corrupted altered cut in pieces No we would count them our deadly enemies that should do so and also traytors to the King What an eye of indignation then should your Honours cast upon such grosse abusing of the Word of the Epistle and Will of the Omnisciont and Oâ—nipotent God If clipping corrupting or counterfeit coyning be treason by the law how much more and in a higher degree is it to deale thus with the Word Yea and more then that to maintaine this and cause Ministers to subscribe to it being no lesse then treason against the high and mighty God Culpam deprehensam pertinacuer tueri culpa altera est Pertinaciously to maintaine a fault openly discovered is a greater fault then the former on whom whether nation or person will the Lord rest upon saith the Lord by the Prophet Esay but upon him that trembleth at my Word that is a humble soule not onely moved to obedience to it in it selfe but further out of that reverence that it beareth to the Word it will not as much as in it lieth suffer the word to be abused by others as one speakes of the Papisâ—s that corrupting the Fathers they rather make them their soâ—â—es to speake what they will have them then Fathers indeed Just so doth that booke and the Champious for it make the Word thus dealt with none of Gods but their owne if a Minister adde or take away from the service-Service-booke it is made matter of inditement but they it seemes may adde take away alter and corrupt what they will without controulement this course gives a shrewd randcounter to our learned and Orthodox Writers against the Papists witnesse Doctor Fulke his Answer to Campian discovering the evils of the Apocrypha Gregorie Martin recoils thus upon that learned Worthy that by those words he condemned their owne service-Service-book which appointed those Bookes to be read Having thus proceeded against the Service-booke for its false translations additions omissions misnominations we come now to some more particular untruths in the booke and that partly by false or misapplication of Scripture partly by coyning things that have no shew or ground for them partly by establishing some Popisâ— expositions Lastly by confirming and pressing upon Ministers and people a heape of Popish and Idolatrous Ceremonies a touch of every one will suffice For the first be pleased to looke upon that egregiously abused place or Christ abused and dishonoured by their dealings with the place namely Rev. 12. 7. Michaeland his Angels fought against the Dragon c. which words the Booke appoints for the Collect for Michaels day where they make Christ by misapplying the place a created Angel for the place is meant of Christ neither can it agree to any other for which we have a cloud of witnesses not onely from the universall concourse of the learned and Orthodox Writers as Fathers and moderne Authours as Austin Ambrose Musculus Calvin Beza Doctor Fulke Doctor Willet and many others but also from the very name Michael proper onely to Christ who verse 10. is called Christ and further from the scope of the place to set out Christ and his Angels encountering countering Satan and his Angels and lastly other places of Scripture parallelling the truth of this sense Dan. 10. 13. and 12. 1. Thes. 4. 16. lude 9. Angels here under their Generall Christ are said to be on earth in the Church Milstant for that is meant by Heaven and here they are said to die which suiteth not with heavenly spirits the Rhemists indeed hold close to the sense of the Service-book because it is from their owne Masse-book and gives this as a reason why Michael is painted fighting with a Dragon both opinion and reason are of the like weight now for things without colour of ground what colour or ground is there for that speech in the end of the Magnificat O Ananias Azarias and Misael praise the Lord If this was the prayer of these men when they were alive what sense or reason that we should speak to them being dead more then to others For Popish tenents looke that prayer at the buriall of the dead That we with this our brother and all other our brethren departed in the true faith of thy holy Name may have our perfect consummation and blisse both in body and soule first here every one buried is a faithfull brother which cannot be said of every one no not in the judgement of charitie it is true indeed that the Priest of Newgate bid the poore condemned theeves provide money for their buriall and they needed not doubt of their salvation againe the words are an expresse Prayer and tied to be said by the Minister Now for the Ceremonies having place in Gods worship and being mans device must needs be Idols or Idolatrous actions Quicquid praeter mandatum est Idolum Whatsoever is placed in Gods worship without the commandement of God is an Idoll for none hath power to ordaine or place a Ceremonie in Christ his Church but himselfe who is King of it For instance whereof there is a remarkable place amongst many Numb. 15. 39. And it shall be unto you for a fringe that ye may look upon it and remember all the Commandements of the Lord and do them and that ye seeke not after your owne heart and your own eyes after which you use to go a whoring where observe both the Ceremonie and signification to be from Gods owne appointment and further every device of man in Gods worship is to be avoided but against those there are divers Treatises never answered nor like to be yet it shall not be amisse by one indissoluble argument to put all the defenders of the ceremonies to it which is this That which is mans device and hath been an Idoll in Gods worship must of necessity be an Idoll still in the worship of God But the Ceremonies mentioned in the Service booke have been Idols in Gods worship as Crosse Surplice c. Ergâ— they must be Idols still in the worship of God The proofe of the former proposition is from instance of Abrahams grove Gen. 21. 33. but being abused to Idolatry as 2 King 17 10. Ierem. 51. 2. Esay 57. 5. then God forbiddeth his people the usage of it because it was an Idol yea commanded to destroy it Deut. 12. 13. The latter proposition none can deny Here we might adde the foule abuses of the Sacraments as Baptisme and the Lords Supper and that Iewish or Popish institution of Churching of women called Purisication and that bastardly piece of Confirmation the particular enoâ—mities whereof we need not stand upon they are so well knowne especially to your Honours which is a part of our happinesse againe the Treatise would be too large yet we would not have the Lent fast forgotten which the Patrâ—â—s of our Liturgie make a religious fast abusing places of Scriptures by misapplication of Scriptures as Ioel 2. 12. Matth. 6.
faciant Christiant quod Antichristi faciunt That light should borrow from darknesse and Christian should doe that in Gods service especially which the vassals of Antichrist doe From this discovery also the Service-booke is unbottomed of that maine plea from antiqâ—â—ty which Doctor Hall in his humble Remonstrance makes his sheet Anchor but Smectymnuus in his answer puts him to it that for want of ground it is come home but to follow this a little further and to wave the antiquitie of a set Liturgie an instance whereof for divers hundred yeares the Doctor nor any of their Book-men cannot produce wee desire to know what antiquity they or any other can alleadge for this Liturgie surely hee can goe no higher than the Masse-Book and when it hath gone as high or higher than it can sometime abusing Scripture and sometime butting upon the coyned and counterfeit Liturgies fathered falsely upon the Apostles and Disciples of Christ yea and also upon the Fathers as Peter Iames Matthew Andrew Dents Clement Basil Chrysostome and others the falshood whereof Morney discovers at large yet for all this saith the same noble defender of the truth the Popish Masse is no part nor ever was of the divine Service of God and therefore the English Liturgy out of it and not able to ascend higher than it can be no divine Service as they call it and that inclusively by Catexochen or excellency it can be no divine Service but is indeed a devised service but suppose it or the unbloody Sacrifice of the Masse should looke as high as Cains unbloody sacrifice yet if there want truth they would prove no better then ancient errors Last of all to shut up the point the discovery whereof casts the Doctor upon a very foule shift namely the denying of the Liturgy to have its rise or to be selected out of the Roman models wherein we beseech your Honours to cause him to deale Obsignatâ—s tabulis by comparing the bookes together and besides all the evidences alleadged if it appeare not and that to the eye to be what we have said to be the truth we will de-relinquish our suit but if it be so as we averre wee desire no more of the Doctor and all the admirers of the Liturgie that they would deale candidly with the truth with your Honours and with us a whole Body of Petitioners who in conscience doe professe we desire to doe nothing against the truth but for the truth and as it becommeth not those that defend the truth fictis contendere verbis to skirmish with devised or velitory palliations as the Poet hath it even so {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} there is nothing becommeth candid ingenuity better than truth To defend evill cunningly is no good commendation it was no grace to the Orator of whom it was said Candida de nigris de candentibus atra That hee could with ill abused eloquence make black white and white black and yet when such men have done all what they can they finde that true of the Civilian Mala causa pluribus get mediis The malady of an evill cause stands ever in need of more medicines than he that undertakes the cure can affoord For a closure of the point in love to the truth we desire all men that have any wit to take notice of these two things the former a man had better be tongue-tyed than appeare in an ill cause the latter when they have done all they can it will fall out with them as it did with the Scribes and Pharisees envying that the people should follow Christ Perceive you not say they one to another how yee prevaile nothing the world is gone after him Just so in this case of the worship of Christ as it is partly begun and shall be more fully accomplished when they have done all that they can all is but lost labour they shall not prevaile the world shall goe after Christ CHAP. IV. Of the Matter NOW we come to the third particular namely the Subject matter of the Liturgy the graine is like the ground it growes upon the fruit must be like the tree it is not possible that any wholsome sap of life should come out of a noysome and poysonous root To give a delineation of the matter in generall we can use no better expression than that of Calvin in his pithy letter to the Church of Frankeford much troubled with this Service-booke where hee calls it the Keliques or leavings of the Popish dregs this may be made to appeare without contradiction by scanning some particulars for to goe through them all would fill up a great volume then to give a touch as briefly as we can the Matter is partly false partly â—ridiculously frivolous yea and some part of it is not without a tincture of blasphemy To this effect a worthy and zealous Pastor to that people of Frankeford regrating fore the troubles brought upon them by that service-Service-booke after that he had told them that nothing must be thrust upon any Congregation without the warrant of the Word and forasmuch as that in the English Booke there were things both superstitious impure and unperfect which he offered to prove before all men he would not consent that of that Church it should be received To come then to the first particular of the charge concerning the falshood of the Matter which we will first discover in the generalls and then come to some particulars For the generalls we lay downe these three instances in false or corrupt translations of the Word additions to the word and substractions all which the service-Service-book not onely allowes but injoynes subscription to them being so rendered in the old Latine Bible which translation the Service-booke injoynes to be used and no other yea to which the Ministers were to subscribe it being the most corrupt peece of all the Latine translation none of them being sound witnesse the current of the learned Fathers and others yea the very pleaders for the Booke and that Bible Si in Latinis exemplaribus fides est adhibenda responderit quibus c. If we must believe Latine translations you must first tell us which of them saith Ierome Which argues the Latine one fathered upon him not to be his but of all other Latine translations hee damneth this most which we are forced to follow as Erasmus testifieth of him ' Damnat superiorem translationem qua nos tamen maxime utimur he condemneth saith hee that translation meaning the vulgar translation condemned also by the grand pillars of Popery Burgensis Lyra Iansenius and others yea and by two Popes Sixtus the fifth and Clement the eighth Lastly wee have the dict of the defendants themselves Doctor Sparke drebus illis complaining of the corruptions of the Service-book instanced in these two particulars First for omitting much Canonicall Scripture and putting Apocrypha in the place of it Secondly for appointing a corrupt
