Defense of the True Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, Title page – To the reader
A DEFENCE OF THE TRVE AND CAtholike doctrine of the sacrament of the body and bloud of our sauiour CHRIST, with a confutation of sundry errors concernyng thesame, grounded and stablished vponupon Goddes holy woorde, & approued by ye consent of the moste auncient doctors of the Churche. Made by the moste Reuerende father in GOD THOMAS ARCHEBYSHOP of Canterbury, Primate of all ENGLANDE and Metropolitane.
Yt ys the spirite that giueth lyfe, the fleshe profiteth nothinge. Ioannis. 6.
Thys booke ys deuyded into fiue partes.
The fyrst is of the true and Catholike doctrine and vse of the sacrament of the body and blud of our sauiour CHRIST.
The second is agaynst the erroure of Transubstantiation.
The thyrde teacheth the maner howe CHRIST is present in his holy supper.
The fowerth is of the eatynge and drinking of the body & blud of our Sauioure CHRIST.
The fyft booke is of the oblation and sacrifice of our sauiour CHRIST.
A PREFACE TO THE READER.
OVR SAVIOVR CHRIST Iesus, accordyng to the wil of his eternall father, when the tyme therto was fully cō plished, takīg our nature vponupon him, cam into this world frome the high throne of his Father, to declare vntounto miserable sinners, good newes, to heale them that wer syck, to make the blind to see, the deaf to here, & the domb to speke, to set prisoners at libertee, to shew that the tyme of grace & mercy was come, to giuegive light to them that were in darknes and in the shadow of deth, and to preach and geue pardon and ful remission of sinne to al his elected. And to perfourme the same, he made a sacrifice & oblation of his owne body vponupon the crosse, whiche was a full redemption, satisfaction, & propitiation for the sinnes of y• wholle world. And to cōmend this his sacrifice vntounto al his faithful people, and to confirm their faith & hope of eternall saluation in the same, he hath ordeined a perpetual memory of his said sacrifice, daily to be vsed in the Church to his perpetual laud & praise, & to our singular comfort & cōsolation, That is to saie, y• celebration of his holy supper, wherin he doth not cesse to geue him selfe with al his benefites to all those that duely receiue the same supper, accordyng to his blessed ordinance. But the Romish Antichrist, to deface this great benefite of Christ, hath taught that his sacrifice vponupon ye crosse is not sufficient herevnto, without another sacrifice deuised by him, and made by the priest, or els without Indulgē ces, Beades, Pardons, Pylgramages, & suche other pelfray, to supply Christes imperfection. And that christian people can not apply to them selfes the benefites of Christes passion, but that the same is in the distribution of the byshop of Rome, or els that by Christe we hauehave no full remission, but be deliuered onelyonly from synne, and yet remayneth temporall payne in Purgatorye due for the same, to be remitted after this life by the Romishe Antichrist and his ministers, who take vponupon them to do for vsus, that thyng, whiche Christ either would not, or could not do. O heynous blasphemy and moste detestable iniury against Christe. O wicked abhominacion in the tēple of God, O pryde intolerable of Antichrist, and most manifest token of the sōne of pardiciō, extollyng him selfe aboue God, & with Lucifer exaltyng his seate & power aboue the throne of God. For he that taketh vpō him, to supply that thyng whiche he pretendeth to bee vnperfite in Christ, must nedes make him selfe aboue Christ, and so very Antichrist. For what is this els, but to be against Christ, & to bryng him in cōtempt? as one y• either for lacke of charitee would not, or for lacke of power he could not, with all his bloudsheadyng and death, clearely deliuer his faythfull, and geue them full remission of their synnes, but that the ful perfectiō therof must be had at the hādes of Antichrist of Rome & his ministers? What mā of knowlege & zeale to Gods honor, can with dry eyes se this iniury to Christ, and loke vpō the state of religion brought in by the Papistes, perceiuyng the true sence of Gods worde subuerted by false gloses of mans deuisyng, the true christian religion turned into certayne hypocritical & superstitious sectes, y• people praiyng with their mouthes & hearyng with theyr eares they wyst not what, & so ignorant in Gods worde, that they could not discerne hypocricie & superstition frō true & syncere religion? This was of late yeres the face of religion with in this realme of Englande, & yet remayneth in dyuers realmes. But thankes be to almightie God & to the kynges maiestie, with his father, a prynce of most famous memory, ye superstitious sectes of Monkes & Fryers (that were in this Realme) be cleane taken away, the scripture is restored vntounto the proper & true vnderstandyng, the people may dayly reade & heare Gods heauē ly worde, & pray in theyr owne lāguage whiche they vnderstād, so that their heartes & mouthes may go together, and be none of those people of whom Christ complayned,Math▪ 15▪ saiyng: These people honor me with theyr lyppes, but theyr heartes be farre from me. Thankes be to God many corrupt weedes bee plucked vppe, whiche were wont to rotte the flocke of Christ, and to let the growyng of the Lordes haruest.
