TO vnderstand the pytthe of the Sacramentes, how they came vppe and the verye meanynge of them / we must consyder dylygentlye the maners and facyons of ye hebrwes / whyche were a people of great grauyte and sadnes / & earnest ī all their doinges yf any notable thyng chaūced amōg thē that they not onely wrote, but also set vp pyllars & markes & diuerse signes to testify the same vnto their posterite / and named ye places wher the thynges were done, with such names as could not but kepe the dedes in memory. As Iacob called the Place where he sawe god, face to face: pheniel: yt is, gods face: & the place where the Egipcians murned Iacob .vij. dayes, the people of the contre called Abell miram. The lamentacion of the Egipcians to the intent ye suche names shulde kepe the gestes and storyes in minde. And lykewyse in all the couenauntes, they not onely promysed one to an other & sweare theron. But also set vp signes & tokens therof and gaue the places names to kepe the [Page] thynge in mynde: And they vsed therto suche circūstaunces, ꝓtestacyon and solempne facyons, & ceremoneys to confyrme the couenaūts and to testify that they were made wt great erne [...]t aduyse and delyberatyon: to the intent that it shulde be to much shame. & to muche abhomynacyon bothe before god & mā to breake thē euer after. As abrahā Ge. xx when he made a couenaūte of peace wt abymeleck kīge of the phylistians: after they had eaten & dronkne to gether and sworn. he put .vij. lambes by thē selues / and abemeleck reseaued thē of hys hād to testyfie that he ther had dyged a certen well, and yt the well therof pertayned to hym. And he called the well Barlabe: the well of sauerynge / or the well of sevyn: bycause of the oothe & of the seuyn lambes: & by that tytle dyd abrahams chyldren chalengyt many a hūdred yers after. And when Iacob & laban / made a couenaūt to gether Gen. 31. they cast vp an heape of stones in wytnesse & caused it Gylyad: ye heape of wytnesse and they boūde ether other / for thē & ther posterite / that nether parte shuld passe ye heape [Page] to ye otheres cōtreward, to hurt or cō quir ye lande. And laban bounde Iacob also yt he shuld take no mo wiues to his doughters. And of al that couenant thei made that keape wytnesse, callenge it ye wetnes sheppe. that the chyldren shulde enquyr ye cause of the name / & ye father shulde declare them the story. And such facyons as they vsed amounge thē selues dyd god also vse to thē ward / in all hys notable dedes / whether of mercy in delyuerynge them, or in wrathe, ī ponyshynge ther dysobedyence and transgressyon: in al hys promysses to them and couena [...]s made betwene thē and hym: As [...]hen allerthe gērall floude, God mad a couenaunt [...] Noe & al mākynd and wt lyuing ereatures also, yt he wold nomye drowne y• worlde wt a generall floude / He gaue them the rayne bowe to basygne of ye promysse fure [...] mak it the beter beleuyd and to kepe it ī mynd for eu [...] ād sayde / when I brynge cloudes vppō ye erthe▪ I wyll put my bow in the closes ād wyll loke ī it and remē bre ye euerlastīg couenaūt made betwene god and al lyuyng creatures.
[Page]And Abram whiche signifyeth an exellent father he named him abraham the father of a great multitude of people bycause he had ꝓmissed hȳ to make hī euē so & yt his seade shulde be as ye starres and as the sand of the sea innumerable / and that name gaue he hym as a seale of ye promises to cōfyrme it / & to strēgthen ye fayth of abrahā & his posteritie, and to kepe the promyse in mynd yt they might haue wherwith to bynde god and to romure hym as Moyses ād the holy prophetes euer do holdyng hī faste to hys owne promisse and byndyng him with his owne wories and brynging fourth the oblygation and seale thereof in all tymes of necesite and temptation, After that he made a couenaunt wyth abraham to be hys god (& the god of hys posteryte & the stylde & defender: And Abrahā promyssd for him & hys sead to be his peopl [...] & to beleue and trust in hym & to kepe his cō maundemētes: whych couenaūte god caused to be wrytē in the flesh of Abrahā & in the males of al hys posteryte, cō maundyng [Page] the males to be circūcysed y• viij. daye or to be slayne, wt cyrcūsycyon was the seale & oblygacion of the sayd couenaūt / to kepe it in mynde & to testifi it that it was an ernest thynge, wherby god chalenged thē to be hys people, and required the keping of his lawes of thē and faythe to truste in hym onlye / & in no other thyng, For helpe & sucoure / ād all that cā be nedefull and necessarye for man, And wher by he cōmaundeth the dysobedient and rebellyous and promiseth thē and therby also they chalēged hym to be the god and father / & to help & sucoure at nead & to mynistre al thī ges vnto them / accordyng to all his ꝓmysses. And though ye seale of thys couenaunte were not wrytten in the fleshe of the females: yet it seruyd the womā kynde & bounde them to god, to truste in hym and to kepe hys lawes, as well as it dyd the men chyldren, and the womankynde not cyrcūsysed in the fleshe, yet thorow the helpe of ye sygne wryten in the masys, louynge goddes lawe and trustynge holy in hym were truly circū cysed [Page] ī the hart & soul before god. And the mayde chyldren beleuynge & louyng god, wher vnto the outward circūsisyō bound / thē were truly cyrcumsised before god: Euē so the males hauyng the fleshe cyrcūsysed, yet not beleuinge nor louynge god (whervnto ye owtward circūsycion boūd thē) were vncircūsyded before god. And god not boūde to them but hadde good ryght therby to pūyshe thē ▪ So that nether circūsycion or to be vncircumsised is owght worth (as S paule sayth Ro. 2.) saue for the kepyng of the lawe, for yf circūsicion helpe not to kepe the law▪ so seruyth it for nawght▪ but to condempne. And as the woman kynde vncircūsiced were ī as good case as the males yt were circumsiced: Euē so the infantes of the maydens wc dyed vncircumcised, were in as good case as the infantes of malys that dyed cyrcū cised / & in as good case by the same rule were the mē chyldren that dyed befor ye viij. daye or eles lett thē tell why / The couenaunte made betwene god & abraham saued the mayde chylde as sone as it was befor thē, ye, assone as it lyuīg in [Page] the mothers wōbe for the couenaunt y• god wold be ye god of abrahās sed went ouer the frute assone as it had lyfe: and y• is no reasō but that ye cōuenaūt must nedes perteyn to the males assone as to the femals, wherfor the couenaūt must nedes saue the males vnto the .8. day ād thē the couenant was yt the ruler shuld sley the males onely, if the fryend dyd not cirscūcyse thē, not that the cyrcūcyon saued thē, but to testyfy y• couenant only, and then it followeth: yt the infāts that dye vnbaptysed of vs chrystē that wold baptise thē at due time ād tech thē to beleue īn christ▪ are in as good case as these that dye baptysed, for as that couenaunt made to the faith of abraham wēt ouer hys sede as sone as it had lyfe ād or the sygne was put on thē: euē so must nedes the couenaūt made to all yt beleue in chrystes bloud / go ouer that sede assone as it hath life in ye mothers wōbeyer the sygne be put on [...], for it is the couenaunt only ād not the sygne yt saueth vs though yt signe be comanded to be put ō at due time to styr vp faith of the [Page] couenaūt y• saueth vs: & in stead of cyrcūcysiō came our baptisme wherby we be receiued īto ye religiō of christ & made ꝑtakers of his passyō & mēbres of hys church & wherby we be boūd to beleue in Chryst & in the father thorow hȳ for the remissyō of sinnes & to kepe ye law of Chryst to loue ech other as he loued vs, and wherby (yf we thus beleue and loue) we callyng God to be our father and to do accordyng as he hath promysed Chryste. So nowe by baptysme we be boūd to god / & god to vs, and the bond and seale of the couenaunt is wryten in our fleshe by whych seale or wryting God chalengeth fayth and loue / vnder paine of iust dampnacyon: And we (yf we beleue and loue) chaleng as it ys aboue rehearsed al mercy & what so [...]v we neade or elles God must be an vntrewe God. And god hath bounden vs chrystēs to receyue thys sygne for our infyrmities sake, to be a wytnesse betwene him and vs and also to put this signe vpō our chyldrē not byndīg vs to any apointed time / but as it shall seame [Page] to vs most conuenient to bryng thē to ye knowledg of God the father & of christ and of theyr Duetye to God and to his lawe: and as the cyrcūsysed in the fleshe ād not in the hart, hath no part in gods good promysses: Euen so they baptysed in ye flesh & not in ye hart hath no part ī [...]strysts bloud. And as the cyrcūsised in ye hart & not ī ye flesh, had part in gods good promyses: Euen so a turck vnbaptysed (because he eyther knowethe not y• he oght to haue it or cā not for tirāny) if he beleue in chryst, & loue as christ did & taght hath hys partin chryst bloude.
