wrytings and paraphrases vpon the scryptures are estemed comparable in that kinde of paraphrasticall wryting wyth any whych hath laboured that wayes And if any mennes wrytings were to be red in the church those paraphrases whych in explanyng the scrypture go least from it and whych kepe not only the numbre of sentences but almost the very numbre of words were of all most fitte to be red in the churche Seeing therfore I say the church of God then abstained from such interpretations in the church and contented it selfe wyth the scryptures it can not be but a moste dangerous attempt to bryng any thyng into the church to be red besydes the word of god Thys practise continued still in the churches of God after the apostles times as may apeare by the second Apologie of Iustin Martyr which sheweth that theyr manner was to read in the church the monuments of the prophets and of the apostles and if they had red any thyng else it is to be supposed that he would haue set it downe consydering that hys purpose there is to shewe the whole order whych was vsed in their churches then The same may appear in the first Homilye of Oregine vpon Exodus and vpon the Iudges And as for M. Bucers authoritye I haue shewed before how it ought to be wayghed heere also it is suspitious for that it is sayd that hys aduise was when the lord should blesse the realme wyth moe learned preachers that then order should be taken to make more homilyes whych should be red in the church vnto the people As if M. Bucer dyd not know that there were then learned preachers enough in the realme whych were able to make homilies so many as the volume of them myght easely haue exceeded the volume of the Byble if the multytude of homilyes would haue done so much good And if the authority of M. Bucer beare so great a sway wyth M. Doctor that vpon hys credite only wythout eyther scripture or reason or examples of the Churches primitiue or those whych are now he dare thrust into the church homilies then the authorities of the most ancient best councels ought to haue ben considered whych haue geuen charge that nothyng should be red in the church but only the canonicall scriptures For it was decreed in the councell of Laodicea the nothing shuld be red in the church but the canonicall bokes of the olde and newe testament and reckeneth vp what they be Afterward as corruptions grew in the church it was permitted that homilies myght be red by the deacon when the minister was sicke and coulde not preach and it was also in an other councel of Carthage permitted that the martyrs liues might be red in the church But besides the euill successe that those decrees had vnder pretence wherof the popishe legende and Gregories homilies c. crept in that vse and custome was controlled by other councels as may appeare by the coūcell of Colen albeit otherwyse popishe And truely if there were nothing else but thys consideration that the bringing in of the reading of Martyrs liues into the church and of the homilies of auncient wryters hath not only by thys meanes iustled with the Bible but also thrust it cleane out of the church or into a corner where it was not redde nor seene it ought to teach all men to beware of placing any wryting or worke of men in the church of God be they neuer so well learned as long as the world should endure And if any man obiect that by thys meanes also is shut out of the churche the forme of ordinary prayers to be sayd I say the case is nothing lyke for when we pray we can not vse the words of the scripture as they orderly lie in the text But for so muche as the churche prayeth for diuers thyngs necessarye for it the whych are not contained in one or two places of the scripture and that also there are some thyngs whych we haue neede of whereof there is no expresse prayer in the scripture it is needefull that there be a forme of Prayer drawne forthe out of the scrypture whych the church may vse when it meeteth as the occasyon of the time dothe require whych necessity can not be by no meanes alledged in the reading of Homilies or Apochrypha Wherevpon appeareth that it is not so wel ordained in the churche of Englande where bothe Homilies and Apochrypha are red especially when as diuers chapters of the bookes called Apocrypha are lyfted vp so high that they are sometime appoynted for extraordinary lessons vpon feastes dayes wherin the greatest assemblies be made and some of the chapters of the canonicall scripture as certen chapters of the Apocalipse quite left oute and not red at all Vnto the two next sections I haue answeared before where I haue entreated of holy dayes and of kneeling at the Communion it followeth to speake vnto the section contained in the. 183. and. 184. pages ALthough it will be hard for you to proue that thys worde priest commeth of the Greke word presbyteros yet that is not the matter but the case stādeth in thys that for so much as the common and vsuall speach of England is to note by the word priest not a minister of the gospel but a sacrificer which the minister of the gospell is not therefore we ought not to call the ministers of the gospell priests and that thys is the Englishe speache it appeareth by all the English translations whych translate alwayes hiereis whych were sacrificers priests and do not of the other syde for any that euer I red translate presbyteron a priest Seeing therfore a priest wyth vs and in our tonge dothe signifye both by the papistes iudgement in respect of their abhominable masse and also by the iudgement of the protestant in respect of the beasts whych were offered in the law a sacrificing office whych the minister of the gospell neyther dothe nor can execute it is manifest that it can not be wythout great offence so vsed The next three sections I haue before answeared wher I haue spoken of the abuses in baptisme crossing and interrogatories it foloweth to speake vnto the section contained in 194. 195. 196. pa. IF it be M. Bucers iudgement whych is alledged heere for the ring I see that sometimes Homere sleapeth For first of all I haue shewed that it is not lawfull to institute new signes and sacraments and then it is dangerous to doe it especially in this whych confirmeth the false and popyshe opinion of a sacrament as is alledged by the admonition And thirdly to make suche fonde allegories of the laying downe of the money of the roundnes of the ring and of the mystery of the fourth finger is let me speake it wyth hys good leaue very ridiculous and farre vnlike hym selfe And fourthly that he wil haue the minister to preach vpon these toyes surely it sauoreth not of the learning and sharpnes of the
disciplyne no church For they deny we haue the word or sacramēts because we hold not theyr word sacrifice but if there be that so reason yet these men that you charge haue neyther any such antecedent or such a consequent for they neuer sayde that there is no ministerie in Englande nor yet do euer conclude that there is no worde no sacraments no dysciplyne nor church For in saying that the face of the church doth not so much appeare for so the whole proces of their booke doth declare that they meane when they say that we haue not scarse the face of the church they graunt that we haue the church of God but that for want of those ornaments which it shuld haue and through certayne the deformed ragges of poperie which it should not haue the churche doth not appeare in her natiue colours and so beautifull as it is meete she should be prepared to so glorious a husband as is the sonne of god Say you certaynly and doe you beleue that the authors of thys booke are conspired wyth the papystes to ouerthrow thys church and realme Now certaynly I will neuer doe that iniury vnto them as once to go about to purge them of so manifest slaunders nor neuer be brought by the outrage of your speaches to proue that noone day is not mydnight And therfore as for you I will set your conscience and you together The reader I will desire not to thinke it a strange thing For it is no other then hath happened to the seruaunts of God euen from those which haue professed the same relygion which they dyd as it appeareth in Ieremy whiche was accused of certayne of the Israelites that he had conspyred with the Babylonyans their mortall ennemyes and layde to hys charge that he was going to them when he was going to Beniamin To the. 36. 37. 38. page IT maketh for the purpose whiche is alleaged out of the first of the actes to proue that there ought to be tryall of those which are chosen to the ministerie for when S. Peter sayth that suche a one must be chosen as hathe bene contynually conuersant with our sauioure Christ and from the beginning of his preaching vntill the day wherein he ascended into heauen he ment nothing els but that such a one should be chosen which was sufficiently instructed and had bene contynually a scholer of our sauioure Christe and therefore fitte to teache and to witnes that which they had seene and whose godly conuersation was notoriously knowne Besides that albeit those two Mathyas and Barsabas were therefore set vp in the myddest that the church in the prayer that was made for their election myghte by seeing them pray the earnestlyer for them yet it was also as much to say that if any could obiect any thing agaynst them that he should preferre hys obiection And whether they were examined or no the matter is not great neyther when it is sayde that a tryall should be had it is ment that when the parties are famously knowne to those whych haue the right of trying as that there shoulde be alwayes necessaryly an apposing and examyning so that the sufficiencie of doctryne and holynesse of lyfe for the whych cause the tryall and examynation is commaunded be knowne and agreed vpon by them that choose it is enough And so these two being notoriously knowne and consented of by the churche to bee fitte men myght happely not be examyned but yet the wordes of S. Peter declare playnly that in the choyse of them there was regarde had to both their abilitie to teach and honesty of conuersation And although there be certayne thinges extraordinary in this election as that such a one must be chosen which hadde bene conuersant with our fauioure Christ and that there were two put vp for one place and that it was permitted to lottes to cast the Apostleship vpon one of them two as if the Lord should by the lottes from heauen tell who should haue it yet it followeth not to say that the rest of the things that are there vsed should not be practised in ordinary callinges for as much as they will well agree with them And M. Caluin in the place you alledge sayth that the ordinary callinges somwhat differ from the calling of the Apostles and after sheweth wherein that is in that they were appoynted immediatly of God and by his mouthe whereby it appeareth that for the residue of those thyngs whych are there mentioned he holdeth that they may well stande wyth the ordinarye elections And where you saye that the sixt of the Actes because it speaketh of Deacons is nothyng to the matter me thynke you shoulde haue easely vnderstanded that if a triall be necessary in Deacons whych is an vnder office in the church and hath regard but to one parte of the church whych is the pore and is occupied in the distribution of money much more it ought to be in an office of greater charge which hath respect to the whole church and is occupyed in the dispensing of the holy word of God. But in the ende you agree that they shoulde be tryed so that nowe the quection standeth only howe and by what meanes wherein you for your part saye that the booke of ordering mynisters is a suffycient and good rule I haue red it and yet I can not commende it greatly But you will say not wyth iudgement or indifferencie I will promise you with this indifferencie that I wyshed that all that is there were good and conuenyent and such as I myght say vnto so be it Wyth what iudgement I doe disalow it I leaue it to all men to esteeme vpon these reasons First that the examynation of hys doctryne wholely and partly of hys life is permitted to one man For consydering of the one parte the greatnesse of the charge that is committed vnto the mynisters and the horrible pearill that commeth vnto the church by the want of those thinges that are required in them and of the other parte wrighing the weakenesse of the nature of man which althoughe he seeth many thinges yet hee is blynde also in many and that euen in those thinges which he seeth he suffereth hym selfe to be caryed away by his affection of loue or of enuie c. I say considering these thinges it is very daungerous to commit that to the view and searche of one man which may wyth losse danger and more safetie be referred vnto dyuers For herein the prouerbe is true plus vident oculi quam oculus And almost there is no office of charge in thys realme which lyeth in election committed so sleightly to any as that vpon one mans reporte of hys habilitie all the rest which haue interest in the election will geue their voyces so that if we were destitute of authoritie of the scripture the very lyght of reason would shew vs a more safe and weryer way But there is greater authoritie for S. Luke in the first
most effectuall and to geue as it were a sharper edge vnto the preaching of the word as also to be a wall to keepe it and make it contynue among vs I see there be sondry lettes which doe as it were with weapons stande vp to stoppe the passage and to hynder that it should not be setled amongst vs With the which albeit I wrastle hande to hande in thys booke yet for as much as we haue all dronke so deepe of the cuppe of vntruth that we do not only stumble at blockes which other men lay in our way but oftentymes we gather lettes vnto our selues in framyng a preiudice agaynst the truth I thought good to note shortly what those stumbling blockes are and although I can not remoue them yet to geue warning of them and to lende my hand to the weaker and simpler sort to helpe to ouerstride them The offences which are taken herein be eyther in respect of the cause or in respect of those which seeke to defend and promote the cause The cause is charged first with newnes and strangenes then as author of confusion and of disorder and last of all as enemy to princes magistrates and common wealthes For the first besides that it is no sufficient chalenge to say it is new strange there is no cause why it should be counted new which is confessed of those which mislyke it to haue bene for the most part vsed in the Apostles tymes nor why it should be esteemed straunge which is vsed now farre and neare of thys that side the sea and of no strangers but of those which are of the housholde of fayth And it shall more largely appeare in thys Booke that thys is no innouation but a renouation and the doctrine not new but renued no stranger but borne in Sion whereunto it being before vniustly banyshed ought now of ryght to bee restored And of confusion dysorder it is yet more vntruely accused For iustice may be as well accused for doing wrong as thys doctryne for bringing in disorder whose whole worke is to prouyde that nothing be done out of place out of time or otherwise then the condytion of euery mans calling will beare which putteth the people in subiection vnder their gouernoures the gouernoures in degree and order one vnder an other as the Elder vnderneath the Pastor and the Deacon vnderneath the Elder whych teacheth that a Particuler church shall giue place vnto a Prouinciall synode where many churches are and the Prouincial to a Nationall and likewyse that vnto the Generall if anye be and all vnto Christe and his worde When on the contrary parte those whych stand against thys doctrine are thereby compelled to bryng into the church great confusion and maruellous disorder whilest the pastors office is confounded wyth the deacons whilest women do minister the sacraments whych is lawful only for men whilest priuate men do that whych belongeth vnto publicke persons whilest publicke actions are done in priuate places whilest the church is shuffled wyth the common wealth whilest ciuill matters are handled by Ecclesiasticall persons and Ecclesiasticall by those whych be ciuill and to be short whilest no officer of the church keepeth his standing and one member doth take vpon it the office of an other Which things as they hazard the arme and destroy the body so they do presently hinder and will shortly if remeady be not prouided vtterly ouerthrowe the churche And therefore onles good order be in that whych was brought into the church by poperye and confusion in that whych was left vnto the church by the Apostles and that it be order that publike actions should be done in priuate places by priuate persons and by women that is appoynted to be done by men and confusion when the contrary is obserued and finally onles order haue an other definition or nature then hitherto hath bene read or heard of there is no cause why this doctrine which containeth the discipline and gouernment of the churche should be thus shamefully slaundered wyth confusion and disorder For the third poynt whych is that it is an enemy to magistrates and the common wealth if it be enough to accuse wythout proufe to say and shewe no reason innocency it selfe shall not be giltles Thys doctrine was in times past euen by their confession which wryte against it a friend vnto princes and magistrates when princes and magistrates were enemies vnto it and can it nowe be an enemy vnto princes and magistrates whych are frendes vnto it It helped and vpholded the common wealths whych were gouerned by tyrantes and can it hinder those whych are gouerned by godly princes And in what is it an ennemy to princes and magistrates Note the variance set downe the enemitie If the question be whether princes and magistrates be necessary in the church it holdeth that the vse of them is more then of the sunne wythout the whych the world cā not stand I fit be of their honor it holdeth that wyth humble subnussion of minde the outward also of the body yea the body it selfe and all that it hath if nede so require are to be yelded for the defence of the prince and for that seruice for the whych the prince will vse them vnto for the glory of God and maintenance of the common wealth If it be asked of the obedience due vnto the prince and vnto the magistrate it answeareth that all obedience in the Lord is to be rendred and if it come to passe that any other be asked it so refuseth that it disobayeth not in preferring obedience to the great God before that whych is to be geuen to mortall man It so resisteth that it submitteth the body and goodes of those that professe it to abide that whych God will haue them suffer in that case And if it be shewed that this is necessary for the church it can not be but profitable for the common wealth nay the profit of it may easly appeare for that by the censures and discipline of the church as they are in thys booke described men are kept back from committing of great disorders of stealing adultry murder c. whilest the smallest faultes of lying and vncomely iesting of harde and cholericke speaches whych the magistrate doth not commonly punishe be corrected And vndoubtedly seeing that the church common wealth do embrace and kisse one an other and seeing they be like vnto Hypocrates twinnes whych were sicke togither and well togither laughed togither and weeped togither and alwayes like affected it can not be but that the breaches of the common wealth haue proceeded from the hurtes of the church and the wants of the one from the lackes of the other Neyther is it to be hoped for that the common wealth shall flourishe vntill the church be reformed And it is also certaine that as the church shall euery day more and more decay vntill it be made eauen wyth the ground onles the walles be builded and the ruines
repaired so the weight of it if it fall will eyther quite pull downe the common wealth or leaue it suche as none whych feare God will take any pleasure in it For seing Salomon sayth the by wisdom whych is the word of God kings do gouerne and princes do beare rule it can not be but as the wisdome is either contemned neglected or otherwise abridged of hir free and full course so princes and magistrates and consequently their common wealthes either goe to wracke or decay or at the least want so much of their flourishing estate as there wanteth of that worde of God which he hath appoynted to be their stay And howsoeuer before the comming of our sauioure Christ amongst the Athenians Lacedemonians and Romanes and since hys comming in diuers places where thys wisedome hath not bene heard of there may seme to haue bene some shewes of either florishing or tollerable cōmon wealthes yet neither haue those endured but according to the prophesye of * Daniel haue bene broken all to peeces so that there is not so much of them left as a sheerde to fetche fire in neither yet can those kingdomes whych haue the knowledge of the gospel reuealed vnto them loke for that long suffering and pacience of God towardes them wherewith these ignorant kingdomes haue bene borne with For as the benefite is greater towardes these then towardes the other so is the iudgement swifter agaynste them then againste the other if that grace which was not offred vnto them being offered vnto these be refused and made light of And in these especially is shall be fulfilled that whych the Prophet * Esay sayeth that it shal be in the later dayes that euery nation and kingdom whych shall not serue the church shal be destroyed as of the other side the full and whole placing of our sauior Christ in his throne is the perpetuall stay and stayed perpetuitie of all princes in their seats And therfore if this boke shal come into the hands of any that haue accesse vnto her maiestie the head of this cōmon wealth or vnto her most honorable counsel the shoulders therof my hūble sute and hearty request in the presence of God is that according as their callings will suffer them they will put them in remembrance of these things whych otherwise they know better then I and that they would set before them the example of Moses who was not contented to haue brought the people out of Egipt but would very faine also haue conducted them into the land of Canaan that is would gladly haue bene the instrument of the ful and whole deliuerance of the people And seeing that the Lord doth offer vnto them this honor which he denied vnto his seruaunt Moses that they would not make themselues gilty of so great vnthankfulnes as wil folow of the forsaking of so incomparable a benefite That her maiestie especially and her most honourable counsaile wold set before them the example of * Dauid who although he made a great reformation of those things whych were defaced by Saule yet he was not content that the Arke of the Lord should dwell vnder a tabernacle and therfore desired maruellously that he might build the temple vnto the lord And seeing that the Lord hath graunted that vnto them which he denyed vnto his seruaūt that they wold not be narow and straight in them selues seeing the Lord openeth the treasures of hys goodnes so largely vnto them That they would set before them the zeale of * Zerubbabel who although he had after the returne out of captiuitie abolished idolatry laid the foundations of the temple and set vp an altare vnto god whervpon the morning and euening sacrifice was daily made yet being admonished by the Prophet Aggey that God woulde not be pleased vnles the temple also were fully buylded dyd all feare of the nations rounde about and other busynesses laid aside cause it forthwith and with all possyble speede to be made an ende of Finally that it would please them to consider the examples of * Iosias * Ezechias and * Iehoshaphat who are therfore to their euerlasting commendation praysed of the holy ghost for that they made whole through reformations whereas the honor of other some albeit they were otherwise good is stayned and caryeth the marke of their imperfection by this and like exception that although they did such good things and such yet they left also such such vndone Which I do not speake as though we had not already by her maiesty especially and afterwarde by their honors handes receiued a singuler benefite but that we hauing the whole might haue our hearts and mouthes filled wyth the prayse of God and continue the possession of that whych we haue which otherwise for our vnthankfull refusall shall be taken away Wherin as we haue especiall regarde that the name of God shoulde be magnified not by vs alone but by our posterity to the worldes end so is it not the smallest part of our care that her maiestie and your honoures to whom we are so depely bound and of whom we haue receiued so singuler benefits of peace and preaching of the gospel myght with your successions continue and flourish amongst vs for euer But the desire of reformation and feare of Gods heauy wrath to come vpon vs hath caried me further heerein then I purposed I will therfore make an end of these poynts considering that the vntruth of these accusations of newnes and straungenes of disorder and confusion of being ennemy to princes and common wealthes shall better appeare in the discourse of thys boke Emongst the offences taken by occasion of those which prefer this doctrine this is the chefest that comparison being made betwene those excellent men both in vertue and learning which suffered for the testimony of the truthe betwene vs of the one side Also betwene the Archbishops Bishops Deanes Archdeacons whych now are and vs on the other side it seemeth vnto many that it is not lyke to be good whych was not founde out by those excellent personages and whych being now propounded by men of no great shew is eyther misliked or at the least by no open approbation alowed of those whych cary greater countenaunces and be in greater dignities Vnto the first although answer is made more at large in this boke yet I wil adde thus much that as for my part I confes my self to be a great deale inferior vnto the least of them so the omitting of these necessary things ought to be no more preiudice against them or against those that prefer them then the omitting of the celebration of the feast of tabernacles so many hundreth yeres by so many good high priests in the raignes of so many good kings was preiudicial vnto y ministers which caused it to be celebrated when the people returned out of their captiuitie for it appeareth in the boke of Nehemias that the feast of
