Heinrich Bullinger

“ Agayne the godly and lerned preistes could shew what was ment by the rites and ceremonies of the lawe / and that by the word of godd: but ye can do neyther of theis: for ye haue enuented theis toyes in your own braynes: signes ye do call them but ye do not know what thinges they do signifie. And therfor as in rites your Masse doth differ from christes supper / so whẽ ye saye your pleasure of your rites / ye ar not to be beleaued: for faith hath no place where goddes worde doth not shew it selfe. I saide that massemungers in their masse do committ Idolatrie. ”

“ If so be that we will do honour and worshippe vnto men / we are accustomed principallie to obserue with what thing they are moste delighted / which thinge after that we haue perceiued / we do it / and then do we thinke to haue bestowed our labour wel when we haue done it: God is delighted onlie with that seruice which he hathe set forthe in his worde / wherfore he that will do godd acceptable seruice / muste do that which his worde teachethe / and in suche wise as it || techethe / els as the lorde by the Prophet Esaie sayeth / he dothe detest and abhorre their sacrifices. ”

“ But seinge that in verye dede there is no suche true god at all / as they do Imagine / the god then whom they serue is but a newe god / fantasied and inuented in their owne myndes: wherfore by righte their god maye and must be called / an horribe Idoll / their masse likewise with all popishe seruice done vnto him / abhominable Idolatrie / And they which do such popishe seruice vile Idolatrors. ”

“ And so do they cõmitt doble synne. Furst they synne willingly. Thẽ they do prefer earthly thinges before heauẽly / outward thinges before inward / the bodie before the soule / their Goodes before God: Which is not done but of such / as ar the very childrẽ of the world. Of affectiõ verily / though they do saye nay / they do that which they do / but of that inordinate affection which they do beare to their riches. Wherfor this is no iust excuse which they make. For as well might the Corinthians / euen by the very same reason / haue sayde to Paule. ”

“ Nowe let the papistes shewe that ther masse is a worshippe of god / taughte in his worde / whiche we saie plainlie that they can not do / let them do it therfore if they can / and when they haue do yt / then will we saye with thẽ: But vntill they haue done it / their masse shall remaine a filthie and stinkinge abhomination before the lorde / and suche a thinge as the lorde dothe deteste and abhorre. ”

“ The doinges of men be as it were a tongue: The tongue dothe confes the thinge that lyeth in the harte by wordes: so doinges do giue a confession therof in dede: As he therfore which denyethe with tongue is a denyer of Christe / so he that in owtwarde worckes and doinges denyeth Christ / is iustlie called a deniar. Of whom Christe doth saye. ”

“ Esaye the prophet / when he did se the lorde sitting vppon his seate of glorie / with his Angels about hym most purely publishing his prayse / though he semith not to thincke hymself greatlye gyltie of ony notable cryme or fault / yet cryeth he out / O wo is me / &c. I dwell amonge a poeple that hath vncleane lyppes. This man of godd truly did thincke / that he hadd gotton no small corruption and infection / bicause he hadd lyued long with an vncleane poeple.
The histories of the heathen do teache vs the same thinge. ”

“ Godd wold haue the poeple in the vse of the holy Supper to ascend vppwarde into heauen in mynde and affectiõ / that they might ther cleaue fast vnto christe. And therfor the true ministers of the churche do labour to the vttermost of their poure / thus to lifte vpp the poeples mynde into heauen / that they shuld not seeke christe in the worlde / that they shuld not thinck ony fleshly or earthely thinge of hym: Theise men clean contrarie in the order of their Sacrament and Masse do miserably detayn the poeple in the earthe / bynding and holding them to the visible signes. ”

“ He addith forthwithe wordes which do make for the contempt of thos thinges / for which theis men do thincke that in religion silence maye be kept and dissimulacion vsed / sainge. What shall it profite a mã / yf he wynne al the worlde / and lose his owne sowle. Therwith also doth he adde through what thinge we do lose our soules / that is through Shame. For he saithe. Whosoeuer therfor shalbe ashamed of me and of my wordes / in this aduowtrus and synefull generacion / of hym also shall the sonne of man be ashamed when he commithe in the glorie of his father withe the holy Angelles. ”