And though that the outwarde cyrcū cision by the wc god chalengeth thē to do hī seruice ye whether they wold or not and by wc they were taught to beleue in god & in ye sede of Abrahā yei shuld come & blysse all the world & to loue the law / & certifyed thē on the other syde of the good wil of god, if they so dyd it thogh (I say) it was the chefe and moost prī cypall sygne, for so are such ceremonies called in ye Hebrue, by cause they yet signyfy other thyngs thā appeareth to the [Page] outward sēce, yet god gaue thē dyuers other sygnes both to styrre vp fayth to ye promys made thē, and also to kepe ye benefyt of the mercy of God in mynd, As Exo. 13. All the fyrst borne both of mā & best are santifyed & dedicated vnto the lord for a remēbraūce yt the lorde slewe all the fyrst borē of Egypt. This did god cōmaunde to be obserued yt the chyldren shuld axe why / & cōmaunded their fathers to teach their childrē whē they shuld axe what was ment therby And Exo. 30. The sabot is cōmaūded to be obserued, to be asigne, & to testify ye god had sanctifyed & dedicated or chosē thē / yt they shuld be his peple to kepe his lawes and yt he wold be their god to kepe thē: ād to testyfye also that god hath created al thīges of nought .vi. days ād rested ye .vii. Num. x god cōmaūded ye childrē of ysrael to blow a trōpet, whē they Entred into the Battell agaynste theyr enemyes, and promysed that theī shuld be thoght vpō before the lord yeir god & saued from their enemies. And lyke wyse in the solēpne feastes god cō maūded to blow trompets ouer the sacrifice [Page] to be a signe vnto thē ye god wold thinke on thē accordyng to the couenāt made in the bloud of the sacrifice. Lo ye trōpets wer cōmāded to be blowē, not ye god delyted in the noyse of ye trōpets but in fayth of hys people. Nu. 15. the Israelytes are cōmaunded to make yelow gardes vpō their garmēts / to put thē in remēbraunce to kepe his cōmaū demētes yt they shulde do nothyng after theyr owne Imaginacion, nor obserue any fation yt pleaseth youre owne eyes, wherby ye se that cerimonies are not a seruice to god, but a seruice to mā, to put hī in mīde of the couenāt & to styrre vp fayth and loue wc are goddes spyrytual sacrifyce in mans hart. &c. And Iosua 4. whē the water of Iordane had geuē them place to go ouer by drye grounde God cōmaunded Iosua to take .xij. stones out of ye bottō of Iordan, & to pitche thē on the lande, to kepe the dede in memory, and commaunded when the chylderen shoulde are what the stones mente, that the father shuld teache thē. In the .iij. of the kinges .xi. Aiastare ye clok of Iherobohā ī xij. peces & bad hī [Page] take .x· in sygne y• he shuld raygne ouer x. of the tribes. In .4. Reg. 13. Elyseus made Iohan kyng of Israell vppon a wīdow eestward toward the Syriās & made hī to shoote out an arow & said it is ye arow of victory thorow ye lord agaīst ye Syriās: ād yt did he to stablysh the kyngs fayht in God, yt he shuld wt gods help ouercome the Siriās: & thē he bad the kyng smyte the groūd wt an arow & the king smot it thryse wherby he prophesyed and certyfyed the kynge / yt he shuld thryse ouercom ye Sirians. And Esayas in hys .xij. chapter commaūded to go naked and barefot to be a sygne yt Egypt in whome the chyldren of Israell trusted. shulde be so caryed a way captyue of Nabugodonoser. And Hieremias in hys .27. chapyt. commith amonge the People with boundes and yocke bowes abowte his necke, and sheweth them vnto all the kynges of those contreys / In token that they must be al vnder the yocke of Nabugodonoser kīg of babilō / god so vsed to geue thē signes that they wold not beleue wtout signes [Page] as ye may se not only in ye old testamēt but also in the newe, how the Iewes asking christ sayng what sygne doest yu [...]howe vs &c And Paule .j. Corj. the Iewes askyd sygnes.
Also Sacharyas Ihō baptystes father axed a sygne and the angell gaue it hym Chrystes mother also askyde a sygne▪ and the angell gaue her Elysabeth to a sygne. And vnto the sheperdes gaue ye aūgell a sygne as ye read in ye fyrste of luke. And Exodi. xji. god gaue ye chyldren of Israel the signe pesahl, whych we call ye Ester lambe for whych tyme was come that the chyldren of Israell shulde be delyueryd out of Egypt god sent Moyses & Aaron to them wt wrought many myracles amonge them / to stirre vppe faythe to the promyse of that delyueraunce agaynst the manyfolde & sore tēptacyons to the contrary thorow the moost strayt and greuous bondage / most cruelly contrary & mercylesse oppressyon, And in that moost specyally ye Pharao was waxed .x. tymes worse to them after the cōmyng of, Moses & [Page] aarō thē before, yet in ye last nyght in wt he had promysed to smyt ye fyrste born of Egypte bothe of man & of beast / and to delyuere them / he commaunded thē to take for euery house a lābe or a kyd, and to slea them / and to strike the dore postes wyth the bloud, to be a sygne to them and a Seale of the promysse that God wolde delyuer them that nyght / both out of the handes of Pharao / ād also from the smyting of the Aungell that went about all Egypte and slewe the fyrst borne in euery house.
And this sygne Pesah, besyde that it was a seal of the promesse to be delyuered the same night, to stablisse the faith, and commaunded to be obserued euer after yerely to kepe the benefyte in memory, it was also a very prophesy of the passiō of christ, describīg ye very maner & facyō of hys death, and the effect and vertue therof also. In whose steade is the sacrament of the bodye and bloude of Chryst commen as baptysme in the roume or steade of the cyrcumsysyon.
To se how Christ was prophesyed [Page] and descrybed therin / consyder & marke / how that the kyd or lambe must be wythowte spot or blemisse, and so was chryst only of all mankynd in the syght of god and of hys lawe, it must be takē vppe the .x. day of the fyrste monethe / whych is wyth vs the .x. day of y• first new mone in marche. for so cōpte they ther monethes from new mone to new mone, and begyn ther in the time of marche wyth vs. And the same daye came chryste to Ierusalem, ther to be offered and to suffer hys passyon.
It muste be offred the .xiiij. day of the same month at night, & the same houre began chrysts passyon, he was the same howre betrayed, persecuted al nyght ād taken in the mornyng erlye. The feare of death was the same howre vppon hī Nether slept he any more after. But went immedyatly as sone as he hadde conforted hys dyscyples into the place wher he was taken / to abyde hys persecutours, wher also he sweat water and bloud of a very agonye conceyued of his passyon so nye at hande.
[Page]The bloud stryken on the postes sauid them that they were not plaged wyth the Egypcyans. And delyuered them out of the captyuyte of pharao / And ye bloud of christe striken on the postes of our conscyens wyth a [...]ure fayth, delyuereth vs out of captyuyte of pharao ye deuell, and smytyng of hys Angelles &c Ther myght not a bone of it be brokē / nomore were ther of christes· Though the two that were hanged wyth Hym, had eyther of them hys legges and hys armes broken.
Morouer that it was a very propheci of the death of chryste, and of the vertu of hys passyon is more the manyfest by the wordes of chryst hym selfe. Luke. xxij. where he saythe. The nyght befor hys passyon when he had eaten Pesah with hys dysciples, I wyl no more eate of it hence forthe / tyll it be fullfylled īn the kyngdome of god. As who shulde say. Thys memoryall which we yerly haue hyther to obserued / was ons fulfylled in the kyngdome of thys worlde when your fathers were delyuered out of the bondage and seruitut of the egypsyans. [Page] But it hathe yet another sygnifycacion hytherto vnknowen vnto you, whych must be fulfylled spyrytuallye in the kyngdom of god by my passyon that is at hande / and bloude that nowe shall shortelye be shed, by whyche ye shall be delyuered out of the powr of sathan, sinne and hell, and made heyres of the kyngedome of heauen. Nether was it the lames bloude that delyuered you then. For what regardeth God the bloud of shepe and calues / but the bloud of christ / whom that lamb fygured and described hys innocencye / purenes and obedyence to his father, and compassyō to man kīd warde, whose feble nature / he had put on wyth al the infyrmytes of the same (saue synne) dyd then delyuere you / to brynge you to the fayth of thys delyueraūce. And to make you thorow fayth partakers therof.
Many thynges ther be in the scryptur whych hath a carnall fulfyllynge▪ euen ther wher they be spoken or done, ād yet haue an other spūal sygnificacion to be fulfylled lōg after, ī chryst & his kingdō [Page] And yet neuer knowen tyll the thynge be done / As the serpent of brasse, which moyses hanged vp in the wyldernesse, though it toke effecte carnally in the wildernes, yet it so descrybeth ye lyfting vp of Chryst vppon the crosse / and the vertue of hys passyon, that no tounge could declare it to make the hart feale it.
If ye axe why they maye not be knowen tyl they be done, and what such prophesy may help. I answere if they vnderstand before they were done it wolde let the fulfyllyng of them, and when the sygnifycation is fulfylled, thē to se how playnlye it was descrybed in the scrypture doth excedingly confyrme the faith therof, and maketh better to be vnderstanded.
And when thys Pesah was fulfylled spyrytually in the kyngdome of heauen by the death and bloudsheadynge of chryst it ended there. And in the roume therof (concernyng that spyritual sygnifycaion) came the sygne of the sacramēt of the body and bloud of our Sauyoure Chryst. As baptysme came in stead of circumcisyon [Page] thynges more easye and lesse paynful and tedious to be obserued, and more Gentle to prouoke and entyse the heathen. For as the lambe descrybed the death of Chryst to come / and the maner of hys passyon, by whych we shuld be delyuered. Euen so doth the ceremonye of the bodye and bloud of Chryste testyfye vnto vs, that he hath geuen hym selfe to death for vs, ād redemed vs already. If we beleue and cleaue fast to the professiō of our baptysme to walke therin / or wyl (yf anye tempest haue dryuen vs oute of the ryghte course) returne to the ryghte way agayne.
