of God froÌ„ his people which is so holy sacred a â—hing Wherfore they may be wel placed amoÌ„g â—he false prophets whom the Lorde accuseth by â—eremie to haue stolen his word froÌ„ his people They are in like forte very open rebels to Iesus Christ For seeing that they ought to reprâ—sent his person in the administration of the siâ—per and of al sacramentes it must in any wise bâ— that they do that which he commandeth them tâ— do and that they follow his example For if the do otherwise and contrary thereunto they maâ— not be called the ministers of Iesus Christe buâ— onely by a wrong title Nowe it is certaine thaâ— he commanded them to do in his remembrance the very same which he then did And what is 〈◊〉 that he then did Note he as minister addressed hiâ— worde to his disciples to whom he administreâ—â— his supper and forthwith distributed vnto then the signes thereof which he commandeth theâ— to take Wherefore if the priests do not the likâ— in their masse in their supper wherein they saâ— they do represent as ministers the person of Iâ—sus Christ they do mocke both Iesus Christ anâ— his poore people Nowe it is plaine that in the 〈◊〉 masse they do neither the one ne yet the other From whence it followeth very well that thâ— same can not be the supper of Iesus Christ foâ— so much as they do so great a wrong therein aâ— well to him as to all Christian people For in hâ—â—ding and stealing the worde which ought to bâ— declared vnto them and in not distributing at aâ— that which is commaÌ„ded them to distribute vnto them they do dishonour Iesus Christe in diâ—obeying him also do great wrong to his peoâ—le in not administring vnto them that which â—hey ought to administer vnto theÌ„ And as they â—aile in this behalfe euen so the people doe not â—heir dutie if they wil not receiue the word nor â—he signes when they are duely and sincerely â—dministred vnto them For therein they shew â—hem selues rebels against God. Note And if neither â—he one nor the other be presented and adminiâ—tred vnto them and that they care not at al but â—re contented to be depriued eyther in part or in â—ll they yeeld them selues then without excuse â—â—asmuch as they declare thereby that they doe â—ot greatly care for the glory of god nor for his â—â—luation and chiefely when they may haue the â—â—eane to haue the right and full administration â—f the sacraments Chapter xvi Of the differeÌ„ce and distinction that the Romaine doctors do make in thapplicatioÌ„ of the sacramental wordes of the sacrameÌ„ts aswel concerning the signes of them as the persons which are capable thereof and of the foundation of their transsubstanciation which they ground vpon the same â—Eing theÌ„ that it is so it is easie to iudge howe foolish and ful of filthie ignorance the distinction and the difference that the Romaine doâ—tors doe make betwene Baptisme and the suâ—per and their other sacraments is touching tâ— applying of the wordes and of the signes 〈◊〉 them For they say that in baptisme the sacrâ—mentall wordes are addressed to the persoâ— which they baptize Note and not at al to the mattâ—â— of baptisme to wit to the water which is thâ— signe thereof but it is contrary in the suppeâ— forsomuch as the sacramentall wordes are adressed to the matter thereof to wit to the breaâ—â— and to the wine which are the signes and nâ— at all to the persons from whence they do coclude the conuersion of the bread and of thâ— wine into the bodie and bloud of Iesus Chriâ—â— according to their doctrine of transsubstanciâ—tion By meane whereof they doe affirme thaâ— for that cause the bread and the wine consecrâ—ted after their maner are no more bread anâ— wine but are the very body and bloud of Iâ—sus Christe and the holy Sacrament of thâ— altar and of the supper of the Lorde yea eueâ—â— out of the accion and vse of the sacrament Thâ— which thing they dare not affirme of the wâ—ter of the baptisme For albeit that they hauâ— blessed and consecrated it after their maner anâ— that they doe reserue it in their fonts for thâ— vse of baptisme and that they doe pronounce thâ— sacramental words thereof in thadministration yet for al that they hold it neither for sacrament nor for signe of baptisme but in the very accion and vse thereof to witte when it is applied to the persons that men doe baptize But if they graunt vs this point concerning baptisme why make they so great difficultie to graunt vs the same concerning the supper For haue they more expresse commandement of Iesus Christ to administer the water in Baptisme then the bread and the wine in the supper which are the signes I say yet further that it is so that they haue a more expresse commandement to distribute the bread and the wine of the supper then to administer the water of the Baptisme For where is it that they shal be able to find that Iesus Christ hath said so expressely of the water of Baptisme Take ye baptize ye and be ye baptized as he hath plainely spoken of the bread of the wine of the supper Take ye eate ye Take ye drinke ye yea euery one of you And to whoÌ„ did he speake these woordes following to wit This same is my bodie this same is my bloud but euen to those very men to whom he spake the wordes going before as I haue alreadie declared to whom he gaue commandement to eate the bread and to drinke the wine which he brake distributed vnto them for signes of his body and of his bloud Chapter xvii Of thapplying of the sacramentall wordes tâ— the signes of the sacraments and of the coÌ„secration of them THey may not then at all alledge that they dâ—â— better agree with the matter of the bread and 〈◊〉 the wine in the supper then with that of the wâ—ter in Baptisme and that it hath not equal respeâ—â— to the persons aswell in the one sacrament as 〈◊〉 the other Wherefore to speake properly theâ— must be referred in both the sacrameÌ„ts aswel 〈◊〉 the signes as to the persoÌ„s to whom they ought 〈◊〉 be administred but it is euer in the respect of thâ— persoÌ„s For it should be to no purpose that theâ— were pronounced in secret and in their absencâ— For that should be more like to a charme aâ— enchantment then to a sacrameÌ„t For the maâ—ter which is taken for the signes in all sacrâ—ments cannot be the signes if the same be nâ—â— dedicated and consecrated thereunto by tâ—â— worde of God by the which they are made hâ—ly and sacred signes where as before they weâ—â— but simple and common matter And therefoâ—â— there is so great difference betweene that thâ—â— it was and that that it is after that the word 〈◊〉 added vnto it as there is betwene a piece of
