colour He also nourishes in his Diocesse a company of popish-Arminian Ministers of Wil Cants. chiefe correspondence by whom as by the like in other parts of the Land he hath had constant intelligence of all matters and of all the persons and families that favour our religion in those parts that once they might get a day to rid the world of them He also connives at dangerous meetings of the most stirring Papists their baptismes and night burialls with tapers and torches and bells ringing but without the use of the Service Booke and against their owne Canons whereby it appeares their Service Booke and Canons serve onely against puritanes and must not be discharged against Papists So as the chiefe Townes of his diocesse are of late become dennes of Papists and places of resort to their meetings and Masses and of traffique and trade in their Books and Beads and Romish Merchandize All which considered he may be said to have given the lye to all his former works and writings against the Papists So that it may be verified of him that he is the greatest Papist friend that ever came in Duresme since our reformation See here how the Antichristian office hath blasted all his fruits and made him the shame of his old age and of that pretended divine office of Episcopacy which now the Lord will have made naked to the world And all this flowes out of the dunghill foundation and filthy nature of the office serving principally to propagate Antichrists kingdome to waste the Church and overthrow the offices of Christ So as it would seeme that Episcopacy now is come to its full height and ripenesse in this Land it hath ever since our reformation opposed Christs kingly office as its mortall enemy whereby it s growne to this height at this day to overthrow his Propheticall and Priestly offices also that all the world may see as in the Sun-shine that the offices and government of the Prelacy are meerly Antichristian By this time I thinke they have done and so have we with their divine Authoritie as having too long raked in that dunghill and therefore we come now to the issue That since they cannot reckon up their genealogie from Levie from another divine authoritie than the Canon Law let them as polluted be put from the Priesthood Nehem. 7 64. Thus did good Nehemiah and the Princes true patternes of reformation before us The Lord put into the hearts of his Majestie and the Worthies of this Honourable Parliament to follow their example and to clense the Land of this polluted Priesthood and filthy dunghill offices of Antichristian Authoritie which hath so long eclipsed the Gospels light and the name and fame of our Nations glory in the eyes of all the reformed world who with the bulk and body of Popery have also cast off this heavie yoke and regiment of Episcopacy Therefore as not compatible with Christs kingly office and scepter of his World with Our royall Kings Authoritie our Sions peace and Kingdomes glory in the flourishing of Christs Kingdome Wee hope this Honourable Parliament will no longer suffer this tree of Sathans planting to stand but root it out according to Christs owne sentence and will Away with all the reverend Fathers and their sonnes of the Church with all their trumpery Mat. 17.16.20 and 15.13 Cut off from Babell roote and branch son and nephew name and remnant destroy her utterly let nothing of her be left Ier. 50.26 Isa 14.22 thinke it not to be sufficient for you will not finde it so to curbe the insolency and lop off the loftie spreading branches of this tree of Episcopacy when the Lord Jesus hath said it shall be rooted out and hath laid the axe of his Word to the roote and will have it cut downe Mat. 3.10 and cap. 17 20. and east into the fire Doe you Right Honourable and Noble workmen of the Lord take it as a choise blessing that now the Lord hath by a Parliament put into your hands the axe of authoritie to be also layd to the root of this tree and count it your greatest honour every one of you to lend it a blow and it will suddenly fall God hath done his part if you set to yours he will put strength into your hands against all difficulties Ios 1.9 be strong and of good courage these Cananites shall be but bread for you Numb 14.9 for the Lord is with you to remove mountaines of difculties that lye in your way if yee faithfully trust to his assistance yee shall say to these mountaines remove and they shall be cast into the Sea Mat. 21.22 Plow up the very roots and weed the ground the land of it that nothing of it be left and the place will be a fruitfull soyle Their pluralities and fat Livings they have enclosed and impaled to serve their ease their pomp and pleasures will be as Sharon Sheepfolds for Christ to feed his flocks by his Shepheards tents Cant. 1.8 Therefore doe not this work of the Lord negligently if you curbe their greatnesse and lop the branches never so much and leave the root the office in the ground within their warme nests and Episcopall Seas though you shall binde it downe with Iron bands and lay upon it all the weight of good Lawes you can possibly devise it will through