Thys to be so the wordes of the institucyon declare / whych are these .1. Cor xi / The lorde Iesus the nyghte he was betrayed / toke breade and gaue thankes and broke it, and sayde: Take and eate, thys is my bodye that shalbe geuen for you thys do in the remembraunce of me And lykewyse he toke the cup, when supper was done saying. Thys cuppe is the newe testamente in my bloude / thys do as often as ye drynke it, in the remembraunce [Page] of me.
Here ye se by these wordes, that it was ordeyned to kepe the death of Chryst in mynd, & to testyfy that his body was geuen and hys bloud shed for vs
And Luke .xxij. Thys is my body that is geuen for you: thys do in the remembraunce of me. And thys Cuppe is the new testament in my bloud, whych shal be shedde for you: Loo here ye see agayne that it was instituted to kepe the deathe of Chryste in mynde, and to testifye wherfore he dyed / euen to saue vs from synne, death and hell, that we shuld seke non other meanes to be delyuered with. For there is none other. Actes .4. For as the chylderen of Ireaell stonge of ye fyrye serpentes colde haue none other remedy to saue them from present deathe, then to go and beholde the brason serpēt hanged vp by moyses in the wyldernes whych lokyng on only healed them / euē so yf the styng of daeth, whych is synne i. Corr. xv / haue wonded the soule with the workyng of the lawe in the conscyences / there is none other remedye, then [Page] to runne to Chryste whyche shedde hys bloude hangyng vppon the crosse. And to hys euerlastyng testament and mercyfull Promysse that it was shedde for vs, for the remyssyon of our Synnes, if thys be stonge wyth conscyence of synne, and they coketryse of thy Poysoned nature hath beholde her self in the glasse of the ryghtuous lawe of God, there is non other salue or remedi, thē to rūne to Chryst immediatli and to the Father throw hym / And to say father I haue synned agaynst ye and the godly and holy and ryghtuous law, and agaynst my brother, whom I ought of all ryght to loue for thy sake / as wel as my self, for geue me o father for the dere sonne Iesus bloude sake accordyng to the moste mercyfull promyses and testament, and I wyll axe my brother for geuenes (yf the peace I meane be not made alredy) and wyll make to my▪ powre such satysfactyon to hym as shal seame ryght in hys eyes, yf he be reasonable or as the congregacyon shuld assygne, or faythful men therto apoynted by the congregacyō, or such as I & he shall agre vppō, & wyll [Page] indeuoure my selfe to do so no more [...] the helpe of the grace. And wyl submit my selfe to the holsō ordynaunce of the congregacyon / acordȳge to the doctryne of the sone Iesus and of hys faythfull apostles / for ther is none other name vnder heuen, then Iesus geuen to mē that we may be saued by / Act .4. Here of ye se yt the sacrament is an absolucyon of oure sīnes as ofte as we receiue it, where it is truly taught and vnderstande / & receued a ryght, Here of ye se also yt as the Ebrewes wrote theyre storyes and couenaunts / and signes / geuing ther signes suche names as cold not but keape them in mynde. And as god the father dyd folowe the ensample of the people (or they folowynge hym) and cōmaunded hys Promysses▪ couenauntes and prophesyes to be wrytē in gestes. Signes and cecrmonyes, geuynge them names that colde not but kepe hys couenauntes in mynde. Euen so chryste wrote the couenaunt of hys bodye and bloud in bread and wyne / geuynge them that name ye ought to kepe ye couenaunt in [Page] remembraūs, And hereof ye se that our sacramentes are bokys of storyes only and that ther is none other vertu in thē then to thestyfye the couenauntes and promysses made in chrysts bloud. And here of ye perceyue that where nought is vnderstand by the sacrament or ceremonyes / ther they be clene vnprofitable
And as ye circumcisyon in the flesh, ther hartes stylle vncyrcumcysed / But hatynge the lawe of god and beleuynge in ther oune ymagynacyons: were circūcysed vnto theyr great dampnacyon. And as they baptised in the flesh only, the harte styll vnclene / nether beleuyng in chryst for the forgeuenes of ther sīnes Nether loue ther neyboure for chrystes sake are baptysed also vnto ther greatter dampnacyon (for though god haue ryght to all men bycause he hath creaed and made man▪ yet to all such persones by the reason of the sygne and bage / and of there owne consent, graunt and promysse hath he more ryght to callynge of them the kepyng of hys law, And yt they trust in hym onlye (or to dampne them [Page] bycause when they knowe theyr duety, or myghte if they wolde (the sygne mouynge them and geuynge them an occasyon to axe therafter and yet do not. Euen so all that comme to the sacramēt for anye other purpose then it was ordeyned and instytuted / for that is to say so fette absolucyon of theyr synnes with a sette purpose to synne no more as nye as they can / and to call to memorye the Benefyttes of the Passyon of Chryste, with the medytacyon to weak the flesh / and strenght the Spyrite agaynste her: And to geue thankes▪ agayne / that is to saye / to calle to mynde, Howe muche he is bounden for Chrystes sake / to loue hys neyghbour, to helpe hys neade, and to beare hys infyrmitye, and to forgeue hym if he haue offended and desyre forgeuenes, promysyng to amende, where vnto Chryste byndeth all that wyll be partakers of hys Bloude
The same I saye came therto to theyr greatter dampnatyon: I passe ouer wyth sylence the wycked and dampnable [Page] Doctryne of these Seruauntes of Mammon, whych for lucre, peruerte the true vse of the sacramente and hyd it from the people for neante, teachyng it to be a sacryfyce instituted of God to helpe the soules of the deade in purgagatory, and that it wyll make men ryche and brynge them to such promocyon as Chryst neuer promysed hys discyples but forbadde it them.
Some wyll say. Thys sacrament neaded not Baptisme is Inough, Baptysme as a receyuyng into relygyon / & ther is the couenantes made what we shall do and what we shall haue: And Baptyme as a sygne wherby god hath ryght to vs and we to god and to chryst and wherby euery man hathe ryght to call other to do ther dutes, and to rebuk them that wyll not, Nether owr saluacyon so greately standeth in ther or any other sacramente / that we coulde not be saued wyth owt them / By preachynge the worde only, Neuer the later god as ryght is wyll haue hys benefittes kept in memory to hys glory & our benefyte [Page] and namely thys benefytte of all benefittes / wherin onely the pythe of our saluatyon resteth: therfore though the affecte of it be sygnyfyed by baptysme. And though we be Baptysed to beleue in the death of Chryst, and to dye wyth hym by mortyfyeng of the flesh / yet doth thys sacrament thorow the rehearsynge of the couenaunt and breakyng of the breade & pouryng oute of wyne, much more lyuely expresse the whole storye, and kepe it better in memorye by dayly repetyng therof, and hath more myght and vehemē cye to heale the conscyence stonge wyth fresshe synne.
For the nature of man is so weake / so feble & so frayle yt he cā not but synne. As there ys no man that lyueth and syneth not the thyrd to the kynges the .iiij. And when he is so fallen, then the lawe loketh vpon hym wyth so terryble a cō tynaunce, and so thundreth in hys eares that he dare not abyde but turneth hys backe and to god, and the ennemye assayleth hym on the other syde to persuade hym that god hath cast him away saying [Page] They that be Gods haue power to kepe hys lawe, thou hast not but breakest them, ergo thou art cast away and dampned creature.
And hell gapeth and setteth open her mouthe beneth to deuoure him. And the fleshe also wresteleth wyth the Spyrite to kepe hym down, and to take hym prysoner and to stoppe hys mouthe, that he crye no more vppon her, to vnquyet her / that she myghtte synne at pleasur and wt out all feare.
The carles swyn that consent vnto sīne fele not these thinges, neyther yet the hypocryts yt haue put a visare on the face of the lawe, and make her loke wyth suche a contenaunce as please them. It is but losse of winde to talke with them, but the poore folkes that haue the eyes open, ād consent and fayne wolde do the lawe. They fele that cā not be expressed with tounge. Neyther is there lyuynge anye man that fealyth the vertue and power of the bloud of Chryste whych hath not fyrste felt the strong paynes of hell. [Page] Seing then that man is so sycke / so prone and ready to fal / and so cruelly inuaded, whē he hath sinned, of the fynde the fleshe and the lawe, that he is oft put to flyght and feared and made to runne away from hys father. Therfore hathe the God of all mercye and of Infynyte pytye and botomlesse compassyon / set vp thys sacrament as a sygne on an hygh hyll / whence it may be sene on every syde farre and neare / to call agayn them yt be fled and ronne away. And with this sacramēt, he as it were clocketh to them, as an henne doth for her chyckens, to gether them vnder the wyngs of hys mercye. And hath commaunded hys sacramente to be had in contynuall vse to put them in mynde of mercy layd vp for thē in Chrystes bloud. And to wytnes and testefy it to them / and to be the seal ther off. For the sacrament doth much more vehemently prynt lyuely the fayth ād make it synke downe into the hart, then doo bare woordes onelye. As a manne is more sure of that he heareth / seythe, feleth, smelleth and tasteth, then that he [Page] heareth only.
Now whē the words of the testament and Promises is spoken ouer the breade. Thys is my body that shalbe brokē for you. This is mi bloud yt shalbe shed for you. They confirme the faythe / but much more when the sacrament is sene wyth the Eyes, and the breade broken the wyne powred out or loked on / And yet more when I Taste it and Smell it.
