wyne is to vs whiche anone shall appeare more playnly S. Austen sayth further
could vsed all maner of cruelnes to haue destroyed mée Neuertheles at y e last hée deliuered mée y â— roole for to reade TheÌ„ was all y e people y â— stoode there called to heare me For in y e other iij. dayes was there no man suffered to heare one worde that I spake So after their commaundement that was geuen mée I red it adding nothing to it nor saying one word that might make for myne excuse supposing that I should haue founde the Byshoppes the better After this I was commaunded to subscribe to it to make a crosse on it Then was I commaunded to goe knéele downe before the Byshop of Bathe and to require absolution of hym but hée woulde not assoyle mée except I woulde first sweare that I woulde fulfill the penaunce that hée shoulde enioyne to mée So did I sweare not yet suspectinge but theâ—e men had had some cromme of charitie within them But when I had sworne then enioyned hée mée that I should returne that nyght agayne to pryson And the nexte day which was Fastingam Sonday I should doe open penaunce at Paules And that the worlde shoulde thynke that I was a marueylous haynous heretyke the Cardinall came the next day with all y e pompe and pride that hée could make to Paules church and all to bring mée poore soule out of consayte And moreouer were there commaunded to come all y e byshops that were at London and all the abbots dwelling in London that dyd weare miters in so much that the prior of S. Mary spittell and an other moncke which I thinke was of Tower hill were there also in their myters And to set the matter more forth that the world should perfectly know perceiue that the spirituall fathers had determined my matter substancially The byshop of Rochester must preach there the same day and all his sermon was agaynst Lutherians as though they had coÌ„uicted me for one The which of truth and afore God was as farre from those thinges as any man could bée sauing that I was no tyraÌ„t nor no persecutour of Gods worde And all this gorgyous fasing with myters and crostaues abbotts and priors were done but to blinde the people and to outface mée God amend all thinges that is amysse I had béene well content to haue suffered all these thinges so I might haue come to a charitable end But I must returne agayne after this to prison there remayne tyll my Lord Cardinals farther pleasure The which pleasure I did abide fyrst and last â–ª 2. yeares and thrée quarters yet could neuer bée at any poynt with theÌ„ For I sent vnto y â— byshop of London that was then certayne worshipfull men of the Cyty of LoÌ„don whose names bée these Mayster Lambert which hath béene Maior M. Raynold which hath béene shreue M. Palmer M. Petyt M. Iones and M. Pernell And desyred these men in the way of charitie to goe to the Byshop of London and to desire him to bée good and gracious vnto mée And if I had offended I would bée glad to make amends asmuch as hée should reasonably require of mée Desiring hym to shew theÌ„ what hée would of his charitie require me to doe they for to bée bound vnto hym y e I would kéepe it This they dyd But what aunswer y e they had of hym they bée men aliue for the most part they can tell And amongst all other maister Petit sayd vnto the byshop Alas my Lorde it is a petuous case If a man come in the daunger of your lawe there is no remedy to helpe hym out Yes saydâ— the byshop What is that sayd maister Petyt This is a yong man hath good frendes which would bée right lothe to haue him cast away wherefore if there bée any remedy deuise you it and we wil bée bound for him At this the byshop was astonyed and sayde at the last that hée would speake to my Lorde Cardinal for mée Then these meÌ„ offered him to goe with him and to bée bounde for mée Hée sayde it should not néede But neuertheles hée spake so vnto them or they departed that wheÌ„ they came home there was not one of them that durst geue mée so much bread meat as hée durst geue his dog nor yet speake one word to mée Immediatelye after this the byshop founde y e meanes that I was sent to northaÌ„pton there to remayne as in a perpetuall prison Thus most gracious prince haue they handled me your poore Oratour I beseche your highnes to bée good and gracious vnto mée iudge if this bée charitable dealyng thus to coÌ„demne mée for an heretyke not to shew mee the poynt wherefore But euen with a violent tyrannye to compeil mée to doe confesse what they will or els to bée put to death And if there bée any of them yet y e will come forth and proue any of these articles heresye I will not refuse to suffer any payne that your grace shall