is decreed amongst themselues that must be called the determination of the whole Synode I meruell that our Bretheren shamed nor feared not to stuffe their learned discourse with so many manifest vntrueths It is most euident that nothing is or can bee decreed in the name of the whole Synodes determination without the whole Synode comprehending at least the greatest number for the whole haue decreed and determined the same So that say they no man must bee suffered to speake any thing agaynst it bee it neuer so reasonable or agreable to the worde of God This is another most great and manifest vntrueth sclaunderous to the Bishoppes and reproachfull to the whole Conuocation There is none of the house but that may in any matter that is propounded to bee debated vppon yea any other though not of the house being knowne to be a reuerent godly wise and learned person either of the Ministerie yea in some cases though he were not any Ecclesiasticall person yet might he also bee freely admitted according to the auncient Canons to speake before the house in such sorte and manner as the order of the house requireth for those that bee or should bee learned men to speake their minde in the Latine tongue for feare some young Sir Iohn lacke latine would bee ouer busie and so to reason freely pro contra obseruing alwaies that modestie and reuerence which beseemeth the assemblie of graue and learned men And in this maner many haue propounded and reasoned vpon diuers matters as those that are auncients in the Conuocations heretofore can witnesse Yea saye they whosoeuer will not subscribe to all such thinges as they decree must bee excluded out of the Conuocation as was practised and threatned in the Conuocation at the foresayde Parliament vnto diuers godly and learned Preachers that offered to speake agaynst diuers grosse and palpable errors that had escaped the Bishops Our Bretheren hauing so often broken the squire of trueth in these matters doe here waxe bold to rappe out vntrueths now by huddles What one Preacher hath bene excluded out of the Conuocation for this that he would not subscribe to all such thinges as the Bishoppes among themselues haue decreed Or can they bring any instance but of such one threat made vnto them And albeit a threat differeth from the putting it in practise yet this also is a notorious sclaunder There was no such thing either practised or threatned at any tyme in our Conuocations namely at that tyme they mention which I remember well and so doe many others when some speaking in English began to bee ouer busie and to vse disordered behauiour with vnreuerent termes they were by the Prolocutor as moderator commaunded to silence or els to departe and not to disturbe the house nor alter the lawdable orders thereof except they would and that in seemely modestie speake in Latine which these godly and learned Preachers that our Bretheren commende liked not to doe Neuerthelesse other being indeede godly and learned Preachers did very reuerently and with great learning discusse those matters And so with generall consent either of all or which sufficed of the most and best parte those Articles were condescended vpon and approoued for good and sound doctrine And so I hope will stand for any thing that our Bretheren or any other shall euer bee able to say agaynst them As for any and much lesse diuers grosse and palpable errours that escaped the Bishops I remember none nor can learne of any The Decrees conteyned in the articles aforesayd are published to the open viewe of of euery man if our Bretheren as yet can burthen them with any grosse or palpable errour or with any errour at all though not grosse nor palpable or but with apparance or suspition of errour it were worth the hearing But if there bee no such errour in them who are then worthie the punishing or at least worthie to acknowledge with repentaunce and reuoking this so great a sclaunder For it toucheth not our Bishoppes and the Conuocation onely but béeing established also as is aforesayde by act of Parliament and so the professed doctrine of all the Realme and Church of England how are wee not all hereby defaced to maynteyne grosse and palpable errours and that in no small poynts of doctrine If Papistes had sayd this it had bene lesse meruell which hate our doctrine and count it stuffe full of errours and heresies too But they neuer were nor are nor euer shall bée God willing able to prooue that we mainteyne any one errour in any one article of doctrine but agree in all the substance of Religion with the true and syncere worde of God Yea our Bretheren their selues bearing vs witnesse who in the Preface of this learned discourse confesse that for the substance of Religion it is resolued and now publikly maynteyned for our true and holy faith How could this bee true if those articles namely these which here they note being matter of faith and publikely maynteyned and resolued by all the Church of England to bee true and holie were grosse and palpable errours But to shewe both vnto them and to all the worlde least the Papistes should take holde hereon when they heare of this our owne Bretherens accusation which will bee euen meate and drinke to them béeing glad to feede vppon such sclaunders that as wee are sounde GOD bée blessed for it in all other articles of doctrine so in these wee maynteyne no errour at all but a most sure and syncere trueth let vs come to the viewe of these two Articles that here they mention for example As for the distinction saye they of Canonicall and Apocryphall bookes Although this bee a matter wherein good and godly Fathers haue had some difference yet for our Bishoppes and Conuocations decree thereon I see not how our Bretheren shall bee able to finde that wee holde any error in that matter It is the sixth Article the wordes whereof are these Holy Scripture conteyneth all things necessarie to saluation so that whatsoeuer is not read therein nor may bee proued thereby is not to be required of any man that it should bee beleeued as an article of the faith or bee thought requisite or necessarie to saluation In the name of the holy Scripture wee doe vnderstand those canonicall bookes of the old and newe Testament of whose authoritie was neuer any doubt in the Church Of the names and number of the Canonicall bookes Genesis Exodus Leuiticus Numeri Deuteronomie Iosue Iudges Ruth The first booke of Samuell The 2. booke of Samuell The first booke of Kings The 2. book of Kings The 1. booke of Chroni The 2. booke of Chroni The 1. booke of Esdras The 2. booke of Esdras The booke of Hester The booke of Iob. The Psalmes The Prouerbes Ecclesiast or preacher Cantica or songs of Sal. 4. Prophets the greater 12. Prophets the lesse And the other bookes as Ierome
sayth the Church doth reade for example of life and instruction of maners but yet doth it not applye them to establish any doctrine Such are these following The 3. booke of Esdras The 4. booke of Esdras The booke of Tobias The booke of Iudith The rest of the booke of Hester The booke of Wisdome Iesus the sonne of Syrach Baruch the Prophet The song of the 3. children The storie of Susanna Of Bell and the Dragon The prayer of Manasses The 1. booke of Machab. The 2. booke of Machab. All the bookes of the newe Testament as they are commonly receiued we doe receiue and account them for canonicall This is the whole article especially for the distinction of Canonicall and Apocryphall bookes And is there any grosse and palpable errour or any errour at all in this distinction that any godly and learned Preacher should haue offred to speake agaynst in the Conuocation Well if he could not be suffered to speake then let him do it yet doing it in seemely order Yea if it be a grosse and palpable errour that all we grossely maynteine in this distinction he is bound to shewe it orderly comiter monstrarier viam erranti if he will be a faithfull Minister And if wee cannot bee able to defend this distinction we will then by Gods grace yéeld it to be an error and forsake it But I meruell if it be so grosse and palpable that we cannot yet feele nor vnderstande it which were indeede a great grosnesse in vs all But because I confesse my selfe to be but grosse that cannot so quickly find out this palpable error neuerthelesse since that it is palpable or may be groped and yet out learned Bretheren will not vouchsafe to set it downe I will therefore grossely grope after it if perhaps I may finde it and giue others warning of it For by the grace of God wee shall not be so grosse as defend any error if we may finde it and perceiue that it is indeede an error that is to say a wrong and false opinion Is this grosse error in these wordes holie Scripture conteyneth all things necessarie to saluation so that whatsoeuer is not read therein nor may bee proued thereby is not to bee required of any man that it should be beleeued as an article of faith or be thought requisite or necessarie to saluation I trust they will acquit this parte of the article from all error Neither is it properly of the distinction of Canonicall and Apocryphall bookes which are to bee accounted of the one sorte or of the other but of eithers validitie or inualiditie in the articles of faith and matters requisite or necessarie to saluation What then Is this grosse and palpable error for the distinction of Canonicall and Apocryphall bookes in the wordes of the article following In the name of holy Scripture we doe vnderstand those Canonicall bookes of the olde and newe Testament of whose authoritie was neuer any doubt in the Church What grosse and palpable error or any error at all is in these words that wee doe vnderstand those bookes in the name of holy Scripture of whose authoritie there was neuer any doubt in the Church Is there any reason to the contrary why wee should not vnderstand these bookes for holy Scripture If they replye that is true indeede for those bookes but not for those bookes onely then are these wordes also of the article acquit by their owne mouthes As for the so vnderstanding of them onely to be accounted in the name of holy Scripture of whose authoritie was neuer any doubt in the Church this article hath no such worde as this word onely nor any such meaning Yea least their meaning or wordes might be misconstrued they goe also particularly to worke and booke by booke till which is to be vnderstoode for the holie or canonicall Scripture and which not in the olde Testament And in the newe Testament they haue reckoned all for Canonicall If they yet replye that diuers bookes of those which the articles name and vnderstand for the holie and canonicall Scripture haue bin doubted of I graunt it and the articles doe confesse as much in these playne wordes All the bookes of the newe Testament as they are commonly receiued we doe receiue and account them for canonicall Do they not here plainly enough inferre that there hath bene some doubt and not receiuing of some of them when they say as they are commonly receiued so doe wee receiue them though some doe not so receiue them And will our learned Bretheren bee so â—â—remptorie that if they had not so fully or cléerely expressed their meaning in the former wordes they will not giue them leaue to bee their owne expositors but bee so cutted and short with them that they may not tell out their owne tale but a worde and a blowe or euer they haue tolde halfe their tale to crye out by and by errour errour yea grosse errour and palpable errour Ha bretheren ye are a little to hastie to bée Parrish Priestes yée giue too short and too sharpe a iudgement in this matter Take the whole article together to conferre the later woordes with the former and if a worde escape incommodiously What my Maisters will yée take vauntage of euery sillable or if ye will néedes prie so narrowly goe to it then hardlye and spare not I mislike not your industrye therein spye a Gods blessing èuery mote in your bretherens eyes and note euery tittle in their writinges and weigh their woordes euen in the Goldesmithes balance Yet when yée haue all done ye confesse your selues it is but a scape whereas indéede weighe it well and trulye it is not so much But admitte it were a scape will ye make a mountayne of a mole hill that it is a grosse and palpable errour Verely whether we shall weigh the woordes with graue and indifferent iudgement as we ought to doe or but euen grossely or sleightly consider of them except our opinion be too grossely forestalled against them wée coulde neuer giue so grosse a iudgement of them as for a grosse and palpable errour to condemne them for in very déede there is no errour at all in them But it maye be such is my grosse pate that yet wee haue not light vpon this grosse and palpable errour indéede there are other woordes also especiallye these after the cataloge of the Canonicall bookes in the olde Testament And the other bookes as Hierome sayth the Church doth reade for example of the life and instruction of manners but yet it doth not apply them to establish any doctrine Is there any thing heere that our Bretheren can challenge of errour Is the sence of Hierome cyted amisse Or is Hieromes sentence it selfe Erroneous The words of Hierome in his praeface on the bookes of Salomon are these as therefore the Churche readeth indeede the bookes of Iudeth Tobie and the Machabies but receaueth them not among the canonicall
Scriptures so also it maye reade these two volumes hee speaketh of Iesus the sonne of Syrach and the booke of wisdome to the aedification of the people not to confirme the authoritye of Ecclesiastical opinions or decrees Or are they offended that yet thus much should be giuen to the apocryphall Scriptures that they should bee read at all in the Churche for a dification in example of life and instruction of manners but to be vtterlye neglected or defaced as some haue not spared to bestowe very grosse speeches on all the apocriphall Scripture but bicause this againe is not so much for the distinction of Canonicall and Apocriphall bookes as for the estimation of them I thinke they meane not of anye grosse or palpable error in these words If they doe by the grace of god wee shall the eaâ—â—ier cleare them by the testimonie of manye whome our brethren I hope wil not burden with so grosse speeches Especially when the whole Frenche Churche in their confession goeth as far foorth héerein as we doe where hauing reckoned vp the whole Canonicall Scripture of the olde Testament and the newe agreeing in all the particuler bookes with vs in the fourth article they saye These bookes wee acknowledge to bee canonicall that is wee haue them as the squire and rule of our Fayth and that not onely by the common consent of the church but also much more by the testimonye and inwarde perswasions of the the holye ghoste by whose suggestion we are taught to discerne them from other Ecclesiasticall bookes which as they may be profitable neuerthelesse they are not of that sort that any article of the faith may be established out of them To whome accordeth the confession of the churches of Bâ—lgia or the lowe Countries Who after their lyke enumeratioÌ„ of the canonicall bookes in the fiue and sixe articles saye on this wise These onelye bookes wee receaue as holy and canonicall vppon which our fayth may staye bee confirmed and established c. Moreouer wee make a difference betweene these holy bookes and those which they call appocrypha that it to wit because the appocryphall may indeede be read inthe church and it is laweful also so farre foorth to take instructions out of them as far as they agree with the canonicall bookes Howbeit they haue not that authoritye and force that any opinion of the fayth and christian Religion can bee certainelye builded on their testimonye So farre is it off that they can infringe or diminishe the authoritye of others And if after these I maye alleage any priuate mans confession I commend the Reuerende Zanchius Who in his confession chap. 1. Aphorisme 4. after the like particular rehersall that our Articles make of the bookes canonicall and not Canonicall in the olde Testament he sayth Thus much of the olde But out of the newe Testament wee except none For although there bee some of them of which it was doubted in the olde tyme notwithstanding euen they also were afterwarde no whit lesse acknowledged than were the other to bee the writinges of the apostles vnto whose iudgement we also subscribe Of the former sorte are the Gospels after Matthew Marke Luke Iohn the actes of the apostles the Epistles of Paule the former of Peter the former of Iohn Of the later sorte are the Epistle to the Hebrues the Epistle of Iames the later of Peter the seconde and thirde of Iohn the Epistle of Iude the Apocalypse For although they maye seeme after a kinde of sorte to bee of a certayne greater authoritye of the which it was neuer doubted than those of which sometymes it was doubted notwithstanding wee beleue as well the one as the other euen as the certaine word of God As for the Apocryphall bookes that are conteyned in the Bybles volume wee giue them the firste place after the Canonicall And therefore wee vse onelye the Canonicall bookes to prooue the opinions or decrees of Fayth and with the Fathers wee teache that they are to bee vsed as for the other wee thinke that they haue no small authoritye to confirme afterwarde those thinges that already are prooued Thus writeth Zanchius agreeing with our articles And heereto also he quoteth Hierome in Praef. in Salo. Cyp. in Symb. pag. 377. conc Load cap. 59. But what neede I labour thus to cléere our Article herevpon when the Geneua Bible it selfe hath as much as this comes too saying the bookes that followe in order after the Prophetes vnto the newe Testament are called Apocrypha that is bookes which were not receaued by a common consent to be read and expounded publikelye in the Churche neyther yet serued to prooue any poynte of Christian Religion saue in as much as they had the consent of other scriptures called canonicall to confirme the same or rather whereon they were grounded but as bookes proceeding from godlye men were receaued to be read for the aduauncement and furtherance of the knowledge of the historie and for the instruction of Godly maners Is not this as muche héere as is in anye thing conteyned in these wordes of our bookes article for the vse and credite of the Apocriphall bookes and wherein then for these wordes doeth lye suche grosse and palpable errour as they burthen this article withall for nothing remayneth nowe therein not examined but the enumeration of the bookes themselues which are counted of vs for Canonicall which for Apocryphall And doe not these Articles keepe the same accompte both for the number and for the Bookes of both sortes that all these aforesayde and the verye Geneua translation doth except they will take aduauntaâ—e heerein that where the Geneua calleth Ezra and Nehemiah as Zanchius calleth them the two former of Esdras our article reteyneth still the vsuall calling of them the firste booke of Esdras the seconde booke of Esdras because it treateth also muche of Esdras But I trust that our Bretheren will not in anye wise accounte of that for a grosse and palpable or anye Errour at all considering howe ordinarilye it hath gone by these names and in Ieromes preface hee saythe Neyther let it mooue anye bodye that one booke is of vs set foorth nor let him bee delighted in the dreames of the third and fourth booke Bicause also among the Hebrues the speeches of Esdras and Nehemiah are straightened into one Volume c. As the bookes matter we keepe iust reckoning if their offence be bicause wee counte none Appocryphall in the newe Testament what do wee otherwise than Zanchius doth Than the Geneua Testament doth yea than the Frenche the Heluetian and the Dutch reformed Churches doe and therefore where these grosse errours and palpable shoulde bee in this article they are so grosse and palpable that we can yet neyther see nor feele them When our bretheren can shewe and prooue them I for my parte will by Gods assistance wilfullye defende no knowne errour Now since we cannot find this let vs come to their