tabernacles which was commaunded of the Lord to be celebrated euery yeare was not celebrated in such sort as it was commaunded in the law from the dayes of Iosua the sonne of Nun vntill the returne of the people from their captiuitie And yet were there in this space diuers bothe iudges and kings both priestes and prophets singularly zealous and learned If therfore the omitting of so necessary a thing so many hundreth yeares by suche godly zealous learned persons could not bring any prescription against the truth the lacke of this necessary discipline by the space of 30. yeares through the ouersight of a fewe if they be compared with that multitude ought not to be alledged to kepe it out of the church The dignitie also and hygh estate of those whych are not so earnest in thys cause can not hinder it if we consider the wisdome of God almost from time to time to consist and to shew it selfe most in setting forth his truth by the simpler and weaker sort by contemptible and weake instruments by things of no value to the end that when all men see the basenes and rudenes of the instrumēt they might the more wonder at the wisedome and power of the artificer which wyth so weake and foolishe instruments bringeth to passe so wise and mighty things And if men will wyth such an eye of fleshe loke vpon matters they shall condemne that excellent reformation vnder the godly king Ezechias whych the holy ghost doth so highly commend in whych it is witnessed that the Leuites whych were a degree vnder the priests were more forward and more zealous then the priests them selues Yea wherin it is witnessed that the people were yet more earnest and more willing then either the Leuites or the priestes Whych thing if euer is verified in our time For when I consider the zeale for religion whych sheweth it selfe in many as well of the nobility and gentry of this realme as of the people their care to continue it and aduaunce it their voluntary charges to maintaine it their liberality towards them which bend them selues that way as I do therby conceiue some hope of the fauourable countenaunce and continuance of Gods goodnes towards vs so I can not be but ashamed of mine owne slackenes and afraid of the displeasure of the Lord for that those whose proper worke thys is especially and whych should beare the standarde and cary the torche vnto the rest are so colde and so careles in these matters of the Lord. And I humbly craue and most earnestly desire of those whych beare the cheefe titles in the Ecclesiasticall functions that as we doe in parte correct oure negligence by the example of the forwardnes and readines of the people so they would suffer themselues to be put in remembrāce of their dueties by vs which are vnderneath them and that they would not neglect thys golden gift of Gods grace in admonishing them because the Lord doth offer it in a treene or earthen vessell but that they would first consider that as * Naaman the Syrian prince receiued great commodity by following the aduise of his maide and after of his man And * Abigael being a wise woman singuler profit by obeying the counsell of her seruaunt so they may receiue oftentimes profitable aduertisement by those whych are in lower places then they them selues be Then let them thynke that as Naaman was neuer the les noble for obeying the voyce of his seruaūts nor Abigaell neuer the les wise because she listened vnto the words of her man so it can not deminishe their true honoure nor empaire the credite of their godly and vncounterfait wisdome if they geue care vnto that which is spoken by their inferioures And last of all that as if they had not listened vnto those simple persons the one had pearished in his leprosie the other had bene slaine with her familye euen so if they shall for any worldly respect of honor riches or feare of being accounted eyther vnaduised in taking this course or light or inconstāt in forsaking it stop their cares against thys louing Admonition of the Lorde they prouoke hys anger not against their health or against their life but against their owne soules by exercising of vnlawfull authority and by taking vnto them partly such things as belong by no meanes vnto the church and partly whych are common vnto them wyth the whole church or els wyth other the ministers and gouernors of the same wherof I beseche them humbly to take the better hede for that the iudgement of the Lord wil be vpon a great part of them by so much the heauier by how much they haue not only beleued the gospel but also haue receyued this grace of God that they should suffer for it So that if they wil neither take example of diuers their superiors the nobles of this realme nor be admonished by vs of the lower sort wherin we hope better of them yet they would remember their former times and correct them selues by them selues And seing they haue ben content for the gospels sake to quit the necessary things of this life they wold not thinke much for the discipline whych is no small parte of the gospel hauing both things necessary and commodious to part from that whych is not only in them superfluous and hath nothing but a vaine ostentation whych will vanish as the shadow but also is hurtfull vnto them and pernicious vnto the churche whych thing I do morelargely and plainly lay forth in thys boke Another exception against the fauorers of this cause is taken for that they propoūd it out of time whych is that the Iewes sayd that the time was not yet come to build the Lordes house but it is knowen what the * Prophet answeared And if no time were vnseasonable in the kinde of materiall building wherin there be some times as of summer more opportune and fit then others howe can there be any vntimely building in this spirituall house where as long as it is called to day men are commaunded to further thys worke And as for those which say we come to late and that this shuld haue bene done in the beginning and cannot now be done wythout the ouerthrow of all for mending of a peece they do little consider that * S. Paul compareth that which is good in the building vnto gold and siluer and precious stones and that whych is euil layd vpon the foundation vnto stubble and hey and wode Likewise therfore as the stubble and the hey and the wode be easely by the fire consumed wythout any losse vnto the gold or siluer or precious stones so the corrupt things in this building may be easely taken away wythout any hurt or hinderance vnto that which is pure and found And if they put such confidence in thys similitude as that they wil therby wythout any testimony of the word of God stay the further building or correcting the faultes
we teach nothing les thē that there is no true church but in Englande If the churches be considered in the partes whether minister or people there is none pure vnspotted and this is the faith of the true Church and not of the Donatistes If it be considered in the whole and generall gouernment and outward pollicie of it it may be pure and vnspotted for any thing I know if men would labor to purge it The Donatists vaūted them selues to be exempted from sinne and what likelyhode is there betwene any assertion of the authors of the Admonition and this fansy of the Donatists To the last poynt of no compulsion to be vsed in matters of religion denying it to be true I reserue the further answer to another place To the next section Salomon sayth the the beginning of the words of an vnwise mā is folishnes but the later end of thē is mere madnes euen so it falleth out by you for whilest you suffer your self to be caryed hedlong of your affections you hurle you know not what nor at whome what so euer commeth first to hande speake things that the eyes and eares of all men heare see to be otherwise Whilest you compare them to Anabaptists Donatists some frend of yours myght thinke you said truely because such alwayes seking darke and solitary places might happely haue some fauorers whych are not knowen But when you ioyne them with y papists which are commonly knowne to all men whose doctrine they impugne as wel as you whose marks badges they can les away with then you whose company they flie more then you whose punishment they haue called for more then you for your part haue done and therfore are condemned of them as cruell when you oftentimes cary away the name of mildnes and moderation whych forsothe knowe as you haue professed no commaundement in the scrypture to put heretikes to death when I say you ioyne them thus with papistes you do not only leese your credite in these vntrue surmises wherein I trust with the indifferent reader you neuer had any but you make all other thyngs suspected whych you affirme so that you geue men occasion to take vp the common prouer be against you I will trust you no further then I see you After you haue thus yoked them wyth the papistes you go about to shew wherin they draw wyth them Wherin first I aske of you if all they that affirm or do any thing that the enemies of the church do are forthwith ioyned and conspired wyth them against the church what say you to s Paule that ioyned with the * Pharisies in the resurrection with the false apostles in taking no * wages of the Corinthians to oure sauioure Christe which spake against the Iewes whych were then the only people of God as the Gentils did whych were their ennemies wil you say therfore that either S. Paule ioyned with the Pharisies or false Apostles against the church or that our sauioure Christ ioyned against the Iewes wyth the Gentiles but let vs see your slaunders particularly To the first They do not deny but there is a visible church of God in England therfore your saying of them y they do almost in plaine and flat termes say that we haue not so much as any outward face shew of the true church argueth that you haue almost no loue in you which vpon one word once vttered contrary to the tenure of their boke course of their whole life surmise this of thē and how truly you conclude of that word skarce it shall appeare when we come to that place To the second I haue answered this in the 2. article of Anabaptisme the you charge vs with To the third Thys also is answered in the thirde To the fourth I answer that they do not condemne it wholely but finde fault with it as in some poynts disagreeing wyth the word of God. To the fifth All men shall perceiue when I come to that place howe you haue racked their words to an other sense then they spake them In the meane season it is enough that they confes that reading in the church is godly To the sixth I haue answeared in the tenth Article of Anabaptisme To the seuenth I answer that * Doeg when he sayd that Dauid came to Abimelech said nothing but truth and when they that witnessed against Christe that he sayde * destroy the temple and in three dayes I will build it vp againe sayde nothing but that our sauior Christ sayd But yet Doeg was a slaunderer and the other false witnesses because the one spake it of minde to hurt the other vnderstode it of an other temple then oure sauioure Christ ment it So although you doe in parte rehearse their wordes yet taking them contrary to their meaning whych myght easely appeare by the circumstances I see not howe you can be free from these faultes vnles it be done ignorantly whych I wishe were true for your owne sake And here I wil desire thee gentle reader to marke with what conscience this man sayth that they are ioyned and confederate with papists against the church The papistes mislyke of the boke of common prayer for nothing els but because it swarueth from their masse boke and is not in all poynts like vnto it And these men mislike it for nothyng els but because it hath too much likelyhode vnto it And iudge whether they be more ioyned wyth the papists whych would haue no communion nor felowship wyth them neither in ceremonies nor doctrine nor gouernment or they whych forsaking their doctrine retaine parte of their ceremonies and almost their whole gouernment that is they that seperate them selues by three walles or by one they that would be parted by the brode sea from them or which would be deuided by narowe water where they may make a bridge to come in againe and displace the truthe of the gospell as they haue done in times past They that would not only vnhorse the Pope but also take away the stirrops whereby he should neuer get into the saddle agayne or they which being content wyth that that he is vnhorsed leaue his ceremonies hys gouernment especially as stirrops whereby he may leape vp againe when as occasion serueth They that are content only to haue cut the armes and body of the tree of antichristianitie or they which wold haue stumpe and roote all vp The last section After you haue all to be blacked and grimed wyth the inke of Anabaptisme Donatisme and Papisme those whome you found cleare from the least spot or specke of any of them you whet the sword and blow the fire and you will haue the godly magistrate minister of your choler and therfore in stead of feare of leesing the multitude of your liuings forgoing your pompe and pride of men and delicacy of fare vnlawfull iurisdiction which you haue and heereafter loke for conscience religion and
sette downe hys iudgement before needed not to haue repeated it here agayne But the Greeke wordes you say catakyrieuousin kai catexousiazousin doe signifie to rule wyth oppression and why may not I saye that thys preposition cata doth not signifie heere a peruersnesse of rule but an absolutenesse and a full power and iurisdiction as catamathein catalambanein is not to learne or to perceyue euilly and peruersly but to learne exactly and to perceiue throughly and perfectly but what neede we to followe coniectures in so playne a matter when as Saint Luke vseth the simple wordes without any composition of exousiazein Kai Kyrieuein doe you not perceyue that the preposition wherein you put so great confidēce deceiueth you besides the manifest vntruth you commit in saying that all three Euangelistes haue katexousiazousin katakyrieuousin Furthermore you say that our sauioure Christ sayeth not that no man shall be great amongst them but he that desireth to be great amongst them He had sayd so before when he had sayd it shall not be so amongst you and therefore needed not to repeate it and yet an other Euangelist sayeth not he that desireth to be great but let the greatest among you be as the least VVherby he doth not reprehend only the desire of being great but will not haue them to be one aboue an other To the last reason Last of all you conclude that our sauiour Christ in the 20. of Mathew reproueth the ambition of the sonnes of zebede and in the 22. of S. Luke all the rest of the Apostles I graunte you he dothe so and that coulde not be done better then in tellyng them that they desired things not meete for them and which woulde not stande with their calling And if as you say the ambition only was reprehended and the desire of rule to oppresse others wyth the answere you attribute to our sauioure is not so fitte For they myght haue replyed and sayde that he forbad tyrannicall rule and oppression of their inferioures but they desired that which was a moderate and well ruled gouernment And semeth it vnto you a probable thing that S. Luke meaneth tyrantes and oppressors when as he sayth they are called beneficiall or gracious Lordes men doe not vse to call oppressors liberall or bountifull Lordes Neyther is it to be thought of all the Apostles that they desired rule one ouer an other to the ende that they would vse crueltie or tyrannie or oppression one ouer an other for that were to doe them great iniurie Besides that it is sayde that the rest of the disciples disdayned at the two brethren whyche they would not haue done if they had had any purpose or mynde to haue oppressed them For then they would haue contemned them rather then haue disdayned them if they had broken out into suche grose faultes For Aristotle teacheth that nemesis which is the same that aganactesis is the verbe whereof the Euangelist vseth is agaynst those that are supposed of them that beare the disdayne to be lifted vp higher and into better estate then they are worthy of whych agreeth wyth that interpretation whyche I haue alleaged and can not agree wyth the other whych you set downe For who speaking properly would speake after thys sort The residue of the Apostles disdayned at the two brethren or thought them vnworthy that they should beare tyrannicall rule ouer them To the section that beginneth touching the place in 23. of Mathew and so vntill howe aptly Concerning the exposition and sence of that place I agree with you and suppose that it is quoted of the authors of the admonition rather to note the ambition of certayne which gape greedely at these byshopprickes which we haue to the ende they mighte be saluted by the name of Lordes and honoures then to proue that one minister should not haue dominion ouer an other And therefore although these places be agaynst no lawfull authoritie of any estate or condition of men yet as they are aptly alledged against the bishop of Rome the one against his estate and authoritie simply the other agaynst hys tyrannie and euill vsage of hym selfe in that authoritie so it may be aptly alleaged agaynst any other which shall fall into the like fault of the byshop of Rome The purenesse that we boast of is the innocencie of our sauioure Christ who shall couer all our vnpurenesse not impute it vnto vs And for so much as fayth * purifyeth the hart we doubt not but God of his goodnes hath begon our sanctification and hope that he will make an ende of it euen vntill the day of our Lord Iesus Albeit we holde dyuers poyntes more purely then they doe which impugne them yet I know none that by comparison hath eyther sayd or written that all those that thinke as we doe in those poyntes are more holy and more vnblameable in life then any of those that thinke otherwise If we say that in those poynts which we holde from them we thinke soundlier then they doe we are ready to proue it If we say also that we lyue not so offensiuely to the world commonly by getting so many lyuinges into our handes as would finde foure or fiue good learned able ministers all the worlde will beare vs witnes Other purenes we take not vpon vs And therefore as the name was first by the Papistes maliciously inuented so is it of you very vnbrotherly confirmed Whereas you say that they are Puritanes which suppose the church which they haue deuised to be without all impuritie if you meane without sinne you doe notably slaunder them and it is already answered If you meane that those are Puritanes or Catharans which do set forth a true and perfect patern or platforme of reforming the church then the marke of thys heresy reacheth vnto those which made the booke of common prayer which you say is a perfect and absolute rule to gouerne this church wherein nothing is wanting or too little nor nothing running ouer nor too much As for the Catharans which were the same that are otherwise called Nouatians I know no suche opynion they had they whome you charge are as farre from their corruption as you be An answere to that which is contayned in the. 20. 21. and 22. page vntill Now if eyther godly Councels YOu geue occasion of suspition that your end will be skarce good which haue made so euill a beginning For whereas you had gathered out of the Admonition that nothing should be placed in the Church but that God hath in hys word commaunded as though the wordes were not playne enough you wil geue them some light by your exposition And what is that you answere that it is as much as though they would say nothing is to be tollerated in the church of Christe touching eyther doctryne order ceremonies disciplyne or gouernment except it be expressed in the word of god Is thys to interprete is it all one to say nothing
