Three Pillars and Arch-patriarchs of the Popish Synagogues, Treatise 1 · Book 2 · Part 45
The fiue and fortieth Chapter proueth by the same Doctours, that the proclamer nameth, that the sacrament is to be honoured.Hesk.
This is a meere mockerie, the Bishop speaketh against adoration of the sacrament as God, M. Heskins proueth,Fulke. that it is to bee honoured, that is to say, reuerenced as a holy ceremonie. And none otherwise then the sacrament of baptisme, as wee shall see by his proofes. First, Chrysostom being one that is named by the Bishop, maketh so cleere mention thereof, as M. Heskins thinkes, the reader will maruell, hee was not ashamed to name him. And what saith he? De sacerdotio lib. 6. thus he writeth: Quum autem ille &c. But when he (meaning the Prieste) hath called vponupon the holy Ghost, and hath finished that sacrifice, most full of horrour and reuerence, when the common Lord of all men is daily handled in his handes: I aske of thee in what order shall wee place him? Howe great integritie shall we require of him? How great religion? For, consider what handes those ought to be, which doe minister, what manner of tong, that speaketh those words. Finally, then what soule, that soule ought not to be purer and holier, which hath receiued that so great and so worthie a spirit? At that time euē the Angels do set by the Priest, and all the order of heauenly powers lifteth vp cryes, and the place neere to the altar in honour of him which is offered, is full of the companies of Angels. Which thing a man may fully beleeue, euen for the greate sacrifice which is there finished. And I truly did heare a certain man reporting, that a certaine wonderfull olde man, and one to whome many mysteries of reuelations are opened by God, did tell him, that God did once vouchsafe to shewe him such a vision, and that for that time he sawe as farre as the sight of man could beare, soudenly a multitude of Angels clothed in shining garments compassing the altar, finally so bowing the heade, as if a man should see the souldiers stand when the king is present, which thing I do easily beleeue. In these words Chrysostom doth hyperbolically amplifie the excellencie of the Ministers office, vntounto which no man is sufficient. But notwithstanding, he rehearseth a vision by hearesay, of angels reuerencing the presence of God, to aduance the dignitie of the ministerie, yet speaketh he not one worde, that the sacrament is to be worshipped & adored as God. And therefore M. Heskins maketh a poore consequence, the ministration of ye sacrament is honourable: ergo, much more a man ought to honour the sacrament. The ministration of baptisme is honourable, doth it therefore followe, that the water of baptisme is to be worshipped as God? An other testimonie he cyteth out of Chrysostomes Liturgie, which he calleth his Masse, which though it be out of doubt none of Chrysostomes penning, yet maketh it nothing for the adoration of the sacrament: Thou that fittest aboue with the father, and art here present with vsus inuisibly, vouchsafe to giuegive vntounto vsus thy vndefiled body, and thy precious bloud, and by vsus to al the people. Then the Priest adoreth, and the Deacon in the place where he is, thrice sayth secretly. God be mercifull to me a sinner. And all the people likewise with godlinesse and reuerence do adore. It is said here they doe adore, but not the sacrament, but God. For here hauehave passed no words of the consecration as yet by the Papistes owne rule, therefore this adoration can not be referred to the sacrament. And yet M. Heskins is so blockish to gather, that he fitteth in heauen, and yet is here present, as though he were present in body before they had prayed that he would giuegive them his body, &c. But yet an other place of Chrysostome, Hom. 24. in 1. Cor. 10. Christus suam, &c Christe hath giuen v… his flesh, that we might be filled therewith, whereby he hath allured vsus very much into his louelove. Let vsus therefore with feruencie and most vehement louelove come vntounto him, that wee suffer not a more greeuous punishment. For the greater benefite we take, so much more shall wee bee punished, when wee shall appeare vnwoorthie of it. This body did the wisemen reuerence in the manger, and being both vngodly men and barbarous, after they had ended a long iourney with much feare and trembling did worship it. Let vsus therfore that are citizens of heauen folow those strangers. For they when they did see only that manger and cottage, and none of those things which thou nowe beholdest, came with great reuerence and horrour. But thou seest it not in the manger but in the altar, not a woman which holdeth it in her armes, but the Priest present, and the