As ye se when a mā makyth a promisse to an other wyth slyght words betwen them selues. And as they be departid, he to whome the promysse is made, begynneth to doubt whether the other spake earnestlye or mocked / And whether he wyl remembre hys promisse to byde by it or not: But yf any man speake wyth aduysemente and delyberacyon, the wordes are more credyble yf he swere, it cō fyrmeth ye thīg yet the more if he strike handes: yf he geue erneste, yf he call recorde▪ yf he geue hys hand wrytyng and seale it, so is the promysse more & more beleuid. For the harte gatheryth
[Page]Lo he spake wyth aduysement and delyberacyō / and wyth good saddenes he sware, he clapped hands, called records put to hys hand and seale, the man can not be so faynt wtout the feare of god / as to deny all thys. Shame shall make hym byde by hys promysse, Though he were suche a man that I cold not cōpel hym yf he wold deny it. If a yonge mā breake a rynge betwene him & a mayde doth not the facte testyfye and make a presumpcyon to all men, that hys hart meant as hys wordes spake.
Monaha Samsons father / when he had sene an angell. Iudic. xiij. he sayd to hys wyfe, we shal suerli dye by cause we haue sene the lorde. But hys wyfe gathered other comfort of ye cyrcūstaunces and sayd / yf the lorde wold kyll vs, he wolde not haue receued such offrynges of oure handes.
Nor shoued vs suche thyngs as he hath nor told vs of thyngs to come, Euē our harts gather of ye cyrcumstances, protestacyons as othes myracles & ernest ceremoneys of god, good argumentes [Page] And reasons to stablyshe owre weake faythe wythall, suche as we colde not gather at bare wordes only.
And thys we dyspute: God sente his sonne in owr nature and made him feale all oure infyrmytyes that mowe vs to synne. And named hym Iesus (that is to say) Sauyour, bycause He shuld saue hys peopli from ther synnes Mathew. j. And after hys death, sent hys apostles to preache the thynges or tydynges, and to thruste it in at the ears of vs / and set vp ye sacramēt of it to testifie it to be a seal of it to thruste it in, not at the eares only, by the rehersynge the promysses and testament ouer it, nether that our eyes only in be holdīg it, but beate it in thorowe oure fealyng tastynge & smellyng also. And to be repeted dayly and mynystred to vs. He wolde not (thynke we) make halfe so muche a doo wt vs / yf he loued vs not, or yf he wold not haue vs fayne come, and be as marcyful to vs as he was to hys frindes in the olde tyme that fell and rose agayne. God so thē vsed to ye Iewes (to whō a [Page] ceremonyes were fyrst geuen and from whom they came to vs) euen suche facyons as they vsed amonge them selues / in all hys promyses and couenauntes not for hys necessitye, but for oures, that suche thynges shulde be a wytnesse and testymony betwene hym and vs / to confyrme ye fayth of his promys, yt we shuld not wauer or doubt in them, when we loke on the seales of hys oblygac [...]ōs, wher with he hath bound hym selfe, and to kepe the promyses / and couenauntes beter in mynde, and to make them the more depe synke into our harts, & to be more earnestlye regarded, and that we shulde axe what such thyngs mente, and why god commaunded them to be obserued / that ignoraunce shulde not excuse, yf we knowe not what we ought to do and beleue For naturall reason ought to teach vs, that the outward corporall and bodylye thynge can not helpe the spyrytual soul, & that god hath no delectacyon in suche fantasye. Now if we were dylygent to searche for the wyll of God. And wolde axe, what suche Ceremonyes meant [Page] It were impossyble / but ther god which hath promysed. Math. vii / If we seke we shall fynde, wold sende vs true interpreters of hys sygnes or sacramentes.
And he that beyng of a laufull age obserueth a ceremony and knoweth not the intent to hym is the ceremonye not onely vnproffitable but also hurtfulle & cause of sinne. In that he is not careful and dylygent to searche for it: & he there obserueth them wyth a false faith of his owne Imagynacyon thynkyng as all ydolaters do and euer haue done / that ye outwarde worke is a sacryfice and a seruice to God. The same synneth yet more deper and more dampnable. Neither is ydolatry any other thīg thē to beleue that a vysyble ceremonye ys a seruice to the inuysyble god, whose seruyce is spyrytuall as he is a spyryte. And is none other, thynge then to knowe that all is of hym, and to truste in hym only, for al thynges and to loue hym for hys greate goodnesse and mercye aboue all. And oure Neyghboures as oure selues for hys sake vnto which spyrytuall seruing [Page] of God to brynge vs to, were old ceremonyes ordeyned.
These be nowe sufficyente concernyng thyntent and vse of the ceremonies and how they came vp.
Nowe let vs consyder the woordes of thys testament and promysses as they be rehearsed of thre Euangelistes mathew marke and Luke and of ye apostle paul. For Ihon which wrot last touched nothyng that was suffisyently declared of other. Mathew in the .xxvi sayth thus. as they sate / Iesus toke brede and gaue thankes and brake and gaue hys dyscyples and sayd, take and eat thys is my body, And he toke the cuppe and thanked and gaue it them sayynge, Drynke of it all / for it is my bloud of the newe testamente, whych shall be shedde for manye, for the remyssyon of synnes. Fyrst ye se by these wordes yt the body was geuē to death / & the bloud shed for ye remyssyon of sīns & yt for many. But who are these mani? verely they yt turne to God to beleue in him onely / and to endeuoure thē selues to kepe his lawe frō [Page] hense forth, whych many, yet in respecte of them that loue not the law, are but very fewe, and euen that lytle Flocke that gaue them selues whollye to followe Chryst, wherfore yf any man thynke he beleue in Chryst / and haue not the lawe wrytē in his hart to consent yt his duety is to loue hys brother for Chrysts sake, as Chryst loued hym, And to indeuour hym selfe so to doo. The fayth of that same man is vayne and bylte vppō sād of hys owne Imagymacyon / and not vppon the roke of godes worde / for hys worde / vnto whych he hath bound him selfe, is that they only, wc turne to god to kepe hys Lawes shall haue mercye for chrysts sake.
drīk of it al / for it is my bloud of ye new testamēt for it is (yt is to say) the drīk yt is in the coppe, or yf ye lyste, the cuppe is my bloud of the new testamente, taking the cuppe for the drynke, by a maner of speakyng vsed in al tonges [...]s when we saye. I haue dronk a cuppe of wyne we take ther the cuppe for the wyne. My bloud of the new testamēt, that is to lay [Page] my bloud for whose shedynge sake this new testament & couenaūt forgeuenes of synne, is made you.
The old testament made betwene god your father in mount synay / in whyche lyfe was promysed to them only that kepe it (and to be ye breakers death / wrathe / vengeauns) to be accursed only no mencyon made of mercy (wt cōfyrmed wt bloude. Exodi. xxiiij. Moyses offered halfe the bloud to god and sprynkelyd the people wt the other halfe, to confyrme the couenaūt and to bynde both partyes. Neyther was ther anye couenaunt made that was not confirmed wt bloud as it is rehersed Ebre. ix. and as we se in the bookes of Moyses, whose custome of bloudshedyng was not only to confirme those old couenaūts / but also to be a prophecy of the bloud that shuld be shedde to confyme thys testamente, That olde cruel and fearfull testamēt. whych drawe the people away (they durste not abyde the voyce of the thunder, nor the terrible syght of ye fyer▪ But went & stode a farre of / was cōfyrmed [Page] wt the bloude of calues, But thys newe ande gentle Testamente whyche calleth agayne and promyseth mercy to al yt wyll mend, as it is a more better testament, so it is confyrmed wt more better bloud, to make menne se loue to loue agayne / and to be a greater confirmacyō of the loue promyssed, For yf he gaue vs hys sonne, what wyll he denye vs? yf god so loued vs, whē we were synners and knew him not, that he gaue hys sō ne for vs / how much mor loueth he vs? nowe when we loue agayne and wolde fayne kepe hys commaundementes, in the olde couenauntes, the people were sprynkeled wt bloude of calues wtout in ther bodyes, to bynde them to kepe the law, elles were bound vnto iust dampnacyon for the breakyng of it. Here it is sayde / drynke of it euery one that your soules wtin maye be sprynkeled & washyd thorow fayth wyth the bloude of the son of god, for the forgeuenes of sȳne & to be partakers of a more easy & kynde testamēte, vnder wc yf you synne thorowe fragylyte. you shalbe warned louingli & receyued to merci yf you wyl [Page] turne agayne and amende.
Marke in the .xiiij. as they dyd eat. Iesus toke breade and blessed and brake & gaue them and sayde. Take you, thys is my body: And he toke the cup and thanked and gaue them / and they dranke of it all. And he sayde, Thys is my bloud of the newe Testamente, there is all one wyth Mathewe and to vnderstand as aboue.
Luke in the .xxij. He toke breade / thanked and brake, and gaue them sayinge. Thys is my body that shalbe geuen for you, this do in remēbraunce of me. Like wyse the Cuppe, when he had Supped saying. Thys cuppe is the newe testament in my bloud whych shalbe shed for you. Here is also to be noted / that the cause of the instytucyon was to be a memoryall to testyfye that Chrystes body was geuen and hys bloude shed for vs, and agayne, wher Mathew and marke sayd / thys is my bloud in the newe testamente. Luke saythe / Thys cuppe is the newe testament in my bloud which shal be shed for you. Thys is a straūge speakynge [Page] and farre from the vse of oure tō ge, to call the Sygne and confyrmacyon with the name of the thyng that is sygnyfyed and confyrmed.
