the same wordes whē they knele downe and saye Aue rex c. Wordes that may haue good meaninge should not offēde good meaninge mē thoughe miscreātes miscōstre thē Should we not abide the worde Galilaea for that Iulianus Apostata caste oute a tauntinge blasphemie against Christ what time he cried out vicisti Galilaee thou of Galilee hast ouercomed Or because he called the christiās men of Galilee Should we haue lesse reuerent opinion of Christe because that vnhappie man Felix treaseror to Iulianus called Christe Maries sonne vsinge thes wordes Ecce quibus vasis Mariae filio ministratur Asee in what vesselles they serue Maries sōne Or shoulde we forsake the faithe of Christes deitie and cōsubstantialitie with God his father because the Ariās called the catholikes Homousiās what reproches calūnes and slaūders the enemies of Christe inuented againste the christians the churchelie stories beare witnesse but yf you marke who they were that reproched Christe and who they be that nowe nickename the christians you shal see litle cause to be offended but rather cause to praye that they may be amēded To good mē it hath not ben greuous to haue the displesure of the euil As for displeasure of heretikes good mē haue sought it and thought glorie to ' beare it S. Hierō endeuored to ' make the enemies of the churche his enemies and wrought to S. Austē that it was his glorie to be detested of heretikes How much they deteste your honor your fame and your personnes it is apparente when they blaspheme your religion cal you papistes rebelles and treitors But this their demeanor maketh good your cause and renoumeth your persōnes amōge the good For then doth there appeare some euident iustice in you when you displease them that please not god No man can be grateful to almightie God and to his enemies in the same thinge For he denyeth hym selfe a freinde to God that pleaseth his enemie And it may be feared lest they that blemyshe the good partes of deuoure christians whō they can not charge but for religion which in dede is Godes parte wyl fal as far oute with God yf his grace tēper not their defectes Cain maligned his brother Abel and therwith contemned god Iosephes brothers regarded hym not and they regarded God as litle The children of Israel reiected Moyses and in hym they reiected god It is sayde to be a machiauelian policie to terrifie the vntowarde and recusante parte with the odius termes of rebel and traitor when greate purposes be intended Though it can not be but greuous to a true meaninge man that is of ciuile loialtie to be pressed with termes of hapnous crimes not at al intended and that for his dewe seruice to God yet should not this pointe infirme the confession of a constante catholike that feareth God aboue al knowinge that it hath ben proper to tyrannycal states in tymes of persecutiō to alter the worshepers of Christe by terrours and tormentes to terrifie the deuoute christians with word and sworde therbye to wynne them to theire purpose therbye to make them indue theire affections to loue and to hate what they loued or hated or els to haue no quietnes Indede we be neyther rebelles nor traitors to princes yf we leaue vndone the commaundemēte of the prince and do the commaūdement of god When Daniel praied thrise adaye to God contrarie to the kinges commaundemēte whē the Apostles preached contrarie to the willes of the rulers it was neyther treasō nor rebelliō nor were they rebelles or traitors Thoughe the rage of the rulers go so farre as to caste vs to the hōs as they caste Daniel thoughe they whippe vs as they wipped the Apostels wee must suffer with Daniel ād saye with the Apostles we muste rather obeye God in doinge our dewtie thē man forbiddinge the same And what is our comforte herein but that god hath wayes enoughe to deliuer vs as he deliuered Daniel as he deliuered the Apostles or els wil strēgthen vs to die in his quarel whether shal be more for his glorie and the edefyinge of his holie churche But let thē hate you let thē cal you what thē listeth for religiōs sake be cōtente to beare it is godes cause it is Christes quarel leaue to him the reuenge Yf you were giltie of that violēt innouatiō of religiō which opened the waye to a ruffiālike rushinge into al vice yf you were giltie of a monsterous masse of tragecal treasōs yf you sowed seditiō at home or maintained rebellion abrode yf hauinge no churche at home to robbe you sought abrode in the coūtries adioyninge to robbe churches to breake images to be hange men to the images of Christ and our ladie to dismount aulters to kyl priestes ād to defile with prophane handes the pretious bodie and bloud of our sauiour Christ in the holy sacramēt of the aulter yf I say you were giltie of thes horrible factes and in this resspecte they called you heretikes traitors churche robbers and murtherers surelie then you should not be offended for such factes deserue suche names And thes names perdie importe muche more and be of greater consequence then the termes of