giltlesse And of these I trust we haue sufficiently acquit our selues as for other we are to aunswere in our defence when we shall haue heard their accusation But and they be such as these bicause they tel vs before hand such like I hope in God we shall do well enough and had those matters that they suppresse bin worse than these I suppose they would not haue opened these and folded vp those on this fashion But if they be foorth comming wée neede not long to héere of them we shall haue them I warrant you with a recumbentibus all in tyme in the meane time welcome be the grace of God But let vs now sée how our brethren conclude and rattle vp our Bishops for these articles and for all the other matters that they haue charged them with If this say thâ—y be not to practise Lordship ouer Faith to set downe decrees of religion which must be accepted of all men without eyther reason or testimonie of the scripture to prooue them and no man permitted to shewe any reason or scripture that enforceth his conscience to the contrarie but onely to hang vpon the authority of bishops let some other declare what Paule meaneth 2. cor 4. where he denieth that he woulde exercise anye Lordship ouer the Fayth of the Corinthians Our bretheren shewe heere a manifest proofe howe true that Article is which they saye was set dowâ—e by the Bishops and the conuocation that the elect maye departe from grace For I account of our bretheren as of the number of Gods elected Yet if they had not in this their learned discourse departed or fallen to much from grace woulde they or coulde they haue so fallen from the truth heerein by such vntrue and notorious sclaunders thus to seeke the vtter disgracing and defacing of the Bishops haue they prooued or can they prooue anye one article or decree of Fayth and Religion wherein the bishops haue taken vpon them any such Lordeship or anye Lordeship at all ouer our Fayth doth not euen the very former article of these two last cyted by our bretheren themselues against the Bishops for the distinction of the Canonicall bookes fully discharge the Bishops of this sclaunder that holy Scripture conteyneth all thinges necessary to saluation so that whatsoeuer is not read therein nor may be proued therby is not to be required of any maÌ„ that it should be beleued as an Article of Fayth or be thought requisite or necessary to saluation Doe they which with their bretheren in the conuocation doe set downe this decree for faith and Religion practise Lordeship ouer our fayth or set downe decrees of religion which must bee accepted of all men without eyther reason or testimonie of the Scripture to prooue them and no man permitted to shewe anye reason or Scripture that inforceth his conscience to the contrarie but onely to hang vpon the authoritie of Bishops When the Bishops in most plaine woordes renounce all such authoritie and referre it onely to the canonicall Scripture who may not see if he will not wilfully of too too much affection blindfold himselfe the apparance of this sclaunder But our Bretheren say they haue set downe the decrees without eyther reason or testimony of the scripture to proue theÌ„ I graunt it that for some they haue so done neyther is it the nature of briefe suÌ„marie Articles which in Synodes are agreed vppon after that they haue bin by reason and Scripture cléerely proued and are apparant to haue them set out with their proues annexed to them which is another point beside the Articles In the ordinances Ecclesiasticall of the Church of Genena and the orders of the schole of the said Citie set out in french An. 1578. of the which many are of faith and religion and in their summarie of the Christian Doctrine annexed do they still adioyne their prooues by reasons testimonies of the Scripture And haue not all the most auncient councels which are greater than our conuocations in all their articles and decrees kept the selfe same order most briefely and plainely to set downe the naked article by it selfe so thus haue they set downe also the articles of their créedes And so is the summary of our Faith commonly called the Apostles Creede set downe in most short plaine and simple wordes and sentences without annexing the reasons or testimonies of Scripture that confirme them For when these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or principles gathered as capitall conclusions and resolutions of the scripture are thus set downe if they bee not such nor haue the cléere proofe and grounde of Scripture for them they will quickelye appeare in this their nakednesse and quickelye shewe their shame to all the worlde as doe the Papistes decrees whiche they set foorth so soone as euer they come to the touchstone to bée examined and prooued by the Scripture they molter away and resolue to vanitie Let our bretheren nowe a Gods name take this our booke of articles and whette all their wittes and with all their learned discourses set vppon it examine and trye it peecemeale thorowe and through euerye sentence woorde syllable and tytle in it if they finde anye thing contrarye to good and sounde reason yea contrarye too our dissonant from the Canonicall Scriptures then saye our Bishops practise Lordeship ouer our Fayth and set downe orders of Religion which must bee accepted of all men without eyther reason or testimonie of Scripture to proue them and no man permitted to shewe any reason or Scripture that inforceth his conscience to the contrary but onely to hang vppon the authority of Bishops But if they cannot finde anye thing in these decrees orders and Articles nor anye coulde finde it then nor coulde euer since nor euer shal be able and there was then in the conuocation libertye enough and hath euer bin since and still is being vsed in that lawefull and reuerent manner that is requisite for the treaty of such matters which yet coulde neuer nor I hope shall euer be conuinced of errour then let our bretheren for verye shame or rather for loue of truthe yeilde and reuoke these soule sclaunders on the Bishops and indeede on all the conuocation and on all the realme and Churche of Englande that hath established the allowance of these articles or rather on the Articles themselues which they sclaunder to bée decrees of Religion without eyther reason or testimonie of the Scripture to prooue them and that they onely hang vppon the authoritye of Bishops and so are méere doctrines of men and that they are Errors grosse and palpable Thus through the sides of the Bishops are these Articles and our Faith and Religion wounded by these our Bretheren as though not onelye our Bishops but all the Cleargie the realme the doctrine and all were as ill or woorse than the Papistes so farre hath this immoderate beate of their inconsiderate zeale inflamed their passions and patience
new obedience and of the fruites of faithe which ought chiefly to be regarded in the late baptized is as it were in a painted table set before our eyes And wee see the Apostle in the moste of his Epistles proceeding in that order that in the former parte he treateth of the Faith of those that are to be iustified where all things runne to this head of faith in God and of Baptisme the Sacrament of Faith but in the later parte of the faithe and charity or workes of those that are iustified To witte where he handleeh the offices of a Christian life and all things that are there expounded are rightly referred to that head of doctrine that followeth Baptisme To conclude therefore all the precepts the exhortations the rebukings which are extant in the Apostolicall writings concerning the charitie iustice innocency purity of those that are by faith Iustified baptized were comprehended and such teaching as in times past was in the fowrth place expounded before the learners What is héere left out for the Teaching of the Pastor that is not common with him vnto the Doctor And in the 4 Chapter of the manner of this Doctors Teaching After he hath again at large declared how hauing his audience of all kindes of persons he must apply him-selfe vnto them euery one fol. 488. Hee saith To conclude if there were among the hearers some learned as Philosophers Rhethoricians they were gently warned that they should not dispise nor heare with lothesomnesse the doctrine of the gospell Which in shewe and in the manner of the deliuery seemeth base and somewhat rusticall Nor that they attribute more then is right to mans wisedome and to the bookes of the Philosophers that they were before inured withall But that they should more attentiuely consider the matters themselues and the reuerent largenesse of the mysteries And that they should religiously examine all their rules by the squyre of the holie Scripture And if they had redde ouer any good authours they should constantly cleaue fast vnto them But vnprofitable and stayned with euill opinions they should in time lay them out of their handes And if any thinges were more at length and groselye expounded they should not be grieued thereat for that was not for them who alreadie partlie by priuate reading partly by conference with godly men were pretily entred but ought many times to be done for the ruder sorte And if they seemed to require a more full explanation of any certaine Chapters it was by the waye declared vnto them the reading of what writers was able to satisfie them Which things that they were wont thus to be done S. Augustine in his booke of Catechizing the rude in the 8. and 9. chapters doeth declare According to this manner therefore did the Catechists or Teachers when they did publikely teach applie them-selues wholly vnto all men And as the Apostle saide to become all vnto all to the intent to winne the moste part vnto Christe and to giue no man occasion of starting backe of erring or so much as staggering And if moreouer they perceaued it were expedient oftentimes they asked the Bishops themselues to the ende that of some certaine more difficulte pointes or more needefull to be expounded they might also publikely more fully preach vnto the people Whereunto no doubte those thinges are to be referred bicause the fathers oftentimes do intermingle in their Sermons exhortations c. 497. Againe speaking of their diuersitie in teaching of children and those of riper yeares he saith For children also the same forme of sownde wordes is well vsed which in little bookes that are borne about we see prescribed But with those that are elder there must be a freeer course of speeche and place by yeelding to examples similitudes descriptions amplifications and to the mouings of the mindes If at any tyme anye vices are to be reckoned vp and reprehended which muste needs bee done in the expounding the tenne commandementes those things in children shall bee noted and chastifed with gentle woordes which we know are familier to that age In young old persons verilie it is meete that other vices bee cured with another medicine And euen as these thinges fall out more and more in the eyes of men so muste the reprehension be tempered for they are able to susteine a sharper reprehension In Exhortations the like moderation must bee vsed and duties prudently prescribed that are agreable to euery age and perswasiue argumentes aptly applied vnto them What neede many wordes Whatsoeuer shall be offered to tender mindes that muste bee as though it were milke or delicate pulse Those thinges that shall bee distributed to them of full age they must expresse after a maner the nature of strong meate Generally the Catechist or Teacher must often admonish all his hearers that they often deeply in their mindes consider with him what they once promised to God to the Church in their baptisme What confession of their faith they made How haighnous a thing it is for those that haue geuen their names to fall from their Emperour Christe What life Christe requireth of those that are his Finallye by what bayte arte prudence and counsell so-euer hee can he shall diligently studie to drawe them to the true feare of GOD and loue of vertues and hatred of vices And thus muche of the manner of his teaching in publike All this at large and much more writeth Hyperius of these Doctors and Teachers which in the Primitiue Church were called Catechistes bicause of the sounding of their voice in their teaching And other Ecclesiastical Doctors then these from the Apostles times except the Deacons Priestes Pastors or Bishops I haue readde of none in al the Churche of Christe But what Teachers soeuer haue béene none haue béene debarred till now of exhorting and applying of their doctrine No not the best of the Doctors Teachers Readers or Catechists what name soeuer they shall be tearmed by that God in these our laste dayes hath raysed vp in his Church to reforme the same and to restore the true Teaching of the Gospell which the enemies had suppressed No not one that I can yet reade or heare of but that nowe and then hee exhorteth rebuketh or applyeth in his teaching as appeareth in all the woorkes of Luther Zuinglius Oecolampadius Bucer Musculus Martyr Bullinger Simlerus Gualter Caluine Danaeus Zanchius Hyperius Oleuianus Vrsinus Sadeelus Beza Tremelius Iunius or any other learned godly and famous Doctor Teacher Catechiste Reader interpreter Expositor c but in their teachings by mouth you should haue hear◠and in their teachings by writing yee shal finde more or lesse erhortations reprehensions admonitions consolations and applications c. Only the néerest that mee thinkes I speake it vnder correction doo drawe to this imagined Doctor that these our brethren and Learned discoursers would set vp are the Scholasticall Thomisticall Scotisticall Sorbonicall Cherubinical Seraphical or cal them
forth laborers into his haruest And is not publike praier as effectuall hereunto where 2. or 3. yea the whole congregation is gathered together in the name of Christe to beg this amoÌ„g other things of our heauenly father by their publike and formal praier as wel as priuate But say our brethren preaching is neglected Not by publike formal prayers say wee but by some other meanes But if we contniue say they to vpholde it that preaching bee neglected it will come to passe that neither shal be regarded Indéede if we should continue or vphold it to that purpose then it might so come to passe that neither of them shold be regarded And may we not say as much on the other side that if we shold continue to vpholde preaching that publike formal praier be neglected theÌ„ it might also come to passe that neither praier nor preaching shall bee regarded And our Brethren are more earnest heere to haue the publike and formall praiers neglected than are wee to haue preaching neglected So that their selues go nerer then wee doe to haue neither of them both regarded As for vs wee hope that either of these both the publike preaching and the publike praiers which they in scorne call formall prayers may be stil coÌ„tinued vpholden regarded established without any neglect or preiudice yea rather with mutuall help and establishment the one of the other And I like better of that our brethr said before that as we are taught by the worde of God the right vse of publike prayer so by publike praier when wee are taught it the establishment of the worde of God which is taught is the better continued vpholden And if praier discontinue bee neglected the neglect of preaching will followe of like necessitie As when Moses heauy hands fell down the Amalekites preuailed against the Israelites And therfore we may rather conclude that if we continue to vphold publike formal praier that publike preaching shall more formally proceede and be the lesse neglected both praier preaching be more and better regarded But our brethren wil confute our forme of publike praier by this instance For what did thrust out preaching from the Romish Churche but long prescript formes of reading of singing of praying so that their ordinarie was ynough and too much to occupy the whole day though there were no sermon VVhereas contrariwise there woulde be no ordinarie publike praier without preaching This instaunce non facit ad idem it serueth to prooue a cleane contrarie matter Haue our Brethren in such contempt and despight our ordinarie and prescript forme of publike praier that they can alleadge against it no â—itter example than the long prescript formes of reading of singing of praying in the Romish Churche True it is in-déede they did thrust out preaching beeing such an euill reading singing and praying as besides the length thereof their forme was so fraught poysoned with false doctrin errors lies Idolatries superstitions blasphemies c. that for very shame they durst not shewe their faces but were masked in a language vnknowen to the vulgare people although euen that also the stuffe being no better might be some benefite with the moâ—e danger For as their trecheries might be the harder espied so the lesse be learned Which corruptioÌ„s ignorance so traÌ„sformed their reading their singing their praying that as they had béen far better not read nor song so deserued they not the name of anie true priuate or publike prayer at all but were farre worse then the Pharisees vaine lippe labour So that these readings singings and prayings beeing cleane contrary to the worde of God no meruell though they thrust out preaching For what fellowship is there of light with darkenesse 2. Cor 6.14 And shall now those formall prayers that were indeede no true forme of prayers at all but had a forme and name of that they were not bee brought for an instance against our formall publike prayers that in all pointes are agreeable to the proportion of faith to the rule of life to the acceptable will of God and to the greate edifying of all the Congregation and cleane voyde of all false doctrine errours lies Idolatries blasphemies and superstitions either of the papists or of any others Is this a charitable or a true exemplification If our Brethren say they doe not resemble our Publike prayers to theirs for any of these pointes but onely for the long prescript formes of reading of singing and of praying So that their ordinary was ynough and too much to occupy the whole day And is the onely length then the onely cause wherefore the prescript formes of reading of singing of praying in the Romish Church should be compared vnto ours or ours to theirs but this length as they haue oftentimes before complained on it so haue we sufficiently answered that as ours are most free from all their other dangerous corruptions so are they nothing like in length to theirs as all the world may soone see by conference of them If their ordinarie was inough and too much to occupy the whole day Who séeth not that neither the reading of the Lessons and other exhortations and sentences nowe prescribed nor the saying or singing of the hymnes or Psalms nor the praying and making any supplications or thanksgiuings in our ordinarie publike prayers wil hold vs passing two or thrée houres of the whole day at the moste accounting both the morning and the euening prayer But so often as they complaine vpon the long prescript formes of reading of singing and of praying and therein compare our Churches to the Romish Church May wee remember our Brethren of their owne long prescript formes of readinâ— of singing and of praying are not the confessions that they reade in their prescribed forme of prayer a greate deale longer then ours are Their first confession to be 〈◊〉 being aboue thirteene-score lines besides their Chapters Our Ordinarie hauing but two where as they say in their booke of Common prayer Page 22. vpon the dayes appointed for the preaching of the worde when a conuenient number of the Congregation are come together that they may make fruit of their presence till the assemblie bee full one appointed by the Elderishppe shall reade some chapters of the Cannonicall bookes of Scripture singing Psalmes betwene at his discretion And this reading to bee in order as the bookes and chapters followe that from time to time the holie scriptures may be read through In these words they prescribe so indefinite a number of chapters to be read and of psalmes to be sung that we may easily coniecture they doe or may doe at their liking occupy more time than all our prescribed reading or singing néede to doe And as for their Prayers as wee haue shewed already and they are easily to sée some one or two of them beeing as much as 20. of ours besides the prayers that they leaue vnto