theirs and thence it is that our Lyturgian Patrons doe meet the Jesuite mid-way by owning the name of Masse to our service-Service-Booke witnesse Pocklington who calls the second service just the same with the Masse so Cozens witnesse Master Smarts Sermon and not onely so in relation to the second service but even in regard of the whole bulke as Pocklington in the end of his Altare c. and Mountague In name you see then there is an unanimous agreement and {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} names are the very Images of things And for their agreement in Matter Manner in all things of importance we shall make it as evident as the former in the meane time what reason is there that wee should groane still under the burthen of a Lyturgie borne in upon us under the Name and Nature of the Masse which is nothing but a Masse of Idolatrie and an Idol of Abominations the name is a name of blasphemy out of the Devils Cabala as we take it for what language it is or what it signifieth for any thing we know was never yet knowne the Hebrewes call their Tribute by the name of Missa witnesse that place in Exodus laying out the oppression of the Israelites by Pharaoh and his Princes or Officers who are called Officers of the tribute set over Gods people the word tribute in the first language is Missa of the word Messas as the Learned observe which signifieth to melt both the name and Etymolâ—gie sute very well with the Popish Mass for it hath melted away true Religion and spirituall devotion and as it inslaveth the soules of people by leaving them naked as Solamon saith of the preaching of the Word for so the word signifieth so it is made an engine to screw out the bowels of their estates wasting melting mens substance as the snow against the Sunne besides the universall experience of the extortion of the Masse where ever it beareth sway we may instance it too fully in this Island where infinite masses of money have beene melted away within these few yeares without any profit to the King or Subject but to the great prejudice of both for the exhausting of the Subject is the emptinesse of the King Tiberius could say Adulterinum est eurum quod cum subditorum lachrymis exprimitur it is a base kinde of gold that is squeezed out with the teares of the subject but who hath cast the State in this consumption of money Who hath made the hearts to ake and the soules to groane of honest housholders when they have beene forced it may bee to part with more then they had Who in time of peace and under good Lawes have caused mens houses and fields forcibly to bee entered their goods to be carried away Who have caused the Kings Leige people and that for obeying the lawes of God man to be carried to stifling prisons contrary to the lawes of the Land and priviledge of the Subject Who have caused some to be tormented and tortured with unparallel'd cruelty both for kinde and continuance Lastly who have beene the Incendiaries or firebrands to melt away if they could the Kings love to his Subjects and the Subjects true loyalty to the King who we say but these Lyturgian Lords and their Iesuited confederates together with their Popish and hellishly prophane Priests Officers and Appeâ—diceâ— to prove these or any of them were to shew a man the Sunne and many sheets could not hold the particulars But to the purpose in hand the Service or Masse-Booke as they call it is the maine engine it is the Saddle and wee to speake a homely truth are the Asses for Englishmen are called by the Jesuites the Popes Asses the Hierarchie and their adherents are our riders the saddle hath so pinched and galled our backes that wee know not how to take on the burthen of the Lord Jesus though it be very light our riders have with spurre and rod of their Radamanthean Courts and temporall usurpations so jaded us with leave be it spoken that they have almost rid the spirit of zeale and courage out of us and had they but got the saddle with some more new girts and trappings upon the Scots as they intended they had gone neare to have rid Religion and Politie to death but as the Scots have proved like Dan Lyons for prowesse and Sâ—rpents for providence in overturning both the saddle and rider up in the name of the Lord and doe the like what should we doe with the Masse some of whose friends not so well acquainted with the nature of it would storme if we should call a spade a spade but they must beleeve their Booke-mens testimonies published under the favour of their little great land-lord of the soyle who knowes best how it should be called one of whose Bandiliers tells us in great heat none but Schismatiques will deny the harmony of missification away with it then to finish this point I will enforce the conclusion with this argument We are not to name an Idol but with detestation much lesse are we to offer it as a worship of God But the Service or Masse-booke is an Idol Ergo we are not to mention it but with detestation much lesse to offer it to God as a worship The Spirit is abundant in the proofe of the former proposition Exod. 23. 13. Hos. 13.2 2. 17. Psal. 16. 4. all remarkable places teaching us to be wary with what worship we joyne with but in the first of these places there is a triplication of the charge in divers termes yet all beating upon the same thing to make us to looke to it In the later proposition there are two things one implyed namely that the Service-booke is the Masse-booke for proofe whereof Habemus confitentes we have their owne avouchment and if they should deny it we shall in the point following prove it whereunto now we come CHAP. III. Of the Originall THe second thing considerable for the matter in hand is whence the Liturgie hath his rise or Originall namely from the Masse-booke that whose originall and rise is naught must be naught in it selfe Can there come cleane water out of a corrupt Fountaine note that the Liturgie is wholly from the Masse-booke and other Popish pieces as it shall be fully cleared First by comparing of the Bookes Secondly for that mutuall liking that our Liturgie-masters and the Masse-booke men have one of anothers peace And thirdly from the evidence given from the King and Councell of England Sect. Now to the first every piece and parcell of the Liturgie word for word is out of these pieces namely the Breviary out of which the Common-Prayers are taken the kituall or booke of Rites out of which the Administration of the Sacraments Bâ—riall Matrimony Visitation of the sicke are taken the Masse booke out of which the Consecration of the Lords Supper Collects Epistles and Gospels are
taken as for the Booke of Ordination of Archbishops Bishops and Ministers that is out of the Roman Pontificiall we might further prosecute the proofe hereof from the division of the Masse into parts essentiall and entegrall with the enumeration of the said parts as the ten or eleven parts of the preparation to the Introâ— as Pater noster the first Collect which Bellarmine calls the Masse because they are the best part of the Masse the Introit for which see Doctor Lauds * pleading in his Star-chamber Speech the Kyrie Eleysoâ— or Lord have mercy upon us c. the Gloria Patri the Misereatur the Confession the Absolution the Angelick Hymne Gloria in Excelsiâ— word for word in the Scottish Liturgie the Salutation the Lord be with you Lastly the posterior Collects all patches of Popes devisings which the brevity which we study will not suffer us to instance Be pleased to see Morney de Missa If any object that in our Introit the Ave Maria is wanting we answer as hath beene said that though every thing in the Masse-booke bee not in our Liturgy yet all that is in our Liturgy is word for word in the Masse booke Againe though Ave Mtria be not actually in it yet if purpose had holden it was in more then a fair possibility to have beene the head Corner-stone of the Liturgie witnesse Staffords invective defence thereof printed at London not disallowed nor retracted in any pomt by Heylin or Dow Canterburies jâ—rveyors of the piece further that which hath been said of the pieces of the Introit may also be said of our Creeds Epistles and Gospels Offertorie and other things whether more or lesse principall in regard of our calling them from the Masse-booke Secondly the second ground or reason is from that love and liking that the lovers of the Liturgie beare to the Masse as also from that mutuall contentment or complacencie that the Masse-mongers take in the Service-booke we have shewed already how they agree in Name and now we are to give evidence of their mutuall liking of the Matter there be abundance of instances for the Papists approving of our Liturgie witnesse Mortons Aâ—peale Pope Piw the fourth and Gregorie the thirteenth offered to Queene Elizabeth to confirme the English Liturgie witnesseth Doctor Abbot then Prelat of Canterburie and Master Cambden in the life of Queene Elizabeth to these I adjoyne Doctor Boyes who was a bitter Expositor of the English Liturgie as Heiga by the Doctors of Dowayes appointment was of the Masse after hee had whetted his teeth upon the Schismatiques in his Epistle to Bancroft he produceth the letter of Pâ—us for the approbation of the Service-booke and notes also the testimony of approbation from Bristow in his motives Queen Elizabeth being interdicted by the Popes Bull Secretarie Walsingham wrought so that he procured two Intelligencers to be sent from the Pope as it were in secret into England to whom the Secretary appointed a state Intelligencer to be their guide who shewed them London and Canterburie service in all the pompe of it which the popish Intelligencers viewing and considering well with much admiration they wondered that their Lord the Pope was so ill advised or at least ill informed as to interdict a Prince whose service and ceremontes so symbolized with his owne and therefore returning to Rome they possest the Pope that they saw no service ceremonies or orders in England but they might very well serve in Rome whereupon the Bull was recalled to this also Doctor Carriar a dangerous seducing Jesuite gives ample evidence the Common-prayer-book saith he and the Catechisme contained in it hold no point of Doctrine expresly contrary to antiquity that is as he explaineth himselfe the Romish service c. and thereupon he comforteth himselfe with hope of prevailing and of the like minde were Harding and Bristow as hath beene said one more and we have done not long agoe a Jesuite meeting a woman in Pauls in whose house he had lodged she not knovving then that he vvas a Jesuite the vvork-men of Pauls being hot at service he asked her how she liked that work she retorting the question asked him how he liked it he replied exceeding well neither had he any exception to it but that it was done by their Priests We have insisted the longer in this point first that men may see that this plaine and evident approvement of our Liturgie by Papists is not from one singular or more indifferent Papist but from an unanimous consent of the greatest zealousest and learnedst among them Further this symbolization of Papists and Prelate-men in the name and nature of Masse and Liturgie discovers hovv they conspire against the Truth and those vvho desire to vvorship God in Spirit and Truth it is a true maxime Quae conveniunt in aliquoterito conveniunt inter se disseâ—tunt a contrario They who agree in a third agree between themselves and dissent from the contrary If the Papists then sort vvith the Service-book-men in the liking of the Liturgie and the Service-book-men vvith the Papists in the liking of the Masse and so agree betvvixt themselves they must both by consequent dissent from the true vvorship of God vvhich is contrary to it Lastly the Papists liking of the Service-book makes it plainly appeare hovv little God likes it for if it vvere pleasing to God it vvould never please the Papists as the Israelites true and sincere vvorshipping of God vvas an abomination to the Egypetans shall we sacrifice saith Moses the abominations of the Egyptians before their eyes and will they not stone us Even so if this vvere the true vvorship of God the Papists and the Prelaticall crue vvould never endure it but vvould stone teare in pieces imprison burne banish and kill with all manner of cruelty as they do and have done those that love and vvorship God according to his Will and as every shepherd vvas an abomination to the Egyptians so there vvas no being for such shepherds as vvould not lead out and lay dovvne their sheep by that muddie Nilus or Egyptian waters yea and not onely so but they must beare false vvitnesse in proclaiming it under their hand by subscription that this stincking puddle is the River of God vvhen indeed it is the Euphrates of Babylon by vvhich the soule of many grieved Ministers hath sit dovvne vvith teares being forced to hang his harpe upon the Babyloxish willowes but if his soule loathed the practice much more the approbation then all the soules of the Masse-book-men vvould loath such an one and vvith open mouth vvould dart out against him the poison of Aspes all manner of rotten calumnies of sedition tumult schisme faction and the like not vouchsasing him and his native aire to breath in much lesse a calling to maintaine him and his neither is this all but when these Ministers and others to flie the hatred of Esau and his brood had
