speaketh the Prophet Esai: He that taketh heed that he Esai. Ivi. unhallow not the sabbath-day, is he that keepeth himself that he do no evil: and they that hold greatly of the thing that pleaseth me, and keep my covenant, unto them will I give an everlasting name, that shall not perish. And moreover, the same Prophet saith, If thou turn thy feet from the sab- Esai. Iviii. bath, so that thou do not the thing which pleaseth thyself in my holy day, then shalt thou be called unto the pleasant, holy, and glorious sabbath of the Lord, where thou shalt be in honour; so that thou do not after thine own imaginations, neither seek thine own will, nor speak thine own words. Then shalt thou have thy pleasure in the Lord, which shall carry thee high above the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the Lord's own mouth hath spoken it. This spiritual sabbath, that is, to abstain from sin, and to do good, are all men bound to keep all the days of their life, and not only on the sabbath-day. And this spiritual sabbath may no man alter nor change, no, not the whole Church. That the outer observing of the sabbath is mere ceremonial, Saint Paul writeth plainly, as that the holy days of the new moon and of the sabbath-days are nothing but shadows of things to come. And that the outward bodily rest is a mere ceremonial To Januprecept, St. Austin also affirmeth, saying, that among ary, Epist. 119. all the ten commandments, this only that is spoken of the The bodily sabbath, is commanded figuratively; but all the other com- rest on the mandments we must observe plainly, as they be commanded, day is fiwithout any figure of speech. sabbath guratively to be kept. Jerome also, to the Galatians, iv. according to the same, saith, Lest the congregation of the people, without good order, should diminish the faith in Christ, therefore certain days were appointed, wherein we should come together: not that that day is holier than the other, in which we come together, but that, whatsoever day we assemble in, there might arise greater joy by the sight of one of us to another. But he that will answer wittily to the question propounded, To the perfect affirmeth all the days to be like, and not that Christ is cru- Christian like, and is Good Friday, all days be cified only on Good Friday, and riseth only on the Sunday ; every day but that every day is the day of the Lord's resurrection, and we eat his flesh always. But fastings and comings together were ordained of wise men for them that give themselves rather to the world than to God, that cannot, yea, for them that will not, come there at all, there to make their sacrifice of prayers to God in the face of all the people. day is Easterday, and we eat his flesh al ways. Hereby you may easily perceive, that the Church hath not changed the spiritual part of the sabbath, which is to cease from vice and sin; but the ceremonial part of the sabbath only, which was abrogate and taken away, with other ceremonies of Moses' law, by Christ, at the full preaching of the Gospel. In place whereof the Church hath ordained the Sunday, for causes aforesaid a. a [The following are some extracts from Cranmer's Common-place Book in the British Museum relating to the subject of this chapter. "Nova doctrinæ. "Quod sacerdos sit qui non vivat ex doctrina verbi, sed ex missis quæ pro defunctis celebrantur. "Missa de scala cœli. Missa satisfactoria. "Indulgentiæ. Jubileus. "Communicatio sub una specie. "Satisfactio. "In cæremoniis fere omnibus Judæos imitamur. "Pro ephodo lineo, habemus superpellicia. "Pro sacrificiis, fecimus ex missa sacrificium, ne sacerdotes nostri "non essent sacrifici. "Habemus et asyla pro locis refugii. "Habemus basilicas consecratas, cum altaribus, calicibus, vestibus, "et reliquis utensilibus, ad divinum cultum pertinentibus. "Habemus etiam hæc omnia, oleo peruncta. "Quin et sacerdotes ac reliqui ministri, oleo imbuuntur, et conse"crantur more Mosaico. De Consecratione, dist. i. cap. 1o. et 3o. "Non licet offerre, nisi in loco consecrato. De Consecratione, dist. 2. "Sicut non alii,' quia scriptum est, Vide ne offeras holocausta tua in "omni loco quem videris, sed in omni loco quem elegerit Dominus Deus "tuus. "Festum dedicationis octo diebus celebramus, sicut Judæi. De "Consecratione, dist. 1. 'Solemnitates.' "Quod autem octo diebus Encænia sint celebranda, in libro Regum "(peracta dedicatione templi) reperies. "Habemus et velum atrii domus Domini, sicut Judæi. De Conse"cratione, dist. 1. 'Nemo.' "Sicut solis sacerdotibus et Levitis licebat contrectare vasa sacra "templi, ita et nunc. De Consecratione, dist. 1. In sancta.' "Nec in alios usus licet vestibus sacris frui, quam in sacros. De "Consecratione, dist. 1. 'Vestimenta' et ' Ad nuptiarum.'" Royal MSS. 7. B. xi. p. 101.] The papists' objections, with answers unto them. THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER 2. Argument. Moreover, they boast themselves of the certainty of their doctrine, and prove it to be true by the long continuance thereof, and lucky prosperity of their kingdom: and their adversaries' doctrine to be false, by the persecutions, plagues, miseries, and afflictions, which they daily suffer for their doctrine's sake. Answer. If the trial of true religion should rest upon antiquity of time, or upon worldly prosperity, then should the gentiles and pagans have a great advantage of us Christians, and their religion should be better than ours, by the testimonies of our own Scriptures. For idolatry and worshipping of false gods and their images was used long before the law of God, written and given to Moses; in which errors and idolatry the heathen continue unto this day, in great prosperity and wealth, under most victorious emperors and princes whereas the true Church of Christ hath been most miserably afflicted from time to time; first under the Egyptians ; after by the Philistines, Cananites, Pheresites, &c.; then by the Babylonians, Assyrians, Medes, Persians, Syrians, and Romans, both subdued, conquest, and led away captives. And, last of all, by the Turk and the Pope, the two horns of Antichrist, the true Church of Christ hath been most cruelly persecuted unto death, with