Whether our bretheren theÌ„selues satisfie the godlie meaning of the statute The Statute Anno 13. The godlie meaning of the statute flâ—â— against our Bretherens discourse How our Bretheren ouerthrow their own ministery How our Bretheren are in daunger of losing their lyuinges by the godlie statute Our bretheren impugning the booke of articles Our brethereÌ„s aduised impugning the articles and maintaining doctrine contrarie thereunto The 34 article of the traditioÌ„s of the church The 35. article of homilies The 36. article of consecrating of Bishops ministers Two pastors in euery congregation How directlie our bretherens learned disc is against these articles The learned disc pag. 130 131. Bridges Two Pastors at least in euerie congregation One Doctor also at least in euery congregation The Number of the gouernors and Deacons not determined At whose charges all theâ—e must be maintayned The factions arising by 2 equall pastors A new disposing of all the parishes in England New disposing of parishes The learned disc pag. 131. Bridges Our Bretheren hauing all thinges at their pleaâ—ure Abuses creeping in after our bretheren haue all thinges at their pleasure Grounds of Gods word Difference of the order grounded vpon gods word and abuses rising of mans corruption What grouÌ„des of Gods word our bretheren alleage The pastors members of the synod The learned disc pag. 132. Bridges What the pastors haue as members of the synod The reformation of the corruptions in Poperie Reteyning corruptions How we reteine anyething that hath bin corrupted The learned disc pag. 132 â—33 and 134. Particular Synods Bridges Corruptions of paâ—ticuler Synods Ordinarie fees of officers The endes of liuings offices and fees The fault of the officer and not of the office Our Brethrens pitie on the poore ministers Our Brethrens mockerie Faultes in Officers Extorting money for â—eâ—ing letters of Orders The dutie of lawefull fees in Registers c. Our bretheren loth to shewe their letters of orders Buying of Bookes For dinners such like matters Selling buying of bookes The presentâ—eâ—â—s not â—eformed PresentmeÌ„â—â— The presentment no more hearde of Reformation of faultes The Summoner caryinge forth the citations and excoÌ„muications The presentment hearde of Bribes not preuayling General coâ—â—â—â—â—ions Absolution not for money The learned disc pag. 123.125.136 137. Choosing of Clearkes of the conuocation house Act. 15. 2. Cor. 4. Bridges Our generall conuocations Our Brethrens contumelious speaches of Chauncelors Lawyâ—â—s Chauncelors and Lawyers Chauncelors or Lawyers in our conuocationâ— Whether our Chauncelors or Lawyers in conuocations be more lay vnlearned in diuitie then our bretherens gouernors our brethenâ— obiecting to chauncelors Lawyers The Bishops seuerall place that th◠〈◊〉 learned 〈◊〉 ninitie Chauncelors Lawyers beare not the greatest sway in our conuocations The Bishops seuerall place in the conuocation Seuerall place The Apostles example Act. 15.6 The Apostles were seuerall by themselues and yet ioyned with the Pastors and the multitude The Bishops higher in thoritie The decrees arâ— of the whole synod not of the Bishops â—â—lie Speaking in the conuocation How euery oÌ„e of the house may speake in the conuocation None excluded the house for not subscribing to the Bishops dâ—cree Subscribing to the articles Whether the booke of articles conteyne any errouâ— Our Brethrens owne acquittaunce for the truth of our religion The distinctioÌ„ of the Canonicall and Apocryphall booâ—es The booke of articles not erroneus The names number of the Canonicaâ—l bookes The numbeâ— and namâ—s of the Apocâ—yphall bookes in the old testâ—ment The canonicall scripture In what words this grosse error should lye The bookes that were neuer doubted of Some of the canonicall doubted of The apocrpha Our Brethrens to quicke censure Ieronimus in prefarioneÌ„ in libros Salamo The eâ—â—â—matioÌ„ of the â—pocâ—phall bookes In 〈◊〉 confesâ—ion 〈…〉 1 de scâ—iptura pag. 10. Aâ—t 6. 〈…〉 Aphoris â— The 1. 2. booke of Esdras Hieronimi pâ—satio in 1. Esdras 〈…〉 Our Brethrens 2. challeng of of the booke of articles for grosse and palpable errours The 17. article of predestination electioÌ„ Election Nothing in this article of Predestination and Election but sounde doctrine The 16 article of sinne after Baptisme Departing from grace How we may depart from grace Diuerse graces of the holy ghost may bee geuen to those that are not elected How the elected may depart or fall â—rom grace The state and coÌ„fidence of the elected Our Brethrens sclaunder of the Bishops for diuers grosse palpable errours The articles with proues The learned disc pag. 136. Bridges Article 6. The articles briefelie set down without their proues testimonies Articles not erronious Satisfying the ignoraunt How any in the conuocation house may be heard How our bretheren ofâ—eâ—ed to be satisfied Satisfiing our Bretheren Confuting the Bishops How â—arâ—e of our bretheâ—en are from those partes wherewith they burden the bishops The state of our brethrens new pastorship The true pastors description Our Brethrens accusation of our Bishops Our Brethrens commendatioÌ„ of themselues Defacing our Bishops Learning Longe studie Our Bishops accusation Sound iudgment The best example Determining in Synods Determining Ecclesiasticall matters The Pastors determining How our bretheren deale in synods with their owne gouernors Our Brethrenâ— wordes returned home Preiuaâ—ceâ—â— the synod Whether our Bishops or these Pastors do more preiudice the synod Our brethrenâ— conclusion The whole ministrie The learned disc pag. 137. Bridges The whole ecclesiasticall ministerie and all the duties and authorities pertayning The diuersities of our Bretherens discâ—â—ries The reâ—ders dutie in these controuersies The treatise of the princes authorithie Our Brethrens entrie into the treatise of the Princes authoritie Our Brethrens dealing with Christian princes in these matters The learned disc pag. 138. Gods soueraigne Empire Bridges The title of the Princeâ— supremacie The vnderstanding of the title of supremacie Our Brethr. exception of Gods soueraigne Empire Gods Empire entire Gods empire kept whole by the Princes supremacie Our Brethr. graunt of the Prince to be highest ouer the persons The Eccl. Gouernors How farre our Brethr. graunt the Princes supremacie ouer their Eccl. gouernors Supremacy ouer all persons Our Brethr. reseruation of the Princes supremacie in the matters The learned disc pa. 138. 139 Bridges The Clergies temporalties The Christian Princes supremacie farre different from the Popes The blasphemous chalenge of the Pope 〈…〉 and these Tetrarkes yoake The Clergies holding their temporalties of the Prince Our Brethr. gouernors incroching on the Prince Euery prince ought to cast off the yoake of the Popes and of these new tetrarks subiection The learned disc pa. 139. 140 The Princes supremacie in Eccl matters Bridges The Princes authoritie for Eccl. matters Our Brethr. speeches against Princes dealing in eccl matters How our Brethren incâ—rre the lâ—ke dealing that they repâ—chende in the Pope for nâ—iâ—sing Princes and the Clâ—â—gie The Pastors supremacie in Eccl. matters Our Brethr. owne sayings rightly returned on themselues These Gouernors Pastors not in Script
alreadie written and by treatises lately and nowe published it may appeare we seeke that which at the least in the iudgement of all true Christians hath no small probabilitie as wee iudge necessitie of trueth out of the Scriptures it may please her most excellent Maiestie and their honors to appoint on both sides the best learned most godly and moderate men to debate al differences of waight betweene them and vs. So that first vppon sufficient consideration the Questions to be debated be without all ambiguitiâ— set downe the reasons of both sides without all outgoings shortly and plainely deliuered in writing ech to other that after vpon sufficient examination the reasons of both be continually confirmed and resolued till either by the euidence of trueth one partie yeelde vnto the other or the follie and madnesse of those which gaine-say it doe in equal iudgement become manifest in regarde of the contradictions and absurdities where-to they shall be driuen by the force of Gods worde It may appeare we graunt that our brethren haue both alreadie writâ—en bookes now lately published treatises but with what authoritie they could so doe that is another question if it be lawfull authoritie to do it both against lawe and authoritie we may shortly haue other vpon like ensample set out worse matters yea neuer so ill doctrine or matters neuer so much against the state For although they pretende their bookes and treatises to be neuer so good yet ought they not to be published but by good meanes also least if the good meanes be neglected ill thinges in like manner may be published But by what ill meanes soeuer they set out their bookes and treatises yet for the matter of them it may say they appeare we seeke that which at the least in the iudgement of all true Christians hath no small probabilitie as we iudge necessitie of trueth out of the Scriptures Fancie might make a man bowlt branne and thinke it is flower And euen so doe our brethren imagine in this necessitie But when we shall come to the examining of these bookes and treatises yea euen of this their learned discourse compiled in the name of all the faithfull ministers and of all their desires and of all that they say they seeke for we shall finde necessitie of trueth out of the Scriptures in no one thing of all their posâ—tions in controuersie except they vnderstande it so out of the Scriptures that is to say cleane without al scriptures or any necessarie consequence of scriptures And although probability ought not to carrie away the matter yet vpon better suruey thereof we shall finde not so much as any good probability that is grounded on the Scriptures but onely on the méere interpretations and sayings of some the chiefest persons in estimation on their side if at the least they agrée with them and are not caried away by their owne fancies as in the perusing of this learned discourse shall God willing appeare In the meane season sée héere how peremptorie our brethren are in their owne iudgement That which they seeke for is of no probability but as we iudge necessity say they yet they confesse that in the iudgement of all true Christians it is but of probability though saye they it hath no small probability So that they graunt at the least héereby that many if not al true Christians iudge that that which they seeke for hath no necessity of truth out of the Scriptures but hold themselues contented onely with probability For be it small or not small it is but probability of truth out of the Scriptures that they grounde themselues vpon yet think this hindereth not but that they still be al true Christians So that â—hey count them no true Christians in whose iudgement the thinges that our brethren seeke for haue not at the least great probability of trueth out of the Scriptures But if they can allow them to be al true Christians in whose iudgement these things stand but on the vncertainty of probability I trust we shal not léese our Christendome euer a whit the more â—or this but be true Christians yea their selues haue graunted vs euen in â—his Preface that we are their brethren and that we agrée in the substaÌ„ce of religion with them and therfore of necessity if they be true Christians we be true Christians also and yet we openly and constantly anow that the most and greatest of the things that they seeke for haue not at the least any probability of truth out of the Scriptures in our iudgements yea in my iudgement not one of them al any good probability but we al confesse they haue no necessity This therefore was too vnaduisedly and too peremptorily spoken and vpon too great a confidence in their cause as to hazard the truth of our Christianity for not iudging these things to bee at least probable But let the necessity or probability be tried in the debating and weighing of them let vs now sée how they woulde haue them debated and weighed It may please say they her most excellent Maiestie and their honors to appoint on both sides the best learned most godlie and moderate men to debate all differences of weight betweene them and vs. This is a good beginning that they will yéelde to her most excellent Maiestie and their honours yet at the least thus much if they woulde stande to this but when it shall come to the debating wayghing or determining they giue her Maiestie and their honours no authoritie at al. Yea they haue their selues alreadie debated weighed iudged determined and prescribed these thinges and that for necessitie in their iudgements before they come to this conference as shal also appeare by these their learned discourses and is it likely they will yéelde and reuoke this their principles set foorth in print and diuulged to all the worlde by our reasoning afterwarde with them howesoeuer by reasoning we should euict them Had it not béene better not to haue vaunted thus before hande on such necessitie and prescription But they say The best learned most godlie and moderate men on both sides should be appointed to debate al differences of weight betweene them and vs. For their partes they so glorie both of their learning and godlines that they giue this booke two titles in the one for godlinesse and moderatenesse A declaration of the desires of the faithfull ministers not prescribing but moderatly desiring in the other for their learning A learned discourse of Ecclesiasticall gouernment Thus haue they set foorth themselues for these vertues But thankes be to God that they graunt yet some of our side to be also both learned godly and moderate men What the learning is of many God be praysed on our side let the learned iudge Moderation is more easily discerned as the Apostle saieth Phil. 4.5 Let your moderate or patient minde be knowen to all men But since our brethren
anye suche then which pointe is afterwarde foâ— to bee examined suppose also that this gifte of ruling that anye such had hath so remained euer since Nay if it be demanded further whether either gifte or office thereof vnderstanding the same as they doo haue not since that time euen from the first planting and foundation of the churche among the Heathen and from thence euen till our time discontinued And besides all this what warrant out of Gods word can be shewed more for those rulers or Gouernors if they will néeds vnderstand thereby their seniorie of which neither haue we any warrant that they be more perpetuall then the other Or the other more temporall then these And that these are of the later kinde as are Doctors Pastors and Deacons perteining to the nourishing and building vp of the churche for euer Our brethren haue alledged some-what for the ceasing of the other is there anye thing alledged héere for the perpetuitie of these Seniors if they runne backe to their former search of the holie scriptures to find out what order our Sauiour Christe our onelie housholder hath set foorth in them by which he would haue his houshold directed in all thinges perteining to the eternall saluation of vs men we finde that all those giftes or offices or the most of them yea those which they say are ceased are drawing néerer to matters perteining to saluation then is this of ruling or gouerning Neither hath this any further warrant of remaining in the churche then had the other Now holdeth therefore this argument of our brethren We finde say they that there was such a seniorie set foorth by Christe in the holie scriptures therefore that office must needs be one of those that are perpetuall perteining to the nourishing and building vp of the church for euer What reason dâ—â— they héere alledge for it Nay no reason but this Either it is of the one sorte or of the other temporall or perpetuall but it is not of the one to wit temporall Ergo it is of the other sorte that is perpetuall This reason is good if the parts of it were as good But howe doo our brethren prooue it is not of the former sorte that is to saye temporall Of the former sorte that is to say temporall and which are ceased there are but sixe reckoned by our brethren Apostles Prophets Euangelists men indued with the graces of powers of healings and of diuerse toongs but the gift of ruling or gouerning is none of these and therfore it must néeds be of the other kinde and so perpetuall And how doo our brethren prooue there are but sixe of the former or temporall sorte What if we can prooue by their owne place héâ—re cited that there were moe And what if they all ceased not And why may not this gift or office oâ— those kinde of rulers or gouernors goe among the number of that former sorte with the sixe which they call temporall and make vp the seauenth or rather the seuentéâ—nth if they will accouÌ„t them all in that former sort Surely except we make this our fourth Principle to our former three or rather this our first and last our vnquestionable maximie against the which there is no disputing because as ipse dixit these our brethren the learned discoursers haue coursed it ouer and ouerruled it and so it is become a ruled case here is else nothing in the worlde to prooue it And vpon this they conclude saying There remaineth therefore of these before rehearsed onely in the Church these Eccl. offices instituted of God namely Pastors Doctors Gouernors Deacons by which the Church of God may according to his worde bee directed in all matters which are commonly called Ecclesiasticall And therefore as it is vnlawefull so it is vnneedefull for men following the deuises of their owne brayne without the warrant of Gods worde to institute and ordaine any other offices or kindes of ministerie besides these appointed and approued by God himselfe exercised in the primitiue and pure Church vntill the mysterie of iniquitie working a way for Antichristes pride presumption changed Gods ordinance and brought in all kinde of false doctrine confusion and nowe againe restored in all rightly reformed Churches with such dayly encrease and glorye of the kingdome of Christe and suppression of the tyrannie of Sathan that the onely experience hereof might bee a sufficient perswasion to vs to leaue this disordered state of ours wher-in we haue so long labored with so litle profite and to embrace that most beautifull order of eccl regiment which God so manifestly doth blesse and prosper in our neighbours handes We haue hearde what inuincible prooues as our brethren imagine they haue found and brought foorth out of the holy scriptures to inferre the grounds of their desired Ecclesiastical gouernment Now vpon these groundes and prooues such as they are they resolutely procéede to the finall conclusion and determinate sentence of this matter by whome all Ecclesiasticall matters shal-be directed saying There remayneth therefore of these before rehearsed only in the Church these eccl offices instituted of God namely Pastors Doctors Gouernors and Deacons by which the Church of God may according to his worde bee directed in all matters which are commonly called ecclesiasticall In this peremptorie conclusion the direction of all eccl matters is here to be onely gouerned by foure kinde of persons Howbeit the frutefull Sermon vpon 1. Cor. 12. printed also 1584. by Rob. Walde-graue the printer of this learned discourse maketh fiue ordinarie and perpetuall offices Doctors Pastors Deacons Rulers and Attenders on the poore But here by these our brethren the Learned discoursers is erected a Tetrarchie or Quadriuiratus that is to say a Catergouernment And if as diuerse expounde it Pastors Teachers be coincident in one office and person as the text it selfe Ephes. 4.11 Ioyntly setteth them together and not disiunctiuely which it doth in the other offices there mentioned and as the Scottish booke taken from the English Church in Geneua séemeth to make no necessity of hauing Doctors distinct from Pastors saying Although we are not ignorant that the scripture maketh mention of a fourth kinde of ministers left vnto the Church of Christe which also are verie profitable where time and place doe permit and so accounting no further on Doctors set downe but thrée so that by them it is but a Tritarchie or Triumuiratus as that kind of gouernement was called when Lepidus Anthonie and Augustus parted the Romaine gouernement among them three into a Triple regiment If it fall not out alike that as two then made the thirde a cifer and the one of those two did eate vppe the other and all resolued into a Monarchie so in the ende Monarchie and all being turned out a fourth stept in and set vp a Triple crowne for all But what this Tetrarchie heerâ— erected will resolue into in euerie particular Congregation and that in all and euerie
