Church of God by as though Christes Church shoulde bee alwayes knowne and disceened by outwarde offices and functions I haue shewed before at large that the true church of God might be so hiddeÌ„ the tâ—ue religion so suppressed that it might in mans iudgement seeme that god had no church at al or else a very smal Church â–ª yet neuerthelesse God hath from time to time sent some Moses some Elias some Ieremie some Baruch or some one or other to represent his true Church to publish his true law gospel to waken the people from sinne that the world might thereby be without al excuse as I haue named some whiche liued in the time of ignorance which diligently preached the Gospell and reprooued the idolatries of your Church There was moreouer certaine godly preachers in Sueuia in the yeare of our Lorde 1240. which preached against the Pope affirming his authoritie to be vsurped and the doctrine of the Churche of Rome to bee corrupt Arnoldus de noua villa a Spanyarde complained that Sathan had seduced the world by your Church of Rome from the truth of Iesu Christ and said That there ought to be no sacrifice for the deade Which your Churche earnestly mainteineth At Brugis were 36. citezens of Moguntia burned for the doctrine of Christ affirming the Pope to be Antichrist Militius a Bohemian a famous and godlie Preacher inueighed against the Churche of Rome saying That Antichrist was alreadie placed Marcilius Patauius Gulielmus Ockam Iohannes Gandauensis Luitpoldus Andraeas Laudensis Aligerius Gregorius Arminensis Andraeas de castro Buridianus mainteined all the Gospell against the Popes proceedinges Dante 's an Italian writer in his booke called The canticle of Purgatory declareth the Pope to be the whore of Babylon Tauterus a Preacher of Germanie preached against mans merites and Inuocation to Saintes Franciscus Petrarcha about the same time did write an Italian meeter affirming Rome to be the whore of Babylon the schoole and mother of errour the temple of heresie the nest of al trecherie Iohannes de Rupe scissa Anno 1340. did write that Rome was Babilon and the Pope the minister of Antichriste Conradus Hager taught twentie foure yeares togeather the masse to be no sacrifice that monie taken for Masses was verie robberie and sacriledge Iohannes Mountziger Rector of the vniuersitie of Vlme disputed in open schooles against your Popishe doctrine And at the same time Nilus Byshoppe of Thessalonica preached and also wrote a booke against the Pope and the Churche of Rome whiche booke is now extant in English Truely there passed no age since Christ as it appeareth by the histories in which Christes Gospell hath not bene preached by some one or other either priuately in the times of persecution or publikely in the peaceable times and tranquilitie of the Churche when propheciyng of whiche Paule speaketh and other godlie exercises hath beene vsed But howe the true Churche may be knowen it is manifest surely euen in the Scriptures of God in whiche we learne Christ in which we may learn the church by which we may know the difference betwixte the true and false Church S. Chris saith At this time all Christians ought to flee vnto the Scriptures Because since heresies inuaded the Churche there can be no triall of true Christianitie neither can Christians which be willing to know the true faith haue anie refuge sauing the Scriptures Againe he saieth he that coueteth to knowe which is the true Church howe shall he know it but onely by the Scriptures The Church of God I meane euerie faithfull congregation in the time of peace and quietnesse doth vse preaching Christian and profitable exercises and discipline as Gods name be thanked wee haue at this day especially in all reformed Churches and we haue had since Christes ascention your Churche hath alwaies persecuted the true Churche by fire and faggotte and other exquisite tormentes If I may be so bolde I woulde aske one question of you Whether the true Churche of God did euer from the beginning persecute or that it hath bene persecuted You will I thinke confesse with me that Caine a figure of the malignant church did murder his innocent brother Abell an image of the true Churche that Ismael persecuted Isaac Esawe Iacob Saul Dauid the false Prophetes the true Prophetes the vngodlie Pharisies Christe the Messias the false Apostles the true Apostles the cruell tyrantes in the primitiue Churche the faythfull Christians and to conclude your Romishe Churche the true Churche and professoures of the Gospell And this thing was forewarned by our saâ—iour Christe That in the worlde his churche shoulde haue tribulation that the worlde shoulde reioyce and his children shoulde be sadde that if the false Churche had persecuted the Lorde it shoulde in like manner persecute the seruaunt and that they whiche shoulde persecute the Churche of God shoulde perswade themselues that they do God good seruice Saint Augustine speaking of the persecution in the primitiue Church saith They were bounde they were imprisoned they were beaten they were â—acked they were burned and