Priest takes bread and coniureth it away by breathing vpon it Lastly Christ ordained his last Supper and instituted this Sacrament of his bodie and bloud to this ende that we should continually remember his death vntill his second comming and for that cause it is called Eucharistia And whereas Eusebius saith that Christ commaunded vs to offer vp a remembrance of his death in steed of a Sacrifice the popish church not contēting themselues with this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiuing wherein we celebrate the remembrance and as Nazianzene calleth it A figure of that great mysterie of the death of Christ they hold that their Masse which they call The daily Sacrifice of the Church is not a commemoratiue but a reall sacrifice not a figure and remembrance of that which is past but the thing it selfe that the sacrifice Christ offered vpon the Crosse and theirs in the Masse is all one that the same bodie of Christ which was borne of the Virgin Marie and which was offered vp vpon the Crosse for our Redemption is the very same euen idem numero with that which is offered vp by the Priest to God the Father in the Masse for the remission of sinnes By these materiall differences which here I haue set downe it is plainely manifest that the popish Masse doth in manie things varie swarue from the institution of Christ as most plainly is to be seene in the 11. cha of 1. Corint vers 23. where the Apostle at large doth describe the whole order and institution of the Lords Supper And thus it is euidently to be perceiued that the Masse as now it is vsed is nothing else but an heape of sinfull deuises and abuses inuented by Sathan and broached by Antichrist to deface frustrate the Lords supper where besides their fruitelesse praiers and superstitious ceremonies their priuate and halfe communion subuerteth the Lordes institution their sacrifice derogateth from his death and bloud-sheading their adoration of bread and wine conuinceth them of hainous Idolatrie But to proue that Protestancy and poperie cannot be reconciled First the Papists themselues bold the differences betweene vs to bee such that it is impossible for any Protestant to be saued Againe all the grounded diuines of the Protestants religion insist vpon the same differēce That sundry points of poperie doe quite raze the verie foundation of Christian religion Marke saith Bishop Iewell to D. Harding What yee were lately and what yee would now seeme to bee what way yee trode then and what way yee treade now the difference is no lesse then betweene light and darkenesse life and death heauen and hell so great a change saith hee would require some good time of deliberation Which asseueration of that worthy Bishop how agreeable it is to the truth and consonant to the practise of the ancient Catholike church and Doctors thereof who would neuer yeeld I will not say in an opinion but not so much as in a forme of speech or in the chāge of a letter sounding against the orthodoxall faith and whether there bee not in sundry fundamentall points of faith great and many differences betweene Rome and vs let it be duely considered by these instances following The first maine point of Catholike doctrine which the Papists goe directly against is the doctrine of free iustification by faith alone which doctrine D. Bishop in his Epistle dedicatory to the K. Maiestie setteth down as a maine heresie that Luther layed for the ground of his religion namely that a man is iustified by faith alone But I demaund of any sober Papist not too much wedded to the preiudice of his own opinion what other or what better foundation could any man lay then that which is already laid which is Iesus Christ which doctrine is the very life and soule of the Church For this was the Catholike faith of the church of Rome when S. Paule wrote his Epistle vnto them that a man is iustified gratis Rom. 3.24 for God a mercie for nothing and that by the grace of God without the workes of the law Quite contrarie to which doctrine of the Apostle the Papists hold iustification by workes of grace auouching that we are not iustified before God onely by the merites of Christ but also by our owne doings affirming that good workes are truely and properly meritorious and the causes of our saluation and that heauen is as truely the reward of good workes as hell is the stipend of euill workes that good workes doe fully satisfie the law of God and worthily deserue eternall life and that good workes wrought and done in the state of grace are so farre meritorious as that God should be vniust if he rendred not heauen for the same charging the iustice of God not in respect of his promise as the Apostle doth but in respect of merite and desert of workes Where we clearely perceiue and see that there is a great difference betweene the Church of Rome and vs euen in the principall Article of our faith touching the Saluation of our soules we beleeuing stedfastly that it is to be ascribed to the merites of Christ they expecting it for the merit