iudge me worthy Thus our Lord Iesus Christe preserue your noble grace euermore Amen Onely fayth iustifieth before God NOw if your grace doe not take vppon you to heare the disputation the probation of this article out of the grouÌ„d of the holy Scripture my Lordes the Bishops will condeÌ„ne it afore they read it as their maner is to doe with all thynges that pleaseth them not and which they vnderstand not and then crye they heresy heresie an hereticke an hereticke hée ought not to bée heard for his matters bée condemned by the Church by his holy fathers and by all long customes and by all maner of lawes Vnto whom with your graces fauour I make this auÌ„swere I would know of them if all these things that they haue reckened can ouercome Christ and his holy worde or set the holy ghost to schole And if they can not why should not I then bée heards that doe require it in the name of Christ and also bryng for me his holy worde the holy fathers which haue vnderstand Gods worde as I doe Therfore though they will not heare me yet must they néedes heare them In holy Scripture Christ is nothing els but a Sauiour a redéemer a iustifier a perfect peace maker betwene God and man This testimony dyd y e aungell geue of him in these wordes Hée shall saue his people from theyr sinnes And also S. Paule Christ is made our righteousnes our satisfaction and our redemption Moreouer the Prophet witnesseth the same saying For the wretchednes of my people haue I striken him So that here haue we Christ with his properties Now if we wil truly coÌ„fesse Christ then must we grauÌ„t with our hartes that Christ is all our iustice all our redemption all our wisedome all our holynes all alonely the purchaser of grace alonly y e peace maker betwéene God and man Briefely all goodnes that we haue y e it is of hym by him and for his
an other but because that all men can not vse these keyes all together for y e would make a confusion therofore doth the Church that is the congregation of faythfull men commyt the ministratiof these keyes that is of preaching y e worde of God vnto certayne men whome they thinke most able and best learned in the worde of God the which mē thus chosen bée but ministers of the commen treasure and no Lordes ouer it For the Churche may depose them y e is shée may take away the open and the common mynistration that shée committed vnto them if they vse it not well and then they bée but as other Christen men hauing no common office nor administration in the Church Wherfore they may neither preach nor yet minister sacramentes openlye but as other Christen men may doe pryuately in their owne houses or in other places where men bée gathered which wil heare of Christ there I saye both they and all other Christē men may speake and learne Christes worde and declare it after the gift y e is geuen vnto them of God And they that doe beléeue this word thus preached by Christen men bée by the power of y e keyes losed from their sinne and bound if they beléeue not For all the Church and euery part of the Church haue power to execute these keyes all onely that the open order bée not broken This doth S. Paule declare saying you may all interpretate scriptures but sée that all thinges sée done after an order Now to kéepe an order and that nothing should bée done after a confuse manner therefore the Church assigneth certayne men to be the open and the common mynisters of this treasure the which bée but all onely minysters and no Lordes And of this cōmon treasure and not of their priuate treasure as S. Paule sayth let a man so reckē vs as the ministers of Christ and dispensators of the mynystery of God Also in an other place what is S. Paule what is Appollo but mynisters by whom you haue beléeued Also S. Peter your predecessor commaundeth you that you shoulde not exercise any dominion ouer the congregations but geue example to the flocke Bée not these playne scriptures how you bée no Lordes but ministers of Christes treasure and you leaue the ministration and vsurpe auctoritie S. Petter whose successors you boast your selues to bée commaūdeth you that you shoulde bée alonely but ministers keybearers of these keyes As Chrisostome prooueth in these wordes The keye bearers are priestes vnto whome is committed the worde to teach and to interprete Scriptures c. Heare you not how you bée but keybearers and teachers of y ◠worde of God This doth S. Ambrose witnesse in these wordes sinnes bée forgeuen by the worde of God whose interpreter is the Deacon c. Marke that sinnes bée forgeuen by the word of God of the which you bée but interpreters Where is now I pray you your Lordly power which you