but had in an everlasting remembrance first of all preached a most fruitfull and comfortable Sermon to his Disciples and afterward as he sate at the table with them hee tooke bread into his hands and after he had given thankes to his heavenly Father as his manner was for his corporall gifts but specially for the deare love that hee of his owne meere mercie and free heartie good will bare toward mankind he brake bread and gave bread unto his disciples saying Take yee eat yee this is my body which is betrayed for you Doe this in remembrance of me And as hee tooke the bread and made it a Sacrament that is to say an holy signe figure token and Memoriall of his Body breaking so likewise he took the wine and made that a Sacrament holy signe figure token and Memoriall of his bloud shedding and after thankesgiving to his heavenly Father for the benefits aforesaid he delivered the Cup unto his Disciples saying Drinke of this all ye This Cup is a new Testament in my bloud which is shed for many for the remission of sins Doe this so oft as yee shall drinke it in the remembrance of me And this heavenly banket once done they said grace that is to say they praised God by saying either certaine Psalmes of David or some other thankesgivings and so departed Here is the whole institution of the Lords Supper Now let us compare Christs Supper with your Popish and Idolatrous Masse and see how well Christs doings and yours agree together If ye be the Ministers of Christ and not of Antichtist the servants of God and not of the Divell then will you follow your Master Christ which saith I have given you an example that as I have done so likewise yee should doe Let us now then goe in hand with the matter First we reade that Christ before hee fed his Disciples with the mysticall food of his body and bloud made a Sermon unto them wherewith as with a certaine most wholesome preparative hee made meet the minds of his Disciples unto so worthy a banket giving all faithfull Ministers an example that whensoever they with the congregation doe come together to celebrate the Lords Supper there should be some Sermon or exhortation made unto the people that they might the better examine themselves and the more deepely consider the thing that they goe about And according to the example of Christ not only the Apostle but all the holy Fathers also of the Primitive church used the trade and so did it continue in the Church of Christ till Antichrist the Bishop of Rome had driven Christ out of place and set up himselfe as God Againe till hee had expulsed the Supper of the Lord and set up his owne peevish yea theevish Idolatrous Masse as wee may see in the monuments of the ancient Writers They continued saith blessed Luke in the Apostles doctrine and fellowshippe and in breaking of bread and in prayers And Saint Paul saith As often as ye shall eat this bread and drinke of the cup shew set forth declare and preach the Lords death till he come A practise hereof have we in the Acts of the Apostles where wee reade That upon one of the Sabbath dayes when the Disciples came together for to breake bread so termeth S. Luke the receiving of the Sacrament of Christs body and blood blessed Paul preached unto them and continued the preaching unto midnight And the Sermon ended they brake bread ate thanked God and departed For if the Sacrament of Christ be never so comfortable yet if they bee not known what they are to what use they were instituted what joyfull promises are annexed unto them what they signifie and preach unto the faithfull receivers c. What other things are they to us thaÌ„ the pretious stone was to Aesops Cock A SacrameÌ„t ministred without preaching of the word is but a dumb ceremony a glasse offered to a blind man and a tale told to one that is deafe The Apostles before the ministration of any Sacrament preached and so did the holy Fathers of the primitive Church Saint Iohn Baptist the sonne of the Priest Zachary preached unto the people before hee baptized them Our Saviour Christ a little before his ascension said to his Apostles â—oe and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the holy Ghost Here is Baptism the preaching of the word joyned together And as concerning the blessed Sacrament of Christs body and blood did not our Saviour Christ preach at the institution and ministration of it Are we not also commanded by the holy Apostle that whensoever wee come to receive the blessed Communion the death of the Lord should be preached declared and set forth Did not the Apostles of Christ and all the godly Bishops of the primitive Church observe the same order They considered right well how little the ministration of the Sacraments availeth without the preaching of the Word For as S. Paul saith how shall they believe without a Preacher Faith commeth by hearing and hearing commeth by the Word of God None therefore of the Lords Sacraments ought publickely to be administred without preaching of the word yea that not in a strange tongue but in such a speech as the people understand or else it were as good to speake the words unto a sâ—rt of sheepe or geese as unto them that are gathered together at the ministration of any Sacrament And this meant Saint Augustine when hee said Take away the Word