The testamentis that Chrystes bloud is shed for our sinnes. And christ saith / Thys cuppe is that testament / sygnyfying therby, that the thyng that is mē te by thys ceremony is that we beleue yt hys bloudsheadyng is the remyssyon of oure synnes, whych is the very testamēt
Paule .1. Cor. x. sayth on thys maner. I delyuered vnto you that I receaued of the lorde. How that the lord Iesus that same nyghte he was betrayed. toke bread and gaue thankes and brake and sayd. Take ye and eate, thys is my body that shalbe delyuered for you / this do in the remembraunce of me. Lykewyse also, the cuppe / when he had supped / saynge / Thys cuppe is the new testament in my bloud, thys do as ofte as you shall drynke it in the remembraunce of me. As oft sayth paul as you shall eate of thys / Breade and drynke of thys cuppe ye must declare or preache the lordes [Page] death vntyll he come.
As mathew and marke agre in these wordes. So do lucas and paule. And as it is aboue declared vppon the wordes of luke, and so here by so oft repeting one thyng. Thys do in the remembraunce of me, This cuppe is the newe testament in my bloud. This do as ofte as ye drynke it in the remembrauns of me. Agayne, As ofte as ye shall eate of thys bread and drynke of the cup as ye must declare the lordes death, By thys ofte repetyng (I say) ye may euydētlye perseyue / yt the cause / entent and whole porpose of the Instytucyon of the sacrament was to testyfye and confyrme the faythe of the testament made in the death of chryste How that for his sake oure synnes shalbe forgeuen.
So do this in the remembrauns of me that is to say, Take bread and wyne ād reherse the couenaūt ād testament ouer them / How that my body was broken and mi bloud shed for thē & the geuethē the people to eate and drynke, to be a sygne an earneste and the seal of the testament, [Page] and cry vppon them withowt sesing to beleue in me only for remyssyō of sīnes, & not to dispraue how weak so euer they be, only yf they hange on me & desyre powre to kepe the lawe after my doctryne and ensample of my lyfe / and do morne & be sory by cause they cā not do that good thynge whych they wold.
Furth sayth paule. Who so euer eatyth of the brade & drynketh of ye cuppe vnworthelye, is gylty of the body and bloud of the lord, that is to say, Whoso receueth the sacrament of the body and bloude of chryst wyth an vnclene hart / not forsakyng the olde luste of his flesh. Nor porposynge to folowe chryst, and to be to hys neyboure / as christe was to hym, only mercyful. The same sinneth agaynste the body and bloud of Chryste In that he makyth a mocke of ye ernest deathe of chryste. And as it is wryten Ebru. x. Treadeth chryst vnder fote & compteth the bloude of the testamente wherwyth he was washyd / as an vnholye thing, and dothe dyshonor the sprite of grace.
of thys ye may ꝑceyue agayne / what ye sacramente [Page] meaneth, and what the intent of the ordinaunce was / and howe such ceremonyes came vp. And whence they had theyte begynnyng / and what the frute therof is / & what is therin to be sought And thought were Inough. So that I myght here wel cease, yet bycause the vnquyet Scrupulous and Superstycyous nature of man holy geuen to ydolatry, hath styrred vp suche tradycyons about thys one sacrament moost specyally, I can not but speake therof some what more and declare what my conscyence thynketh in thys matter
Ye shall vnderstand therfore that there is great dyssention / and thre opynions about the woordes of Chryste, where he saith in prononcyng the testament ouer the breade: thys is my body / and in pronoucynge it ouer the wyne, thys is my bloud. One part say they that these sayinges thys is my body, thys is my bloud cōpelle vs to beleue vnder payne of damnatyon that the bread and wyne are chā ged into the very body & bloud of chryst ryally. As the water at Cana Galylee [Page] was turned into very wyne.
The second part sayth / we be not boūd to beleue that breade and wyne ar changed: but only that this body & bloud ar ther presentlye.
The thyrde say, we be bounde by these wordes to beleue only tha / christes body was broken and hys bloud shed for the remyssyon of our synnes & yt there is no other satysfaction for synne then the death and passyon of chryste.
The fyrst say these words (This is my body. thys is my bloud) compell vs to beleue that the thynges ther showed are the veri body & bloud of chryst really / but bread & wyne say they cā not be Chrysts naturall body. therfore the breade and wyne, are changed / turned altered and transsubstancyat in to the very body and bloud of Chryste. And they of thys opinyon haue busyed them selues in sekynge subteltes and symylytudes to proue how the very body and bloud myght be ther vnder the symylytud of bread and wyne only. The very bread and wyne thus transsubstanciat, [Page] and so occupyed in sl [...]ynge all that wyll not captiue theyr wyttes to beleue them / that they neuer taught nor vnderstode that the sacramente is an absolucyon to al that therbi beleue in the body & bloud of Chryst. The second parte graunte wt the fyrst that the wordes cōpell vs to beleue that the thyngs shewed in the sacramēt, are the very body ād bloud of chryst But when the fyrste saye bread and wyn can not be the very body & bloud of christ There they vary and dyssent from thē / affyrmyng that breade and wyne maye and also is Chrystes body ryally and very bloud of Chryste. And saye that it is as trewe to saye, ye bread is Chrystes body, and that wyne is hys bloud / as it is true to saye Chryst beyng a very man / is also very god. And they say. As the god head & ye māhod in christ are in such mā ner coupled together, ye man is very god & god very mā / Euē so the very body & the breade are so coupled y• it ys as tru to say / ye bread is ye body of chryst & the bloud so ānexed there wt ye wyne, yt it is euē as tru to say ye wyn is chrysts bloud The .i. thogh they haue slain so mani. in [Page] for the defense of ther opinyon yet thei are readye to receuethe second sorte to fellowship, not greatli stryuynge wt thē or abhorryng ye presens of bread & wī, wyth the very body and bloud, so that they yet by that meanes may kepe hym ther stil, & hope to sell hym as deare as before, also some to bye hym and not & to mynyshe the pryce.
The thyrd affyrme that wordes wyll nomore, but only that we be leue by the thyngs that are ther shewed, ye chrystes body was broken & hys bloud shede for our synnes yf we wyll forsake our sinnes and turne to god to kepe hys lawe, And they saye that these saynges. thys is my bodye & thys is my bloude. Shewyng bread & wyne are trewe as christ meane them / & as the people of that cō tre (to whom chryst spake) were acustomed to vnderstand such wordes, and as the scrypture vseth in a thowsand places to speke, as when one of vs sayth I haue dronk a cupp of good wyne ye sayynge it is trew as the man mente: that he drank wyne only and not the cuppe which wordes happelye in some other nacyons [Page] eares wold sound that he drank the cuppe to, And as when we say of a chylde. Thys is suche a manes verye face / the wordes ar trwe as ye maner of owr lande is to vnderstand them, that the face of the one is very lyke the other And as when we say he gaue me his fayth & hys treuth in my hande / the wordes ar trew as we vnderstande them yt he stroke hands with me or gaue ernest / in sygne or tokē yt he wolde byde by his ꝓmysse. For the fayth of a man dothe al way rest ī hys soule, & can not be geuen owt though we geue sygnes and tokēs of them: Euen so (say they we haue a thowsand ensamples in the scrypture. where sygnes ar named wt the names of thynges sygnyfyed by them, As Iacob called the place wher he sawe ye lorde face to face. Phenyel: that is goddes face when he sawe the lords face to face. Now it is trewe to say of that fylde that it is godes face / thowghe it be not hys very face▪
The same fylde was so called to sygnefie that Iacob ther saw god face to face [Page] The chefe hold and pryncypal: Ancre yt the two fyrste haue is these words, this is my body. Thys is my bloud / vnto these, the thyrd answeryth as is about sayde, other textes they alege for them selues, wc not onlye doth not strenght ther cause, but rather makyth it wors. As ye syxte of Iohn whyche they drawe and wrest to the carnall and fleshly eatyng / of chrystes body in ye mouth when it only meanyth of this eating by fayth, for when chryst sayd. Except ye eate the flesh of the son of mā & drink his bloud ye shal haue no lyfe in you, Thys cā not be vnderstande of the sacramente. For Abraham had lyfe and all the old holye fathers, chrysts mother. Elysabeth zacharyas. Iohn Baptystes Simion. Anna / and al the apostles had lyfe alredye by fayth in chryste, of whyche not one had eaten hys flesh and dronke hys bloude with ther bodely mouthes. But though it is that the ryghtuos lyueth by his faythe: ergo to beleue and trust in christes bloude is ye eatynge that ther was meāt as ye text well proueth, yf thei saye we [Page] graunt that lyfe cōmythe by fayth / but vs all that beleue muste be baptysed to kepe the lawe and to kepe the couenaūt in mynde▪ euen so all that lyueth by faythe, must receyue the sacrament. I answer, The sacrament is a confyrmacion to weake cōscyences, & in no wyse to be dyspysed how beyt many haue lyued by fayth in ye wyldernes. which in .20.30 or 40. yers haue not receyued the sacramēt, Notwythstanding thys oracyon is nothynge to the porpose. For Chryste spake to the blynde and vnbeleuyng Iewes. testyfyenge to them that they cold haue no lyfe Excepte they shulde fyrste eate hys flesh and drink his bloud. ergo thys eatynge and drynkynge is meant only of that thing / that .i. bringith life in to the soule and that is fayth by yowr owne cōfessyon. And therfor must it be vnderstande of faythe only and not of ye sacrament. And Math. ye last. I am wyth you into the ende of the world, wc may well be vnderstande and so was it of old doctors: by his spiritual being wt vs bifayth & in his spryte & so may that [Page] texte of Mathe. xviji. be vnderstande wher ii or iij of you be gatherid to gether in my name / ther am I in the mydes of of you. Ther is many tymes ii or thre good men that mete to gether in christs name / wher the sacrament is not. And Ephes. iii. boweth hys knees for the Ephesians to god, that he wold geue them his ryches to be strengthened wyth his spryte. that chryste maye dwell in ther hartes thorow faythe. Wher the harte. then beleueth in Christe there dwellyth chryst in ye harte. though ther be no breade in the harte, nether yet in the mawe / The two fyreste partes takyng the old doctores to be on ther syde. I answere Many of the olde doctors spake so mistycallye that they seame sometymes to affirme plainly, yt it is but bred & wine only cōcernynge ye substans, And yt it is a fygur of the body and bloud of chryst only, and some tyme that it is hys very body and bloud. wherfor it were here to long to wade to farre in them. And vnto thē of ye secōd opiniō yt ye bread is his veribodi. I āswere ye old doctores ye must remēbre [Page] that the olde doctores as earnestly callē it a sacryfyce as they do chrystes bodye. But that ye denye and say wyth the epystle to the Ebrew, that he was but ones sacryfyced for al to gether, when he offered & sacryficed hī selfe to the father for owre synnes and can now no more be sacryfyced. Chryste dyeth no more ore now, and therfor is no more sacrafyced. Nether do we properly offer hī to God