cast themselves upon the ends of the earth to injoy with much affliction the purity of the ordinances yet Esau his hatred slaked not like a a boyling furnace till he cast the scum of his cruelty after them doing them all the mischiefe he could in word and deed the serpent cast not onely the flood of waters out of his mouth that way after the woman but also pursued others in other parts who endeavoured to sacrifice that which God called for for proofe whereof take Doctor Laud his owne words This hand saith he shall reach them and threatning a Scottish-man for refusing to take the oath against his Countrey he laid his hand on his breast and vowed and protested as he lived he would make the hearts of all the Scots to ake and what had the Scots done to him nothing but maintained that worship that was an abomination to him and his One instance more very pat to the purpose God having appeared to Abraham as often he did Abraham in thankfulnesse builded an Altar but immediatly after he is said to remove to a Mountai ne Eastward of Bethel but what was the cause he staid not by it the learned tell us that it was dangerous so to do for the erecting of the Altar of God was so offensive to the Idolatrous Inhabitants that it was a wonder he was not stoned of them where observe now by the way that if the Altars now erected were of God they would be an abomination to the Prelates and their faction and dangerous for God his people to stay by them but as they are Altars of Baal erected and maintained by Baalites and Balaâ—mites so they and all their ceremoniall accoutrements and the Service-booke it selfe are an abomination witnesse that place of Exodus already quoted The abominations of the Egyptians shall we sacrifice to Iehovah our God saith Moses to Pharaoh it is not meet so to do The last ground or evidence of this particular is from the undeniable testimony of King and State namely King Edward the sixth and the Councels letter to the Papists of Cornwall and Devonshire making of Commotions and Insurrections against the King and State amongst many they give this satisfaction for the Service-booke that it was the very same word for word with the mass-Masse-book the difference onely was that it was in the English tongue the extract of the letter recorded in the Acts and Monuments are these as for the Service in the English tongue it perchance seemes to you a new Service and yet indeed it is no other but the old the selfe same Words in English that were in Latine a few things taken out If the Service of the Church was good in Latine it remaineth good in English for nothing is altered but to speake with knowledge that which was spoken with ignorance we have the whole letter in print at large for your Service we thought fit for brevity onely to transcribe so much as made for the clearing of the point the summe of that which hath beene said by way of open discourse we draw up in this Argument That which is word for word out of the Popisâ— mass-Masse-book is not to be offered to God as worship but to be abolished as an abomination to him But the Liturgie in controversie is word for word out of the mass-Masse-book as hath been proved abundantly Therefore it is not to be offered as a worship to God but to be abolished as an abomination to him As the later proposition of the Argument is proved to the full so the former is as clearely by the parallelling place of Exodus twice quoted to which we will adde for abundance these places following Deut. 7. 25. and 12. 31. 2 Kings 23. 13. Ezra 9. 1. Esa. 44. 19. in all which places the Lord commands all Idols and Idolatrous Service to be utterly detâ—sted and abandoned and still the ground and reason is given that they are abominations to the Lord for so the word is in the number of multitudes to speake impartially we see no colour of way to evade this proposition but by undertaking the defence of the mass-Masle-booke for as Mountague and others produced that their Service is the same in most things with the Church of Rome the differences are not great nor should they make any separation then a necessity is laid upon the Prelates and the rest either to defend the Masse so farre to be the true worship of God against the truth and all Orthodox Writers or else to give up the Service-booke to fall with the Originall and though the Treatise will not give us leave to limne out the Masse in every piece patch'd up by divers Popes having given a specification of some parts of it most concerning our Liturgie yet will it not be amisse to lay down from the learned the first entrance of it into England and then to take off briefly the silly defence that the Papists seeme to make for it To the former Augnstine the Monke sent from Gregoriâ— called the great for what we know not except for his grand devices of wil-â—orship his man Austin finding not all things for his tooth in France put over into England and there finding an ignorant King and a superstitious Queene there like the envious man he sowes his corrupt feed of all Popish trumpery as Masses Letanies Processions Copes Vestments Altars Candlesticks Holy waters Consecrations c. having like a serpent deceived the people and as the Apostle faith corrupted their mindes from that simplicity that was in Christ sore against the mindes of the godly and learned Preachers of the times yet to make them as Beda witnesseth adde this condition vvhich he never meant to keep that no man should be forcâ—d or coâ—strained thereunto but having played the wyly Fox in his entry to finish the vvorke he had begun he took on the Lyons skin and being opposed by one Dinoth a great Divine vvho vvithstood him to his face in a publike Synode avouching that he ought not to change the ancient form of Religion neither vvould he acknovvledge him for Archb. but the bloody Prelat to be revenged on him incensed Etheldred King of Northâ—mber land against him vvho murdered the servant and Minister of God and tvvelve hundred of Monks vvith him aftervvard about the yeer 637. Pope Iohn the fourth sends over Malitus Honorius Iustus his Bandogs one after another to hold out and confirme the continuance of this dismall alteration as they might easily do once having got footing for Pompous superstition sutes too vvell vvith corrupt nature then came in keeping of Easter after the Romish manner Ministers called Priests chanting and playing upon Organs with all which godly Beda his soule was grieved who vented his griefe in this sad complaint heretofore instead of these things the principall service of God consisted in preaching and hearing of God his word Here we may observe for matter of humiliation how
easily superstition findes entrance into England and how hardly it is rooted out that former Maledict Monke Benedict as they call him found so little entertainment in France that he made little stay there onely stomacking that the Worship was not after the Romish Order he certified his Master by a grievous complaint who being more moderate than the Monke bid him take that which was good in every Church but England found that that would not serve him of whose Masse and mischiefe it could never yet be ridde It is also worthy your observing how hee laid the foundation of the Masse and established it in blood yea that See of Canterbury in him and his successors hath beene a See of bloud yea it is too well knowne that that cursed Masse whether Latine or English hath lived in bloud and bathed in the bloud of bodies soules and states as shall be more particularly manifested hereafter Now for any thing that can be said in defence of this Idol the Mosse booke it is not worth the citing and hath beene more than abundantly refuted yet one touch for a taste and that upon Prayâ—rs because it is the subject of our discourse we will shew you one place out of the Old Testament and another out of the New such as they make choice of to defend their Masse or Liturgy as they call it the place of the Old Testament is in Genes cap. 4. vers. 26. the words are these Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord as there bee diversity of thoughts upon the meaning of the words so Perierius a Popish Frier will have this the meaning that then they found out some set forme or order of Prayer to gaine footing forsooth to the Popish Liturgy but say it were so what would it make for them The Doctors of Doway are of the same opinion and fuller also in their words it is meant say they of publique Prayer with observing some Rites and set forme in a particular place dedicated to divine service Grant that that were the meaning as indeed it is not yet what would this make for them Would the faithfull Prayers of the godly Patrtarchs confirme or would they not rather confute the abhominable prayers of the Popish Masse the word Invocat in the first language signifieth also to prophane though not so in this place for it suteth not with the sense but if this were the sense then the Papists might well take a hint to parallel their unhallowed Masse which is nothing but an high prophanation of the Name of God The other place which I touch upon and which they doe egregiously abuse as they doe many more is from the New Testament 1 Tim. 2. vers 1. I exhort therefore that first of all supplications prayers intercessions and thanks-givings bee made for all men out of which words of the Apostle the Rhemists make this deduction that the prayers and petitions of the Masse are deduced out of the Apostle his words producing or rather traducing the Fathers making them speake that for the Masse which they never meant the transcription of all the passages would be too tedious but let Master Cartwrights answer suffice First by way of Concession grant the mass-Masse-booke to have the same prayers in it that the Apostle commands will it therefore follow saith he that their prayers is the true service of God no more than the using or rather abusing of the words of Justification This is my body makes for the justifying of Transubstantiation Inchanters and Charmers use many holy words in their charmes as they doe with a peece of the first Chapter of Saint Iohns Gospell but it aggravateth their sinne This plea from good words is or hath beene too frequent in the mouthes of some professors whom vvee desire to satisfie vvith this answer Againe if their vvhole Liturgy or Service bee here as they say vvhere are their Mattens Even-song Complin Procession Dirgie c. As for the name Masse used by the Fathers vve are to understand as Morney and others vvell observe that as the Church finding ease and grovving in vvealth under and after Constantines time fell to grovv a little gawdie to please the Gentiles and also to allure both the Jevves and Gentiles the Christians vvere content to heare and speake antiquated names as Altars Sacrifices Priests and so fell in the vvord Missa but it is as cleare on the other side that never one of the Fathers alleadged nor Orthodox Counsels did use any of these vvords in their sense and this may suffice for the Popish Masse They also abuse that place of the Acts 13. 2. translating it as they were saying Masse but the foolery of it as hath beene said ansvvereth it selfe The Masse then being such a peece as it vvas Englands great unhappinesse to lie so many yeares under the burthen of such an abhomination so vvhen the light of the Gospell sprung up to fetch us out of darkenesse and from the shadovv of death it vvas great incogitancy to speake the least in our Reformers in King Edwards dayes to take a Monke from among the Canaanites and putting a coat of English cloath upon it to represent it being an uncleane beast as a service to the Lord it is no better truely than the excommunicate thing What had vve to doe vvith the river of Nilus hovv could vve looke to picke gold out of the Popes dunghill vvhere there is nothing but myre and dirt It is true that Heathenish Rome sent the sonnes of their Senators to the Etrurians to have their instructions for ordering of their Religion but vvhy should vve vvhen God had brought us out of Babel or Antichristian Rome turne immediately in againe to take a patterne out of it for the service of our God this is an expresse thvvarting of the Booke of God vvhose Omniscience should onely appoint in his owne worship witnesse that order and appointment given from him by Mâ—ses to the Israelites first hee layeth it downe affirmatively Observe and heare all these words that I command thee and he inforceth it with a strong reason it shall goe well wuh thee and thine when thou doest what is good and right in the eyes of Iehovah thy God but now least they should patch up his service with some Heathenish tricks he strictly inhibites them so much as to enquire after their Gods saying thus How did these Nations serve their Gods even so will I doe likewise where the Hebrews observe two things are observable First I dolatrous service is not to be enquired after because that occasioneth a turning in to it and secondly all imitation of such service is forbidden Crprtans complaint cited by the answers to the Humble Remonstrance sutes well to this purpose Ad hoc malorum dâ—voluta est Ecclesia Dei sponsa Christi c. The Church of God and Spouse of Christ falls unhappily into this evill exigent Ut lux de tenebris mutuetur id