yet they multiplied And Iustinus Martyr sheweth what he thought of those whiche suffered being yet an Ethnike When saith he I herd that the Christians were accused and reuiled of all men and yet sawe them goe to their death and to all manner terrible and cruell torments quietly and without feare I thought with my selfe it was not possible that suche men shoulde liue in anie wickednesse But to returne to your Churche we may say truely that you neuer had nor vsed in your Churche rightly according to the worde of GOD either preaching prophesiyng or discipline as for prophesying vsed by the Apostles and all other godlie reformed Churches your Church of Rome neuer vsed If you meane by the spirite of prophesiyng which you chalenge as of right to your church the forewarning of thinges to come which office was ceased in the Church then take heede least by your owne confession you bewraye your church to bee that Sinagogue of Sathan of which our Sauiour Christ geueth vs warning that with signes and wonders if it were possible shoulde deceiue the electe You preached very seldom not in time and out of time as Paule admonished his scholler Timothie and when you preached you preached not Christ and his death to bee the onely raunsome for our sinnes but your owne workes and meritorious deedes not Christes Gospell but your Legend of lyes and your vaine and supersticious traditions for whiche you had no warrant in Gods booke The law of God and his true worship was either altogeather abolished or else most wickedly corrupted before the times of king Iosias Helias did also renue the same beeing before his time decaied â—t seemeth in like maÌ„ner that the people of â—e Iewes were fallen from God when â—s they said vnto Ieremy The words that â—ou hast spoken vnto vs in the name of
sense and â—ere not able to expound and interpret his â—wn meaning Saint Paule saith That we must to not heare an Angel if he bring aâ—ie thing contrarie to the Gospell Augustine expounding these woordes saith Whether it be of Christ or of his church or of anie thing else whatsoeuer pertaining either to our life or to our faith I wil not onely say if I my self but if an Angel from heauen shal teach vs otherwise then we haue receiued in the bookes of the Lawe and the Gospel holde him accursed An other godly father saith As what Gold soeuer is without the Temple is not sanctified so euery sense and interpretation which is without the holy scripture although vnto some it seeme woonderfull yet it is not holy because it is not conteined in the sense of the Scripture Call to remembraunce I praye you how vntruely and cleane contrarie to the true meaning of the holy Ghost your Church hath interpreted the Scriptures As vpon these woordes Fiet vnum ouile et vnus Pastor your Church giueth this exposition to these woordes There shal be one folde and one shepheard we may not vnderstand it of Christ but of some other minister that ruleth in his roome One saide vnto Pope Leo in the CouÌ„cel holden at Lateran Behold the Lyon of the tribe of Iuda is come the roote of Dauid c. O most blessed Leo wee haue wayted for thee to be our Sauiour So it is likewise sayde The Pope beeing the light is come into the worlde and men haue loued the darkenesse more then light euery man that dooth euell hateth the light that is to say the Pope and commeth not to the light These woordes are to be vnderstoode of our sauiour Christ who in deede is the Lyon of the tribe of Iuda and commeth of the roote of Dauid who is the lighte that commeth into the world and see how blasphemouslie your Church doth wrest these woordes and applieth them vnto the Pope Againe Pope Sextus affirmeth That hee can neuer be forgiuen whosoeuer he be which accuseth the Pope And thus he reasoneth He that sinneth against the holy Ghost that is to say Against the Pope shall neuer be forgiuen neither in this world nor in the world to come These woordes of the Scripture are thus to bee taken That they shall neuer haue forgiuenes at Gods hands which sinne against the holy Ghost And the Pope wil haue them to be meant of him I coulde rehearse infinite places to this same effecte and purpose But let the indifferent reader iudge by these fewe places howe vntruely the church of Rome dooth interpret the holy scriptures But let them beware betimes of the heauy iudgmeÌ„ts of god Wo be vnto theÌ„ that cal good euel euel good darkenes light light darknes sower sweete and sweete sower What is this but to diminish the authoritie of the heauenly woorde of God God dooth sharpely threaten That if anie man shal adde vnto these thinges GOD shall adde vnto him those plagues that are writteÌ„ in this booke if anie man shal diminish of the wordes of the booke of this prophesie God shall take away his parte out of the booke of life out of the holy citie and from those things which are written in this boke God grauÌ„t you true repentaÌ„ce that you may imbrace Christ his worde and escape these threatnings of God. Papist 17 MOreouer let anie man prooue vnto me that the true only church of god may at anie time be