Tree stretching out his arme as it were for that purpose caught him by the great and long bush of his goodly hayre lapping about it as hee fled hastily bare-headed under the said Tree and so hanged him up by the hayre of his head in the ayre to give an eternall document that neither comelinesse of personage neither nobility nor favour of the people no nor the favour of the King himselfe can save a Rebell from due punishment God the King of all Kings being so offended with him that rather than hee should lack due execution for his treason every Tree by the way will bee a gallows or gibbet unto him and the hayre of his owne head will unto him bee in stead of a halter to hang him up with rather then hee should lack one A fearefull example of Gods punishment good people to consider Now Achitophel though otherwise an exceeding wise man yet the mischievous Counseller of Absolom in this wicked rebellion for lack of an hangman a convenient servitour for such a Traytour went and hanged up himselfe A worthy end of all false Rebels who rather than they should lack due execution will by Gods just judgement become hangmen unto themselves Thus happened it unto the Captaines of that rebellion besides forty thousand of Rascals Rebels slaine in the field and in the chase Likewise is it to bee seene in the holy Scriptures how that great rebellion which the Traytour Seba moved in Israel was suddenly appeased the head of the Captaine-traytour by the meanes of a silly woman being cut off And as the holy Scriptures doe shew so doth dayly experience prove that the counsels conspiracies and attempts of Rebels never tooke effect neither came to good but to a most horrible end For though God doth oftentimes prosper just and lawfull enemies which bee no subjects against their forraigne enemies yet did hee never long prosper rebellious subjects against their Prince were they never so great in authority or so many in number Genoâ— 1â— Five Princes or Kings for so the Scripture termeth them with all their multitudes could not prevaile against Chedorlaomer unto whom they had promised loyalty and obedience and had continued in the same certaine yeares but they were all overthrowne and taken prisoners by him but Abraham with his family and kinsfolkes an handfull of men in respect owing no subjection unto Chodorlaomer overthrew him and all his hoast in battell and recovered the prisoners and delivered them So that though Warre bee so dreadfull and cruell a thing as it is yet doth God often prosper a few in lawfull warres with forraigne enemies against many thousands but never yet prospered the subjects being Rebels against their naturall Soveraigne were they never so great or noble so many so stout so witty and politick but alwayes they came by the overthrow and to a shamefull end so much doth God abhorre rebellion more then other warres though otherwise being so dreadfull and so great a destruction of mankind Though not onely great multitudes of the rude and rascall Commons but sometime also men of great wit nobility and authority have moved rebellions against their lawfull Princes whereas true Nobility should most abhorre such villany and true wisedome should most detest such frantick rebellion though they should pretend sundry causes as the redresse of the Common-wealth which rebellion of all other mischiefes doth most destroy or reformation of Religion whereas rebellion is most against all true Religion though they have made a great shew of holy meaning by beginning their rebellions with a counterfeit service of God as wicked Absolon did beginne his rebellion with sacrificing unto God though they display 1 King 15. and beare about Ensignes and Banners which are acceptable unto the rude ignorant Common people great multitudes of whom by such false pretences and shewes they doe deceive and draw unto them yet were the multitudes of the Rebels never so huge and great the Captaines never so Noble politique and witty the pretences fained to bee never so good and holy yet the speedy overthrow of all Rebels of what number state or condition soever they were or what colour or cause soever they pretended is and ever hath beene such that God thereby doth shew that hee allowed the dignity of any person nor the multitude of any people nor the waight of any cause as sufficient for the which the subjects may move rebellion against their Princes Turne over and read the Histories of all Nations looke over the Chronicles of our owne Countrey call to mind so many rebellions of old time and some yet fresh in memory yee shall not find that God ever prospered any rebellion against their naturall and lawfull Prince but contrariwise that the Rebels were overthrowne and slaine and such as were taken prisoners dreadfully executed Consider the great and Noble families of Dukes Marquesses Earles and other Lords whose names ye shall