¶ A briefe necessary Instruction Uerye needefull to bee knowen of all Housholders Whereby they maye the better teach and instruct their Families in such points of Christian Religion as is most méete Not onely of them throughly to be vnderstood but also requisite to be learned by hart of all suche as shall bee admitted vnto the Lordes Supper 1572. ¶ To the Christian Reader IT shall not be necessary for me most louing brethren to shewe anye causes for mine own excuse why I haue attempted the setting forth of this little Catechisme as though I had rashly aduentured aboue that was méete to set forth any thing to be so common by my priuate aduise Or as though I had presumed aboue mine abilitye to become so general a teacher hauing my self so meane vnderstandyng For in these daies in which there is so great licentiousnes of printyng bookes as in déede it maketh vs all the worse who can blame it that hath any taste or sauer of goodnes be it neuer so simple if it had no other fruite yet this is great and plentyfull that in reading it we shoulde keepe our eyes from much godles and childish vanitie that hath now blotted so many papers We sée it all and we mourne for griefe so many as in spirite and truth do loue the lord What multitude of bookes full of all synne and abomination haue nowe filled the world No thing so childish nothing so vaine nothing so wanton nothyng so ydle whych is not both boldly printed and plausibly taken So that herein we haue fulfilled the wickednes of our forefathers ouertaken them in theyr syns They had their spiritual enchauntmentes in which they were bewytched Beuis of Hampton Guy of Warwike Arthur of the round table Huon of Burdeaux Oliuer of the Castle the foure sonnes of Amond and a great many other of such childish follye And yet more vanitie then these the witles deuices of Gargantua Howleglas Esop Robyn Hoode Adam Bel Frier Rushe the Fooles of Gotham and a thousand such other And yet of all the residue the most dronken imaginations with which they so defiled their Festiual and high holydaies their Legendawry theyr Saintes lyues their tales of Robyn Good-fellow and of manye other Spirites which Satan had made Hell had printed and were warranted vnto sale vnder the Popes priuiledge to kindle in mens hartes the sparkes of superstition that at last it might flame out into the fire of Purgatorie These were in the former daies the subtile sleightes of Satan to occupye Christian wyts in Heathen fansies And we as men that can not learne wisedom by anye examples to kéepe our selues from harme but as though the wickednes of our forefathers were not yet full we wyll make vp their measure and set vp Shrines to the woord of God and the wrytinges of all hys Saintes which our forefathers had cast out of all honor that their own dreames and illusions might be had in price To thys purpose I trow we haue multiplied for our selues so many new delightes that we might iustefy the idolatrous superstitiō of the elder world To this purpose we haue printed vs many bawdy songes I am lothe to vse such a lothsome woord saue that it is not fyt inough for so vile endeuours to this purpose we haue gotten our Songes Sonets our Pallaces of pleasure our vnchaste Fables and Tragedies and such lyke Sorceries moe then any man may recken Yea some haue ben so impudent as new borne Moabites which wallow in their own vomit and haue not bene ashamed to entitle their bookes The Court of Venus The Castle of Loue and manye such other as shamelesse as these O that there were among vs some zealous Ephesians that bookes of so great vanity might be burned vp The spirite of God wrought in them so mightely that they contemned the price of so great iniquitie in one Citie and at one fire they brought together the bookes valued to twoo thousand markes and burnt them al at once O happy light cleare as the Sun beames if we might sée the lyke in London that the chiefe streete might be sanctified with so holy sacrifice The place it selfe doth craue it and holdeth vp a gorgeous Idoll a fyt stake for so good a fire O Lord thou art able to woorke what thou wylt let vs sée this day that Iacob may reioyce and Israel may be glad So recompence thine enemies as they haue recompenced thée Of old they burnt the wrytings of thy Prophets and in their ages following they departed not from the synnes of their fathers but gaue the holy labours of thy Saintes vnto ashes nowe let vs sée the iust recompence of anger and make our good Rulers the instruments to execute thy iudgementes We haue now long inough played with our own fansies Lord rayse vp agayne thy word into honour that our eyes may be occupied in holy readinges And you deare Brethren that are yet in battail to fight against Satan pray and cease not that God alone maye be exalted in our daies that Satan may be troden vnder foote and that the woord of God the strong weapen of our strife may be geuen into the handes of all that their lyfe may be in safetie And be perswaded of this that there is no one thyng more enemy to the woord of God then these vaine and synfull imaginations of our owne vnbridled wits which haue now filled so many volumes And therefore I trust I can deserue no blame to