an application to the Church For in Adams house was a wicked Caine in the arke of Noah was an accursed Cham in the familie of Abraham was a flowting Ismaell vnder the roofe of reuerend Eli were two vngratious waggestringes his sonnes Ophni and Phineas in Dauids courte there was the rebell Absalon in the the schoole of Christ was the traitour Iudas in the companie of the Deacons was the crewe of the Nicolaitans How the setled state of our church hath beene disquieted with home-borne crosse biters male contentes and wranglers to whome it is good sporte and gamesome the distraction of the churche of Corynthe some calling themselues Cephistes 1. Cor 1. some Paulines othersome Apollonians styling themselues Brownistes Barowistes of the fraternitie of the familie of loue and taking manye such odde titles to themselues I woulde wee coulde forget as wee well remember If the same moulde that now couereth some of the authors and ring-leaders of these rowtes might haue ouerwhelmed their factions we woulde not haue so sharpened our pennes against them But because they are belluae multorum capitum beastes with many heades and they infect like a byle in a bodie like a sinke in a citye and they are sparkes that set the whole church on fire wee maye not forbeare them For they haue doone more hurte alreadie then anie can diuine and like they are to doo more if their argumentes be not in time aunswered with a surioynder taken from the magistrates scabbarde that may choke their liues and put them to a non plus For the open persecutor is not so nefarious as the preposterous zelous professor Of which I must tel what a holy father saith Venit persecutor non fregit crura Christi venit Donatus dirupit ecclesiam christi integrum corpus christi manet inter manus persecutorum The persecutor came and did not breake the legges of Christ but in came Donatus and broake the Church of Christ the body of Christ remayned whole betweene the handes of his persecutors The due regarde hereof dealeth with vs to praye incessauntlie for the peace of Ierusalem and to ensue it all we may with contention of sides intention of mindes inuentions of arguments wherein when we haue doone our vttermoste endeuoure we shall neuer doo enough For bee wee more watchfull then Argus we shall still find more to doe And here I may not let passe the desciplinarians of our dayes who in such nice differences between vs will not be tractable for whose sake onely I penned this treatise in a loue vnfayned towardes them as I desire to liue as reuerencing manye of their persons and honouring theyr religion tendring theyr zeale but wishing it were seasoned with more knowledge Heerein the Papistes and they are as Ionathans arrowes beyonde and short the marke I woulde we were all of vs middlings in the Kinges high waye without turning aside to anye of these bywayes of the left hand or the right These labours I present to your Graces good learning and liking to commend them to the presse or vtterly suppresse them as it pleaseth your Lordshippe For to whome shoulde I giue them rather then to the Father of our Church that stand no doubt most Fatherly affected towardes vs and maynteineth the diuinity that is heere handled I haue also twice tasted of the louing inclination of your nature and therefore these paines as the abilitye of the whole man are consecrated to your Grace The Almightye god giue you to see manye dayes in honour to the honour of his greate name and to the enlargement of the Churches tranquillity so many yeeres now blessed be his Maiesty continued among vs. Your Graces in all dutie SAMVEL GARDINER To the learned brethren of the Ministery discontented with the gouernement of the Church of England and to all of that side Grace and peace I Take god to witnesse whom I serue in my soule that in all singlenesse of mind in a tender regard of the peace of the Church and the welfare of you al I haue addressed my selfe to this treatise his great name in my deuotions being first inuocated that it would please him to sanctifie these studies and to giue me the tongue of the wise and the pen of the ready writer to put forth thinges in season to the strengthning of the weak to the encouragement of the forward to the instigation of the backward and the conuiction of the obstinate In the vnquestionable assurance whereof I speake now vnto you my certificate being the cheerfulnesse he hath giuen me all the while I was in hand with the following discourse and am so zealous in the cause the fire of his spirit the worke of all good motions kindling the coales of these meditations So that I take vp the saying of the Poet Est deus in nohis agitante calescimus illo Ouidius And though I speake but to your eare onelye or rather to the ayer yet my witnesses are in heauen with what affections I am trained to this treatise that will beare me record my scope is to shew you that the oddes betweene you and vs are not of that importance to deuide and sunder you from vs but that seeing graue and godly authority will not that we should come to you that you for order and godly authority sake would apply your selues to vs. That by our ioynt conformity we might all proceede in the common cause of Religion and leade the people in the right way of the knowledge of Christ crucified as the Israelites ledde Dauid to Hebron with a simple and perfect heart That thereby we might be built like Ierusalem that is a city that is at vnity with it selfe Ezech. 