decayed doctrine, with their diligent preaching and teaching of the people,MarginaliaRead afore pag. 1028. according as he heard before pag. 1028. how that in the yere 1534. duryng all the whole tyme of the parliament, there was appoynted euery sonday a B. to preache at Paules Crosse agaynst the supremacie of the Byshop of Rome.

[Back to Top]

Amongst which Bishops, Iohn Longland Bishop of Lincolne, the kinges confessor, and a great persecutor of the poore flocke of ChristMarginaliaRead afore pag. 956. (as is before sufficiently recorded, pag. 956.) made a Sermon before the kyng, vpon good Friday this present yere. 1538.  

at Grenewich, seriously and effectuously preaching on the kinges behalfe, agaynst the vsurped supremacie of the bishop of Rome, the contentes of whose sermon wholy to expresse, were here to long & tedious. So much as may suffice for our purpose, I thought should remayne to the posteritie, beginnyng at his Theame, whiche then he toke in hand to entreate vpon, written in the 13. chap. to the Hebrues, as followeth.

[Back to Top]

Marginalia1538.
A sermon of Bish Longland before the kyng. an. 1538. THe wordes of the Apostle are these: Habemus altare de quo edere non habent potestatem qui tabernaculo de seruiunt. Quorum enim animalium infertur sanguis pro peccato in sancta per pontificem: horum corpora cremantur extra castra. Propter quod, & Iesus extra portam passus est. Exeamus igitur ad eum extra castra, improperium eius portantes.

[Back to Top]

MarginaliaThe Theam. These are the wordes of the Apostle. Many thynges conteyned in few wordes, and the English therof is this: We haue an aulter: we haue an aulter (sayth the Apostle) an alter, and a sacrifice vpon this aulter. And they that serueth the Tabernacle, may not eate of this aulter, may not eate of the Sacrifice that is offered vpon this aulter. MarginaliaHebr. 13. For the Apostle here (Per metonymiam) doth put the aulter for that that is sacrificed vpon the aulter. The bloud of those beastes that were slayne for the sacrifice, was brought into the holy secret high place of the temple where þ^e Arke was, betwene the high aulter (as ye will say) and the veyle by the byshop, and there offred vp for the sinne of the people. The bodies of the beastes that were burned without the pauilions or tents for the which, Propter quod, for which what? for the fulfillyng of which mystery. Also to verifie and fulfill the figure, and that the thing figured, might be correspondent to the figure. Iesus suffered without the gate, to sanctifie the people by hys bloud. Let vs go out therfore and suffer with Christ bearyng hys opprobries and rebukes. These be the wordes of the Apostle now taken.

[Back to Top]

I will by the helpe of our lord God, declare these words in order, euen as they do stande. Here is an aulter, here is a Sacrifice, here is a Byshop which dyd offer thys Sacrifice, here is a Tabernacle, a seruing of the Tabernacle, the bloud of the sacrifice which was offered by the Byshop for the sinnes of the people, in the most holy place of the temple, and the bodies of the beastes (whose bloud was offered) were burned without the tentes. And this was done the x. day of the iij. moneh. Ye heare now the wordes of the Apostle. Wherin appeareth the manifest figure of the Passion of our sauiour Iesus Christ, which we this day do honour.

[Back to Top]

In these wordes the Apostle toucheth the figure of the the law. And bringeth it to a spirituall vnderstanding. For it was commaunded in the law, in the booke of Numbers, MarginaliaNum. 19. that the x. day of the vij. month, in the feast that was called the feast of the propitiation, of mercy, of remission, or the feast of purgation, when the people were purged. At which time, they should take a calfe and a kydde and slay them: MarginaliaHeb. 11. Whose bloud the only Bishop should bring, In sancta sanctorum, into the most holy, solemne, and secret place of the temple: wherin the Bishop neuer came, vnles hee brought with him bloude, to offer in Sacrifice. Quia omnia ferè in sanguine secundum legem mundabantur, & sine sanguinis effusione non fit remissio, sayth þ^e Apostle. Almost all thinges after the law, or in the law, were cleansed in bloud, and by bloud: and without the effusion of bloud, was no remission. And in that place of the temple called Sancta sanctorum, the Byshop prayed and offred for the people. The flesh and corps of the sacrifice was burned without the tentes, without their pauilions. And it was not lawfull to any that did serue the tabernacle, to eate of the flesh of that sacrifice.