call the keyes of heauen is not Scripture and the practise of the Apostles and the exposition of holy Doctours opēly against you Will you vsurpe a thing that is contrary to all these I pray you where finde you in all holy Scripture but one that Peter or Paule did assoyle after the maner of your keyes And yet no doubt but they had the keyes yea and also dyd vse them Wherfore it is to mée great maruayle of whome you haue learned your vsage and where you haue gotten such keyes It maketh no matter to mée though you cry as you are wonte Fathers Fathers Counsels Counsels the Churche the Church For it wilnot helpe you You sée opēly that I haue the holy worde of god and our maister Christe which is elder then our fathers I haue also the practise of the holy Apostles that vnderstand this thynge better then all your counsels But let vs graunt that you haue fathers and counselles for you That is the next way to deceaue the church of God By whom can Christen men bée deceaued but by such men as bée of auctoritie and dignitie of y t world This you know that men can not bée deceaued by Horses nor by Calues but it must bée by men and not by foolishe mē for who will regarde fooles but by them that bée reckoned of wisdome and of reputation in the world And not by one wise man for an other wyse man may bée of as good reputation and wisdome as hée but it must bée by many or els it can haue no shyne nor colour of excellencie yea and by such a multitude that reason can not suspect So that there is neuer so great daunger vnto the church of God as when all these thynges come togither And therefore sayth y e holy Prophete Blessed is that man that foloweth not the counsels of wicked men You know that counselles cā bée no smale thing nor no foolishe nor the wicked men themselues doe recken it for no smale thinge but for the greatest thynge and the wysest thyng and the strongest that they can thinke or deuise And no doubte but it hath a fore reason and a fore all the worlde a great apparence of no smale wisdome and is so strong that euery man is compelled to receaue it Yea and also those men haue auctoritie for as the Prophet saith they sitte in the chayre the which doth both signifie great learning and and also great auctoritie And yet saith y e Prophet that blessed is hée that foloweth not their counselles nor sitteth in theyr chayre Now if these thynges coulde bée iudged by some reason or els they séemed so euill that all the worlde could iudge them What néede the holy Ghost to make such a dooe or to write so strongly agaynst them yea and to say that blessed is hée y e heareth them not Wherfore hée must néedes speke of such mischiefe and of such falshod and of such errours as haue all those thinges for them that you brynge for you That is fatherhod wysdome learning auctoritie multitude and long custome The which thyngs bée able to peruerte any man bée hée neuer so wise or neuer so holy if hée sticke not fast to the worde of God onely And therefore sayth the Prophet Blessed is hee whose wyll and meditation is night and day that is continually in the law of God Vnto the which if all your coūsels all your fathers all your customes briefly all that you bring for you bée compared then shall wée sée whether it bée true and of God or not For of themselues they haue no truth but bée inuentions of corrupted reason and perswasions of the deuill to peruerte the holy church of God But my Lordes let vs goe to reason Tell mée by your honour is it reasonable that the holy Churche of God redéemed wyth Christes precious bloud and assoyled by hym from all her sinnes should bée now bounde vnto you and to your absolution and that shée
the maner of celebrating the Masse How doth the vj. Sinode prooue this Of this is our contention Where hence was the vj. Synode certified that Iames and Basill deliuered the Masse Their writinges and woorkes remaine amongest vs in the whiche there is not founde one sillable to bée read as concerning the Masse Moreouer the vj. Synode was in Gréece who vnto this day doe varye froÌ„ our manner of celebrating Wherefore it muste néedes bée that either wée or they doe erre from the ordinaunce of S. Iames. But what saye you to this The vj. Sinode was celebrated after the yeare of Christ 674. Before this tyme of whom tooke you the manner of celebratyng not of the tradition of Ieames for y t was as yet vnknowen to the world now first of all was it by y e Synode opened to y e world But that this matter may bée the better knowen vnto all the world I will set agaynst you the auctoritie of S. Gregory who sayth that the Apostles had no peculiar maner in celebratyng the Masse