of substance where there is chaunge Wherefore there is as great difference betwene chaunge transsubstanciation as is betwene the general the speciall For chaunge is the generall which comprehendeth vnder it transsubstanciation but transsubstanciation doth not comprehend in it chaunge forsomuch as his signifiration is more ample as that of chaunge of transmutation and of conuersion then that of transsubstanciation For all these names do cōprehend other kindes of chaunge and of conuersion then of one substance into an other For as there is chaunge of substances so is there also chaunge of accidents to witte of qualities of time of places of habits and such other like thinges according to their natures and to the predicaments vnder that which they are comprehended as the Logicians distinguish them Our regeneration is not without chaunge which is wrought in our own persōs But it is not at all by conuersion of the substance of our bodies nor of our soules into others or into any other substance but it is in qualitie which is from vice into vertue by the chaunge renewing of the olde Adam of the olde man into the new And therfore if there be any chaūge in the supper touching the matter of the signes thereof it must then be considered of what kind this chaunge is and in what predicament it must be sought if we will speake as becōmeth Logicians and if there be chaunges either of substance or of qualitie in asmuch as the matter of the signes thereof is otherwise qualified when it is applied to that vse then it was before I haue alreadie declared proued that there can be no more chaunge of one substance into an other then there is in all other sacraments because of the reasons that I haue alreadie alleadged taken aswell of the nature of them as of the testimonies of the word of God whereupon they are grounded And if there were such a chaunge it must needes be that it should be in 2. sortes to witte the one by the which the bread and the wine should be appointed to be the signes of the body and of the bloud of Iesus Christ and the other to conuert the substance of the bread and of the wine into his body and bloud after that they should haue bene made the signes thereof by the first consecration and by the first chaunge which should haue bene made by the same And by this meane it would come to passe that there should be 2. consecratiōs and 2. sorts of sacramental words The first to consecrat cause the bread the wine to be the signes and then the second to conuert them afterward into the bodie and into the bloud of Iesus Christ or else it must be that the same very woordes should do both at one instant And if the same myght be done in the supper there is no reason why it should not be done also in the other sacraments for the reasons which I haue alreadie declared and chiefely in those in the which the holy Ghost hath vsed like maners of speach as in the supper Note We say thē that there is no more chaunge of the substance of the signes thereof then there is in those of the other sacramēts that there is none other at al but in the vse which cōsisteth in this that the matter which is taken for the signes of the sacraments is applied and serueth to another vse and an other end then his did before that time And if there be none other chaunge in the supper of the Lord there can then be none other in the masse if it be his true supper And if it be not his true supper it is not then a sacramēt of the Lord but is rather a kind of magike and of sorcerie Chapter xx Of the ground of the errour of transsubstanciation of the absurdities which followe the same and of the application of the sacramental words to those persons which are capablc and what faith there is there required BUt the Romaine doctors hauing not wel vnderstood the meaning nor the maners of speach of the auncient doctors haue taken them for a chaunge of one substance into an other in stead of taking them for the chaunge which is in the vse thereof It is no maruaile at all if they be fallē into that errour seing that they haue so il vnderstood the nature of the sacrament of the supper that not only they haue conuerted it into a sacrifice in their masse but also they haue made it a sacrament of the altar the which they accompt for a sacrament yea when it is out of the vse therof Wherfore seing they know not what the true vse of the supper is no more haue they well vnderstood what was the chaunge of the signes in the same in respect of their proper vse For that cause euen as they haue chaūged their vse into an other wholly newe and straunge by their doctrine and inuention euen so haue they found out an other newe sort of chaunge of the substance of the signes of the supper into the substance of the thing signified by them against the doctrine and the vsage of al the auncient Church This ignorance and newe inuention hath beene the cause of great and filthie errours and abuses of the transsubstanciation and of the infinite absurdities that the same draweth after it We must then first note Note in what sort the word is adioyned to the matter of the signes to know in what sort the same is dedicated and consecrated to that vse by the same word according to that which I haue lately alleadged of Saint Augustine saying The word is ioyned to the element and it is made a sacrament And then we must goe on further to consider howe the same worde is applied to the persons to whom the sacraments are administred and for whose cause the matter of the signes and of the sacraments is dedicated and consecrated to that vse whereunto it serueth For if the word were not ioyned and applied but onely to the matter of the signes the which Saint Augustine calleth element because it is taken of these earthly elements it should not be conuerted into a sacramēt by the conuersion of the vse whereunto it is conuerted but should alway remaine in his first qualitie should not be qualified as it is when that it is applied to the vse of the sacraments For God hath not giuē the word to man to declare the same to insensible creatures Note to pronounce it ouer thē For that belōgeth to magiciās forcerers charmers and enchaunters which doe abuse it cōtrary to the true vse therof For it is their custome so to applie their charmes enchantmēts to pronounce thē secretly with a whispering voice to babble mumble thē without vnderstanding as also Esay doth witnesse And therefore Saint Augustine sayeth yet very well that the element is made a sacrament by the word which