of their workes Another substantiall point of the Catholike faith the Papists directly impugne in maintaining a daily reall sacrifice of the body of Christ in their Masse for the sins of the quicke and dead which they hold to be a very soueraigne true and propitiatorie sacrifice in all respects of power and vertue as auailable and as effectuall as was the sacrifice on the crosse for the remission of sinnes For the disproofe of which most wicked and blasphemous assertion there be sundrie arguments and proofes to be produced out of the word of God First if Christ could haue bene offered more then once then must he likewise after haue suffered Heb. 9.25.26 But now in the end of the world he hath appeared once to put away sinne by the sacrifice of himselfe Heb. 9.26 Therefore he cannot now any more be offered in the Masse Againe that thing is in vaine and to none effect where there is no necessitie it should be done but to offer vp any more sacrifice propitiatorie for the quicke and the dead there is no necessitie the reason whereof the Apostle giueth to be this because Christ hath offered one sacrifice and with that one sacrifice and offering vp of himselfe hath consecrated for euer them that are sanctified Heb. 10 12.14 This must then be the conclusion that there is no necessitie why we should offer vp Christ any more for remission of sinnes Thirdly the reason why the Priests of the old law did yearely repeate their sacrifices was this because those sacrifices yearely offered could neuer take away sinnes Heb. 10.11 But the sacrifice of Christ once offered hath sanctified the commers thereunto for wee are sanctified euen by the offering of the bodie of Iesus Christ once made Heb. 10.10 Therefore seeing that Christ by that one oblation of himselfe hath
they could not agree together and contrarie to his word they would not seeke to serue him and therefore chose rather to bee without Christ altogether then to worship him and others with him against his will and commaundement And verilie God will take it in better part that thou deuote thy selfe to any religion be it neuer so bad then to make a hodge podge of religion and so to haue a mixture of good and bad religion together insomuch that I am perswaded that the worship of Mahomet lesse offendeth God then when such as are by profession Christians shall giue diuine honour to a piece of bread Eze. 20.39 As for you ô house of Israel saith God by the Prophet Ezechiel goe you and serue euery one his Idol seeing you will not obey me pollute my holie altar no more with your giftes and with your Idolls Where the Prophet intimateth that God had rather that the Israelites should bee professed Idolaters then to pretend his holie name with such corruptions True religion will admit no mixture but is simple God himselfe said Thou shalt not let thy cattell gender with diuers kindes Leui 19.19 Thou shalt not sowe thy fielde with mingled seede neither shall a garment of diuers colours come vpon thee signifying that wee must sticke to one religion which indeed requireth the whole man and cannot endure any doubling in the worship of God nor any blending of Iudaisme and Christianisme together nor any reconciliation at all betweene Christ and Belial betweene the table of the Lorde and the table of diuels betweene God and Melchom It is not possible that one wombe should containe Iacob and Esau one house the Arke and Dagon one temple prayer and merchandise one heauen Michaell and the Dragon and so God hauing ordained his Law stricktly to be kept without declining either to the right hand or to the left giueth vs to vnderstand that hee himselfe will be serued alone without corriualles of his glorie with all our heart strength and soule Sonne saith God giue mee thine heart Pro 23.26 and let thine eyes delight in my wayes but Sathan willing to part stakes with God crieth out with the Harlot Nec mihi nec tibi sed diuidatur Let honour and glorie and worship bee neither mine nor thine 1. King 3. but let it be diuided But the Lorde our God beeing a iealous God will not be crowded in a corner of the heart but he will haue either all thine heart or no part at all either all glorie or no glorie aut Caesar aut nullus And so we are taught by the word of God in Deuteronomie Deu. 61.4.5 Heare ô Israel the Lord our God is Lord only thou shalt lette the Lorde thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soule and with all thy might that is we must loue God sweetely strongly perseuerantly Loue God with all thine heart that is kindely and affectionately Loue God with all thy soule that is wisely and discreetly Loue God with all thy might that is stedfastly and constantly Let the loue of thine heart inflame thy zeale towards him Let the knowledge of thy soule guide it with discretion Let the constancie of thy might and strēgth confirme it That is let thy loue bee feruent circumspect and inuincible So that thou maiest say with the Apostle I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities Ro 8.38 nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall bee able to seperate mee from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus my Lorde Out of that which hath bene already spoken touching this point of mingling Gods worship with the worship of any other this conclusion or corollarie may be deriued which is this that if either thou serue God with my other as Saints Angels or anie creature which the Papists doe Or if thou serue him alone any other way then he prescribeth thou louest him not but thou doest hate him yea extreamely hate him and shalt finde at his hands the reward of a deadly enemie Strange therefore must needs seeme to bee this Doctrine of the Papists wherein they teach that wee may honour God as wee our selues can best deuise That if our intent be good and our meaning be good it skilleth not how or in what manner wee worship him That these kindes of worshippings of God which come of our owne heads without the expresse commandemēt of God are the more agreeable vnto him the more they proceede of our selues Which doctrine of theirs is the maine proppe of all idolatrie and the very roote of all superstition For the wayes of God are not as our waies his thoughts are not as our thoughts hee hath bridled our deuotion and hath taught vs to worship him not in such sort as may seeme good in our eyes but onely as hee hath commanded vs. God commanded Moses to build the tabernacle according to that order and forme shewed him in the mount neither durst Moses adde or diminish any thing or to doe more or lesse then God appointed him Certaine it is that our good meanings make not our doings good Neither is our zeale a rule whereby wee may measure out either our Faith or our good workes but onely the knowne will and pleasure of God There wanted no good intent or good meaning either in the Israelites when they made a golden calfe Exod 3.2.4 or in Nadab and Al thu when they offered strange fire or in Saul when he spared king Agag or in Vzza Leuit 10.2 1. Sam 15.22 2. Sam 6.6 1. King 12.28 when he put his hand to the Arke to holde it nor in Ishu when hee would needs ioyne the worshipping of Ieroboams golden Calues with the worship of the true God of Israell and yet we see how that iealous God which could neuer abide to be worshipped otherwise then hee himselfe had giuen in commandement executed his fierce wrath vpon them all for their confected religions and halting consciēces And this for all the world is the very guise and manner of worship the papists vse True it is they worship God and they worship Christ but not according to his prescript but in ioyning the worship of other creatures with the worship of the only true God they proue themselues to be plaine Idolaters holding this for a most certaine doctrine that the Crucifixe is to be worshipped with the very selfe-same worship wherewith Christ himselfe is to be worshipped The difference then betweene the Papists and vs in the doctrine of the worship and seruice of God consisteth both in the manner and the matter of Gods worship In the manner of Gods worship wee vpon iust grounds doe varie from them because that whereas God being a Spirite loueth only such worshippers as worship him in spirite and truth and to that ende would haue religion it selfe to be free vnder very sure and most
manifest ceremonies of diuine seruice and therefore hath deliuered vnto vs some fewe in steed of many and the most easie to be done Iohn 4 29. Aug. de doct Chri. l. 3. c. 9. most honourable for signification and most cleare and pure to bee obserued The religion of the Papists is so loden with ceremonies presumptions deuises of men that their manner of worshipping of God in their Temple is become now altogether Iewish and carnall consisting in nothing else but altogether in outward and ceremoniall exercises in the doctrine whereof ther is neither faith nor spirit nor any working of the holie Ghost almost required Touching the matter of Gods worship wherein we differ from the Papists thus it stands wee teach and hold that onely God the Father God the Sonne and God the holie Ghost are to be worshipped with diuine honor and no creature besides grounding our selues vpon this principle and maxime in diuinitie that adoration is due onely to God and therefore that God onely is to be worshipped Lu 4. Deu 6. De vera religi cap. 54. And so S. Augustine saith It is very well recorded in the Scriptures that man was prohibited by an Angel to worship none but onely God vnder whom hee himselfe was a fellowe seruant And therefore hee saith Ecce vnum Deum colo Behold I worship and adore none but God alone And thence he deriueth the name of religion quòd ei vni religet animas nostras because it religeth our soules onely to him But the papists as before hath beene alleadged in their seruice ioyne with the worship of God the worship of Angels the worship of the Crucifix the worship of images the adoration of the Sacrament of the Altar as they call it whereunto they ascribe diuine honour and worship Hauing