aduenture the setting out of this short enstruction sithe my desire is only to aduance Gods glory and edefie hys poore Church that is yet so couered in darke ignorance when so many haue found leaue to spread abroad their labours that haue no other pleasure then offyn and wyckednes Now for that that I haue taken vpon mee to set forth vnto many this enstruction beare with me I beseche you and praye vnto God that we may all together hold the humblenes of mynde that was in Christ Iesu that we be not wise in our own conceits nor thincke of our selues aboue the which is conuenient but acknowledging the blindnes of our hart and the ignorance in which we are borne we may say with the most happy Apostle we haue nothing that we haue not receiued And of many other I do willyngly professe it I am the least but by the grace of God I am that I am and I trust hys grace is not in vayne in me But this that I here present vnto the Church of God I haue not done it alone but another faithfull labourer in the woorke of the Lord and a good brother in Christ Iesu whom God hath endued with great knowledge and blessed with much vnderstanding he hath taken the greatest paine and the greatest fruit must grow of his labours So that I haue not aduentured of my selfe but haue onely bene an helper of an other mans labour And the cause that hath mooued vs both is suche as
full of corruption Looke wher we wyl among the people of the Lord how hardly shall we funde the dwellyng place of the godly Pastour If Ieremie were now aliue he would take vp againe his old complaintes O that myne head werefull of water and mine eyes a fountaine of teares that I might weepe day and night for the slayne of the daughter of my people For looke what agrement hath righteousnes with vnrighteousnes and what fellowship hath light with darknes what concord Christ with Belial or what part the beleuer with the Infidel the same societie is betwene a great number of our English Parsons and Uicars with the true Preachers Ministers of the Gospell Your selues good Christian Readers make the comparison and be your own Iudges what cause we haue to complaine The true Minister is the salt of the earth to drye vp corrupt and noysome humors and to preserue the substance pure that the world may be offered vp a swete sacrifice vnto God But our Uicars and Curates we haue some of them yet of the old morowmas Priestes whose salt is vnsauerie with much popish leauen that there is no taste in them of the Gospell of christ Most certaine it is that the popish Priesthoode is no calling for a Minister of the Gospell And therefore they that haue not openly forsaken that and haue geuen a new promise vnto Christ they may well haue the lyuing but they cannot be the persons whom God hath called nor yet the salt to season his elect and chosen The true Minister is the light of the world which holdeth foorth the Gospell of Christ in his hand as a lanterne to lighten the steps of a great number how to walke vnto Christ but what daylight I beseche you shineth in the Ministers of our making They are better séene in their seueral occupations then in the knowledge of the word which they should dispence vnto others The true Minister is a fisher of men by whom the parish is stirred vp to all loue to God first and then mutually one to another but the Parsons nowe haue either nets so broken or their baytes so yll that we sée the effect is no gatheryng together but a wofull dispersion both of Priest people How many examples do we sée of a continual dissipation in sutes and controuersies the Parson against the Uicar the Uicar against the Parson the Parish against both and one against another and al for the belly Among whoÌ„ neither people Parson Curate Uicar one nor other hath anye care for the Gospel of christ As the Lord doth lyue this is no other fishing but to suffer that roaryng Lyon to catch al by his enchauntmentes that he may haue large pasture in the Church of god The true Minister is the eye of the body the woorkeman in the haruest the Messenger that calleth vnto the Mariage the Prophet that telleth the wyl of the Lord the wyse man that teacheth to discerne betwene good and euyll the Scribe that doth expound the law the Seruant that occupieth his Maisters talentes vnto gayne the Wytnes that beareth testimony of Christ to all people the dispensers of the misteries of God the Stew ard that geueth meate in due time vnto the residue of the houshold the Sacrificer of the Gospel of God to make the oblation of hys flocke acceptable the Minister by whom the people doo beleue the Labourers of God to tyll hys husbandrye and make vp his buylding the Shepheard to féede the Church of God which he hath purchased with his blood But alas and wo for vs if we can sée our sorrow what one of these excellent vertues shineth in our Pastors I speake the truth and God in his good time wyll geue vs eyes to sée his iudgementes Scarce one Parish of an hundred hath found such a Minister or scarce two and thrée in a Shéere whom God hath so blessed If S. Paule say true or if the voyce of God be fearfull in our eares that we cannot beleue except we heare and we cannot heare wythout a Preacher where is our glory that