as well diuine as humaine in deede if there were none other but this onely point to be blamed we haue iust cause to coÌ„demne it and to require reformation of the same Chapter .xiii. Of the application of the Sacramentall words in the Masse and whether they should be spoken either to those which do there assist or els to the bread and to the wine of the same and whether the signes of the sacraments may be the signes of them or no beside their true and proper vse THE last point of the same very purpose which concerneth yet the wordes of the masse is that beside that which I haue already shewed to be worthy of blame in the pronunciation of them there is yet this very foule faulte and contrary to all reason to witte that in steade of declaring the wordes of the supper to the people assistant at the masse and in speaking them vnto them to cause them to vnderstand them to the end that they should be taught by them according to the coÌ„maundemeÌ„t which the Lord hath giuen by Saint Paul they speake them to the bread and to the wine which are vpoÌ„ the Altar and do pronounce them ouer them And therefore the priest is turned towardes them hath his backe towards the people to whom he should speake and deliuer his wordes to teach and instruct them in the vnderstanding of the doctrine belonging to this sacrament and in the mysteries and secretes which it conteineth But in steade of doing this he representeth them to the people by gestures countenances and diuers ceremonies and oftentimes by so foolishe and doultish countenances as are those of a very Iugler Therefore I know not for what cause a man may not saye as well of a Priest that he goeth to doe as well as to saie Masse For he hath there as much to doe as to saie For thâ— like cause men might as well say Let vs go tâ— see as well as let vs go to heare masse For thâ— assistance doe there oftentimes see more theâ— they do heare namely in the Iowe masses wherâ— in they do plainely declare that they do very it vnderstande both the nature and the vse as welâ— of the word of God as of the Sacraments Foâ— the word whereupon they are grounded is noâ— there set forth to be spoken to the signes there of but to chose persons to whom both the one 〈◊〉 the other should be administred to witte as welâ— the worde as the signes or otherwise the sacramentes should be no sacraments For they are no sacramentes being out of their proper vse for so much as they are onely ordeined thereunto And therefore the water is not the water oâ— Baptisme nor a signe nor consequently the sacrament thereof but so farre foorth as it is ioyned with the word of Iesus Christ by the which it is dedicated and coÌ„secrated to that vse and so being applied to those persons which men doâ— baptize according to his commandement Thâ— very like is of the bread and of the wine of thâ— supper For they can no more be the signes thereof then may the water of baptisme if being ioyned together with the word of Iesus Christ whereby they are dedicated and consecrated to this sacrament they be not giuen and distribuâ—ed to those which should bee partakers of the same as it doth appeare by the expressed words of Iesus Christe in that which he saieth of both the signes Take ye eate ye Likewise Take ye and drinke all ye For it is playne that these wordes may not be spoken either to the bread or to the wine but onely to those persons which might vnderstande them and execute the commandement that Iesus Christ gaue vnto them by the same For the bread and the wine can neither eate or drinke them selues Chapter .xiiii. That the wordes of the Supper appertaine not to such as are capable thereof and what fault the Romaine priestes doe committe in that behalfe THis notwithstanding it is to them that the priest doth speake and deliuer their wordes and not at all to those which do assiste as well at their Masse as at their Supper the which they do administer seldome times to the people No more may they be deliuered also to beastes for so much as they can not vnderstand them as also because the sacraments of the Lord were not ordeined for them the like may we say of all other creatures which are not partakers either of sense or vnderstanding Wherefore if they 〈◊〉 spoken to others then to such as are capable 〈◊〉 this sacrament which may vnderstand them 〈◊〉 may obey to that which Iesus Christ commaâ—deth theÌ„ thereby it is a meere mockery wheâ—â—by the intent and purpose of Iesus Christeâ—â— wholy ouerthrowen Note And if these wordes whiâ—â— conteine the commandemeÌ„t that he gaue in tâ—â— supper to all the faithful ought not to be addrâ—â—sed but to those which are capable thereof tâ—â— very like is of those of the promise which fâ—â—loweth this commaundement For when Iesâ—â— Christ saieth This same is my body and this 〈◊〉 my blood and that which foloweth he addresseâ— no more his words to the bread and to the wiâ—â— then when he saieth of them Take and eate yâ—â— but addresseth them to those in deeds to whoâ— he speaketh the first Wherefore seeing thâ—â— there is both commandement and promise aâ—â— that the promise is made eueÌ„ to those to whoâ— the commandement is giuen and that the Loâ—â— declareth thereby the cause and the ende for 〈◊〉 which he giueth this commandement it is eâ—â—â— to iudge that the promise doth no lesse beloâ—â— vnto them then doth the commandement aâ—â— appertaine not at all to the bread to the wiâ—â— From whence it followeth also that both 〈◊〉 one and the other belong vnto them that thâ—â— ought to vnderstand them and are not spokeÌ„ â—he bread and to the wine which can not vnderâ—tand or comprehend either the one or the other Chapter xv Of the office as well of the ministers as of the Christian people in the supper and of the fault which the priestes and the Romaine Catholiques do coÌ„mitte against the same in their Masse WHen then the Lord doth say Take ye and eate ye and then expoundeth by the proâ—ise which foloweth this commandement the â—ause of the commandement he admonisheth as â—ell the ministers as the people of that which â—oth the one and the other ought to doe in the â—upper As touching the ministers their office is â—o aduertise the people both of the commaundement and of the promise and of that which they â—â—ught to do according to the one and the other â—nd what it is that they ought to attende And the â—ffice of the people is to be obedient to that which â—s commanded them and to beleeue the promise which is made vnto them Then if the miniâ—ters do not this office they are sacrilegious in â—s much as they do steale and hide the worde