spirite so aboundantly powred vponupon the sacrifice that is set foorth. Neither doest thou see a simple body, as they did, but thou doest acknowledge his power, and all the administration. And thou art not ignorant of any of the thinges that by him were made, and t…ou art diligently instructed in all thinges. Let vsus be stirred vp, and tremble, and declare more godlinesse then those barbarous men ▪ Note here▪ reuerence and trembling, but no worshipping of the sacrament, no, not although he saith the wise men did worship his body in the manger, yet dare hee not conclude, that wee ought to adore it in the sacrament. Wherefore it is intollerable, that M. Heskins gathereth that in the first place, he declareth that it is to be honoured, in the second, he declareth the practise of him selfe, his ministers, and all the people in worshipping it, & in the last yt he prouoketh al men to honor it in the altar by the example of the wise men. For none of these three can be concluded out of ye same places. Next foloweth Ambrose, De spiritu sanct. lib. 3. cap. 12. Per scabellum terra &c. By the footstoole the earth is vnderstood, and by the earth the flesh of Christ, which as this day also we do adore in the mysteries which the Apostles, as we hauehave saide before, did adore in our Lorde Iesus: For Christ is not diuided, but one. By adoring, he meaneth the reuerent vse of the mysteries, and not worshipping ye sacraments as though Christ were present in them, as he is in heauen, for that he acknowledgeth not, but only a sacramentall presence, as hath beene shewed often already, & more shalbe, as occasion serueth. And he saith we worship or reuerence the flesh of Christe in the mysteries, he saith not we worship the mysteries as the flesh of Christ. Finally we worship Christ in the sacramentes as we do in the word, and yet we imagine no carnal presence in either of them. Yea, we honor him, his ministers, both ciuil Magistrates, and Ecclesiasticall teachers, & yet we hauehave none of thē as transubstantiated into Christ. The last is S. Augustine In Psal. 98. Adore ye the footestole of his feete, for it is holie. But see brethrē what he biddeth vsus to adore. In another place the scripture saith: Heauen is my seate, & earth is the footestoole of my feete. Then he commandeth vsus to adore the earth, because he said in an other place, that it is the footestoole of God. And how shall we adore the earth? when the scripture saith plainely, thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and here he saith, adore his footestoole. And expoūding to me what is his footstoole, he saith: the earth is my footstoole, I am made doutful, I am afraide to adore the earth, least he condemne me, which hath made heauen and earth. Againe, I am afraid not to adore the footstoole of my Lord, because the Psalme saith to me, Adore ye his footstoole. Thus wauering vp and down I turne me vntounto CHRISTE, because I seeke him here, and I finde howe without impietie the earth may bee adored, without impietie his footestoole may be adored. For he hath taken on him earth of the earth, because flesh is of the earth, & of the flesh of Marie be tooke flesh. And because he walked here in that flesh, and gaue that flesh to be eaten of vsus to saluation: And no man eateth that flesh except, he do first adore it, it is found out how such a footestoole of the Lord may be adored, and we should not onelyonly not offend in adoring, but offend in not adoring. The Papists make no small accompt of this place, and yet there is no place in al S. Augustines workes, yt maketh more against them then this, if it be wel marked with that whiche followeth. For first he saith not that the sacrament must be, or may be worshipped as God, but that the flesh of Christ may be worshipped as the earth, which is Gods footstool, whereunto Diuine honour is not to be giuen, but reuerence as to an holie thing, & no man eateth his flesh, but he that before hath worshipped it, not as really present in the sacrament, but he that hath reuerently acknowledged his incarnation, passion, and giuing of his flesh to be holsome vntounto vsus. But to put al out of doubt, he so maketh the sacrament Gods footestoole, that he doeth expressely denie speaking in the person of Christ, yt his bodie which was seene and crucified should be eaten, but a sacrament which being spiritually vnderstood, should quicken them or giuegive them life. The place hath beene already once or twise set downe. Non hoc corpus quod videtis mandicaturi estis, &c. You shall not eate this bodie which you see, &c. The corporall presence therefore being flatly taken away by S. Augustine in that place, it is easie to see what kinde of worship is left to the sacrament.