read in our Chronicles now cleane extinguished and gone and seeke out the causes of the decay you shall finde that not lacke of issue and heires male hath so much wrought that decay and waste of Noble bloods and houses as hath Rebellion And for as much as the redresse of the Common-wealth hath of old beene the usuall and fained pretence of Rebells and religion now of late beginneth to be a colour of rebellion let all godly and discreete subjects consider well of both and first concerning religion if peaceable King Solomon was judged of God to be more meete to build his Temple whereby the ordering of religion is meant then his Father King David though otherwise a most godly King for that David was a great warrier and had shed much blood though it were in his warres against the enemies of God of this may all godly and reasonable subjects consider that a peaceable Prince especially our most peaceable and mercifull King who hath hitherto shed no blood at all no not of his most deadly enemies is more like and farre meeter to set up or to maintaine true religion then are bloody rebels who have not shed the blood of Gods enemies as King David had done but doe seeke to shed the blood of Gods friends and of their owne Countrey-men and of their owne most denre friends and kinsfolkes yea the destruction of their most gracious Prince and naturall Countrey for defence of whom they ought to bee ready to shed their blood if neede should so require What a religion is it that such men by such meanes would restore may easily be judged even as good a religion surely as rebells be good men and obedient subjects and as rebellion is a good meane of redresse and reformation being in it selfe the greatest deformation of all that may possible be but as the truth of the Gospell of our Saviour Christ being quietly and soberly taught though it doe cost them their lives that doe teach it is able to maintaine the true religion so hath a franticke religion neede of
speake the Scriptures and thus experience testisieth of good and evill Princes What shall Subiects doe then shall they obey valiant stout wise and good Princes and condemne disobey and rebell against Children being their Princes or against undiscreet and evill Governours God forbid For first what a perilous thing were it to commit unto Subiects the Judgement which Prince is wise and godly and his government good and which is otherwise as though the foote must iudge of the head and enterprize very haynous and must needs breed rebellion For who else bee they that are most enclined to rebellion but such haughty Spirits from whom springeth such foule ruine of Realmes Is not rebellion the greatest of all mischeifes And who are most ready to the greatest mischeifes but the worst men rebels therefore the worst of all Subiects are most ready to rebellion as being the worst of all vices and furthest from the duty of a good Subiect as on the contrary part the best Subiects are most firme and constant in obedience as in the speciall and peculiar vertue of good Subiects what an unworthy matter were in then to make the naughtiest Subiects and most enclining to rebellion and all evill Judges over their Princes over their Government and over their Conunsellours to determine which of them bee good or tollerable and which bee evill and so intollerable that they must needs bee removed by rebels being ever ready as the naughriest Subiects soonest to rebell against the best Princes especially if they bee young in age women in sex or gentle and courteous in government as trusting by their wicked boldnesse easily to overthrow their weakenesse and gentlenesse or at least so to feare the minds of such Princes that they may have impunity of their mischeivous doings But whereas indeed a Rebell is worse then the worst Prince and rebellion worse than the worst government of the worst Prince that hitherto hath beene both Rebels are unmeete Ministers and rebellion an unfit and unwholesome medicine to reforme any small lacks in a Prince or to cure any little greifes in government such lewd remedies being farre worse then any other maladies and disorders that can bee in the body of a Common-wealth But whatsoever the Prince bee or his government it is evident that for the most part those Princes whom some Subjects doe thinke to bee very godly and under whose government they rejoyce to live some other Subjects doe take the same to bee evill and ungodly and doe wish for a change If therefore all Subjects that mislike of their Prince should rebell no Realme should ever bee without rebellion It were more meet that Rebels should heare the advice of wise men and give place unto their Judgement and follow the example of obedient Subjects as reason is that they whose understanding is blinded with so evill an affection should give place to them that bee of sound Judgement and that the worst should give place to the better And so might the Realmes continue in long obedience peace and quietnesse But what if the Prince bee undiscreet and evill indeed and it bee also evident to all mens eyes that hee is so I aske againe What if it bee long of the wickednesse of the Subjects that the Prince is undiscreet or evill shall the Subjects both by their wickednesse provoke God for their deserved punishment to give them an undiscreet or evill Prince and also rebell against him and withall against God who for the punishment of their sinnes did give them such a Prince will you heare the Scriptures concerning this point God Iob 34. 