is compared to the stocke of the vine and his disciples to the braunches ioyned to the stocke and they which are not at al graffed nor ioyned together with him are cōpared to the braunches that are cut off from the stocke And therefore that this benefit is represented and communicated vnto vs by Baptisme and howe wee doe put off the olde man and put on the newe Saint Paul saieth that by Baptisme wee are dead and buried with Iesus Christ into his death and risen againe with him and planted and graffed and incorporated into him and that all those which are baptized haue put on Iesus Christ And thus much concerning the benefite of regeneratiō and of baptisme which is the Sacrament and testimonie thereof whereby the Lorde witnesseth vnto vs howe that he doeth renewe and regenerate vs in his sonne Iesus Christe into a newe life and doth refourme vs to his image by the vertue of his holy spirite and doth adopte vs by the spirit of adoption and doth aduowe and receiue vs for his children into his house which is his Church For the which cause we are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost Thus much concerning the nature and faults and very apparant to those which vnderstand what sacraments are and doe knowe the nature of them and also that of the body and of the bloud of Iesus Christ and of the vnion and the distinction of his diuine humaine natures in the person of him The first is touching the maner of expounding the sacramentall wordes of the supper The 2. concerning the signes of the same and the abolishing of them The 3. cōcerning the thinges that they signifie For the first they giue to the sacramentall woordes by Iesus Christ pronounced in the Supper an exposition altogether newe and strange which cannot in any wise agree with any kind of sacramētal speach that is in al the holy scripture like vnto that which Iesus Christ hath vsed in the Supper For first of a sacramentall proposition they wil make a natural proposition By meane whereof they haue already ouerthrowne the nature of the Sacraments For if I say of the bread of the Supper This bread is the body of Christ there is no apparance to take it naturally so as when I say Iesus Christ is man and Iesus Christ is God but this proposition must be taken sacramentally forsomuch as we must alwaies take the signification of the termes wordes which men doe vse according to the matter whereof men speake the nature of the same Wherfore if mē speake of natural things the wordes must be taken naturally but if men speake of spirituall and sacramentall thinges they must be vnderstoode spiritually and sacramentally If there be then sundry sortes of sacramental speaches in the scripture like to that which Iesus Christ did vse in the Supper there is no reason to take them in one sense in some sacraments and in an other cleane contrary in some others for so much as the matter is alwaies sacramentall and the maners of speache alwaies like And on the other side it is a great fault to take the wordes in their proper and naturall signification when they should be vnderstoode by figure and that the meaning of them cannot be true otherwise as they ought to bee vnderstoode chiefly for two causes in the speache of Iesus Christ in the Supper which woordes are at this day in controuersie The first is because that al other maners of sacramental speaches like vnto this may not be otherwise vnderstoode nor also diuers others which resemble them The other is that if they be expounded otherwise there followe infinite absurdities the which do sufficiently declare that such an exposition may not agree with the meaning of the wordes of the Lorde And that which more is on which side soeuer the transsubstantiatours their adherentes may turne them selues they can neuer in any wise expounde these woordes according to the very sense that they would giue them but that they will bee constrayned to acknowledge and receyue some figure as I haue very amply declared all these matters in diuers other bookes I say further also that they shall not bee able to finde in all the holy Scriptures any maner of speach which carieth with it transsubstanciation and conuersion of one substance into an other like to that that Iesus Christ hath vsed in his supper Wherfore is it then that they will here disguise and transsorme the language of the holy Ghost by a new exposition whereof they haue neither testimonie nor example in the whole scriptures namely in the matter of sacraments where they haue many to the contrarie For albeit they say they will take the wordes of Iesus Christe simply and according to the letter Yet for all that they doe it not when they doe expounde the meaning of them according to their doctrine For Iesus Christe hath not spoken that which they say by their exposition Chapter ii Of the abolishing of the signes of the Supper and of the things signified by them and consequently of all the sacrament by the Romaine Transsubstanciation THe other fault which is cōcerning the signes confisteth in that that by their exposition whereby they would establish transsubstanciation they doe abolish the material signes of the supper conuerting them into the thing which they signifie or at least they do confounde them both together whereas they should be distinguished the one from the other For euen as a sacrament cannot be a true sacrament without the woord of God no more can it be without material signes which are ioyned to that word as seales thereof Now if the substance of bread and wine were transsubstanciate and conuerted into that of the body and of the bloud of Iesus Christ there should be there no more bread nor wine by consequent there should be no more materiall signes forasmuch as there is none other but the bread and the wine From whence it should also folowe that there should be at all no sacrament And so willing to conuert the signes into the thing which they signifie they haue neyther the one nor the other For in abolishing the signes they abolish also the thyng which should be signified by them For it can not bee there offered nor communicated sacramentally as it ought to be set foorth and communicated if the meanes be taken awaye which the Lord hath ordayned to make vs partakers thereof And for to alleadge that the signes doe alwaies remayne signes albeit that they be conuerted into the thing which they should signifie because that their accidents do alwayes remaine whole the which do there remayne for signes that is not to satisfie the question and the difficultie but to make it yet greater For as the accidents may not be without substaunce no more may they be accidentes of substances if they be not agreeable to their