the Trinity the cōmunicating of his body and bloud and if there bee anye other thing that is commended in the Canonical Scriptures Those things excepted which burdened the seruitude of the old people according to the congruence of their hart and of the prophetical time and which are redde in the fiue bookes of Moyses But those things that are not written but that being deliuered we keepe which are indeede obserued throughout the whole worlde are giuen to be vnderstoode that they are to bee retayned as either of the Apostles themselues or of plenary or general Counsels whose authority is moste hole-some in the Church they are commended or decreed vpon As that the passion of the Lord and the resurrection and the ascension into heauen and the comming of the holy Ghost from heauen are celebrated And if any suche other thing shall occurre which is kept of the vniuersall Church whither soeuer it spreade abroad it self As for other things which are varied by Coastes of Countries and by regions as is that that other fast on the Satterday and other not other euery day communicate the body and bloude of the Lord other doo receaue but certaine daies somewhere no daye is left of in which there is not an offering made somewhere on the Satterday onele and the Lordes daie somewhere onely on the Lordes day And if any such other like thinge may bee noted this whole kynde of things hath free obseruations Neither any discipline in these thinges is better to a graue and prudent Christian then to do after that sort after which he shall see the Church doe unto the which he shall happen to come For that which is enioyned neyther againste the Faythe nor yet againste good manners is to bee holden indifferentlye and to be kept according to the company of them among whom men liue So that according to this fatherly aduice and sounde iudgement of S. Augustine conferred with these and other circumstances for the vniting of this name Bishop vnto one more peculierly then to other his fellowe brethren it being neither against the faith nor against good manners though there had beene no mention at all thereof or of that whiche might inferre it in the Scripture and though diuerse Countries had one custom of Gouernement and we another yet were not ours to be disobeyed but straungers comming to vs are to conforme themselues as occasion requireth to ours and muche more our selues not to despise the same But nowe it beeing suche an vniuersall order that it hath al-waies continued euen from the Apostles times and all ouer the Churche in euerye place without alteration nor any age or people haue beene knowen or can bee named in al Christendome where this pretended equality since the Apostles times hath beene maintayned but that there haue bene Bishoppes good or bad that haue beene superiors thoughe not in the office of their Order yet in the office of their Dignitye albeit wee could not shewe in the expresse scripture the time the place the manner of the institution beginning thereof yet maye we safely with S. Augustine conclude that it was not nor could be done without the Apostles Especiallye when wee can shew as we haue showed euen in the plain words of the Scripture the verye matter it selfe not among Priestes in the old Lawe among whom they had an highe Priest ouer them and all the Leuites Princes and Rulers of the Leuites as our Bretheren reason from the Prophesie of Esay that God would take of the Gentiles to be Priestes and Leuites to fulfill this Prophesie by proportions of our Pastors and Doctors but wee stande for the originall practise of it on the manifest examples in the newe Testament The Apostles and that not in respect they were Apostles for so they were sent abroad and not resiant in a place but as they were resiant so Pastors had some higher then the residue some that were Pillers and chiefe among them And like-wise had the other brethren 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those that were guides and Rulers among them And Timothie the Pastor of the Churche at Ephesus as Caluine saith was the chiefe Ruler saith Beza of all the Pastors there Yea the verye plaine subscription of the Epistle it selfe calleth him plat and plaine The firste Bishop of Ephesus Sithe therefore both the gift of this superior dignity and the application of the name had such auncient originall in the Apostles times when it began had such vrgent occasions where it sprang had such godly purposes where-to it tended had such plausible allowance and authority of all the worlds decreeing to confirme it among whome I hope at least were some good men And lastly sithe it hath had such vniuersall and continuall practise of it among whom also such a multitude of holy learned fathers haue taken them this peculier title and superiority shall we now yéeld to Beza his procéeding on this example Phil. 1. That this was the chiefe occasion of all the mischiefe following Here-upon saith Beza began the Diuel to lay the first foundation of his tirannie in Gods church as though all the administration of the Churche were together with the name trāslated vnto one All this and that which followeth in Beza hereupon be it spokē with al dutiful reuerēce to so worthy a man vnworthy affection with in these matters to be so caried away is vnnecessary collected on the sequele here-of howbeit directly indéed no sequel at all True it is that of any neuer so good a thing the Diuell indirectly may pick occasion to worke mischiefe But that can-not be properly avowed that it commeth from thence For as S. Iames saith doth a fountaine send out at one place sweete water and bitter and directly as Christ saith a good tree bringeth forth good fruits If therfore so good an actiō done for so good purposes haue not had so good a sequell it is not to be imputed to the matter but to other ill occasions afterwarde When the good housholder had sowed wheate the enuious man on occasion of the seruaunts sleeping sowed Darnel When God had sent Christe into the worlde to be the corner stone of the building by the occasion of mans malice he was called and was indéede to many the stone of offence and stumbling But what of that shall wée take offence also or conclude that Christe is not the God of peace and loue because warre and discorde followes while Sathan stirres occasions to make sects and diuisions where the Gospell is preached and receaued if that were proued to be the very necessary and proper occasion and those euils following to be the direct natural sequeles it were a good argumit ab effectis otherwise on euery accident you may condemne all thinges But all this runnes on this supposal that the whole administration of the Church together with the name is heereby translated vnto one If this sequele did consequently followe then indéed
one place or folde but that he trauelled abroade to enstruct and confirme other Churches Neuerthelesse both in other and in his owne though otherwise for learning he was one of greatest authoritie in his age yet liued he in all Ecclesiasticall obedience vnder his Bishop Demetrius who made him Priest or Elder in that Church and also Doctor or publique teacher in that schoole and before him the famous Pantaenus Clementes Master and after him Origene Clementes Scholler were all vnder Demetrius this Bishoppe of Alexandria And to prooue that this Clement flourished vnder Commodus within 80. yeares after the Apostle Saint Iohn not onely Eusebius testifieth Libr. 6. cap. 11 but Clement him-selfe inferreth it Strom. lib. 1. saying This booke is not for ostentation with scripture gathered together artificially but monumentes the helpe of forgetfulnesse are gathered vnto me for mine olde age Verely an image and shadowe of those manifest and liuely speeches which I was vouchsafed to heare of those blessed men that indeede were of highest price and estimation The one of them was in Greece an Ionian the other in Greece the great or Apulia The one was from Coelesyria the other from Aegypt And other there were from the Easte and one of those an Assyrian the other an Hebrue in Palestine of high pedegree But when I light vpon this last albeit in power he was the first I staied in Aegypt hunting after those thinges that were hidden from me euen as a verie Bee of Sycilia sucking the flowers of the Propheticall and Apostolicall meadowe He ingendreth a certaine syncere and incorrupt knowledge in the mindes of them that hearde him but hee was such an other as indeede kept the true deliuerie of the blessed doctrine euen streight from Peter and Iames and Iohn and Paule and the holy Apostles the sonne receauing them of the Father howbeit fewe sonnes are like their Fathers these haue by the will of God come also to vs who will lay vp those Apostolicall seedes that wee haue receaued ceaued of our ancestors Wherein as this auncient Father declareth his synceritie and diligence in following the Apostles so withall howe neare he was to the Apostles times and so notable a scholler picked out such notable Maisters but the Maister whom in the Doctorship hee succéeded was Pantaenus Of which Pantaenus Eusebius saith Lib. 5. cap. 10. to whome also accordeth Ierome when at that time Pantaenus the most Noble man in all learning had the rule of the Ecclesiasticall Schoole and of the office of a Doctor from whence the custome with them from the old time was deliuered as Ierome also sayth according to an auncient custome in Alexandria were Doctors alwayes from Marke the Euangelist it remayneth yet vntill this day that in the Ecclesiast Schoole there are to be had Doctors of diuine Scriptures or as we cal them Doctors of diuinitie most choise men in science and learning Of this office therefore the man of whom before wee spake was counted a certaine author and a chiefetaine verie famous as one that also among those Philosophers which are called the Stoikes had before that time noblie flourished Whose studie towardes God worde and great loue is reported to be so muche that of the feruencie of faith and deuotion he went to preach the Gospell to all the Nations that are hidden in the vttermost corners of the East that he came to the hether India preaching the woorde of God For there were yet in those dayes manie Euangelistes who according to the imitation of the holy Apostles traueling in diuerse partes of the worlde by the grace of God and the vertue of their minde brought the worde of God and the faith of Christe to euerie of those Nations that knewe it not Whereupon say the Centuriographers It hapned that the Indians moued with the renowne of the Church of Alexandria perhaps with the fame of the same Pantaenus did by certain their legates request of Demetrius the Bishop of that Church that he would sende a Doctor fitte and sounde which might more fully instruct them in the true doctrine of the Gospell and winne other vnto Christe that as yet were rude and ignorant of the Gospell What is doone Pantaenus the moderator of the holy schoole in his Church is before all chosen of Demetrius and appointed vnto that vocation Pantaenus heere dooth not drawe backe nor is terrified with the labours and perilles but foorth-with obeyeth this vocation as it were Gods vocation and fetteth on the iourney although it were long and sharp To become after the Apostles the Euangelist of the Indians Thus are these Doctors and Pastorall Elders chosen ordeyned and appointed by their Bishop which in authoritie of learning was farre inferiour to them but in authoritie and dignitie of place farre their superiour yea although they were Euangelistes yet were they subiect to the Bishops And as this Bishop Demetrios had this superiour gouernement ouer all the Doctors and Preachers in his time which was the 11. Bishop of Alexandria euen so had all before him Who are all sayde to rule and gouerne the Churche notwithstanding there were diuerse notable Doctors and Pastors besides the Bishops in Alexandria and had so continued euen from the very Apostles times yea from S. Marke himselfe which was the first planter of the faith of Christe among them both Paule and Peter being yet liuing Hierome calleth Marke the Doctor of Alexandria and saith that Philo Indaeus had friendship with Peter and for this cause did also set foorth with prayses the Church of Marke the disciple of Peter and his followers at Alexandria Among which prayses of Philo Eusebius saith thus He describeth diligently the degrees of them that exercised the ecclesiast functions which excelled the one the other also the ministers of the Deacons And finally the chiefe and principall honour of the Bishops office And as it was thus euen from the Apostles times in the Churche of Alexandria so likewise was it in manie other places Polycarpus saith Hierome in Catalogo scriptorum Eccl. the disciple of Iohn the Apostle being of him ordayned Bishop of Smyrna 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was Princeps which is Ieromes owne woorde the Prince that is the chiefe Prelate or as wee more moderately call it the primate of all Asia For he had many of the Apostles and them that had seene the Lord to be his Maisters and had seene them Eusebius Lib. 3. cap. 36. sayth of Ignatius Moreouer Ignatius notorious in the renowne of fame euen to our times obtayned the Bishoprike of Antiochia by the seconde succession after Peter not that Peter was Bishop there but that Peter beeing there made Euodius the first Bishoppe of Antioche after whome succeeded this Ignatius that calleth him-selfe the Scholler or Disciple of Saint Iohn Which Ignatius going to his Martyrdome writeth thus in his Epistle to the Antiochians Remember the rightlye moste blessed Euodius your Pastor
those matters whereof they doubt Moreouer hee propoundeth the thinges that hee hath taught to bee discussed in publike disputations that there might no doubt at all remayne Besides these thinges he maketh oftentimes exhortations to profit them well in the Doctrine proposed Héere again the Doctor not onely teacheth but also exhorteth And hee addeth dissuasions from those things whereby they might bee hindred and also admonitions and reprehentions and generall rebukinges Last of all such a master marketh diligently what may profite euery one of his schollers And if he shall marke any to be slack in learning he both correcteth him priuily and admonisheth him of his duety If hee perceiue any to goe lustily forward in learning hee often times calleth him commendeth him and enflameth him that hee might followe his studye more and more Christ the Lorde him selfe did also keepe all these seuen manners of teaching In the synagogue at Nazareth hee read the 61. Chapter of Esay and interpeted it Luc. 4. in the mount he expounded the commaundementes of God Math. 5. and taught euery where and exhorted and reprehended and rebuked out of the worde of God He answered also vnto all both good and bad that asked him questions and on the other side he demaunded Questions as Math 22. He often catechized the Disciples he himselfe was also present at the catechising Luke 2. Sith therfore the ministery of teaching requireth a work so manifold there are also many orders of Ministers deputed vnto this Ministery And first of all Readers whose office was in a pulpit a place somewhat higher to recite the diuine scriptures But this recitall of the diuine scriptures was ordeyned to this purpose that both the tongue the manner of speaking of the scripture and the whole scripture it self might be made more knowne and familiar to the people For within a year they recited all the holy bookes vnto the people When as those that opened the scriptures coulde not by expounding finish but some part of the scriptures and that no great part neither in one yeare While in the meane season by the onely reciting of the diuine bookes vnto the people the knowlege of all the pointes of our saluation was meruelously confirmed for they are oftentimes in euery one of the holy bookes repeated and are by diuers and other names expounded so that alwayes the people out of the lesson following shoulde learne manye thinges which they coulde not as yet playnely perceiue by the former lesson and by that worke was the peoples iudgement confirmed concerning all our Religion as also concerning the expositions of the scriptures and concerning all doctrine that was brought foorth before them eyther by the lawfull Curates and Doctors or else by others For these causes this office also of reciting simply the diuine scriptures vnto the people was in the auncient Churches highly esteemed Neyther were any chosen to this ministery but such as were commended for their singuler godlinesse the which both we may vnderstande by other monumentes of the auncientes and also is perceiued cheefely by one Epistle or twayne of Saint Cyprian as out of the fift Epistle in the seconde booke concerning Aurelius that was ordeyned a reader And Epistle 22. in the third booke concerning Saturus And in the fourth booke concerning Celerinus Celestine To these readers were afterward adioyned Psalterists who had the gouerning of the Psalmes and hymmes that were to be sung Concerning the Scriptures to bee reade the Lorde bee thanked it is well ordered in the Englishe Churches so that there might bee fitte readers which shoulde adde thereto a grauitie and religiousnesse worthy of the diuine mysteries that were recited in the holy Lessons Let it therefore bee pondered diligently whose mouth they represent them-selues to bee which in the sacred assembles reade the diuine bookes vnto the people that is to wit they represent the mouth of God almighty then of what moment of what dignity the matters are that are recited which are the wordes and preceptes of life eternall last of all to what manner of men and to what purpose the readers of the holy scriptures ought to serue For they ought to minister vnto the sonnes of God for whose saluation the first begotten sonne of God shedde his owne bloude by the which thinges the same saluation maye more and more bee made open and bee throughly perfourmed vnto them Which thinges if a man with a true fayth consider with him selfe what grauity decency religion can bee yeelded in any action that such a reader shoulde ouerslippe But they which exercise this function ought alwayes to haue that in the sight of their minde that those thinges which are reade before them ought effectually to serue to the edification of fayth in the hearers the which also shall then at the length bee brought to passe when as both those thinges are well vnderstoode and also are receiued as the wordes of God But vnto both of these a moste cleare well spoken religious pronunciation is required Whereupon is gathered that they are not the Ministers of Christe which doe so recite the diuine scriptures as though that were the onely thing which shoulde be required that the shortest leysure that can be may be spent in such kinde of recitall Now there is another office the interpretation of the Doctrine that is to be dispensed that this to wite a more simple explication of words and sentences This ministery did the bishoppes execute and the priests or Elders Notwithstanding sometimes they admitted vnto this function out of the order of Deacons and of Sub-deacons yea and sometime of the layty such as they founde to bee by the holy Ghoste made fitte profitable to exercise the same So Origene beeing also a lay man was called to this office in the Church of Cesarea of Palestine by Alexander byshop of Hilta and by Thertistus bishoppe of the same Church of Cesarea Euelpis also by Neonus bishoppe of the Larandians and Paulinus bishop by Celsus bishop of Iconium and Theodorus by Atticus bishoppe of the Sinadians These thinges are reade in Eusebius in the sixt booke the tenth Chapter of his Ecclesiasticall history And out of the Epistle of those two bishops Alexander of Ierusalem and Theoctistus of Cesarea bishops in Palestine to Demetrius bishop of Alexandria who reprehended the fact of these two bishops concerning Origene as though it were a thing neuer hearde off for a lay-man while bishoppes were present to speake in the Churche vnto the people But these B. manifestly affirme that this was not true but that the holy Bishops were accustomed to exhort them whome among the laytye they knew to be fitte that they would bring foorth some profite vnto the people of interpreting the scripture and in teaching and that they would exercise this ministery euen while they their-selues also were present And the seconde and so the thirde part of the Ministery to wit interpretation and Doctrine the bishops and the
