a seruice which toucheth and concerneth God and a seruice which toucheth and concerneth man Whereinto if you or any other shall looke it wil be founde that this scruice which is appertinent vnto God and vnto man is also two folde Seruice of God and man â— The body and the minde goe togeather in the 〈◊〉 wooâ—ship of God Internall which is in spirite for as God is a spirite so also will he be woorshipped in spirite and truthe Externall which is outwarde in reuerence and dutie apparant euen to man Bothe these are required in this place and they be 〈◊〉 vnted togeather as without bâ—the of them the Lordâ— our God cannot bee truelie woorshipped Theresice I will not seueare or deuide the one from the other but I will â—ucke them as in a golden Chaine and make them Caepartuers and fellow companiorts in enerye good action Now this internall and this externall seruice of the Lorde are bothe séenâ— in diners circumstances of my Text as followeth True seruice is seene 1. First if you shal loone 2. Secondly the Lord your God 3. Thirdly with all your hart 4. Fourthly with all your soule 5. Fiftly with all your might 1. The first sheweth the readinesse that is in vs. 2. The second shutteth out all other woorship whatsoeuer 3. The third declareth that nothing should be precious vnto vs but the Lord. 4. The fourth taketh away all counterfeiting and all dissimulation 5. The fife openeth that no creature els may haue this seruice but onely the Lord our God The fall of maÌ„ being in perfection his vnstablenâ—◠〈◊〉 he is on earth his coâ—â—uptâ— mind in a◠〈◊〉 he doo the 〈◊〉 blyndnes and error in the lyght his grosnesse harde hart in beleef dyd requyre a pure and vndefiled lawe to brydle him I am not ignoraunt that euerie man in whome is the breath of life and vpon whome the Lord our God hath powred of his Spirite is in some part any in eueriâ— part faultie in this coâ—â—aundoment which naturall blinâ—nesse and Ignoraunce of ours sheweth the groat perfection 〈◊〉 heauenly integritie of the Lord and againe condempneth vs as guiltis in eneriâ— point 〈…〉 our handes at the barte continuallie as béeing on able to 〈◊〉 any lots of this same or to stand before God if he call vs to a reckoning For if that man were able to stand and would neuer fall from his 〈…〉 and his heart vnâ—â—â—â—ble 〈…〉 〈◊〉 be 〈…〉 in Israelit thon â—e 〈…〉 thinke â—ho 〈…〉 〈…〉 that 〈…〉 thing 〈◊〉 of 〈…〉 that 〈…〉 We may 〈…〉 and no doubt the Lord our God hath so stra 〈…〉 vs to obserue these thinges prescribed euen to looue him and him our God and with all our heart and with an our soule and with all out stight 〈◊〉 sundrie waightie and great causes Causes why the Lorde hath giuen so straight a commauÌ„dement 1. First 〈◊〉 our owne â—â—â—etchednesse myseserie and death 2. Secondlie to be aâ—cused not excused before the Lord. 3. Thirdly to tremble and shake when we â—span 4. Fourthly that â—bndemâ—nation may appeare in vs knowing that we are not able to fulfill this 5. Firstly to make vs affrighted and to weaken out consciences seeing that we cannot lyue in â—â—â—â—bedience 6. Sixtly to keepe vs by discipline as vnder a lawe for euer 7. Seuenthly to teach vs the â—ntâ— and perfect workes of righteous nesse 8. Eightly to exclude all other Idoll woorshippe and to serue all onely the Lord our God Man thynking that he â—â—aÌ„deth dooth fall that he is in lyse is yet in death that he is stroÌ„g is vveake that he can doo all thynges dooth nothing aryght therefore hath he inward and secrete sinnes vvhich hee must tame and subdue as well as the outward vices subiect to the eyes of men And now to come more narrowlie to euerie one in this place thâ—gener all is it to he thaught that no man hath an euill eye vpon Abel vpon his brother is the heart of euerie man persen Dooth none despise Iacob Is there not one but 〈◊〉 a porsect Censar or shall we make accoumpt is there nener an 〈◊〉 person in this company not one 〈◊〉 you that hath worne the golden Earinges or hath not cast one stone against the house of God or ioyned them selues with Aaron to committe euyll Is the leauen of Egipt cleane forgotten or hath no man syt downe to eate and 〈◊〉 and rose vp againe to play Is the hearts of you all pire 〈◊〉 the Lord what not once at Samaria in all your life not once at Dan not once at Bethell no not â—ne â—ine or affectioned to Priapus Of a trueth it may hardâ—â— be so thought a man will not indge it and God knoweth it is otherwise Why man he is full of presumptious â—â—â—es why his offeringes be vncleane and the fat of the 〈◊〉 is taynâ—ed Many truct in Chariots and many trust in Horses and diuers say there is no helpe in our God and then which