either with the other maners of sacramentall speache of the scriptures and with their liuely signification and exposition or els with the nature as well of the sacramentes as of the true bodie of Iesus Christe or of all those articles of the faith whereof I haue now made mention For the exposition which in matter of sacramētes can not agree with all those points may not be true On the contrary that which disagreeth not at all but doth very well agree with all these pointes may in no wyse be reiected as false Now we saye that the same of ours doth agree with them very well in as much as it agreeth with all other the like passages of the scriptures and like maners of sacramentall and figuratiue speaches and with the natures of the sacramentes and of the signes of them and with that of the body and of the blood of Iesus Christ and with the articles of our faith For we are not at all in controuersie with the transsubstantiatours nor with the consubstantiators touching the wordes of the Supper whether they be of Iesus Christe and whether they bee true or no and whether hee be present in the Supper or absent and whether his body and his blood be there present and distributed and communicated or no for wee all agree in all these poyntes But the different is onely in the maner of the presence and communication to witte whether it bee bodily or spiritually and whether the body and the bloud of Iesus Christ be there distributed and eaten and drunken bodily and naturally or els spiritually and suppernaturally We saye that it is spiritually and supernaturally by meane of the reasons which I haue already alleadged the other saye that it is bodily and naturally which thing wee can not graunt them if wee will not foorthwith graunt them al the absurdities whereof I haue made mencion and a great nomber of other which folowe their doctrine Chapter vii Of the adoration of the bread and of the wine as well in the Masse as in their pixtes and boxes and of the idolatric that therein is SO much touching the errour of transsubstantiation from whence there followeth yet an other very great very vnsufferable the which I set downe for the seconde concerning the matter of transsubstantiation and for the seuenth of the twelue into which nomber I bring all the poyntes This same is concerning the worshipping of the bread and of the wine in stead of Iesus Christ the very sonne of God This is an errour which yet draweth after it many other The first is that where the bread the wine should be distributed in the masse to those which be there present as the Lorde hath commaunded that it should be done in the supper they doe onely set them out to shewe lifting them vp on high and causing them to bee worshipped of euery one as idols through great superstition and idolatrie whose like neuer was since the beginning of the world howe great soeuer the blindnesse haue bene For as Cicero himselfe witnesseth there were neuer men that did beleeue or thinke that that which they did eate was god And there was neuer any people so beastly which did thinke that the idols the visible things which they did honour and worship were really and essentially gods but onely that they were remembrances and representations But the idolatrie whereof I now speake passeth on much further For it contenteth not it self to cause the bread and the wine to be worshipped and honoured as holy sacred signes ordeined to be remembrances and representations of the very body blood of Iesus Christ but as Iesus Christ him selfe in fleshe and bone and man and God together For they affirme that there is no more bread nor wine but that that which was bread and wine before the consecration is really and in deede Iesus Christe him selfe which thing may not be by meane of the reasons which I haue already alleadged From whence it followeth that the bread and the wine are there worshipped for gods that that same worshipping is a very idolatrie and cleane contrary to the holy ordinaunce of the Lorde and to that which he hath sayd and done and commaunded in the institution and administration of the same For he commandeth expresly to doe that which he did in the remembrance of him and not otherwise Nowe hauing taken the bread the wine hee did not lift them vp on high nor caused them to be worshipped by his disciples before he did distribute them but did distribute them to euery of thē with expresse commandement that they should take both the one and the other euen at the same very time that they shoulde eate the bread and drinke the wine euen as they did in deede And if this can not be proued to be done neither in their masse nor in the very supper which they do administer to the people there is thē lesser reason to reserue the bread in pixtes caskets cupbordes and such like not onely to cause it to bee worshipped as God or to beare it about in procession in great pompe and solemnitie to that very ende as the Persians did beare in time past their sacred fire but also to coniure the time the tempestes and the Deuils and to vse them in such like superstitions according as it falleth in their fantasie For as I haue already heretofore shewed albeit that it were so that according to their doctrine of transsubstantiation the bread were chaunged into the bodie of Iesus Christe yet for all that it coulde not haue place out of the vse of the Sacrament by meane of the reasons that I haue already yelded Nowe it is very true that there is no vse there where the Sacrament is not administred and that it is not administred there where it is not distributed with the woorde to those which are capable of it And if they doe applie the signes thereof to any other vse then to the same for the which they are ordeyned that vse is not lawfull wherefore it may not bee taken for an vse but shoulde bee reiected as an abuse manifestly contrary to the woorde and ordinaunce of the Lorde And on the other syde if this abuse were not so great yet so is it for all that that this worshipping of the bread and of the wyne and of their holy hostie can not bee without putting them alwaye which doe worshippe them in great daunger of Idolatrie At the least it can not bee done in fayth Note for so much as it must needes bee that the worshippers remayne alwaye in doubt touching the consecration of the priestes for so much as according to their doctrine there is no transsubstantiation if the intent to consecrate be not ioyned with the pronunciation of the woordes and that there is no man that can iudge and bee assured of the purpose of the priestes