other debility doth so weaken him that he cannot so lowde so cleane reddily reade as a childe or a woman may do But the holy auncient Fathers did not therfore contemne the office of Readers No they considered the person whome for their calling and office they represented and permitted neither childe woman nor any man neuer so prompt a Reader in such publike and autentike manner to reade these thinges but onely those men that were lawfullye called and authorized thereunto and did greatly reuerence and estéeme this office of Readers although they were not yet made Pastors but were Readers only And shall we now contemne them condemne them when these Readers are Pastors also and say that such a Pastor reading doeth the thinges which a childe of ten yeeres olde may do as well as he And yet it followes not if there were some such Pastors whome a childe didde excell that if any such vpoÌ„ some especiall consideration were born withall we shall neuer lacke vnlearned Pastors ignorant and vngodly people simonicall and sacrilegious Patrones c. Whereas mée thinkes and I speake it bonafide and I hope bona cum venia that rather of the twaine if these our brethrens deuises should take place we should haue more coÌ„teÌ„pt of learning and greater number of vnlearned Pastors and so more ignorant and vngodly and contentious people more simonicall and sacrilegious patrones if any patrones at all should be allowed more slow forwardnesse of the building of Gods church beside other many moe new superstitious fantasies which for shortnes we omit to speake of than eyther now there is or euer was or euer would be by any direct occasion of reading a prescript number of psalmes and chapters of the Scriptures with other appointed formes of prayer as now we haue But our brethren supposing they haue héere so full confuted this publike reading of prescribed formes of prayer psalmes and chapters that wee our selues would séeke to haue it yet for a while at least to be tollerated they would cut of this also and say What though some say formall reading might be borne withall for â— time vntill the Church might be prouided of sufficient pastors which yet is not graunted shall it therfore continue alwayes to the perpetuall decay of knowledge and hurte of the Church of God Who are those some that so say that formall reading might bee borne withal for a time vntil c And what is héere meant by formal reading If it be a comelie and reuerent forme of reading a prescript number of Psalmes Chapters of the Scriptures with other appointed formes of prayer before mentioned Why shoulde anie saie it might bee borne withall for a time vntill the Church might be prouided of sufficient pastors as though the reading of these thinges should no longer be suffered but that afterward those that shoulde be thought to be sufficient pastors should haue no appointed formes of Prayer at all nor any number at all of Psalmes or chapters of the scriptures prescribed vnto them but that euery sufficient pastor might be free to vary in his formes of prayer and number of Psalmes and chapters of the scripture at his pleasure What sufficiency shall be appointed for such Pastors is not here set downe For my part I thinke there is no sufficiency in a Pastor to be counted a sufficient priuiledge so clearely to acquite him but that although he may now and then leaue out or adde or alter some part of the prescribed and appointed forme vpon occasion at his discretion yet were it not conuenient were he neuer so sufficient learned that there shoulde be no forme at all appointed For wee must not onely consider the sufficiency of the Pastor but withall the sufficiency or insufficiency of the people and the order and comlinesse of the Church Which is best obserued especially in these licentious and perillous times full of errors and corruptions not when wee are moste at libertye but when Orders appointed doe restraiue vs. But these our Brethren the Learned discoursers reiecte all suche formes of prayer and say What though some saye formall reading might be borne withall for a time vntill the Church might be prouided of sufficient Pastors which is not yet granted No is who are they that haue of late set forth this Pamphlet intituled A booke of the forme of common prayer and ministration of the sacramentes c. agreable to Gods word and the vse of the reformed Churches Is not formal reading and numbers of Psalmes and chapters of the scripture héere prescribed And if this booke of the forme of common prayer be agreable to Gods word and the vse of the reformed Churches howe is this our brethrens Learned Discourse which they call a breefe and playne declaration concerning the desires of all those faithful ministers that haue and doe seeke for the reformation of the Church of Englande agreeable to Gods word and to the vse of the reformed Churches and how do these our Brethren heere affirme that if this formall reading shoulde continue alwayes it shoulde redounde to the perpetuall decay of knowledge and hurt of the Church of God which as Bucer sayth is to the great encrease of knowledge and manifolde benefite of the Churche of God God What greater discouragement is there vnto Studentes then to see the rewardes of learning bestowed as commonly vpon the ignoraunt as vpon the Learned What encouragement is it to idlenesse and slouthfulnesse in them that be already in that vocation to beâ—old them that take no paine to liue in wealth and ease without punishment of their negligence And with what necessary consequence doth this hang vpon the continuance of an appointed forme of prayer Psalmes and Chapters May not the rewardes of learning be bestowed vpon Studentes and yet formall reading of these thinges still continue yea may not Students imploy their time more continually in their studies and haue the more leasure to study better about the expositioÌ„ of the Scriptures when the publike forme of prayer is already appointed and prescribed vnto them True it is that this is a great discouragement vnto Studentes to see the rewardes of Learning as commonlye bestowed vpon the ignoraunt as vpon the learned But woulde not euill Patrones doe so more then they doe except the superior authority of the Bishoppes did not restraine them and if it were so that all were equall and the bestowing of the rewardes of Learning lay in the election of the vnlearned and vulgar people woulde not the same discouragement as commonlye or more commonly fall out then And is this the waye to encourage Studentes vnder pretence that the rewardes of learning are not so well bestowed to spoyle and pull downe Bishoprikes Colleages Cathedrall Churches Glebes and Tythes c. And to take all this cleane away both from the vnlearned and learned too And are these men nowe so carefull of the greate discouragement of
serued for good excellent purposes as out of Zāchius Bucer is declared yet notwithstanding if these reading Ministers perched into higher places of the Ministerie than they should as comming some what néere to the touch of these tearmes they might perhaps better deserue to be remoued But if they simplie meane all reading Ministers wheras the most part are able to giue good counsaile instruction admonition exhortation in priuate conference besides their publike formall reading though they haue no dexteritie in publike preaching yea there is none so learned a preacher in this land or in anie other Church but it may beséeme him well inough to reade the publike forme of common praier in the Church and to reade the Chapters and Psalmes appointed and so all sorts of Ecclesiasticall persons being comprised in this tearme Reading Ministers it were ouerhard to remoue all and to condemne all reading Ministers for Idoll shepheards It will be answered no doubt that to supplie their ignoraunce there are added to their appointed seruice many godlie and learned Homelies which if they reade with their seruice there is not so greate neede of preaching and interpretation of the Scriptures And if this be answered for anie thing that is héere replied the answere might satisfie anie reasonable man that were not too litigious and importune Why may not many godlie and learned Homelies bee added to supplie their ignorance that are not learned pastors Is not an Homelie a sermon also And if they be godlie and learned many such Sermons although they be but read plainlie and distinctlie vpon the booke and not conned or spoken without the booke may it not be safelie sayde at least thus much that where they are orderlie and often read there is not so great neede of other preaching and of other interpretation of the Scriptures Whē as indéed the reading of thē being read as they ought to be is also a kind of preaching and oftentimes no vnfruitfull interpreting of the Scriptures But now what doe our brethren héere replie vnto the answere of this supplie We will derogate nothing heere from the dignitie of those Homelies we will not accuse heere the vnsensible reading of vnlearned Ministers neither yet the vnreuerent contempt of the ignorant hearers but which all godlie and wise men must needes confesse those exhortations that are not applied to the proper circumstances of times places persons occasions are of smal power to persuade anie man and least of all the ignorant people What our brethren heere doe meane in saying wee will derogate nothing here from the dignitie of those Homelies it is vncertaine because that this restraint heere séemeth to infer that some where els they wil derogate from the dignitie of them Which if they doe wee must answere it then take this in the meane season that is granted here And yet here let vs friendlie forewarne our brethren to remember what they haue granted heere least they derogate there from that which they haue acknowledged here that those Homilies are godlie and learned Homilies yea let them take héed that euen here they controll not themselues for if they will heere derogate nothing from the dignitie of them how then will they not allow them to be read Is it no derogation to the dignitie of thē to prohibite the reading of them And sith they heere confesse them to bée both godlie and learned why may not such profit be reaped by them that they may be a good and necessarie supplie when other kinde of preaching wanteth As for the vnsensible reading of vnlearned Ministers may both here and anie where else be worthelie misliked and also the vnreuerent contempt of the ignorant hearers But what is this against the godlie and learned Homelies when they are sensiblie read and when they are reuerentlie heard and not contemned and when the ignorant hearers attaine to knowledge by the hearing and marking of them But whatsoeuer they will derogate other where or contrarie themselues there or here What a daungerous saying is this that followeth as a reason here of thē alleaged But that which all godlie and wise men must needes confesse those exhortations that are not applied to the proper circumstances of times places persons and occasions are of small power to persuade anie man and least of all the ignorant people For these generall spéeches take not onelie awaie the benefit that many to their comfort and increase of knowledge féele by the reading and hearing of many godlie and learned Homilies but also of all other writers Fathers Commentaries Cōmon places Apologies Confutations Treatises Sermons Postills Homilies or whatsoeuer neuer so godlie and learned discourses yea it would make the holie Scripture it selfe which is the power of God to saluation to all them that beleeue it Rom. 1. which is quicke and forcible and more pearcing than a two edged swoord reaching euen to the parting of the soule and the spirit and of the ioyntes and marow and a separater of the thoughts and intentions of the heart Heb. 4. to be of small power And what are anie godlie and learned Homelies but written Sermons expositions and preachings of Gods word to make the same more plaine and so to persuade more effectuallie the ignorant hearers But be it that godlie and learned Homilies are but of small power to persuade anie man yet if they be of some power though the smaller then may they be added as some supplie though the smaller when the greater supplie of godlie learned preaching is not alwaies so redie albeit that many godlie and learned Homilies are not so destitute neither of application to diuers proper circumstances of times places persons and occasions but that the diligent hearer and marker may perceiue him selfe sufficientlie and often times with more moderation and no lesse pithilie to be touched and moued than perhaps with many moe vehement lesse considerate exhortations or reprehensions of diuerse yea that very godlie and learned preachers Let long experience the mistres of fooles teach vs if knowledge the instructor of wise men cannot moue vs. How many Papists conuerted How many ignorant instructed How many wicked reformed are ye able to shew by this ignorant and vnlearned Ministerie with al the helpes of reading of formall Praiers Homilies without preaching applying the Scriptures to the proper circumstances before rehearsed If long experience bee the mistres of fooles whose mistres is late short Experience And why then doe our Brethren crie so fast to haue vs looke vpon and follow the late experience and that in other Countries as a rule for vs and all to imitate The question here demaunded how many Papists conuerted c is verie captions As though we allowed of ignorant and vnlearned Ministers or allowed of such reading of formall praiers and Homilies as neuer hath the helpes of preaching or applying the Scriptures to the proper circumstances
this house was layde before their eyes wept with lowde voyce And many shoâ—ted lowde for ioy so that the people coulde not discerne the sounde of the shout for ioy from the noyse of the weeping of the people Fâ—r the people sâ—owted â—ith a lowde cry and the noyse was heard farre off Here indeede was some confusion of voices because some of them shouted and some wept and some of them praised to GOD and some sang his praises and some blewe the Trumpettes and yet GOD accepted this confusion as a moste sweete conceite and harmonye In the tenth Chapter after the Prayer of Esdras in the name of himselfe and of al thâ— people verse 1. VVhiles Esdras prayed thus and confessed him-selfe weeping anâ— falling downe before the House of GOD there assembled vnto him of Israell a very â—reat congregation of Men and VVomen and childâ—en for the people wept with a great lamentation Then Shecaniah the sonne of Iehiel one of the sonnes of Elam aunswered and said to Esdras we haue trespassed against God c. Here one speaketh in the name of all the people but in the next assemblie it followeth after VVhen Esdras had exhorted the people al the Congregation aunswered Uerse 12. and said with a lowde voyce So wil we do accordinge so thy VVordes vnto vs but thee People are manye and it is raynye weather and wee are not able to stande vvithoute neyther it is the vvoorke of one Daye or two for wee are many that haue greatly offended in this thing Let our rulers therefore c. And in the 8. Chapter of Nehemias he saith verse 1. And all the people assembled themselues together in the streete that was before the Water gate and they spake vnto Esdras the scribe that hee shoulde bring the booke of the lâ—we of Moses which the Lorde had commaunded to Israel And Esdras the prieste brought the lawe before the congregation â—â—th of men and Women and of all that coulde heare and vnderstande it in the first day of the seuenth month And hee red therein in the streete that was before the water-gate from the morning vntill the Midday before men and women and them that vnderstoode it and the cares of all the people hearkened vnto the booke of the lawe And Esdras the scribe stoode vpon a pulpit of wood which he had made for the preaching Here againe is the plaine reading of the Scripture so that the people may vnderstand it called Preaching And Esdras opened the booke before all the people for he was aboue al the people and when hee opened it al the people stood vp and Esdras praysed the Lord the great God And all the people aunswered Amen Amen with lifting vp their handes and they bowed themselues and worshipped the Lord with thâ—ir faces toward the ground And here is euen that our bre speake of where the minister praiseth God which is a part of praier and the people hearken and aunswere Amen But yet immediately it followeth that this reading was not done all by one but a great many Leuites are reckoned vp which caused the people to vnderstande the Lawe and they reade in the booke of the Lawe of God distinctly and gaue the sence and caused them to vnderstande the reading And also the notable prayer that followeth in the next Chapter was pronounced vppon staires not by one but by eight or nine of the Leuites pronouncing the same before the people Thus wee see at large in all these ages the manner of the Church of God in their coÌ„gregations and publike Praiers both for the Leuites parts and for the peoples howe they ioined their voices together not onely in saying Amen but in their petitions Confessions and thanks-giuinges And this was counted no disorder nor confusion but vsed of all Godlie men and alwaies acceptable vnto God And so as wee may further perceiue by the Apocrypha and other histories of their publike praiers thus practised and continued till Christes comming Neither was this doone so much in respect of the ceremoniall as of the morall Lawe of God among them But to confirme all this with the practise approoued of Christe in the Newe testament reade we not Luke 2. verse 13. Euen presently after the birth of our Sauiour Christ that when one â—ngel of the Lorde had declared vnto the Shepheardes the ioyful tydings of his birth And straight wayes sayth Luke There was with the Angell a multitude of heauenly souldiers praâ—sing GOD and saying Glorye bee to GOD on high and in earth peace and towardes men good will and was heere also confusion and disorder in the multitude of the voices of the Angels that saide these things And likewise when Iesus a little before his death came riding to Ierusalem Mat. 21. ver 9. c The people that went before and they also that followed cryed saying Hosana the sonne of Dauid blessed be hee that commeth in the name of the Lord. Hosanna thou which art in the highest And when he was come to Ierusalem al the Citie was mooued saying who is this and the people saide this is Iesus the Prophet of Nazareth in Galily True it is that there were some that thought this a disorder and confused noise For it followeth vers 15 c. But when the cheefe priests and scribes sawe the maruels that he did and the children crying in the Temple and saying Hosanna the sonne of Dauid they disdained and saide to him hearest thou what these say and Iesus saide vnto them yea did yee neuer reade by the mouth of babes and sucklinges thou haste made perfect thy praise Doth Christe heere forbid them to cry out these publike praiers as a confusion and disorder And what was the manner of the Apostles praiers concerning this point Act. 1.14 Luke saith They all continued with one accord in praier and supplication with the Women and Marie the mother of Iesus and with his brethren In-déede here is not mentioned that all their voices were ioined together but one accord which rather signifieth the consent of their hearts then the consent of their voices But very well doth Caluine note hereon saying So farre as respecteth the concorde of their mindes it is opposed to the dispearsing of them which the feare had brought Howbeit withall generallie we may gather hereupon how necessarie it is in praying Which Christ commaÌ„deth euery one to pray for the whole body and in common as though it were in the person of all Our father Giue vs. c. Mat. 6.9 Whence coÌ„meth this vnitie of the tongs but of one spirite Wherefore Paul Rom. 15.6 When hee would deliuer to the Iewes Gentiles a rule of praying well remoueth far off all dissembling That we might glorify God sayth hee with one mouth And verilie that God may of vs be called vpon a Father it behoueth vs to be brethren to consent brethen-like But to shew this more plaine Luke declareth Act. 4.23 24. How that
thinges wée haue the lesse néede to stande longer in aunswering of them Let vs come therefore to that which they will speake vpon But wee speake say they of this that a great multitude thinke they haue well serued God if they haue beene present at coÌ„mon prayers or any part of them as they were wont to thinke in poperie although they be neuer so vainly occupied in the Church some in walking some in talking in gathering of money not only for the poore but for other contributions c. And they that thinke they do best are occupied in their priuate prayes or in reading of bookes while their minister pronounceth publike prayers To be vainely occupied in the Church some in walking some in talking is we graunt a fault Neither is it by any lawe or order allowed that the people should so behaue themselues in the time of the common prayers If any breake the lawes and orders in that behalfe they are to sustaine the punishment of the lawe and officers are appointed to looke vnto them and present them But how then shall those of our Brethren be holden excused that to auoyde walking and talking in the time of common prayers will not come at all to heare them confirming by their contemptuous absence the Popish recusantes besides the great offence vnto their Brethren Contributions and collections for the poore and for other Ecclesiasticall orders be such thinges as were done in the primitiue Churche at the time of their Ecclesiasticall assemblies as may appeare Act. 2. ver 42. Act. 4. ver 35. Act. 6. ver 2. Act. 11. ver 29. 1. Cor. 16. ver 2. whereupon sayth Caluine vpoÌ„ one of the Sabboths c. that is vpon that day wherin they made the holy assemblies c. Moreouer the holy asseÌ„bly where the coÌ„munion of the Saints is celebrated might adde a spurre vnto theÌ„ Vpon the first day of the weeke sayth the Geneua note which the scripture calleth the Lordes day others sunday they accustomed not onely in the Church but at home also according to euery mans zeale to lay vp some peece of money towardes the reliefe of the poore Bretheren And of the like matter Paule writeth 2. Cor. 9. c. Which order S. Paule sayth that he vsed in the Churches of Galatia Macedonia Achaia and other places To the which accordeth the order of celebrating the communion that we heard before out of Iustine that so soone as euer the communion is ministred the collection is made for the poore and then followe other prayers and thankesgiuings So that these collections and contributions for the poore c. may be still done in the Churche well inough if they be made betwéene whiles at such times as the publike prayer is stayed although many good exhortations and sentences exciting the people thereunto may not amisse be read euen in the very time of making the collection or they may giue themselues to their seuerall prayers all that while And if any for their gathering of money for the poore or other contributions disturbe the aedification of the people in the common prayer and celebration of the diuine seruice they may be well reproued and put backe or complayned vpon and punished These disturbances being thus remooued if nowe a great multitude haue beene present at common prayers or at so great part therof as they could conueniently come vnto I see not why our Breth should make this their most especiall point to speake on and to finde fault withall that they should thinke they haue well serued God But to thinke this say they is as they were wont to thinke in Poperie Our Breth thinke too hardly I dare not say rashly vncharitably of their Brethren to thinke that they thinke so as did the Papistes in the blindenesse of Popery For the Papistes stoode altogether on their intention and of their opus operatum the worke wrought though they could not tell what they did or sayd and yet they thought all to be done so well and sufficiently that they did thinke it meritorious before God Whereas no Protestant doth or can so thinke And all that is set foorth in the diuine seruice common prayer is to the cleane contrarie Which being good and the true seruice of God why may not our Breth so recoÌ„fort theÌ„selues when they haue orderly ioyned themselues in deuout calling vpon God at common prayer and reuerent hearing of his word that they may well and saâ—ely thinke without any thinking of the merite of their worke wrought but as becommeth humble Christians though of themselues all vnworthie to approch before God saue that they wholely relie on his acceptation in and for Iesus Christes sake that they haue well and truely serued God and though they deserue it not yet that God will both accept it and rewarde it As concerning priuate prayers on which our Brethren heere againe doe speake wee haue spoken also before sufficiently till that bée aunswered And as for reading of bookes if it be the reading of the same prayers that the Minister publikely pronounceth the same aunswere serueth or if it be the same Chapters that he readeth or to turne their books when the Minister citeth anie text or storie out of the scriptures in his sermon homilie or exhortation Which is a point that our Brethren do allow and call vpon the people to doe and therefore I sée not why our Brethr. should so strictly at the time of the publike prayers and diuine seruice prohibite all priuate praying or priuate reading and that without exception of any suche persons as perchance be deafe or harde of hearing and for order sake would come to the Church that no suche person may priuately praye nor reade doing the same without preiudice or offence to others Thus as preaching is neglected vpon colour of publike prayers so publike prayers by priuate exercises are made altogether vnprofitable to a great number For who knoweth the right vse of publike prayer but they that are taught by the worde of God Let vs therefore establishe publike preaching and publike prayers will followe of necessitie But if wee continue to vpholde formall prayers that preaching be neglected it will come to passe that neither shall bee regarded We allowe not that preaching should be neglected vppon colour of publike prayers For both may in their orders be continued But sithe we haue not the one so ordinarie because it can not so ordinarily bee had shall we therefore haue no ordinarie of the other which wee may easilier haue and in no case wee may discontinue Did not the Iewes continue the ordinary courses and times of their publike praiers and readings of the lawe of the Psalmes of the Prophetes though they had not thâ— like ordinarie courses and times of preaching and of interpreting the same among them Neither are publike prayers though there bee no sermon so they be vsed as is