translation to bee read to some particular instances wee come and amongst many places we must give but a touch wee will begin with that palpable falshood Psal. 105. 28. which the Booke hath thus They were not obedient to his Word but the Scripture saith They were not disobedient to his Word what directer contradiction can there be than this the Scripture given by inspiration of the Spirit admitteth no contradiction Doctor Spark told the Archbishop of Canterbury that it was apparent by the History of their dealing in Egypt that to reade They were not obedient to his Word were to charge Moses and Aaron with falshood Another place abused Luke 10. 1. being their Gospell for that Evangelists day After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also and sent them two and two before them but the common Booke reade seventy two which though it be not in matters of faith as the defendants answer yet it is a corrupting of the Scripture May we teare a mans skin from his flesh because we cut not the sinewes nor breake not the bones In a word this is the answer of the Papists upon the place which our Writers take off But now we will evidence in a place as matter of faith as we take it Gal. 4. 5. the service-Service-booke readeth that â—e through election might receive the adoption that belongeth to naturall sonnes where the Church Bible according to the originall hath it thus that we might receive the adoption of the sonnes For naturall sonnes of God we cannot be said to be Nam non nascimur sed renascimur Christiani for we are not borne Christians but borne againe yea by nature we are the children of wrath is there not matter here of flat contradiction and that in a high point of faith We will trouble you but with one other place and that upon matter of faith too namely Luk. 1. 28. and 48. the Text hath it Hayle freely beloved or having found favour but the Service-booke will none of that but reade it Hayle full of grace just with the Rhemists and the defenders of it goe upon the same grounds that they doe crossing the true signification of the words all sound and learned Expositors ancient and moderne as Pagnious Vatabalius Chrysostome Beza Doctor Fulke Doctor Whitakers and others sorting full with Gregory Martin Reynolds and the rest and gives incouragement to Stafford in his Female Glory to tell the Puritanes railingly that till they bee good Marians in his sense they shall never be good Christians There are fifteene places more in the Service-booke of this cut but these are enough and too many to be so abused Now we come to a touch of Additions as the Booke addes three whole verses to the 14. Psalme where a great difference is to be thought on betweene a Paraphrafter and a Translator The former may amplifie but yet in different letter from the Text but the Translator may not adde no not from other Texts of Scripture The grand Papists the justifiers of this and other such stuffe dare not avouch these verses to bee in the Hebrew or Greeke copies no not in the Greeke Bible set forth at the command of Sextus Quintus 1587. for the justifying of the vulgar Latine as appeares by his owne copie written by Cardinall Carraffe and another Cardinall namely Cajetan avoucheth that Paul in the third to the Romans had taken them from divers places of Scripture Sed ignorâ—ns nescio quis adjunxit has Psalmo 14. But some ignorant party I know not who hath added them to the 14. Psalms so there is a whole verse added to the 13. Psalme and an addition added to the 24. Psalme corrupting the Text and applying that to Iacob which is spoken of God and divers additions more which we will not reckon Now a taste of omissions or leaving out as all the titles of the Psalmes being as other holy Scripture given by holy inspiration and very usefull yea and Master Bâ—cer learnedly and divinely affirmeth are as so many keyes to unlock and open the doore that letteth in to the understanding of the Psalmes Hallelujah is left out of the 72. Psalme the Booke omitteth Prayse yee the Lord seventeene times and putteth in Glâ—ria Patri Lastly amongst divers other omissions on which we cannot insist the comfortable conclusion of the Lords Prayer is left out They have drown'd in this Book 160. Chapters according to their owne account of Canonicall Scripture amongst which are whole bookes as the Cbronicles Cantcles and the most part of Apocalyps left out in place whereof the Apocrypha is placed and that as they say tending more to edifying yea and some Chapters also wherein are palbable untruths as Ecclesiasticus 49. Iuduh 9. Tobit 5. the last two of these Bookes being fabulous a president of these foule abuses of Scripture are found no where in the world but in the Popish Masse-booke To this we may subjoyne that prophaning grosse abuse of Epistles and Gospels in which there are three strange and remarkable occurrences for which there is no ground or reason but from the Masse-booke and Masse-mongers First what reason is there that in the Masse-booke and in our Liturgie the Acts of the Apostles and Prophets yea any booke of the old Testament the books of Genesis excepted by them should be called Epistlâ—s as Acts 7. on Stephens day Rev. 14. on Innocents day Ioel 1. Esay 50. Secondly there is never a full passage or whole place but scraps and shreads as the beginning of one Chapter and ending of another and in this they deale with the Word as Mezentius deale with his beds he cut them and lengthened them to serve his owne cruell humours and not for the good of his guests If Kings will not have their Writs by confusion of names â—ronged much lesse the King of kings who is the God of order Thirdly and lastly at the Epistles there is silence sitting and what every one will but at the Gospels there is standing scraping bowing and a response before and after as every one of these were to serve some piece of superstition or other so thereasons given by Papists are as ridiculous as the things are superstitious it is enough to name them in generall that the maintainers of the Liturgie may be ashamed to alledge them and better of their owne they have not We therefore desire your Honours to cast a regardfull eye upon the wronged and much abused Word and not as paessers by as Ieremis speakes in a case much like but as supreame Iudges here on earth to vindicate Gods dishonour done to him in his Ordinances Gods Word as the Fathers speake is his Epistle not in that sense they call Prophesies Epistles wherein he commends many lovely favours to us yea his Testament wherein he leaves and bequeaths many rich legacies to us If Kings and Monarchs should deale so with us would we suffer them to be abused
said we bring up into this Argument That service the matter or bulke whereof is partly false partly foolish and frivolous should not be presented unto God But the parts of the Service-book whether essentiall or integrall are such as hath been fully proved Therefore they should not be presented to God We humbly intreat your Honours to lay this argument in the ballance of truth and if it weigh downe the Service-booke let the said Booke we pray you be cast out of the Sanctuary as light CHAP. VI Of the Manner NOvv vve come to the fourth particular namely the forme or manner vvhich is large as exorbitant and offensive as the matter the forme is the essence of a thing say the matter vvere good and the manner naught god vvould never like it for the old Proverbe is true God loves Adverbs better then Adjectives Bene better than Bonum It vvas a good worke in David to bring up the Arke from the house of Aminadab but one Philistine Ceremony spoyled the whole worke David therefore acknowledged the bâ—each to bee made because they sought him not in order when our Saviour taught his followers to pray in that plat forme of prayer which a Father calls the founâ—ation of all our prayers he layeth not downe onely the matter but also the forme when yee pray pray {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} after this manner hold fast saith the Apostle the forme of sound words which thou hast heard of me c. where hee layeth downe not onely the matter of Preaching but also the forme even so should prayer have a forme of sound words Conformers to the service-Service-booke make Ionas his Gourd of one place of Scripture Let all things be done according to order and decency But as the place is no shelter for them so wee wonder that they cannot see the grosse disorder of the Service-booke and Ceremonies and still call for order The Apostle rejoyced to see the order of the Colossians but it would have grieved him exceedingly to have seene the disorder of the service as he grieved at the superstition of the Athenians for it is Will-worship which the Apostle condemneth in the same place of the Colossiâ—ns but to some particulars and first to the Minister whâ—se change of voyce posture and place is strange and ridiculous for the first hee must say some prayers with a loud voyce not all what can be the reason of this but that of the Masse-Priests that there are some mysteries Tanquam sacra Cereris that the prophane Laicks should not heare Secondly for his posture besides the windings turnings and cringes his face must be sometimes towards the people and sometimes his backe Thirdly the Priest sayes somewhat in the Church somewhat in the Chancell getting himselfe from the people as farre as he can as if there were some outfall betweene him and the people or as if hee were the High-Priest gone into the Holy of Holiâ—s In the second place comes the unmannerly handling of the matter First they have many short Collects but a long and tedious Service the persecuted Christians indeed made short prayers upon the feare of the enemies approaches when they were forced to flye A good foundation we acknowledge but to turne this into a generall and continued rule will make but a scurvie building Now to the rest of the short cuts and shreds rather wishes than prayers as Master Cartwright truely calls them for which Doctor Boyce falls foule upon him with an invective declaration not with refutation which course suits not with learning much lesse with a Minister calling it a rude speech savouring more of the shop than of the Schoole but the abilities of the man is farre above his calumny and why doth he not fall a rayling at him for answering the Rhemists in charging the Masse-booke with the selfe-same fault where he calls them short shreds patched up together to make a wearisome service upon the long last what patched petitions how scatteringly and disorderly divided to the number of thirty or forty what interrupting pauses and posting on againe with Let us pray In this they are like unto little Girles who setting themselves as though they would sew they cut abundance of cloth into uselesse shreds doing no good but hurt and yet for further discovery of this unmethodicall and unmannerly dealing let us put this quere to the maintainers of this patched Service that Master Cartwright puts to the Papists for the mammocks of their Masse-booke If such a suit saith he were offered to a mortall man would he not rather thinke himselfe mocked by the suppliant than honoured After the same manner speakes God to the Jewes Offer the now to thy Governour will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person saith the Lord of Hostâ— and if any object that God speakes there of the Blinde and the Lame the answer is easily made whatsoever is not of God in his service for matter or manner it is blinde and lame for the closure of this dismembring of Gods service we annexe the tossing or driving the Service betwene the Priest and the People for either the People pray with the Priest or they repeat his prayer or they adde some responses or answers all unsuitable to Gods service Sir Thomas Moâ—e was so zealous in this way that he did officiate at the Masse in his Surplice If the Minister be Gods mouth and the peoples and stand between them in things pertaining unto God is it not a grosse absurdity That when an Ambassador of State is delivering an Ambassage to the King that the standers by or attendance though much concerned in the businesse should set in with the Ambassadors speech or repeat what he saith or interrupt his speech with a pause of a response This interrupting course in Gods worship is every way more grosse as much as the high and dreadfull God is greater than the greatest King and we are to take notice that God will not be moâ—ked To shut up the point one thing we cannot but wonder at why the Popish Prelaticall Priests doe admit the common people a share in saying of Service who will not have the people in any case to try much lesse to judge of the doctrines of their Teachers abusing the very Scripture that makes against them for they call themselves the Clergy alluding to the name {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} which signifieth the lot or portion arrogating to themselves the Lord to be their portion and they to be the Lords But by way of opposition they account the people no better than unhallowed or carnall people calling themselves abusively by the name of spirituall which with the former name portion agreeth to all Gods people but we conceive the reason to bee this that by filling their braines with the froth of that stuffe and their mouthes with that confused noyse of words