voyd of a spirit of falsly interpret any senteÌ„ce of holy scripture or induce any errours among the people or approoue any vnprofitable or hurtful vsage amongst Christians or that she suffreth any daÌ„nable abuse in her religion without open reprehension thereof prooue any of these proofes And I recant Answeare 17 I Haue prooued before at large that the true Church of God is neuer without the comfort of gods spirit which spirit doeth not visibly and openly in anie forme or substance reueale and shewe him selfe but inwardly ingraffe in the hartes of the elect whether they be manie or fewe the doctrine of the Gospell doth increase true knoweledge in them doth worke true sanctificatioÌ„ holinesse and doth guide leade them in al good actions I haue proued also that gods true church doth not corrupt and falsly interpret the holy scriptures as your Church of Rome doth in wresting and wringing the sence of the scriptures in comparing it to A nose of waxe a shipmans hose or in calling it A dead and dumbe letter But the true sheepe doth gladly here the voice of the shephearde do acknowledge all thinges to be contained in the scripture necessary for mans saluation doe confesse no hardnesse or difficulty to be in the worde of God But that the holie Ghost doth sufficiently expounde himselfe and one place expresse another The true Church doth not teach the people anie errours anie vnwritten verities any inuentions of her owne braine or anie thing touching doctrine or life which shee findeth not written in the canonicall scriptures doth not approue anie vnprofitable vsages anie fond customes or suffer anie damnable abuses in religion without open reprehension dooth finde faulte and doth openlie inueigh against all thinges which be mixt with Gods true worshippe and seruice by the deuise of anie man whatsoeuer and will alowe nothing to be vsed amongst gods people but onely that which is warranted by the worde of god In this your treatise albeit you speake generallie yet you haue a special meaning But truly euen in that thing wherewith you charge vs you bee most giltie your selfe For if those be worthily called Abuses in religion which be matters of faith and vsed in the Church contrarie to the expresse worde of God so that Christ may be vmpeere lett al indifferent persons iudge whether your Church of Rome or we which professe the Gospell doe more abuse true religion and induce erours amongest the people We say that wee must pray only vnto God in the name of Christ and vnto none other your Church of Rome saith That wee must pray vnto the saints departed and vse them as meanes for vs vnto God. Neuerthelesse God saith Call vpon mee in the day of trouble I wil heare thee Dauid The Prophet saith When I was in trouble I called vpon the Lord and he heard me And againe he saith I will confesse my sinnes vnto the Lorde and so hee forgaue me the wickednesse of my sinne Christ saith Whatsoeuer you aske my Father in my name hee will giue it you Shewe me now by what aucthoritie of scripture you can disprooue this and prooue your inuocation of Saintes we say That it is god onely which forgiueth sinnes that for Christes sake whose blood doth purge vs froÌ„ al sinne You say that the Pope can forgiue sinne and giue pardon for many hundred yea thousand yeares and that he can doo
prison for that he woulde not take vpon him to be supreame heade of the Churche which Hildebrande poysoned sixe Popes was a coniurer and raised vp Diuelles and threwe the Sacrament into the fire Another saith that they were many that both priuatly and openly cursed Pope Hildebrande and said that with his hatred and ambition he troubled the worlde and that vnder the colour of Christ he wrought the feates of Antichrist This was he in whose time Sathan was let loose and when your Churche of Rome might truely be called the seate and harbour of Antichrist the man of sinne which setteth himselfe against God which sitteth in mens consciences is euen that whore which Saint Iohn speaketh of Which shoulde make the nations of the earth drunken with the cuppe of her fornication and hath imbrued her handes in the bloude of Gods Saintes Surely I muste needes say if that these Potenâ—ates had bene but a litle whitled and â—ot beastly drunke they woulde neuer haue bene so deceiued by Antichriste and receiued the marke of the beast What Lorde King or Emperour woulde haue kissed the Popes foote holden his stirâ—ope serued him at the table To coÌ„clude besides their wickednes in life as many of them being coniurers adulterets namelie Siluester the seconde whoe gaue him selfe bodie and soule to the Diuell that he might be Pope and Pope Ioane the woman Pope who traueled with Childe as shee was carried on foure mens shoulders about in procession their doctrine is most damnable and repugneth in all poyntes the Gospell of Christe As one saying of Agryppa speaking of the Pope and and Churche of Rome plainely sheweth They commaunde saith he the Angelles they haue power ouer the dead they vse violence against the Scriptures to haue the fulnesse of authoritie