gouernment are nowe ioyned together in her Maiesty And the right and honesty hereof hauing place heere it is not so onely in Spayne and Scotland but it may be so not as Danaeus sayth in diuers other regions but quoad ius euery region if they haue not other as good municipall and peculier lawes and those not feigned to debarre the naturall right of any Woman princes regiment Neyther hindreth it this right and honesty that Spayne or any of these diuers other regions not specified by Danaeus haue not yet receyued as we haue God make vs thankfull for it the light and liberty of the Gospel for neyther in some of these regions where this right and honesty of womens regiment holdeth they haue as yet receiued so much as the title and profession of Christs name Notwithstanding as their mariages and other ciuill lawes or morall behauior may otherwise bee good and honest in their kindes so their authority of Magistracy and the person that their Lawes allowe the same authority vnto may likewise be good and honest neither against the generall lawe of nature nor against any speciall Lawe of God For then it were méerelie naught in all regions and with vs in Englande worst of all that knowe the written Lawe of God And therefore I conclude vpon this saying of Danaeus that if it bee righte and honest with vs then it is not an vnnaturall wrong monstrous or vnhonest thing in it selfe or against any of these places Genes 3.1 Corinth 11. and 14.1 Tim. 2. or any other places in all the scripture What meaneth therefore Danaeus heere by specifying onelye of these thrée regions England Spayne and Scotland restraining his generality not to all regions but to diuers other For if it be honest and right in any one except some other region haue other priuate and speciall Lawes against the same such as before I sayde are godly and not made to the iniury of any princes or persons former right then is it by the Law right of God and nature honest and right in all regions But I am affrayde hine illa lachimae that not only Danaeus but euen Caluine also did a litle too much patrissare and were caried away in this matter with the deuise that of later times hath bin set foorth to defeat the naturall right and title of the soueraigne Princes of England by the colour of a lawe Salike as they call it But because vnder pretence of this supposed Lawe the defenders of it toke vpon them not onely to maintaine it and the state of their Country but insult thereby vpon all other Nations and impugne generally the right of Womens regiment as an vnlawfull and vnnaturall state of gouernment therfore crauing pardon not to offend any nor so much impugning as defending it shall be requisit either to remooue out of the way this obiection of the sayde surmised Salike lawe or else it woulde still remayne as a stumbling blocke vnto the reader and a speciall argument vnto all them that not onely among our aduersaries but among our selues by all meanes impugne and vnderâ—â—â—e Womens regiment And because Fraunce onely and that lawe Salike is so much vrged Let vs onely in this our so necessary defence consider better the state thereof and the cheefest arguments for the same And â—â—rst whosoeuer shal peruse the ancient histories of the french natioÌ„ as he shal soon perceiue al this deuise of the law Salike to be vnturue by the pedegrée of diuers of their Princes so shall he find that diuers women haue also had the gouerning of the realme of Fraunce euen with the Kinges their husbands and after their deceasses As Batillidis the widow of Clodoueus which reigned together in the administration of the Kingdome with her sonne Clotharius as witnesseth Aimonius de gestis Francorum lib. â— cap. 43. The french men doe ordeine Clothayr to bee their king the eldest of the three children cum ipsa regina matre regnaturum that hee should reigne together with his mother Blanche the Mother of him whome the French call Saint Loyes which bothe by the Testament of her Husbande as Aemilius testifleth while her sonne was young and after in his captiuity in Syria had the gouernment of the Realme of Fraunce and notably gouerned the same maugre all the nobles in France that conspired against her As for the reasons of Caenalis in the defence of this pretensed Salike lawe how odiousle he being a popish Bishop enucigheth beyond al modesty against womeÌ„ is to apparant And how fondly he craketh of the french for this matter aboue all the nations in the worlde Whome he acknowledgeth for the most part further than Danaeus doth to admit succession and so the regiment of women And therefore he calleth them all Gallinaceos dunghill cocks or hennish cocks in respect of the french lib. 1. Perioche 10. But most of all howe shamelesly he wresteth the scripture thereunto For hauing alleaged Munster to proue the Salike lawe from Pharamund that the succession shoulde not come vnto the distaffe as he contumeliously tearmes it that is saith he women shoulde not be permitted to be made heyres of the kingdome to the which alludeth that Euangelicall sentence Consider ye the Lylies of the field how they grow they labor not in bringing foorth neither spinne they in drawing their taskes of wooll as is peculier vnto that weake sexe whereby it comes to passe that neither Solomon in all his glory is clothed as one of these For that Iewish nation were it right or were it wrong did sometimes will they â—il they sustaine the gouernment of women kinde Which thing is by experiment found in Athalia and in the issue of the Machabees What an impudent wresting of the Scripture is this to prooue the glory of the French Lylies not to admit the regiment of women And yet this bald argument or rather impious in wresting the scripture doth so please the bluide B. that he flourisheth againe vpon it fol. 113. b. saying Gallia in times past was Fennish as appeareth by the armes of the toads but nowe it is turned into a Cuntrie adorned with Lylies by an heauenly benefite vnder Clodoueus the first Christian King thereof Heereunto alluded Esdras lib 4. Cap. 9. saying Such as the Feelde is such are the seedes such as the Flowers are such are the colours Such as is the husband-man such is the tilth And the same Esdras Cap 5. Of all the Flowers of the worlde thou haste chosen to thee one Lyly The Lyon is fierce the Eagle is rauenous the Lyly is capable of the heauenly dewe Is not this a straunge applying of the scripture although this booke of Esdras be not canonicall But nowe where he addeth these two examples If hee had looked further he should haue found more and farre better examples in the Scripture Especially Debora But it séemeth he makes al one reckoning when hee sayth were it right or were it wrong that
women gouerned Gods people Whereby hee séemeth to clayme this to bee the prerogatiue of Fraunce that whether it bée right or whether it bee wrong they will not suffer womens gouernmtnt Neyther is Cenalis thus content to haue thus once or twise heerein abused the Scripture but he goeth on moste blasphemousely to God and iniuriously against all Christendome and sayth in which thing that most noble Realme of the Nation of the French Gaulles hath whereupon to congratulate vnto it selfe that by the singular benefite of God it may woorthily be called before other kingdomes a sacerdotall or Priestly kingdome For it hath this thing common with Priest-hoode that euen as the Priest-hoode can not passe ouer vnto a woman so no more can the Monarchiall Empire of the Salike Monarchie What therefore remayneth but that being mindefull of the grace receaued of God they breake foorth into these wordes Apocal 5. Thou art worthy O Lorde to take the booke and to open the seales therof because thou wast slaine hast redeemed vs in thy bloud out of euery tribe language people and Nation to wit whome thou hast vouchsafed to illustrat with the title of the most ChristaÌ„ kingdom And moreouer hast made vs kinges and Priestes and we shall raigne vpon the earth to wit being enriched with this sacerdotall dowrie Nothing therefore letteth whereby that Nation should not be called a holy Nation a royall Priest-hoode or if ye had rather a priestly or sacerdotall kingdom a people of purchase For the religion which afterward once it got neuer intermitted but happely prosperously euer encreased Gallia or the couÌ„trie of the Gaules sayth Ierom alone hath wanted monsters with the which almost the residue of Nations haue abounded more than inough Thus monstrously writeth Caenalis against womens regiment Howbeit I hope Caluin tooke not this terme of monster for womens regimeÌ„t from this monstrous Popish Bishop As for that which Ierome wrote was not against the regiment of women in Gallia neither was Gallia in his time called Francia nor Pharamundus borne and so no such Salike lawe as yet inuented And therefore this must needes be wrested hereunto Besides this intollerable arrogancie in the French to claime that spirituall priuilege of Royall Priest-hoode that is both common to all true Christian nations and to all true Christian people not onely men but to women also and to children And therefore this is both iniurious vnto theÌ„ to take this title from them and a grosse errour in a Bishop not vnderstanding what these termes doe meane For although he deâ—arre his Popish sacrificing Priest-hood from a woman leâ— him laye that hardely to Pope Iohanes charge yet in this spirituall and mysticall kingdome and Priest-hoode that either S. Peter or S. Iohn speaketh of euery good Christian woman neuer so priuate or poore person and all the electe children of God haue as good title right and interest as not onely the French king but as any or all the Emperours Kinges Queenes and Princes in the worlde Now after Caenalis hath thus craked of the French prerogatiue in this Salike lawe so much pretended and so greatly vrged when he commeth to the reason of the same and of this worde Salica he sheweth what diuersities of opinions are thereon Munster thinkes it is deriued of the worde Sala a riuer at a village of the same name Other that the lawes Salike are deriued of the woorde Sala or vne salle in Frenche signifying in Latine Aulam a Courte or Hall as who say the Courtly or Palatine law Some thought the deriuation of the lawe Salike came of certaine lawes of the French Emperours beginning Si aliquis or Si aliqua and so by contraction striking of a letter or two in the ende per syncopen it was vulgarly termed the lawe Salike Some sayth he arise higher more commodiously who fetch the Etimologie of the lawe Salike not so much out of the marrowe or pythe of the worde as out of the barke or rynde of the worde A Sale from salte as by a certayne allusion that they would haue the Salike law to be spoken hereupon as though it were perpetually constant inuiolable and incorruptible for all times to endure For salte in the holy scriptures is a token of incorruption and perpetuall enduring and moreouer both of Wisdome and discretion As is expressed in plaine wordes Numb 18. and Leuit. 2. In the booke of Numbers All the first frutes of the sanctuarie which the children of Israell â—ffer to God I haue giuen to thee and to thy sons by a perpetuall right it is an euerlasting couenant of salte vnto thee and to thy sonnes before the Lorde And in Leuiticus Whatsoeuer sacrifice thou shalt offer thou shalt season with salte nor shalt take awaye the salte of the couenant of thy God from thy sacrifice In euery oblation thou shalt offer salte And againe 2. Paral. 13. Yee are not ignoraunt that the Lorde GOD of Israell hath giuen the kingdome vnto Dauid ouer Israell for euer to him and to his sonnes for a couenaunt of salte By this it manifestly appeareth that salt hath the tooken of incorruption And as for the token of discretion Let your speech sayth Paule be seasoned with salte And in Marke Bâ—â—rie offering shall bee salted with salte Salâ— is good but if so be it be vnsauorie in what will yee season it That so yee may vnderstande the lawe Salike being sprinkled with the salte of discretion and with the sauce of muche reason perpetually to remaine in his vigor Thus doth Caenalis séeke all the shiftes he can to enforce this lawe not sparing thus more and more to hale and drawe these places of scripture to the same But sence he alleageth so manye originalles thereof and dare not resolue himselfe vppon any one of them but sayth Let euerie mans iudgement remayne to himselfe for I will not vppon this thing contende with any man what certaintye therefore can this lawe haue The very title whereof when it is tossed and tombled withall these diuersities of opinions and wrestlinges of the scripture is so vncertaine But if this were suche a wise and incorruptible lawe that it had his name of seasoning with salte to resemble those auntient offringes couenantes and spéeches in the olde and newe Testament then it maketh more for women than against them For although that saying 2. Paral 13. mention onely Dauid and his sonnes yet did Caenalis himselfe confesse before that the Nation of the Iewes did admitte the gouernement of a woman And the place mentioned Numbers 18. conteyneth not only sonnes as Caenalis citeth it but the verie wordes are to thee and to thy sonnes and to thy daughters So that the offering that is the salte of couenant or incorruptible couenant if the Frenche can drawe it to holde still incorruptiblie with them or the resemblance of their Princes estate thereunto giueth the same not onely to the man
followeth how can our brethren excuse them selues that they be not in danger of this Act if they haue beneâ—ices or haue they not done and doe cleane contrary to this their learned discourse in agreeing to the statute that they might holde their liuings if they haue not lost them againe by setting out this their learned discourse and by their maintenance of these opinions and assertions that are so direct against the statutes marke the wordes of the act and as they call it the godly meaning of the parliament And that if any person ecclesiasticall or which shall haue ecclesiasticall liuing shall aduisedly mainteyne or affirme any doctrine directly coÌ„trary or repugnant to any of the sayd articles and being conuented before the Bishop of the diocoese or the ordinarie or before the Queenes highnesse commissioners in causes ecclesiasticall shall persist therein or not reuoke his errour or after such reuocatioÌ„ eftsoones affirme such vntrue doctrine such mainteyning or affirming and persisting or suche eftsoones affirming shal be iust cause to depriue such persons of his ecclesiasticall promotions And it shal be lawfull for the Bishop of the diocoese or the ordinary or the said commissioners to depriue such persoÌ„ so persisting or lawfully conuicted of such eftsoones affirming vpoÌ„ such sentence of depriuation pronounced he shal be indeed depriued Now if we shall withal consider how our brethren haue aduisedlie that is to say of deliberate and aduised purpose directly in this their learned discourse pag. 135 challenged the doctrine of the sayd booke of Articles saying As was practised in the conuocation of the foresaid parliament vnto diuers Godly and learned preachers that offred to speake against diuers grosse and palpable errours that had escaped the Bishops decrees as for the distinction of Canonicall and apocriphall bookes for explication of the clause in the article of predestination where it is sayde the elect may fall from grace and such like matters how truly this is spken of that conuocation and howe trulye also they haue in these wordes burdened both the Bishops and the articles of no lesse than grosse and palpable errours and that in principall pointes of doctrine I reserue that till I come to the proper place where it is to be answered But howe haue not our brethren aduisedly affirmed and if they will stand to it maintayned doctrine directlye contrarye and repugnant to some of the the Articles of the sayde booke For to affirme and maintaine that that which is good doctrine is a grosse and palpable errour what is that but to affirme and maintaine the doctrine that is directly contrary and repugnant thereto and what remayneth But that if the Bishops will not pitifully abuse that authority of the statute that was committed vnto them they or the ordinarye or the Queenes Maiesties highe commissioners in Ecclesiasticall causes ought to conuent these oure learned discoursing Bretheren before them if they had anye names that they might knowe them and if any of them shall persist and not reuoke his errour c that this shal be iust cause to depriue such person of his Ecclesiasticall promotions And besides these Articles aforesaid that they challenge for grosse palpable errours how do they not also impugne the 34.35 36. articles of the said booke Yea diuerse of theÌ„ haue beene also conueÌ„ted before the Bishop the Ordinary or the Commissioners aforesayd and haue persisted in the contrarye to those articles and these our learned discoursing bretheren haue gone further to put their contradictions foorth to the worlde in print The wordes of the 34. article which they inpugne are these Who soeuer throughe his priuate Iudgement willingly and purposelye doth openlye breake the traditions of the Church which bee not repugnaâ—t to the worde of God and be ordeyned and approued by common authoritye oughte to be rebuked openly that other maye feare to doe the lyke as hee that offendeth against the common order of the Church and hurteth the authoritye of the Magistrate and woundeth the consciences of the weake bretheren If our Brethren would agrée vnto this article there should not be such troubles as there are amongst vs. The 35. article is of Homilies The second booke of homilies the seuerall titles wherof we haue ioyned vnder this article doth conteyne a godly and wholesom doctrine necessary for these times as doth the former boke of homilies which were set forth in the time of K. Edward the 6. therfore we iudge them to be read in churches by the ministers diligently distinctly that they may be vnderstood of the people Our brethren say pa. 49. that a prescript forme of reading of praiers of homelies such like when they are alleaged to maintain the ignorance of vnskilful pastors as though that were the vse they are alleaged for are but the instrumeÌ„ts of folish Idoll shepherds which haue a certaine preteÌ„ce of Pastorall office but in effect are altogether vnmeete for the same The 36. article is for ConsecratioÌ„ of B. ministers The booke of consecration of Archbishops B. ordering of priestes deacons lately set foorth in the time of Edward the 6. confirmed at the same time by authority of parliament doth conteyn al things necessary to such consecration ordering neither hath it any thing that of it selfe is superstitious or vngodly therefore whosoeuer are consecrated or ordered according to the rites of that boke since the secoÌ„d yere of the aforenamed king Edward vnto this time or hereafter shal be consecrated or ordered according to the same rires we decree all such to bee rightly orderly and lawfully consecrated and ordered And is not now the greatest part of this our brethrens learned discourse for the consecrating ordering or ordeyning of Archbishops B. Priestes or Elders and deacons directly contrary and repugnant to the doctrine and decree of this article and what followeth hereupon but that eyther our brethren must renounce this their learned discourse or must denie the authority and godly meaning of this act Anno. 13 which here they haue approued or else if the B. and other offâ—cers shall not pitifully abuse that authority which by the same statute is committed to them they must by the godly meaning and wordes of this act pronounce them to bee iustly depriued yea theirselues haue pronounced sentence against themselues But this and all other inconueniences before rehearsed shoulde vtterly bee auoided if wee might once establish the lawfull election of Pastors according to the woorde of God It were also greatlye to bee wished that it might bee brought to passe that in euery congregation there shoulde bee two Pastors at the leaste both bicause the charge is greate and also for supplying the lacke of the one if the other were sicke or absent vppon necessitye or anye such lyke case Which thing were both agreeable to the example of the Apostolike church and also verye profitable for the congregation Wee doe not