papiste and papistrie Now because you folowe not theire course which forsake the highe waye and vnder the name of Christes crosse haue so crossed the waye brokē downe the hedges trodde downe so muche good corne and so manie faire pastures of pietie that except they come backe they can neuer come to god Because I saye you folowe not this course of procedinge they afflicte you by al possible meanes they persecute you with wordes they persecute you with swordes You haue not receaued the spirite of the worlde but the spirite which is of god Yf the worlde hate you Christe our lorde loueth you Harken what our lorde saithe If the vvorlde hate you you knovve that it hated me before yf you vvere of the vvorlde the vvorlde vvolde loue his ovvne Because you be not of the vvorlde but I haue chosen you oute of the vvorlde therfore the vvorlde hateth you The seruant is not greater then the lorde yf they haue persecuted me they vvil also persecute you Blessed be you vvhen they shal curse you and persecute you vvhē they shal saye al yl against you makinge lies of you for my sake be you glad and reioyse because your revvarde is greate in heauen for so haue they persecuted the prophetes that vvere before you And why did the worlde hate our lorde that came for loue to saue the worlde This saieth our lorde The vvorlde hateth me because I testifie that the vvorkes of the vvorlde be yl Here may I saye and trulie saye that yf heresie be a spiritual idolatrie yf schisme heresie and blasphemie be nowe the workes of the worlde then surelie the worlde hateth you because you testifie that the workes of the worlde be yl you testifie in your faithe you testifie in your life Why were you berefte
of dignities offices liuelehood and libertie Why be you in bondes and bondage in prysonmente and banishemēt why be you yet displaced abased and defaced in the worlde I speake vnto you o you worthie confessors and cōfessante catholikes that lie at home in chaines and feede on the noysome ayres of vnsauerie prisonnes I speake vnto you that haue suffered a longe and lingeringe martyrdome and stil do suffer paineful fighte not ouercōmed Doubtles you bee daylie crowned the longer you fighte the more is your victorie the greater is your rewarde And you that beare aboute you your paineful endurance to whom al your countrie is but a prison and you that haue your heartes wrapped in heuines to see religion abandoned to se godes honor contemned to see Godes seruātes punished al you do testifie that the workes of the worlde be yl Repose you therfore your comforte in God his workes be righte he disposeth al thinges sweetelie and worketh to good ende He permitteth not you to suffer for his cause but to the ende you mighte take profite of it and suche profite as tendeth to the healthe of your soules In this suffering you can not but take comforte in the equitie of your cause againste which men haue no more power then God geueth no more then God permitteth for al power is of god Yf God permitte euil men to plage the good that turneth to theire comforte yf they consider that God worketh good of theire yl and suffereth the euil to liue eyther to be amended or that the good by them mighte be exercised God dealeth with you as the angrye father dealeth with his childe whom after he hath beaten casteth the rodde into the fire maketh muche of him and leaueth to him his patrimonie It is godes ordinarie mercie to instructe the good by the euil and to expercise those that shal be saued by the tēporal power of thē that shal be dāned In this exercise this is the comforte that he vseth euil men but for a tyme as the father vseth the rodde to beate his childe This is the comforte such as be nowe called flagella Dei suche as be punishers and persecutors of goddes people haue but theire time in the ende they be caste into the fire as Pharao was as Herod was as Assur was of whom it is saide Assur the rodde of my furie The churche hath nowe hir Pharaos hir Assurs and hir Herodes which be the roddes and whippes of Godes people God wil caste thes roddes also into the fire for he is bothe merciful and iuste knowinge their malicious machinations and seinge theire wicked attēptes againste the throne of his maiestie against the wealthe of his holie churche he wil trippe them in their turne and turne them into the fire in good time This saith our lorde The reuenge is myne I vvil so paye them in tyme as they shal faile of theire standinge Arise o lorde in time let al the kinges of the earthe feare thy name Arise and haue mercie vpon Sion for it is time to haue mercie vpon hir pea the time is come There is risen a great tempeste in the sea thy shippe is couered with waues thy churche is sore afflicted The enemie soweth darnel in the lande of our lorde Belial would haue felowshippe with Christe Alexander the copersmyth doth the sainctes muche yl What shal I saye Barrabas is lowsed Christ is bounde the lawes be chainged catholikes that now be afflicted for iustice sake suffer by lay lawes