thus farre proued vnto you that God and Baal cannot both be serued together no more then God and Dagon can stand together it remaineth now in the third place that I intreate of the Prophet Elias his exhortion to the people wherein he exhorteth to constancie in religion and following God Part. 3 3. Part. Constancie preseuerance and continuance in the true knowledge of God are vertues required of all such as intend to lead a godly and a Christian life and finally resolue to finish the period of their liues in defence and maintenance of the true religion of Iesus Christ Math. 24.13 Reue. 3.11 He that continueth to the end shall be saued Behold saith God to the Angell of the Church of Philadelphia behold I come shortly behold that which thou hast that no man take away thy crowne And in the 2. of the Reuelation thus the sonne of God speaketh to the rest of them of Thiatyra which knew not the deepenesse of Sathan I will put vpon you none other burden but this holdfast that which you haue vntill I come Reue. 2.24.25 Heb. 10.23 And the Apostle to the Hebrewes giueth vs this aduise and counsell that we should keepe the profession of our hope without wauering so that being rooted and grounded in true knowledge and built vpon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Iesus Christ himselfe being the head and chiefe corner stone we should not henceforth be children any more wauering and carried about with euery blast of doctrine Ephe. 4.14 by the deceit of men and with craftinesse whereby they lye in waite to deceiue The diuell knowing full well what this hope of our saluation is ceaseth not continually to bend his force against the foundation and fortresse of our faith And surely if Sathan by his principall Ministers the Iesuites and Seminarie Priests can once shake the ground worke whereon we build our health and Saluation which is the affiance in Christ our God and credite to his word if he can but once perswade vs to retire from that hold and ground we stand vpon as vpon an vnmoueable rocke then hath he wonne his desire then enters he with banners displaied vpon vs tossing vs vp downe with euery blast of doctrine and beateth vs downe to the pit of damnation For the easier compassing of this his wicked designement some be perswaded by arguments and by reasons to forsake their faith and so by this meanes draweth them to sundrie heresies and errours others he forceth by torments and persecutions quite to giue ouer their hold others againe he winneth and allureth to himselfe with baites of pleasures to denie Christ and so Iulian perceiuing that torments could not preuaile to cause the Christians to reuenge their profession gaue them the greatest roomes and honours of his kingdome euen as Sathan when he could not by argument ouercome our Sauiour Christ offered him all the kingdomes of the world if he would fall downe before him and worship him The onely powerfull meanes to withstand all the forcible assaults of Sathan is whensoeuer he offereth vs to runne to the walles of faith betaking our selues each man to his defēce as in the certaine truth of gods eternall testament 2. Thess 2.15 1. Cor. 16.13 Stand fast saith the Apostle to the Thessalonians and keepe the traditions which ye haue beene taught And to the Corinthians to the same purpose he saith watch ye stand fast and quite your selues like men and be strong Let the feare of the Lord be vpon you Sticke fast vnto the Lord and cleaue vnto him with a perpetuall couenant which shall neuer be forgotten Three waies there are whereby we may grow to this resolution first by remembring the intolerable paines of hell if wee doe reuolt secondly by thinking of the vnspeakable ioyes of heauen if wee continue firme Thirdly looking vpon such who haue suffered before vs and to propose them vnto vs for examples of imitation And so to shew the like constancie in cleauing vnto God which they did We haue recorded in scripture the examples of Dauid of the three children of Eleazar and sundrie others who for the zeale they bare to the religion of their God were resolute to indure most cruell torments The Apostle to the Hebrewes mentioneth such who being strong in faith when they were tried by racking yet would not or cared not to be deliuered that they might receiue a better resurrection Heb 11.35 We haue againe in the Ecclesiasticall Histories the examples of eighteene hundred thousand Christians in the time of the tenne primitiue persecutions which were done to most cruell deaths onely because they would not forsake their Christian religion And to come neerer home to our owne daies we haue examples of our owne brethren in Queene Maries daies who for the zeale they bare to the house of God were content to yeeld their backes to the scourge their neckes to the tormentours their bodies to the furious flames of fire their soules with ioy into the hands of him that made them Concerning whom I doubt not but that euery true member of the Catholike Church may wish from her very heart that his soule might