[Back to Top]

Here is a manifest figure (as I sayd) of the Passion of our Sauiour Christ. The alter that was consecrate and halowed in this solemnitie of the bloud of the eternall Testament, was that holy crosse that Christ suffered on. Which as on this day, he did consecrate, hallow, dignifie and dedicate, and did adourne and decke the same with the members of hys most precious body, more gloriously then if it had ben embrodered and insert with precious stones. For as golde which is the most precious metall, is made more precious when it is set with precious stones, and is dignified therewith, whether it be aulter, Image, crowne, ringe or owch: so was this aulter the holy Crosse, beautified, dignified, adourned and made precious with the members of that most precious stone Christ, which is as Peter sayth: Lapis viuus, ab hominibus reprobatus, a deo electus: probatus, angularis & præciosus. Marginalia1. Pet. 2.
The stone Christ. This Christ is (he sayth) the liuely stone, which men did reproue, which God did elect for the approued stone, for a corner stone, for the chiefe stone in the building of hys church, for the stone that ioyneth þ^e walles of the Church together, for the stone whereupon the fayth of Christ and his Church is builded. A precious stone, a stone of price, a stone of high value, farre passing in the estimation of a good Christen man, all other precious stones in the world. This precious stone Christ, with the members of hys most precious body, did decke, adourne and made precious this aulter the Crosse, when hys body was by the Iewes, with violency, extremely strayned vppon the same, that all hys bones (as testifieth þ^e Prophet) mought be numbred. MarginaliaPsal. 21.
Christ the sacrifice of the world. Vpon this aulter was the great Sacrifice of the world offred, Christ himselfe. He was the Sacrifice, and he was the Priest. He offred vp himselfe to God his father, for the sinne of man. Obtulit semetipsum immaculatum deo, vt sanctificaret inquinatos, MarginaliaHeb. 9. sayth the Apostle. He offered himselfe a pure, cleane, immaculate hoste to God, to redeeme the world, to sanctifie sinners, to iustifie man.

[Back to Top]

This Christ the Byshop of good thinges to come (as the Apostle witnesseth) MarginaliaHeb. 9. entred once into the place called Sancta sanctorum, not onely of the temple, but in Sancta sāctorum, into that holy place of places, into heauen. He entred wyth sacrificed bloud lyke a Byshop. Not wyth the bloud of goates or calues, not with the bloud of rammes or bulles: but with his owne most precious bloud. MarginaliaHeb. 9.
Leuit. 16. For if the bloud of goates and bulles, and the ashes of þ^e burned calfe sprinkled abroad, were sufficient to the making cleane of the fleshe: how much more then, the bloud of Christ (who by the holy Ghost, did offer vp himselfe to God, a most pure, most cleane, and immaculate sacrifice) is able to purge, clēse and make fayre our consciences from the workes of death, and to liue in the lyuing God?

[Back to Top]

This is our great Byshop, as the Apostle sayth: Habemus pontificem magnum qui penetrauit cœlos, Iesum filiū dei. MarginaliaHeb. 4.
Our great, high, and vniuersall Byshop is onely Christ. We haue a great byshop, which did penitrate þ^e heauēs, whose name is Iesus the sonne of God. This is our great Byshop, our high Byshop, our vniuersall Byshop. This is the head Byshop of all Bishops and of the world, named of God (as the Apostle sayth) to be our great Byshop, MarginaliaHeb. 5. properly called Summus pontifex, the highest Byshop, the Byshop of Bishops. For this is he onely that is Summus, maximus & vniuersalis pontifex.

[Back to Top]

MarginaliaThe pride of the pope. The byshop of Rome therfore ought herein to be abashed, ashamed, and to abhorre his owne pride. MarginaliaThe Pope blasphemeth God. For in thys he outragiously doth offend God and blasphemeth hym, in that he presumeth to take thys high name from our byshop Christ: In that, he taketh away (as much as lyeth in hym) the glory of God, the maiestie apperteinyng vnto Christ: In that he taketh vpon him these names only appropriate vnto Christ, Sūmus pontifex, maximus pontifex, vniuersalis pontifex: the highest Byshop, the greatest Byshop, the vniuersall Byshop, the Byshop of all the worlde. I much maruaile how he dare be so bold to vsurpe & take these great names vpō hym. MarginaliaNo greater blasphemie then in the Pope. Greater blasphemy can not be, then to take from God, that that naturally belongeth vnto hym: then to take from God, hys glory and honour: then to vendicate and take vpon hym such high names, as beseemeth no Christen man to vsurpe. God said by his prophet: Nō dabo gloriā meā alteri: MarginaliaEzech. 42. I wil not geue my glory away to any other, to any creature. He doth reserue þ^t glory, that laude & honour that belōgeth onely vnto hym, vnto himself: no man to attempt so farre, no mā to take so much vpē him.

[Back to Top]

MarginaliaPeter neuer tooke vpon hym at Rome as the Pope doth. Peter, Peter , thou waste once Bishop of Rome, and the first Byshop of Rome: Diddest thou euer take this name vpon thee, Summus, Maximus, Vniuersalis? No, no, no. And why? For the holy ghost was in thee. Thou wouldest take no more vpon thee then God gaue thee. Thou wast not desirous of worldly fame and glory. All that thou soughtest for, was for the glory of God: as all that will read thy sermons, thy Epistles, & thy lyfe, shall soone perceaue. Looke a great number of Bishops that next folowed Peter in the same See: what were they? holy Martyrs, holy lyuers, which neuer attempted thus farre. Let the bishop of Rome therfore knowledge his great fault, his high folie, his vnlawfull vsurpation, his vnpriestly presumption, & humble himselfe to Christ and God his great byshop. Woulde God he would reforme himself. Would god he would keepe himself within the compasse of his authoritie, & no more to encroch vpon other mens iurisdictions, but diligently keepe &

[Back to Top]