which the most of them regard no more than the foole of Winasor that could sing all the Service and how should God regard it this they doe we say to shut them out from the soule-saving Word and the Word from them and then the Priests beare rule or tyrannize over them at their pleasure Now we have done with the Arguments arising from the Essentiall Bulke or Integrall parts of the Booke whence wee desire your Honours to consider how from foure impregnable arguments namely from the name the rise the matter and forme or manner we have necessarily evinced the ejection of the Service-booke all which wee briefly summe up thus That worship of God which for Name Originall Matter and Manner is naught all over is not to be suffered head nor tayle but wholly to bee cast out of Gods House But the Liturgy or Service-Booke is such a worship c. Therefore it is to be cast out CHAP. VII Of the Effects FRom Arguments taken from the Nature of the thing we come to some Arguments Collaterall yet forcible enough to evince both the Equity and the Necessity of our desire and first from the ill Effects of the Booke and that not accidentally which might haply excuse the Cause but properly and originally holding alwayes in tali vel in tanto an evill effect argues alwayes an evill cause an evill Bird comes alwayes of an evill egge as bad fruit of a bad tree yea the evill cause is alwayes worse than the effect Nam propter quâ—d aliquid tale est illud ipsum est magis tale That which makes a thing evill is worse it selfe For methods sake we will reduce the evills of the Service-booke into foure heads distinguished from their severall objects as first it shewes its evill effects upon the Ministers secondly upon the Ordinances thirdly upon the People fourthly against God most of all Sect. First upon the Ministers it worketh pernitiously whether they be good or bad worke-men or no work-men to instance in the later where Ministers should be apt to teach furnished with old and new Seers Watchmen Begetters of sonnes unto God and builders up of the body of Christ but this Book settles such blinde fellowes over people who can neither â—eed nor leade what we pray you is the procreant and conservant cause of dumbe dogs that cannot barke idle shepheards saying Sir Iohns meere Surplice and Service-book-men such as cannot doe so much as a Porter in his frock for hee doth service and the Priest onely sayes Service is it not the Service-booke A Priest in London vvhen hee heard the Service-booke should downe made this his maine argument or rather idlement vvhy it should not If they remove the Service-booke saith hee What shall all the reading Ministers doe they must goe begge starve or steale for worke they cannot the words were to this effect not remembring the Apostles principle Hee that will not labour shall not eaâ—e Some yeares agoe a very godly man being convented before that High-commission was asked by some of them what he thought of the service-Service-book the man being afraid to deliver his opinion of such a piece of ordnance mounted fully charged upon him the great Canoniers sitting by ready to give fire yet with much adoe plucking up his spirits hee told them freely that it was a halter to leade a blinde horse to the water such dumbe Diegoes or devouring Caterpillers may rightly be called as the Prophet speaketh Foolish shepheards and so the Service-booke the Instrument of a foolish shepheard they truck away their soules and the soules of others for a crust are they not then errant fooles And this foolish instrument the Service-booke is the Broker in this unhappy bargaine Sect. There are another sort of bad Ministers who will not be idle as they say but they are very ill exercised such the Apostle calls evill workers dogs enemies to the Crosse of Christ The Apostle bids us beware of such but indeed ours are worse than those false Apostles for they preached Christ though of envy but ours preach error heresies blasphemies and calumnies out of envy and not Christ Were there ever the like accusations heard of for number and nature as hath beene laid against those unparallel'd Ministers for vilenesse both in living and preaching The Goliah his staffe wherewith they maintaine all this and all their brags against the Hoâ—st of Israel is the Service-booke which is the Helena of the Hierarchie the strict and totall observation whereof Lincolne Articles doe punctually appoint To those wee might adjoyne Non-residents and Pluralists who knowing that Service will serve the turne can have choyce of Readers to serve their Cures at a cheap rate In Kent a common Fâ—dler read Service for twelve pence week In another place a Black-smith did the like yea the Prelates themselves trade in this commodity when they have an old offâ—cast servant the ruines of a prophane wretch good for nothing then make a Priest on him Witnesse a Prelaâ—es Porter made Priest of Paddington One that we all know diebus illis Chaplaine to a great Officer of State but now a proud Prelate in the time of his Chaplainry possessed three Benefices to the value of seven hundred pounds a yeare or thereabout allowing nothing out of all this for the feeding of so many sâ—ockes saveâ—ten pounds a piece or thereabouts to three poore Curates with a number of cast Service-bookes which are no good meat neither cold nor hot yea had not this Service-booke beene this man and others could never have beene so unconscionable Yet further the Service-book hath beene the bane of many good Ministers and that of two sorts Conformers and Non conformers the later of whom were deprived of their Ministery dearer to them than their lives cast out of their Free-holds against the Law of the Land Excommunicated Imprisoned their Families dissolved cashiered from all Callingâ— yea their very being through calumnies and injuries thrust at so that with Fimbria against Scaevola they quarrelled with them Quod totum ferrum in se non receperant that they received not the whole deadly weapon into their body and what the quarrell but the Service-booke To which the Ministers must not onely conforme but also subscribe as to foure bookes more some of which it may be they had never seene that nothing in them was contrary to the Word of God Monstrum horrendum O fearefull sinne to father falshood and lyes upon God for which the Lord may justly quarrell with this Nation Now for the godly and painefull Ministers yet conforming and subscribing the service-Service-booke was a heavie burthen to them and they groaned under the rigour of the Service It may be said of the Service-booke as it was said of Gath in another kinde namely it was Metheg Amath the bridle of the hilly tract or strength of the Philistins so the Booke was the strength of the Philistiâ—â— Prelacie and a bridle with
destruction then much guilt lieth upon the Service-booke Where there is no vision the people must perish or in the first language are left naked So how many Congregations are stript stark naked of the Word in this Land in some of which it is well knowne there hath scarce been a Sermon in an age and in most places where they have preaching it is neither Seed to beget nor Bread to feed upon And what makes this nakednesse but the Lyturgie which is enmity both to good Ministers and Ministery For as the Ivie which winding it selfe about the Vine drawes the sap and spirit out of it so the advancement of this Lyturgie leaves neither life nor spirit in the Ordinance of the Word and being like priest like people love to have it so for the Lyturgie will never bring them out of the deadly Lethargie of sinne it will never awake the soule nor pierce the conscience and therefore they love it as Micah did his Idoll But let a man of God by the light of the Word discover their wretched condition he had as good stirre in a Hornets nest they will quickly hunt him and pursue him to the Lyons Den if they can but God be blessed for it the Beasts are in chase themselves The love and liking of evill men unto this Booke is an evidence of the badnesse of it for if it were Gods Ordinance they would hate it as they doe the Ordinances of God as Isaac tooke Abimelech his sending of him away for a token of his hatred so when a soule-hating people set away the Word and cleave to the Service or the Service joyned it may be with some dead Ministery then it is a token they hate the former and love the later A worthy Minister went to visit one of his flocke upon his death-bed a man of quality for the world but an enemy to goodnesse the Minister groping the pulse of his estate he asked the Minister what he thought of the Bishop of Canturbury which the Minister waving it being dangerous then to call a spade a spade he asked the party if he would pray with him he replyed yea if he would do it on the Booke of Common prayer To shut up this point we will make but generall mention of the troubles which this Booke did bring upon the English exiles in forraigne Natioâ—s in the time of the Marian persecution for the information in the particulars whereof we referre you to a Booke called The troubles of Franckford where from their first erecting of a Church in Franckford Anno 1554. this Book and the Patrons thereof never left persecuting of those that could not brook it till after the death of Queene Mary they returned home in these troubles we commend three things to consideration First in all these broyles and unchristian vexations the maintainers of the Booke dealt both maliciously and fraudulently with the other party The second thing the Patrons of the Booke could not alledge any thing for it and for others that they held but such Popish stuffe as they did foot upon Lastly some of those Patrons upon their returne became persecutours of such as stood for the whole truth The last Evill effect but not the least is against God we mean directly or more ommediatly for indirectly all the other Effects were against God but as all sin provokes God so corrupt worship is that sin against which the jealousie of God is inflamed and he becomes a consuming fire yea the Lord calleth such worship by way of transcendencie abomination If Moses would not sacrifice in Egypt because it was an abomination to the Lord as hath been said why should we provoke the Lord by abominable service All systems of Theologie are full of this in the Thesi therefore we will not insist upon it â—ut come as briefly as we can to adde something to that which hath been spoken of the Hypothesis or Service-book which M. Calvin calleth as hath beene said in his letter to Franckford the leaving of the popish dregs so the papisticall Ceremonies therein contained are truly called by that Franckford Booke burthem yokes and clogs to Gods People and his service besides those which have been names we will speake but a word or two more namely of Festivall dayes to Saints at least transitive though not determinative as the Papist excuse their Idolatry The other is kneeling at the Communion the former is an intrenching upon Gods prâ—rogative For â—oâ—e can appoint an holy day but he who haâ—â— maâ—e the dayes and hath all power in his own hand which is cleare first from the denomination of them in both Testaments in the old they are called the solemne feasts of Iehovah not onely because they were to be kept to Iehovah but also because they were of his appointing and so in the new Testament as we read but of one for the selfe-same reasons it is called The Lords day another instance of clearing is from that brand of rebuke that is put by God upon that Ieroboam that made Israel to sinne he and he onely that the Booke of God speakes of took upon him besides all his Idols and Idolatrous tricks not to appoint another Numericall day but the same day of another Moneth namely the eighth Moneth where God hath appointed the seventh Moneth and that out of respects speciously politicke because in the eighth Moneth all the harvest would be in and they might feast more freely Secondly that the Lords feast being finished in Ierusalem they might come to Ieroboams feast but these fig-leaves could not cover his scarres but the spirit chargeth directly upon him that that was the Moneth that he had lyed or coined to himself Gretzer the Jesuite commends the English though it be nothing to our commendation Quod Calvino papistae Anglice c. That as the Popish-English-Calvinists are freer in other Rites and Ceremonies than the Puritanes in France and Germany and other where so they are in holy-dayes And to say the truth we are too free indeed for as a learned man observeth we have more holy dayes than ever God gave to the Iewes we will not insist on this subject they who will know more of it let them read Altare Damâ—scenum only we will point at these two places which may fully shew the unlawfulnesse of them Ye observe yeeres and dayes I am afraid of you Let no man judge you in meat or in drinke or any part of a holy-day Yet those holy-dayes though then out of date were better than ours for they were of Gods appointment and so are not ours Followeth in the next place Kneeling at the Sacrament the last particular that we are like to touch upon for if we should reckon up all a great volume would not hold them This Pâ—pish moderne posture of not above 400. years standing which as hath been said and Peter Martyr witnesseth Propter