way can we be frée from his wrath The man that worketh no deceypt the man that hath not slaundered his neighbour the man that hath not put out his money to loane nor his coyne to Vsurie the man in whose loule there is no guile is not cannot may not be found I tell you to looue the Lord with all your soule with all your might with all your strength with all your heart to looue the Lord and to looue him onely is to fulfill the whole lawe and the Prophetes As the false Prophetes of Iesabell knewe the trueth in the dayes of nlyas the Prophet and as Amasiah dyd vvilfully resist Ieremie the Seribes Saduces Christe so doo the Iesuites and Papistes resist vs against theyr ewne consciences I doo professe and protest before you all yea before the Lord and before his Angels that I neuer enter into the conâ—â—â—eration of this but that I wonder howe it commeth to paste that the aduersaries of the grace of God the Papistes doo not burst and cleaue in sunder when they sée that honor that zeale that affection that loous that might that strength which is due to the Lord God so wickedly and so commonlie to be giuen to Creatures And now tell me you whose faces are faces of brasse you of the. Colledge of the Pope you his Seminaries you inuested into the order of the Iesuites howe you are able to aunswere and to reconcile your selues vnto the Lord God sayth Looue me you loue the Pope God sayth Looue me with all your heart but how heartilie how faithfully pray you to Saints God sayth Looue me with all thy soule yet you sell prayers vnto men and the Soules of men doo you giue from God for money God sayth Looue me with all thy might and you endeâ—â—â—r day and night to Idolatrie God sayth Heare me onely but you will not heare him at all and if you doo you are compelled vnto it Then in consideration that you haue so boldelie resisted the Trueth and
yéelde certaine reasons Pride First of all the pride of Sion is great and her daughters haue waÌ„dring eyes and stretched out neckes they mince it in the stréetes with their féete as if onely they had a care to liue héere and to doo nothing else Securitie Secondly the fulnesse of bread is great and 〈◊〉 are inglutted with the Oliue and the Grape therefore beginne freé to to be carelesse Whordom Thirdlie there is a gréeuous sinne which of all other I feare which aboue the rest I abhorre which of all is most damnable which in the most is most common yet estéemed of ouer lighthe by the most godlie which is whoredome that is so sparinglie punished For these sinnes am I perswaded that God hath begunâ—e to shewe his displeasure and angrie countenaunce vpon vs the Lord hath nowe forewarned vs to looke about and to examine our selues against the tyme of his comming And assuredlie I am sore grâ—ucâ— for the same for the Papistes finding that we haue displeased God and knowing that the Lord neuer striketh but when he is angry have nowe of late lyft vp their heads thinking to make a conquest and to pray vpon vs So that I sée we are nowe in distresse and two kinde of inconueniences fall vpon vs for our sinnes First the Lord is 〈◊〉 honoured and the Papistes they hope for a day Secondlie our people and nation is affrighted and in parte discouraged 〈◊〉 they feare that because the multitude of Heretiques are nowe incâ—â—sed that therefore God as he hath warned vs hath also forsaken vs and as he hath touched vs hath certainly delivered vs into their handes which is nothing so wherefore séeing the the aduersaire is so exalted against God in his pride and the poore Church so discouraged for her sinnes in great humilitie I will say some thing to them be the. As concerning you the aduersaries of God and enimies to England whether you be called by the name of Papistes or tearmed as Catholiques or estéemed as Iesuites or thought to be Seminaries 〈◊〉 called by any other name among men Vnderstand all of you that if we haue sinned you haue no cause to reioyce we haue not trespassed against you but against God and if any thing happen vnto vs we are vnder the handes of the Lord not vnder yours What if our fathers haue erred what if our Kinges and Princes haue offended what if our Rulers haue trespassed and we his people gone astraie that appertayneth not vnto you but vnto our God To him we submitte our selues to him we yéelde to him we acknowledge our sinnes 〈◊〉 for you what haue you to doo with vs why trouble you his people and what haue you to doo with his annointed we will submitte not selues to the highest we will not be delyuered into your handes nor into the handes of men Knowe you that we will neither choose to â—ye thrée dayes before our enimies nor haue