“ Go and stande and speake in the temple to the poeple all the wordes of this lyfe. Therfor all thos thinges which are cõtayned in the holy gospell / and holy scriptures / must be confessed of them which are faithfull indeede: for all thos are the wordds of Godd / and the wordds of saluacion / And all thos do sauer of Christe and do bringe vnto Christe. Ioan. 1. In whom only it hath pleased God the father that all fulnes shuld dwell / in whõ (as Paule doth witnes) Colos. 1. 2. we are made perfite so that we want nothinge / as agayn the lorde himself doth testifie: Ioã. ”

“ Truly they wold so behaue themselues / that euery man might vnderstond / that ther is a grete difference betwene the Masse and the supper of the lorde / and that they do embrace the Masse / but the supper of the lord they do all wayes hate and reiect. With such a kinde of mẽ yet do theis men communicate / which wold thincke it a hurtefull and damnable thinge / if they shuld admitte vnto their diuine seruice / the cõpanions of the religion of the gospell with their faithe. ”

“ But faith which stickith still in the harte is not brought forth before men. Yea it is not to be called a confession / when faith doth lurcke in the hart. For Confession doth properly bringe forth that which dyd lye hidden wythin. The Apostle therfor taking from vs all doubt in this controuersie. Rom. 10. The worde (sayth he) is nyghe the / euen in thy mouthe / and in thy harte. This same is the worde of faythe / whiche we preache. For if thow knowledg with thy mouth that Iesus is the lorde / and beleaue in thy harte that God raysed hym vpp from deathe thow shalt be safe. ”

“ It is nedefull to cõdiscende vnto the weake: for there are many which are not persuaded that the masse is naught / and therfor are neyther ready to forsake their countrie / nor to dye in the quarell / whiche men yf they shulde perceyue that we did not come to masse / they wold not gyue then any ear or credite vnto vs in the other matiers and chief pointes of religion: wherfore we must gyue and yealde somwhat vnto their infirmitie / as Paule doth teache the Romayns. ”

“ In answer to these men: furst I saye / that this booke entitle Baruch is none of the Canonicall scriptures: And therfor no man is bownd to the doctrine of it. But admit the booke wer of sufficient auctoritie / Then theise men must vnderstonde / that the prophet doth not gyue the Iues leaue to comme vnto the temples of Idols / that ther they might be present at vngodly Idolatrie / bowe ther knee / and so make vpp the matier / with sayinge in their hart to the true and lyuyng godd / O Lord / it is thow that oughtest only to be worshipped. ”

“ Man maye be deceyued / but no man cã deceyue Godd. And also we are commaunde to render vnto God his glorie franckly before men. But I do not see how thow haste glorified Godd before men / when thow dost so temper thy confession that it sumwhat sauerith indeede of the truithe of the gospell / and yet they which be superstitius shall not see their supersticions vtterly reiecrted / nor their errors condemned by thy confession / but maye iudge that thou dost yet holde on their syde. ”

“ The meates offered to Idolls of their owne nature were pure / yet when the corinthians do eate them with the Idolatrors in ther Idolatrie / then they become (saith paule) partakers of the table of deuilles: when ye then be present at a Masse / which is an Impure thinge / and do ther as the papistes do / mutch more iustly is it sayed of you / that then ye ar partakers of thos deulishe dragges which ar in the Masse. Again our men do obiecte and saye: It is not we that haue corrupted theis thinges / we wolde be gladde to haue them pure and incorrupte: ther impuritie must not be adscribed vnto vs. ”

“ Eusebius entreating of such things as Origen did / makith mencion that Origen did mightily oppugn a new heresie which did springe vpp in his tyme / it was called the heresie of Helchesaites / and at lẽghth he did happily extinguishe it. He shewith that they amõg many other things did holde this heresie / that if a man did denie in persequution he synned not at all / forbicause that he which is stable and confirmed in his harte / although he doth denie with the mouthe for necessitie / yet as touching the harte he abidith in faithe. ”