suche punishementes as traitors and heretikes suffered whē the churche lawes were in place But recomforte here your afflicted spirites o you afflicted catholikes consider you the difference of the cause in sufferinge When good and euil men do the same thinges and suffer the same paynes they are not to be discerned by their doinges or sufferinges but by the causes why they so doo or suffer marke the point Pharao afflicted godes people with greuous labours Here the persecutor was a wicked man the persecuted were the people of God. Moyses afflicted the same people for their disobedience againste God and him Here the persecutor was a good man the people persecuted were euil Pharao and Moyses dyd the like thinges bothe afflicted the people but bothe had not like purpose and entention The one afflicted with tyrannical affection to oppresse them the other punished with charitable zeale to amende them Semblablie Iesabel slewe the true prophetes of God. Elias slewe the false prophetes of Baal Christe whiype the Iewes the Iewes whipped Christe The Apostles were deliuered to the power of men to be punished the Apostles deliuered mē to the power of the diuel to be tormented In good times when God was feared and the churche lawes reuerenced catholikes punished heretikes nowe heretikes persecute catholikes In this similitude of punishementes the cause of punishemente is to be discerned and so be the mindes of thē that be punishers for the punishemēte may be like yet the cause vnlike the punishemente one the cause not one In the cause this is to be noted who be the doers who be the sufferers who do for iustice and veritie who suffer for synne and iniquitie who do to hinder and who do to profite Betwene the churche of Christe and the synagoge of the diuel this is the differēce the churche afflicteth for loue the synagoge for hatred the churce to correcte the synagoge to deiecte the one to reuoke from error the other to prouoke into error Sara corrected Agar hir maide that fledde from hir and was willed by the Angel to returne In Agar schismatikes and heretikes be represented who set them selues proudelie againste the churche that is theire maistris and mother and therfore be corrected by hir that after they be made humble by holsome discipline they mighte returne to hir Our lorde geueth a manifeste note how to discerne them that suffer for his sake wher he saith Blessed be they that suffer persecution for iustice sake because theirs is the kingdome of heauen When he addeth For iustice sake comfortinge them that so suffer with the promis of his heauēlye kingedome heretikes be excluded from this rewarde because they suffer not propter iustitiam for iustice Where there is not a sound faithe there cā not be iustice for the iuste man liueth by faithe Nor can schismatikes enioye this reward because where there is not charitie there can not bee iustice When therfore the doers do like and the sufferers suffer like wee must discerne the mindes of them that be doers and the cause of them that be sufferers Certaine it is that bothe good and euil do some tyme afflicte vse the like punishementes and pretende the same cause euen the cause of religion The difference is bothe do it not in like order with one minde nor to one ende In the cause of religiō the good afflicte the euil by censures and churche lawe to represse diuision to
members You be his members You fulfil that in your fleshe that lacked of his passion and you fulfil it for his bodie vvhich is the churche Christe suffereth no more in fleshe wherin he ascended into heauen but he suffereth in your fleshe which yet trauaileth on the earthe What lacked in the head is supplied in the members And therfore you suffer as members of his bodie for his bodie which is the churche and you suffer for the trial of your faithe which is tried to this ende that it might be founde to honor wheÌ„ Christe commeth in whom you beleue for whom you suffer and by whom you shal receaue the ende of your faithe euen the saluation of your soules Seinge then religion is the soueraigne honor and the onelie supreme seruice that you owe to God seinge it is the most glorious and honorable cause for which you can suffer respecte of no creature loue of no felicitie feare of no aduersitie should withdrawe you froÌ„ this cause Loue of parentes and countrie loue of wife and children loue of goodes and honors loue of liuelehood and life must geue place to this They that for this cause forsake the temporal welth of the world shal receaue the spiritual blessinges of God our lorde This saith our lorde Euerie man that forsaketh hys house or hys brothers or sisters or father or mother or vvife or children or landes for my name sake shal receaue an hundred folde He promiseth more then this to them that dye for his sake This saith our lorde He that leeseth his life for me shal finde the same Ther be diuersities of christian dewties diuersities of honor obedience and loue There is a loue dewe vnto our parentes and this