the sent of the puddle water Iob 14.9 bud and spring againe next season and bring forth more bitter fruits than ever Episcopacy not the persons is the root of all our evills it is that uncleane bird we spoke of that is flowne out of the Arke and will never be drawne to your lure never be disciplined Set up Christs Kingdome and it will bring in Arm-fulls of blessings to us and our posteritie and make our Kingdome flourish If men were but once acquainted with that royall Scepter and government his sweet and easie yoake they would quickly see the benefit of reformation and what a heavy yoke the Prelacy hath been to our King and State and whole Land Now having shewed the unlawfulnesse and evills of the offices and tryed them both by the Word and by their fruits to be Antichristian If any yet will be so venturous against so cleare light to open their mouthes to plead for Episcopacy oppose the setting up of Christs Kingly office in his throne and glory we will shew them the danger of it for their warning in two shorts Arguments Argument IX If the Prelates and their officers in the exercise of their unlawfull offices doe many things in the worship of God without warrant of the Word of God they are guilty of the sinne and punishment of Nadab and Abihu of Corah Dathan and Abiram But so doe the Prelates and their Officers as witnesse the whole source of their superstitions and mens inventions of old and late innovated abhominations of Jewish Popish and Heathenish fopperies and Ceremonies which they have brought into the worship of God Ergo they are
people drinke these troubled waters or drive their backs to the wall 4. They have turned the Ministery wholly into a Jewish-Popish Sacrificing Priesthood 5. They set up a new kinde of reading-preaching and suppresse sound preaching silence and suspend the orthodox Preachers and fill their places with Metaphysicall cloudy-brain'd Humanists Arminian * Mountebancks and Popish fellowes who usually stuffe their Sermons out of Aristotles Ethicks and the Fryars Postills 6. In stead of the word they set up Images Crucifixes Altats and teaching Ceremonies to stirre up the dull minds of men against Christs prerogative and propheticall office to which it belongs to teach his Church by his word and works and not by mens inventions and works of mens hands 7. They Pope-like corrupt the word with their stinking breath breathing forth for Scripture what they please some are the Fathers others the sonnes of the Church and in summa the Church of themselves and exalt themselves above the Scriptures especially when they meet in the Convocation house and have their Canons in casting they make lawes above and against the word and preach for them punish the breach of them more than the breach of Gods Commandements 8. By vertue of their offices they assume a power to conferre holinesse upon things and places consecrate Churches Altars and places and place holinesse in their superstitions and abhominations as Altars Altar-cringing Jesus and East-worshipping c. Whereas the word alone hath power to sanctifie and make holy Thus by bringing in the accursed thing of Romes Idolatry they are become the Aâ—bans that trouble the Land 8. Nature works so strongly in their offices as you may now see it in their bold impudent faces professing reconciliation of us to Rome pronouncing them happy that shall be the instruments to reconcile the petty seeming differences and make us at one with their mother but I hope before that be done they and their mother shall be both confounded Jere. 50.11 12. For the light hath dazled them the Sunne is gone downe and the day is dark over them to make them confounded and ashamed Zach. 14.17 Mich. 3.6 7. 2. For Prayer 2 Prayer how doe they by their very office professe and practice the corrupting of it which as incense should be purely offred Mal. 3. They 1. fill the house of God with smoke of the strange fire of their abhominations of all sorts new and old inventions Letany and long som service said and sung with yelling and chanting like the Priests of Baal their old and new inventions fopperies second Service and corrupt prayers all put together as like the Masse as an apple is like an Orenge 2. By their offices they ordaine Priests of the lowest of the people to offer up their corrupt prayers as dunibe Sir Iohns ale-house-keepers and generally vile persons who like Elyes sonnes cause men to abhorre their offerings 3. All this corruption in worship flowes out of the Canon Law as the filthy fountaine through their offices as the pipes to set it abroad to infect the world and is preserved as in cisternes in the Canons and service-booke the second maine basis whereupon Episcopacy stands in the dunghill Canon Law which casts such a foule savour in the nosthrills of God as we may admire his patience in suffering it so long without sweeping it and us all together away in some strange inundation of Judgement Nothing but a flood of Justice and reformation will prevent his kindled anger against us manifested of late in so many fearefull and prodigious signes and wonders especially in and about Churches as if he had pointed with his finger that there is his quarrell one strange fire procuring another and threatning yet greater if we repent not reforme not 3. 