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1169 [1145]

K. Henry 8. A sermon agaynst transubstantiation translated out of Saxon.
The same in English.
A Sermon on Easter day.

MarginaliaA Sermon in old Saxon tongue translated into Englishe.MEn beloued, it hathe bene often sayde vnto you about our Sauiours resurrection, howe hee on this present day, after his suffering mightely rose from deathe. Nowe will we open vnto you through Gods grace, of the holye housell, which ye should nowe go vnto, and instruct your vnderstanding about this mysterie, both after the olde couenaunt, and also after the newe, that no doubting maye trouble you about thys liuely foode. The almightye God had Moses hys Captaine in the Lande of Egypt, to commaund the people of Israel to take to euery family a lamb of one yeare old, the night they departed out of the countrey to the land of promise, and to offer that lambe to God, and after to cutte it, and to make the ☩Marginalia☩ This signe of the crosse is beside the text, but here we must beare with the ignorance of that time. signe of the Crosse wyth the lambes bloud vpon the side postes, and the vpper post of theyr doore, and afterwarde to eate the Lambes flesh rosted, and vnleauened bread with wilde lettisse, God sayeth vnto Moyses: MarginaliaExod. 12.Eate of the Lambe nothing rawe, nor sodden in water, but rosted at the fire. Eate the heade, the feete, and the inwardes, and lette nothing of it be left vntill the morning, if anye thing therof remaine that shall you burne with fire Eate it in this wise: Girde your loynes, and doe your shoes on your feete, haue you staues in your handes, and eate it in haste. The tyme is the Lordes Passeouer. And there was slaine on that night in euery house through oute Pharaos raigne, the firste borne childe: and Gods people of Israel were deliuered frō that sodaine death through the Lambes offering & his bloudes marking. Then sayde God vnto Moyses. Keepe this day in your remembraunce, and holde it a great feaste in your kindredes wyth a perpetuall obseruation, and eate vnleauened breade alwayes seuen dayes at this feaste. After thys deede, MarginaliaExod. 14.God led the people of Israel ouer the red Sea with drye foote, & drowned therein Pharao and all his army together with theyr possessions, and fedde afterward the Israelites 40. yeares, wyth heauenly foode, MarginaliaExod. 17.and gaue them water out of the hard rocke, vntill they came to the promised land. Parte of thys storie we haue treated off in an other place, partly we shall nowe declare, to witte, that which belongeth to the holye housell, Christen men may not nowe keepe that olde lawe bodely, but it behooueth them to knowe what it Ghostlye signifieth. That innocent Lambe which the old Israelites did then kil, had signification after Ghostly vnderstāding, of Christes suffering, who vnguiltie shedde his holy bloud for our redemption. Hereof sing Gods seruaunts at euery *Marginalia* This Masse was not thē lyke to these our Popishe & blasphemous masses now. Masse, Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. That is in our speach: Thou Lambe of God that takest away the sinnes of the world, haue mercy vppon vs. Those Israelites were deliuered from that sodaine deathe, and from Pharaos bondage by the lambes offeryng, which signified Christes suffering: through which we be deliuered from euerlasting death, and from the deuils cruell raigne, if we rightly beleue in the true redemer of the whole world Christ the Sauiour. That Lambe was offered in the euening: and our sauiour suffered in the sixt age of this world. This age of this corruptible worlde is reckened vnto the euening. They marked with the lambes bloud vppon the doores, and the vpper postes *Marginalia* This Hebrewe letter [Thau] was not marked for the signe of the crosse but for the word (Torat) that is, the law of God the first letter for the whole world. Thau, that is the signe of the crosse, and wer so defended from the Angels that killed the Egyptians first borne childe. MarginaliaEzech. 9.And wee *Marginalia* That onely crosse is it wherewith we are marked, that S. Paule speaketh of Ephe. 2. ought to marke our foreheades and our bodies with the token of Christes roode, þt we may be also deliuered from destruction, when we shalbe marked both on forehead, and also in heart with the bloude of oure Lordes suffering.MarginaliaChrist reconciled both to God in one body thorough his crosse. Those Israelites dyd eate the lambes flesh at their Easter time, when they were deliuered, and we receiue ghostly Christes body, & drynke his bloude, when we receiue with true beliefe, that holye housell. That time they kept with them at Easter 7. daies with great worship, when they were deliuered from Pharao, and went from that land. So also Christen men keepe Christes resurrection at the time of Easter these 7. dayes, because throughe his suffering and rising we be deliuered, and be made cleane by going to this holy housel, as Christ sayeth in hys Gospell: MarginaliaIohn. 6.Verely, verely I say vnto you ye haue no life in you excepte yee eate my flesh and drinke my bloud. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloude, abideth in mee, and I in him, and hath that euerlasting life, and I shall raise him vp in the last day. I am the liuely bread that came downe from heauen: not so as your forefathers did eate that heauenly breade in the wildernesse, and afterwarde died. Hee that eateth this breade, liueth for euer. MarginaliaMath. 26.Hee blessed breade before his suffering, and deuided it to hys Disciples, thus sayinge: MarginaliaLuke. 22.Eate of thys breade, it is my body, and doe this in my remembraunce. Also hee blessed wyne in one cuppe, and sayd: MarginaliaMarrke. 