10. Hosea 13. saith the holy Scriptures maketh a wicked man to raigne for the sinnes of the people Againe God giveth a Prince in his anger meaning an evill one and taketh away a Prince in his displeasure meaning especially when hee taketh away a good Prince for the sinnes of the people as in our memory hee tooke away our good Iosiah King Edward in his young and good yeares for our wickednesse And contrary the Scriptures doe teach that God giveth wisedome unto Princes and maketh a wise and a good King to raigne over that people whom hee loveth 2 Sam. 2.9 and who loveth him And againe if the people obey God both they and their King shall prosper and bee safe Prov. 16. else both shall perish 1 King 12. as God saith by the mouth of Samuel Here you see that God placeth as well evill Princes as good and for what cause hee doth both If wee therefore will have a good Prince either to bee given us or to continue Now wee have such a one let us by our obedience to God and to our Prince move God thereunto if wee will have an evill Prince when God shall send such a one taken away and a good in his place let us take away our wickednesse which provoketh God to place such a one over us and God will either displace him or of an evill Prince make him a good Prince so that wee will first change our evill into good Prov. 21. For will you heare the Scriptures The heart of the Prince is in Gods hand which way so ever it pleaseth him hee turneth it Thus saith the Scriptures Wherefore let us turne from our sinnes unto the Lord with our hearts and hee will turne the heart of the Prince to quiet and wealth else for subiects to deserve to have an evill Prince through their sinnes and then to rebell against him were a double and a treble evill by provoking God more to plague them Nay let us either deserve to have a good Prince or let us patiently suffer and obey such as wee deserve And whether the Prince bee good or evill let us according to the counsell of the holy Scriptures pray for the Prince for his continuance and increase in goodnesse if hee bee good and for his amendment if hee bee evill Well you heare the Scriptures concerning this most necessary point 1 Tim. 2. I exhort therefore saith Saint Paul that above all things prayers supplications intercessions and giving of thankes bee had for all men for Kings and all that are in authority that we may live a quiet and peaceable life withall Godlinesse for that is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour c. This is Saint Pauls counsell And who I pray you was the Prince over the most part of the Christians when Gods holy Spirit by Saint Pauls penne gave them this lesson for sooth Caligula Claudius or Nero who were not onely no Christians but Pagans and also either foolish Rulers or most cruell Tyrants Will you yet heare the word of God to the Jewes when they were prisoners under Nabuchodonosor King of Babylon after hee had slaine their King Nobles Parents Children and Kinsfolkes burned their Countrey Cities yea Hierusalem it selfe and the holy Temple and had carried the residue remaining alive captives with him unto Babylon Will you heare yet what the
good men But say they shall we not rise and rebell against so unkinde a Prince nothing considering or regarding our true faithfull and painefull service or the safegard of our posteritie No saith good David The Answer whom no such unkindnesse could cause to forsake his due obedience to his Soveraigne Shall we not say they The Demand rise and rebell against our knowne mortall and deadly enemie that seeketh our lives No saith godly David who had learned the lesson The Answer that our Saviour afterwards plainely taught that we should doe no hurt to our fellow subjects though they hate us and our enemies muchlesse unto our Prince though he were our enemie The Demand Shall we not assemble an Armie of such good fellowes as we are and by hazzarding of our lives and the lives of such as shall withstand us and withall hazzarding the whole estate of our Countrey remove so naughty a Prince No saith godly David The Answer for I when I might without assembling force or number of men without tumult or hazzard of any mans life or shedding of any drop of blood have delivered