The Pope him selfe is become intollerable There was neuer Tyrant like vnto him in pompe and pride The Legates of the Byshoppe of Rome doe so riotte in their the Pope to be Antichrist as Irenaeus a godly father sheweth Antichrist saith he being a runnegate and a theefe yet hee will be woorshipped as a God And being but a bondseruant yet he will be proclaimed and published as a King. Another saith Antichrist shall faigne him selfe to bee holy that hee may deceiue men vnder the colour of holines yea he shall call him selfe God and shal cause him self to be worshipped and shall promise the kingdome of heauen An other saith Whereas he is a damned man and no spirit he pretendeth him selfe to bee a God and whatsoeuer he dooth no man may aske him Domine cur ita facis Sir why doo you so Enter now into your owne conscience examine these sayinges vprightly looke vppon them with a single eye and theÌ„ iudge you indifferently And I trust that you will recant according to your promise Papist 8 ITEM I aske what kinde and order of seruice or common prayer what way of ministring the Sacraments your Church had before papistrie as you cal it preuailed in the worlde shewe me one booke or coppie of communion or what else you list that was in english or lacked praying for the departed or inuocation of Saintes in heauen or that wanted oblation or sacrifice or that charged a number to receiue else the Prieste could not consecrate or say Masse receiuing alone or shewe anye note in a communion booke that people should take the sacrament for plaine breade or that they should giue no honour vnto it shewe this booke or anie Church or congregation that euer had aniâ—â—utenticall seruice but ours And I recant Answeare 8 I Shal not neede to stand long in reciting what kind of seruice was vsed before papistrie began verely euen the same which our Sauiour Christ set foorth which is recorded in the foure Euangelists and in the Epistles and writings of the Apostles from which the Apostles the congregations vnto whome they had preached the Gospell departed not one iotte And so the Apostle speaking of the institution of the Lordes Supper saith That thing which I haue receiued of the Lord the same haue I deliuered vnto you As though he should say euen he which ought onely to beare authoritie in the Church hath prescribed a way and orders of celebrating his laste Supper of whiche these are the chiefe partes That the Minister shoulde shewe the Lordes death by preaching his woorde and Gospell by calling vppon the name of the Lorde in prayer in deliuering the bread wine to bee receiued with thankesgeuing that the congregation shoulde for their partes proue and try them selues touching the knowledge of GOD fayth in the mercies of God offered in Christ and true sorrowe and lamentation for their sinnes past endeuouring them selues to leade a new life to shew forth the Lords death in consenting to his woorde and institution It is manifeste that the people to the number of three thousande soules beeing of diuerse countries and nations conuerted vnto the Gospell by Peters preaching continued for so the holie Ghoste speaketh in the Apostles doctrine and felowshippe and breaking of breade and prayers This order of seruice was vsed in all congregations from time to time amongest true Christians and remayned perfect for the space of sixe hundred yeares and odde yea vntill the same was altered by your Popish Cleargie who not being contented with that whiche Chrisâ—e his Apostles and the auncient Doctoures and Fathers of the Churche had sette foorth deuised a newe way of worshipping GOD a new â—order of ministration a straunge and newe â— deuised forme of prayer and so turned all vpside downe But in defence of the truth we may boldely and truely answeare you that we holde and mainteine the same order of seruice the same ministration of Sacramentes the same prayer that the true Apostles and faithfull Christians vsed in all ages And whereas you aske for Bookes in Englishe which were written before Papistrie beganne in which there is no mencion made of praying for the deade of inuocation to saintes of priuate Masse It is plaine that there were sundrie godly bookes of Scripture whiche Dioclesian that wicked Emperour did burne in open markettes whose steppes your Churche of Rome hath followed euermore in suppressing the truth by suche meanes Notwithstanding God be thanked there bee manie volumes exstant writteÌ„ both by the auncient and godly fathers of the Church as also in the Saxon tongue in verie oldâ— English of which I haue seene one veriâ— lately found in a verie olde ruinons wall which forbiddeth prayers for the deade whiche teacheth vs onely to inuocate thâ— name of God which maketh mention oâ— no masse but of the communion in botâ— kindes and to conclude doeth aduouche iâ— all pointes the same Sacramentes thâ— same principles of religion and the same manner of worshipping God that we doe and proueth the same by the scriptures Iâ— appeareth in histories that the Bohemians made peticion vnto the councell holden aâ— Basill that