and what is Water but water But let the word bee added to the ElemeÌ„t it is made a SacrameÌ„t Whence hath the water such a power that it should touch body and wash the heart but by the vertue of working of the word not because it is spoken but because it is beleeved The word signifyeth here not only the speaking of Ego baptizote c. or Hoc est corpus meum c. pronounced by the Priest in a strange tongue but the preaching of the word of God uttered by the mouth of the Ministers in such a language as the people understand or else how shall they beleeve It is not the utterance of Gods word in an unknowne speech that bringeth faith but when it is so spoken that it is understood of them that heare it and that faith through the operation of the holy Ghost ensueth which otherwise is cold lyeth idle and worketh nothing in the heart of the hearer for as S. Augustine saith Take away the Word and what is Water but water that is to say take away the preaching of Gods word from the SacrameÌ„t of Baptism which declareth what Baptisme is who instituted it to what use it was ordained what fruits and commodities wee receive by it c. And what doth the water of Baptisme profit I speake concerning such as are come to the use of reason
you would embrace some she saint After al these things as I may let passe your crossings and blessings your crouchings and noddings with many other apish toyes yee fall againe to your solemne prayers and among all other yee stand nodding and praying in your Memento for the soules departed which was put to the Masse by Pope Pelagius about the yeare of our Lord 560. And here in your minde and thought for now yee play mum-budget and silence glumme yee pray for Philip and Cheny more than a good many for the soules of your great grand Sire of your old Beldame Hurre for the soules of father Princhard and of mother Puddingwright for the soules of goodman Rinsepitcher and goodwife Piâ—tepot for the soules of Sir Iohn Husgoose and Sir Simon Sweetlips and for the soules of all your Benefactors Founders Patrones Friends and well-willers which have given you either dirige groates confessionall pence trentals year services dinners suppers or any thing else that may maintaine you our Ladies Knights But I pray you how can you with an assured conscience and true faith pray for such as are departed out of this world If these your prayers bee of faith then doe your faith hang on Gods word If you have the Word of God for you so praying bring it forth of good fellowship and wee will heare you Have ye none Alasse silly soules Then put up your pipes and lay yee downe to sleepe Trudge with your Dirges and pack up your Masses of Requiem Doe yee alleage Pope Pelagius and old Fathers or ancient customes We have nothing to doe with them except they bring the Word of GOD in their mouth Prayer is a matter of faith and faith alwayes leaneth upon the Word of GOD solely and fully If ye have not the Word of God for your prayer then can ye not pray of faith If yee pray not of faith then are your prayers abhominable in the sight of God so farre it is off that they bee heard as the Apostle saith Whatsoever is not of faith is sinne Saint Iohn saith This is the trust that wee have in him that if wee aske any thing according to his will he heareth us But how doe you aske according to the will of God when yee have not one title of the holy Scripture to declare that yee ought to pray for the dead Thinke ye to be heard of God Even as Baals Priests were when they cried O Baal heare us O Baal heare us If yee would leape upon your Altars yea and cut your selves with knives till ye be all on a gore-bloâ—d as their manner was yet shall yee never be heard of God For yee pray without faith seeing ye have not the Word of God for you Doe yee alleage Charitie And say It is a charitable deed to pray for them that are departed I answer yee are very Antichrists that turne the rootes of trees upward Will yee have Charity before Faith Is not Faith the mother of all vertues Is not Charitie the daughter of Faith How dare the daughter move you to doe that whereof the mother knoweth nothing at all It is not charity that moveth you to pray for the departed but blinde affection corrupt zeale and cankered custome and hope of gaine After the departure from this life all go straight wayes either unto eternall glory or else unto everlasting pain as the history of the rich Glutton and of the poore man Lazarus evidently declareth Our Saviour Christ saith Hee that beleeveth on the Sonne hath everlasting life But hee that beleeveth not on the Sonne shall not see life but the wrath of GOD abidâ—th on him Here also are rekoned but two kindes of persons faithful and unfaithfull the one sort after their departure goe immediately unto everlasting life the other unto eternal damâ—ation And the Preacher saith When the tree falleth whether it be toward the South or North in what place soever it â—all there it heth As we depart so shall we have our place If wee depart in faith heaven is appointed for us but if wee dye in infidelitie unfaithfulnesse or misbeleefe hell is readie at hand Therefore your prayers for the dead are in every condition frustrate and vaine superfluous and unprofitable Heaven needeth no prayer Hell