but that they onely sayd the Lordes prayer Whose wordes bée these The maner of y e Apostles was that onely at the saying of the Lordes prayer they consecrated â–ª the Sacrament Thus sayth Gregory where is now the tradition of Ieames S. Gregory knew it not Surely if you were Christians you would bée ashamed at the lest wise if you reuerence not God so to persecute teare and slay your brethren for your wicked Masse of which you boast that Christ and all his Apostles were the auctors when as you can bryng foorth not one good man for a testimony therof For I speake of your Masse as it is peâ—red and not of thée woordes of Christ But that I may briefly finishe this matter Because the masse is so deare vnto you and that for good cause sithens by it you fill your bellyes you kéepe horses and dogges you consecrate harlots to Venus and many other such kynde of good woorkes and yet bée vncertaine of the auctor I wil describe vnto you the authors of your patched Masse and that out of your owne writers lest that you should obiect vnto mée that I am a Lutheran First of all Pope Gregory surnamed the Great held a generall Councell at Rome about y e yeare of Christ 594. in the whiche hée ordeined the Entrance or Introite of the Masse to bée begon with some Psalme Hée added moreouer that Kyrieleison should bée song ix tymes Hée also added in the Cannon of the Masse Diesque nostros in tua pace disponas vnto these woordes Per Christum Dominium nostrum Hée likewise added Pater noster Pope Gelasius adioyned the Prayers Hymnes and Tractes about the yeare of Christ 482. Pope Thelesphorus appointed that the Gospell and Gloria in excelsis should bée songe about the yeare of Christ 134. Pope Symmacus enlarged Gloria in excelsis for first they had nothyng more then that was in the Euangelist Hée liued about the yeare 494. Pope Marcus appointed that vpoÌ„ Festiuall dayes immediatly after the Gospell y e Nicene Créede should bée song with a loude voice by the Quier and the people about the yeare 334. This prayer Veni sanctificator omnipotens eterne Deus whiche is sayd ouer the host was taken froÌ„ the FreÌ„ch order Moreouer these woordes Suscipe sancta Trinitas was onely taken by custome and not by the ordinaunce of any Pope Pope Sixtus y t first ordeined that Sanctus should bée song iij. tymes in the Masse about the yeare 124. Pope Gelasius ordeined Teigitur clâ—…issime pater and appointed that the Priestes should say the Secretes the Cannon and the Prefaces with their armes stretched abroad hée lyued about the yeare 482. Pope Leo the great added vnto y t Canon Hanc igitur oblationem sanstum sacrificium immaculatam hostiam about the yeare 444. Pope Gregory the thyrd adioyned Quorum solemnitas hodie in conspectudiuinae maiestatis tuae celebratur Domine Deus noster about the yeare 754 Pope Celestine the first appoynted that the Psalmes of Dauid should bée song in maner of an Antheme of all y t people béefore the sacrifice which was not wont to bée done For after the Epistle and Gospel were read the sacrifice was ended Hée liued about the yeare of Christ 424. Pope Alexander the first added Qui pridie quam pateretur Hée lyued about the yeare 114. Pope Sergius the first ordeyned that Agnus Dei shoulde bée song thrée tymes whilest the Sacrament of Christes body was in breakyng about the yeare of Christ 694. The first Latin Masses were song by Iohn Byshop of Portuence in the vj. generall Councell of Constantinople about the yeare 674. Behold Christen Reader here nowe hast thou their Masse as it is patched togither and the authours of euery part thereof whiche our Papistes so wickedly defende to bée a sacrifice Neither is it any meruaile if they doe with tooth and nayle defende a thyng so deare so laborious and that hath béene so longe tyme a makyng This I dare boldly affirme that that magnificent Temple of Salomon was in a greate deale lesser tyme builded then this Isopes crow was decked with hys borowed fethers Neither yet would I haue thée to forgette the Decrée of the Pope which prooueth that Masse was ordained by Iames and Basill I praye â—hée take away all that whiche was added by these fathers and what then is remaynyng to the Masse What is lefte that Iames deliuered or that Basill commended vnto them Nothyng at all but the very woordes of Christe Thus doe these good fathers set them selues agaynst the manifest trueth of God But what shall bée their glory and reward thou shalt sée if thou wilt leasurably lysten and beholde to the ende of the tragedye The Lord shall speake with them in his anger and in his heate shall feare them When hée shall waxe hoate in hys sodayne displeasure