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PREFACE TO THE READER.

mercy and

wards us.

OUR Saviour Christ Jesus according to the will of his eter- The great nal Father, when the time thereto was fully complished, taking benefits of our nature upon him, came into this world from the high throne of God toof his Father, to declare unto miserable sinners good news; to [1580.] heal them that were sick; to make the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak; to set prisoners at liberty; to show that the time of grace and mercy was come; to give light to them that were in darkness and in the shadow of death; and to preach and give pardon and full remission of sin to all his elected. And to perform the same, he made a sacrifice and oblation of his own body upon the cross, which was a full redemption, satisfaction, and propitiation, for the sins of the whole world. And to commend this his sacrifice unto all his faithful people, and to confirm their faith and hope of eternal salvation in the same, he hath ordained a perpetual memory of his said sacrifice, daily to be used in the Church to his perpetual laud and praise, and to our singular comfort and consolation; that is to say, the celebration of his holy supper, wherein he doth not cease to give himself with all his benefits, to all those that duly receive the same supper according to his blessed ordinance.

neous doc

But the Romish Antichrist, to deface this great benefit of The erroChrist, hath taught that his sacrifice upon the cross is not suffi- trine of the cient hereunto, without another sacrifice devised by him, and papists ob scuring the made by the priest, or else without indulgences, beads, pardons, same. pilgrimages, and such other pelfry, to supply Christ's imperfection: [1580.] and that Christian people cannot apply to themselves the benefits of Christ's passion, but that the same is in the distribution of the Bishop of Rome, or else that by Christ we have no full remission, but be delivered only from sin, and yet remaineth tem

poral pain in Purgatory due for the same, to be remitted after this life by the Romish Antichrist and his ministers, who take upon them to do for us that thing, which Christ either would not or could not do. O heinous blasphemy and most detestable injury against Christ! O wicked abomination in the temple of 2 Thess. ii. God! O pride intolerable of Antichrist, and most manifest token of the son of perdition, extolling himself above God, and with Lucifer exalting his seat and power above the throne of God! For he that taketh upon him to supply that thing, which he pretendeth to be unperfect in Christ, must needs make himself above Christ, and so very Antichrist. For what is this else, but to be against Christ, and to bring him into contempt, as one that either for lack of charity would not, or for lack of power he could not, with all his blood-shedding and death, clearly deliver his faithful, and give them full remission of their sins, but that the full perfection thereof must be had at the hands of Antichrist of Rome and his ministers?

pists.

[1580.]

The state of What man of knowledge and zeal to God's honour can with religion brought in dry eyes see this injury to Christ, and look upon the state of reliby the pa- gion brought in by the papists, perceiving the true sense of God's word subverted by false glosses of man's devising, the true Christian religion turned into certain hypocritical and superstitious sects, the people praying with their mouths and hearing with their ears they wist not what, and so ignorant in God's word, that they could not discern hypocrisy and superstition from true and sincere religion? This was of late years the face of religion within this realm of England, and yet remaineth in divers realms. But, (thanks be to Almighty God and to the King's Majesty, with his father, a prince of most famous memory,) the superstitious sects of monks and friars, that were in this realm, be clean taken away; the Scripture is restored unto the proper and true understanding; the people may daily read and hear God's heavenly word, and pray in their own language which they understand, so that their hearts and mouths may go together, and be none of Matt. xv. those people of whom Christ complained, saying, These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts be far from me. Thanks be to God, many corrupt weeds be plucked up, which were wont

to rot the flock of Christ, and to let the growing of the Lord's

harvest.

But what availeth it to take away beads, pardons, pilgrimages, The chief

roots of all

errors.

moved the

[1580.]

and such other like popery, so long as two chief roots remain unpulled up? whereof, so long as they remain, will spring again all [1580.] former impediments of the Lord's harvest, and corruption of his flock. The rest is but branches and leaves, the cutting away whereof is but like topping and lopping of a tree, or cutting down of weeds, leaving the body standing, and the roots in the ground; but the very body of the tree, or rather the roots of the weeds, is the popish doctrine of transubstantiation, of the real presence of Christ's flesh and blood in the sacrament of the altar, (as they call it,) and of the sacrifice and oblation of Christ made by the priest for the salvation of the quick and the dead. Which roots, if they be suffered to grow in the Lord's vineyard, they will overspread all the ground again with the old errors and superstitions. These injuries to Christ be so intolerable, that no Christian What heart can willingly bear them. Wherefore seeing that many author to have set to their hands and whetted their tools, to pluck up the write. weeds, and to cut down the tree of error, I, not knowing otherwise how to excuse myself at the last day, have in this book set to my hand and axe with the rest to cut down this tree, and to pluck up the weeds and plants by the roots, which our heavenly Father never planted, but were grafted and sown in his vineyard by his adversary the Devil, and Antichrist his minister. The Lord grant that this my travail and labour in his vineyard be not in vain, but that it may prosper and bring forth good fruits to his honour and glory. For when I see his vineyard overgrown with thorns, brambles, and weeds, I know that everlasting woe appertaineth unto me, if I hold my peace, and put not to my hands and tongue to labour in purging his vineyard. God I take to witness, (who seeth the hearts of all men throughly unto the bottom,) that I take this labour for none other consideration, but for the glory of his name, and the discharge of my duty, and the zeal that I bear toward the flock of Christ. I know in what office God hath placed me, and to what purpose; that is to say, to set forth his word truly unto his people, to the uttermost of

U

A warning given by

[1580.] Jer. li.