seuen yéeres famine come vpon vs in the land but we will fall into the handes of God let the Lord doo what séemeth him best in his eyes Now if it should come to passe that we were againe made slaues vnto you as we haue béene of oide tyme yet would the Lord be reuenged vpon you your Shéepheards should be scattered as was Gardner and Bonner your Princes and blasphemers should perishe as all those haue done that stoode against vs your Runners and Deuowrers with the swoord should haue a deadly ende as hath befaine to the persecutors of our Church and you your selues should haue all the plagues of Egipt to trouble you tyll you had deliuered vs. what if we serued you seuen or eight péeres for our sinnes to reclaime vs yet would the Lord send an other Othoniell Iudg. 3.9 to redéeme vs consume you what if eightéen yéeres as we confesse some times we did what aduantage was that to you when Eglon your King Iudg. 3.14 with the Ammonites and Amalekites were afterward destroyed for it by Ehud of Gera the Captaine of the Lord What I pray you aduauntageth it you to rayle on the hoast of the lyuing God and to curse vs and to defie vs before the Lord if afterwards you and yours be found all onely to be they that are cursed for so it fell out in the dayes of Ezechias when Senacherib defied Israell and rayled on the lyuing God Isai 37.38 And so fell it out at the beginning to Balack the sonne of Ziphor Numb 22. that hyred Balaam to curse Israell as the Pope hath hyred and sent you out to curse vs. Therfore this people if they will feare the Lord shall not be afraide of two or thrée Bées of the East but euen they shall sée your dead carcases vppon the ground and you the enimies of God to be drowned and swim before their faces And nowe for the second point for which I doo perceyue the people of this Land are greatly troubled namely because that the Papistes and Iesuites with other the riffe raffe and scumme of this Realme are nowe séene to appeare who before this tyme haue béene hidden in the bytches and channelles of England Let them all vnderstand that it is a small thing with God and no great or rare matter to haue wicked men and vngodlie ones to arise in the Familie of the Lord. For so it must it be in his Church Congregation for euer that those that are his may be tried VVhy wherefore for what cause should you be â—â—â—couraged it hath béene so of olde from the beginning it hath béene thus Looke and sée search and vnderstand it will be found true It is a small matter in great abundance of small hearbes to haue a handfull of stinking wéedes in a mightie ground well eared with corne to finde some Darnel or some Cockle in plentifull Gardens and well â—â—ored to haue a bundle or two of Nettles or in our great and mighty Church of England to haue a fewe of wicked and peruerse papistes The Israelites cannot doo amisse though some Préestes of â—â—all 〈◊〉 in the Land the Congregation shall not all perishe though Coré Dâ—than and Abiram conspire the Prophetes of God all faithfull persons must not be dismaied albeit some offer vp Incense to the Quine of Heauen and England must not be afrayde though some Iesuiets trouble them The Church of Corinthus had in it false brethren that hindred them and Laodecaea and Smirna and Theatyra in the Reuelation had among them wicked persons that withortwe them and the Primitiue Church hath not béene without Heretiques at all tythes that haue withstoode them neither shall England be without Seâ—inaries and schollers of the Pope to molest them I remember what Augustine sayth August ad Petrum Cap. 43. Firmissime tene et nallatenâ—â— dubites Aream esse Dei ecclesiam Catholicam et in ea vsque in sinem seculi frumento mixtas pale as contineri That is It is to be thought
the life of all The third Letter Van and which is also a Coniunction Copulatiue dooth aptly represent The Spirite the holie Ghost who is the knitting together of bothe I am not ignoraunt that the Iewes were a superstitious and verie foolishe people therefore helde they vainely and obserued toyishly and helde ignorauntly many thinges of no moment whereof this is one That this word Iehouah was called of them Nomen inessabile 1 A name not to be spoken The things vvhich are good though in any man refuse them not such thinges as are amisse though in the highest alowe them not And in a booke of theirs which is their bookâ— Senhadrin I finde it thus written He that pronounceth the name of the fowre Letters as the Letters themselues do souÌ„d shall haue no part in the world to come I cannot tell how to think other wise of you present héere somtimes schollers to the Pope then I doo of them but