then euill shall it bée with these gyauntes and well shall béefall to all that trust in the Lord who may illuminat the hart of the faythfull Amen A generall collection out of Doctour Barnes Woorkes of all the testimonyes auncient fathers Councels and of the Popes owne lawes alleaged by hym to prooue these articles folowyng in the maner of a Table or rather an Epitome of all his woorkes that hee hath made A Preface of T. G. to the Reader FOrasmuch as Maister Doctor Barnes in the first Edition of his Englishe workes whiche were first corruptlye Printed beyonde the Seas had collected at the ende thereof all the testimonyes of the Doctours Councelles and of the Popes lawes which he had beefore alleaged and were confusely myngled with the Table by the order of the Alphabete and whereas it was thought more expedient by the aduise of the learned and for the better edifying of the Reader to haue those testimonyes for euery
a state or a degree ordeined of God and an office wherein the husband serueth the wife and the wife the husband It was ordeined for a remedy and to encrease the worlde and for the man to helpe the woman and the woman the man with all loue and kyndnes and not to signifie any promise that euer I heard or redde of in y ◠scripture Therfore ought it not to be called a Sacrament It hath a promise that we sinne not in that state if a man receaue hys wise as a gift geuen to him of God the wife her husband likewise as all maner meates and drinkes haue a promise that we sinne not if we vse them measurably with thankes geuing If they call matrimony a Sacrament because the scripture vseth the similitude of matrimonie to expresse the mariage or wedlocke that is betwene vs and Christ For as a woman though she be neuer so poore yet when she is maried is as rich as her husband euen so we whē we repent and beleue the promises of God in Christ though we be neuer so poore sinners yet are as rich as Christ all his merits are ours with all that he hath If for that cause they call it a sacrament so will I musterde seede leuen a net keyes bread water and a thousand other things which Christ and the Prophetes and all the scripture vse to expresse the kingdome of heauen and Gods worde wythall They prayse wedlocke wyth their mouth and say it is an holy thyng as it is verely but had leuer be sanctified wyth an whore then to come wythin the sanctuary ¶ Of Order SUbdeacon Deacō Priest Byshop Cardinall Patriarch and Pope be names of offices and seruice or should be and not Sacraments There is no promise coupled therwith If they minister their offices truly it is a signe that Christes spirite is in them if not that the deuill is in them Are these all Sacramentes or which one of them Or what thyng in them is that holy signe or Sacrament The shauyng or the annoynting What also is the promise that is signified thereby But what word printeth in them that charact that spirituall seale O dreamers and naturall beastes without the seale of the spirite of God but sealed with the marke of the beast and with cankred consciences There is a word called in Latine Sacerdos in Greeke Hiercus in Hebrue Cohan that is a Minister an officer a sacrificer or a Priest as Aaron was a Priest and sacrificed for the people and was a mediator betwen God them And in the English should it haue had some other name then Priest But Antichrist hath deceaued vs with vnknowen and straūge termes to bring vs into confusion and superstitious blyndnes Of that maner is Christ a Priest for euer and all we Priests thorough hym and neede no more of any such Priest on earth to be a meane for vs vnto god For Christ hath brought vs all into the inner temple within the vayle or forehanging and vnto the mercy stoole of God And hath coupled vs vnto God where we offer euery man for himselfe y e desires petitions of his hart sacrifice and kil the lustes appetits of his flesh with prayer fasting all maner godly liuing An other worde is there in Greeke called Presbiter in latin Senior in englishe an elder and is nothing but an officer to teach and not to be a mediator betwene God and vs. This nedeth no annointing of man They o◠y t olde testament were annointed with oyle to signifie the annointing of Christ and of vs thorough Christ with the holy ghost This wise is no man Priest but he that is chosen saue as in time of necessitie euery parson Christeneth so may euery man teach his wife housholde and the wife her children So in time of neede if I see my brother sinne I may betwene hym and me rebuke him and damne his deede by the lawe of God And may also comfort them that are in dispayre with the promises of God and saue them