hath his limitation Who so loueth them aboue Christe is not Christes disciple nay whoso hateth them not for Christe is not his disciple and he that forsaketh not al and beareth not Christes crosse for Christes sake can not be his disciple When faithe is called in questioÌ„ when christians be conuented for religion and Godes cause must be answered they be our mothers they be our brothers which do the wil of our father in heauen If they beleue in Christe they must preferre vs that fighte for Christe yf they beleue not let the deade burie the deade There is a loue dewe vnto our natural father so longe as he withdraweth vs not from our heauenlie father We must not acknowledge any loÌ„ger our parent age kinred stocke or other creature theÌ„ they acknowledge God theire creator Our parentes may doo what shal best like them of theire goodes and substance with our soules they haue not to doo Our soules be not theirs by whoÌ„ we were generate but his to whom we be regenerate Thoughe thy nephewe a litle ladde and playnge boye hange aboute thy necke thoughe thy mourninge mother with reÌ„te heares and blubbered chekes shewe thee hir pappes wherwith she gaue thee sucke thoughe thy feble father lye at thy thresholde passe by thy father passe by thy mother with drie eyes and hasten to the crosse of Christe crueltie in this case is the onelie kinde of pietie and pietie for God is no crueltie Ther is an honor and obedience dew to princes and ciuil rulers of the worlde Thes dewties also haue their limitation The children of Israel saide vnto their ruler Iosue As vve haue obeyed Moyses so vvil vvee obeye thee looke onelie to this that our lorde God be vvith thee as he vvas vvith Moyses As who wold saye we wil obeye thee so loÌ„ge as thou obeiest God God is to be obeied and so is Iosue God before Iosue God aboue Iosue and rather God then Iosue The children of Israel obeied kinge Nabuchodonosor inal that he might coÌ„maunde by authoritie of a kinge But when he proclamed that his subiectes shoulde kneele downe and adore his Idol they denied that obedience Daniel obeied kinge darius in externe matters but when the kinge gaue out edicte that whoso prayed to any other God but to him should be caste to the lions he forsoke the courte entred his chamber and there praied thrise adaye vpon his knees Likewise Mathathias saide VVe vvil obeie the lavve of our fathers vve vvil not harkeÌ„ vnto the commaundementes of the kinge Was it not obiected to Christes Apostles that they contraried the senate and counselers and therevnto S. Peter made this breefe Apologie VVe must obeye God rather then men What time the holie man and blessed Martyr sainct Policarpe was broughte before the proconsul and required to sweare to Cesar and to reuile Christe he made this answer I haue serued Christe foure score yeares and syxe and to this daye Christe neuer iniured mee nor dyd ought why I should reuile him My selfe am a Christian and wee christians be taughte to geue to princes and seculer powers suche honor as is not contrarie to our religion In thes dewties then this is the limitation our soueraigne loue honor and obedience is dewe onely to god and thes may be done with oute dishonor or preiudice to princes as the children of Israel did as Daniel did as Mathathias did as the Apostles did as saincte Polycarpe did who obeied God and men but rather God then men who gaue to Cesar what belonged to Cesar and to God what belonged to god Kinges princes and poteÌ„tates of the worlde be the seruantes of God God is their maister we may not obeie the seruant against the maister When inferiour authoritie commaundeth what we should not doo we must refuse that authoritie and feare the superior power Yf the Emperour coÌ„maunde one thinge and God an other he must pardon vs thoughe wee obeie not he threateneth prison God threateneth hel In Gods cause we must obeie God and not meÌ„ when men be contrarie to God nor shoulde we therfore be called disobedient subiectes or discontented persones yf in Godes matters wee preferre God before men This is the scope I leauel at that our soueraigne obedience must be to God in al dewties without exception and that in the house of God there is no greater cause nor greater obedience then to suffer for the loue of god Sainct Paule enflamed with this loue and with the zeale of Godes house brasâ—e oute thes wordes VVho shal separat vs from the loue of God shal tribulation or anguishe or persecution or honger or nakednes or peril or svvorde I am sure that neyther deathe nor lyfe neyther angelles nor rule nor povver neyther thinges present nor thinges to come nor highe nor lovve nor any other creature shal be able to separate vs from the loue of God. What sterred vp the stoute standinge of the Confessors the blouddye battaile of the Martyres the chaste combat of the virgins but the loue of Godes house This moued s Athanasius that holie coÌ„fessor to saye let vs go to meete with our persecutor that he may perceaue how much greater the power of