refuseth all prayer Notable is this sentence of Saint Augustine Know ye saith Saint Augustine that so soone as the soule is departed from the body it is straightwaies either for the good merits placed in Paradise or else for the sinnes throwne headlong into the deepe dungeon of hell Againe in another place hee saith Brethren let no man deceive himselfe For there are but two places and there is no third place for any He that hath not deserved to raigne with Christ in this world shall without doubt in the world to come bee damned with the devill And Saint Cyprian saith when wee depart hence there is no place of repentance Life is either lost or gotten But I marvell much of this one thing concerning this matter that ye pray God the Father that hee will mercifully give to all such as rest in Christ a place of refreshing of light and peace As though those that rest in Christ could want any of them all Can any man that rests in Christ bee tormented in paines darkenesse and disquietnes trouble or griefe To rest in Christ after this life is not to be payned in Purgatory if there were such a place as the Papists feigned but to raigne with Christ in glory to possesse everlasting joy and to have the fruition of Gods glorious Majestie with the heavenly Angells and blessed Spirits as it is written Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. For the Spirit saith that from henceforth they rest from their labors And David calleth the death of the Saints pretious in the sight of the Lord. Doth not the Wise man also say that the soules of the righteous are in the hand of God and that no griefe paine nor torment shall touch them They are in peace saith hee If these things be true as nothing is more true what need ye then to stand nodding in your Memento praying for the dead Ye might as well pray for dead swine For yee have as good authority of the holy Scriptures for the one as for the other But this praying for the dead hath made your Kitchins warme your pots to seeth and your spits to turne merrily It hath fed your idle bellies with the fattest of the flocke and caused you to live in all joy pleasure and quietnesse without any labour paine or travaile Therefore no marevell though such things bee placed in your Masse Take away the praying for the dead and yee Purgatory-rakers may picke your meat upon Newmarket heath For your Dirige groats your Trentalls your Moneth mindes your Anniversaries your Bead-rowls your soul Masse-pence and all such other pelf falls to the
or such as are present at the ministration of Baptisme And so likewise may wee say of the Sacrament of Christs body and bloud Take away the word and what is Bread but Bread What is wine but wine that is to say Take away the preaching of the Lords death from the holy Cōmunion and what doth it profit to eat drinke the Sacramentall bread and wine seeing the mystery is not knowne nor understood But put the preaching of the word to the Elements water bread and wine and so are they made holy and honourable Sacraments full of singular joy and great comfort as Saint Augustine saith Let the word be added to the Element and it is made a Sacrament Therefore where the Lords Supper is rightly ministred there is declared the death and passion of Christ there is shewed forth the misery of man from the which hee could have beene no otherwise released but only by the death of Christ there is taught what the Sacrament is what it signifyeth and to what use Christ our Saviour did institute it there are the people exhorted not rashly nor with unwashed feet as they use to say to come unto the Lords Table but to prove trie and examin themselves whether they come with such faith and love unto that most worthy mystery as they ought least they eat and drinke their own damnation there are they stored up unto the workes of mercie toward the poore and unto hearty thankesgiving to God the Father for the death of his Son Christ there also are they put in remembrance that after they have tasted those heavenly mysteries have spiritually fed upon the body bloud of Christ which through faith are present and truly received in spirit of faithful Cōmunicants and are become one body with Christ they ought no more to returne unto their old sinfull wicked conversation but from henceforth to serve their Lord God in holines righteousnes all the daies of their life Is there any such thing done in the popish Masse Who preacheth Who maketh the exhortation Who moveth the people to repentance faith love and amendment of life mutuall recōciliation workes of mercie or unto thankesgiving to God the Father for the death of his Sonne Christ Who playeth the Schoolmaster and giveth the people such exhortations that they goe home from your Masses better learned than they came thither What theese ever lest his theft What false lawyer gave over his bribing what whore forsooke her whordome what wicked man at any time repented him of his wickednesse by comming unto your Masse Yea rather they goe from your Masse so well instructed that they thinke that now they have heard a Masse they may doe all the day after what they will Amends is made beforehand If they bribe poll pill steale lye slander blaspheme kill murder runne on whoring play the harlot fall to drunkennesse