this that the church may ordaine certaine thyngs according to the word of God. But if this epistle and others of M. Bucers with his notes vpon the boke of Common prayer which are so often cited and certaine Epistles of M. Peter Martyr were neuer printed as I can not vnderstand they were then besides that you do vs iniurie whych go about to preiudice our cause by the testimonies of them which we can neither heare nor see being kept close in your study you also do your cause much more iniurie whilest you betray the pouerty and nakednes of it being faine to ransake rifie vp euery darke corner to finde some thing to couer it with Therefore it were good before you toke any benefite of them to let thē come forth and speake their owne testimonies in their owne language and ful out For now you geue men occasion to thinke that there are some other things in their Epistles whych you would be lothe the world should know for feare of fall of that which you would gladly keepe There is no man that fayth that it ought to be permitted to euery person in the church where he is minister to haue such order or discipline or to vse such seruice as he listeth no mā seeketh for it But to haue the order which God hath left in those things which the word precisely appoynteth and in other thyngs to vse that whych shall be according to the rules of S. Paule before recited agreed by the church and constrined by the Prince And whereas you haue euer hitherto geuen the ordering of these thyngs to the churche howe come you nowe to ascribe it to the Bishops you meane I am sure the Bishops as we call Bishops heere in England whereby you fall into the opinion of the papists vnwares which when they haue spoken many things of the churche magnifically at the last they bring it nowe to the Doctors of the church nowe to byshops As forme although I doute not but there be many good men of the Byshoppes and very learned also and therfore very meete to be admitted into that consultation wherin it shal be cōsidered what things are good in the church yet in respect of that office and calling of a bishop which they now exercise I thinke that euery godly learned minister pastor of the churche hath more interest and right in respect of his office to be at that consultation then any bishop or archbishop in the realme for as muche as he hath an ordinarie calling of God function appoynted in the scriptures which he exerciseth and the other hath not But how thys authoritie pertaining to the whole church of making of such orders may and ought to be called to a certaine number that confusion may be auoyded and wyth the consent also of the churches to auoyde tyrannie it shall appeare in a more proper place where we shall haue occasion to speake of the eldership or gouernment in euery churche and of the communion and societie or participation and entercommuning of the churches togither by councels and assemblies prouinciall or nationall Answere till the Admonition from the beginning of the 30. page VNto the places of Deuteronomic whych proue that nothyng oughte to be done in the churche but that whych God commaundeth and that nothyng should be added nor diminished First you answere that that was a precept geuen to the Iewes for that time whych had all things euen the least prescribed vnto them I see it is true whych is sayd that one absurditie graūted a hundred follow For to make good that things ought to be done besides the scripture and worde of God you are driuen to runne into parte of the error of the Manichees whych say that the olde Testament pertaineth not vnto vs nor bindeth not vs For what is it else then to say that these two places serued for the Iewes time and vnder the lawe For surely if these two places agree not vnto vs in time of the gospell I knowe none in all the olde Testament whych doe agree and I praye you what is heere sayde whych S. Iohn in the * Apocalipse saythe not where he shutteth vp the newe Testament in thys sorte I protest vnto euery mā whych heareth the prophecie of thys boke that whosoeuer addeth any thing to it the Lorde shall adde vnto him the plagues whych are wrytten in it and whosoeuer taketh away any thing from it the Lord shall take away his portion out of the boke of life and out of the things that are wrytten in it which admonition if you say pertaineth to that boke of the Apocalipse only yet you must remember that the same may be as truely sayd of any other boke of the scripture Then you are driuen to saye that the Iewes vnder the lawe had a more certaine direction and consequently a readyer waye then we haue in the time of the gospell of the whych time the Prophet sayeth that then a man shoulde not teache his neighbor they shal be so taught of God as if he should say that they that liue vnder the gospel should be all in comparison of that whych were vnder the lawe Doctors And Esay sayth that in the dayes of the gospell the people shall not stande in the outward courtes but he will bring them into the sanctuarie that is to say that they shoulde be all for their knowledge as learned as the Leuites and Priestes whych only had entraunce into it Now if the Iewes had precepts of euery the least action whych told them precisely how they should walke how is not their case in that poynt better then oures whych because we haue in many things but generall rules are to seeke oftentimes what is the will of God whych we should follow But let vs examine their lawes and compare them with oures in the matters pertaining to the church for whereas the question is of the gouernment of the church it is very impertinent that you speake of the iudicialies as though you had not yet learned to distinguishe betweene the Church and common wealth To the ordering and gouerning of the church they had only the moral and ceremoniall law we haue the same morall that they had what speciall direction therfore they enioy by the benefite of that we haue We haue no ceremonies but two the ceremonies or sacraments of Baptisme and of the Lords supper we haue as certaine a direction to celebrate them as they had to celebrate their ceremonies and fewer and les difficulties can rise of oures then of theirs and we haue more plaine and expres doctrine to decide our cōtrouersies then they had for theirs What houre had they for their ordinarie and daily sacrifices was it not left to the order of the church what places were apointed in their seuerall dwellings to heare the woorde of God preached continually when they came not to Ierusalem the word was commaunded to be preached but no mention made what
hand as fast as you builde with the other But to answere directly to the place of the fifthe of the first to Timothe I saye first that S. Paule wryteth to Timothe and therefore instructeth hym what he should do for his parte in the appoynting of the minister If he had written to the whole Churche of Ephesus he would lykewise haue instructed them how they should haue behaued thē selues in that businesse If one do wryte vnto hys frende that hath interest in any election to take heede that he chuse none but such as are meete shall any man conclude therupon that none hath to doe in that election but he to whom that letter is writtē Then I say further that S. Paule attributeth that vnto Timothe that was common to moe with hym because he being the director and moderator of the election is sayde to doe that whiche many doe which thing I haue proued by dyuers examples both out of the scripture and otherwise before And euen in this imposition of handes it is manifestly to be shewed For that where as S. Paule sayth in the 2. Epistle that Timothe was ordayned by the putting on of hys hands vppon hym in the first Epistle he sayth that he was ordayned by the putting on of the handes of the eldership So that that which he in one place taketh to him selfe alone in the other he communicateth with moe And that he dyd it not him selfe alone it may appeare by those wordes which folow and communicate not with other mens sinnes as if he should saye if other will ordeyne insuffycient ministers yet be not thou caryed away with their example And further that his authoritie was equall with other elders of that church and that he had no superioritie aboue his fellowes it may appeare for that he sayth lay thy hands rashly of none where if he had had authoritie ouer the rest he would rather haue sayd suffer none to lay his handes rashly Agayne it is a fault in you that you can not distinguishe or put difference betweene the election and imposition of handes Last of all I answere that although this might agree to Timothe alone as in deede it can not yet it followeth not that euery Bishop may do so For Timothe was an Euangelist which was aboue a Bishop as hereafter shall better appeare And it is an euill argument to say the greater may do it therfore the lesse may do it The superiour therfore the inferioure If you were at any cost with producing your witnesses you should not be so vnwise to be so lauishe of them as to cite Ambrose and Chrisostome to proue a thing that none hath euer denyed For who denyeth that S. Paule doth not geue warning to Timothe to be circumspect If you meane to vse their testimonie to proue that he only made the elections they saye neuer a word for you if there be any thing cite it To the place of Titus I answere as to that of Timothe for there is nothing there but agreeth also to thys place And as for Ierome he hath nothing in that place as he hath in no other to proue that to the Bishop only doth belong the right of election of the minister I haue shewed you reasons before why it cā not be so taken of the sole election of the Bishop the church being shutte out If authoritie woulde doe any good in thys behalfe as it seemeth it ought seeing that all your proofe throughe out the whole booke is in the authorities of men which Aristotle calleth atechnas peiseis vncunning proofes I coulde sende you to maister Calum which teacheth that it is not to be thought that S. Paule woulde permit to Titus to ordayne byshoppes and ministers by hys owne authoritie when he hym selfe would not take so much vpon hym but ioyned hys with the voyces of the church But he peraduenture sauoureth not your tast and yet you woulde make men beleue sometimes that you make muche of hym if you can gette but one worde vnioynted and racked in peeces from the rest to make good your part If hee weyghe not with you you haue maister Musculus whome you take to bee a great patrone of youres in thys cause which dothe with greater vehemencie affirme the same thing that mayster Caluin sayth asking whether any man can beleeue that Paisle permitted in thys place to Titus or in the place before alledged to Timothe that they shoulde ordayne of theyr owne authoritie and by them selues when as Paule woulde not doe it but by the voyces and election of the churche In the ende you say it is the generall consent of all the learned fathers that it belongeth to the byshop to chuse the minister Because you acquaint my eares with such bolde and vntrue affirmations I can now the more paciently heare you thus vaunting your selfe as though you had all the fathers by heart and caryed them about with you wheresoeuer you went whereas if a man woulde measure you by the skill in them which you haue shewed heere he woulde hardly beleeue that you had redde the tenthe part of them Are all the learned fathers of that mynde I thinke then you would haue bene better aduised then to haue sette downe but one when as you know a matter in controuersie will not be tryed but by two or three witnesses vnlesse the Lord speake hym selfe and therefore you geue me occasion to suspect that because you cite but one you know of no more now let vs see what your one witnesse will depose in thys matter And fyrst of all you haue done more wisely then simply in that you haue altered Ieromes wordes For where hee sayeth wherein doth a byshoppe differ from an elder but only in ordayning you say a byshop doth excell all other mynisters c. I report me heere vnto your conscience whether you dyd not of purpose chaunge Ieromes hys sentēce because you wold not let the reader vnderstand what oddes is betweene S. Ieromes bishops in his dayes betwene our Lord Bishoppes For then the byshop had nothing aboue an elder or other minister but only the ordayning of the minister Now he hath a thousande parishes where the minister hath but one For the matters also of the substaunce of the ministerie the bishop now excommunicateth which the minister can not absolueth or receyueth into the church which the minister can not Besides diuers other things which are meere ciuill which the byshop doth and which neither byshop nor other minister ought to doe I say I reporte me to your conscience whether you altered Ieromes wordes to thys ende that you would keepe thys from the knowledge of your reader or no. For answere to the place it is an euill argument to saye the byshop had the ordayning of the minister Ergo he had the election of hym the contrary rather is a good argument the byshop had the ordayning of the minister therefore he had not the election of hym For ordination
and election are dyuers members of one whole which is the placing of the pastor in hys church and one member can not be verified of an other as you can not say your foote is your hand I will not deny but that sometimes these wordes maye bee founde confounded in Ecclesiasticall wryters but I will shewe you also that they are distinguished and that the election pertayneth to the people and ordayning vnto the Byshop Vpon the sixte of the Actes the glose hath that that which was done there of the xij Apostles in willing the brethren to loke out fitte men was done to geue vs example muste be obserued in those that are ordayned For sayth the glose the people must chuse and the Byshoppe must ordayne And that S. Ierome must be so vnderstanded it appeareth not only that it hath beene so expounded but also it may be casely proued for that S. Ieromes sentence and iudgement appeareth in other places that he woulde haue nothing heere done with out the people as in his Epistle ad Rusticum monachum he willeth that the people shoulde haue power and authoritie to chuse their clarkes and their ministers and in hys Epistle to Neopotian of the lyfe of the clarkes he hath thys distinction manifestly They runne sayth he vnto the Bishoppes suffragans certen times of the yeare and bringing some summe of money they are annoynted and ordayned being chosen of none and afterwarde the Bishoppe without any lawfull election is chosen in hugger mugger of the Canons or Prebendaries only without the knowledge of the people And so you see that although y S. Ierome sayeth that the Byshop had the ordayning of the ministers yet he had not the election for the ordayning was nothing else but an approuing of the election by putting on of handes and consequently hauing made your vaunt that all the learned fathers were of thys iudgement that the Bishop should elect the minister you shew not so much as one Now will I shewe you the cleane contrary of that you saye not that I gladlye trauaile thys wayes for if you had not constrayned me you shoulde not haue hearde one voyce thys way And woulde to God that you woulde be content especially when you meete with those that will be tryed by the scriptures to seeke no farther strengthe then they geue you But I am lothe you shoulde oppresse the truthe and make all men afrayde of it by making them beleeue that it is so desolate and forsaken of her frendes as you pretende You confesse S. Cyprian is agaynste you herein and he was a learned father and a Martyr also whych dyd not only vse thys forme of election but also taught it to be necessary and commaunded and therefore me thincketh you shoulde not haue sayde all the learned fathers without exception You see also S. Ierome is of an other iudgement S. Augustine also when hee speaketh how hee appoynted Eradius to succeede hym sheweth howe it was the approued right and custome that the whole church shoulde eyther chuse or consent of their Bishoppe And * Ambrose sayeth that that is truely and certaynely a diuine election to the office of a byshop which is made of the whole church Eregorius Nazianzene in the Oration which he had at the death of hys father hath diuers things which proue that the election of the minister pertayned to the Churche and confuteth those thinges which should seeme to hinder it These were learned fathers and yet thought not that the election of the pastor or byshop pertayned to one man alone but that the church had also hir interest therefore you see all the learned fathers are not of that mynde you say they are And that thys election continued in the churche vntill within a three hundred yeares at what time there was more then Egyptiacall and palpable darcknesse ouer the face of the whole earth it may appeare in a Treatise of Flaccus Illirâ—cus whiche he calleth an addition vnto hys booke that he entituleth the Catalogue of the witnesses of truthe of whome I confesse my selfe to haue bene muche holpen in thys matter of the choyse of the church touching the ministers especially in the Emperoures Edictes which are before cited For lacking opportunities diuers wayes I was contented somewhat to vse the collection to my commoditie for the more speedie furtheraunce and better proceeding in other matters which I will leaue of because they may be there red of those that be learned whome I will also referre to the sixe and seuen bookes of Eusebius wher both the formes of the electioÌ„s in those tymes are described wher besides that the customes of the peoples choise is set forth there are examples of the election of the people and cleargie which were confirmed by the christian Magistrate namely in the Byshop of Constantinople And these may suffice for the other that haue not that commoditie of bookes nor habilitie nor skill to reade them being in a straunge tongue to knowe that besides the institution of God in his worde thys manner of election dyd continue so long as there was any light of the knowledge of God in the churche of god I will adde only one place which if it be more bitter then the rest and cutte the quicke more neare you shall not bee angry with me but first with those that were the authors of it and then wyth him that wrote it Eusebius speaking of Origine which was admitted not of one Bishop but of many Byshoppes to teache sheweth how the Byshoppes were reprehended by the Byshoppe of Alexandria called Demetrius because they had admitted him without the election of the presbyterie of the churche which were the cheefe in the election in euery church and vnto the which the churches did committe the gouernment of them selues in euery seuerall towne and Citie sayth that it hath not beene hearde that laikous shoulde homilein paronton ton episcopon which is that the lay men should teach when the Byshoppes were present whereby it is euident that he counted hym a lay man which was only admitted by the Byshops although they were many not being first elected by the presbyterie of that church wherof he was the teacher Seing then that the scripture doth teache thys order that there shoulde be no minister thrust vppon the churche but by the consent thereof and reason perswadeth that wayes and the vse of the churche hath beene so from time to time both in peace and in time of persecution bothe vnder tyrantes and godly Princes it can not be without the highe displeasure of almightie God the great hurte and sore oppression of the churche that one man shoulde take thys vnto hym which pertayneth to so many or one minister which pertayneth to more then one especially where the aduise of learned ministers may concurre with the peoples election or consent Now if any man will rise vp and saye that this doctryne bringeth in disorder and by thys meanes children and boyes and
must depose that the name of an archbyshop is not antychristian of whome as of Clement that went before and Anicetus which followeth after the common prouerbe may be verifyed Aske my fellow if I be a theefe And although the answerer be ashamed of hym and sayth therefore he will omit him yet euen very neede dryueth hym to bring hym in and to make hym speake the vttermost hee can And thys honest man sayth that Iames was the first archbyshop of Ierusalem But Eusebius sayth Iames was byshop not archbyshop of Ierusalem and appoynted by the apostles And in an other place he sayth that the apostles dyd appoynt after hys death Simeon the sonne of Cleophas byshop of Ierusalem And Ireneus sayeth that the apostles in all places appoynted byshops vnto the churches whereby it may appeare what an idle dreame it is of Clement Volusianus and Anacletus eyther that Peter dyd thys by his owne authoritie or that the primitiue churche was euer staynes wyth these ambytious tytles of patriarche prymate metropolytane or archbyshoppe when as the storyes make mention that thoroughe out euery churche not chery prouince not by Peter or Paule but by apostles a byshop not an archbyshop was appoynted And heere you put me in remembraunce of an other argument agaynst the archbyshop which I will frame after thys sorte If there shoulde be any archbyshop many place the same shoulde be eyther in respect of the persone or minister and hys excellencie or in respecte of the magnificence of the place but the most excellent mynisters that euer were in the most famous places were no archbyshops but byshops only therefore there is no cause why there shoulde be any archbyshop For if there were euer mynister of a congregation worthy that was Iames if there were euer any citte that ought to haue thys honor as that the mynister of it should haue a more honorable title then the mynisters of other cities and townes that was Ierusalem where the sonne of God preached and from whence the gospell issued out vnto all places And afterwarde that Ierusalem decayed and the church there Antioche was a place where the notablest men were that euer haue bene since which also deserued great honoure for that there the * disciples were first called christians but neyther was that called the first and cheefest church neyther the mynisters of it called the Arche or principal byshoppes And Eusebius to declare that thys order was firme and durable sheweth that S. Iohn the Apostle which ouer lyued the residue of the Apostles ordayned byshops in euery church These two Anacletus and Anicetus you say are suspected why do you say suspected when as they haue bene conuinced and condemned and stande vppon the pillery with the cause of forgerie written in great letters that he which runneth may reade Some of the papistes them selues haue suspected them but those which mayntayne the truth haue condemned them as full of popery full of blasphemy and as those in whome was the very spirit of contradiction to the Apostles and their doctryne And do you marke what you say when you say that these are but suspected Thus much you say that it is suspected or in doubt whether the whole body of poperie and antichristianitie were in the Apostles time or sone after or no for Clement was in the Apostles time and their scholer and so you leaue it in dout whether the apostles appoynted and were the authors of popery or no. I thinke if euer you had red the Epistles you woulde neuer haue cited their authorities nor haue spoken so fauourably of them as you doe You come after to the councel of Nice wherin I wil not sticke with you that you say it was holden the CCC xxx yeare of the Lorde when as it maye appeare by Eusebius hys Computation that it was holden Anno Domini CCC xx and heere you take so greate a leape that it is enoughe to breake the archbishoppes necke to skippe at once CCC yeares that is from the tyme of the apostles vntill the time of the councell of Nice wythout any testimony of any either father or storie of faithe and credite whych maketh once mention of an archbishop What no mention of hym in Theophilus byshop of Antioche none in Ignatius none in Clemens Alexandrinus none in Iustin Martyr in Ireneus in Tertullian in Origine in Cyprian none in all those olde Historiographers out of the whych Eusebius gathereth hys story Was it for his basenes and smalnes that he could not be seene amongst the byshops elders and deacons being the cheefe and principall of them all can the Ceder of Lebanon be hid amongst the boxe trees Aristotle in his Rhethorike ad Theodecten sayeth that it is a token of contempt to forget the name of an other belike therefore if there were any archbishop he had no chaire in the church but was as it semeth digging at the metalles For otherwise they that haue filled their bookes wyth the often mentioning of bishops would haue no doubt remembred him But let vs heare what the councell of Nice hath for these titles In the. 6. canon mention is made of a metropolitane bishop what is that to the metropolitane whych is now either to the name or to the office of the office it shal appeare afterwards In the name I thinke there is a great differēce betwene a metropolitane bishop metropolitane of England or of al England A Metropolitane bishop was nothing els but a bishop of that place which it pleased the Emperor or magistrate to make the chefe citie of the diocese or shire and as for thys name it maketh no more difference betwene bishop and bishop then when I say a minister of London and a minister of Nuington There is no man that is well aduised whych will gather of thys saying that there is as great difference in preheminence betweene those two ministers as is betweene London and Nuington for his office and preheminence we shall see hereafter There are alledged to proue the names of archbyshops patriarkes archdeacons the. 13. 25. 26. and. 27. Canons of the councel of Nece For the. 25. 26. 27. there are no such canons of that councell and although there be a thirtenthe canon there is no worde of patriarke or archdeacon there contained And I maruell wyth what shame you can thruste vppon vs these counterfaite canons whych come out of the popes minte yea and whych are not to be found Theodoret sayeth that there are but twentie Canons of the councell of Neece and those twentie are in the tome of the councels and in those there is no mention of any patriarke archdeacon archbishop Ruffine also remembreth 22. Canons very little differing from those other twenty but in lengthe and in none of those are found any of these names of archbishop archdeacon patriarke And it is as lawfull for M. Harding to alledge the. 44. canon of the coūcell of Nece to proue the supremacie