defects in it and in his last page of the Survey of the Parallels he joynes in evidence with the Author in the discovery of errours and sueth for justice but if the Leprosie breake out againe then no affection of our Communion may lodge it Now to apply as the house infected was utterly to be demolished and the rubbish and ruines thereof to be carried forth into an uncleane place The Leprosie of the Masse he grants to be this fretting Leprosie the pieces wee have though we have them not all are the very same in another tongue The Leprosie of whose matter manner and contagious effects wee have fully proved and the burthen of Ceremonies therein contained and pressed upon mens consciences to have beene and to be still abominable Idols Then it will follow that all the water and industry of the world cannot cleanse it no more than the skin of a Black-a-moore or the spots of a Leopard which God can only change but will not doe with matters or meanes of strange worship then as rubbish they are to be cast out into an uncleane place marke an uncleane place not the meanest cleane place allowed it much lesse the Sanctuary of God Upon this place a learned Author observeth that we are taught by this severe Iudgement to abandon all sinne but more particularly to abolish all Idolatry and Instruments and Implements of Idolatry Citing that place which might serve to cleare this point if there were no more Yee shall also defile the covering of the graven Images and the ornaments of thy molten Images c. Thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth thou shalt say unto it get thee hence Upon the passages of the Appendix we shall touch when we answer the Objections as for the parallel which he vieweth the Author will make it good We proceed then under your Honours favour to our suit against the Liturgy without controversie it is the garment spotted with the flesh condemned by the Apostle Iude which some expound by that of the Apostle to be an abstaining from an appearance of evill and so indeed this were enough to abolish the book The best Expositors apply the place against the Carnall Rites and Idâ—latrous Ceremonies devised by men in Gods worship which if the Papists were cleared saith one from the grossest of their Idolatry and Paganisme would condemne them and will not the retainment and maintenance exceedingly condemne us that professe we are come out of Babel To these Rites and Ceremonies saith the same Author as to that spotted profession of Popery we should not conforme our selves neither in use nor opinion but decline in all things the very shadow and shew of them What can be said more emphatically to the purpose as God is to bee admired in the least of his creatures as well as in the greatest saith a Father â—ta mente Christo dedita c. So a minde devoted to Christ doth as well take heed of small faults as of great especially in Gods worship The Hypocriticall and Idolatrous Jewes are not onely rebuked and threatned for eating of Swines flesh contrary to the Law but also that the broath was found in their vessels Austin comparing the ten plagues of Egypt with the ten Commandements tells us that the turning of the water into bloud doth signifie the corrupting of divine worship by humane and carnall inventions of flesh and bloud The Service-booke and Ceremonies being such we have grounds to desire and your Honours to grant as we conceive â—jâ—ctionem firmam against them both Sarah by Gods appointment wils Abraham to cast out Hagar and Ismael the Bond woman and her sonne and why the Mother with the Sonne for it seemes she offended not yes it seemeth as the learned doe observe shee was an Abbetter of her Sons evill so the Service-booke and the Prelates the Cup and the Cover the Mother and the Son should be cast out together that riddle of the Snow and the Water may well be applyed to them Mater me genuit mater quoque gignitur exme My mother brought forth me and is brought forth by me that proud Hierarchicall humour in Austin the first brought in the Liturgie and that Liturgie hath brought out and hath kept up to this day the Hierarchie if Christ be King of and in his Church in a more glorious and eminentiall way as who dare deny it in word though too many doe deny it in deed then consequently without all controversie he must appoint his owne officers government and service Now there is nothing more inculcated and laid home in the Book of God than Christs Kingly office to which all are subject and it is subject to none wee will but cite some few places of many I have set or annoynted saith God my King upon Zion the mountaine of my Holinesse by which he meaneth his Church Whence a learned godly Minister delivered within these few dayes that as Christ set up his Church so it is his to provide for it To appoint and no others offices and officers and all religious service or worship to which we were onely to submit and to none other another testimony from the Prophet Esay shall suffice Vnto us a childe is borne and a sonne is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called wonderfull c. Now if God never tooke off this government from Christ his shoulders nor Christ never gave it up nor all the powers of heaven earth and hell be able to shake it then first it must follow as the Spirit speaketh that of the increase of his government there must be no end Secondly it is every way as good by consequence that he will have no service or worship but of his own appointment Porphyrius who was a great Necromancer as Eusebius witnesseth doth tell us amongst other things that the Devils themselves whom he calls Gods signifie unto their especiall servants the Magitians Quibus rebus c. with what things they are made to appeare what is to be offered unto them what dayes they should chuse and what signes and Images they should make which assertion Austin confirmeth Non potuit nisi ipsis primis doccentibus discâ— quid quisque illorum appetat vel quid exhorreat it could never be learned but by their teaching meaning the Devils what every one of them desireth and what they abhorre since the Devill then loves to be Gods Ape in every thing and his highest Meniall servants account it nothing but reason that he should prescribe orders in his own House and appoint what Service and Ceremonies therein as he pleaseth shall not the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and onely he appoint how and by what meanes he will be served in his owne House this is the reason why the Service of God is called {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} reasonable service for so
the Lord should be against them as it had beene against their Fathers yea they should be consumed both they and their King and as Samuel to terrifie them called for thunder and raine so we have felt both thunder and raine Judgement yet mixt with mercie both from the mediate and immediate hand of God and do feel it at this present and to the end we should clear his House of corrupt worship The yoake of the Philistims was never removed from the necke of the Israelites till they put away their strange Gods and Ashtaroth their speciall Idoll But when their humiliation was joyned with Reformation then the Lord gave not onely deliverance but also Victory over and freedome from their Enemies II. From the Danger of not doing A word now of the particular Danger whereof we make bold to give you notice as God hath honoured you in calling you to be the Reformers of Church and State so the work is great as Nehemiah said and the danger proportionable if it be neglected When God putteth his select Servants upon high Imployments whether they be Magistrates or Ministers knowing best their weaknesse and the many Impediments he puts them on ever and anon to be couragious not to feare or be afraid and the ground of all is have not I commanded you So the Lord giveth the Prophet Ieremy a charge to speak all that the Lord should command and backeth it with a threatning be not dismayed at their faces lest I confound thee both the Hebrew and the Septuagint hath it lest I make thee afraid Saul his disobedience in sparing Agag and the fat of the cattle notwithstanding all his faire pretexts with the fearefull punishment inflicted by God upon him may be a terrour to all men in place that they do not the work of the Lord by halves and quarters but that with Caleb they follow the Lord to the full The Lord hath laid his Command upon you to put away the Excommunicate thing and to cleanse his house of Idols and Idolothites and blessed be that God whom you serve ye have begun by your Edicts though men of disobedience hinder the worke but follow home the worke we intreat you and remember those Achans but above all put away that Ashtaroth the Service-book for that we may well call Fundi nostri calamitas the very Caterpiller of Gods Husbandry To shut up this Motive from the point of danger be pleased to take notice how God beares in upon Moses that great Commission to Pharaoh to let his people go and that both by words and signes namely by turning his rod into a serpent his hand made leprous and the waters turned into blood which were not onely to confirm him in his message against the feare of his adversaries but more particularly to teach him that if he withdrew himselfe in part or in whole from the worke the Plague of Leprosie of Blood and Biting with Serpents should be upon him yea God put Moses upon a present tryall of Obedience and Faith by causing him to take the Serpent by the tayle notwithstanding of the danger to be bitten by it we speake to the wise who can apply it better then we CHAP. X. Of the Covenant THe third Motive for removall of this Booke may be taken from the Protestation dated May 5. 1641. Confirmed sent abroad and solemnly sworne unto yea and bound up with a publique Covenant on the publike day of Thanksgiving by Ministers and People so that it is an inviolable Covenant stricken betweene God and us like unto that in Nehemiah which is there called a sure Covenant a written Covenant to which our Princes Ministers and People seale unto from which we cannot depart except we will incurre that fearfull Judgement threatned against Covenant-breakers Emblemed out unto us in Scripture by dividing of the Sacrifices and causing the parties to goe betwixt them admonishing that God will so divide them in his wrath if they forsake the Covenant The subject of the Covenant consisteth of three parts In the first we are sworne and tyed to maintaine all the Rights of Religion King and State In the second to oppose all Persons and Things that do oppose the three former mentioned and more specifically to oppose with all our life and power all Popery and Popish Innovations which Expressions are thrice mentioned once in the Protestation or oath and twice in the Explanation the third and last piece of the subject is the Peace of the three Kingdomes England Scotland and Ireland which we by Oath are also bound to maintaine Hence two Arguments will offer themselves one more directly and the other by way of consequence For the former if all Popery and Popish Innovations are to be opposed then it will follow that the Service booke and Ceremonies should be opposed and by consequence by your Authority abolished Verba Statuti sunt amplianda non restringenda the words of Acts and Statutes for good and against evil are to be taken in the largest extent but the words themselves are universall enough Now that the service-Service-Book and Ceremonies therein contained and pressed upon mens Consciences are Popery We and many others have cleared yea they are Popish Innovations Nam omnia quae à Christo non sunt nova sunt all things that are not from our King Christ in his worship are meere Innovations as Tertullian was wont to call Praxeas hesternum Praxeam a yesterdayes upstart so one and all of them are Exotick and upstart things It is true indeed by the Malignity of the Masters of those Ceremonies the bulke was increased and would have been like the Crocodiles who grow so long as they have a being if you had not come in place of the Tutyrites a creature terrible to the Crocodiles which leapeth upon their backs and brings them to the shoare but otherwise for the kinde they are all non ejusdem farinae sed furfuris the same kinde of Bran and as the Woman said of the Foxes If one be good all are good For the further confirmation that they are Popish we have proof from that Treatise of Ceremonies annexed to the Service-Booke in some antient Copies we have read that they thought good to retaine some Popish Ceremonies but in another Coppy they call them the old Ceremonies retained still all one in effect The latter argument from the Protestantion by way of sequell is from out mutuall Covenant and Oath joyntly and severally to maintaine the Peace of the three Kingdomes which is impossible to be done in the Opinion of our Brethren the Scots without Identity of Discipline and Worship witnesse the very words of the Arguments by the Scottish Commissioners given to the Lords of the Treaty perswading Conformity in these to be the chiefe meanes of Peace We vvill transcribe some passages for all vve cannot leaving the thing it selfe to your honours revievv It is say they to be