if they beleue By a Priest then in the new testament vnderstand nothing but an elder to teach the younger and to bring thē vnto the full knowledge and vnderstanding of Christ and to minister the Sacramentes which Christ ordeyned which is also nothyng but to preach Christes promises And by them that geue all their studie to quench the light of truth and to holde the people in darcknes vnderstand the disciples of Sathan and messengers of Antichrist what soeuer names they haue or what soeuer they call themselues And as concerning that our spiritualtie as they will be called make themselues holyer then the lay people and take so great landes and goodes to pray for them and promise them pardons and forgeuenes of sinnes or absolution without preachyng of Christes promises is falsehode and the woorkyng of Antichrist and as I haue sayd the rauenyng of those wolues which Paul Act. xx prophesied should come after hys departyng not sparyng the flocke Their doctrine is that marchaundise wherof Peter speaketh saying through coueteousnes shall they with fayned wordes make marchaundise of you ij Pet. ij And their reasons wherewith they proue their doctrine are as sayth Paul i. Timo. vj. superfluous disputynges arguynges or braulyngs of mē with corrupt mindes and destitute of truth whiche thinke that lucre is godlynes But Christ sayth Math. vij by their frutes shalt thou know them that is by their filthy couetousnes and shamelesse ambition and dronken desire of honor contrary vnto the example doctrine of Christ and of his Apostles Christ sayd to Peter the last Chapter of Iohn Fede my sheepe and not shere thy flocke And Pet. sayth i. Pet. v. Not being Lordes ouer the Parishes but these shere and are become Lordes Paul saith ij Cor. ij Not that we be Lordes ouer your faith but these will be Lordes compel vs to beleue what soeuer they lust without any witnes of Scripture yea cleane contrary to the Scripture whē the opē text rebuketh it Paul sayth it is better to geue thē to receaue Act. xx But these do nothyng in the world but lay snares to katch and receaue what so euer cōmeth as it were the gapyng mouth of hell And. ij Cor. xij I seeke not yours but you but these seeke not you to Christ but yours to thē selues and therfore lest their dedes should be rebuked will not come at the light Neuerthelesse the truth is that we are all equally beloued in Christ and God hath sworne to all indifferently According therfore as euery man beleueth Gods promises longeth for thē and is diligent to pray vnto GOD to fulfill them so is his prayer heard and as good is the prayer of a cobler as of a Cardinall and of a bocher as of a Byshop the blessing of a baker that knoweth the truth is as good as the blessyng of our most holy father the Pope And
by blessing vnderstand not the wagging of the popes or Bishops hand ouer thyne head but prayer as when we say God make thee a good man Christ put his spirite in thee or geue thee grace and power to walke in the truth to folow hys coÌ„mauÌ„dementes c. As Rebeccas frendes blessed her wheÌ„ she departed Gene. xxiiij saying Thou art our sister grow vnto thousand thousandes and thy seede possesse the gates of their enemies And as Isaac blessed Iacob Gene. xxvij saying God geue thee of the dew of heauen and of the fatnes of the earth aboundaunce of corne wyne and oyle c. And Gene. xxviij Almighty God blesse thee and make thee grow and multiply thee that thou mayst be a great multitude of people and geue to thee and to thy seede after thee the blessings of Abraham that thou mayst possesse the land wherin thou art a strauÌ„ger which he promised to thy graundfather and such lyke Last of all one singular doubt they haue what maketh the Priest the annoynting or puttyng on of the handes or what other ceremonie or what wordes About which they braule and scolde one ready to teare out an others throte One sayth this an other that but they caÌ„ not agree Neither caÌ„ any of them make so strong a reason which an other can not improue For they are all out of the way and without the spirite of God to iudge spirituall things Howbeit to this I auÌ„swere that wheÌ„ Christ called xij vp into the mouÌ„taine and chose them then immediatly without any annointing or ceremony were they his Apostles that is to witte ministers chosen to be sent to preach his Testament vnto all the whole world And after the resurrection wheÌ„ he had opened their wittes and geuen them knowledge to vnderstand the secretes of hys Testament how to bynde loose and what he would haue theÌ„ to do in all thynges then he sent them forth with a commaundemeÌ„t to preach and bynde the vnbeleuyng that continue