“ If the seruice and worshippe of God taughte in his worde maie be done with out faithe / and therfore displease god / mutch moore these worshippinges which haue not their ordinaunce in godds worde ar done withe out 18 Cii faithe / therfor do displease godd: for faithe hathe no place at all where goddes worde is not: now these inuentions of men be they neuer so glorious to the eye / they be not ordeyned in godds worde / they can not therfor be doone in faythe / they can not please god / uuhat so euer is not of faith is synne. ”

“ It is not we that withdrawe ourselues vnto damnaciõ / but we partayne vnto fayth / to the wynning of the soule. This truly is a sownde and wholsome doctrine / to cleaue faste vnto this / is to pleas Godd / and to glorifie hym / adde also to promote the saluacion of the brethern. The deathe ãd persequution of the sainctes doth glorifie Godd. Therfor whils theise men do replie / what shuld come to the encrease of glorie of Godd / or what commoditie shuld comme to Christe of thos my labors and daungers which I shuld sustayne for religion? ”

“ Euell wordes do corrupt goode maniers. Ther Paul teachith that the true doctrine of the Resurrection was greatly hindered amonge the Corinthians / which wer but newly turned vnto christe / bicause they dyd to lightly gyue eare to the vngodly argumentes and reasons of philosophers / or rather of heretiques / which did contend and stryue agaynst that doctrine. No man can sufficiently consider / how the bewitching of wicked tales / and talkes / do shake and hurt the tender conscience ãd weake faithe / of the foeble ãd weake brother. ”

“ Neither wer it necessarie for euery one to answer to all darcke or hard thĩges / which thing they which are well exercised can not do / it sufficith to confesse thos thinges which be opẽ and playne. Ther is also a coloured denyinge 72 whẽ we playyng the foxes with foxes do cõfes verely sumwhat of our religion / yetwe do so enwrapp it with such darcke wordes and doutfull sentẽces / that vnto thẽ which are most subtill and conning in quidities / it shall not playnly appeare what we do thincke. But the cõfessiõ shuld be simple / and playne. Glorie is to be gyuẽ to Godd. ”

“ He sayeth not / which thinke well in their mynde / which do beleue well / but he sheweth the signe of owtwarde worshippinge / that is to bowe the knee / and kisse. which doth teache that ther is required vnto the true worshipp of godd / not a pure mynde only / but the owtwarde sygne / token / and doinge of worshippe / and seruice. The lorde our god is not content with halfes / he will not part stakes with the dyuel. Esay. 45. All knees (saith the lorde) shall bowe vnto me. God will not parte so / that he shall haue the mynde / and the dyuell the bodye. ”

“ For being ignorant of Gods righteousnes / and goinge about to establishe their own righteousnes / they were not obediẽt to the righteousnes of God. In which place he settith theise two righteousnesses / the one / against the other / the righteousnes of faith / against the righteousnes of worckes / so that the one excludith the other. The same thinge he doth where speaking of Iustificatiõ he saith. Rom. 11. If it be of grace / thẽ is it not of worcks / if it be of worcks / thẽ is it no more grace. ”

“ And as for any other thinge ther can none be gathered out of thos wordes / onles it be this that he promised to do that which Naaman required: goo thy wayes (saithe he) I will do as thow desirest / I shall praye for the. The prophet doth not reiect hym / if he shuld fall into this euell. As we do not vtterly reiect nor shutt theise mẽ frõ grace which thus do fall: Yeat must we sharply reproue their doinges that they may acknowledge their fault and synne / and vnfaynedly lament and repẽt the same. And we ought also hartily to praye that they may be raysed vpp agayn. ”

“ It shalbe better to kepe faithe in the harte for the profitinge of many / then rashly to poore it furthe to the hurte of an infinite number. For so longe as we are safe / the miserable captiues shall receyue gret and many benefites: Yea and also we priuely may promote the truithe in the princes courte. But by this same vnceasonable confession / confusion of all thinges shall euen at ons ouerwhelme all theise thinges. ”