to dicing to carding and doe all other unlawfull things it maketh no matter for they have heard Masse They have satisfyed for the sinne before it be committed The hearing of masse hath dispatcht al the matter aforehand And what marvaile is it though such abomination followeth of your massing seeing the people heareth no goodnesse at it but rather are confirmed in all kind of ungodlinesse The chiefest jewell of all I meane the preaching of Gods word is utterly exiled from your Masse as all goodnesse is besides There is none of you all that stand up in the pulpit that lift up your voice to declare unto the people either their wickednesse or preach unto them the most joyfull pleasant and comfortable Gospel of our Saviour Christ. If there bee any preaching at all the Bells make it when the popish Clark ringeth to Masse The Bells being hanged up tell the people somewhat which they understand namely that there is a popish masse ready at hand come heare it who list and be never the better when yee have done But ye speake nothing at all that the people understand and so are yee worse than the Bells Oh how often have I seene here in England at the ministration of the holy Communion people sitting at the Lords table after they have heard the sermon or the godly exhortation set forth in the Booke of Common prayer read unto them by the minister bitterly weep heartily repent and sorrowfully lament their too much unkindnesse and unthankfulnesse toward the Lord God for the death of his Sonne Christ and for his other benefits againe their negligence in doing their duty toward their poore neighbours what free and large gifts also have I seene given to the poore mens boxe what laying aside of al enmity and renewing of unfained mutuall reconciliation what loving embracing and holy kissing of one another What assurance of heartytty friendship for ever to continue where immortall hatred was before what godlinesse also of life have I seen afterward practised by them that were the Communicants what alteration of manners What newnesse of conversation The covetous man to abhorre his covetousnesse the Adulterer to leave his adultery the Whore to defie her whoredom the Proud man to detest his pride the Vsurer to give over his usury and so forth by hearing the word of God preached and by the worthy receiving of the holy Communion hath full oft bin seen in England when the doctrine of the Gospell flourished among us Never saw I one point of like godlinesse practised of any man by hearing your popish Masses but as they have come thither wicked and ungodly so have they departed againe with the same ungodlines and wickednes rather being the worse than the better by hearing that your Idolatrous masse and yet Oh God be mercifull unto us and forgive us our sinnes the glorious and blessed Cōmunion is now through the craft and subtilty of the devil and through the wilinesse of his sturdy stout champions that filthy Synagogue of Sathan utterly banished out of this Realme unto the great dishonour of God and unspeakable sorrow of all true Christians and that most vile most stinking most pestiferous most abominable most wicked most devillish most idolatrous popish private Masse received again set up and magnifyed above the starres yea and above God and his holy ordinance when indeed of all Idols the Masse is most to be abhorred of such as feare and love God But though your Masse were never so good as indeed it is starke naught without comparison yet forasmuch as it is done without the preaching of the word and in a strange it is altogether unprofitable yea and abominable Notwithstanding behold the hypocrisie and counterfeit holinesse yea rather your double dissimulation and devillish deceiving of the simple people when yee have stood awhile pattering like a sort of asses yee know not what at the lower end of the Altar saying the Introite or office of the Masse as they call it the Kyrrys the Gloria in Excelsis the Collects
taken away from thee and the stinking dung of the Pope most miserable cast upon thee Lament thy sinnes O England lament lament Returne to the Lord thy God and most humbly beseech him once againe to looke upon thee with his mercifull countenance to take away these popish dregs to restore unto thee his lively Word and to blesse thee again with the true ministration of his holy Sacraments that thou maist serve the L O R D thy God in holinesse and righteousnesse all the dayes of thy life This doctrine that the Sacrament of the Altar as you terme it is the true naturall reall carnall corporal and substantiall bodie of Christ is the dream of Antichrist the Bishop of Rome and was never received in the Church till Pope Leo Pope Nicholas Pope Innocent Pope Honorius and Pope Vrban through their tyranny brought it in and compelled the Christians with fire and fagot as the manner of the tyrannicall Papists is to receive their abomihable doctrine and yet in all ages God stored up some to confesse the true doctrine of the Sacrament against Antichrist even unto the death Neither is this popish doctrine so ancient as the Papists bragge For it is not much more than five hundred yeares since their gâ—osse opinion of the Saâ—rament began first to be attempted And although Pope Nicholas the second