it is verie like the you are drowned in this Iewish blockish opinion for howsoeuer it be that you thinke of the Trinity there is none of you all haue done it none of you that doo purpose héereafter none of you the euer I read of or haue found that durst or would in the dayes of ignorance preach openly or speake publiquelie this excellent and most heauenly Doctrine of the Trinitie The Fathers of olde were not ashamed thereof neyther halted they â—â—â—â—t good and euill but rightly and vprightly perfectly as prositably and directly as exactlie handled they euery thing to expresse the Trinitie they vsed similitudes A ugustine shewed it Per solem Currentem fulgentem et Calentem 1 By the sunne which runneth which glistreth and heateth with his beames Yet to the constitution of the body of the SuÌ„ne these thrée properties doo not come as making thrée but one body no more doo the thrée persons make thrée but one God Tertullian to Praxea describeth it thus Per fontem fluuium et riunluÌ„ 1 By the spring which deliuereth by the Flood which floweth by the Riuer which runneth And yet it is but one the same water gushing foorth into them bothe Similitudes do expresse heauenly and diuine thinges though they agree not in the comparison in all thinges The same Tertullian dooth open the same Mysterie of the Trinitie Per radicem fruticem et Truncum 1 By the Roote which gathereth by the Fruite which proceedeth and by the body of the Tree which beareth it So in like manner may we say of the Trinitie the Father giueth the SoÌ„ne saueth the holie Ghost procéedeth from them bothe yet are they not thrée but one God In common experience we may gather and collect a proper similitude to expresse this for there is the body and we stand by it there is the soule we are quickened and liue by it there is the Spirite we breathe and continew with it yet these make not thrée but one man This thing also Cyprian noted vpon the Créede for this part therefore sufficient enough it is that I haue spoken I will come to the other Particular point which is this First that I promised to speake particularlie not generallie Next is a braunche of the same to examine and trie whether any Idolatrie may be admitted and so to ponder and way equally the opinions and dealinges of you the Schollers of Roome Thirdsy shall appeare the first point required in a Christian what seruice that is that appertayneth and is duely to be giuen vnto the Lord. The thing generall to be spoken of heere is this That Idoll worship and all false adoration is condempned and forbidden in this place For this cause I haue some thing to say vnto you whome I sée before me at this present and in the same I haue to charge you déepelie in the name of the Lord how to speake vnto you and by name to all you I knowe not This I am sure of you came lately from Roome and to a good ende you could not come for you haue not come to vs in the Lord And you be they to whome I will direct my spéeche as vnto men foolorne and cast off from out the Tents of Israel for you are Leapers Tell me if you will whether in your consciences you finde not your selues guiltie of sacriledge and Idolatrie yea or no The Lord sayth Heare O Israel the Lord thy God is Lord onely Then I conclude and my force is bent against you thus They that serue any other saue the Lord their God onely are guilty of sacriledge commit spirituall whordome and be Idolaters You of late the Popes Schollers Seminaries and of his Colledge euen you woorship Images euen you haue Agnos Dei in your bosome and you serue not the Lord your God onely but Idolles Ergo. You are guiltie of sacriledge you commit spirituall whordome you be Idolaters And giue eare belooued in the Lord I request you be you Iudges of that I speake and be witnesses of those thinges I vtter I call not you that haue refused the Lord I speaks otherwise and thinke of you as of those that be without and yet for all that belooued if you will be belooued and belooued because the Lord may looue you and belooued for I burne in zeale looue towardes you as towardes them I would haue to looue and feare the Lord. To you all therefore I speake demaunding of you this Question why rather you séeke after Images then after God why rather to Idolâ—es then to the Lord why rather any other woorshippe wherein you are insnared then the Lord your God onely If you thinke I offer you iniury for I speake you may say nothing I preache you holde your peace I haue lybertie you are cut short I may holdly say what I can you may not say any thing in defence of your selues Then I will doo yet more for you and I will walke equally twixt you me and hauing