This is my body which is giuen and broken for you he sayd it not in respect of that which he then did in the supper towardes God his father but in respect of that which he after did towardes him vpon the crosse very shortly after his supper For it is there where he was giuen for vs when he offered him selfe vppon the crosse in sacrifice 〈◊〉 his father and not at all in the supper For it 〈◊〉 not there where he gaue him selfe for vs ▪ 〈◊〉 where he is giuen to vs for he is there giuen vnto vs in asmuch as he is cōmunicated vnto vs by the meane of this sacrament of the Supper Whereupon we haue to note that Iesus Christ did vse the present time for the time to come according to the Ebrue maner of speach which vseth often times indifferently the time passed the time present and the time to come the one for the other chiefly when it cōcerneth the promisses of God forsomuch as that which he promiseth is as certaine as if it were already present or as if it were already done Note The like may we say also of that which is sayd of the wine This is my bloud of the newe testament the which is shed for many for the remission of sinnes For it was not in the supper that the body of Iesus Christ was giuen and broken and his bloud shed but vpon the crosse and in his death and passion For the which canse the translator of the common Latin translatiō the which the priests vse in their masse and in all their diuine seruice hath translated these woordes into the time to come for the time presēt saying which shal be giuen and which shal be broken and which shal be shed c. in the stead that there it is which is giuen and which is broken and which is shed in the woordes of the Euangelistes and of Saint Paul as they haue set them downe in the Greeke And al the auncient doctors of the Church haue not taken thē in any other sense And forsomuch as they did wel vnderstand what differēce there was betwene sacrament and sacrifice they had not any masse to offer vnto God a sacrifice of the body and of the bloud of Iesus Christ as the Romaine priests at this day doe boast thē selues to do in theirs but in the stead of such a masse they had the Supper the which they did not celebrate at any time but that they had presently communion of the faithfull to whom the same was administred and not only to a priest in particular as they do in the masse Chapter xiii Of the name of sacrifice falsely taken for the Romaine masse how the Romaine doctors in stead to proue that Iesus Christ and his Apostles did institute and celebrate the Masse doe proue that they instituted and celebrated the Supper in stead to proue that the auncient doctors did take it for a propiciatory sacrifice they proue that they vsed the name of sacrifice in an other sēse BEholde then here one great trumpery the which proceedeth either of the ignorance or of the malice of the Romaine doctors priests which doe make the ignorant beleeue that the auncients did call the Supper sacrifice in the same very sense that they at this day do take it in their masse wherein they doe them great wrong For they did neuer so vnderstand or teach And albeit their should haue so vnderstood taught we mought not folowe their doctrine in that behalfe because that it should be cleane contrary to that of the Apostles and namely to all the Epistle to the Hebrues And then folowing that trumpery they doe yet build an other very great one vpon the same which is the second wherof I am now to speake which is that they willing to proue that the auncient doctors haue approued their Masse and that the same was in the auncient Church such as it is at this day they take the passages wherein the auncient fathers doe vse the name of sacrifice oblation and offering and such other like as wel in the latine as in the Greeke when they speake of the Supper or of all the diuine seruice as though they had vsed the name of masse in the same and that they had vnderstod by the names which they did vse of such a masse as the Romaine masse nowe is Questio For here is no question whether the auncients did vse such words or names but whether they tooke those words in the same sense that they are at this day taken in the Romaine Church And albeit that they should haue vsed the name of masse in the stead of the name of sacrifice and such like that which they vsed to signifie all the diuine seruice of the Christians yet should they haue nothing gayned at all For it must yet be that they doe shew that the masse of the aunciētes was such an one as theirs is and that there was in it like sacrifice The which they shal neuer do For albeit that some of the auncients did begin to vse the name of masse for the diuine seruice after three or foure hundred yeres after the natiuity of our Lorde that notwithstanding it was but in small vse yet in two hundred yeres after that to wit before the time of Gregory the first no more was it then taken for such a masse as it is at this daye in the Romaine Church For there was not yet at that time any such neyther could there be for so much as the greatest nomber of the workemen which haue framed the same from age to age frō yere to yere for a lōg time were not yet borne at the time Behold then howe the Romayne doctors doe deceiue the ignorant vnder the name of sacrifice and vnder the authoritie of the auncient doctors as vnder the name and authoritte of Iesus Christ and of the Apostles For after that they haue greatly bragged that Iesus Christ and the Apostles did institute and celebrate the masse they proue to confirme the same that they haue instituted and celebrated the Supper wherein they proue and confirme that which is not at all in question or in doubt and not that at all which is in controuersie but in stead of prouing and confirming that they proue and confirme an other thing which is out of al controuersie Euen so doe they concerning the auncient fathers For willing to proue by them the same of the masse and of the sacrifice thereof they proue that they haue vsed the name of sacrifice and other names also as well Greeke as Latines which signifie as much as diuine seruice and publike ministerye in our language Chapter xiiii In what sort the sacrifices of the lawe were sacraments and sacrifices both together and that the supper cannot be both but onely a sacrament and of the agreement difference that is betwene the same and the sacrament of the Paschal lambe BVt they