wished that there were one Confession of Faith one forme of Catechisme one directory for all the parts of Gods publique Worship as Prayer Preaching administration of Sacraments c. The Arguments that they use are first from the Conjunction of spirit and presence both of great and small of Assemblies in the Court and other where where there is Onenesse of worship but by the contrary there is division where the worship is diverse Secondly Vnity of worship will extinguish those Nick-names as Puritanes and Shismaticks put upon professors Thirdly This will make the Ministers of both Nations with face of face labour strenuously and cheerfully to build up the Body of Christ Fourthly and lastly This will break the back of the Recusants hope of bringing Rome into England all which works strongly for peace the sense whereof we cite though not the very words But if this unity of Worship be not say the Commissioners there is no unity in Polity or Church to be looked for for as all the former combustions and stormy tempests formerly arose from that Popish service-Service-booke borne in upon them whereby all the three States were much indangered so they professe in plain termes that their Reformation so dearly bought shall again be spoiled and defaced from England and whatsoever peace shall be agreed upon they do not conceive how without Reformation it shall ever be firm and durable for that Service Governement and Officers being none of Christs but the maine Evill and the cause of all Evill in the three Nations that Maxime observed by the Commissioners we may feare will prove too true the same causes will not fayle to produce the same Effects witnesse Symeon and Levyes digging through the wall that is the present conspired Plots of Treason like to blow up all if they be not hindered even when you and your Brethren are making up the breach Now as we are tyed by Oath to the preservation of this Peace according to our Power We can look for no Peace with God nor blessing from God if we give way to that or suffer that according to our power that breaketh this peace They say in the Preface of the Ceremonies that without Ceremonies it is impossible to keep Order or quiet Discipline in the Church So we reply that Mans Ceremonies in Gods Worship will spoyle the peace and quietnesse both of Discipline and Worship witnesse the putting of the Arke upon the Philistimes Cart though it was a new one Erasmus telleth us quòd mala non sunt tantùm abolenda sed etiam quae speciem mali in se habent things evill of themselves are not only to be abolished but those that have in them Appearance of Evill In all this Noble Senators We take not upon us to put uncouth glosses upon your Edicts but under favour we use the words without forcing to overturne that which crosseth the Truth and Peace of Religion and State as Meanes conduce to the End so impediments frustrate the end if they be not removed And now since under favour We have presumed to inlarge our selves in this point of Peace We beg leave of your Honours to speake a word or two of the Improbabilities of Peace here among our selves without removall of that stumbling block the service-Service-Booke People can worse be without the Ordinance then without Liberties Lives and Being When Pompey the Great was about to supply Rome with food in a great â—amine the Master of the Ship told him when he went aboard a great Storme appearing that he could not sayle and live Pompey replyed {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} There is necessity of Sayling but not of Living and in this case what shall they doe for with this Mock-ordinance or Will-worship of the Service-booke they dare not joyne There are such multitudes of people saith Smectymnuâ—â— that distaste this Booke that unlesse it be taken a course withall there is no hope of any mutuall agreement between Gods Ministers and their people We will say no more of this but let the sudden tumult raised by that make-bate Service-Book in Scotland be a seasonable Caveat to us and all other Nations to strike with Authority lest that which should be done with the Right hand be done unhappily with the Left hand Here might be place for another Motive namely from the reward sed recte fecisse praemium to doe nobly is reward enough God imployeth not man propter indigentiam sed propter munificentiam so much for any need of him as for honouring of him by that imployment up then as the Lord biddeth you your Honour shall be blazoned through the world you shall be called the Saviours upon Mount Zion in setting Christ on his Throne and the Kingdome shall be the Lords Answer of the Surplice WEe had almost forgotten to say somewhat of one ragge of the Ceremonies namely the Surplice of all the Idolatrous Rites not the least yea worse we dare averre than that Plague sore Clout which was sent as should appeare to infect Master Pym and the rest of the House for this ragge is so infectious in Gods worship that many thousands of Gods people dare not joyne with it and that upon good grounds as shall appeare for as it hath been argued against all the rabble of the Ceremonies it is mans device and hath beene an Idoll in Gods worship Therefore in the worship of God it must be an Idoll still The Antecedent no man will deny for it hath beene the Master Idoll in worship amongst the Papists sanctifying all other Idols and without which it is unlawfull to officiate The Consequent is as clear from induction of particulars as hath beene instanced from groves and things of that nature yea from the Brasen Serpent though of God his Institution now according to the rule of Art either let the Defendant give an instance extra propositum besides the thing in question or acknowledge the truth of the Consequent without contradiction This hath beene a grand Instrument of much mischiefe against the Ministers and People of God as we can shew at large depriving the people of their faithfull Ministers and the Minister and theirs of all meanes of livelihood The unlawfulnesse of this Babylonish Garment will further appear if we looke to the originall whence we have it Wee must either have it from heathen Rome which in her Idolatrous service did Apishly imitate Aaron his garments as it is instanced in the raigne of Numa 800 yeares after the Law or we must have it from the Druides the mad Heathen Priests amongst the Gaules and Britaines or from the AntichristiaÌ„ Rome as we have indeed it being one of the Popish Ceremonies retained or lastly from the Priestly attire of Aaron which Heathen and Popish Rome hath impiously followed denying thereby the Lord Jesus to be come in the flesh who with his graces was typiâ—â—ed out by those godly and beautifull garments which being shadowes are done away and Christ the
Body is come for us then to imitate them in this foolish Relique or to devise a Priestly garment of our owne head in Gods worship is to rob Christ of his honour exceedingly and to make our selves deeply guilty of will-worship Had not God himselfe clothed those garments in the Law with a particular and punctuall command for matter and monner they had beene foolish and ridiculous things they made the holy garments saith Moses as the Lord commanded which later words as the Lord commanded are repeated as the learned observe nine severall times in this Chapter intimating that they did not swarve one jot from Gods direction teaching all Gods servants thereby as the learned apply it ut se contineant intra limites verbi Dei that they containe themselves within the limits of Godsword bring nothing into the service of God of their own invention for the Apostle cals that {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} wil-worship this being so it appeares what evill workers those Ministers are who with an high hand doe display this Banner of the Man of sinne against Gods owne face in the time of his worship interposing betwixt Gods presence and the worship and diverting of the blessing upon the worship for Moses is said to blesse the worke of the worship upon on this ground because he saw it done as â—ehovah had commanded The Hebrewes adde and that truely that because of this the presence of God was in it Wherefore we humbly intreat your Honours as ye would have God to be in his worship and his blessing upon it and upon you and us in a perfect hatred of that menstruous Cloth and garment spotted with the flesh to cast it out and all the rest as Carcasses of abominable things but withall we intreat you to set the Masters of the Wardrobe on packing with them It is observed as a custome among the Papists that they bury their Prelates in all their Pontificall robes of which a learned Divine tels us he could give no reason except they meant they should doe service when they were dead that had never done any being alive If your Honours will lap up the Prelates in the Seare cloth of their owne Surplices and intombe them them in the Tabernacle of the Service-Booke imbalmed with the strange oyntment of their owne Ceremonies and bury them under the Oake that is in oblivion as Iacob did the Idols of his family and as our neighbors brethren have done with the like stuffe then the fear of you shall be upon all your enemies and the childe that is to come shall blesse God for you CHAP. XI The Objections NOw we come in the last place to remove some Objections which we shall shew to be of no great weight and therefore we use the fewer words The first is from the Antiquity of the service-Service-Booke to which Doctor Halâ— and others have received an answer by Smectymnuus but say it had Antiquity without truth it were no better than a custome of errour Et nullum tempus occurrit Deo there is no prescription to the King of Kings The second Objection Many good men have used it and liked it well for answer Testimonia humana non faciunt fidem Mans approbation is not current of it selfe but as it buts upon the faithfull witnesse otherwise it is an inartificiall argument as Logicians call it the Patriarchs used and did many things that were not approveable some good Kings of Iudah as Amaziah and Iehosaphat tooke not away the High places were they any whit the better for that yea the suffering of them is set up as the Kings fault it were better to follow Hezekiah that tooke them away Master Wommâ—cke alleadgeth for the Service-booke that Rome is not demolished in the first day and so we alleadge against it that good men in mending times did either see as farre as their Horizon or at least as they durst So wee have more light and are set upon their shoulders therefore it is both sinne and shame for us not to see more and doe more than they did Hezekiah did more than Iosaphat and Iosiah more than they both Thirdly it is objected that it hath many good things in it that is answered already the Alcoran and Talmud have many good things in them yea the Apocrypha Bookes have many excellent truths in them are they therefore to be presented in Gods worship The fourth objection is from a more convenient course of correcting of it than of cashiering of it For answer what King or State did ever yet thrive in moyling and toyling themselves to make cleane the Popes leprous stuffe to bring it into the worship of God but all that ever prospered in that worke made utter extirpation Popes will be content to heare of reformation and give order for it to their Cardinals but they are joyned to their Idols as God speakes of Ephraim Let them alone Secondly this is not Gods course in reforming of his house as the rubbish of the Leprous house was to bee cast out into an uncleane place as hath beene said so polluted pieces of Idolatrous service are not to be brought by any cleansing into the House of God God commandeth his people to throw downe the Altars of the Canaanite where under Altars are comprehended all other abominations they were not to set a new trim upon any of them but because they obeyed not the Lord they smarted for it Blessed bee God who hath put it into your hearts to strike at Altars 〈◊〉 Pictures Crosses and all the Popish Idols wee are in good hope you will not leave a Popish Relique in the Land neither in Church or Street and then we may be sure there shall no Canaanite dwell in our Land this scraping and picking that Master Wommock speakes of will be no better then paring of the nayles and shaving of the haire which as the Great Turke said of his Army will quickly grow againe yea and grow againe the faster too good medicines in naturall things may be extracted out of ranke poysons but so cannot pure worship out of things polluted being mans inventions therefore the Prophet Esay telleth us that nothing will serve but the casting away of the polluted thing not cleansing of it The fifth and last objection is from Acts of Parliament which the Service-book-men make the staffe of their confidence and yet in truth being well tryed it shall be found that they abuse the state and consciences of men most grossely Doctor Hall and others strike much on that string as Parliamentary Acts peremptorily establishment yet they make but very harsh Musicke A man would thinke that Doctor Hall being a learned Divine would first have laid this worship of Liturgy in the ballance of the Sanctuary and tryed the weight of it there and if it had proved too light as surely it would then to have counted it a