we are the people of the Lord Or where is our reioycing that the Gospell is amongest vs Were it not that the woorkes of the Lord preached dayly vnto vs and their voyce had come into our eares as fully as to our forefathers euen in the strongest of our people it would make their faith to wauer For about vs in our Countrie wher dwelleth that Minister or where is his name that shall strengthen the weake harted and rayse them vp in hope He must faith S. Paule he must be apt to teache that is made Minister but we haue made the old saying true Oportet non habet locum they are we may say they are more meete for the plow that dwell in the personage Say the Apostle what he say wyll he must or â—e must not he shall be made Minister now that pleaseth the maker Euen thus it is both high and low as many as God hath sealed with a god spirite they complayne of it They say all with Ieremy The Priestes say not where is the Lord and they that should minister the law they know nothing The men among vs that would be our leaders they may say as of olde time I wyl prophecie vnto thee of wyne of strong drinke but of the lawe and the testimonies they can no skil So heauy is the hand of our God ouer our synnes vntyl we be amended He hath broken hys two staues of happy féeding both bewty and bandes and geuen in stéede of them the instrumentes of a foolyshe Shepheard and hath raysed vs vp Pastours which looke not for the thinges that are lost nor seeke the tender Lambes nor heale that that is hurt nor féede that that standeth vp And therfore we may boldly say God himself being our warraÌ„t that the Israel of the Lord is without his Pastour But some perhaps wyll thincke this complaint to be gréeuous God hath not delt thus with vs but rather hath multiplied a great manye of learned and godly Ministers vnto vs euen now in great aboundance as in any age before vs Most certainly true it is that God hath raysed vp in our dayes men of singuler hope full of excellent giftes whose vertues in yong yeares hath shined farre aboue the gray heares of their forefathers Would God we were halfe thankfull inough for so manyfolde blessinges The ioy of the whole earth and the gladnes of al the world that is the blessed hope of the Gospel it shineth not a litle euen in their countenances The Lord encrease them a thousand thousand fold and geue them double his spirit that they may be greater then all their enemies abyde faithfull euen vnto death that through them the Prince may reioyce the Magistrate maye be glad their fellowes may be encouraged that peo ple may be taught al may haue hope syn
may be abolished Idolatrye rooted out Antichrist ouerthrowen Satan troden downe Hel may be confouÌ„ded the Gospel may encrease righteousnes maye shine and God may haue the glory This desire is the fruite of our lyse and ther is not in the world a better portion this we haue chosen and in this we wil dwel vntyl the fulnes of tyme that we shall say in our course Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace But we haue here not a litle feare and we sée the stumbling blockes that haue made our wayes daungerous True it is many men ar greatly to be beloued but this is as true there is none so good but Sathan wyll seeke to fift him Noe Lot Aaron Miriam Samson Dauid Martha Mary men and women of most excelleÌ„t vertue and such as the world was not worthy of and yet not one of these whom Satan wounded not yea almost vnto death The most glorious of all men subiect vnto synne was Adam him selfe and yet he was throwne downe into great confusion So that the Saintes of God for so I trust I may call them because of their great 〈◊〉 the Saintes I say that God hath sent vnto vs they haue great cause to feare â— to say wyth Paule VVho seemeth to stand let him take heede he fall not Sure they are â—f continual assaultes and euen at this present one aboue other shaketh all their faith Satan hath so rent a sunder the glorye of our Ministerie that fleshe and bloud is not halfe willing to beare the shame of the world that goeth after it He hath spoyled it of the due reward of al authoritie of al obedience loue reuerence honor that man should gene vnto it He hath layd vpon it much contempt many reproches great pouertie intollerable bondage so that though the calling be in deede the most precious inheritance vnder the sun yet the glory is so darkned vnto mortal eyes that al Nobility is quite fled from it the Gentlemen afraid to come vnto it the riche man rather chuseth any other kinde of life the men nest estate so hardly contented with it that S. Paule him selfe can finde but a few folowers that wyll cast away from them the clokes of shame not degenerate from the dignitye of their office But God shall once geue agayne vnto his Ministerie beuty in stéede of ashes and ritch apparel in stéede of sackcloth when he shal turne againe the captiuitie of Syon build vp the walles of the promised IerusaleÌ„ In the meane season we wyll lyue in hope and geue thankes vnto our God that hath brought vs hetherto One other assault of Sathan hurteth as much as this yea and so much the more because it is couered with the cloke of benefite sheweth vs a saluing medicine against the former wound