once excommunicated there is no remedie but he must trudge to the Chauncelor or Officiall for absolution Neither doth his absolution coÌ„sist as they to make it odious and contemptible scoffe out the matter in absoluing his purse of a fewe groates It was meruel they raysed it not from fewe to many groates and yet good reason if he be able that he should smart so farre euen by the purse also as to satisfâ—e the duetie of the fees that are by lawe appoynted to the officers But this is most vntrue that his absolution and releasing from the bonde of excommunication that in mockerie they call the giuing him his blessing which terme they might as well vse if it had bene the action of their whole Seniorie is the absoluing of the purse or consisteth on paying of money Whereas indeede he was neither excommunicated nor is absolued for money but as he was excommunicated for the encreasement of his fault with disobedient contumacie and contempt for the which lesser sinnes deserue this correction as our Bretheren pag. 39. confesse so is he released of the same and restored to his state vpon his humble and penitent submission and serious request Yea if the case so require vpon his publike acknowledgement and declaration of his hartie repentaunce with some demonstrances and notes of humblie susteyning open rebuke and shame in the face of all the congregation With what conscience now can our Bretheren agaynst their owne knowledge in things so manifest knitte vp this matter saying and this is the Image of our little particular Synod and is this the Image also of our great faithfull Bretherens little faithfull and syncere dealing Our generall conuocations hauing a more shewe of good order but in effect little better For first they are stuffed full of Popish prophane Chauncellors and other Lawyers which being meere lay men and vnlearned in diuinitie by their owne law ought to be no members of the Synode and yet these will beare the greatest sway in all things The Bishops as though they were greater than the Apostles must haue their seuerall conuenticle whereas the Apostles and Elders came together with the whole multitude Acts. 15. and as they are seuered in place so will they be higher in authoritie So that whatsoeuer is decreed among them that must be called the determination of the whole Synode So that no man must be suffered to speake any thing agaynst it be it neuer so reasonable or agreeable to the word of God yea whosoeuer will not subscribe to all such things as they decree must be excluded out of the conuocation as was practised and threatned in the conuocation at the foresayd Parliament vnto diuers godly and learned Preachers that offered to speake agaynst diuers grosse and palpable errors that had escaped the Bishops decrees As for the distinctions of Canonical and Apocryphall bookes for explication of the clause in the article of predestination where it is sayd that the elect may fall from grace and such like matters If this be not to practise Lordship ouer our faith to set downe decrees of Religion which must be accepted of all men without either reason or testimonie of the Scripture to proue them and no man permitted to shewe any reason or Scriptures that inforceth his conscience to the contrary but onely to hang vpon the authoritie of Bishops let some other declare what Paule meaneth 2. Cor. 1.4 where he denyeth that hee would exercise any Lordshippe ouer the faith of the Corinthians For although their decrees were neuer so perfect yet it were an example of Tyrannicall dominion neither to giue reasons to satisfie the ignoraunt themselues nor to heare or confute that which might bee alleadged agaynst them by others but for a fewe Lordbishops in comparison of all the Conuocation to sit by themselues and order all thinges at their pleasures as though the Gospell sprang first from them or had come vnto them onely if sauoureth nothing so much as of Popish tyrannie whereas otherwise it is well knowne they are not all of the best learned nor all of the longest studie nor all of the soundest iudgement nor all of greatest zeale nor all of best example and therefore not meetest to be the onely determiners in Ecclesiasticall matters to the preiudice of the whole Synode Wherefore it is greatly to bee desired that our Synodes also which are so farre out of order may bee refourmed according to the Scripture and the example of the Primitiue Church that all thinges maye bee done with such modestie grauitie and iudgement as they were by the Apostles and Elders Acts. 15. From our little or particular Synods our Bretheren come now to our generall conuocations of which they yet confesse that both they haue a more shewe of good order and are in effect though little yet somewhat better And here to prooue this little better they say For first they are stuffed full of Popish and prophane Chauncellors and other Lawyers Is this their little better good order in effect that they spake of If this were true it is much worse than before they made the little Synodes to bee Before we had but trifles here is worse stuffe if the conuocations are stuffed full of Popish and prophane Chauncellors and other Lawyers And if they bee stuffed with them then belike there is some store of them But can they name and prooue any such Chauncellors or Lawyers as bee admitted to bee members of the Synode to bee popish and prophane If they can it had bene very well none that at such tymes as the Conuocations were holden they had by these our Bretherens intimation bene detected and examined that if they had bene so conuinced they might haue bene auoyded remoued or punished If they can name none nor prooue any to be such persons then is this too prophane too vncharitable too vnprotestant-like a sclaunder and the more at randon that these foule speeches are thus cast foorth so much the worse and more suspicious Or is the very name and office of Chauncellor or Lawyer accounted of them to bee prophane and popish Or doe they meane it of Chauncellors onely and not ioyntly of Lawyers And are all Chauncellors then popish and prophane These speeches sauing our Bretherens reuerence are not onely rasâ— but daungerous agaynst many worshipfull and right honorable personages that haue the name and office of Chauncellors and are yet neither prophane nor popish but godly sincere religious and very great fauourers of the Gospel As for our Conuocations are so little stuffed full of Chauncellors or Lawyers that wee haue there very fewe of them And if wee haue some of them for their counsell and experience in the lawe I thinke it no such matter of offence but rather expedient they being such as are knowne to be of sound Religion and not popish or infected with any other knowne errour and not prophane but vertuous and holie in life
at Cabellinum especially in the Counsell that he held at Mentz where the Counsell craueth his ayde and confirmation of such Articles as they had agréed vpon so that he iudge them worthy to be confirmed beséeching him to cause that to be amended that is found to be worthy of amendment Which Counsell also giueth God thanks that he had giuen vnto his Church a Gouernour godly and deuout in his seruice who in his time opening the fountaine of godly wisedome doth continually feede the sheepe of Christ with holy foode instructeth them with diuine knowledge c. And in his Edicts set out not only to the Layty but to the Cleargy he writeth thus Charles by the grace of God King and Gouernour of the Kingdome of Fraunce c. Wherefore I thought good to moue you O yee Pastors of Christes Churches ye leaders of his flocke and cleere lights of the world that ye would trauaile with vigilant care and diligent admonition to guide Gods people through the Pastures of eternall life c. Therefore they are with earnest zeale to be admonished and exhorted yea to be compelled to keepe themselues in a sure faith reasonable continuance within and vnder the rules of the Fathers In the which worke and trauell wit ye right well that our industrie shall workâ— with you For the which cause we haue also addressed vnto you our messengers which by our authoritie shall with you amend and correct those things that are to be amended and therefore we haue also added such Canonicall constitutions as to vs were thought to be most necessarie Let none iudge this to be presumption that we take vpon vs to amend that which is amisse to cut off that which is superfluous For we reade in the bookes of the Kings how the holy King Iosias trauelled in going about the circuits of his Kingdome correcting and admonishing his people to reduce the whole Kingdome vnto the true religion and seruice of God I speake not this to make my selfe equall to him in holinesse but bycause we ought alwayes to follow the examples of the holy Kings and so much as we can we are bound of necessitie to bring the people to follow a vertuous life to the prayse and glory of our Lord Iesus Christ. And so he entreth into his rules exhortatioÌ„s to the B. and Priests how they should guide their Diocesses and Churches both by reading and preaching and the Bishops to sende foorth the Priests to preach It belongeth saith he vnto your office O ye Pastors guides of Gods churches to sende foorth through out your Dioceses Priests to preach vnto the people and to see that they preach rightly and honestly that ye do not suffer new things that are not canonicall but forged of their owne minde not according to the holy scriptures to be preached vnto the people yea you your own selues preach the things that are true and honest and that lead vnto euerlasting life And instruct ye other that they doe the same c. Yea Alcuinus in his preface of his treatise on the trinitie which he being his Chaplaine dedicated vnto this French king being then also made Emperour maketh the Prince to haue so farre authoritie aboue all other ciuill persons in Ecclesiast matters that he calleth him also a Preacher and sayth that he hath as it were a priestly office in these thinges And least sayth he I should seeme not to helpe and further your preaching of the faith I haue directed and dedicated vnto you this booke thinking no gift so conuenient and worthy to be presented vnto you seeing that all knowe this most plainely that the Prince of the people ought of necessitie to know all things and to preach the things that please God Neither doth it pertaine to any man to know better or mo things than it doth to an Emperour whose doctrin ought to profite all the subiects c. All the faithfull haue great cause to reioyce of your godlines seeing that you haue a Priestly power as it is meete so to be in the preaching of Gods worde a perfect knowledge in the Catholike faith and a most holy deuotion to mens saluation This authoritie and interest euen in the chiefest Eccl. matters doth that famous Alcuinus a countriman of our owne acknowledge vnto the Christian Prince And the like doth this Emperours sonne Lewes take vppon him and it was yéelded vnto him both in the Councell that he called at Aquisgraue in Germanie and afterwarde in Italy at Ticinum where hee giuing in charge to the Bishops and Councel to consult among other matters concerning the conuersation of the Bishops the Priestes and other Eccl. persons of their doctrine and preaching to the people of writing out of bookes c. He concludeth I am very much desirous to knowe and couet to reforme them according to Gods will and your holy aduise in such sort that neither I bee founde reproueable in the sight of God neither you nor the people incurre the wrathfull indignation of God for these things How this may be searched found out brought to perfection that I committe to be treated on by you and so to be declared vnto me The lesser matters which in generall touch all but that touch some in speciall and neede reformation I will that yee make enquirie also of them and make relation thereof vnto me Whereby we sée that these Princeâ— had the chiefe authoritie in those Councelles and both made Ecclesiasticall lawes them selues with the Bishops aduise and counsell and also all the Bishops decrées and determinations depended on the Princes ratifying This then was the order and not that onely which our Brethren here say we read to be obserued by the Christian Kings of France And euen as much do we read to be obserued by the Christian kings of Spayne by whose authoritie the first second third Councell at Brachara were called and many pointes for doctrine and discipline disposed After whom Richaredus commaunded a Councel to be assembled and holden at Toledo where the king sitting among the Bishops deâ—lareth vnto them how he called them together that he might by the common consultation in the Synode repayre and make a newe forme of Eccl. discipline which had bin long time hindred by Arianisme The which impedimeÌ„t sayth he it hath pleased God to put away by my meanes whereupon he exhorteth them to giue God thankes for his so doing and admonisheth them before they enter into the consultation to fast and pray to God that he would vouchsafe to open vnto them a true order of discipline And so after a thrée dayes fast appointed vnto them the Synode beginning to enter into consultation the king commeth in with his Queene and nobles and sitteth amongest them and causeth the confession of his faith which he had written and subscribed with his and the Quéenes hands to be publikely reade before them
l. 1. than 830 l. 6 are not 831 l. 13â— is 836 l. 22 dele the heaâ—ing 839 l. 5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 840 l. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 841 l. 1 1. Tim. 4.844 l. 9 some gouernement in the church seperated both from others and from this sole 85 1 l. 46 neither 855 l. 42 vnpreaching 856 l. 8. perusall 876 l. 28 proportion ib. margi Theophilact 787 l. 9 life 883 l. 13 the. 914 l. 13 Epistle 922 l. 37 yee 923 l. 40 of elders 924 l. 26 them 938 l. 21 driueth 942 marg 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 943 l. 36 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 962 l. 21 driue vs. 972 l. 3 chosen counsels 975 l. 3 dele for 993 l. 13 whosoeuer 994 l. 6 is 996 l. 37 assessors 1002 l. 35 they 1003 l. 8 Sari 1007 l. 28 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1029 l. 4 that 1037 lâ— 35 any thing 1044 l. 19 is 1048 l. 5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1052 l. 10 meere 1057 l. 4 confute 1062 l. 24 and him 10â—3 l. 42 disputed 1114 l. 33 to be 1116 l. 27 or shee 1120 l. 17 communion 1138 l. 32 them 1144 l. 2 discourses and. 1152 l. â— all alike 1164 l. 1 seate l. 14 came l. 32 confirme 1176 l. 26 as 1182 l. 25 then no. 1295 l. 14 distractions 1198 l. 28 dele worthie 1204 l. 13. humor 1209 l. 36 to 1216. l. 9 still 1236 l. 4 seuerelie 1243 l. 12 is 1244 l. 6 which 1251 l. 37 crie 1254 l. 21 dele pro. 1255 marg proiudiciall 1256 l. 22 without 1261 l. 3 reference 1266 l. 2 no. 1287 l. 13 Seigniorie 1317 l. 28 the. ib. l. 39 40 Lord Bishop 1325 l. 3 reference 1348 l. 2 they â—350 l. 41 seate 1357 l. 2â— God 1361 l. 16 be 1365 l. 9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1366 marg artic ib. marg reference These lines following are to be referred vnto the endes of their seuerall pages as they are here quoted thus as they ministred before by preaching vnto his beautie which hath there for the time bin vnworthilie defiled here committed the churches consent yet that the regiment is a consent of them is doubtfully Gal. 5. â— 1. Pet. 5.8.9 Psal. 133. Prou. 6.16 Ioh. 54.27 Ioh. 15.11.12 Ioh. 16.33 Gal. 4.15 Math. 12.28 1. Esd. 3.35 Phil. 4.5 Eccl. 4.28 Rom. 12.18 Phil. 1.9 10 11. The Preface 1. Pet. 1.9.10 Lamen 1.2.3 4. Ioel. 2. Bridges Our BrethereÌ„s abusing of the spirit of God and of the Propheâ—s lamâ—tations S. Peters Testimony wrested The acknowledgement of our sins and Gods wrathe The fault in our selues not in our Lawes and Orders The True Causes of our ioye mourning 1 Iohn 2. The causes of our brethrens mourning Preface Bridges Her Mâ— his most ho. counsell wrongfully challenged Her Maiest reigne not tempestuous Her Maieâ—â— comfort to the ministery Her Maiest her moste hon counsels zeale care wrongfully burdened of our brethreÌ„ for not driuing out of the Cananits c. How farre christians are charged with that coÌ„mandement Difference of the opeÌ„ couert obstiuare and weake papists Her Ma. her moste hon counsels zeale care in planâ—ing pruning and hedging of the L. vineyarde Our bretherens restraining the authority of her Maiesty VVhom our brethren meane by Cananits Foxes The impediments of endâ—ng this ciuill warre The raisers of this ciuill warre The Preface Nehem. 4.2.3.4 Nehem. 4.7 Neh. 6.5.6 Neh. 10.11.12 Ioel. 19. Amos. 8.11.12.13 Bridges VVhom our brethren cal Cananits foxes How these termes redounde on themselues The peaceable and reasonable way that our brethren deuise of reconcilement The regiment cannot be christian and happie wheral the godly learned and faithfull ministers sâ—ffer affliction Our brethreÌ„ graunt the church of Eng. regiment to be christian happie Our brethrâ— causers of their ownâ— afflictionâ— The afflictions whereof our brethreÌ„ complaine Our Bretherens vnbrotherly sclauÌ„ders Our bretherâ—ns and our building Our bretherens nearer imitation of those Hammonits c. Who are lyker to vnder miners RevYlinge The displacinge of our Bretheren Our Brethâ—rens Learning godlines The Priestes mouâ—ning The famine prophesied of Amos. 8 11.12 13 How we are rather glutted then famâ—shed with Gâ—ds word Our bretherens contentions make the worde the searser Preface The way that our brethreÌ„ seâ—ke of reconcilement The inconuenience of publishing bookes without authority The thinges that our brethren seeke for haue no necessity of truth out of the Scripâ—ures No good pâ—obability of truth out of the scriptures Preface Bridges How farre forth they yeeld autority to her Maiesty The learning godlinesse moderation of the debaters If the debaters shoulde be moderat men then should our brethren vse more moderation in their tearmes not be so peremptory in their dealing The debating of the questions the allowing of them The manner of the debating Who shal be the determiner Preface Act. 15.7 1. Cor. 14.13 32. 1. â—or 2.4 Bridges The naked triall of the matter Our brethreÌ„s desire to conferre by waye of prophesying Lordlie carriyng awaye the matter Preface 1. Cor. 14.33 Act. 14.16 Bridges Bitternes to be left off Charging of men dead and aliue Mouing affections The alleaging of the late and ancient writers Preface Bridges Our bretherens presupposal of our obiections The 1. obiection of coÌ„parison betweene the Archb. B. our bretheren ComparisoÌ„ of age and youth CoÌ„parison of learning CoÌ„parison of authority The 2. obiection of our bretherens chalenge to be not vnlike the papists chalenge The 3. obiection of preiudice to the estate of gouernement established Bridges Our brethrens answer to these three obiections The ambiguitie of this answer The quieting of all The remoouing of the plagues Our brethrens bold and humble request vpoÌ„ their knees Preface Ioh. 32.7.8 Ioh. 32.21.22 2. Chron. 30.1.5.23 ver Act. 15.23 Gal. 1.1 Act. 11. â— 2.3.4 c. Doctor Whitegiftes book p. 389. Bridges Our bretherens aunswere to the first obiect in yeelding for yeares learning Their exception of the reuelation of Gods spirit Our Replie Our bretherens examples Ezâ—chias The Apostles and Elders Act. 15. S. Paul Gal. 1. â— Ezechias dealing with the priests and Leuites The exaÌ„ple of Hezechias and the Leuites coÌ„ futeth our brethren The example also of the apostles and elders Act. 15. is cleane against theÌ„ Our bretherens gifts in interpreting the scriptures not denied Though diuerse doctors in learning excelled yet in gouernmeÌ„t they were inferiour Our bretherens haling of the Archbishops wordes Our bretherens intricat speeches Our bretherenâ— refusall to subscribe to the Arch. aâ—ticles The articles 1. Article of the supremacy the 2. article of the communion booke The 3. Arti. of the book of articles Ano. 1562 The inconueniences of refusing to subscribe to the â—se â—seâ—â— articles The cleargâ—es subscription in K. Ed. time How dangerous our brethrens pretence is of straining conscience Preface Bridges ComparisoÌ„ of number for fewnesse or multitud Our bretherens exceptions from our nuÌ„ber Of ignoraÌ„t