my selfe and my Countrey of an evill Prince yet would I not doe it Are not they say some lusty The Demand and couragious Captaines valiant men of stomacke and good mens bodies that doe venture by force to kill and depose their King being a naughtie Prince and their mortall enemie The Answer They may be as lusty and couragious as they list yet saith godly David they can be no good nor godly men that so doe for I not onely rebuked but commanded him to be slaine as a wicked man which slew King Saul mine enemie Though he being wearie of his life for the losse of the victorie against his enemies desired that man to slay him What shall we doe then to an evill The Demand to an unkinde Prince an enemie to us hated of God hurtfull to the Common-wealth c The Answer Lay no violent hand upon him saith good David but let him live untill God appoint and worke his end either by naturall death or in warie by lawfull enemies not by trayterous subjects Thus would godly David make answere and Saint Paul as ye have heard before willeth us also to pray for such a Prince if King David would make these answeres as by his deedes and words recorded in the holy Scriptures Indeede he doth make unto all such demands concerning Rebelling against evill Princes unkinde Princes cruell Princes Princes that be to their good subjects mortall enemies Princes that are out of Gods favour and so hurtfull or like to be hurtfull to the Common-wealth what answer thinke you would he make to those that demand whether they being naughty and unkind subjects may not to the great hazzard of the life of many thousands An unnaturall and wicked question and the utter danger of the state of the Common-wealth and the whole Realme Assemble a sort of Rebells either to depose to put in feare or to destroy their naturall and loving Prince enemie to none good to all even to them the worst of all other the maintainer of perpetuall peace quietnes and securitie most beneficiall to the Common-wealth most necessary for the safegard of the whole Realme What answer would David make to their demand whether they may not attempt cruelly and unnaturally to destroy so peaceable and mercifull a Prince What I say would David so reverently speaking of Saul and so patiently suffering so evill a King what would he answer and say to such demands What would he say nay what would he doe to such high attempters who so said and did as you before have heard unto him that slew the King his Master though a most wicked Prince If he punished with death as a wicked doer such a man with what reproaches of words would he revile such yea with what torments of most shamefull deaths would he destroy such hell hounds rather then evill men such Rebells I meane as I last spake of For if they who so disobey an evill and unkinde Prince be most unlike to David that good subject what be they who most unnaturally doe Rebell against a most naturall loving and kinde Prince And if David being so good a subject that he obeyed so evill a King was worthy of a subject to be made a King himselfe what be they who are so evill subjects that they will rebell against their gratious Prince worthy of Surely no mortall man can expresse with words nor conceive in mind the horrible and most dreadfull damnation that such be worthy of who disdaining to be the quiet and happie subjects of their good Prince are most worthy to be the miserable captives and vile slaves of that infernall Tyrant Sathan with him to suffer eternall slavery and torments This one example of the good subject David out of the old Testament may suffice and for the notablenesse of it serve for all In the New Testament the excellent example of the blessed Virgin Mary Luke 2.1 the Mother of our Saviour Christ doth at the first offer it selse when Proclamation or commandement was sent into Jury from Augustus the Emperour of Rome that the people there should repaire unto their owne Cities and dwelling places there to be taxed neither did the blessed Virgin though both highly in Gods favour and also being of the Royall blood of the Ancient naturall Kings of Iury disdaine to obey the commandement of an heathen and forraigne Prince when God had placed such a one over them neither did she all eadge for an excuse that she was great with childe and most neere her time of deliverance neither grudged she at the length and tedious journey from Nazareth to Bethelem from whence and whither she must goe to be taxed neither repined she at the sharpenesse of the dead time of winter being the latter end of December an unfit time to travell in specially a long journey for a woman being in her case but all excuses set apart she obeyed and came to the appointed place where at her comming she found suchgreat resort and throng of people that finding no place in any Inne Luke 2.7 she was faine after a long painefull and tedious journey to take up her lodging in a stable where also she was delivered of her blessed childe and this also declareth how neere her time she tooke that journey This obedience of this most Noble and most Vertuous Lady to a forraigne and Pagan Prince doth well teach us who in comparison of her are most base and vile what ready obedience we doe owe to our naturall and most gracious Soveraigne howbeit in this cause the obedience of the whole Jewish Nation being otherwise a stubborne people unto the Commandement of the same forraigne heathen Prince Luke 23. doth prove that such Christians as doe not most readily obey their naturall and gracious soveraigne are farre worse then the stubborne Iewes