37. and as the Angles of the mercy seate that turnes face to face and not thus to be tyed back to back as Sampsons foxes that made nothing but spoile and waste where they went or to be as a disordered or confused army of such seuerall behauiour one part ioyning another deuiding companyes Some standing still other some running away Read with Iudgement without preiudice and let me haue but loue for loue again and I desire no more And so much I do deserue wherefore if thou beest wanting therin thou doest me more wrong the blame is only thine Reason would that none should be so wedded to his will but that he should change it when better reason mooueth Farewell A Dialogue or conference betweene Jrenaeus and Antimachus about the rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England IRENAEVS Well met my good friend Antimachus how doe you you looke somwhat sadly what is the matter Antimachus I am sad indeed because I may not vse the liberty of my conscience and because for conscience sake onely I am depriued of my liuing Irenaeus Indeed if it be so you haue cause to be sad But I maruaile it shoulde bee so in this Realme of England where the gospell is freely preached by publique authority and the preachers
thereof are so countenanced by the king and state I feare you are not conformable to the discipline of the Church and so haue offended the law in that case for which you are so censured Antimachus True this is the onelye argument of my trouble Irenaeus And why may not you with a good conscience digest the orders of the Church as well as others that are graue and learned and are not to be touched with Popery for order and peace sake Antimachus I haue many reasons whie indeede and in conscience I can not Iren I pray let vs heare them Antimachus It is to no purpose to tell them you for they will not mooue you for you will be an absolute formalist when I haue saide what I can and you can conceiue what they are Iren. Though I conceiue most of them yet I would gladly heare them all and conferre with you about them and if your reasons be better than mine I shall promise you to turne coppy and to be of your mind requiring the like condition at your hands if in disputation I shal vanquish you And this is an equal course of both sides which no scholler shoulde refuse and wee haue both of vs been schollers in in our time Antimachus I know enough in these matters already and they are without disputation or question Irenaeus I would not haue any that beareth the name of a scholler to say so There is none so learned but by reading and conference he may adde more to his learning It was Solons saying one of the Sages of Greece senesco semper multa addiscens And Marcus Antonius the Emperour only to learne somthing from his mouth often went to visit Sextius the philosopher at his house saying Pulchrum senescenti discere It is cōmendable in an old man to learne And Saluius Iulianus a woorthy lawyer was wont to say though he had one foote in the graue that he would still learne Yea he that is most learned may learn of another as Moses did of lethro Antimachus Well I am content Let vs then walke and talke together Irenaeus But will you then yeelde if you haue the weaker side and subscribe to the orders of the Church Antimachus I will And you againe will reuerse your present mind and concur in iudgement with me if I snall perswade my cause by better reason Irenaeus Else it were no bargaine I will with all my hart Antimachus Then begin when you will Irenaeus But let vs begin with prayer and so we shall speed the better Antimachus It is well said I like that wel conceiue you the prayer and I shall ioyne with you Irenaeus O Lord thou hast giuen vs thy holy word as a lantern to our feete and a light vnto our pathes illuminate our vnderstanding thou that art the father of lights with the light of thy spirit and let the sunne beames of thy holy word shine vpon our heartes that the eye of our inward man may be opened and we may see the trueth and follow it in loue and with one mind glorifie thy name and seeke the peace and tranquillity of the Church and the common saluation Amen Antimachus Amen Irenaeus Well then Antimachus that we may haue some ground to stand on what are the points that you stand vpon that you do mislike Antimachus I differ chiefly from you in two points namely in the garments of the ministers and especially in the surplesse but most of all in the crosse in baptisme Irenaeus Why in the garments Antimachus 1. First because this distinction of garments that are enioyned vs doe properly appertaine to the priesthood of Aaron which is now out of date and is not to be reuersed answer me to that Irenaeus That is a knot easie to be vndone and I thus aunswer you In the law and priesthood of Aaron there were sacraments by which it pleased God to consigne his promises of Christ that was to come all which I acknowledge to be repealed and that we are to beleeue that Christ is giuen and is not now to be giuen and other new signes and charters of his promises in the roome of the old being ordained vnder the gospell by the Lord himself which are bread and wine