14.Drinke ye all of this: This is my bloude that is shedde for manye, in forgeuenesse of sinnes.Marginalia1. Cor. 11. The Apostles did as Christ commanded, that is, they blessed breade and wine to housel againe afterward in his remembrance.Euen so also their successours and all priestes by Christes commaundement do blesse bread and wine to housel in his name wyth the Apostolicke blessing. Nowe menne haue often searched and doe yet often *Marginalia* Note how Christes words were taken by signification before Berēgarius time. search, how bread that is gathered of corne, and through fires heate baked, may be turned to Christes body: or how wine that is pressed out of many grapes is turned through one blessing, to þe Lords bloud. Now say we to such men, that some thinges be spoken of Christ by *Marginalia* A necessary distinction. signification, and some be thinges certayne. True this is and certayne that Christ was borne of a mayd, and suffered death of his owne accord, and was buryed, and on this day rose from death. He is sayde to be bread by signification, and a Lambe, & a Lyon, & a mountayne. He is called bread, because he is our life and angels lyfe. He is sayd to be a Lambe for his innocencie: a Lyon for strength wherewith he ouercame the strong deuil. But Christ is not so notwithstanding after true nature, neither bread, nor a lambe, nor a lyon. Why is then the holy house called Christes body, or his bloud, if it be not truely that it is called?MarginaliaWhy is the housell called christs body, when it is not so truely? Truely the bread and the wine which in the supper by the priest is hallowed, shewe one thing without to humaine vnderstanding, and an other thing within to beleuing mindes. Without they be seene bread and wine both in figure & in taste, & they be truely after theyr hallowing Christes body and his bloud through ghostly mistery. An heathen childe is christened, yet hee altereth not his shape without, though he be chaunged within. He is brought þe fontstone sinfull through Adams disobedience: howbeit he is washed frō all sinne within, though he hath not chāged his shape without. *Marginalia* The water in baptisme, and bread & wine in the Lordes supper compared. Euen so the holy font water that is called the welspring of life, is like in shape to other waters, and is subiect to corruption, but þe holy ghostes might commeth to the corruptible water through the priests blessing, and it may after wash the body and soule from al sin, through ghostly might..Behold now we see two things in this one creature: after true natur, þt water is corruptible moysture, and after ghostly mistery, hath wholsom vertue. So also if we behold the holy housell after bodily vnderstanding, then we see that it is a creature corruptible and mutable. If we knowledge therein ghostly might, thē vnderstand we that life is therein, and that it geueth immortalitie to thē that eate it with beliefe. Muche is betwixt the inuisible might of the holy housel, and the visible shape of proper nature. It is *Marginalia* No transubstantiation. naturally corruptible bread, and corruptible wine, & is by might of Gods word truely christes body and bloud, not so notwithstāding bodily, but ghostly. Much is betwixt the *Marginalia* Difference betwixt Christs naturall body, and the Sacrament thereof. body of Christ which he suffered in, and the body that is hallowed to housel. Marginalia* 1. Difference.The body truly that Christ suffered in, was borne of the flesh of Marie wt bloude and with bone, with skin and with sinewes, in humaine lims, with a reasonable soule liuing, and his ghostly body, which we call the housel,Marginalia* Not the body that suffered is in the housell. is gathered of many cornes, without bloud and bone, without limme, wtout soule, and therefore nothing is to be vnderstand therein bodely, but all is ghostly to be vnderstande. Whatsoeuer is in that housel, which geueth substaunce of life that is of the ghostly might, and inuisible doing. Therefore is that holy housell, called a mysterie, because there is one thing in it seene, and an other thing vnderstanded. That which is there *Marginalia* 2. Difference. seene, hath bodely shape: and that we do there vnderstande, hath ghostly might. Certainely Christes body whyche suffered death and rose from death neuer *Marginalia* 3. Difference. dieth hencefoorth, but is eternal and vnpassible. That housel is temporal, not eternal, *Marginalia* 4. Difference. corruptible and dealed into sudrye partes chewed betweene teeth and sent into the belly:MarginaliaMath. 15. howbeit neuerthelesse after ghostly myght it is all in euery parte. Many receiue that holy body: and yet notwithstandinge, it is so all in euery part after ghostly mysterie. Though some chewe the lesse, yet is there no more might notwithstāding in the more parte, then in the lesse, because it is whole in all men after the inuisible might. This mysterie is a *Marginalia* 5. Difference. pledge and a figure: Christes body is truth it selfe. Thys pledge we doe kepe mystically, vntill that we be come to the truth it selfe, and then is this pledge ended. Truely it is so as we before haue sayde, Christes body and his bloude: not bodily, but ghostly  

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Foxe quietly omits here two miraculous stories of the healing power which appeared in the original and (with caustic commentary) in the Parker/Joscelyn version (cf. A testimonie of antiquitie [London, 1566?], STC 159.5, fos. 39r and 40r).

. But now here the Apostles words about this misterie. Paul the Apostle speaketh of the old Israelites thus writing in his epistle to faithful men: Marginalia1. Cor. 10.Al our forefathers were baptised in the cloud and in the sea, and all they did eate the same ghostly meat, & dranke the same ghostly drinke. They drank truly of the stone that followed them, and that stone was Christ Neither was that *Marginalia* Note this exposition is now a dayes thought newe. stone then from which the water ran bodily Christe, but it signified Christe, that calleth thus to all beleuing and faithful men: MarginaliaIohn. 4.Who soeuer thirsteth, let hym come to mee and drinke, and from his bowelles shall flowe liuely water. This he sayd of the holy Ghost, whych they receiued who beleeued on him. The Apostle Paul sayth: that the Israelites did eate the same ghostly meat, & dranke the same ghostly drinke,

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