But what auaileth it to take away beades, pardōs, pilgremages, and such other like Popery, so long as .ii. chief rootes remaine vnpulled vp… wherof so long as thei remain, wil spryng again al former impedimētes of the Lordes haruest, & corruption of his flock. The rest is but branches and leaues, the cuttyng away wherof, is but like toppyng & loppyng of a tree, or cuttyng downe of weeds, leauīg the body stādyng, & the rootes in the ground, but the verye body of the tree, or rather the rootes of the wedes, is the popish doctrine of Transubstātiation of the real presence of Christes fleshe and bloud in the sacrament of the aultar (as they call it) and of the sacrifice & oblation of Christ made by the preest, for the saluation of the quick and the dead. Which rootes if thei be suffred to grow in the Lords vineyard, thei wil ouerspreade all the ground agayn, with the old errours & superstitions. These iniuries to Christ be so intollerable, that no christ…ā heart can wyllyngly beare them. Wherfore seing that many hauehave set to their hands, & whetted their to les, to pluck vp ye weedes, & to cut down ye tree of errour, I not knowyng otherwise how to excuse my selfe at the last daie, hauehave in this boke set to my hand and axe with the rest to cut downe this tree, and to plucke vp the wedes and plantes by the rootes, which our heuenly Father neuer plā ted, but were grafted and sowen in his vineyard by his aduersary the diuell, and Antechriste his minister. The Lord graunt, that this my trauail and labour in his vineyard, be not in vaine, but that it may prosper and bring forth good frutes to his honor and glory. For when I se his vineyard ouergrowen with thornes, brambles, & wedes, I know that euerlastyng wo… apperteyneth vntounto me, if I holde my peace, and put not to my handes & tonge, to labour in purgyng his vineyard. God I take to witnes (who seeth the harts of al men thrughly vntounto the bottom) that I take this labour for none other consideration, but for the glory of his name, & the discharge of my duetie, and the zeale that I beare toward the flock of Christ. I knowe in what office god hath placed me, & to what purpose, that is to say, to set forthe his word truly vntounto his people, to the vttermost of my power, without respect of ꝑson, or regarde of thyng in the world, but of him alone. I know what accompt I shall make to hym hereof at the last day, whan eueryevery mā shal answere for his vocation, and receiue for the same good or yl, accordyng as he hath done. I know how Antichriste hath obscured the glory of God, & the true knowlege of his word, ouercastyng the same with mystes and cloudes of errour and ignorance, thorough false gloses and interpretations. It pitieth me to see the symple and hungrye flocke of Christ, ledde into corrupt pastures, to be caryed blyndfield, they know not whether, and to be fed with poyson in the stede of holsome meates. And moued by the duetie, office and place, wher vntounto it hath pleased God to call me, I geue warnyng in his name vntounto all that professe Christe that thei flee far from Babylon, if they wyl saue their soules, & to beware of that greate harlot, yt is to saye, the pestiferous sea of Rome, that she make you not dronk wt her pleasāt wine. Trust not her sweet promises, nor banket not with her, for in steed of wine she wil giuegive you sower dregs and for meate she will feede you with ranke poisō. But come to our redemer and sauiour Christ who refresheth all that trewely come vntounto him, be their anguishe and heauines neuer so great. GiueGive credite vntounto him, in whose mouth was neuer found gile, nor vntruth. By him you shalbe clearly deliuered from all your diseases, of hym you shall hauehave full remissyon, A pena & à culpa. Hee it ys that feedeth contynually all that beelong vntounto hym, with his owne flesh that hanged vppon the crosse, and gyueth them drinke of the blud flowyng out of his owne syde, and maketh to springe within them, water that floweth vntounto euerlasting lyfe. Lysten not to the false incantacyons, sweete whisperinges and craftye iuglynges of the subtyl Papystes, wherwith they hauehave thys manye yeares deluded and bewytched the world, but harken to Chryst, gyue ear vntounto hys wordes, whych shall lead you the ryghte waye vntounto euerlastyng lyfe, there wyth hym to lyue euer as heyres of hys kyngedome.
AMEN.