we are not to bring into vse againe the old seales and markes But yet notwithstanding there were there some actions that were of that nature as they could not kindlie be called sacraments for they serued for decencie and order and some apt vse which as hauing good congruitie with the light of nature and somwhat appertaining to our good I am of the mind that they may be reuiued and retayned who doth not know that the Apostles for the peace and fellowship of the faithfull did giue in commaundement to the Church that they should abstaine from thinges offered to Idols and from bloud and that is strangled which questionlesse were prouisoes in the law belonging to the priesthood of Aaron if we will generally respect what that law deliuered Tythes also are in vse in most churches which we shal not find mentioned in the new Testament which we doubt not to be due by the law of god now it being as free for any Christian magistrate to deduct ciuill lawes from the Iewish policie as for the Romanes to borrow from the Athenians and some cities of Germanie from the Venetians certaine of their ordinances Moses was the captaine lawgiuer with whome Theseus Romulus Minos Numa Solon are no way to be compared We also giue instance of Psalmes and Hymnes which take not I suppose any authority from the lawe of the gospell but they haue very good foundation in the old charter Moreouer Ambrose expounding the fourteenth chapter and 26. verse of the first epistle to the Corinthians plainly sayth that the manner of prophecying there deliuered by Paul was borrowed from the synagogues and brought into our churches We haue also festiuall dayes in remembrance of the birth death resurrection ascension of our Sauiour Christ Shall we abolish all these because they haue so nigh neighbourhood and cognation with the old legall and leuiticall ceremonies Antimachus You haue here opened a gap to manie superstitions as to holy water perfumes and infinite such trinkets Irenaeus Not so for we replie further that there is a meane and moderation to be holden in the entertaining of primatiue ceremonies that the church be not aggrauated or surcharged with these things and that we are not to giue any religion vnto them as there was to holy water incense and such things Againe we warne Christians to be cautelous that they endanger not their Christian liberty that albeit some antienter ceremonies be restored yet they be not so receiued as necessary to saluation But so to tolerate and vse them as when it shall seeme good by higher powers they may as superfluous or little profitable grow out of vse as it may well be done in these garments when it shall please our commaunders In the meane while let vs be contented and
aymed at nothing but the peace of the Church For otherwise there could haue beene no agreement betweene the Iewes and the Gentiles If a man without breach of the common peace had eaten of any of those hee hadde not sinned against his conscience For otherwise Peter saith Acts 15.10 Why tempt yee God to lay a yoke vpon the Disciples neckes c. Col. 2.16 Matth. 15.11 And Paule saieth Let no man condemne you in meate and drinke And Christ himselfe That which entreth into the mouth defileth not the man Likewise Paul saieth Whatsoeuer is solde in the Shambles 1. Cor. 10.25 eate yee and aske no question Thus is the vse of them Ciuill and Politique So that wee haue the warrant of a good conscience to conforme our selues vnto them 3. Let the people likewise be informed that they are appoynted for order and decencie sake and how needful it is that this order and comelines should be kept according to the streight direction of the Apostle 1. Cor. 14.40 Let all things be done honestly and by order The inhibitions of the Lawe That no man should sowe his ground with mixed seedes That beasts of diuerse kindes as the oxe and the asse should not goe together in the plow Leuit. 19. that no man should weare a garment of confected substances as linnen and woollen shoote and driue at the vnitie and vniformitie of the Church of God and beare downe flatly diuision and confusion Leuit. 1. The parts of the Calfe that were to be offered vppe for an oblation and sacrifice were orderly disposed and bestowed vpon the Altar a pile of wood being first fitly laide at the commaundement of God Ioseph in Aegipt feasting his bretheren had an especiall eye to order placing them in their ranckes at the Table Genes 43. Luke 9. seating euery one according to their age Christ himselfe approoued this course of order and as duely practised it feeding the people miraculously in the wildernesse and placing them by equall Companies by fifties in a rowe I might also returne your owne obiection against you as a reason to induce this conformitie in cases ceremoniall for offences are as vsually taken at the omitting them as the committing them which the Saintes of God very well perceiuing haue yeelded to the times and haue abridged themselues of their lawfull libertie thereby also to bring the more benefite to the Church of God For this cause as the Gospel noteth our Sauiour Christ paide pole-money for himselfe and Peter whereas being King and God and the true Messias hee was free by law and exempted from the tribute He kept the common custome for auoiding of offence Lest we should offend