them For so doth Cyprian cal the bishops of that prouince in his epistle his fellow bishops and in diuers places his brethren And in the sentence which he spake in the coūcel of Carthage he sayth none of vs doth take him selfe to be bishop of bishops Nowe that there was no authoritye of one byshop ouer an other and that there was none suche as when controuersies roase tooke vppon hym the compounding of them or any one to whome it appertained to see the vnitye of the church kept and to see that all other bishops and the cleargy did their duety as M. Doctor beareth vs in hand it may clearely be seene in diuers places of Cyprian and first of all in that sentence which he spake in the councel of Carthage where he proceedeth further after this sort that none of them did by any tirannicall feare binde his felowes in office or any fellow byshops to any necessity of obedience seeing that euery bishop hath for his free libertye and power hys owne iudgement or discretion as one which can not be iudged of an other as he also hym selfe can not iudge an other But sayth he we ought to tary and waite for the iudgement of our Lord Iesus Christ which only and alone hath power to set vs ouer hys church to iudge of our doing And in the same Epistle whereout the first place is taken by M. Doctor he sayth that vnto euery one a portion of the flocke is appoynted which euery one must rule and gouerne as he that shall render an accompt of hys deede vnto the lord And in an other place hee sayth we doe not vse any compulsion or vyolence ouer any nor appoynt no law to any seeing that euery one that is set ouer the church hath in the gouernment the free disposition of hys owne will whereof he shall geue an accompt vnto the lord And yet Cyprian was the byshop of the metropolitane or cheefe seate and one whome for hys learning and godlynesse the rest no doubt had in great reuerence and gaue great honor vnto And whereas it is sayde for the preseruation of vnitie one must be ouer all S. Cyprian sheweth that the vnitie of the church is conserued not by hauing one byshop ouer all But by the agreement of the byshops one with an other For so he wryteth that the church is knit and coupled together as it were with the glew of the byshops consenting one with an other and as for the compounding of controuersies it is manyfest that it was not done by one byshop in a prouince but those byshoppes whych were neere the place where the schisme or heresie sprang For speaking of the appeasing of controuersies and schismes and shewing how dyuers byshops were drawne into the heresie of Nouatus he sayth that the vertue and strength of the Christians was not so decayed or languished but that there was a portion of priestes which dyd not geue place vnto those ruines and shipwrackes of fayth And in an other place he sayth therefore most deare brother the plentifull body or company of the priests are as it were with the glew of mutuall concorde bande of vnitie ioyned together that if any of our company be author of an heresie and goe about to destroy and rent the flocke of Christ the rest should helpe and as profitable mercifull shepheards gather together the sheepe of the Lord wherby it is manifest that the appeasing composing of controuersies heresies was not then thought to be most fitte to be in one byshops hand but in as many as coulde conueniently assemble together according to the danger of the heresie which sprang or deepe roote which it had taken or was like to take And that there was in his time no such authoritie geuen as that any one might remoue the causes or controuersies which rose as now we see there is when the byshop of the diocese taketh the matters in controuersie which rise in any church within hys diocese from the minister and elders to whome the decision pertayneth and as when the archbyshop taketh it away from the byshop it may appeare in the same thirde Epistle of the first booke where he sayth after this sort It is ordayned it is equall and right that euery mans cause shoulde be there hearde where the fault was committed And a little after he sayth It is meete to handle the matter there where they may haue both accusers and witnesses of the fault whiche although it be spoken of them which fied out of Affrike vnto Rome yet the reason is generall and doth as wel serue agaynst these Ecclesiasticall persons which will take vnto them the decyding of those controuersies that were done a hundreth mile of them And whereas M. Doctor in both places of Cyprian semeth to stand much vpon the wordes One Byshop and priest the reason thereof doth appeare in an other place of Cyprian most manifestly and that it maketh no more to proue that there ought to be one archbyshop ouer a hole prouince then to say that there ought to be but one husbande proueth that therefore there should be but one husbande in euery countrey or prouince which shoulde see that all the rest of the husbandes doe their dueties to their wyues For thys was the case A Nouatian hereticke being condemned and cast out of the churches of Affrica by the consent of the byshops not able by embassage sent to them to obtayne to be receiued to their communion and fellowship agayne goeth afterwardes to Rome and being lykewise there repelled in tyme getteth hym selfe by certayne which fauoured hys heresie to be chosen byshop there at Rome Cornelius being the byshop or pastor of those which were there godly mynded whereupon it commeth that Cyprian vrgeth one byshop one priest in the church because at Rome there was two whereof one was a wolfe which ought not to haue bene there considering there was but one church which was gathered vnder the gouernmēt of Cornelius And therefore by that place of Cyprian it can not be gathered that there ought to be but one byshop in one citie if the multitude of professors require more and that all can not well gather them selues together in one congregation to be taught of one man much lesse can it serue to proue that there should be but one in a whole diocese or prouince I graunt that in later tymes and which went more from the simplicitie of the primitiue church they tooke occasion of these wordes to decree that there should be but one byshop in a citie but that can neuer be concluded of Cyprians wordes if it be vnderstanded why he vrgeth one byshop and one priest If therefore neyther word byshop nor priest do make any thing to proue an archbyshop nor thys worde church doth imply any prouince nor in these wordes one byshop one priest there is nothing lesse ment then that there should be one archbyshop ouer all the
byshops and cleargie in a prouince and if Cyprian will neyther allow of the title of archbyshop nor of the authoritie and office but in playne wordes speaketh agaynst both we may conclude that M. Doctor hath done very vnaduisedly to lay so great waight of the archbyshop vppon S. Cyprians shoulders that wâ—ilnot only not beare any thing of hym but which hath done all that coulde be to make hym goe a foote and hand in hand with hys fellowes There are other reasons which M. Doctor vseth as thys a notable one S. Cyprian speaketh not of the vsurped power of the byshop of Rome therefore he speaketh of the office of an archbyshop and metropolitane It is hard to call thys argument to any head of fallation for it hath not so much as a colour of a reason I thincke it can deceiue no body but your self An other reason is that all the godlyest best learned meÌ„ do expound the place of Cyprian in the 3. epist. of the first booke of an archbyshop The vanitie of thys saying that the godly learned wryters so expound it I haue shewed before and heere it commeth to be considered agayne I will not say that no godly nor learned wryter expoundeth the place of Cyprian of the authoritie of an archbishop But first I desire M. Doctor to set downe but one and then I will leaue it to thy consyderation gentle reader to thincke whether M. Doctor hath red any learned or godly mans exposition to be suche when he hath not red those which are nearest hym I meane our owne countrey men I say he hath not red them because I woulde thinke charitably so of hym rather then that he shoulde haue red them and yet speake vntruely of them and father those things of them which they neuer speake M. Iewell the byshop of Sarisburie expounded thys place and yet dyd neuer expounde it of the office and authoritie of an archbyshop of all the byshops and clergie of the prouince but cleane contrarywise applyeth it to the authoritie that euery byshop had in hys diocesse hys wordes are these Now therefore to draw that thing by violence to one only byshop that is generally spoken of all byshops is a guilefull fetch to misseleade the reader and no simple nor playne dealing Heere you see that M. Iuel doth not vnderstande thys of any archbyshop but of euery byshop M. Nowel Deane of Poules hauing occasion to speake of this place sayth on thys sort So that when he speaketh meaning Cyprian of one byshop one iudge in the churche for the time or of the byshop whych is one and ruleth the church absolutely he meaneth euery byshop in his owne diocesse wythout exception If he speake specially he meaneth the byshop of the citye or diocese wherof he entreateth whether it be the byshop of Rome Carthage or any other place M. Fore also expoundeth thys of euery byshop wythin hys owne churche or diocese You heare the iudgement of these three wryters that can not picke out neyther the name nor the office of an archbyshop out of Cyprians place and yet I thinke you wil not deny but these were learned and godly wryters Now I haue shewed you three I aske once againe of you one godlye and learned wryter that expoundeth it as you doe And by thys time I suppose all men vnderstande what a small friend S. Cyprian is eyther to the name or office of an archbyshop Let vs heare whether Ierome make any more for the archbyshop then did Cyprian The Hebrues doe deriue the name of time of a verbe whych signifyeth to corrupt because in dede it doth corrupt all and as the times are so are meÌ„ which liue in them that euen very good men carye the note of the infection of the times wherin they liue and the streame of the corruption therof being so vehemeÌ„t and forcible doth not only driue before it light things but it cateth also and weareth the very hard and stony rockes and therfore there is not to be loked for such sinceritie at Ierome his hand whych we found in S. Cyprian considering that he liued some ages after Cyprian what time sathan had a great deale more darkned the cleare light of the sonne of the gospell then it was in S. Cyprians time For as those that came nearest vnto the apostles times because they were nearest the light â–ª did see best so those that were further of from these lightes had vntill the time of the manifestation of the sonne of perdition their heauens more darke and cloudy and consequeÌ„tly did see more dimly whych is diligently to be obserued of the reader bothe the better to vnderstand the state of thys question and all other controuersies whych lie betweene vs and the papistes And although Ierome besides his other faultes might haue also in thys matter spoken more soundly yet we shall easely perceiue that he is a great deale further from eyther the title or office of an archbyshop or else from the authority that a byshop hath with vs then he is from the simplicity of the ministery which ought to be and is commended vnto vs by the worde of God. And heere I must put M. Doctor in remembrance howe vnfitly he hath dedicated his boke vnto the churche whych hath so patched it and peeced it of a number of shreds of the doctors that a sentence of the scripture eyther truely or falsely alledged is as it were a Phenix in thys boke If he would haue had the church beleue hym he oughte to haue setled their iudgement and grounded their faith vpon the scriptures whych are the only foundations whervpon the church may build Nowe he doth not only not geue them grounde to stand of but he leadeth them into wayes whych they can not folowe nor come after him For except it be those whych are learned and besides haue the meanes and abilitye to haue the bokes whych are heere cited which are the least and smallest portion of the church how can they know that these things be true whych are alledged and as I haue said if they could know yet haue they nothing to stay them selues vpon and quiet their conscience in allowing that which M. Doctor would so faine haue them like of Therefore he might haue much more fitly dedicated his booke vnto the learned and riche whych haue furnished libraries Ierome sayeth that at the first a byshoppe and an Elder whych you call priest were all one but afterward through factions schismes it was decreed that one should rule ouer the rest Now I say against this order that the bishop shoulde beare rule ouer all that which our sauioure Christ sayth vnto the Pharises from the beginning it was not so and therefore I require that the first order may stande which was that a byshop elder were all one And if you place so great authoritie agaynst the institution of God in a mortall man heare what Tertullian sayth vnto you
Egipt cryed in the councell of Calcedon that he was no bishop it is to be obserued that which the Emperoures Theodosius and Valentinian wryte vnto Dioscorus bishop of Alexandria that he had commaunded Theodoret byshop of Cyrus that he should kepe hym selfe vnto hys owne church only wherby it appeareth that he medled in moe churches then was mete he should Besides that wanteth not suspition the he speaketh this of him selfe especially when he sayth the there was not in all those 800. churches one tare the is one hypocrite or euil maÌ„ Now that it may appeare what great lykelyhoode there is betwene thys Theodoret and our Lord byshops and archbyshops it is to be considered which he wryteth of hym selfe in the Epistle vnto Leo that is that he hauing bene 26. yeares byshop was knowne of all that dwelt in those partes that he had neuer house of hys owne nor field nor halfepennie not so much as a place to be buryed in but had willingly contented hym selfe with a poore estate belyke he had a very leane archbyshoppricke And if the fat morsels of our byshopprickes archbishopprickes were taken employed to their vses of maintenance of the pore of the mynisters and of the vniuersities which are the seede of the mynisterie I thincke the heate of the disputation and contention for archbyshops and bishops would be cooled Now good reader thou hearest what M. Doctor hath bene able to take together out of the olde fathers which he sayth are so playne in thys matter and yet can shew nothing to the purpose Heare also what he sayth out of the wryters of our age all which he sayth except one or two are of hys iudgement and allow well of thys distinction of degrees Maister Caluin first is cited to proue those offices of archbyshop primate patriarche the names whereof he can not abyde and as for hym he approueth only that there should be some â–ª which when difficult causes arise which can not bee ended in the particulare churches might referre the matters to sinodes and prouinciall councels and which myght do the offices which I haue spoken of before of gathering voyces c. But that he lyketh not of those dominations and large iurisdictions or at all of the byshoppes or archbyshops which we haue now it may appeare playnly enough both in that place when as he will haue hys wordes drawen to no other then the olde byshoppes shutting out thereby the byshoppes that now are as also in other places and namely vpon the Philippians where reasoning agaynst thys distinction betwene pastor and byshop and shewing that geuing the name of byshop to one man only in a church was the occasion why he afterward vsurped domynation ouer the rest he sayth after thys sort In deede I graunt sayth he as the dispositions and manners of men are order can not stande amongst the mynisters of the woorde vnlesse one be ouer the rest I meane sayth he of euery seuerall and singuler body not of a whole prouince much lesse of the whole worlde Now if you will needes haue M. Caluins archbyshop you must not haue hym neyther ouer a prouince nor diocese but only ouer one singuler and particuler congregation How much better therefore were it for you to seeke some other shelter against the storme then maister Caluins which will not suffer you by any meanes to couer your selfe vnder hys winges but thrusteth you out alwayes as soone as you enter vpon him forceably But heere I can not let passe M. Doctors ill dealing which recyting so much of maister Caluin cutteth hym of in the waste and leaueth quite out that which made agaynst hym that is which maister Caluin â—ayth in these wordes Although sayth he in thys disputacion it may not be passed ouer that this office of archbyshop or patriarke was most rarely and seldome vsed which dealing semeth to proceede of a very euill conscience Then followeth Hemingius who you say approueth these degrees of archbishop metropolitane byshop archdeacon for so you must needes meane when you say he approueth these degrees or els you say nothing for there vpon is the question Now how vntruely you speake let it be iudged by that which followeth * First he sayth that our sauiour Christ in S. Luke distinguisheth and putteth a difference betwene the office of a Prince and the office of the minister of the church leauing domynion to the Princes and taking it altogether from the mynisters Here you see not only how he is agaynst you in your exposition in the place of S. Luke which wold haue it nothing else but a prohibition of ambitioÌ„ but also how at a word he cutteth the throte of your archbyshop and byshop as it is now vsed And afterward speaking of the churches of Denmarke he sayth they haue Christ for their head for the outwarde discipline they haue magistrates to punish with the sword for to exercise the Ecclesiasticall disciplyne they haue bishops pastors doctors which may keepe men vnder with the word without vsing any corporall punishment Here is no mention of archbyshops Primates metropolitanes And although he sheweth that they kepe the distinction betwene byshops and ministers against whych there hath bene before spoken yet he sayth that the authority which they haue is as the authority of a father not as the power of a maister whych is far otherwise heere For the condition of many seruaunts vnder their maisters is much more free then the condition of a minister vnder hys byshop And afterward he sheweth wherin that authority or dignity of the byshop ouer the minister lyeth that is in exhorting of him in chiding of hym as he doth the lay people and yet he will haue also the minister although not with such authority after a modest sort to do the same vnto the byshop And so he concludeth that they retain these orders notwithstanding the anabaptists Now let the reader iudge whether Hemingius be truely or faithfully alledged or no or whether Hemingius do say that they haue in their church archbishops primates metropolitanes archdeacons or whether the byshops in the churches of Denmarke are any thing like oures For I will omit that he speaketh there against all pomp in the ministery all worldly superiority or highnes because I loue not to wryte out whole pages as M. Doctor doth out of other mens wrytings to helpe to make vp a boke M. doctor closeth vp this matter wyth M. Foxe but eyther for feare that the place should be found that there might be answer or for feare that M. Foxe should giue me the solution whych hath giuen you the obiection he wold neither quote the place of the boke nor the boke it self he hauing wrytten diuers You caÌ„ not speake so much good of M. Foxe whych I will not willingly subscribe vnto And if it be any declaration of good will and of honor that one beareth to an other to read that whych he wryteth I thinke I haue