But he is cited againe Lib. Confess 9. Cap. 13. speaking of his mother. Illa imminente, &c She when the day of her departure was at hand, tooke no care to hauehave her bodie sumptuously buri…d, or to be spiced with sweete spices, neither did she couet a chosen monument, or cared for her fathers sepulchre. She did not giuegive vsus in charge any of these thinges, but onelyonly she desired that remembrance shold be made of her at thine altar, which she without any dayes intermission had serued, from whom she knew that holie sacrifice to be dispensed, by which the hand writing that was against vsus, was put out, by which triumph was obteined against the enimie. Maister Heskins would learne of the proclaymer what seruice she did, was it not the seruice of Christ her Lord God? Yes, and why did she it at the altar, and not in heauen? HaueHave you heard of such a blind question? While she liued on earth, although she worshipped him that is in heauen, yet she serued him in the place appointed for publike prayer and administration of the sacramentes, and she serued him with prayer and thankesgiuing, not with knocking and kneeling to the sacrament, which is the thing he would hauehave if he could tell howe to bring it about: as for the carnall presence it was spoken off euen in the place next before cited out of the 48. Psalme.
After this he saith, the same that the Christians did honour Ceres and Bacchus, proueth their adoration of the sacrament. A substantiall proofe I promise you. It may argue they had some vse of bread & wine in their religion, but no adoration of it. For the Heathē men did not take bread and wine to be Ceres and Bacchus, but Ceres and Bacchus to be the Gods of bread and wine. S. Augustine is cited Contra Faust. Lib. 2 Cap. 13. Quomodo &c. How then doest thou compare our bread and cuppe, and sayest that errour which is farre differing from the trueth to be like religions beeing more madde then some which for the bread and the cuppe thinke vsus to honour Ceres and Bacchus? The Heathen did offer bread and wine to Ceres and Bacchus, so they imagined yt the Christians did, not that they honored bread and wine, as Maister Heskins dreameth. The like is to be saide of the other place. Si…ut a Cerere, &c. As we are farre from Ceres and Bacchus the Gods of the Pagans, although we imbrace after our manner the sacrament of the bread and the cuppe, which you hauehave so praysed as you would be equall with vsus: so our fathers were farre from the chaynes of Saturne, although for the time of the prophesie they hauehave obserued the vacation of the Sabbaoth. Because there is nothing in this place for the purpose, M. Heskins after his accustomed manner, hath falsified the worde by wrong translation, to deceiue the vnlearned. For he hath translated, Quamuis amplectamur sacramentum, although we honor the sacrament. Yet again S. Augustine is cited In Psal. 48. Edent pauperes, &c. The poore shall eate and be satisfied. What eate they? That which the faithful know. How shall they be satisfied? In following the passions of their Lord, and not without cause taking their price. What do the riche? They also do ease: but how do they eate? All the riche of the earth hauehave eaten and worshipped. He saith not, they hauehave eaten and are satisfied: but they hauehave eaten and worshipped. They do in deede adore God, but they will not shewe brotherly humanitie, they eate and adore, these eate and are satisfied, yet all do eate. Augustine saith expresly the rich adore God, but of adoring the sacrament he speaketh neuer a worde. Last of all he citeth him Ep. 120. ad Honoratum. Neque enim frustra ita distincti sunt, &c. Neither are they without purpose so distincted, that before it was said of the poore: The poore shall eate and be satisfied: And here all the riche of the earth hauehave eaten and hauehave worshipped. For they also are brought to the table of Christ, and receiue of his bodie and his bloud, but they doe adore onelyonly, they are not also satisfied, because they doe not followe. For eating the poore men, they disdaine to be poore because Christ suffered for vsus leauing v… an example, that we should followe his steppes. This place being the same in effect, that the next before, hath neuer a worde of adoring the sacrament, but that Maister Heskins in his drowsie head dreameth, that where mention is made of eating and worshipping, it must needes followe that those thinges are worshipped which are eaten. And thus you see how pithily he hath proued the adoration of the sacrament, out of those Authours, whome the proclaymer named, as making no mention thereof.