sâ—uer before it be stamped and that that it is aftâ—â— the coyning thereof hauing imprinted in it 〈◊〉 marke of the prince the which gyueth vnto it his estimation and value It hath also like difference as hath the waxe whereof men make a â—eale before it be printed and after that it is printed hauing receiued the forme by the Impression of the seale it is then no more simple waxe as before but the true seale of the prince For that cause the rod the which Moyses held â—n his hand keeping the sheepe of Iethro his Father in law when God appeared vnto him in â—he bush is afterwarde called the rodde of God when God had commaunded him to vse the same â—n his ministerie and in the miraculouse works which were done by the same And in this sorte must we vnderstaÌ„d that which Saint Augustine â—aid speaking of baptisme The word is ioyned â—o the element and it is made a sacrament He â—nderstandeth by the element the water of bapâ—isme the which is dedicated to be the signe â—hereof by the worde which is ioyned vnto it â—he which is not ioyned vnto it but to be vnâ—erstood of those vnto whom it belongeth and â—o vnderstand by the same to what end it is â—â—yned to the signes Note And albeit that the liâ—e children can not vnderstand it in their bapâ—â—sme as those which are of greater age doe yet â—or all that the same is not wrong applied in â—s much as it may be vnderstood as well by â—â—eir Godfathers and Godmothers as by those which doe present them and assist at theiâ— baptisme for so much as it is not founded onelâ— vpon the person of the infants and vpon theiâ— faith but also vpon the faith of their Godfatherâ— and Godmothers and of the whole Church iâ— as much as it is grounded vpon the alliauncâ— that God hath made with the faithful because hâ— hath also comprehended in the same their chiâ—dren saying that he would be their God and thâ— God of their children Wherefore seing that baptisme is the sacrament thereof in the Christiaâ— Church as the Circumcision was in thâ— Church of Israel the children of the Christianâ— are no lesse capable of Baptisme theÌ„ were thosâ— of the Iewes of circumcisioÌ„ forsomuch as therâ— is one very foundation and one very reason iâ— them both touching this point And thereforâ— such is the consecration which is done to thâ— water in baptisme whereby the same is consecrated to that vse Note We then see here how that the worde whereupon the same is grounded hath aswell relation to the matter of baptisme in respect of the bloud of Christ accordinâ— to the testimonie of Saint Augustine as hauâ— those of the supper to the bread to the wine iâ— sort that the water is no lesse consecrated by thiâ— meane to be the signe of baptisme then is thâ— bread the wine in the supper to be signes thereof For a man may say in very trouth thereof thâ— â—ame that Saint Augustine hath said of the waâ—er of baptisme For there is like reason in both â—n as much as there is none other meane wherâ—y the matter which is taken to be the signe â—f the Sacraments may be dedicated and conâ—ecrated to that vse otherwise then by the word of God whereof they are signes and sacrameÌ„ts Beholde here then that which the auncients did â—all here properly Consecration Chapter xviii Of the chaunge and conuersion of the signes of the sacraments into the thing signified by them according to the vsage of the auncient Church and of the doctors of the same ANd when they speake of the chaunge conuersion of the signes of the sacraments into â—he thing which they do signifie they doe vnderstand this chaunge of the vsage of them for the which cause they doe also chaunge their name taking the name of the thing which they signifie in contemplation and in respect of this chaunge of the vse and not at all of the chaunge of one substance into an other to wit of the substance of the signes into that of the things which they doe signifie For if there were such 〈◊〉 chaunge of substance by the vertue of the sacramental wordes and of the consecration oâ— the signes it should necessaryly then come tâ— passe that the same should be in al sacraments 〈◊〉 not more in the one then in the other forsâ—â— much as there is none at all that may be sacraments without consecration and without sacramentall wordes and they haue al this commoâ— together and the like reason is in them all concerning this point Wherefore the Romaynâ— transsubstantiators haue no ground of reason to affirme that there is more transsubstanciatiâ—â— in the supper by chaunge of the substance of thâ— signes into the thing signified by the vertue oâ— the consecration and of the sacramental words then in all the other sacraments And thereforâ— if they would that we should beleeue them theâ— must then proue their sayings by other testimonies then them selues for so much as they doâ— ouerthrowe the whole nature of sacraments by their doctrine For the bread and the wine oâ— the Supper can not be made the signes there of but onely by the vertue of their consecratioâ— and of the sacramentall wordes by the which they are consecrated to that vse For as we hauâ— alreadie heard by Saint Augustine the wordâ— must be alwaies ioyned to the element beforâ— that it may be made a sacrameÌ„t Now it is therâ— then ioyned when the bread and the wine whicâ— are taken of the elements of this world are applied to the vse of the supper and this application is made by the consecration and by the sacramental wordes when they are pronounced and declared in the administration of the Supper in the same sort as Iesus Christ did pronounce and declare them and commanded the same to be done according to his example Behold then here al the conuersion and all the transsubstanciation which may be in the supper aswel as in the other sacraments Chapter xix Whether euery chaunge carry with it conuersion of one substance into another and what difference there is betwene chaunge and transsubstanciation and of the double chaunge of the signes which should be required in the supper if the doctrine of traÌ„ssubstanciation were true ANd therefore when the auncient doctors did speake of chaunge and conuersion of the signes into the same they vnderstood none other as I haue shewed and proued very plainly and by good testimonies of the auncient doctors theÌ„ selues in other treatises of mine For euery chaunge and euery conuersion of one thing into an other carieth not with it at all transsubstanciation of one substance into an other For there may be chaunge without conuersion of substance But conuersion of substance can not be without chaunge We may then say that wherâ— there is transsubstanciation by conuersioÌ„ of substance there is there chaunge But there is not alwaies transsubstanciation and conuersion