For where as the Ministers liuing in most Churches is but smal he hath found this remedy that one man should haue many benefices whereas the reproche is not litle but euen the name is ful of disdain as to be called maister Parson Maister Uicar Syr Iohn a parish priest c. Agaynst this euyll he hath founde a remedye worse and geuen liberty to al that wyll to be Non residentes to forsake their charge to go where they wyl like masterles hounds to fyl the coÌ„mon wealth with worse then any ydle or vagabond persons Loe this is the vessel of poyson that Satan hath set a broch the cup of whoordome which the Pope hath begun of vnto al the world This is the head and fountaine of all spirituall darknes the roote from which the glory of Antichrist dyd first aryse the filthy spring of al abominations which by pestileÌ„t encrease hath ouerslowed kingdomes with most shameful slauery brought Princes into contempt set a vile person in the Monarchie of the world And yet at thys day it doth so dull the spirites of many excellent meÌ„ that their hartes are full of surfeting and yet they foole not their disease they wallow as I said in their own vomit and yet they see not their shame The hainousnes of this syune it is so displeasant in the sight of God that he hath reuenged it with one of his greatest plages in hardening the offenders hartes that they should haue eyes to sée not sée and eares to heare not heare and hartes to vnderstand and yet not vnderstand For wher as in many thinges they heare the voyce of God follow humbly his calling yet here they be deafe euen as the Serpent that stoppeth his eares that he may not heare the Charmer charme he neuer so wisely It is plaine y the spirit speaketh Be diligeÌ„t to know the state of thy flock and take hede to thy heards for riches remain not alway nor the crowne from generatioÌ„ to generation But yet the loue of riches gorgeous shew of honor hath so deceiued many that in many yeares they sée not their flocke nor care not at all in what pastures they be fed So much in vayne it is that the Apostle speaketh vnto them He that hath an office let him attend on his office The charge that S. Paul geueth to the Ministers of the Church of Ephesus is as plaine as may be spoken yet they caÌ„not vnderstaÌ„d it Take hede saith he vnto your selues to all the flock of which the holy Ghost hath made you ouersears to feede the Church of God which he hath purchased wich his own bloud Oh that this precept were written in our harts with an yron pen or a claw of Adamant that we could neuer forget it The often remeÌ„brance that we haue bound our fayth vnto the spirit of God that hee hath called vs for the instruction of his people and that they are the price of the blood of Christ would make vs at the last so to loue our duty that the Sunne and Moone should be ashamed at the sound of a Nonresident the name of that parson should be odious vnto vs y would take vpon him a charge and looke not after it The Prophet saith that if the Minister declare not the iudgements of God against hym that synneth the wycked man shal dye in hys syn but his blood shall be required at the hands of the negligent watchman And the Apostle to the Hebrewes speaking of the faithful Minister sayth that they watch ouer the soules of those that are committed vnto them as they that shall geue accompt if any of them perish If these two be sufficieÌ„t witnes that according to the law the truth should be estéemed by their woord most certain it is that our negligent Pastors who haue couered them selues as Salomon sayth with thicke clay and multiplyed their benefices tyll they be many in number they must needes thinke they haue an heauy accompt against the day of christ Neither gold nor siluer nor the pride of honor shall be acceptable in stéede of the soules of their brethren But so
hath made the Children of God euen to faynt in their mourning vntil they shall sée the great mercies of God to take awaye the cause of their griefe We sée the great ignorance in which the people are euery wher couered the cloudes of darknes more then the darknes of Aegypt haue so ouer shadowed them that the light of the Gospel of the glorye of Christ who is the Image of God it doth hardlye or not at all shine in their vnbeleuing hartes Scarce one of a great many can giue an accompt of their faith yet S. Peter requireth it of euery Christian. A very few haue tasted the beginninges of the Gospel of Christ and yet S. Paule biddeth that the word dwel plentifulfully in eche one of our hartes The Apostle blameth the ignoraunce of the people who haue learned yet no further then repentance from dead workes and the first enstructions of the faith toward God But O Lord howe many thousands of vs of fayth and of true repentaunce can say nothyng The Prophet speaketh of the kyngdome of Christ that in those daies the earth should be ful of the know ledge of the Lord as the waters that do couer the sea where is now that blessed spirite of vnderstandyng to be poored vpon vs And wher is this riches of the knowledge of God Are not rather the multitude of our brethren clothed with darknes so that they grope in their wayes as at midnight know nothing of the way of lyfe