prison, famine, water, fire, fagot, and sword, these seven or eight hundred years last past. Which Turk and Pope, although they be mortal enemies the one to the other, yet as Herod, Pilate, the Bishops, Scribes, and Pharisees, although they were utter foes each to the other, conspired against innocent Christ, causeless condemning him to death on the cross; in like manner, I say, the Pope and the Turk do fully agree in this one point, to persecute and murder Christ in his faithful members. For as the sun can a [This concluding chapter was clearly not written by Cranmer. For, to omit other internal evidence, a book is mentioned in p. 237, which was not published till after his death, namely, a notable work" of Rodolph Gualter, "now of late translated into English." See Ames, Typogr. Antiq. vol. iii. p. 60. ed. Dibdin. No trace of the chapter is to be found in the Archbishop's Common-place Book at the British Museum.] Christ's badge. to know not be without his brightness, nor the fire without his heat, so cannot the true Church of God be long without the cross of persecution, as witnesseth St. Paul; All they that will live godly in Jesus Christ shall suffer persecution. And our Saviour Christ saith plainly, that his kingdom is not of this world. For if they persecute me, saith he, they shall also persecute you. And Christ giveth not to his Apostles earthly peace in this world, but peace and quietness of conscience, joined with persecution. For if the wicked persecuted Christ himself, shall they not also persecute his servants? And if they so handled Christ, being the lively tree, what, think you, shall they do to us, his withered branches? And as the true Church of Christ can never be long without persecution, in like manner can the false Church of Satan and Antichrist never cease from persecuting, as it appeareth throughout the histories of the whole Bible. Of the tyranny and cruelty of Antichrist in persecuting of Christ's true Church, prophesied Daniel Dan. vii. long before. Speaking of the empire and regiment of Rome, The The mark fourth beast, saith he, shall be the fourth kingdom, which shall be Antichrist greater than all other kingdoms: it shall devour, tread down, and destroy all other lands; he shall speak words against the Highest of all; he shall destroy the saints of the Most Highest, and think that he can change times and laws. And again, he saith of AntioGod's elect chus, which was a figure of Antichrist, There shall arise a king unshamefaced of face; he shall be wise in dark speaking; he shall be mighty and strong, but not in his own strength; he shall destroy above measure, and all that he goeth about shall prosper in his hand: his heart shall be proud, he shall slay the strong and holy to be per- people, and through his craftiness falsehood shall prosper in his Antichrist. hand, and many one shall he put to death in his wealthiness; he shall stand up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be slain without hands. Of the tyranny and prosperous success of Antichrist in slaying of the saints of God, and the reward of them that be slain for the witness of God's truth, speaketh also St. John, in the sixth chapter of his Apocalypse, under the opening of the fourth and fifth seals: and in the seventeenth chapter he lively setteth forth the Pope in his own colours, under the person of the whore of Babylon being drunken with the blood of saints; pointing, as it were, with his finger, who this whore of Babylon is, and the place where she shall reign; saying, The woman which thou sawest is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the by, is to prevail by persecution against saints. Dan. viii. mark of Church is, secuted of Read the places. earth. Now what other city reigned at that time, or at any time since, over the Christian kings of the earth, but only Rome? Whereof it followeth, Rome to be the seat of Antichrist, and the Pope to be very Antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other Scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons. But forasmuch as Rodulphe Gualter hath written hereof a notable work in Latin, and now of late translated into English by J. O., I remit the reader to his book, wherein he may be fully satisfied hereof. Of the prosperity and security that the false Church hath in worldly pleasures, using the same with all greediness and voluptuousness of carnal lusts, with the wicked devices of tyranny against Christ and his true members, wherewith the ungodly daily persecute and murder God's elect for his truth, with the reward also of them that suffer for the same truth sake-it is most plainly written in the second and third chapters of the Book of Wisdom. By these Scriptures now rehearsed it appeareth most plainly, that worldly prosperity of the Pope and his clergy prove not the truth of their doctrine; nor yet persecution of God's true preachers and other faithful people, argueth their doctrine to be false. But if thou wilt needs know, where the true Church of Christ is, and where the false, and not be deceived, herein take this for a plain and full answer, that wheresoever the word of God is truly preached, without addition of man's doctrines and traditions, and the sacraments duly ministered according to Christ's institution, there is the true Church, the very spouse of God, Christ being the head thereof. But how many, and who, of that number that hear the word of God and receive the sacraments, be God's elect Church, and true members of Christ, is known to God only; for the Lord knoweth who be his: and no man can tell of another man, whether he be worthy love or hatred, although their works seem never so holy and glorious afore men; so great a witch is hypocrisy. Argument. Last of all, to make all cock sure, and to maintain their idolatry beside, yea, and also contrary to the word of God, (as invocation and praying to saints, worshipping of images and relics, with pilgrimages and offerings, and the sacrifice of the mass for the quick and the dead, and pardons to deliver dead men's souls from purgatory, holy bread, holy water, ashes, palms, and such other baggage,) they allege revelations of angels, of our Lady, and other Read the chapters. |