But he in his mortal flesh offered him selfe for vs to god the father: and Purchased therwyth a generall pardone for euer. And nowe dothe god the father profer hym and geueth hym to vs. And the pryest in godes stede proferyth hym and geueth hym vnto the people for a remyssyon and an absolucyon of ther synnes dayly / yf there by the mouynge, and sterynge of the sacrament: beleue in the body and bloud of chryste. Wherfore yt owght of no ryght to be angry with thē of the Thyrde Opynyon though they deni the doctors, wher they seme to say, yt the sacramēt is ye very body of chryst As they be not angry wyth you▪ when [Page] ye denye them. where they as ernestlye affirme that it is a sacryfice, Neuer ye les they answer that doctors call it a sacryfyce only because it is the memoryall y• Earneste and seale of that euerlastyng sacryfyce offred ones for all. And euen so saye they that the doctores called the sacramente the body and bloud of christ after the same maner only bycause it is the memoryal / the erneste and the seale of his body and bloude as the vse of the scryptures is to call sygnes by the names of the thynge sygnyfyed therby / & vnto them of the fyrste opynyon I answere wythe the same reason that it is impossyble that the sacrament shuld be a very sacryfyce. For nether the sacryfices of the olde law whych prophesyed sacryfyenge of chryste. Neyther yet our redempcyon was fulfylled that nyght. For yf the scryptures and prophesyes were then fullfylled, and we then redemed. Chryste dyrd on the morowe In vayne / and fals are the apostles and Euangelystes that preach hys body breakynge and hys bloude sheadynge vnder [Page] Poncius Pylate, by the persecutyon of Cayphas and Annas to be our redempcyon.
Moreouer for all the breakyng and dyuydyng of the sacrament of hys body amonge hys Apostles. Hys bodye abode styll alyue. And for all that the pouryng out of the sacrament of hys bloude of ye pott into the cuppe and owt of the cuppe into the mouthes and belyes of hys discyples, he blede as freshe on the morow as though he had then blede nothinge at al He was verely muche more easely sacrifyced that nyght in the brrekyng and dyuydynge of the bread and powring out of ye wyne, thē he was on ye morow. the sarament was that nyght (no dowte) but a descrypcyō of hys passyon to come As it is now a memoryall of hys passion paste. He instituted the maner of the sacrament then / & taught hys dyscyples also that they after vnderstod when he was rysen agayn / and not then / as thei neuer had capacyte to vnderstand hym, whē he spake of hys deth. For they thē ymagyned carnally of chryste, as ye Iewes [Page] yet do, that Chryst shuld neuer dye As he dyd not concerning hys godhead, but shulde lyue euer bodylye, as he now dothe concernyng hys resurrectyon.
Wherfore seyng that al the doctours wyth one accorde cal the sacrament so ernestly h sacrifice, and they can not other wyse vndstād / thē yt they so say after ye vse of the scrypture onely / Because it is the memoryall of the Sacryfyce of his death & bloudsheadyng, Why shuld they of ryght be offendyd yf we vnderstand the doctours after the same maner whē they calle it hys bodye and bloude / howe they so calle it after the vse of scryptur because that it is onely a memoryall of hys body and bloud.
As concernyng the trāssubstanciatyon I thynke that such a speche was amōg the olde doctours though they that came after vnderstode them amysse, their hartes waren gros thorow busying thē selues to much with worldlye busynes, for the bread and wine are but only breade and wyne tyll ye words of ye testamēt be rehearsed ouer thē: & thē they begynne to be nomore breade and wyne in the [Page] hartes of the trew beleuers, for ye harte after these words ones spoken thynkith only vppon the couenaunt made in the body and bloud of chryste and thorowe fayth eatyth hys bodye and drynkythe hys bloude / though the eyes and other Sences perceaue no thynge but Breade and wyne. As when a man some tyme sekyth for a text in the byble / se paper & ynke and the fygures of letters, yet hys hart not ons thinkith on any other thīg Then on the wordes and sence of this texte. And hereof no dowt cam vp this transsubstancyatyō thorow falce vnderstandynge. An other thynge is thys; nō of those wyked heretyks, whych denyed christ to be very god or any of them that denyed christ to be man▪ or to haue a veri bodye / saue a phantastycall bodye, dyd caste the trew beleuers in ye tethe at any tyme of the fayth of chrystes body presēt in theyr sacrament eueri wher. which thynge it is not lyke but they wold haue done, yf that opynyon had bene then a generall artycle of the faythe.
Neyther was ther any heresye. [Page] or dyuersytye of opynyon, or dysputing about the matter, tyll the pope had gatheryd a counsel, to confyrme thys transubstancyacyon, Wherfore it is moste lykelye, that thys opynyon came vp by them of latter dayes.
Further more all the lawe and prophettes seke al that chryst dyd or can yet do / is to brynge vs to beleue in hym / and in god the father thorowe hym, for the remissyon of sīnes / And to bryng vs vnto that, whych immedyatly foloweth owt of that belefe to loue owre neyghbours for hys sake as he loued vs / Wherfore yf chryste dyd put hys bodylye presens in the sacrament and wold we shuld beleue it / It is done only to brynge vs to thys faythe, Nowe is thys faythe no wher lesse had, then wher that opynion is moste stronge. Nether so cruelly persecuted of Iewe or turke / as of thē that moste feruentlye defend that opynyon. Trew fayth maketh a man to loue hys brother: but that opynyon makythe thē to hate and to sley ther brethern that beter beleue in christe than they of that opinion [Page] do, and ye murder do they for feare of losyng that they haue gotten thorow that opynyon. Item they of thys opynyon in sted of teachyng vs to beleue in chryst, teach vs to serue chryst wyth bodely seruyce, whych thynge only is ydolatry. for they preache that all the ceremonyes of ye masse are a seruyce to god by resone of the bodeli workes / to obtayne forgeuenes of synnes therby, and to deserue and merytte ther wythe, And yet chryste is nowe a spyryte wyth hys father bothe in bodye and soule / and wt the father to be worshypped in spryte onlye. And hys seruyce in the spryte / is onlye to beleue in hym for the remyssiō of synne and to loue our neyboures for hys sake, Now all works done to serue mā, and to bryng hym to thys poynte to put hys truste in chryst / are good and acceptable to god. But done for any other purpose they be ydolatrye and ymage seruyce, and make god an ydoll or bodelye ymage. Agayne seyeng the faythe of the testamāt in chrysts bloud is the lyfe of the rygthtuos from the begynnynge [Page] of the worlde to the ende, And for as muche as the sacramente was instytuted only to brynge to thys lyfe. Nowe when they whych thynke not the body to be present in the sacrament (a thowsande ensamples in the scrypture concernynge ther iudgemente) haue by the preachynge and confyrmacyon of The sacramente obtayned thys lyfe or stedfast sayth in chrystes blo [...]d, & by the daylye vse of the sacramente are more and more hardeneyd therin and in the loue that spryngeth therof. What resonable cause haue the contrary partye. whych beleue the bodye present and the bread turned in to the very body (as fleshe / bones / here. Synewes nayles & all other as he was born or put ō ye cros. of lēgth and of quantyte I can not tell what) to rayle on as heretykes / hate, persecuted / and fley most cruelly, as enymes. christ sayth Qui non cōtra me est▪ me cum est j. He that is not agaynste me, is whith me. Now they that beleue in christe for the remyssyon of ther synnes & for his sake loue ther foes / are not chrysts enmyes▪ ergo [Page] they be on chrystes syde. Why than shuld they that bost them selues to be chrystes frendes slay them? Faythe in Chrystes bloud and in the father thorow hym / is goddes seruice in the spyryte. And so haue they whych beleue not the bodely presence serued god a longe tyme. And ther to bene holpen by the sacrament. The other Parte fallen ther from thorowe preachyng the body present seruyng god wych bodely seruyce (whych is Idolatrye) and to make god an ydoll or Image in that they truste in the goodnes of theyr workes (as they do whych serue tyraunts) and not in the goodnesse of god thorow truste in the bloude of Chryste ergo they that beleue not the bodely presence, not a lytle therto cōpelled thorow the wycked Idolatrye of the contrarye belefe, are not to bethoght, so euel as the other wolde haue them seme to be.