but both hinder and ouerthrow their brethrens building yea they contrary and hinder their owne building And most fainâ— would we haue them leaue this straunge manner of building but not vtterly to leaue all manner of building but to ioyne with vs whome they confesse to be their brethren that we build on the rocke also and for al materiall parts and substance of the building they say they agrée with vs. And we builded and builded well before they began or were able to lay a stone or temper morter to this building Thus did not any of these Hammonits Arabies or those of Asshod or Sanballat who being no â—rethren minded not the the building should go foreward at al but cleane to ouerthrow it for al that they pretended building with them And if we might liken any aliens from the common weale of Israel to these our brethren in this dooing Doe not they themselues play the like partes For whereas wée before they came in and troubled vs were building of the Church as well as we coulde they mocke at our building as at a wall that a foxe could destroy Yea and I would wish our brethren take good héed that they may not be iustly charged with some spice of sedition for they may rightly be challenged for contempt of good lawes and procedings though we burden them not like to that accusation of Sanballat For he burdened the Iewes wrongfully and as the Iewes were free in building the temple from those accusations wherwith he fasly charged them of sedition and contempt of good lawes because they had sufficient authority of the Prince so to do in like manner haue we the Princes establishment for this our manner of building which our brethren impugne And therfore they ought to think better héereof least they be iustly charged with that wherwith the Iewes were falsly burdened Whether wee or our brethren imitate those false Prophetes that discouraged the Prince Nehemias from proceeding in his former and lawfull building of the temple we are sory that our brethren should rip it vp they draw so neere that euill practise Vndermining we vse not neither God be praised néede we vse it we go simply and plainely to worke Vndermining is more proper to them that when the walles are builded would cast them downe againe as our brethren by all policies endeauour to ouertourne all the regiment that we haue builded As for theirs which they haue not builded and are but yet laying the plotforme of it we may well stop it but properlie we cannot be saide to vndermine it Reuiling is not our practise would God our brethren vsed it no more then we do reconcilement might be made much the sooner But Leonem ex vnguibus this very Preface doth foretell what we shall expecte in the Learned discourse Some of them indéede haue bene displaced but by their owne demerits and importunity and with griefe to those that haue bene driuen to displace them neither can it be otherwise except we shoulde yéelde vnto them in the matter and authorise them against our selues Their grieuous afflicting we haue already aunswered They are displaced with as much forbearance lenity and as much labouring to winne them as may be Other affliction except vpon great occasions geuen further by them selues they suffer none Neither do we deny some among them although not many to be learned yea in some respects some among them to be godly also Yet neither their learning at leastwise that they haue here shewed is answerable to their vauÌ„t of A learned discourse But their godlines by their leaue in this dealing may be much ameÌ„ded If our brethreÌ„ be so godly learned a ministery where learned they this point of godlinesse not onely to wrest al these examples contrarie to their consciences and the apparant places against vs their brethren to reuile vs as these enemies of the church of God but to hale againste vs these testimonies also of the Prophets that we afflict and plague the Churche with that plague whereby the Priestes may mourne What and would they so faine bring vs in the compasse of such plaguers that they will now â—cknowledge themselues to bee included in the name of Priestes whiche name although néedlesly they shun so much as though it signified a sacriâ—â—cer But indéede if any make the Priests and ministers of the church to â—ourne these doings of our brethren are no small cause thereof and if â—hey impute the cause of the mourning to the lacke of the peoples offeâ—ing who go more about to decrease that little which is employed to the â—riests and Ministers maintenance then our brethren do Although God â—e praised for it we haue not yet bene subiect to that dreadfull spiritual faâ—ine which the Prophet threatned Amos 8.11.12 13. Behold the daies â—ome saith the Lord God that I will send a famine in the land not a famine of â—read nor a thirst for water but of hearing the word of the Lorde And thâ—y shall wander from sea to sea and from the North euen to the East shall they runne to fro to seeke the word of the Lord and shâ—ll not find it In that day sâ—all the farre virgines and the young men perish for thirst This was a feareful threate indéede from the which GOD most gratiously hath preserued vs and hath giuen vs such abundant measure of this spirituall foode of his holie word that I am afraide wee are rather glutted and become so wanton and disdainefull that if we cannot haue it deâ—iuered vnto vs in such manner as our owne lustes desire it and at these and those persons handes onely which is a signe of no great Famine that we may rather feare least for this vnthankefulnesse and all our other abuses of this foode it shaâ—l be taken cleane from vs. And if we haue had any scarsitie in some places by any persons default Let our brethren also take héede here-unto that they haue not much more augmented the cause by these vnnecessarie contentions both driuing away others and making manie to suspect the foode it selfe and by with-drawing themselues through their contempt of the Lawes established from deliuering this foode vnto the people But wee are rather contented to repell these apparant sclanders from our selues than to exasperate our Brethren by laying the same before their owne faces to sée howe here they blemish themselues in séeking thus to deface and discredite vs. But since they say they doe this for the reconciling of vs being Brethren at variance let vs construe it to the best Better are the wounds of a friend then the kisses of a flatterer God graunt that those meanes which they haue here deuised or any other may prooue indéede such a certaine peaceable and reasonable way following that wee may leaue this striuing with our selues and vnite our forces for a couragious setting vpon the common aduersarie Which is that whereas both by bookes
his wrath from vs. Now my sonnes be not deceaued for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him to serue him and to be his ministers and to burne incense Then the Leuites arose Mahath c. and they gathered their brethren and sanctified themselues and came according to the commandement of the King and by the wordes of the Lord for to clense the house of the Lord and the priests went into the inner partes of the house of the Lorde to clense it c. Here indéede the King refuseth not the Leuites but calleth them vnto him and maketh vnto them this memorable oration and those that otherwise in their offices were his fathers hée calleth his sons in respect of his supreame authoritie ouer them himselfe being but a young man and they againe speake verse 18. And they went in to Ezechiah the king and sayd we haue clensed all the house of the Lord c. but here is nothing wherein they appoint or charge the King but all still of the Kinges commaundementes vnto them Verse 20. And Hezechias the king rose earlie and gathered the Princes of the citie and went vp to the house of the Lord and they brought seauen bullocks c. And he commanded the Preests the sonnes of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the Lord c. Then they brought the hee Goates for the sinne offering before the King c. For the king had commanded for all Israel the burnt offering and the sinne offering And he appointed also the Leuites in the house of the Lord with Cymbals with Violes with Harpes according to the commandement of Dauid and Gad the kings seer c. And Hezechiah commanded to offer the burnt offering vpon the altar c. verse 30. And Hezechias the king and the princes commanded the Leuites to praise the Lord with the words of Dauid and Asaph the seer so they prayed with ioye and they bowed themselues and worshipped And Hezechias spake and said Now yee haue consecrated your selues to the Lord come neere and bring the sacrifices and offerings of praise into the house of the Lord and the congregation brought sacrifices c. Héere the King still commandeth both the Priests and Leuites and the people and they all obeyed But the Leuites are commended vers 34. To be more vpright in hart to sanctifie themselues then were the Priests As for the 30 chapter which our brethren cite after the foresaid first verse wherein the King writeth to all Israel and Iudah It followeth in the second c. And the king and his princes and all the congregation had taken councell in Ierusalem to keepe the passeouer in the second moneth For they could not keepe it at this time bicause there were not priests enough sanctified neither was the people gathered to Ierusalem And the thing pleased the King and all the congregation and they decreed to make proclamation through-out all Israell c. So the Posts went out with letters by commission from the King and his Princes throughoâ—t all Israel with the commandement of the King saying Yee children of Israel turne againe vnto the Lord God of Abraham Isaac c. And at this sacrifice the King praied for the people saying verse 18 c. The good Lord be mercifull towards him that prepareth his whole heart to seeke the Lord God the God of his fathers though he be not clensed according to thepurification of the sanctuarie and the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people And verse 22. Hezechiah spakâ— comfortablie to the Leuites that had good knowledge to sing vnto the Lord c. And in the chapter following verse 2. Hezechiah appointed the courses of the Priests and Leuites for the burnt offerings and peace offerings to minister and giue thankes and to praise in the gates of the tentes of the Lord And verse 4. He commanded the people that dwelt in Ierusalem to giue part to the Priests and Leuites that they might be incouraged in the lawe of the Lord. And when the commandement was spred the children of Israell brought aboundance of fruites c. And when Hezekiah and the Princes came and sawe the heapes they blessed the Lord and his people Israel And Hezechiah questioned with the Preists concerning the heapes And Azariah the cheefe preest of the house of Sadoch answered him and said Since the people began to bring offerings we haue eaten and haue beene satisfied and there is left aboundance For the Lord hath blest his people and the aboundance that is left And Hezechiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of the Lord c. And Iehiel c. were ouerseers by the appointment of Cononiâ—h and Shimer his brother and by the commandement of Hezechiah the king and of Azariah the cheefe of the house of God c. And thus did Hezechiah through-out all Iuda and did well and vprightlie and truelie before the Lord his God Thus haue we séene both in the chapter quoted by our brethren and the chapter going before and the chapter following how the King directed all those Ecclesiasticall matters commanded ordered and gouerned both the Leuites and the Priests But what is anye thing héere to our brethrens purpose Did the Leuites debate anye controuersies with the King and Princes or with the high Priest before the King And the king the princes or the high preest yeeld therein vnto the Leuites Or not rather they yeeld vnto the king and to the princes and to the high preest in those matters If now this be so memorable an example why doo not our brethren if they will be like the Leuites yeeld to hir Maiestie her counsell and hir Bishops Except they will be rather héerein like the king his princes and the high priest then like these Leuites As for the elders in the assemblie and conference Act. 15. They also yeelded vnto the Apostles not the Apostles vnto them Although the Apostles refused not the elders no more doe our Bishops refuse our brethren or anye other ecclesiasticall persons that are lawfullie appointed and called to the conuocations or to anie other ecclesiasticall assemblie or conference Neither do they denie the accepting euen of the people in some manner to be heard to speake But whereto doe our brethren mention héere the people in this debating This is againe cleane contrârie to their ownâ— rules as we shall sée in this learned discourse Would they haue the people also to be debaters or to be Iudges of these controuersies And to ouer-rule the Bishops and cleargie in the determination of them But they haue yet one example more At least saye they let â—â—eir owne opinion that in interpreting the scriptures and deliuerie of doctrine we are equall with them persuade them And héereto they quote this marginall note and Whitegifts booke pag. 389. If the Archbishop that now is dooth graunt this it is the greater signe of his reuerent modestie Neither do anâ—e of our Bishops or any of vs
denie the habilitie of many of our brethren to be able to interpret the scriptures in the deliuerie of the doctrine thereof to be equall either with the Bishops or with any other For it is not the accesse of the Bishops dignitie that maketh the person a better interpretor then he was before he was called to the dignitie it sufficeth if being in the dignitie he imploie himselfe in his former faithfulnesse And would God our brethren also would restraine their emulation to this comparison to be equall or better in interpreting and in the deliuerie of the scripture then the Bishops as Ierome contended with Augustine And though Augustine were a Bishop Ierome but a Prieste which Ierome confesseth and yet euer sharplie threatned the conflict with Augustine if he were prouoked thereunto Neuerthe-lesse Augustine reuerently aunswereth Quanquam c For although according to the tearmes of honour which the vse of the Church hath now obtained the office of a Bishop be greater then the office of a Priest or elder notwithstanding Augustin is in many things lesse then Ierome yea correction is not to be fled from or disdained though it come from any that is the lesser And in this behalfe of interpreting the scripture Cyprian honored Tertullian and diuerse Bishops specially Alexander Theoctistus reuerenced Origen And yet these men for all their giftes in interpreting the Scriptures and deliuery of doctrine being farre superiour to the most part of the Bishops did not therefore encroch further into any superiority or equallity of authority and dignity with the Bishops Let our brethren interprete the Scriptures and deliuer the doctrine sincerelie and therein excel the Bishops as they may easily do both by cause of the Bishops great age and great imploying in the gouernment and iurisdiction of the Church As Augustine modestly confesseth of himselfe vnto Ierome saying Nam neque in me c. For I neither see in my selfe so much knowledge of the diuine scriptures yea or that now there can be as I see there is in you And if I haue any facultie in this matter I imploy it as I may to the people of God But to apply my selfe more diligentlie to my studies then for the furniture of the thinges that the people heare I cannot by any meanes for the Ecclesiasticall businesse So that héerin the inferior as these our brethren may haue more opportunity in interpreting and deliuery of the Scripture And I warrant then the Bishops will not refuse them euer a whit for their so doing but helpe encourage and defend them Which although any Bishop fore-slowed or enuied to doe yet ought not any of our brethren hauing such equal giftes with the Bishops in the interpreting of the scriptures and deliuerye of doctrine and withal being lawfully called by the Bishops into the ministery to exauthorate and withdrawe themselues from the ministery for these controuersies of equall gouernment with the Bishops But sée how captiously our brethren deale in citing the testimony ofthe Arch. for where he saith It is not to be denied but that there is an equallity of al ministers of Gods word quoad ministeriuÌ„ touching the ministery for they haue all like power to preach the word to minister the sacraments that is to say the word preached or the sacraments ministred is as effectuall in one in respect of the ministery as it is in an other But quoad ordinem politiam towching order and gouernment there hath alwayes bene and must be degrees and superiority amongst them These words do our brethren drawe to this obiection that they are not comparable in learning to the Arch-bishops and Bishops at leaste say they let their owne opinion that in interpreting the Scriptures deliuery of doctrine we are equall with them perswade them But who seeth not that these words of the Arch-bishop do not inferre an equallity of the giftes in the ministers as hauing these giftes equally but an equalitie of their ministery in the hability to haue them and doo distinguishâ— onely betweene the power of order and of iurisdiction And therefore this is but haled to aunswere the obiection of this comparison betwéen the learning of the Arch-bishops and Bishops and the learning of our brethren in the interpreting the scriptures and deliuery of doctrine to be equall But our brethren saie Who if they could straine their consciences to subscribe to the Archbishops articles they would gladly receaue them to be the Embassadors of Iesus Christ. These words againe are somewhat intricate so that wee might misse our brethrens meaning while they neither plainly expresse who they are that would gladly receaue nor whome nor what neither yet to whome these wordes to be the Embassadors of Iesus Christ are referred whether to them selues or to the Arch-bishops and Bishops But I coniecture their meaning to be this that if these our brethren could straine their coÌ„sciences to subscribe to the Arch-bishops articles they would gladly receaue those articles that they might thereby haue liberty to preach and so to be the Embassadors of Iesus Christ. If our brethrâ—n héere meane by the Arch-bishops articles the articles where-upon it was by the Arch-bishops and bishops of both prouinces the whole Cleargie in the conuocation holden at London c. 1562. Put forth by the Queenes authority some of which articles our brethren afterwarde in this learned discourse pag. 135. do roughly challenge for diuerse grosse and palpable errors how truly or falslie and with what gâ—â—d conscience they burden them therewith I reserue to the examination of the proper place But bicause they séeme not so much to meane those articles for then they should straine their consciences apparantly to farre in calling those articles the Arch-bishops articles which were the articles not onely of Arch-bishops but also of the bishops and of the whole Cleargie and sett forth by her Maiesties authority therfore I rather take it that our brethren meane by the Arch-bishops articles The Articles where-unto all such as are admitted to preach reade cathechyse minister the sacrameÌ„ts or execute anie other Eccl. function do agree and consent testifie the same by the subscription of their hands viz. 1. That her Maiestie vnder God hath and ought to haue the soueraigntie and rule ouer all manner of persons within her realmes dominions and countries of what state either Ecclesiasticall or temporall soeuer they be and that none other forraine power prelate state or potentate hath or ought to hâ—ue any iurisdiction power superiority preeminence or authority Ecclesiasticall or spirituall within her Maiesties said realmes dominions or countries 2. That the booke of common prayer and of ordering Bish. Priests Deacons contayneth in it nothing contrary to the word of God that the same may lawfully be vsed And that I my self who do subscribe wil vse the forme of the said booke prescribed in publike prayer and administration of the Sacraments and none other 3.