An Epistell exhortatorye, admonishing an warning all faithful Christiās to beware of the false fained God of the aulter, and only to trust in the onelye lyuing God.
O Ye worship ye wot not what we knowe what we worship.
THat same spirit (dere bretherē) which moued S. Paul to reproue the Cytezens of Athens for theyr ydolatrye,Act. xvii. Act. 17. c. hath also moued vs to warn you by the Scriptures of the same offence specially in worshippyng that vnknowen God on ye aulter, which thing you doo ignorauntlye, and therfore we certifye [Page] ād assure you by this presente.iii. Ro. 8. d i. par. vi. c E [...]ay. [...]6. a Act. xii. f He. br. ix. c That God which made ye worlde, and all that therin is, dwelleth not in temples made with handes: neither is he dayly offred vppon your coniured aulters.Hebr. 9. c For than shulde he ofte haue suffred syns the world begā.Hebr. 9. e But that did he ones for all, whā he offred vp him selfe. and with that onelye sacrifyce hath he made parfet for euer al thē yt are sanctifyed.Hebr vii d Hebr 10 e But nowe to our purpose, seing, Christ is not in your Churches made wt handes (as these forsaid scriptures will witnes vnto you) how can you auoyde ydolatry in geuīg that worship to an earthly thing, which is onely due vnto god? is not bread ā erthli thīg? & hath not the hādes of sinners made and fashioned it for your purpose? why doo you thā worshyp it? And yf you say it is no [Page] substaunce of bread. But the lykenes therof after ye consecratyon (which is a blasphemouselye) what wynne you by that? For God said you shal not worship the lykenes of any thing in heuen or earth.Exo 10 a Deut. v a But here parauenture some wilier then his fellowes, wyll say, we neyther worship the substaūce of bread nor ye likenes of breade, but we worshyp Chryst conteyned in ye bread. To answere this vipers whelp, we say yt the naturall body of Chryst is neyther conteyned in the breade, in the church nor in ye hole earth as we haue proued before, neyther willeth he to be worshyped ī bread nor wine, but in spyrite ād treuth,Ihon iiii c Neyther can ye worship Christ wher he is not, but wher he is, that is in Heauen. For that same naturall body which Christ toke of the virgin mary, which [Page] suffred death, which rose agaī which ascended into heauē, sitteth nowe on the ryght hande of his father, & if you wyll not beleue vs herin, searche these scriptures following.
Psal x. c. xiiii. b Eccle. v. a. Iob. xv. d Esay. lxiiii. a lxvi a. Iohn. [...]ii. c. vii. e. viii. c. xl [...]. xiii. d. x [...]iii. a. xvi. xvii. v x [...]. d. 1 Col iiii. d. [...]Heb. [...]. a. ix. c. x. c. Mat. xiii. x [...]. c. xv [...]. b. Mat. x [...]ii. c. xxvi. f. 2. ii. xxiii. c. i. Tim ii. a. v [...] c. Act [...] [...]. b. Phil. iii. d. Col. iii. a. Rom. viii. Ephe. i. d. iii. b.
Might not these if you were men and not beastes, persuade you to the treuth & cause your cōscious to confesse the abhominable ydolatry with earnest repentaunce for the same: Oh ye foles and slowe of hart to beleue the scripturs.Luc 24 c If we say the treuth why do you not beleue vs?Ihon viii Oh ye children of the deuel wyl you neuer cease to peruert the straight wayes of the lord?Act [...] b Wyll you styll saye yt you haue Chryst,Ihon 1 [...] a and he sayth you haue me not? Wyll you styll saye yt [Page] Chryst is dayly offred amonge you,Hebr vii d and Saint Paule saith he was offred but ones for all? wyll you styll saye he is in the boxe and the holyghost saythe he is in heauen? Wyll you styll worship ye dead workes of your handes in steade of the lyuynge God? Oh ye foolyshe Samaritanes wyll you styll worship ye wot not what, & seke Chryst ye wot not wher? did not christ himselfe reproue your contrey woman for this vayne worshipping, saying:Ihon iiii a Neyther on this mountayne nor yet at Ierusalem the true worshippers worship my father, for the houre is come and now is, that the true worshippers shal worship only in spirite and veritie? And therfore saith Paule. [...]ama [...] a ii Tit a I thank God whome I worship and serue in my spirite & in a pure consciēce Loo, S. Paule saith not that [Page] he worshypped God in breade, wyne, or in any other creature but in spyryte and treuthe, as his master had taught him before. Now wyll we shewe you the effect ād frute of your wise worshypping and so conclude. The effect is vayne. The frute synne and dampnatyon: vayne is the effecte. Because it is but onelye the vayne doctryne and tradicyon of men, which thyng Chryste him selfe confyrmeth. saing: In vayne do ye worship me teaching the doctrines and tradycyons of men.Math 15 a The frute that followeth ye doing is sīne, as thus.J [...] 10 b S. Paul proueth the onely woorde of God to be the ground of faith. But this false worshypping is not grounded [...]n the word of God. Ergo it cā not be don of faith wherfor we conclude with Paule that it is sīne,Rom 14 for whatsoev is not done [Page] of faith is sinne. And without faith it is impossible to please God. Alas saith Esay,Hebr ii Esay 46 that mē shuld crye vnto hym which gyueth none answere,Sapi 13. d or pray for lyfe vnto a dead thing. Is not your God a dead thīg? or tel vs what answere giueth he whan you crie vnto him? doth not the owls & swalowes, cats, rats & mise, flie & ronne ouer & about your God, lyke as they doo wt other ydolles?Baen vi c By thys might you know saith Ieremy yt it is no God. Yea, do not rats & mise deuour & eate your God? & time cōsum & putrify your God? But what you do with hī after, fewe men may knowe. Shall ye naturall body of Chryst which was ye only price of our redēption be eaten of rats or myse? Or may tyme consume ye highe prest which remaineth for euer Oh ye priests of Bell,Hebre [...] be ones [Page] ashamed of your liēg, for truly if Daniel may ones speke frely wt ye king, he will bewray your false iuggling. That it may be so & yt shortly we praye. Let no man iudge vs yt we any thynge herin derogate ye holy supper of Christ, for that we most highly esteme as the perfyght memoryall of oure redemptyon and moost necessary food of our soules.Cor xii 10 Eating and drinking therī ye very body & bloude of Chryst euē as our fathers did. But we only warne & reache you yt ther shuld be no strange God amōg you.Esa. xiiii c And that you shuld turne from these vayne thīgs vnto ye liuing God.Act 14. c To whome alone be all honour and glory. Amē.
Sent from verbo dei whose aucthour is in cela