piacle against God and man to offer to make up the waight with humane Lawes It is not unworthy your remembrance how one of the later brood of the Scotrish Prelates alleadging or rather mis-alleading before our late Soveraigne King Iames some Act of Parliament for the establishing and maintenance of the Prelacy the King asked a Noble-man being by being a great Legist and Officer of State what he thought of those Acts the Noble-man replyed That it went never well with them since their Church men laboured more to be versed in the Acts of Parliament than in the Acts of the Apostles But to the matter for all this cry we are more than halfe confident they shall have but little wooll for the Service-booke from the Acts of State when they are well looked into Wee know not any colour of confirmation for this Service-booke except that Statute prefixed to it which how little it maketh for it let the words of the Statute testifie of which we shall set downe those that are most pertinent for it is needlesse to write them all In the fifth and sixth yeare of King Edward the sixth an Act was made for the establishing of a Booke called The Booke of Common-prayer the which was repealed in the first yeare of Queene Mary which Statute of repeale was made voide by this same Act the first yeare of Queene Elizabeth and that the aforesaid Booke with the alterations and additions therein added shall stand and be and all Ministers shall use the said Booke authorized by Act of Parliament in the said fifth and sixth yeare of King Edward the sixth and no other This is the summe of the Statute in relation to the Subject namely What Service-booke it is that the Statute establisheth and for any thing we can see there is not one passage or title for confirmation or establishing any other Service-booke but that of King Edward the sixth divers Ministers in King Iames his time urged vvith subscription answered the Prelates True it was that if they refused they and theirs were like to bee desolated but if they yeelded they should make themselves transgressours of the Lawes of the Kingdome in subscribing to another Booke than that established by Law the Prelates in pressing this subscription forced two Statutes namely the Statute alleadged by the change of the Booke and also another Statute requiring no subscription but barely to the Articles of Religion which onely concerne the Confession of true Christian faith and the Doctrine of the Sacraments Now to come to further answer let us grant by way of Confession that there were an Act or Acts for ratifying of the Booke which in terminis we cannot see as Statutes use to be expressed yet by the Law of charity and duty we hold our selves bound to beleeve that a State professing the truth of Religion would never inact so for a Service-booke of mans device as that it might be a snare to the people of God having other ends as a kinde of uniformity supply for want of Ministery and bringing Papists to the Church but not to presse it in the bulke beyond the spheare of any mans Conscience witnesse a Rubricke in King Edward the sixth his Booke but give it to speake as punctually for the Booke as they would have it shall it be simply good for that it is onely in the power of a divine Statute simply to make a thing good all Divines Humanists and Lawyers that have written on the Laws concurre in this Maxime Omnium legum inanis censura nisidivinae legis imaginem gerant the power of all Laws is void except they beare the impression of the Law of God the Orator gives a reason for it â—ex divina omnium legum censura the divine Law is the standard of all lawes yea a thing evill in it selfe established by a Law becommeth worse as the learned tell us it becommeth armata injustâ—tia an armed injustice or with Laciantius to the same purpose legitime injurias inferre to do injurie in forme of Law just with the Poet jusque daâ—um sceleri well Englished and licenced Which truth also is cleared from divine Authority the Psalmist complaineth of the injurious evill done upon Gods Church and People aggravating it from this that is it was framed by a decree which place the Authour of Zyons Plea applyeth very pertinently to the Hierarchie proving it to be the Master-sin wherewith the Church and State are pestered and for which especially God hath a controversie with us because it is decreed by a Law and as a Law for the Hierarchie proved of no force to keepe it up no more then the late Lawes of Scotland could uphold their Prelates so grant that there were a Law for the Service-book the thing being naught what could it help it Within these hundred yeeres there was a Law in England for the Popes supremacie say that were not repealed stood it either with Reason Religion or Loyalty to submit unto it Yea some fragments of Lawes are yet unrepealed in this land that no judicious man will obey neither have we alledged those evidences upon this suspition to encounter with any Statutes but to stop the mouthes of those men who would make the Statute-Law a blinde guide under which their unlawfull callings and superstitious service might march furiously against the word of truth Now to come to an end for we are sorry we could be no briefer we will onely answer this Quaere consisting of these two heads First whether we do approve of any set-prayer in a more private way And secondly whether we do approve of any set-liturgie in publike to both these we answer ingenuously as we thinke and for the former we do thinke that parties in their infancie or ignorance may use formes of prayer well and wholsomely set for helps and props of their imbecillity yea riper Christians may do well to read such profitable formes the matter whereof may by setting of their affections on edge prepare and fit them as matter of Meditation the better for Prayer but for those parties so to continue without progresse to conceived prayer were as if children should still be poring upon spelling and never learne to reade or as if children or weak should still go by hold or upon crutches and never go right out We may say of set-prayer used for infirmity as Divines say of the legall ceremonies in the interim that they were tolerable not necessary and so vvhatsoever is or may be said in the behalfe of it is not so much as vve conceive for the commendation of it as for the toleration of it for a time and for giving satisfaction to scrupulous consciences for the vvarrantable use of it in case of necessity To the second head for a set forme of Liturgia in publique vve ansvver that vvith all the Reformed Churches vve do allovv a sound forme of set-liturgie as an exampler or president of our performance of
Spirit which are the ground life of the worship of God Superstitio est vitium contrariu religioni Superstition is a sin opposite to Religion saith Aquinas which is very clear from the nature and rise of it for as Religion is a worshiping of God according to his wil Quisquts praeceptis Câ—â—lestibus obtemperaverit is culior est Whosoever followes the divine Precepts that is a worshipper of God saith Lactant. but superstition carrying the very nature in the name of it tels us that 〈◊〉 Supra statutum over and above the Statutes of God 〈◊〉 Word in the Greeke is {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} as if it should signifie the feare of the Divell and the signification sutes very well with the nature of the thing for when a man coyneth a worship to himselfe he recedeth so farre from the feare of God and whereas the Divell is the Author of all superstitious worship whether it be of another God or of the true God after a way of selfe-device or will-worship then it may be truely called the fear oâ— the Divell as the true worship of the true God is notioned under the name of his feare this superstition shutteth up the way to the Iewes conversion and openeth the mouthes of Atheisticall Gentiles against the profession of all religion in derision whereof Auerroes speakes tantingly thus Sit antma mea cum Philosophis quia Christiani aaâ— rant quod edunt Let my soule be with the Philosophers because the Christians adore that which they eate So may the Jewes take occasion to say Let our soules be with the old Ceremonies sith the Christians new Ceremonies are so foppish and ridiculous having no footing from the Word of God But to bring the charge to the particular in hand if our Lyturgie be not a Messe of superstition and superstitions Ceremonies we professe we know not what superstition is to instance it in one particular namely in the grand Ceremonie of adoration or kneeling at the Sacrament hath it not beene the staffe and strength of that abominable I doll the breaden God and if the Masters of the Ceremonies disavow that opinion yet the Sermoks and Writings of divers of them doe testiâ—ie to their face how they go as far yea and farther than many Papists in that particular as it is true that the current of Popish Champions doe maintaine the bodily presence as Innocentius the father of that Monster Bellarmir and Heiga the Expositor of the English Masse by changing and chopping that fiâ—â—t corpus so divers of the Canturbur an faction as himself Mountagu Packlington Lawrence agree with the Papists and Lutherans in this point namely concerning the Matter leaving the Manner as a Cabaâ—isticall Mysterie de vocibus aixi ne de inâ—ssa quidem imo nec transubstantiationis certamen moveremus for word saith Mountague as the Mosse yea or transubstantiation it selfe we will not contend I like not those saith Doctor Lawrence that say his body is not there and to explaine himselfe he addeth Substantially Essentially not by way of Commemoration or Representation but should not this be their opinion since they act what they hold by a materiall Altar Priest and Sacrifice had not that Hydra of the Scottish Lyturgie made a greater Monster by the addition of some more heads and that very cunningly by the English Authours and sent out to take in the Church of Scotland had not that we say lost all the heads and had the braines dash'd against the stones the aforesaid Authours made no question but that all the power of both Head and Tatle should have had room enough to dominere here in England the Pope having such a large army both of Legionarie and Auxiliarie forces to maintaine it But blessed be God who brake the head of that young Dragon in our neighbour Nation and we hope will by you crush out all the blood of the old one here who was the mother of that and the Masse-booke the mother of both there is a Proverbe amongst the Naturalists {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Except a serpent eat a serpent it cannot become a Dragon so except our Liturgie had beene full of serpents it could not have hatched the Dragon that was sent unto Scotland The superstitions of this bulke are such and so many that if Paul were here and saw them as he saw that of Athens he would undoubtedly cry out Men and brethren I see that in all things you are too superstitious we may better apply that speech of Tacitus concerning superstition not exittalis hurtfull or dangerous but execrabilis cursed and execrable and so it is indeed both to whole Churches and other people whose eyes God hath opened to see the evill of it which we are confident you do and I say as Paul said to King Agrippa We know you beleeve it but as it seemed unreasonable to Festus to send Paul a prisoner without the charge laid against him so we neither will nor dare charge any thing upon this Lituâ—gie which we shall not prove nor desire the outing of it without good and sound reasons for our desire and therefore we humbly and heartily desire your Honours to take into your consideration these five Reasons following The first is from the Name wherein the Champions of the Service-Booke agree with the Papists calling at the Masse The second is from the Ground of it The third is from the Matter of it The fourth is from the Manner of it The fifth is from the Effects of it to which we will adde some Motives CHAP. II. Of the Name FOr the First the Service-Booke-men and the Papists doe mutually interchange the Name of Liturgie and Masse the latter call their Masse by the name of Lyturgie the Jesuite Sanctes professeth that the most convenient Name that can be given to the Masse is that of Lyturgie or Service not but that the word Lyturgie is of good use for {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} signifieth to officiate in sacred Worship witnesse Acts 13. 1. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} as they were ministring unto the Lord Where the Rhemists vaunt of a coyned liberty to translate the word saying Masse Which were to crosse the truth and all the learned upon the place as O cumenius Theophylact and Chrysostome yea and their owne Expositors as Cajetan and others the Apostle rendereth it by another word of the same value {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} but howsoever they scrape kindnesse to a word of use till they abused it yet who knoweth not that knoweth any thing that their Lyturgie is the very Lethargie of Worship and what difference betweene our Liturgie and theirs truely nothing but a paire of sheeres and putting ours in a Coat of another tongue as shall afterward abundantly appeare onely ours hath not all that theirs hath but ours hath nothing to a word but out of