3 Sacraments For the Sacraments how have they changed them into Sacrifices witnesse their baptismall regeneration kneeling at Sacrament or bread-worship wherein wee are beholding to Costerus the Jesuite for telling us their meaning right out if Christ saith he were not teally in the bread our kneeling were worse and more grosse Idolatry than that of the Heathen Thus they turne the Sacraments into propitiatory Sacrifices to wash away sinne and conferre grace xapere op rato and so the inward work of Gods Spurit banished it would be too tedious to be more in particulars 4. 4 Discipline For discipline the nature of the office shews it selfe here most as in the strongest pulse working with all its might continually by their Canons and Canon Law authoritie to oppose and suppresse Christs Kingly office and government to repaire and restore the ruinous kingdome of Antichrist and that Iudas-like Antichrist-like under a feigned profession of friendship to Christ 2. Their offices uphold the Popish Canon law government which hath left us no footsteps of the Apostolike discipline and kingly office of Christ wholly swept away in the great deluge of Popery and never yet restored as our first reformers aymed which may appeare by the Preface to the commination in the common prayer-prayer-booke and were enough to set all reformed Spirits on work to perfect what they in the infancy of reformation left undone or saw not clearly being then newly risen out of the long darksome night of Popery and how should their diligence shame our negligence in so bright a Sun-shine of the Gospel as we have had since and stirre up our spirits to search out and set up that primitive discipline they aymed at now above fourscore yeares agoe which hath been so much disputed for written for and petitioned for at so many Parliaments and been onely hundred by these Antichristian Prelates whose office it is to justle Christ from his throne untill the words of God be fulfilled * Apoc. 17 1â— because they know the setting up of his kingdome will be the downfall of theirs they cannot stand together therefore this hath been long their master-peice with all their craft and cunning to uphold their Papall government and tyranny by their Canons and Canon law to crush all who have stood in their way to oppose them and plead for Christs owne discipline using them worse than Turkes would have done as witnesse the multitude of Ministers and people in prisons murthered of thousands banished of families scattered and estates ruined for standing for Christs discipline 2. The very nature of their office is to thirst after the blood of Gods servants Where Antipas my faithfull martyr is slaine there is Sathans throne Apoc. 2.13 Of this tyranny let one of themselves be witnesse out of whose mouth the Lord exacted this testimony Prelate Vaughan in a speech to Dr Morton long agoe now Prelate of Duresme confessed that the persecution of these times were worse than in Queene Maries dayes and gave reasons for it Now let Prelate Morton speak how they are encreased in his time and by him or if he will not it may be God may exact it of him sometime with more horrour of conscience than
guilty of the like sinne and punishment Argument X. If Nadab and Abihu Corah Dathan and Abiram were so strangely punished for once presuming in the exercise of their lawfull offices to doe that which they had no warrant for What may the Prelates and all their confederates expect but unheard of plagues and strange punishments for not once but many yeares after many warnings and against light and knowledge abounding doing many things in the worship of God without warrant of the word of God and that in the exercise of their unlawfull offices As those perished wonderfully in the withstanding Moses and Aaron and the word of God shall not these Prelates and their partakers perish much more wonderfully in the withstanding of Christ farre greater than Moses But Nadab and Abihu were so strangely punished as fire from heaven consumed them Levit. 10.1 and the Earth opened her mouth and swallowed up quick Corah Dathan and Abiram and all their company in the sight of Moses and Aaron and all the people as we may see at large Numb 16. Ergo the usurping Prelates and all their partakers may look out for some strange unheard of punishment from the Lord of Hoasts waiting for them and all that joyne with them in opposing Christ in his Kingly office and discipline An end is come the end is come it watcheth for them behold it is come saith the Lord Ezek. 7 6. It is recorded to all posteritie to the worlds end as a brand of infamy upon all those that did partake in that opposition of Moses They perished in the gainsaying of Core Jude 11. Let all that plead for and partake in the unlawfull offices and practises of the Prelates take heed to this in time for the Lord is a strong God who judgeth the whore and all her