doe take care and paines and to bee at great cost and charges and universally instead of all quietnesse joy and felicity which doe follow blessed peace and due obedience to bring in all trouble sorrow disquietnesse of minds and bodies and all mischiefe and calamity to turne all good order upside downe to bring all good lawes in contempt and to tread them under feet to oppresse all vertue and honesty and all vertuous and honest persons and to set all vice and wickednesse and all vicious and wicked men at liberty to worke their wicked wils which were before bridled by wholesome lawes to weaken to overthrow and to consume the strength of the Realme their naturall Countrey as well by the spending and wasting of money and treasure of the Prince and Realme as by murthering the people of the same their owne Countrey-men who should defend the honour of their Prince Prov. 14. and liberty of their Countrey against the invasion of forraigne enemies and so finally to make their Countrey thus by their mischiefe weakened ready to bee a prey and spoile to all outward enemies that will invade it to the utter and perpetuall captivity slavery and destruction of all their Countrey-men their children their friends their kinsfolkes left alive whom by their wicked rebellion they procure to bee delivered into the hands of the forraigne enemies as much as in them doth lye In forraigne warres our Countrey-men in obtaining the victory winne the prayse of valiantnesse yea and though they were overcome and slaine yet winne they an honest commendation in this World and dye in a good conscience for serving God their Prince and their Countrey and bee children of eternall salvation But the Rebels how desperate and strong soever they bee yet winne they shame here in fighting against God their Prince and Countrey and therefore justly doe fall headlong into Hell if they dye and live in shame and with a fearefull conscience though they escape But commonly they be rewarded with shamefull deaths their hands and carkasses set upon poles and hanged in chaynes eaten with Kites and Crowes judged unworthy the honour of buriall and so their soules if they repent not as commonly they doe not the Devill hurrieth them into Hell in the middest of their mischiefe Rom. 13. For which dreadfull execution Saint Paul sheweth the cause of obedience not onely for feare of death but also in conscience to God-ward for feare of eternall damnation in the World to come Wherefore good people let us as the children of obedience feare the dreadfull execution of God and live in quiet obedience to bee the children of everlasting Salvation For as Heaven is a place of good obedient subjects and Hell the prison and dungeon of Rebels against God and their Prince so is that Realme happy where most obedience of subjects doth appeare being the very figure of Heaven and contrariwise where most rebellions and Rebels bee there is the expresse similitude of Hell and the Rebels themselves are the very figures of fiends and Devils and their Captaine the ungracious patterne of Lucifer and Sathan the Prince of darknesse of whose rebellion as they bee followers so shall they of his damnation in Hell undoubtedly bee partakers and as undoubtedly shall the Children of peace bee Inheritours of Heaven with God the Father God the Sonne and God the Holy Ghost To whom bee all honour and glory for ever and ever Amen The fourth SERMON FOr your further instruction good people to shew unto you how much Almighty God doth abhor disobedience and wilfull rebellion specially when Rebels advance themselves so high that they arme themselves with weapons and stand in the field to fight against God their Prince and their Countrey it shall not bee out of the way to shew some examples set out in Scriptures written for our eternall erudition Wee may soone know good people how haynous an oftence the treachery of rebellion is if wee call to remembrance the heavy wrath and dreadfull indignation of Almighty God against subjects as doe onely but inwardly grudge mutter and murmur against their Governours though their inward treason so privily hatched in their breasts come not to open declaration of their doings