let him as though there were some variance betwene the people and the minister or as though he were afraide of some infection of plage And in dede it renueth the memory of the Leuitical priesthode whych did withdrawe himselfe from the people into the place called the holyest place where he talked wyth God and offered for the sinnes of the people Likewise for Mariage he cometh backe againe into the body of the church and for baptisme vnto the church dore what comelines what decency what edifying is thys Decencie I say in running and trudging from place to place edifying in standing in that place and after that sort where he can worst be harde and vnderstanded S. Luke sheweth that in the primitiue church both the prayers and preachings and the whole exercise of religion was done otherwyse For he sheweth howe S. Peter sitting amongste the rest to the ende he myght be the better heard rose not that only but that he stode in the midst of the people that his voyce might as much as might be come indifferently to all their eares and so standing both prayed and preached Now if it be said for the chapters Letany there is commaundement geuen that they shuld be red in the body of the church in deede it is true and therof is easely perceiued this disorder whych is in saying the rest of the prayers partly in the hither end and partly in the further end of the chauncell For seeing that those are red in the body of the church that the people may both heare and vnderstand what is red what shuld be the cause why the rest should be red farther of vnles it be that either those things are not to be heard of them or at the least not so necessary for them to be heard as the other whych are recited in the body or midst of the church And if it be further sayd that the boke leaueth that to the discretion of the ordinarye and that he may reforme it if there be any thing amis then it is easely answered again that besides that it is against reason that the commoditye and edifying of the church should depende vpon the pleasure of one man so that vpon hys eyther good or euill aduise and discretion it should be well or euell wyth the church Besides this I say we see by experience of the disorders whych are in many churches and dioceses in thys behalfe how that if it were lawfull to commit such authority vnto one man yet that it is not safe so to doe considering that they haue so euill quitten them selues in their charges and that in a matter the inconuenience wherof being so easely sene and so easely reformed there is notwythstanding so greate and so generall an abuse And the end of the order in the boke is to be obserued which is to kepe the praiers in the accustomed place of the church chappell or chauncell whych how maketh it to edification And thus for the generall faultes committed either in the whole Liturgy or in the most part of it both that I may haue no nede to repete the same in the particulares and that I be not compelled alwayes to enter a new disputation so ofte as M. Doctor sayeth very vnskilfully and vnlike a deuine whence so euer thys or that come so it be not euill it may be well established in the church of Christ Nowe I come to the forme of prayer whych is prescribed wherin the authors of the admonition declare that their meaning is not to disalow of prescript seruice of prayer but of thys forme that we haue For they expound themselues in the additions vnto the first part of the admonition It is not to any purpose that M. Doctor setteth himselfe to proue that there may be a prescript order of prayer by Iustine Martyrs testimony which notwithstanding hath not one word of prescript forme of prayers only he sayth there were prayers He sayth in dede the auncient fathers say that there hathe bene alwayes such kinde of prayers in the churches although they do say so yet all men may vnderstand easely that M. doctor speaketh thys rather by coniecture or that he hath heard other mē say so for so much as that Doctor whych he hathe chosen out to speake for all the rest hath no such thing as he fathereth on him He sayeth that after they haue baptised they pray for them selues for hym that is baptised and for all men that they may be mete to learne the truth and to expres it in their honest conuersation and that they be found to kepe the commaundements that they may attaine to eternal life but is this to say the there was a prescript forme of prayer when he sheweth nothing els but the chefe poynts vpon the whych they conceiued their prayers If you had alleaged thys to proue what were the matters or principall poyntes that the primitiue church vsed to pray for you had alleaged thys to purpose but to alleage it for a profe of a prescript forme of prayer when there is not there mētioned so much as the essentiall forme of prayer whych is the asking of our petitions in the name and through the intercession of our sauior Christ without the whych there is not nor cannot be any prayer argueth that either you litle know what the forme of prayer is or that you thought as you charge the authors of the admonition so often that this geare of yours should neuer haue come to the examination But for as muche as we agree of a prescript forme of prayer to be vsed in the church let that go thys that I haue sayd is to shew that when M. Doctor hapneth of a good cause whych is very seldome in this boke yet then he marreth it in the handling After he affirmeth that there can be nothing shewed in the whole boke whych is not agreeable vnto the word of God. I am very lothe to enter into this field albeit M. Doctor dothe thus prouoke me bothe because the Papistes will lightly take occasion of euill speaking when they vnderstand that we do not agree amongst our selues in euery poynte as for that some fewe professors of the gospell being priuate men boldened vpon such treatises take such wayes sometimes and breake forth into such speaches as are not meete nor conuenient Notwythstanding my duetie of defending the truthe and loue whych I haue first towardes God and then towards my countrey constraineth me being thus prouoked to speake a fewe woordes more particularly of the fourme of prayer that when the blemishes thereof doe appeare it may please the Queenes maiestie and her honourable Councell wyth those of the Parliamente whome the Lorde hathe vsed as singulare instrumentes to deliuer thys realme from the hotte furnaice and iron yoke of the popishe Egipte to procure also that the corruptions whych we haue broughte from them as those wysh whych we being so deepely dide and stained haue not so easely shaken
God as also as S. Paule teacheth a declaration and profession that wee are at one with oure brethren so that it is fyrst a sacrament of the knitting of all the body generally and of euery member particularly with the heade and then of the members of the body one with an other Now therefore seeing that euery particular church and body of Gods people is a representation and as it were a liuely portraiture of the whole church and body of Christ it followeth that that which we can not doe with all the church scattered throughout the whole world for the distances of places whereby we are seuered we ought to doe with that church whereunto God hath raunged vs as much as possibly or conueniently may be The departing therefore of the rest of the church from those three or fower is an open profession that they haue no communion fellowshippe nor vnitie with them that doe communicate and lykewise of those three or foure that they haue none with the rest that ioyne not them selues thereunto when as both by the many grapes making one cuppe and cornes making one loafe that whole church being many parsons are called as to the vnitie which they haue one with an other and altogether amongst them selues so to the declaration and profession of it by receiuing one with an other and altogether amongst them selues And as if so be that we do not celebrate as we may possibly and conueniently the supper of the Lord we thereby vtter our want of loue towardes the Lord which hath redeemed vs so if we doe not communicate together with the churche so farre forth as we may do conueniently we betray the want of our loue that we haue one towardes an other And therefore S. Paul dryuing heereunto willeth that one shoulde tary for an other reprehending that when one preuenteth and commeth before an other saying that that is to take euery man hys owne supper and not to celebrate the Lords supper Not that so many men or women as there came so many tables were for that had not bene possible in so great assemblyes but that they sorted them selues into certayne companyes and that they came scattering one after an other and that in stead of making one supper of the Lord they dyd make dyuers These things being considered the reason which the Admonition vseth in the 185. page where thys matter is spoken of which is drinke you all of thys is not so rydiculous as M. Doctor maketh it For although that it doe neyther proue that 12. or 20. or any other definite number must of necessitie receyue yet it proueth that as all they which were present dyd communicate And so as many as in the church are fit to receiue the sacraments or may conueniently receiue them together shoulde follow that example in celebrating the supper together And it is probably to be thought that if our sauiour Christ had not bene restrayned by the law of God touching the passeouer vnto hys owne family and to as many onely as would serue to eate vppe a Lambe by them selues that he would haue celebrated hys supper amongst other of hys disciples and professoures of hys doctryne But for so muche as it was meete that hee shoulde celebrate hys supper there and then where and when hee dyd celebrate hys passeouer for the cause before by me alleaged it pleased hym to keepe hys first supper with the fewer for that the law of communication vnto the passeouer which was ioyned wyth the supper woulde not admit any greater number of communicants then was sufficient to eate vp the passeouer And althoughe it be cleare and playne that when it is sayde drincke ye all of thys and tary one for an other these sayinges are ment of that particulare congregation or assembly which assemble themselues together to be taught by one mouth of the mynister yet I haue therefore put thys caution as muche as may be possyble least any man shoulde cauill as though I would haue no communion vntill all the godly through the world should meete together Likewise I haue put thys caution as much as may be conueniently for although it be possible that a perticulare church may communicate at one table in one day and together yet maye the same be inconuenient for dyuers causes As if the number should be very great so that to haue them all communicate together it would require suche a long tyme as the tarying out of the whole action would hazarde eyther the lyfe or at least the health of dyuers there Agayne for as much as other some being at the churche it is meete that other should be at home vppon occasyon of infantes and suche lyke thinges as require the presence of some to tary at home In these cases and suche lyke the inconueniences doe delyuer vs from the gilte of vncharitablenes and forsaking the fellowship of the church for that wee doe not heere seuere oure selues but are by good and iust causes seuered which gilte wee shall neuer escape if beside suche necessarye causes wee pretende those that are not or hauing not so muche as a pretence yet notwythstanding seperate our selues as the dayly practise thorough out the church doth shew But it may be obiected that in thys poynt the booke of Common prayer is not in fault which doth not only not forbid that all the church should receiue together but also by a good godly exhortation moueth those that be present that they should not departe but communicate altogether It is true that it doth not forbid and that there is godly exhortation for that purpose but that I say is not enough for neither should it suffer that three or foure should haue a communion by them selues so many being in the church meete to receiue and to whom the supper of the Lord doth of right appertaine it ought to prouide that those whych woulde wythdrawe them selues shoulde be by Ecclesiasticall discipline at all times and now also vnder a godly Prince by ciuill punishment brought to communicate wyth their brethren And thys is the law of God and thys is now and hath bene heeretofore the practise of churches reformed All men vnderstand that the passeouer was a figure of the Lords supper and that there should be as straight bonds to binde men to celebrate the remembrance of our spirituall deliuerance as there was to remember the deliuerance out of Egipt But whosoeuer did not then communicate with the rest at that time when the passeouer was eaten was excommunicated as it may appeare in the boke of Numbers where he sayeth that whosoeuer did not communicate being cleane his soule should be cut off from amongst the people of god Therfore thys neglect or contempt rather of the Lordes supper ought to be punished wyth no les punishment especially when as after the church hath proceeded in that order whych our sauior Christ appoynteth of admonishing they be not sory for their fault and promise
amendement And that this was the custome of the churches it may appeare by the. 9. of those canons whych are fathered of the apostles wher it is decreed that all the faithfull that entred into the congregation and heard the scriptures red and dyd not tary out the prayers the holy Communion should be as those whych were causers of disorders in the church seperated from the church or as it is translated of an other depriued of the Communion Also in the councell of Braccara it was decreed that if any entring into the church of God heard the Scriptures and afterward of wantonnes or losenes wythdrewe hym selfe from the communion of the sacrament and so brake the rule of discipline in the reuerende sacraments should be put out of the church till such time as he had by good frutes declared hys repentaunce But heere also may rise an other doubt of the former wordes of Moses in the boke of Numbers for seing that he maketh thys exception if they be cleane it may be sayd that those that depart do not fele themselues mete to receiue and therfore depart the other .iij. or .iiij. or moe feele themselues meete and disposed for that purpose whervpon it may seeme that it is neither reason to compell those to come which feele not themselues meete nor to reiect them that feele that good disposition and preparation in themselues For answer whervnto we must vnderstand that the vncleannes whych Moyses speaketh of was such as men could not easely auoid and whervnto they might fall sometimes by necessary duety as by handling their dead whych they were by the rule of charitye bound to burye sometimes by touching at vnwares a deade body or by sitting in the place where some vncleane body had sitten or by touching such things whych the law iudged vncleane which thing cannot be alleaged in those that are now of the church For as many as be of it and wythall of suche discretion as are able to proue and examine themselues can haue no excuse at all if they may be at the church to withdraw themselues from the holy supper of the lord For if they will say that they be not meete it may be answered vnto them that it is their owne fault and further if they be not meete to receiue the holy sacrament of the supper they are not meete to heare the woord of God they are not meete to be partakers of the prayers of the church and if they be for one they are also for the other For with that boldnes and wyth that duetye or lawfulnes I speake of those whych are of the church and of discretion to examine themselues I say wyth what lawfulnes they may offer themselues to the prayers and to the hearing of the word of God they may also offer themselues vnto the Lordes supper And to whomsoeuer of thē the Lord wil communicate himselfe by preaching the word vnto the same he wil not refuse to communicate himselfe by receiuing of the sacramēts For whosoeuer is of Gods housholde and familye he neede not be afraide to come to the Lords table nor dout but that the Lord will fede him there and whatsoeuer he be that is a membre of the body of Christ may be assured that he receiueth life frō Christ the head as well by the arteries condints of the supper of the Lord as by the preaching of the word of god So that it must needes folow that the not receiuing of those whych depart out of the church whē there is any communion celebrated procedeth either of vaine and superstitious feare growing of grose ignorance of themselues and of the holy sacraments or else of an intollerable negligence or rather contempt of the whych neither the one nor the other shuld be either borne wyth or nourished either by permitting .iij. or .iiij. to communicate alone or els in letting them whych depart go so easely away with so great a fault whych ought to be seuerely punished And vpon thys either contempt or superstitious feare drawne from the papists Lenton preparation of 40. dayes eareshrift displing c. it commeth to pas that men receyuing the supper of the Lord but seldome when they fall sicke must haue the supper ministred vnto them in their houses whych otherwise being once euery weke receiued before should not brede any such vnquietnes in thē when they can not come to receiue it Although as I haue before shewed if they had neuer receiued it before yet that priuate receiuing were not at any hand to be suffered And thus hauing declared what I thinke to be faulty in the communion boke in thys poynt and the reasons why and wyth all answeared to that whych eyther M. doctor alleageth in thys place of the. 80. and. 81. and likewise in the. 152. 185. pages touching thys matter I come now vnto that whych is called the Iewishe purifying by the admonition and by the seruice boke afore time the purification of women Now to the churching of women in the which title yet kept there seemeth to be hid a great part of the Iewish purification For lyke as in the old law shee that had brought forthe a childe was holden vncleane vntill suche time as shee came to the temple to shew her selfe after shee had brought forthe a man or a woman so thys terme of churching of her canseme to import nothing els thē a banishment as it were a certen excommunication from the church during the space that is betwene the time of her deliuery of her comming vnto y church For what doth els thys churching implie but a restoring her vnto y church whych cā not be without some bar or shutting forth presupposed It is also called the thanks giuing but the principall title whych is the directory of this part of the Liturgie placed in the top of the leafe as the whych the translator best liked of is churching of women To pas by the that it wil haue thē come as nigh the communion table as may be as they came before to y high altare because I had spoken once generally against such ceremonies y of all other is most Iewish approcheth nerest vnto the Iewish purification y she is commaūded to offer accustomed offrings Wherin besides that the very word offring caryeth with it a strong sent suspitiō of a sacrifice especially being vttered simply without any addition it can not be without danger that the boke maketh the custome of the popish church whych was so corrupt to be the rule measure of this offring And although the meaning of the boke is not the it shuld be any offring for sin yet this manner of speaking may be a stūbling stock in the way of y ignorant simple the wicked obstinate therby are confirmed hardned in their corruptions The best which can be answered in this case is the it is for the relief of the minister but thē it shuld be
constancy that all the rest of the day should be kept holy in such sorte as men should be debarred of their bodely labors and of exercising their daily vocations Nowe where as maister Doctor citeth Augustine and Ierome to proue that in the Churches in their times there were holy dayes kepte besydes the Lordes day he myght haue also cited Ignatius and Tertullian and Cyprian whych are of greater auncienty and would haue made more for the credit of hys cause seeing he measureth all hys truthe almoste throughe the whole booke by the croked measure and yarde of time For it is not to be denyed but thys keeping of holy dayes especially of the Easter and Pentecost are very auncient and that these holy dayes for the remembrance of Martyrs were vsed of long time But these abuses were no auncienter then other were groser also then thys was as I haue before declared and were easy further to be shewed if nede required And therefore I appeale from these examples to the scriptures and to the examples of the perfectest church that euer was whych was that in the apostles times And yet also I haue to say that the obseruation of those feastes first of all was much better then of later times For Socrates confessing that neyther our sauioure Christ nor the apostles dyd decree or institute any holy dayes or lay any yoke of bondage vppon the neckes of those whych came to the preaching addeth further that they did vse first to obserue the holy dayes by custom and that as euery man was disposed at home Whych thing if it had remained in that freedome that it was done by custome and not by commaundement at the will of euery one and not by constraint it had bene much better then it is nowe and had not drawne suche daungers vpon the posteritye as did after ensue and we haue the experience of As touching M. Bucers M. Bullingers Illiricus allowance of them if they meane such a celebration of them as that in those dayes the people may be assembled and those partes of the scriptures which concerne them whose remembrance is solemnised red and expounded and yet men not debarred after from their daily works it is so much the les matter if otherwise that good leaue they giue the churches to dissent from them in that poynt I do take it graunted vnto me being by the grace of God one of the churche Althoughe as touching M. Bullenger it is to be obserued since the time that he wrote that vppon the Romaines there are about .xxxv. yeares sythens whych time although he holde still that the feastes dedicated vnto the Lord as of the Natiuity Easter and Pentecost may be kept yet he denyeth flatly that it is lawfull to keepe holy the dayes of the apostles as it appeareth in the confession of the Tigurine church ioyned wyth others As for M. Caluine as the practise of hym and the church where he lyued was and is to admit no one holy day besides the Lords day so can it not be shewed out of any parte of hys workes as I thynke that he approued those holy dayes whych are nowe in question He sayeth in deede in hys Institution that he wil not condemne those churches whych vse them No more do we the church of Englande neyther in thys nor in other things whych are meere to be reformed For it is one thing to mislike another thyng to cōdemne and it is one thing to condemne some thing in the church and an other thing to condemn the church for it And as for the places cited out of the epistles to the Galathians and Collossians there is no mention of any holy dayes eyther to saintes or to any other And it appeareth also that he defendeth not other churches but the church of Geneua and answeareth not to those whych obiect against the keping of saintes dayes or any holy dayes as they are called besides the Lords day but against those whych would not haue the Lords day kept still as a day of rest from bodely labor as it may appeare both by hys place vpon the Collossians and especially in that whych is alleaged out of hys Institutions And that he meaneth nothing les then suche holy dayes as you take vpon you to defende it may appeare first in the place of the Colossians where he sayeth that the dayes of rest whych are vsed of them are vsed for pollicy sake Nowe it is well knowne that as it is pollicy and a way to preserue the estate of things and to keepe thē in a good continuance and succes that as well the beastes as the men whych labor sixe dayes should rest the seuenth so it tendeth to no pollicy nor wealth of the people or preseruation of good order that there should be so many dayes wherin men should cease from worke being a thyng whych breedeth idlenesse and consequently pouerty besides other disorders and vices whych alwayes goe in company wyth idlenes And in the place of hys Institutions he declareth hym selfe yet more plainly when he sayeth that those odde holy dayes then are wythout superstition when they be ordained only for the obseruing of discipline and order Whereby he geueth to vnderstand that he would haue them no further holy dayes then for the time whych is bestowed in the exercise of the discipline and order of the churche and that for the rest they shoulde be altogither as other dayes free to be laboured in And so it appeareth that the holy dayes ascribed to Saintes by the seruice booke is a iust cause why a man can not safely without exception subscribe vnto the seruice Nowe wheras maister Doctor sayeth it maketh no matter whether these things be taken out of the Portuis so they be good c. I haue proued first they are not good then if they were yet being not necessary abused horribly by the papistes other being as good and better then they ought not to remaine in the church And as for Ambrose saying all truthe of whome so euer it be sayde is of the holy ghoste it I were disposed to moue questions I coulde demaund of him whych careth not of whome he haue the truthe so he haue it what our sauioure Christe meant to refuse the testimony of Deuils when they gaue a cleare testimony that he was the sonne of God and the holy one and what S. Paule ment to be angry and to take it so greuously that the Pithonisse sayd he and his companion were the seruaunts of the high God whych preached vnto them the way of saluation Heere was truthe and yet reiected and I would knowe whether maister Doctor would say that these spake by the spirite of god Thus whilest wythout all iudgement he snatcheth heere a sentence and there another out of the Doctors and that of the worste as if a man should of purpose chuse oute the drosse and leaue the siluer wythin a while he wil make no great difference not