them go to the sea and cast in an angle and take the first fish that commeth vp and when thou hast opened his mouth thou shalt finde a peece of twentie pence that take and giue it vnto them for me and thee Yet in his question before to Peter Matt. 17.17 he had shewed his dispensation Of whom do the Kings of the earth take tribute or pole-mony Of their children or of strangers Thus Saint Paul accommodated himselfe to the seasons in circumcising Timothie whilst he considered how gainesome it would be to the weaker sort Acts 16.3 The same Apostle shaued his head in Cenchrea Acts 21.26 and entertained purifications according to the Law because he saw how that course would satisfie the weaker sort to toll them on to Christ And this was the vsuall practise of this Apostle in a subtile wisedome which our Sauour Christ commendeth to his apostles in this peece of precept Mat. 10. Be as wise as Serpents And so much he testifieth of himselfe saying To the Iewes I become as a Iew that I may winne the Iewes to them that are vnder the law as though I were vnder the Law 1. Cor. 9. â—â— that I may winne them that are vnder the Law to them that are without the Law as though I were without the Law that I may winne them that are without the Law to the weake I become as weake that I may winne the weake I am made all things to all men that I might by all meanes saue some From this ensample and saying of the Apostle I dispute thus If the Apostle held it so expedient to the better insinuating himselfe into the soules of his people to beget them to the Gospel to repeate repealed ceremonies and to renew them being quite out of date the consequence is not to be rebuked that we inferre vpon it that wee may as well admit of indifferent ceremonies which candide simplicity first deliuered to the Church many ages fore-past which the Church hath still continued This was Ambrose his politique pietie and precept as Augustine sheweth in an epistle to Ianuarius Si non vultis errare facitâ— quod ego soleo August ad Ianuarium Ego enim ad quamcunque ecclesiam venis ad eius ceremonias me accommodo If yee will not doe amisse follow my course For to what Church I come I applie my selfe to the Ceremonies thereof For the Church is not to be depriued of her liberty which Christ would haue alwaies to be preserued whole without any maime or iniurie done vnto it Autim You seeme to disagree with your owne selfe for whereas you make these matters but indifferent by your so earnest taking their part you force them from their nature and vrge them as necessary Iren. In themselues they are indifferent but the Christian Magistrate commanding them whom wee stand bound to obey for conscience sake I hold them necessarie to be obserued Lawes Obedience are the two feete that beare vp the bodie both of the politique and spirituall state and the two armes that feede it and defend it If the lawes had not beene in these cases alreadie made I should neuer for my owne part wish to haue them made but seeing wee haue now such prescription for them and they are still enioyned vs I shall not be one to marre them Autius I cannot yet perswade my selfe to yeelde vnto you because I am at such strife with my selfe because heeretofore I haue with-stood them and haue beene so bitter against them the ceremonies hitherto haue beene my declamation and the staffe and stuffe of many of my sermons Now what shall become of them if I shall subscribe I shall seeme to looke vnder the brow to wagge with the times and to halte with the people Iren. If you haue exceeded your bounds heerein come into the way Humanum est errare It is not a motion against nature to erre Bernardus non vidit Omâ—ia quandâ—qúâ—â—â—xuâ—â—â—mitat Homerus The Prophets of God haue beene deceiued in their opinions and they haue beene ignorant in some things Nathan encouraged Dauid in his intendment of building God a Temple 2. Sam. 7.3 whenas it was no part of the Lords meaning but his will was that Salomon should performe it
when they fulfill their wicked lusts so the simple and vnskilful are of enmis-led in the vainâ— conceit and imagination of zeale This was the zeale that intoxicated the Iewes of which S. Paul saith They haue the zeale of God but not in iudgement 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not according to knowledge This knowledge like Captaine Ioas should goe in and out before our zeale and lighten the way of our zeale and direct as the pillar of fire that gaue light to the people of Israel in the night season As Iohn Baptist was the fore-runner of Christ so ought knowledge to be the fore-runner of zeale to make readie a way for zeale as Iohn made readie the way to Christ Knowledge is like the starre that led the Easterne Wise-men to Christ Math. 3. that will leade our zeale vnto the truth The spirit of zeale is sampled to fire yet a boll of water is to be cast vpon it somwhat to quallifie the fury of this fire Wherefore as Christ baptized with fire so Iohn the Baptist did baptize with water A great heate is naturally in zeale which by letting in acoole winde and ayre Acts 2. would be moderated wherefore as the Holy-ghost came downe in fire so he came downe in a mightie winde that doth much abate the heate of the fire There is a golden meane as in all other things so in Knowledge