in sinne and to loose the beleuyng that repent And that commaundemeÌ„t or charge made theÌ„ Byshops priestes Popes and all thyng If they say that Christ made theÌ„ priestes at his Maundey or last Supper when he sayd do this in the remembrauÌ„ce of me I aunswere though the Apostles wist not then what hee ment yet I will not striue nor say that agaynst Neuer the latter the commaundement and the charge which he gaue them made theÌ„ Priestes And Actes the first when Mathias was choseÌ„ by lotte it is not to be douted but that the Apostles after their common maner prayed for him that God would geue him grace to minister his office truely and put their handes on him and exhorted him and gaue him charge to be diligent faithfull and then was he as great as the best And Actes vj. When the Disciples that beleued had chosen vj. Deacons to minister to the widdowes the Apostles prayed and put their handes on them and admitted them without more adde Their putting on of hands was not after the maner of the dome blessing of our holy byshops with two fingers but they spake vnto them and tolde them their dutie and gaue them a charge and warned them to be faythfull in the Lordes busines as we chuse temporall officers and read their duty to them and they promise to be faythfull ministers and then are admitted Neither is there any other maner or ceremonie at all required in makyng of our spirituall officers then to chuse an able person and theÌ„ to rehearse him his dutie and geue him his charge and so to put him in his rowme And as for that other solemne doubte as they call it whether Iudas was a Priest or no I care not what he then was but of this I am sure that he is now not onely Priest but also Byshop Cardinall and Pope ¶ Of Penaunce PEnaunce is a word of their owne forgyng to disceaue vs with all as many other are In the Scripture we finde panitentia repentaunce Agite poenitentiam do repent Poeniteat vos let it repeÌ„t you Metanoyte in Greeke forthinke yo or let it forthinke you Of repentaunce they haue made penaunce to blinde the people and to make them thinke that they must take payne and do some holy dedes to make satisfaction for their sinnes namely such as they enioyue them As thou mayst see in the Cronicles when great kynges and tyrauntes which with violence of sword conquered other kynges landes and slew all that came to hand came to them selues and had conscience of their wicked dedes then the Byshops coupled them not to Christ but vnto the Pope and preached the Pope vnto them and made them to submit them selues and also their realmes vnto the holy father the Pope and to take penaunce as they call it that is to say such iniunctions as the Pope and Bishops would commaund them to do to build Abbays to endote them with liuelode to be prayed for for euer and to geue them exemptions and priuilege and licence to do what the lust vnpunished Repentaunce goeth before faith and prepareth the way to Christ and to the promises For Christ commeth not but vnto them that see their sinnes in the law and repent Repentaunce that is to say this mornyng and sorrow of the hart lasteth all our liues long For we finde our selues all our liues long to weake for Gods law and therfore sorrow morne longyng for strength Repentaunce is no Sacrament as faith hope loue and knowledge of a mans sinnes are not to be called Sacramentes For they are spirituall and inuisible Now must a Sacrament be an outward signe that may be sene to signifie to represent and to put a man in remeÌ„braunce of some spirituall promise which can not be sene but by faith onely Repentaunce and all the good dedes which accompanie repentaunce to slay the lustes of the fleshe are signified by Baptisme For Paule sayth Roma vj. as it is aboue rehearsed Remember ye not saith he that all we whiche are baptised in the name of Christ Iesus are baptised to dye with him we are buryed with him in Baptisme for to dye that is to kil the lustes and the rebellion which remayneth in the flesh And after that he sayth ye are dead as concernyng sinne but lyue vnto God through Iesus Christ our Lord. If thou looke on the profession of our harts and on the spirit and forgeuenes which we haue receaued thorough Christes merites we are full dead but if thou looke on the rebellion of the flesh we do but begyn to dye and to be baptised that is to drowne and quench the lustes and are full baptised at the last minute of death And as coÌ„cernyng the workyng of the spirite we begyn to lyue grow euery day more and more both in knowledge and also in Godly lyuyng accordyng as the lustes abate As a child receaueth yeâ—ull soule at the first day yet