skill and vnderstanding then he hath of that court The reply vnto the next section in the. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. pages WHereas vnto the Admonition prouing out of the thirde of S. Mathew that preaching muste goe before the mynistring of the sacramentes you answere first that it is agaynst all Logicke to conclude a generall rule vpon a particulare example you shall vnderstande that that which Iohn dyd in that poynt he dyd it not as a singular person or as the sonne of Ê’acharie but as the mynister of the gospell and therefore it appertayneth as well to all other mynisters as vnto hym For as it is a good conclusion that for so much as Peter in that he is a man is borne to haue and by common course of nature hath two legges therefore Iohn and Thomas and all the rest haue so euen so for so much as Iohn by reason of hys ministery had neede first to preach then to baptise it followeth that all others that haue that ministery committed vnto them must do the lyke Secondarely you say that it doth not appeare that he preached immediatly before he baptised them with water And yet S. Mathew after that he had shewed that he preached repentaunce which the other Euangelistes call the baptisme of repentance he addeth that then the people were baptysed of him which also may appeare in the Actes where S. Paule noteth thys order to haue bene kept For although betwene the story of hys preaching and that which is sayde of hys baptising there is interlaced a description of hys dyet and of hys apparel yet these wordes then came vnto hym c. must needes be referred vnto the tyme which followed hys preaching And where as you say that it is manyfest that our sauiour Christ was baptysed without preaching I would know of you what one worde doth declare that when as the contrary rather doth appeare in S. Luke which seemeth to note playnly that our sauiour Christ was baptised when the people were baptysed But the people as I haue shewed were baptysed immediatly after they heard Iohn preach therefore it is lyke that our sauiour Christ was baptysed after that he had heard Iohn preach And it is very probable that our sauiour Christ which dyd honoure the mynistery of God by the hand of men so farre as he would voutchsafe to bee baptysed of Iohn would not neglect or passe by hys mynistery of the word being more precious then that of the sacrament as it appeareth by Iohn that our sauiour Christ was present at hys sermons for so much as S. Iohn doth as he was preaching to the people poynt hym out with the finger and told them that he was in the middest of them which was greater then he And there is no doubt but those words which our sauiour Christ sayd before hys supper although they are gathered by the Euangelistes into short sentences were notwithstanding long sermons touching the fruite of hys death and vse and ende of that sacrament And thys order of preaching immedyatly before the mynistring of the sacramentes is continually noted of S. Luke throughout the whole story of the Actes of the Apostles But I will not precisely say neyther yet doe the authors of the Admonition affirme as M. Doctor surmyseth of them that there must be preaching immediatly before the admynistration of the sacramentes Thys I say that when as the lyfe of the sacramentes dependeth of the preaching of the worde of God there must of necessitie the worde of God bee not red but preached vnto the people amongste whom the sacramentes are mynistred And forasmuch as I haue proued before that no man may mynister the sacramentes but he which is able to preache the word although I dare not affirme that there is an absolute necessitie that the word should be preached immediatly before the sacramentes be mynistred yet I can imagine no case wherein it is eyther meete or conuenient or else almost sufferable that the sacramentes should be mynistred without a sermon before them for the mynister being as hee oughte of necessitie to bee able to preache oughte so to doe And if it be sayde that hys health or voyce will not serue hym sometymes to preache when he is able enough to mynister the sacramentes I say that eyther he ought to begge the helpe of an other mynister hard by or else there is lesse inconuenience in deferring the celebration of the sacrament vntill hee bee strong enough to preach then ministring it so maymedly and without a sermon wherby it is sene how iust cause M. Doctor hath to cal these blynde and vnlearned gatherings which he with hys Egles eye and hys great learning can not scatter nor once moue After thys M. Doctor accuseth the authors of the Admonition as though they simply condemned reading the scriptures in the church and thys accusation he followeth in many wordes and in dyners places wherein as in a number of other places of theyr booke the authors of the Admonition haue cause to renew that olde complaynt of Theodorus which is that whensoeuer any thing is sayde that is vnpleasant that is by and by expounded otherwyse then it is ment of hym that speaketh it so that that which is geuen with the ryght hand is receiued with the left For the authors of the Admonition declaring theyr vtter mislyking that there should be in stead of a preaching minister a reading mynister if I may so call hym and in stead of preaching reading are vntruely expounded of M. doctor as though they condemned all reading in the church And heere he maketh hym selfe worke picketh a quarell to blot a great deale of paper to proue that which no man denyeth for besydes thys treatise he speaketh afterward of it in halfe a score pages euen from the. 159. page vntill the. 1â—0 page and so lighteth vs a candel at noone dayes It is a token of a nature disposed to no great quietnesse which rather then he would not striue striueth with hym selfe And although the cause be iust and good which he defendeth yet I will note in a word or two how as though there were pitch or some worse thing in hys handes hee defyleth whatsoeuer he toucheth First therefore he asketh and so that he doth most boldly and confidently affirme it whether the word of God is not as effectual when it is red as when it is preached or whether reading be not preaching In which two questions although the one of them confuteth the other for so much as if reading be preaching as he sayeth then the comparyson of the profite and efficacy betwene one and the other is absurde yet I will answere to both I say therefore that the word of God is not so effectuall red as preached For S. Paule sayth that fayth commeth by hearing hearing of the word preached so that the ordinary and especiall meanes to worke fayth by is preaching and not reading And although reading
it is easely answeared both to the papistes and M. Doctor that for so much as the Apostle doth witnes that the churches of Corinth consysting of meÌ„ and women dyd receyue that therefore women also dyd receiue and were pertakers of the Lords table Thus it is manyfest that M. Doctor only to displease the authors of the Admonition sticketh not to pleasure iij. notable heretickes Anabaptists Catabaptists and Papists To the next section contayned in the. 96. and a peece of the. 97. page MAister Doctor asketh how it is proued that there was any examination of the communicantes After thys sorte all thinges necessarye were vsed in the churches of God in the Apostles times but examynation of those whose knowledge of the mistery of the gospell was not knowne or doubted of was a necessary thing therfore it was vsed in the churches of God which were in the Apostles tyme Then he sayeth he is sure there is neither commaundement nor example in all the scripture In the booke of the Chronicles he might haue red that the Leuites were there commaunded to prepare the people vnto the receyuing of the passeouer in place whereof we haue the Lordes supper Now examination being a part of the preparation it followeth that heere is coÌ„maundement of the examination And how holdeth thys argument S. Paule commaundeth that euery man should proue hym selfe Ergo there is no commaundement that the mynister should proue and examine them so I may say that euery man is a spirituall king to gouerne hym selfe therefore he may not be gouerned of others The authors of the Admonition doe not meane that euery one shoulde be examyned as those whose vnderstanding in the gospell is well knowen or which doe examyne them selues and so they interpreate them selues in the. 108. page To the next section in the 97. 98. and in a peece of the. 99. pages I Haue spoken of thys bread before in generall and if Maister Doctor dyd not disagree wyth hym selfe we are heere well agreed For first he sayth it skilleth not what bread we haue and by and by he sayth that he wysheth it were common bread and assigneth a great cause which the booke of seruice lykewise assigneth which is to auoyde superstition And it is certaynely known by experience that in dyuers places the ignoraunt people y haue beene mysled in popery haue knocked and kneeled vnto it and helde vp theyr handes whilest the mynister hath geuen it not those only which haue receyued it but those which haue bene in the churche and looked on I speake of that whiche I knowe and haue sene wyth my eyes An other reason is alleaged by Mayster Bucer which is that there being some thicker substance of breade and such as should moue and stirre vp the tast better the consyderation of the mynde which is conueyed by the senses might be also the more effectuall and so the fruite of receyuing greater By the way note that eyther Bucers censures vppon the booke of seruice be falsely ascribed vnto hym or be corrupted or else were not euen in hys owne tyme heere thought good substantiall and suffycient when there is some cause by Acte of Parliament afterwarde found I meane in the second booke of kyng Edward to mislyke wafer cakes and to chaunge them into common bread How so euer it be that circumstance would be well marked that it was one thyng to talke of a wafer cake in the vse of the supper in kyng Edward dayes before they were iustly abolyshed an other thyng now being reuoked after they were remoued Besides that we be called by the example of our sauioure Christe to vse in the supper vsuall and common bread for what time our sauioure Christ celebrated hys supper there was no other breade to be gotten but vnleauened breade there being a straight charge geuen by the lawe that there should be then no leauened bread And it is not to be doubted but that if there had bene then when he celebrated hys supper as at other times nothyng but leauened breade he woulde not haue caused vnleauened bread to haue bene made for that purpose of celebrating hys supper But thys is a grosse ouersyght of M. Doctor both in thys section and that whych goeth before that he hathe not learned to make a difference betwene that whych is not sincerely done and that whych is not at all done For in the former section he triumpheth vpon the admonition because they conclude that for as muche as there is no examination therefore it is not rightly and sincerely ministred For sayeth he the examination of the communicants is not of the substance of the sacrament and in thys section he sayeth that for as muche as it is not of the substance of the sacrament whether there be leauened or vnleauened bread therfore it is not sufficiently proued that the sacrament is not sincerely ministred But he ought to haue vnderstanded that if either the matter of the sacrament as bread and wine or the forme of it whych is the institution whych thyngs are only substantiall partes were wanting that then there should haue bene no sacrament ministred at all but they being retayned and yet other things vsed whych are not conuenient the Sacrament is ministred but not sincerely For example in the popishe baptisme there was the substance of baptisme but there being vsed spyttle and creame and candels and such beggerly trumpery it was not sincerely ministred therefore it is one thyng to minister sincerely and an other thyng to minister so that that whych is of the substance shoulde be wanting But of thys distinction I haue spokeÌ„ in an other place wherinto although M. doctor falleth in the next section and in other places yet thys shall be an answere for all The meaning of the Admonition in saying their God of the altar is plain enough that it is vnderstanded of the papists but that M. Doctor doth set him selfe to draw the authors of it into hatred and he can not be ignorant that when a man speaketh of thyngs whych are notoriously knowne he often vseth the or that or their wythout naming the thyngs whych he speaketh of To the next section contained in the. 99. and a peece of the. 100. page ALthough it be not of necessity that we shuld receyue the communion sitting yet there is the same cause of abolyshing kneeling that there is of remouing the wafer cake and if there be danger of superstition in one as M. Doctor confesseth why is there not danger in the other And if there be men that take occasion to fall at the one and that by superstition howe commeth it to passe that M. Doctor in the. 180. page sayeth that neyther gospeller nor papistes obstinate nor simple can superstitiously offend in this kneelyng when as the kneeling caryeth a greater shewe of worshyp and Imprinteth in the mindes of the ignorant a stronger opinion and a deeper print of adoration then the syght of a rounde â—ake And
is mentioned of one Theodotus who is sayd to haue seperated or excommunicated Apollinaris but it doth not appeare there that he alone of hys owne authority dyd excommunicate hym And there be great reasons in that Chapter to proue that he dyd it not of hys owne authority for immediatly after his heresy was knowne Damasus bishop of Rome and Peter bishop of Alexandria caused a sinode to be gathered at Rome where hys heresy was condemned Now for so much as the custome of synodes and councels is when they condenme the heresyes to excommunicate the heretickes it is to be thoughte that that councell dyd excommunicate hym and that Theodotus byshop of Laodicea dyd execute that decree and excommunication And in deede Sozomene doth so expound hym selfe when immediatly after he had sayde that he dyd excommunicate him he addeth acoinonetoh auton apophainei whych is that he declared him excommunicate whych in deede properly belongeth to the minister when the excommunication is decreed by those to whoÌ„ it appertaineth Whych thing may yet better appeare by the manner of speache whych is vsed in an other place where speaking of â—ictor excommunycating Theodotus he vttereth it by thys apekeryxe whych is to promulgate or pronounce the sentence whych was decreed by others As for Amb. although he be greatly commended for excommunicating the Emperor yet he was neuer commended for that he did excommunicate him himselfe alone and if he dyd excommunicate him himselfe alone yet hys fault was the les for so much as he being desirous of an eldershyp could not as it semeth by hys complaint which I haue spoken of before â—â—â—aine one And although the storyes doe not make mention y there were others whose authority came into thys excommunication yet it followeth not y there were no other And how often wil you stomble at that which you do so sharply reproue in others whych is in making of arguments of authority negatiuely And if you will not grauÌ„t thys manner of reasonyng in the scripture in matters pertaining to the gouernment of the church whych are all comprehended in the scripture how would you reason of a common story whych neither can nor dothe professe to speake all those things whych fall into that matter whych it wryteth of But what if so be it be proued that Ambrose did not this of hys owne authoritye but by the authoritye also of others will you then confesse that he is commended of all those whych wryte stories for so doing and confesse that the vse and practise of the primitiue church was far from thys that is nowe For proufe whereof I will geue you a place whych Ambrose the best wytnes of thys matter hath in one of his epistles wher he sheweth that assone as the murther whych Theodosius had caused to be done at the citye of Thessalonica was heard by and by the byshops of Fraunce came and there was holden a Synode where also Ambrose sayeth that hys communicating wyth Theodosius coulde not absolue hym for that as it myght appeare the byshops in that synode had in excommunicating hym ordained that he should not be absolued vntill suche tyme as he had done repentance whych he did afterward with confessyon of his faulte before the congregation and asking forgeuenes of it So it appeareth that that whych he did he did it by the sentence of the synode and not of hys owne authority alone In the. 220. 221. pages he speaketh of thys thing a fresh but hath no newe matter but maketh a bare rehersall of the places of the admonition asking after hys accustomed manner of confuting what maketh thys or what proueth that only wheras he sayd before and proued as he thought that the minister had only to do wyth excommunication being pressed there by the admonition either to defend or renounce hys Chauncellors c. he had rather deny bothe the truth and himselfe then he wold haue any of that horrible confusion and prophanation of the holy discipline of God brought in by popery threatnyng the ouerthrow of the whole church seruing for nothing but for the nourishing of the ambition and idlenes of a fewe driuen out of the church Of the whych I will vpon occasion speake a word if first I shewe that the vse of the auncyent church hath bene not to permit the excommunication to one but that the sentence therof should come from the gouernors and elders of the church vnto whome that dyd especially appertaine Although I can not passe by that which M. doctor sayth that for so much as the authors of the Admonition had alledged the words tell the church to proue the interest of the church in excommunication that therefore they could not vse the same to proue the interest of the pastor as who should saye that the pastor is not one of the church But of the absurdity of this I haue spoken sufficiently before and how all men do see the vanity of thys reason that because that people haue an interest by thys place therfore the pastor hath none But I come to shew the vse of the primitiue church in thys matter wherof we haue a manifest testimony in Tertullian If sayth he there be any whych hath committed suche a faulte that he is to be put away from the partakyng of the prayer of the church and from all holy matters or affaires there do beare rule or be presidents certaine of the most approued auncients or elders whych haue obtayned thys honor not by mony but by good report And that the auncients had the ordering of these things and the peoples consent was required and that if the case were a very difficult case it was referred vnto the synodes or councels and that the ministers dyd not take vpon them of their owne authority to excommunicate and that those whych dyd receiue the excommunicate wythout the knowledge consent of the churche were reprehended it may appeare almost in euery page of Cyprians Epistles and namely in these whych I haue noted in the margent In Augustines tyme it appeareth also that the consent of the church was required for in the third boke agaynst the epistle of Parmenian he sheweth that if the multitude of the church be not in that fault for which one is to be excommunicated that then it helpeth much to make the party both afrayde and ashamed that he be excommunicated or anathematised as he calleth it by all the churche and in hys bookes de Baptis contra Donatistas in diuers places he is so far from permitting the excommunication to one man that he semeth to fal into the other extremity whych is to make the estate of the church to populare and the people to haue too great a sway For there he sheweth that if the most of the people be infected wyth the fault whych is to be punyshed by excommunication that then no excommunication ought to be attempted for because a sufficient numbre of voyces will not be obtained