Rev. xiv. xvii. xviii.

Matt. xi.

my power, without respect of person, or regard of thing in the world, but of Him alone. I know what account I shall make to Him hereof at the last day, when every man shall answer for his vocation, and receive for the same, good or ill, according as he hath done. I know how Antichrist hath obscured the glory of God and the true knowledge of his word, overcasting the same with mists and clouds of error and ignorance, through false glosses and interpretations. It pitieth me to see the simple and hungry flock of Christ led into corrupt pastures, to be carried blindfold they know not whither, and to be fed with poison in the stead of wholesome meats.

And moved by the duty, office, and place, whereunto it hath the author, pleased God to call me, I give warning in his name unto all that profess Christ, that they flee far from Babylon, if they will save their souls, and to beware of that great harlot, that is to say, the pestiferous see of Rome, that she make you not drunk with her pleasant wine. Trust not her sweet promises, nor banquet with her; for instead of wine she will give you sour dregs, and for meat she will feed you with rank poison. But come to our Redeemer and Saviour Christ, who refresheth all that truly come unto him, be their anguish and heaviness never so great. Give credit unto him, in whose mouth was never found guile nor untruth. By him you shall be clearly delivered from all your diseases, of him you shall have full remission, a pœna et a culpa. He it is, that feedeth continually all that belong unto him with his own flesh that hanged upon the cross; and giveth them drink of the blood flowing out of his own side, and maketh to spring within them water that floweth unto everlasting life. Listen not to the false incantations, sweet whisperings, and crafty jugglings of the subtle papists, wherewith they have this many years deluded and bewitched the world; but hearken to Christ, give ear unto his words, which shall lead you the right way unto everlasting life, there with him to live ever as heirs of his kingdom. Amen.

Is. liii.
I Pet. ii.

John iv.

a The First Book is of the True and Catholic Doctrine and Use of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ.

I.

THE Supper of the Lord, otherwise called the Holy CHAP. a [The library of Corpus Christi College Cambridge possesses a Collection of authorities De Re Sacramentaria, which was probably used The abuse by Cranmer in the composition of his Defence, &c. The extracts made of the from thence by Strype, with his accurate account of the manuscript, Lord's 's Supare subjoined, because they state briefly many of the principal points per. discussed in the following work. This Note-book, as Strype calls it, "consists of nothing but quotations out of ancient ecclesiastical authors "about the Lord's Supper; interlined in many places by the Archbishop's pen. On the top of some of the pages are these sentences writ "by himself, being doctrines provable out of the sentences there pro"duced and transcribed.

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"Panis vocatur corpus Christi, et vinum sanguis.

"Panis est corpus meum, et Vinum est sanguis meus, figurativæ sunt "locutiones.

"Quid significet hæc figura, Edere carnem, et bibere sanguinem. "Mali non edunt et bibunt corpus et sanguinem Domini.

"Patres Vet. Testamenti edebant et bibebant Christum, sicut et nos. "Sicut in Eucharistia, ita in Baptismo, præsens est Christus.

"Contra Transubstantiationem.

"After this follow these writings of the Archbishop's own hand. "Multa affirmant crassi papist, seu Capernaitæ, quæ neque Scrip"tura neque ullus veterum unquam dixerat; viz.

"Quod accidentia maneant sine subjecto.

"Quod accidentia panis et vini sunt sacramenta: non panis et vinum. "Quod panis non est figura, sed accidentia panis.

"Quod Christus non appellavit panem corpus suum.

"Quod cum Christus dixit, Hoc est corpus meum, pronomen hoc non " refertur ad panem, sed ad corpus Christi.

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"Quod tot corpora Christi accipimus, aut toties corpus ejus accipimus, quoties, aut in quot partes, dentibus secamus panem. "Thus having set down divers assertions of papists, or Capernaites, "as he styled them, which neither Scripture nor ancient fathers knew any thing of; his Notes proceed to state wherein papists and protest"ants disagree.

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Præcipua capita in quibus a papistis dissentimus. "Christum papiste statuunt in pane, nos in homine comedente : "Illi in comedentis ore, nos in toto homine.

"Illi corpus Christi aiunt evolare, masticato vel consumpto pane: "nos manere in homine dicimus, quamdiu membrum est Christi.

"Illi in pane statuunt per annum integrum, et diutius, si duret panis : “nos in homine statuimus inhabitare, quamdiu templum Dei fuerit.

"Illorum sententia, quod ad realem præsentiam attinet, non amplius "edit homo quam bellua, neque magis ei prodest, quam cuivis animanti." Strype, Cranm. p. 262. The manuscript contains also some other scattered remarks by the Archbishop, besides those which are here extracted. C. C. C. C. cII. p. 151.]

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