the one is of S. Iames the other of S. Philip others for this or that Saint in sort as they haue their names diuers according to the Saints to the which they are dedicated and the persons and the things whereunto the are applied For they doe make a Recipe ad omnia a medicine for all diseases I aske them also wherein the sacrifice cōmunion may serue for the dead the which they do receiue for thē in their masse For for the first what sure foundatiō haue they for their fire of purgatory in all the holy scriptures wherin they do lodge in maner all the soules of those that are departed to make thē after ward to pay ransome And what foundatiō may it haue more then the sacrifice of the masse hath forsomuch as it far exceedeth the true purgatorie the which the scripture placeth in the onely bloud of Iesus Christ and in the washing in the purgacion made by the same For it is he that hath made it by him selfe by the which we are washed made cleane by the meane of the worde of God of faith which purifieth the harts For it is the price of our raunsome by the which wee are bought and neither by golde nor siluer as they do after the vse of the Romaine church And albeit it were so that they could very well proue by good testimonies of the scripture that there were such a purgatory by fire yet must they for al that proue that they are able to redeeme to deliuer the soules from thence by the sacrifices communions which they haue in their masses such other meanes which they haue inuented to the same effect And vnder the shadowe of the which things they haue gayned do gaine yet dayly so great riches that they haue drawen to thē selues the greatest part of the temporall goods of Christendome Wherfore it is not to be marueiled at if they doe endeuour thē selues to kindle light againe this fornace of purgatory without the which the sacrifice of their masse their communiō in the same should lose a great part of their estimation of their rentes tributes We may say the like of the satisfactions which they haue inuented against that of Iesus Christ and against his merite benefites For if his be sufficient then are theirs of no value And if it be not sufficiēt he may not thē be the true Christ And may mortal men do that which he was not able to do adde any of theirs to his worke Chapter xvii How much more commēdable it would be for the Romaine priests to do the office of pastours towards the liuing to leaue to the dead the mynistery for the dead NOwe it is true that they haue not at al any certaine word of God to declare to proue any of al this Whereon then are they groūded it is not vpō the stone vpon the rocke but vpon the grauel and vpon the sand Wherefore it must needes come to passe wil they or will they not that al this whole building shal at the last fal tumble into vtter ruine And therfore it semeth to me that they do very wel to leaue the dead apart to deale onely with the liuing doing the dutie of good ministers and pastours towards them as their duty requireth according to the worde of god For if they dead haue neede of sacrifices or of sacraments or of other suffrages and good deedes the Saints which are dead which knowe better their state then we do which are also in better estate more worthy to succour thē may better do this office then the liuing And if they cannot do it if it be necessary that some should doe it it shal be yet more harde for the liuing to doe it And at the least we haue not at al any certain testimonie in al the holy scriptures whereby we may be assured that they may doe it neither that it is needful nor that God doth alow such a worke that it doth profit the dead Thus much then touching this point concerning the sacrifice and communion of the masse aswel for the liuing as for the dead and the applying of the sacrifice of the benefits of Iesus Christ by the same Chapter xviii Of praiers for the dead of the inuocation of saints in the masse of the distinction of the Romaine doctors betwene the aduocates of reconciliation and of intercession I Haue yet 2. points for the 11. 12. the which I wil touch in briefe The first is concerning the praiers which they make in the masse wherein we finde 2. faults The first is concerning those which they make for the dead the which we can not accept by meane of the reasons which I haue already alleaged concerning the points which haue not at al any certaine foundation in the holy scriptures Frō whence it foloweth also that faith may haue no place in them by meane of the reasons which I haue already yelded The other is touching the inuocation of men womē saints against that which we haue also like reasō Wherunto I yet adde the great dishonor outrage which is done to God to Iesus Christ our Lorde in such praiers in that that they be not addressed to God only by our only mediator aduocate Iesus Christ by his merit but also to dead men and by their intercessions merits the which by this meane are put in the place of Iesus Christ the sonne of God which only is giuen to vs for mediator and aduocate towards the father according to the expresse testimonie of the scriptures or at the least are substituted or ioyned vnto him for companions And by this meane Iesus Christ i◠robbed if not in al yet at the least of a great part of his office Wherfore they may wel alleadge that thei do alwaies say Note By Iesus Christ For it is not enough that they take him for mediator aduocate but they must also giue this honor to him alone without ioining vnto him any other felowes or any other merit to his And they may not here alleadge their distinction of aduocates mediators of reconciliatiō of intercession attributing the first to Iesus Christ the second to men and women Saints which are dead For by what testimonies of the Scriptures may they proue mainteine it For the cōclusion which they make from the liuing to the dead is not good at al. For it foloweth not at al that if the liuing do pray and may pray the one for the other in this life that they may in like sort pray for the dead the dead in like sort for thē be they men or womē Saints or of what condition soeuer els they be For we haue commādement and promise for the first concerning the liuing in a great nomber of passages and such as are very plaine