Paule teacheth .i. Corri. xiij. that yf a man had al other gyftes that god cā geue man and had not charyty to loue his neyghbour it helpeth not. For all other giftes and the remyssyō in chrystes bloude [Page] also are geuen hym of god to brynge hȳ to loue hys neyghboure (whyche thynge had) a man hath all (whych not had). A man hath nothyng. And Philip. ij. how swetly and how vehemently coniureth he them to drawe all one waye, to be of one accorde, and one mynde or sentence. And to do nothyng of stryfe or of vayn glory, that is to saye / of harte or dysdayn of other or of affectyon to hym selfe for to seme gloryous: but eche to preferre other through meakenes and to haue his opynion suspecte, and to feare leaste he had not obtained the vnderstandyng, rather then of presumption. to hys owne wytte to dyspyse and hate the contrary partye / and persecute as a tyraunt. And in the thyrd of the same. Paul sayth. let as manye as be parfecte, that is to saye be truly taught and knowe the law truly & her office & ye office or effect of faith and know which be good works before god and what thyntent of them is (Li [...] sayth he) so farre as we becom procede in one rule / that we may be of one accorde. Nowe hetherto we be all come and [Page] thys generall rule haue we gotten, that fayth onely Iustyfyeth, that is to saye, that the Synne is forgeuen onelye for Chr [...]stes sake: and agayne th [...]t our dutye is to loue oure neyghboures no lesse then Christ loued vs, wherfor let vs procede forth in thys rule / and exhorte [...]che other to truste in chryste, and to loue ech other as Chryste dyd, and in thys wher in we all agree let vs be wyse only & feruent, & stryue who shalbe greatest & goe formoost. And in yt which is not opened to all partyes / let vs be meke, sober and cold & kepe our wysdome secret to oure selues & abide pacyētly tyl god opē it to other also. The cause why ye third part say yt thys word. IS. cōpelleth vs not to beleue the bodely presence of Chryste to be ther is this. The Iews (say they) are wont euer to name the memoryall & sygnes of thynges with the verye name of the thyng sygnyfyed, that the very name myghte the better kepe the thynge in mynde. As when Iacob. Ge. xxxij. turned hom agayne out of mesopotania, sawe the angels of God come against him [Page] He called the place where he sawe them Mahanaim: an hoste, bycause that hys posterytye in tyme to come / when they herde the fylde, whyche was none hoste / yet so called, shuld axe why it was so named, that theyr elders myght therby haue an occasyon to teache that Iacob sawe ther the host of aungels.
And agayne in the same Chapyter when the angell that wrastled wyth hī had blessed hym and was departed. Iacob called the name of the place phiniell Gods face that the people in tyme to come / shuld axe why it was called gods face, and theyr elders shold answer / byca [...] Iacob ther saw God face to face that ye name shuld kepe the thynge in mynde,
And agayne in the same Chapyter / where he had made bowthes or houses of bowes for hys Beastes, hy named ye place Syncoth that is bowthes.
Item Genesis .xxxiij. He boughte a parcell of Lande and buylte there an alter and called it [...]ll Eloth.
[Page]El Eloth Israell / the myghty god of Israell.
Item Gene. 35. he called the place, El Bethell the god of Bethel. And Genes. the last chapter Ioseph holde a lamentacyon for hys father vij dayes and the people of the contrey called the name of the place Abel Masraym / the lamentacyons of the Egyptyās. Now the place was not ye lamentacion, but so called to kepe the lamentacyon in memory.
Item Exodi. xii. The Lambe is called Pesah a passyng by / because the aungell dyd passe by the houses and hurted not where it was slayne and the bloud stryken on the postes, that the name shulde kepe the thyng in memorye.
Item Exodi. xxix. and leuitie. almooste euery where the beast offred for synne / is called synne whych vse of speakynge Paule vseth. Roma. ix. and .ij. Corrin v. and calleth Chryste sinne, when christ yet is neyther synne nor neyther yet sȳ full, but an acceptable offerynge for synne and yet he is called oure synne. Bycause he bare oure synnes on hys backe [Page] and because oure synnes are consumed and made no synne in hym, yf we wyll forsake our synes and beleue in Christe for the remyssyon therof. Chryst is also called our ryghtuousnes to certyfy vs, that when we haue no rightuousnes of our owne / yet that hys ryghtousnes is geuen vs to make satysfactyon for our vnryghtuousnesse, yf ye wyll beleue it.
Item Exodi. xxx. The synne or sinne offerynge is called de Attonomente. And it was yet but a sygne certyfyinge the conscyence, that the atonoment was made, and that God had forgeuen the synne.
Item Iudicum. x. They called the name of a certeyn cytie Horna. As ye were an vtter destruction. Bycause that they had vtterly destroied man womā & chylde and al that bare lyfe.
Item Iudic. xv. the place wher samson kylled men with an asse Iawe was called Lehy, that is iawe bone to kepe ye acte in mynde.
Item Iudic. xix Ther went a company out of the trybe of Dan and pytched [Page] besydes Kyryath Iearīmīn Iuda and the place was called euer after Mahond Dane, the host of dan onely to kepe the thyng in mynde.
Item .i. Reg. vi. A great stone wher God slewe fyftye thousande was called the great lamentacyon. In so muche y• the texte sayth. They put the arke on ye great lamentacyon.
Item .i. Reg. vij. Samuell pytched a stone on an ende: and called the helpe stone / Because GOD had there holpen them▪ and geuen them vyctory of the philystyans.
Item the last of the .3. of the kyngs Sedechias came to Achab with a cople of hornes on hys head: sayinge. Wythe these hornes shalt thou sle the Assyriās he meant not that Achab shuld take these hornes & gore at the assyryans. But wolde that he shuld beleue only that as a beaste scathered a cock of hey with his hornes so shuld Achab scather the hoste of the Assyryans with hys hoste.
Item Num. vi. He that voyth abstinence must let hys here growe / to kepe [Page] hys abstynence in mynde And his abstinence is out. He is commaunded to shaue the head of hys abstynence / and to offer such offerynges as are there apoynted after yt he hath shauen of hys abstinence. Lo ther ye here is called hys abstinence, ād is yet but a memory of hys abstinence.
Item Iere. vii. The prophet was commaunded to shere of hys abstynence and to cast it away, whych abstynence is but hys here
Also Ezechiel xij. God commaunded the prophet to remoue wt al hys goodes after such maner as conquerers cary awaye the people captyue from contre to contry, and when he had done, The lord sayd vnto hym thys prophesy is the capyteyne or prynce of Ierusalem▪ when yet it was but an ensample to him how he shulde be serued.
Fynallye where Mathewe and Marke saye. Thys Cup is my bloude of the newe Testamente. PAULE and Luke sayth. Thys cup is the new [Page] testament in my bloud. Nowe must the sence of the woordes of the twoo fyrste Math and marke be all one wythe the sences of the wordes of the twoo laste / luke and paule, The wordes of luke ād paule are. Thys cup is the new testamēt made in my bloud: or for my bloud sake / Now the testamēt is y• hys bloude was shede for owre sinnes, but it is impossyble y• the cuppe or his bloud shulde be that promysse, wherfore the Sence must be nedes. that it is the memoryall and seale of ye testament only. And therfore wher Math. and mark say. Thys cupp is my bloud of the new testament, the sence must nedes be also. that it is ye memoryall and seale ther of only calling after the vse of the Hebrwes the sygne wyth the name of that. which is sygnifyed, that is to say. Callynge the wyne. whiche only sygnyfyeth the bloud with the name of the bloud. And then it folowyth that the bread is called hys bodye. After the same maner, because it is a sygne of hys bodye,
These and lyke ensamples moue the [Page] parte to affyrme that we be not bounde to beleue that the bread is the very body of chryste Though it be so callyd. Nor that the bread is transsubstancyat in to the bodi. No more then the things here rehersed are, that thei be called or transsubstancyat in to the very thyng which they be callyd.