as hard it is whom the Devill hath so farre entised against Gods word to keepe themselves there No hee meaneth still to blow the coale to kindle their rebellious hearts to flame into open deeds if hee bee not with grace speedily withstood Some of the children of Israel being murmurers against their Magistrates appointed over them by God were stricken with foule leprosie many were burnt up with fire suddenly sent from the Lord sometime a great sort of thousands were consumed with the pestilence sometime they were stinged to death with a strange kind of fiery Serpents and which is most horrible some of the Captaines with their band of murmurers not dying by any usuall or naturall death of men but the carth opening they with their wives children and families were swallowed quick downe into Hell Which horrible destructions of such Israelites as were murmurers against Moses appointed by God to bee their head and chiefe Magistrate are recorded in the booke of Numbers and other places of the Scriptures for perpetuall memory and warning to all subjects how highly God is displeased with the murmuring and evill speaking of subjects against their Princes for that as the Scripture recordeth their murmure was not against their Prince onely being a mortall creature but against God himselfe also Now if such strange and horrible plagues did fall upon such subjects as did onely murmure and speake evill against their heads what shall become of those most wicked impes of the Devill that doe conspire arme themselves assemble great numbers of armed Rebels and lead them with them against their Prince and Countrey spoyling and robbing killing and murthering all good subjects that doe withstand them as many as they may prevaile against But those examples are written to stay us not onely from such mischiefes but also from murmuring and speaking once an evill word against our Prince which though any should doe never so secretly yet doe the holy Scriptures shew that the very birds of the ayre will bewray them and those so many examples before noted out of the holy Scriptures doe declare that they shall not escape horrible punishment therefore Now concerning actuall rebellion amongst many examples thereof set forth in the holy Scriptures the example of Absolom is notable who entring into conspiracy against King David his Father both used the advice of very witty men and assembled a very great and huge company of Rebels the which Absolom though he were most goodly of Person of great Nobility being the Kings Sonne in great favour of the people and so dearely beloved of the King himselfe so much that hee gave commandement that notwithstanding his rebellion his life should bee saved when for these considerations most men were afraid to lay hands upon him a great
sometime the most flowrishing part of Christiandâ—me into the hands of the Turkes The lamentable deminishing decay and ruine of Christian religion the dreadfull encrease of Paganisme and power of the Infidells and miscroants and all by the practise and procurement of the Bishop of Rome chiefely as in the Histories and Chronicles written by the Bishop of Romes owne favourers and friends is to be seene and as well knowne unto all such as are acquainted with the said Histories The ambituous intents and most subtill drifts of the Bishops of Rome in these their practises appeared evidently by their bold attempts in spoyling and robbing the Emperours of their Townes Cities Dominions and Kingdomes in Italy Lombardie and Cisily of ancient right belonging unto the Empire and by joyning of them unto their Bishopricke of Rome or else giving them unto strangers to hold them of the Church and Bishop of Rome as in Capito and as of the chiefe Lords thereof in which tenure they hold the most part thereof even at this day by these ambitious and indeede trayterous meanes and spoyling of their Soveraigne Lords the Bishops of Rome of Priests and none other by right then the Bishops of one City and Diocesse are by false usurpation become great Lord of many Dominions mighty Princes yea or Emperours rather as claiming to have divers Princes and Kings to be their vassalls leigemen and subjects as in the same Histories written by their owne Familiars and Courtiers is to be seene And indeede since the time that the Bishops of Rome by ambition treason and usurpation archieved and attained to this height and greatnesse they behaved themselves more like Princes Kings and Emperours in all things then remained like Priests Bishops and Ecclesiasticall or as they would be called spirituall persons in any one thing at all For after this rate they have handled other Kings and Princes of other Realmes throughout Christendome as well as their Soveraigne Lords the Emperours usually discharging their subjects of their oath of fidelitie and so stirring them up to Rebellion against