diâ— much in the matter yet was it not thorowly received nor agreed upon untill Pope Innocent the third came which about the yeare of our Lord 1215. kept a Councell at Rome called Latronense I would say Lateranense concilium where were gathered together a swarme of Papists about the number of thirteen hundred pild pates of the which number eight hundred and odde were Monkes Canons and Fryers chickens of the Popes owne brood Last of all came Pope Vrban the Monke in the yeare of our Lord 1264. and he made up all the market For he ordained a Feast called Corpus Christi in the honour of the Sacrament so that ever after that time the Sacrament was no more taken for a signe figure and token of Christs bodie but for Christ himselfe God and man and therefore was it reverenced worshipped censed and kneeled unto as yee teach the people to doe at your unsacred Sakerings and so are yee their schoolmasters to learn them to commit Idolatrie against their Lord God but let us goe foorth with our matter After our Saviour CHRIST had delivered the Sacramentall bread to his Disciples for to eat hee tooke the Cuppe and thanked and gave it them saying Drinke yee all of this For this is my bloud which is of the new Testament that is shed for many for the remission of sinnes This doe as oft as yee drinke it in the remembrance of mee Here CHRIST delivered to his Disciples holy wine I call it holy because it was dedicated and appointed to an holy use which hee made the Sacrament of his bloud And they all dranke of it And here is to bee marked by the way that our Saviour CHRIST afore seeing that there should arise false annointed that would take away from the people the Sacrament of his bloud bade them all drinke of it All all without exception even so many as beleeve on him spirituall or temporall as they call them Are not yee Popish shavelings these false annointed Have you not taken away the Cup of the LORDS bloud from the Lay people and reserved it to your selves alone Doe not ye minister the Sacrament of Christs bodie and bloud to the Lay people under one kinde onely cleane contrary to Christs institution O GOD-robbers O spoilers of Christian mens soules Neither can ye abide that the people should touch your Pope-holy Chalice when they drinke the wine but ye your selves holding the chalice in your own hands give them drinke as though they were babes of three dayes old and could not put the Cuppe to their mouth O tender and jealous nurses In the primative Church and many hundred yeares after as we may see in the monuments of learned men the Sacrament according to Christs institution was received of the people under both kindes untill Antichrist the Biship of Rome by his divellish decree determined the contrary at the Councell of Constance not much more than an hundred years past Pope Gelasius made a godly Decree that those people that would not receive the Sacrament under both kindes should receive none at all but be put away from the Lords Table The Greekes and Bohemes with all that be not under the tyranny of the Pope of Rome and of his wicked Lawes receive the Sacrament under both kinds at this day according to Christs institution Where the contrary is used there reigneth the Devill and the Pope and not Christ and his holy Word But now let us behold your doings After that yee have committed Idolatrie with the sacramentall bread if it be worthy of that name ye fall in hand to consecrate I use still your owne termes the wine with these words In like manner after Supper was done hee tooke this noble chalice that is a lye for Christ never handled that chalice into his holy and worshipful hands and after hee had given thankes to the Father he blessed here fall ye to crossing againe and gave it to his Disciples saying Take yee and drinke yee all of this For this is the cup of my bloud a new and everlasting Testament a mystery of faith w ch shall be shed for you and for many for the remission of sinnes So oft as yee shall doe these things yee shall doe them in the remembrance of me How many words have ye put in here of your owne braine ye shall easily perceive if yee compare them with the words which our Saviour CHRIST spake But for as much as they do not greatly disagree froÌ„ the truth of Gods word I will not strive with you in this behalfe though I would wish you once to deale faithfully and truely in all your doings but specially wheÌ„ you have to doe with God seeing it is written Put nothing to the words of God lest hee reprove thee and thou bee found a lyar After the aforesaid words spoken in hocker mocker yee breathe and blow and shake your head over the Chalice and then yee kneele downe lift up your hands and honour it like most abhominable Idolaters After that yee stand up againe like pretty fellowes and well appointed and taking the Chalice in your hands yee hold it up with heave howe above your heathenish heads that the people also may worship it and bee fellow Idolaters with you and fall into the like danger of everlasting damnation This done yee set the Chalice downe againe upon the Altar and yee cover it with your Corporasse cloath for catching of cold Then once againe kneele ye downe and up againe like dive doppers and kisse the Altar and spread your armes abroad as though