not worth the noting The Apostles dyd beare with the infirmitie of the Iewes addicted to the obseruation of the ceremoniall law yet they neuer alowed that infirmitie and they were so farre from approuing it by subscribing that they wrote agaynst it Those sayth M. D. which authorized thys booke were studious of peace and of building of Christes church therefore they that speake agaynst it which hee calleth defacing are disturbers of the peace and destroyers of the church So I will reason Gedeon was studious of peace and of building of the churche therefore they whiche spake agaynst the Ephod which he made were disturbers of the peace and destroyers of the church We speake agaynst images in churches and consubstantiation in the sacramentes and such lyke which Luther being studious of peace and of the building of the church dyd holde and yet we are not therfore disturbers of peace or destroyers of the church Although they were excellent personnages yet their knowledge was in part although they brought many things to our light yet they being sent out in the morning or euer the sunne of the gospell was rysen so hygh might ouersee many things which those that are not so sharpe of fight as they were may see for because that which they want in the sharpnes of sight they haue by the benefite and clearenesse of the sun and of the light They sealed not the booke of seruice with their bloud as M. Doctor sayeth for some that suffred for the truth declared openly theyr myslyking of certayne thinges in it and as for the other they coulde neuer dye for that booke more then for the lyturgie vsed in the Frenche churche or at Geneua For they receiued not the sentence of condemnation because they approued that booke but because they improued the articles drawne out of the masse booke And if they had dyed for that booke as in deede they dyed for the booke of God yet the authoritie of theyr martyrdome coulde not take away from vs thys lyberty that we haue to enquire of the cause of theyr death Iustin and Cyprian were godly martyrs yet a man may not say that they sealed their errors which they wrote with theyr bloud or with thys glory of their martyrdome preiudice those which speake or wryte agaynst their erroures for thys is to oppose the bloud of men to the bloud of the sonne of god For the papistes triumph I haue answeared before and I will not striue about the Goates wolle who is the opponent who the respondent in thys difference From the. 151. page vnto the. 171. page all is answeared where these things which are heere ioyned are seuerally handled now vnto that in the. 171. and. 172. pages I answere the although it be meete that as we hope that the homylies which are made already be godly so those that shall be made hereafter shall be lykewise yet considering the mutabilitie of men and that oftentymes to the worse it is not meete nay it is merely vnlawfull to subscribe to a blancke seeing that wee can not witnesse or allow of those things which we haue not sene nor heard The place vnto the Corinthes is the same vnto the Romanes and M. Doctor approuing one hath no cause to fynde fault with the other For the homylies first of all I haue shewed how absurde a saying and how vnlyke a dyuine it is to match reading of homylies with preaching of sermons For if the reading of the holy scriptures is nothing so fruitefull as the preaching of them muche lesse is the reading of homylies to be for their frute matched with preaching of sermons There remayneth that I shew briefely that neyther the homylies nor the Apochripha are at all to be red in the churche Wherein first it is good to consider the order which the Lorde kept with hys people in tymes past when he commaunded that no vessell nor no instrument eyther beesome or flesh hooke or pan c. shuld come into the temple but those only which were sanctifyed sette apart for that vse And in the booke of Numbers he will haue no other trumpets blowne to cal the people together but those only which were set apart for y purpose What should the meaning of thys law be The matter of other common vessels trumpets was the same oftentimes which theirs was the same forme also the other beesomes and hookes and trumpets hable to serue for the vses of sweeping and sounding c. as well as those of the temple and as those which were set aparte wherfore mought not these then as well be vsed in the temple as others Forsothe because the Lord would by these rudiments and pedagogie teache that he would haue nothing brought into the church but that which he had appoynted no not althoughe they seemed in the iudgement of men as good as those things which God him selfe had placed there Which thing is much more to be obserued in this matter seeing that the homilies red be they neuer so learned and pithye neyther the Apochrypha are to be compared either in goodnes within thēselues eyther in frute or in effect towardes the hearer wyth the authenticall scriptures of god Now if a man will say that the Homilies do explane lay open the scriptures I answer that the word of God also is plain and easy to be vnderstanded and such as giueth vnderstanding to idiotes to the simple And if there be hardnes in them yet the promise of the assistance of Gods spirite that God hath giuen to the reading of the scriptures in the church whych he hath not giuen to homilies or to the Apochrypha will be able to weigh wyth the hardnes and to ouercome it so that there shall easely appeare greater profit to come vnto the church by reading of the scriptures then by reading of homilies Besides thys the pollicy of the church of God in times past is to be folowed herein that for the expounding of darker places places of more easines ought to be ioyned together as in the persecutiō of Antiochus wher they could not haue the commodity of preaching the Iewes dyd appoynt at their meetings alwayes a peece of the law to be red with all a peece of the prophets whych expounded y peece of the lawe rather then to bring in interpretations of men to be red And because I am entred into that matter heere cometh to be considered the practise also of the church both before our sauior Christes comming and after that when the churches met together there is nothing mentioned but the reading of the scriptures for so is the Lyturgie described in the Actes And it is not to be thought but that they had those whych made expositiōs of the law and the prophets And besydes that they had Onkelos the Calday paraphrast bothe Galatine Rabby Moses surnamed Maymon write that Ionathan an nother of the Calday paraphrasts floryshed in oure sauyor Christes tyme whose
as oure lyfe is a continuall meditation of death it is not salfe to vse thys custome for that it tyeth our cogitation to so short a tyme as the tyme of buryall is which ought to be extended to the whole course of our lyfe But I answere that it may be well done wythout any such funerall sermons when the minister taketh occasion of the death of any whych is lately departed to speake of the vanity of the life of man Whether M. doctor lyketh the reformation or no so it is in the church where M. Caluin was pastor hath ben for these many yeres And although the Englishe church in Geneua had that in the boke of common prayer yet as I haue heard of those whych were there present it was not so vsed And if it had bene yet therby it is not proued that M. Caluin allowed of it For wyth thyngs wherin ther was no great and manifest disorder M. Caluin dyd beare that whych he lyked not of And there being no papists in all the city and al being wel instructed there was no such danger in a funerall sermon there as is here amongst vs where there is many papists and mo ignorant I will say nothyng of the great abuse of those whych hauing otherwyse to lyue on of the church take nobles for euery such sermon and sometime a mourning gowne whych causeth the papistes to open their mouthes wide and to say that the marchandise of sermons is much dearer then of the masse for that they might haue for a grote or six pence and the sermon they cannot haue vnder a roūder sum That must be remembred whych I had almost forgotten howe vntruely and slaunderously M. doctor sayth that the authors of the admonition do compare the sermon wyth a trentall or a masse For whē I say in stead of the masse we haue the holy Communion doe I compare or lyken the communion to the masse and yet this is M. doctors charitable collection which gathereth thyngs whych no man letteth fall Touching the place of buryall I haue spoken before And although it be not to be mislyked that there should be a cōmon place to bury in yet the places whych M. doctor poynteth vs vnto proue the cleane contrary For by the story of Abrahams place of buryall it appeareth that the manner was that euery one was buryed in hys owne seuerall groūd as may appeare also by that that the euangelist sayth that there was a field bought to bury the strangers in whych had no place of their owne whych was also vsed sometimes in the churches vnder the gospell as appeareth by the story of Theodoret whych I haue before recited in the later end of a funeral oratien which Gregory Nazianzene made of the death of hys brother Cesarius And so by this reason M. doctor wold haue euery one buryed in hys owne possession To the next section I haue answeared before where I haue entreated of churchyng women and of prayer it foloweth to speake vnto that in the. 205. and. 206. pa. TO pas by the prophane prouerbe here vsed which matcheth mad men women children togither most vnsemely for a D. of diuinity especially handling diuine matters for the singing of psalmes by course and side after side although it be very auncient yet it is not commēdable and so much the more to be suspected for that the deuil hath gone about to get it so great authority partly by deriuing it from Ignatius time and partly in making the world beleue that thys came from heauen and that the angels were heard to sing after thys sorte whych as it is a mere fable so is it confuted by hystoriographers whereof some ascribe the begynning of thys to Damasus some other vnto Flauianus Diodorus Frō whēce so euer it came it can not be good considering that when it is graūted y all the people may praise God as it is in singing of psalmes there this ought not to be restrained vnto a few wher it is lawful both with hart and voyce to sing the whole psalme there it is not mete that they should sing but the one halfe wyth their heart and voice and the other with their heart only For where they may both wyth heart and voice sing there the heart is not enough Therfore besides the incommodity whych commeth thys way in that being tossed after thys sort men can not vnderstande what is song these other two inconueniences come of thys forme of singing and therfore is banyshed in all reformed churches Vnto two very good reasons whych the admonition vseth to shewe the inconnenience of making curtesy and stāding at the name of Iesus and at the gospell rather then at other names of God and the rest of the scripture wherof the one is that it is against decencye and good order whych is broken by scraping of the feete and the other y it may brede a dangerous opinion of the inequality either of the sonne of God with the other persons or of the gospels with other scriptures M. doctor sayth y it is an indifferent thyng and neyther taketh away their reasons nor setteth down any of hys own thys is a slēder defence And it is no malicious dealing to note those faults whych are so generall so open yet notwithstanding vncorrected or vnreformed by those by whom M. d. wold make vs beleue that the church is best gouerned But I pray you tel me why do you cōdemn the seruing of two cures the alow the hauing of two benefices If it be no fault to haue two benefices how is it one to haue two cures for the curate is better able to read hys seruice in .ij. places thē the pastor to discharge his office in .ij. churches As for the speche of the cathedral churches either it is nothing or els it is fals For if he say y ther is either in al those cathedral churches one or in euery of those 12. churches one which is able to cōfute papists c. what great thing saith he which sayeth no more of all these churches then is to be found in one poore house of the vniuersity whose rents are skarce three hundred pound by yeare yea what hath he sayd of them whych was not to be founde in them euen in Queenes Maryes tyme when there was yet some one almoste in euerye Churche whych for feare dissemblyng was able notwythstanding to confute the Papistes Anabaptistes Puritanes And if he meane that in those .xij. houses the worst of the Prebendaries are hable to defend the truth agaynst all Papists c. all men do know the vntruthe of it so that althoughe thys sentence be very doubtfully put forthe yet how so euer it be taken it is as M. Doctor hath ryghtly termed it a mere brag And yet I doubt not and am well assured that there be diuers godly learned men whych haue lyuings in those places but for all that they cease not therefore
But it is true that he that is once ouer the shoes sticketh not to run ouer hys bootes And last of all to proue that byshoppes may haue prisons hee citeth Peter which punyshed Ananias and Saphira with death M. Doctor must vnderstand that thys was Ecclesiasticall power and was done by vertue of that function which S. Paule calleth dynamin which is one of those functions that the Lord placed in hys church for a tyme But is thys a good argument because S. Peter punished with the word therefore the mynister may punyshe with the sworde And because S. Peter dyd so once therefore the byshop may doe so alway because S. Peter dyd that which appertayneth to no ciuill magistrate and which no ciuill magistrate by any meanes may or can doe therefore the mynister may doe that which appertayneth vnto the ciuill magistrate For if there had bene a ciuill magistrate the same could not haue punyshed thys fault of dissimulation which was not knowen nor declared it selfe by any outwarde action So that if thys example proue any thing it proueth that the mynister may doe that no man may doe but the Lord only which is to punysh faultes that are hyd and vnknowne If thys be ignoraunce it is very grosse if it be agaynst knowledge it is more daungerous I haue determyned with my selfe to leaue vnto M. Doctor hys outcries and declamations and if I should haue vsed them as often as he geueth occasion there would be no end of wryting The Lord geue M. Doctor eyther better knowledge or better conscience Vnto M. Doctor asking where it appeareth that pope Eugenius brought in prysons into the church as also vnto three or foure such like demaunds which hee maketh in thys booke the authors of the Admonition answeare at once that thys and the other are sounde in Pantaleon and M. Bales Chronicles Heere I will take in that whych the byshop of Salesbury hath in the last page of hys halfe sheete touching thys matter And first of all I wel agree that he sayth that to geue vnto sathan which is to excommunicate and to correct an Ecclesiasticall person by reprehensyon or putting hym out of the ministerye if the case so require is meere ecclesiasticall and not ciuill and that those thyngs ought to be done of the offycers of the church Thys only I deny that the ministers ought to meddle wyth ciuill offyces For proofe whereof the B. alledgeth the example of Augustine whych as Possidonius wryteth was troubled wyth the hearing determinyng of causes Wherin Possidonius sayeth nothyng but that I willingly agree vnto For the minister wyth the elders ought bothe to heare and determine of causes but of suche causes as pertaine vnto their knowledge whereof I haue spoken before And that Possidonius ment such causes as belonged vnto Augustin as he was a minister and not of ciuill affaires it appeareth by that whych he wryteth immediatly after where he sayth Being also consulted of by certen in their worldly affaires he wrote epistles to diuers but he accompted of thys as of compulsyon and restraint from hys better busynesses whereby it appeareth that S. Augustine medled not wyth those worldly affaires further then by waye of giuing counsell whych is not vnlawful for a minister to do as one friend vnto an other so that hys mynisterye be not thereby hindered And for the truthe of thys matter that ministers ought not to meddle wyth ciuill affaires I will appeale to no other then to the byshop hym selfe who dothe affirme plainly the same that the admonition heere affirmeth And therfore I conclude that for so much as bothe the holy scriptures doe teache that ministers oughte not to meddle wyth ciuill offyces and reason and the practise of the church doe confirme it that they ought to kepe thēselues within the limites of the ministerye and Ecclesiasticall functions least whilest they breake forthe into the calling of a magistrate in steade of shewing themselues episcopous that is ouerseers they be found to declare themselues * allotriopiscopous that is busy bodyes medling in thyngs whych belong not vnto them And thus putting them in remembrance of that whych they knowe well enoughe that they ought cosman sparten hen elachon that is to say studye to adorne that charge whych they take in hande and doe professe I leaue to speake any further of thys matter Vnto the two next sections I haue spoken in that whych hathe bene sayde touchyng excommunication canons and prebendaries c. and vnto that whych is contained in the. 226. and. 227. I answere that I can not excuse couetous patrones of benefices but couetous parsons and vicars be a great plague vnto this church and one of the principall causes of rude and ignorant people Lykewise vnto the two next sectiōs I haue answeared before in speaking against the spirituall courts whych are now vsed and vnto the next after that in speaking of the ordayning of ministers And vnto that whych is contained in the later ende of the. 234. and the beginning of the. 235. I say that the church shall iudge of the aptnes or vnaptnes of our reasons and albeit we do finde fault with diuers thyngs in the booke yet we neyther oppugne as enemyes nor are by the grace of God eyther Papists Anabaptists Atheists or Puretanes as it pleaseth M. Doctor to call vs And to the prayer agaynst disturbers of the churche I say wyth all my heart Amen Vnto the next section I haue answeared in the treatise of the apparell And vnto the next after in the treatise whych declareth to whome it doth appertaine to make ceremonyes and orders of the church And vnto the section contained in the. 243. page I say that M. Doctor being asked of Oynions answeareth of garlike For the authors of the admonition desyring that it myght be as lawful for them to publishe by Printe their mindes or to be heard dispute or that theyr minde put in wryting myghte be openly debated maister D. answeareth wyth Augustines sentence whych he hath made the foote of hys song nothing to the purpose of that whych they said the performance of which promise we wil notwythstanding wayte for Vnto the section contayned in the. 245. and. 246. pages HEre maister Doctor contrary to the protestation of the authors of the Admonition whych declare that for the abuses and corruptions they dare not simply subscribe sayth that therfore they will not subscribe because they are required by lawfull authoritye Whych howe bothe presumptuous and vncharitable a iudgement it is let all men iudge especially vpon this matter whych hath bene declared And where maister Doctor wold vpon the marginall note proue that we haue good discipline because we haue good doctrine and thervpon doth wonderfully tryumphe he playeth as he of whome it is sayde meden labon cratei carteros that is hauyng gotten nothyng holdeth it fast For can M. doctor be so ignorant that thys manner of speach doctrine and discipline
doctor would proue that the authors of the admonition affirme it For sayth he by the rule of Philosophie Quod vix fit non fit that which is skarce done is not done I say this is secrete for it was neuer taughte neither in Academia nor in Stoa nor Lyceo I haue red Quod fere fit non fit that whych is almost done is not done But I neuer remembre any such rule as M. Doctor speaketh of And besides that in our tonge those thyngs whych 〈◊〉 sayde to be skarce are notwythstanding oftentimes supposed to be As when a â—an saith that there is skarce a man aliue c. the scripture also vseth that phrase of speache of thyngs whych are as when it sayth the iust man shal skarce be saued it doth not meane that iust men shall not be saued The rest of that I haue answeared And wheras he sayth that it is all one to say that the election of the minister must be made by the church and to say it must be made by the people It is a great ouersyghte to make the parte and whole all one seeing the people be but one parte of the churche and the minister and the other gouernoures are allbeit not the greatest yet the principallest part I graunt that sometimes a part is taken for the whole and so we do call sometimes the gouernors of the churche the churche and sometimes the people But where the question is of the proprietye of these speaches the churche and the people there all men that haue any iudgement can easely put a difference The rest of those articles are answeared in the discourse of the booke Besydes that the faultes whych are found wyth the vntrue gathering of them are not taken away by M. Doctor but only in confident and bolde asseuerations And if I should say any thyng I should but repeate their wordes In the viewe of the second admonition M. Doctor dothe as it seemeth of purpose cull out those thyngs whych he hath spoken on before and in repeatyng of them referreth hys reader vnto hys boke Diuers other matters there are of great weight whych he speaketh not of if he doe approue them it had bene well he had signified hys liking if he do not that he had confuted them And if he trauailed so heauely of brynging forth of thys booke that it was as heauy a burden vnto him as Salomon sayth a fond word is vnto an vnwise man he might haue taken day to answere it Nowe by this slender answearing of it or rather not answearing at all but only asking howe thys and that is proued where as being proued it is vnreproued of hym he doth his cause more harme then he is aware of For vnles hys proufes be ioyned wyth his expulsions imprisonments and with all that racket whych he maketh in Cambridge to the vttermost of that his authority will stretch vnto he may be well assured that their driuing out will draw in the truth and their imprisonment will set the truth at greater libertye and therby proue it selfe to be neither Papistry nor Anabaptistry Donatistry Catharisme nor any other heresy whych are by due correction repressed But as for the truthe of God the more it is laden the straighter it standeth and the more it is kept vnder the more it enforceth it selfe to rise and will vndoubtedly gette vp howe great so euer the stone be whych is layd vpon it And albeit he had no leasure to answere the matters whych required his answere yet he carpeth at by matters and asketh who are meant by the politicke Macheuils What if they meane master doctor and suche other whych vnder the pretence of pollicy would ouerthrowe the churche and that by those thyngs whych haue skarce a shewe of pollicy and in deede ouerturne the pollicy and gouernmeÌ„t of the lord And I pray you tell me M. doctor who be those superyors whych do contemne hate discourage and frumpe those whych execute the lawes of the realme of the which you speake in the. 88. page And where you adde by and by that they enuy all men of great authority witte and pollicy I haue answeared thys speache before And truely I thincke there is not in Meshecke so slaunderous a tonge to be found as thys is nor the Iuniper coales are not comparable wyth it After he accuseth the admonition as if it condemned scholes and vniuersities wyth all manner degrees when it doth but inueigh against degrees giuen of custome rather then of ryghte rather by money then by merite of learning and when titles of doctorshyp be geuen to those whych haue not the offyce of a Doctor and oftentimes to those which can not do the office if they had it and when men do seeke vaine glory in them and suche lyke For the repetition of Gloria patri c. I haue spoken sufficiently before but what spirite is it that calleth this translation of the word battologefete vse not vaine repetitions a wycked wresting of S. Mathewes place in hys .vj. chapter What rasor is thys that cutteth so sharpe knoweth he against whome and against the excellent learning and singuler piety of howe many he speaketh For thys is the translation of those learned and godlye men whych translated the Bible whych is commoÌ„ly called the Geneua Bible and is thys a wycked wresting Admit it were not translated exactly to the word of the Euangelist is it therfore a wresting and a wicked wresting What I wil not say wicked but false conclusion or doctrine can be grounded of this translation And they that translate it thus haue not only the authority of the Lexicons to confirme their traÌ„slation whych shew that thys word was taken vp in reproche of a folysh Pocte called Battus whych vsed to repeat one thing many times but they haue also the circumstance of the place to warrant it For the reason whych our sauior Christ vseth to draw men from this fault leadeth to thys translation and can not stand with that sense which M. doctor setteth downe For how haÌ„g these togither you shall not babble many wordes wythout faithe c. because your heauenly father knoweth what you haue nede of before you aske It is vnlike first that our sauyor Christ wold speake thus babble not many words without fayth c. when as rather he would haue forbidden them to speake any one word without fayth c. For if he should speake thus he shuld seeme to haue alowed a prayer without fayth so that it were not coÌ„ceiued in many words And againe if as M. doctor sayth this had bene the proposition whych our sauyor Christ disswaded from y they should not babble many words wythout faith c. he would neuer haue added thys reason for your heauenly father knoweth c. for neyther is he father vnto any such And he woulde rather haue sayd as S. Iames sayeth that they should be sure to receiue nothyng because they aske not in faythe Nowe as thys