The other wyll answere, though [...] memoryal were not the thinges whose names they beare / yet it wyll not folow that it shuld be so here in the sacrament, for they whych gaue such other names, Hadde no power to make the thynges so to be. But chryste is very god & hathe power to make hys Bodye to be euerye thynge and euery wher. I answer that god can not make euery of his creaturs god to / nether cā it be proued lesse repugnaunt that a creature shulde be euerye where then that he shulde be God. morouer though God / where he appeared to Iacob had pytched a stoone on an ende, and called it goddes face, yet had he not bene anye more bound to beleue that yt had bene the verye Face of God / then yf [Page] Iacob had don it. The allmyghtynes of god standythe not in that he is able to do all ye owre [...]osyshe lewde thougtes may ymagyne. But by cause all power is his and of him. and that he doth al he wyll and hath made al of nawght. and can brynge all to nawght agayne. And cā do al that includeth not cōtrary to the truth ād veryte that god hath put in hys ceatures, And by cause he can do things impossible for māor any other Creatur to do or to thynke how they shude be dō therfor he is called the lorde almyghty. But because to braule a bowt suche possybylyte or impossibylyte is the luste of Sophysters & also the desire of ye diuel to quenche the professyon of owre baptysme & to wipe ouc the ymage of christ owt of owre hartes. And a thynge endeles. Therfor I compte it wickednes to wade furth in it, And to geue them that seake it an occasyō perpetually to skold The negatyue maye a man holde tyll they can proue the affyrmatyue. More ouer yf bread be ye verye bodye of christ whether abydyng the verye bodye styll [Page] or eles transsubstancyat, and enioy the glory of the soule of chryste, and also of the godhed?
It semith impossible to be avoydyd but that Chryst was made man and dyed. Also breade / whyche semethe to some a great inconuenyence.
Howbeit that great promocyō of bread & also that hyghe powre of prists aboue all angelles I amytte also: to avoyd all braulynge.
But one reson I haue vnto whyche I cleue some what and it is thys.
All that is betwene god and mā in the scryptur is for mans necessytye and not for anye neade / that GOD hath therof / and other Spyrytuall profyte can none haue by that FAYTH in the sacrament, than to be taught ther by to beleue in Chryste oure Sauyour and to do good to hys neyghbour, now is that belefe and loue had as well ād rather beter (as it is aboue proued) wythout such fayth, then wyth, it. Ergo wher the scrypture compelleth to no suche belefe [Page] it is wyckednes to make it a necessary artycle of our faythe. And to sley thē that can not think that it ought to be beleued.
Notwythstandyng all these reasons and the dampnable Idolatrye whych ye papistes haue commytted wyth the sacrament / yet whether they affyrme the body and bloud to be presēt wt the bread and wyne, or the bread & wyne to be turned and transsubstancyate into the body and bloud, I am ther wyth content (for vnityes sake) yf they wyll there cease, & let hym be there, onely to testyfye & confyrme the testament or couenaunt made in chrysts bloud and body for which can se onely Chryst instituted the sacramēt But & if they wyl rage farther wt their blynd reasons of theyr subtyl sophystry and deuelysh Idolatry and saye. Wher Chrystes bloud is ther is hys body: and wher hys body is ther is hys soule / and where hys soule is, ther is the godhead and the trynitye / the father, the sonne, & the holy gost / and there mē ought to pray and say. O Father whych art preset wt [Page] the sonne Chryste vnder breade & wyne, or in form of bread and wyne. If (I say) they so raue, thē as the old prophete for lyke Idolatry denyeth God to dwel in the temple, or to haue pleasur in sacrifyce of bloud of gotes, shepe and calues, Euen so denye I the body of Chryst to be any more in the sacrament thē God was in the golden calues whych Ieroboham sett vpp to be prayed to the one in bethell, ād ye other at dan / for though god be presente euery wher yet yf heuē of heuens can not compasse hī to make hī a dwelling place (as ye scryptur testyfieth) & much lesse the tēple that was at Hierusalem / how shuld he haue a dwellynge place in a lytle wafer or crome of breade God dwelleth not in the temple. Neyther dyd our fathers whych were of the true fayth in the old Testamente pray to god as present in the temple, but the name of god only was in the tēple .iii of the kynges .viij. and hys lawe and couenauntes and wonderfull deades were therein wrytten in sygnes / and were there preached and testyfyed continually [Page] of the trew prystes and Prophets vnto the people the fathers of the trewe fayth cam thyther.
Furthermor for the feruēt loue whych they had towardes the lawes and couenauntes of god. For the which prophetes / Salomon prayed so earnestly vnto ye lorde God, sayng: Heare thou (O God) in heuen thy dwellyng place, and do all that the Straunger calleth to the for: that all nacyons of the earth maye knowe the and feare thy name: as do this people Israell. &c.
Rede the thirde booke of the kynges the .viij. Chapter
Whē god delytyd only in ye faythe of ye offerer / whyche beleued in god only for all mercy takynge ye sacryfyce for a suer token and ernyste of the Mercy of god. sertyfyed by that sygne / that god loued them / & was at one with thē. for chryst sake to com. As we shuld be certyfyed bi the sacramnet of god is wt vs, for christs death yt is past, and chryst taught vs in owre prayers to loke vpp to heauen and to saye. Owre father which art in heuē [Page] and he him self in all his praiers did lyft vp his eys to heuē to his father, & so did he when he Instituted the sacarmēte & rehersed ye wordes of ye couenaūt ouere breade & wyne as it is wrytē Math. 26. mark▪ 14. luk. 22. 1. Cor. xj. in these wordes Iesus toke breade. &c
Chryst though he affyrmed hym selfe to be the sōne of God & hys father to be in hym / yet he taught not hys dyscyples to dyrecte the prayer to the father in hym, but vp to the father in heauē nether lyft he vp his eyes or prayer to hys father in ye sacramēt. but to hys father in heuen. I know dyuers & dyuers mē knewe me, whych loue me as I do thē yet yf I shuld praye them when I met them in the stret openly, they wold abhor me / but yf I pray them wher thy be appoyntyd to mete me secretly▪ they wyll here me and accept my request, euē so though Goddes presence be euerye where, yet wyll he be prayd to, vppe to ye place only, where we shall se hym. and wher he wolde haue vs to longe for to be
[Page]More ouer yf I graunt you that the bloud of christis in ye cuppe, it wil folow that his bodi is ther also, Neyther whē I graunt that hys body is in the bread or vnderforme of bread / wyll it folowe that hys soule is ther to, Chryste made ye breade the sacrament of hys body only wherfor as the bread is no simylytude of the sacrament of hys bloud / So am I not bounde or ought to affyrme, that hys bloude is ther present. And he dyd instytut the wyne to be ye satrament of hys bloude only. And happelye it was red wyne the more louely to represente yt. Now as the wyne in no symylytud dothe represent the body / so am I not boūd or ought to affyrme that hys bodi is ther present.
Ye saye that chryste is so myghty, That though he stode mortall before hys dyscyples eyes, yet he was able to make ye same body, that same tyme to be in the sacrament immortall. and to be vnder euery lytell pece of the bread, or of the sacraente, though yt be no greatter then a mote in the sonne. and that as lōg as [Page] greate and thycke as he stode before thē yf he were so myghty, why is he not as myghty to make hys bloude to be alone and hys body alone / hys bloud / body, & soule, were eche alone at hys deathe. & whyle the bodye lay in the sepulcher.
Fynallye Chryste sayde thys is my bloud that shal be shed. Ergo. it is now trew. thys is▪ his bloud that was shede Now the bloud of hayles. and ye bloud that is in many other places, men saye is the bloude that was shede Ergo that bloud is in the sacrament [...] any be, but I am not bound to beleue: or ought to affyrme, that the bloud that is at hayls is anymate▪ wythe the soule of chryste, or that hys body is ther present.
Wherfor to avoyd thys endeles bralynge whych ye deuelles, no dowbt, hath styrred vp, to turne the eyes of our soules from the euerlastynge couenaūt made vs in chrystes bloud and body and to no sell vs in ydolatry, whych is trust and confydence in false woorshyppynge of god and for to quenche. fyrst the fayt he to Chryst ward and then the loue dewe [Page] to owre neyboure / therfor me thynketh▪ that the Parte that hathe professed the fayth of chryste, and the loue of hys neybour ought of dutye to Beare eche other as longe as the otheres opinyon is not playne wicked. through false ydolatrye nor contrarye to the saluacion that is in Chryste. Nor agaynste the open and manyfest doctrin of chryst & his apostls Nor contrarye to the generall artycles of the faythe of the generall churche of chryste whych are cōfyrmyd wyth opē scrypture. In whyche artycles Neuer a trew churche in any lande dyscentyth Ther be many textes in the scrypture. And therfor dyuersly expound of holy doctores. and taken in contrary sences, when no texte hath contrarye sences in in dede. or more then one sengle sence / & yet that hurteth not. Nether are ye holy doctores therfor herytykes. as ye exposytyō destroyeth not the fayth ī chrysts bloud, nor is cōtary to ye opē: scrypture or generall artycles. No more dothe yt hurte to saye, that the bodye and bloude are not in the sacramēt. Nether doth it [Page] helpe to say they bethere. But hurte excedynglye, yf ye inferre that the soule is therto, and that God must be there praied to, when as oure kyngdome is not on the earth: Euen so we ought not to dyrect our praiers to any god in earth, but vp wher our knigdom is. And whether oure redemer and sauyoure is gone, and there sytteth on the right hand of hys father to pray for vs & to offer our praiers to his father & to make thē for hys sake acceptable, nether ought he yt is boūd vnder payne of dampnation to Loue his brother as Chryste loued hī, to hate / to persecut, & to fle his brother for blynd zeale to any opinion that nether letteth nor hyndereth to Saluatyon that is in Chryste, As they whych pray to God in ye sacramēt, not only do. But also throw ye opiniō / as they haue lost loue to theyr neyghbours euen so haue they loste the trewe fayth in the couenaunte made in Chrystes bloud and body, which couenaunt only is that whych saueth and wc testyfyeth, was the sacramente instytut only.