hurthened you with that which I sée you are faulty in I wil 〈◊〉 all that before God and his Angels and in the presence of all these lay open the trueth and declare that sincere and true meaning which these woords this Scripture aloweth The Lord sayth héere Heare O Israel heare the Lord You heare the Pope and you feare man The Lord sayth Heare the Lord thy God you giue eare to your inuentions The Lord sayth I the Lord thy God am Lord onelie you haue other Gods worship Images Then iudge you let not me he your Iudge any otherwise then in this so plaine a matter which you your selues cannot deny And for all this sée how fauourably I will deale on your behalfe You say that beside this plaine coÌ„mauÌ„dement O Israel the Lord thy God is Lord onely That you for all that haue a liberty giuen vnto you for the worshipping of Images How shall this be tride In the deciding of the Question you will suspect me I shall not be thought to be indifferent but
the Lord willinghe yet for the commaundement sake and for necessitie we must obey him The exhortation is to the good and godlie men whome the Lord hath alwayes vsed to styrre vp and prick foreward in his seruice The Commaundement is to the wicked wilfull and vnbeléeuing persons who albeit the beanies and light of trueth apppeareth will not for all that beléeue Wherefore I am of opinion that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 the generall Proposition ende purpose and drifte of Moses is this to exhort and require all such as are the Lordes to haue a regarde to his Commaundements and to feare his name and of this I must speake two manner of wayes First generallie 1. To all that are heere and to such as shall heare heereof heereafter Next perticularlie 2. To certaine persons whom I see in this place and I would they were rather in some other place then heere The first kinde of reuerence and feare to be spoken of generally is appertinent vnto all that looue the Lord who in yeale with perfectnesse in looue with thankfulnesse in great care with earnestnesse ought bothe daylie and continuallie to serue the Lord their God For who defendeth them at all assayes but hée who protecteth them when they are in distresse but onely hée who is able in néede to ease them in myserie to reléeue them in daungers to comfort them in anguishe of soule and heart to deliuer them but onely this whome we should feare whome we should dread whome we should reuerence the Lord our God For this cause in Deuteronomie I finde it thus written Deur 11.18 First that you shall lay vp Secondly the wordes spoken by the Lord. 3. In your heart 4. In your soule 5. You shall binde them as signes on your hands 6. They shal be as Frontlets between your eies 7. Then you shall teach them your children 8. Euen then when thou sittest in thine house 9. Then when thou walkest by the way 10. Then wheÌ„ thou lieft down 11. Then when thou risest vp 12. Then shalt thou write them vpon the postes of thy house and vpon thy gates The reason of this That your dayes may be multiplied that the dayes of your Children may be multiplied in the Land for the Lord sware vnto your Fathers to giue it them so long as the heaueâ—s are aboâ—e the earth Yet there is a condition for this blessing is graunted vpon a bonde wherein Israel was and we nowe his people we bound also Euen to looue the Lord our God to walke in his wayes and to cleaue vnto him c. In the Prophesie of Isaiah Isa 8.19 where as the Lord God dooth most gréeuoustie denounce the heauy Iudgements vpon Iuda Israel and the Affirians for not obeying and seruing the Lord their God At the length the Lord comforteth his people and encorageth the Saintes and wylleth them not to feare albeit they be as signes and wunders to the wicked men and he fetteth downe his will and his purpose of his feare and reuerence in two thinges First In an Inquisition Secondlie In an aunswere to the same The Inquisition is of the wicked men and of Idolaters that say vnto the godlie Enquire of them that haue a spirite of Diuination enquire of them that are Southsayers enquire of them which whisper and murmure The olde Idolaters vpstart Papistes are a lyke in all things and the first kept away the law froÌ„ the people these make ignoraunce the mother of deuotion Then at that tyme this shall be the aunswere made by the godlie Should not a people enquire at their God should you goe from the lyuing to the dead Nay to the Lawe and to the Testimony should you goe and if then you speake not according to that woorde there is no trueth and no lyght in you wherefore they haue first done vs great iniurie I meane the aduersaries of the grace of God the