a light foote the Heades and Summes of things then to number the faultes which are almost as many as there are sentences in thys booke more I am sure then there are pages ACcording to my promise made in my boke I haue here set down the iudgement of the later wryters concerning these matters in controuersy betwene vs Wherein because I loue not to translate out of other mens workes whereby I might make myne to grow I haue kept thys moderation that I neither sette down all the wryters nor all their places that I could nor yet of euery singuler matter but the chefest wryters and other of the cheefest poyntes or else of those wherein they are alleadged agaynst vs by M. Doctor and one only place of eche as farre as I could iudge and choose out most direct to that wherefore I haue alleaged it For otherwyse if I would haue spoken of all the poyntes and of the iudgement of all the wryters and gathered all the places that I could they woulde haue bene sufficient matter of an other booke as bigge or rather bigger then thys I must also admonish the Reader that I haue for borne in certeine of these Titles to set downe the iudgements of M. Beza M. Bullinger and M. Gualter because they are comprehended in the Confessyon of the Churches And thus partly vpon those sentences which I haue alleaged in thys booke and partely vpon these Testimonies heere set downe I leaue to the consyderation of all men how truely and iustly it is sayde that the learned wryters of these tymes one or two onely excepted are agaynst vs. 1 That there ought now to be the same regiment of the Church which was in the Apostles tyme. THe confession of the Heluetian Tygurin Berne Geneua Polonia Hungary and Scotland with others in the. 18. chapter speaking of the equality of the ministers sayth that no man may iustly forbyd to returne to the old constitution of the church of God and to receiue it before the custome of man. M. Caluin in hys Institututions 4. booke 3. chapter and 8. section speaking of the auncientes which dyd assist the pastor in euery church sayth that experiēce teacheth that that order was not for one age that thys office of gouernment is necessary to all ages And in the. 12. chapter and first section of the same booke sayth as much of Excommunication and other Ecclesiasticall censures Peter Martyr vpon the third to the Rom. teacheth that although the common wealth chaunge her gouernment yet the church alwayes kepeth hers still Bucer in hys first booke of the kingdome of Christ 15. chapter lamenteth that there were founde amongst those which are counted of the forwardest christians which woulde not haue the same disciplyne vsed now that was in the times of the Apostles obiecting the differences of tymes and of men 2. That one mynister ought not to haue any dominion ouer an other The foresayde Heluetian Confession c. in the seuententh Chapter sayeth that Christ dyd most seuerely prohibite vnto hys Apostles their successors primacy domynion in the 18. Chap. sayth that equall power function in geuen vnto all the mynisters of the church that from the beginning no one preferred him selfe to a nother sauing only the for order some one dyd call thē together propounde the matters that were to be consulted of gathered the voyces c. Musculus in hys Common places in the chap. of the offices of the mynisters of the word sayth that in the Apostolike church the ministers of the word were none aboue an other nor subiect to any heade or president mislyketh the setting vp of any one in higher degree then an other And further he sayth vppon the second chap. of the second Epistle to the Thessalonians that the honor of a byshop being taken from the rest of the mynisters and geuen to one was the first step to the papacie how so euer in other places he speaketh otherwyse 3. That the election of mynisters pertayneth not to one man. The foresayd Heluetian Confession c. in the. 18. Chapter sayth that the mynisters ought to be chosen of the church or by those which are lawfully deputed of the church and afterward ordayned with publike prayers M. Caluin in hys 4. booke of Institutions 3. chap. 15. section sheweth that the Church dyd chuse and that the Apostles dyd monderate the election and confuteth them which vpon the places of Titus and Timothe would proue that the election belongeth to one man. 4. That there ought now to be elders to gouerne the church with the Pastors and Deacons to prouide for the poore Touching Elders the iudgement of M. Caluin hath bene before declared in the first of these propositions M. Beza in hys booke of diuorces page 161. sayeth that the Eldershyp of the church ought to be where there is a Christian magistrate Touching Deacons M. Caluin 4. boke 3. chap. 9. section after that hee had described what deacons the churches had in the Apostles tymes sayeth that we after their example ought to haue the lyke M. Beza in the. 5. cap. and. 23. section of hys confessions sheweth that the office of the distribution of the goodes of the church is an ordinary function in a church lawfully constituted which office in the. 30. he calleth the Deaconship P. Martyr vpon the. 12. to the Rom. speaking of the Elders which did asist the pastor in euery Church of the Deacons lamenteth that thys order is so fallen out of the church that the names of these functions do skarce remayne M. Bucer in hys first booke of the kingdome of Christ for the auncientes of the Church sayeth that the number of the Elders of euery church ought to be encreased according to the multitude of the people and in the. 14. chap. of the same booke sayeth that thys order of Deaconshyppe was relygiously kept in the church vntill it was driuen out by Antichrist 5. That excommunication pertayneth not to any one man in the Church M. Caluin in hys Institutions 4. booke and. 11. chap. and. 6. section teacheth that Excommunication pertayneth not to one man that it was too wicked a fact that one man taking the authoritie which was common to other to himselfe alone opened a way to tyranny tooke from the Church her right and abrogated the church Senate ordayned by the spirite of Christ And in the. 12. chap. and. 7. section hee sayeth further that it ought not to be done without the knowledge and approbation of the Church M. Beza in hys confessions 5. chap. 43. section sayeth that thys power of excommunicating is geuen to no one man except it please God to worke extraordinarily Peter Martyr vpon the. 1. to the Corinthes and. 5. chap. sayeth that it is very daungerous to permit so waighty a matter as excommunication to the discretion and will of any one man And therfore both that tyranny might be auoyded and thys censure executed with greater frute
and grauitie that the order which the Apostle there vseth is still to be obserued M. Bucer of the kingdome of Christ in the. 1. booke and. 9. chap. sayeth that S. Paule accuseth the Corinthians for that the whole church dyd not cast out of their company the incestuous person 6. That Chauncelors Commissaries Officials c. vsurpe authority in the Church which belongeth not to them M. Caluin in hys Institutions 4. boke 11. chap. 7. sect speaketh agaynst the office of Officials and alledgeth diuers reasons agaynst them as that they exercise that part of the Byshops charge and that they handle matters whiche pertayne not to the spirituall iurisdiction M. Beza in hys boke of Diuorces prouing that the iudiciall deciding of matrimonyall causes appertayneth vnto the cyuill magistrate sayeth that officials proctors and promoters and in a word all the swinish filth now of long time hath wasted the church Peter Martyr vpon the. 13. chap. to the Romaines speaking agaynst the ciuill iurisdiction of byshops doth by the same reason condemne it in their deputies the officials 7. That the mynisters of the worde ought not to exercise any ciuill offices and iurisdiction M. Caluin in hys Institutions 4. boke 11. chap. 9. sect bringeth dyuers reasons to proue that byshops may neyther vsurpe nor take being geuen them eyther the right of the sword or the knowledge of ciuill causes M. Beza in hys Confessions chap. 5. sect 32. sayth that the Ecclesiasticall iurisdiction is to be distinguished from the ciuill and that although the byshops in the times of Christian Emperoures were troubled with the hearing of cyuill causes yet they dyd not that by any iudiciall power which they exercised but by a frendly entreaty of the parties which were at discorde and sayeth notwithstanding that herein the Emperors dyd geue too much to the ambytion of certayne byshoppes whereupon by little and by litle afterwarde all thinges were confounded And in the. 42. section sayeth that those corporall punyshmentes which the Apostles exercised were peculier and extraordinary Peter Martyr vpon the. 13. to the Romaines speaking of thys meeting of both Ecclesiasticall and ciuill iurisdiction in one man sayeth that when both the ciuill Ecclesiasticall functions do so meete that one hindreth the other so that he which exerciseth the one can not mynister the other M. Bucer vpon the. 5. of Mathew sayeth that there is no man so wise holy which is able to exercise both the ciuill the Ecclesiasticall power and that therfore he which will exercise the one must leaue the other 8. That the sacraments ought not to be priuately administred nor by women The forsayd confession .c. 20. holdeth that baptisme ought not to be mynistred by women or midwiues to the which also may be ioyned the Liturgy of the English church at Geneua which cōdemneth the mynistring of either of the sacraments in priuate houses or by women Peter Martyr vpon the. 11. chap. of the. 1. ep to the Corinthes in describing the corruptions of the Lordes supper noteth thys to be one that the church dyd not communicate altogether which corruption as it was in dyuers places in times past so he complayneth that it is now M. Bucer in hys first booke of the kingdome of Christ and. 7. chap. proueth out of the. 10. to the Corinth that the whole church should receiue the supper of the Lord together and that the vse of the church of God in thys behalfe ought with great and dyligent endeuour to be restored vnto the churches that it is a contempt of the mysteries not to be partakers when they are called M. Beza agaynst Westphalus sheweth that it is not decent that baptisme be mynistred but in the church that at standing houres and by the mynisters and further that vppon no necessitie as it is called it ought to be mynistred in priuate houses And that if it might be mynistred in priuate houses yet no otherwyse then by mynisters M. Caluin in hys institutions 4. booke chap. 15. sect 20. 21. proueth that baptisme ought not to be mynistred by priuate men or by any women 9. The iudgement of those late wryters touching ceremonies and apparell whose secret Epistles M. Doctor alledgeth appeareth by these places folowing cited but of their workes Printed and published by them selues Wherof also some are alledged by the answerer to the examiner where are diuers other places to thys purpose wherunto I referre the Reader M. Bucer vpon the. 18. of Math. sayth that they say nothing which doe alwayes obiect that greater things must be vrged then the reformation of ceremonies therby defending the reliques of Antichrist forasmuch as ceremonies are testimonies of religion And that as there is no agreement betwene Christ and Belial so those which are sincere Christians can abyde nothing of Antichrist Peter Martyr vpon the .10 c. of the .2 booke of the kings sayeth that the Lutheranes must take heede least whilest they cut of many popishe errors they follow Iehu by retayning also many popish things For they defend still the reall presence in the breade of the supper and images and vestmentes c. and sayth that relygion must be wholy reformed to the quicke Bullinger in hys Decades 5. booke and. 9. sermon sayth that our sauior Christ the Apostles vsed their accustomed apparell in the supper and that although in times past the ministers put on a kynde of cloke vppon their common apparell yet that was done neither by the example of Christ nor of hys Apostles but by the tradition of man and that in the ende after the example of the priestes apparell in the olde law it was cast vpon the mynisters at the ministration of the supper But sayeth he we haue learned long agoe not only that all Leuiticall ceremonies are abrogated but also that they ought to bee brought agayne into the church of no man And therefore seing we are in the light of the gospell and not vnder the shadow of the law we doe worthely reiect that massing Leuiticall apparell Gualter vpon the. 21. of the Actes among others bringeth thys for one reason to improue Paules shauing of hys head for that the gospell had beene preached .xx. yeares and that therefore the infirmitie of the Iewes ought not to haue beene borne with And after hee sayeth that that teacheth how much the supersticious masters of ceremonyes hurte the gospell which nourishe the weakenes of fayth by the long keeping of ceremonyes and by their long bearing hynder the doinges of those mynisters which are more feruent FINIS Prouer. 8. 15. 2. Chap. 34. 60. chap. 12. 3. Deut. 25. 2. Samu. 7. 2. Psal 132. Esra 3. 3. 10. Agg. 1. 14. 2. kin 22. 23. 2. kin 18. 2. Chr. 17. 8 Chap. 17. 18 1. Cor. 1. 27. 28 2. Chro. 29. 34 2. Chr. 30. 17. 2. Kin. 5. 4. 14 1. Sam. 25. 18 1. Agg. 234. 1. Cor. 3. 12. 13 2. Cor. 6. 15. Cap. 2. 42. 43. Rom. 12. 18. 2. Cor. 10.
Thys is certaine that breuitie whych you pretend was in small commendation with you whych make so often repetitions stuffe in diuers sentences of Doctors and wryters to proue things that no man denyeth translate whole leaues to so small purpose vpon so light occasions make so often digressions sometimes against the vnlernednes sometimes against the malice sometimes against the intemperancie of speach of the authors of the admonition and euery hand while pulling out the sworde vpon them and throughout the whole boke sporting your selfe wyth the quotations in the margent so that if all these where taken out of your boke as winde out of a bladder we should haue had it in a narow roume whych is thus swelled into such a volume and in stead of a boke of .ij. s. we should haue had a pamfiet of two pence And whereas you say that you haue not alleaged these learned fathers for the authors of the libell but for the wise discrete humble and learned to them also I leaue it to consider vpon that whych is alledged by me First howe lyke a diuine it is to seeke for rules in the Doctors to measure the making of ceremonies by whych you mighte haue had in the scriptures there at the riuers heere at the fountaine vncerten there whych heere are certen there in parte false which are heere altogither true then to howe little purpose they serue you and last of all howe they make against you An answer to the ende of the. 29. page beginning at the. 25. at But I trust M. Caluins iudgement VVHy should you trust that M. Caluins iudgement wil weigh wyth them if they be Anabaptists as you accuse them if they be Donatists if Catharists if conspired wyth the Papistes howe can you thinke that they will so easely rest in M. Caluins iudgement whych hated and confuted all Anabaptisme Donatisme Catharisme and Papisme But it is true whych the prouerbe sayth memorem c. he that will speake an vntruthe had neede haue a good memorye and thys is the force of the truthe in the conscience of man that although he suppres it and pretend the contrary yet at vnwares it stealeth out For what greater testimonye coulde you haue geuen of them that they hate all those heresies which you lay to their charge then to say that you trust M. Caluins iudgement wil weigh wyth them Now in dede that you be not deceiued we receiue M. Caluin and weigh of him as of the notablest instrumēt that the Lord hath stirred vp for the purging of his churches and of the restoring of the plaine and sincere interpretation of the scriptures whych hath bene since the Apostles times And yet we do not so read his works that we beleeue any thyng to be true because he sayeth it but so farre as we can esteme that that whych he sayth dothe agree wyth the canonicall scriptures But what gather you out of M. Caluin First that all necessary thyngs to saluation are contained in the scripture who denyeth it In the second collection where you would geue to vnderstande that ceremonies and externall discipline are not prescribed particularly by the worde of God and therfore left to the order of the church you must vnderstande that all externall discipline is not left to the order of the churche being particularly prescribed in the scriptures no more then all ceremonies are left to the order of the church as the sacraments of baptisme and the supper of the Lord wheras vpon the indefinite speaking of M. Caluin saying ceremonies and externall discipline wythout adding all or some you goe about subtelly to make men beleeue that M. Caluin had placed the whole external discipline in the power and arbitrement of the churche For if all externall discipline were arbitrarie and in the choise of the church Excommunication also whych is a part of it might be cast away which I thinke you will not say But if that M. Caluin were aliue to heare hys sentences racked and wrythen to establishe those thyngs whych he stroue so mightely to ouerthrow and to ouerthrow those things that he laboured so sore to establishe what might he say and the iniurie which is done to him is nothing les because he is deade Concerning all the rest of your collections I haue not lightly knowne a man which taketh so much paine with so small gaine and which soweth his sede in the sea wherof there wil neuer rise encrease For I know none that euer denied those things vnles peraduenture you would make the reader beleeue that al those be contentions which moue any controuersy of things which they iudge to be amis and thē it is answered before And now I answer further that they that moue to reformation of things are no more to be blamed as authors of contention then the Phisition which geueth a purgation is to be blamed for the rumbling and stirre in the belly and other disquietnes of the body which should not haue bene if the euil humors and naughty disposition of it had not caused or procured thys purgation Wheras you conclude that these contentions woulde be sone ended if M. Caluins wordes were noted heere we will ioyne with you and will not refuse the iudgement of M. Caluin in any matter that we haue in controuersy with you Which I speake not therfore because I would call the decision of controuersies to men and their words which pertaine only to God and to his worde but because I know hys iudgement in these things to be cleane against you and especially for that you would beare men in hand that M. Caluin is on your side and against vs And as for Peter Martyr and Bucer and Musculus and Bullinger Gualter and Hemingius and the rest of the late wryters by citing of whom you wold geue to vnderstand that they are against vs in these matters there is set downe in the latter end of this boke their seuerall iudgements of the most of these things whych are in controuersy whereby it may appeare that if they haue spoken one word against vs they haue spoken two for vs And wheras they haue wrytten as it is sayde and alleaged in their priuate letters to their freendes againste some of these causes it may appeare that they haue in their workes published to the whole world that they confirme the same causes So y if they wrote any such thyngs they shall be founde not so much to haue dissented from vs as from them selues and therefore we appeale from them selues vnto them selues and from their priuate notes and letters to their publike wrytings as more autenticall You labor still in the fire that is vnprofitably to bring M. Bucer hys Epistle to proue that the church may order things wherof there is no particular and expressed commaundement for there is none denieth it neither is thys saying that all things are to be done in the churche according to the rule of the word of God any thing repugnant vnto