in Zeale Rom. 12.3 Exod. 16.18 according to this saying of the Apostle Be wise with sobrietie It was vnlawfull in the Iewes to gather too much or too little Manna wherefore their measure was appointed them and they were stinted in the proportion of it which hath a good application to zeale that it neither may redound or bee defectiue Isaiah was willed to cry Isai 58. and to cry somewhat highly but he was not biddeâ—â—are and to rende his throate and the ayre with his voyce Zeale and that in some height is good but there may too much strength be put to it which will quite marre it Mar. 10.28 It was zeale in the Disciples that wrought with them when they forsooke all to follow Christ and it was good and well esteemed of by Christ And it was zeale that kindled the coales of wrath in the breasts of the Disciples against the Samaritans Luke 9.55 when they would haue plucked fire from heauen to haue consumed them if Christ would haue suffered them but this was preposterous inconsiderate braine-sicke wherefore Christ controled it Iud. 4. As Barak would not goe to warre without Deborah against Sisara so let vs not warre with our zeale without our other companion of knowledge Zeale without knowledge is as Sampson without eyes who could not take hold of the arches of the house it cannot finde out the principall things Vaesoli woe be to him that is alone saith Wisedome so wo be to zeale alone not accompanied with knowledge Zeale and knowledge of God 1. Kings 20. are as the two Lyons that were the supporters of Salomons Throne And he that combineth them and coupleth them together he shall be like Moses in meekenesse and Phineas in feruour Wherefore as wine is delaide by water so is zeale with knowledge As the Pinnesse without a Pilot is in perill of rockes and as the bodie without the eye is in hazzard of falling so zeale without knowledge that is the eye of zeale and ruleth it is in danger of mis carrying For it is not a bare good intention and zeale that must iustifie our good actions but such mature knowledge must leade vs forth to them as we may be able to warrant them The great variance among vs I wot well not for so great causes I feare me is not warrantable When the Lord willed Eliah to stand vppon the mount before the Lord it is saide 1. Kings 19. that a mightie strong winde rent the mountaines and brake the rockes before the Lord but the Lord was not in the winde and after the winde came an earth-quake but the Lord was not in the earth-quake and after the earth-qake came fire but the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire came a still and soft voice and there the Lord vvas In the stormie vvindes and tempests of the Church that offer to shake it in the verie foundation in the earth-quake and fire of our endlesse contentions the Lord is not but he is in the still voyce that seeketh and ensueth the peace of Ierusalem Antun I haue nothing else to say in the cause but I promised to call for your counsell and therefore if you please addresse your selfe to that Iren. My counsell shall be first That you weigh the points in controuersie betweene vs in equall ballances and that you striue not by inuention of argument to hang lumpes of lead to the heeles of them to make them heauier then they are of themselues You may weigh our cause vneuenly on the weights two wayes for in any of these two there may be deceit in all weights First when a thing is weighed ouer hastily Be not therfore too readie rash in iudgement in condemning such things as may well in any free estate be tolerated Secondly when one part of the ballance is heauier then another which is when thou commest aggrauated with preiudicate affections against the setled ceremonies when thou art rather led by thy wil then reason When you haue set these ceremonies vpon the tenters of your inuectiues and grounde the face of them betweene the mill-stones of your fore-stalde affections you shall neuer perswade the wise that either they are of hurtefull nature or otherwise contrarie to the word of God but in ordinary vnderstanding they will be deemed to be indifferent Secondly you are in the next place to be aduised how you wrong other Churches by your bitter sermons against these ceremonies which haue alwaies hetherto entertained them as lawfull and laudable Iob 47. Eliphas was very imperious ouer Iob not considering himselfe The Iewes very notable hypocrites themselues and loose liuers snebbed and snatched vp the Gentiles at their pleasure which said Isai 63.5 Stand apart come not neere to mee for I am belier then thou We are not ignorant how farre the authoritie of the Church may extend and wee willingly confesse that it ought to rule by the Scepter of the word and that it may not any way countermaund that that standeth like Mount Syon that may not be remooued the whole world the Lords building and the heauens the beautifull roofe thereof must perish before any tittle of the word must perish and fall to the ground But of this we are well assured that it hath leaue and libertie to authorize ceremonies that are of mixt kinde and that we are neither to condemne such or vnreuerently to esteeme them I agree with thee that which is not of faith is sinne Rom. 14 2 yet that wee may carry a quiet conscience and haue the testimoniall thereof in our