their naturall Prince whereof some examples shall in the last part hereof be notified unto you Wherefore let all good subjects knowing these the speciall instruments and ministers of the devill to the stirring up of all rebellions avoyd and flee them and the pestilent sugestions of such forraigne usurpers and their adherents and embrace all obedience to God and their naturall Princes and Soveraignes that they may enjoy Gods blessing and their Princes favour all peace quietnesse and security in this World and finally attaine through CHRIST our Saviour life everlasting in the World to come Which God the Father for the same our Saviour IESUS CHRIST his sake grant unto us all to whom with the holy Ghost bee all honour and glory World without end Amen The sixth SERMON NOw whereas the injuries oppressions raveny and tyranny of the Bishops of Rome usurping as well against their naturall Lords the Emperours as against all other Christian Kings and Kingdomes and their continuall stirring of subjects unto rebellions against their Soveraigne Lords whereof I have partly admonished you before were intollerable and it may seeme more than marvaile that any subjects would after such sort hold with unnaturall forraigne usurpers against their owne Soveraigne Lords and naturall Countrey It remaineth that I doe declare the meanes whereby they compassed these matters and so conclude this whole Treaty of due obedience and against disobedience and wilfull Rebellion You shall understand that by ignorance of Gods word wherein they kept all men specially the common people they wrought and brought to passe all these things making them beleeve that all that they said was true all that they did was good and godly and that to hold with them in all things against Father Mother Prince Countrey and all men was most meritorious And indeed what mischiefe will not blind ignorance lead simple men unto By ignorance the Jewish Clergy induced the common people to aske the delivery of Barrabas the seditious murtherer and to sue for the cruell crucifying of our Saviour CHRST for that he rebuked the ambition superstition and other vices of the High Priests and Clergy For as our Saviour CHRIST testified that those who crucified him wist not what they did so doth the holy Apostle Saint Paul say If they had knowne if they had not beene ignorant they would never have crucified the Lord of glory but they knew not what they did Our Saviour CHRIST himselfe also foreshewed that it should come to passe by ignorance that those who should persecute and murther his true Apostles and Disciples should thinke they did God acceptable sacrifice and good service as it al o is verified even at this day And in this ignorance have the Bishops of Rome kept the people of God specially the common sort by no meanes so much as by withdrawing of the word of God from them and by keeping it under the vaile of an unknowne strange tongue For as it served the ambitious humour of the Bishops of Rome to compell all Nations to use the naturall language of the City of Rome where they were Bishops which shewed a certaine acknowledging of subjection unto them so yet served it much more their crafty purpose thereby to keepe all people so blind that they not knowing what they prayed what they beleeved what they were commanded by God might take all their commandements for Gods For as they would not suffer the holy Scriptures of Church-service to bee used or had in any other language then the Latine so were very few eyen of the most simple people taught the Lords prayer the articles of the faith and the tenne Commandements otherwise then in Latine which they understood not by which universall ignorance all men were ready to beleeve whatsoever they said and to doe whatsoever they commanded For to imitate the Apostles phrase If the Emperours subâ—ects had knowne out of Gods word their duty to their Prince they would not have suffered the Bishop of Rome to perswade them to forsake their Soveraigne Lord the Emperour against their oath of fidelity and to rebell against him onely for that hee cast Images unto the which Idolatry was committed out of the Churches which the Bishop of Rome bare them in band to bee heresie If they had knowne of Gods word but as much as the tenne Commandements they should have found that the Bishop of Rome was not onely a Traytour to the Emperour his liege Lord but to God also and an horrible blasphemer of his Majesty in calling his Holy word and Commandement heresie and that which the Bishop of Româ— tooke for a just cause to rebell against his lawfull Prince they might have knowne to bee a doubling and trebling of his most haynous wickednesse heaped with horrible impiety and blasphemy But lest the poore people should know too much hee would not let them have as much of Gods word as the tenne Commandements wholy and perfectly withdrawing