bratts and abhominations Partake not in her sinnes least yee partake in her plagues Apoc. 18.4.8 Come out of the tents of these wicked men Numb 16.26 Object The maine objection for Prelacy answered Oh but say some we have had godly Martyrs and many learned men that have been Diocesan Bishops as these are and their government been long approved and Religion under it wonderfully flourished as in any Nation And many worthy Instruments both in the Magistracy and Ministery who have submitted to this government which sure they would not have done if it were unlawfull and Antichristian Answ 1. The Church and faithfull Ministers have not all light at once or by one instrument or yet by many worthy lights the remembrance of whom is precious and therefore as we would not detract any thing of their deservings from them so must we not stick fast in their footsteps and goe no further For still daily more and greater light of the Gospells brightnesse is to be expected till the fulnesse of the Gentiles light come in and be swallowed up in the Jewes fulnesse Rom. 11.12 Christ Jesus comes to his people as the Sunne arises first there 's the dawning then the darknesse expelled and still brighter light till the Sunne shine in his full strength Secondly These worthy Martyrs that were Diocesan Bishops in the dawning of the Gospels light after a long darksome night of Popery must be confessed to rise up in their Rochets out of the Papacy and saw not presently into the unlawfulnesse of their office yet some of them did and resigned as Latimer but they set themselves against the most cleare corruptions in doctrine and worship so farre as they had light as for Discipline it was so swept away in that great deluge of Popery that no footsteps of it were to be seene in those times or if any thing of it yet but as the blinde man in the Gospell recovering his sight saw men walking like trees very darkly and confusedly Thirdly As their sight grew somewhat clearer they saw into a godly discipline in the primitive Church at which they aymed as in the Preface to the Common prayer book at the Commination may be seene and implyes they saw into another discipline than that they had amongst them and brought with them out of the Papacy and is used to this day therefore not the right discipline and yet that primitive discipline it is as probible they saw at a great distance even then and so left it to be searched out more clearly of the following generation and if they did see it any thing clearly and if any thing hindered their light of breaking out into a more full reformation we may thank even the Diocesan Bishops for it whose love of preheminence as ours now was the chiefe let in reformation in those times as our Histories shew So as we have little cause to boast of Bishops as instruments of our resormation if we were well acquainted with the state of those times and what hinderers of Reformation the Bishops were yea some of them that after suffered as Martyrs in Queene Maries time Fourthly Some Bishops suffering as Martyrs after their morning light was clouded againe with hot persecutions and stormes arising even out of the same Seas they were in by the changing of the winde in Queene Maries time is no more an argument from their martyrdome that their office was good than if a Cardinall in Rome or Spaine should professe the Gospell and suffer for it his office were neverthelesse still Antichristian Fiftly When these stormes were over and a greater light broke out in Queene Elizabeths time of a brighter Sunne-shine multitudes of learned and godly Ministers began to see clearly the foundation of Babell lay close and unseene in the office of Episcopacy and in the keeping out Christs Kingly office especially and therefore preached writ disputed and suffered for it even as Martyrs of those times by the tyranny of the Prelates who still oppose it to this day as witnesse Cartwright Parker Fenner Childerley Chatterton Traverse Reinolds and a many more and at King James his first entrance about a thousand Ministers stood for Reformation of the Episcopall government and for setting up of Christs Kingly office who were in a sew yeares wasted and spent and banished and devoured of these ravenous Wolves wives and children undone and many families scattered estates ruined for opposing this prelaticall office and government so as little cause have we to boast of the office it hath been a bloody office to this day Also many living yet can witnesse how a reformation hath been still petitioned for to Parliaments even to this day though with no successe because their sins were not full nor ours repented of and reformed Sixtly For many worthy instruments in Magistracy and Ministery submitting to Episcopall government Ans 1. Divine examples but not humane doe binde the Conscience and make their practises rules to us secondly the Churches of a whole Nation yea of many Nations abounding with men of excellent parts both in the Magistracy and Ministery may yet long neglect some of Gods Ordinances partly through ignorance partly for want of assistance