We pray dayly according as we are taught Let thy kingdome come if we speake not like the Parets in woordes without vnderstanding then this is our meaning let thy spirite beare rule in our hartes and the knowledge of thy woorde lighten the eyes of our mynde And what do we then els but dally with the Lord if we pray styll for knowledge and yet sleepe stil in ignorance◠Then thys is louing Brethren a good excuse for our boldnes if in so great necessitye according to our talentes we séeke to be profitable vnto many If any thinke that there are already sufficiently set forth many Catechismes I do easely graunt it but they are not sufficiently learned neither yet can be For it was necessary in the best and most godlye of these labours whilest the Christian faith is plainly taught to edifiyng of the simple and conuincing of the aduersary that the faithful teacher should vse moe wordes then can be caried in mynde of the ignorant man And therefore I thought itgood as briefly as I could to comprehende the effect of all that the begynninges beyng made playne and easely printed in memory we might enter into reasoning and disputation with our selues enstructing one another and helping one an other that we might haue the more fruit in the lōger labours of others but most of all that we might be encouraged to the most holy and liuely woord of God to drinke wyth continuall desire of the fruitfull spring euen vntyll the water of lyfe do flow vp in our hartes vnto euerlastyng gladnes the day starre do arise in our hartes which may lighten our mindes in to the knowledge of the God of glory There is nothyng remayning more why this labour should be misliked except anye man would thinke that euery Congregation had a sufficient Pastor to instruct those that were ignorant so that they should not néede any straunge Teacher God graunt that in time to come this maye be found true But yet we are farre from it euen as light from darknes or death from life or as knowledge and vnderstanding is from insensible blyndnes O that we had eyes to see so great miserie For sure it may not wel be iustified that in so cleare light of the woorde as God hath made now to shine vpon vs that there was euer nation which had so ignorant Ministers We maye here in compare with the man of synne him selfe I do not knowe that in the midst of all hys abominations there was a more lothsome sight of that idolatrous priesthood then we haue set vp among our selues to be fellow labourers among vs in the Gospell For what though they excéeded in loosnes of life Yet their darke and barbarous religion was so thicke a cloude spread ouer their maners that the fulnes of their lynnes was not easely seue But we haue the light that hath made althinges manyfest and the Sunne hath shined that hath disclosed iniquitie so that there hath not bene among vs any popish Priest so dronken nor any alehouse Chaplen at such a perpetuall truce with hys drinking pots that hath possibly purchased so much discredite to his belly God and kitchin faith as our dum Dogs and guides do dayly multiply against the God of Israel and the faith of his anointed our onely God and Sauiour It gréeneth me to remember and lotheth me much more to rehearse the estate of the ministration into whych we are fallen We haue good time now to complayne wyth the Prophet like people like priest Euen the same coueringes of Israel that shadowed then their glory they haue spread thē selues agayne as the heauens are come ouer our head in so great a tempest of blindnes ignorance that they haue shaken the foundations of all our comfort We saw in deede Halcionios dies the glad and pleasant daies in which our hope shined when first our happy gouernment turned away our sorrowes brake the yoke of Antitichrist deliuered vs from the power of darknes and caryed vs among the Saints of God into the kingdome of light But our hope hath since suffered a great Eclipse from the fulnes of her beutie such hath bene the malice of Satan He attempted agaynst vs euen at the first his most pestilent practise and hath brought accordinglye hys purpose to effect When God had turned the wyl of the Magistrate and enclined his eare to vnderstāding when he had geuen vnto him courage to scatter the enemies of his truth and planted true feare in his hart to establish his Gospel then the subtile Serpent which had turned all his deuices hether he bent his violence and thys counsell pleased hym best To corrupt the Priesthoode who should instruct the Prince by Vrim and Thumim that if thus he might darken the light of the people it might be the more easy to leade them out of the way Then he entred againe and with more successe into hys first assaultes wherewyth he tempted once our sauiour Christ He robbed the Minister of his blessed hope in the prouidence of God and made him seeke the wayes ful of vile shame to get his bread He hanged before his eyes an other veale of pompe and vanitie that he could not with open countenance see Christ but folowed the present plea sures that better liked him And so first woūding the head the infection hath growen since into the other partes of the body that now al most there is nothyng but woundes swelling and sores