Papistes who haue drawne away not onely the simple and plaine men from the Lord by kéeping the booke of God shut from them but also haue taught them an other lawe of their owne inuentions and contrarie to the lawe they haue receyued of the Lorde O that they had perfectly the Lawe of the Lord in Mathew Where at such time as the Saduces had béene put to silence by our Sauiour Christe and the Pharisées vnderstanding thereof gathered together them selues also to dispute with him Math. 22.34 One among them all an expounder of the Lawe could not temper his affections but boldly rusheth out and speaketh which shall be séene by you in the circumstaunces of the Text. First in a Question The Question mooued by a Scribe Secondlie in a replie to the Question The replie made by our sauiour Christe The Question is the greater moued by the Scribe 1. In the asking 2. In the tempting 3. In the speaking to Christe The Question mooued was Maister VVhich is the greatest commaundement in the Lawe The Aunswer and replie by Christe is this Thou shalt looue whome the Lord thy God Howe 1. With all thine heart 2. With al thy soule 3. With al thy mind And this is the first coÌ„maÌ„demeÌ„t the greatest Moreouer for the aunswer of Christ is twofolde it concerneth The Lorde onely as before is seene in his seruice Man onely which is thus 1. Thou shalt loue 2. Thy neighbor 3. Euen as thy selfe And in these two coÌ„sisteth the Law and the â—…ophets In Marke the Euangelist This same peruerse man the Scribe that did oppose him selfe against Christe after the Question mooued and the replie added the revnto by our sauiour Christe is â—pted to haue spoken discretelie and to haue set downe his opinion bothe soundlie and wiselie concerning this thing And his iudgement was this Maister thou hast saide truelie For there is but one God For there is none other but he And to loue him 1. With all the heart 2. With all the vnderstaÌ„ding 3. With all the soule 4. With all the strength 5. And thy neighbour as thy selfe Is more then all burnt offeringes and Sacrifices In these places rehearsed you plainly sée that in the seruice of the Lord the principall thing required is this That we obey him and his commaundements O how godly and pleasaunt a thing is it for Israel to know the Lord his statutes are in his mouth his Ordinaunces shall make him blessed his séede shall inherite the land he shall not feare by night nor stand in dreade at noone day for the Lord of hoasts is with him the God of Iacob is his defence The Lorde shal be a shéelde to that man and the stay and staffe of peace shal be vpon his head he is sure not to be mooued and to the nethermost hell shall he neuer fall His pathes are pathes of righteousnesse his wayes be the wayes of lyfe Glorie is on his head honour and renowne are a couering for that man happy shall he be for euer and all generations shall remember him
that you are hardned for the same poyson which you drunke in your first yéeres is a cause why you are broken out into the â—â—â—â—titude of your gréeuous sores at this present Then want of prayer to the Lord dooth againe putrifie you so sore within as busied and occupied in their inuocation to Saint Peter to Saint Thomas to the Virgin Marie others you haue not any leysure at all to call on God wherfore you doo not wel for those Personages are great Personages béeing troubled with a multitude of Suters they may not presently heare you neither can they preferre your prayers vnto God so soone Peraduenture also they be abroad or busied in some waightie affayres or else they haue some other request for some néerer fréend of theyrs and you most wayte yet longer Wherfore turne to the Lord and he will heare you indéede neither will he deferre saluation from day to day Lastly I am afraide that one of you infecteth an other therefore I doo wishe that you may be seuered asunder when the Tempter is gone It is euident that the Kings Keisars dyd vvithstand the Pope a long season tyll by maine might the Pope took in hand to staÌ„d in armes against them For Carolus in his tyme made an Edict against the Pope and cut off halfe his Crowne yet dyd the Pope swell and ryse more more but in blood the spirit of the Lord will walke more effectuallie And I for my part together with my brethren will pray for you continuallie that the Lord God would open your eyes that you may sée the trueth for vndoubtedlie your hearts are full of woormwood gall and I sée that bitternes is within you euen to death if the Lord God quicken you not Who euer sayd that that was proper to man which is to be giuen to God but you who euer affirmed that the Pope was Lord and God and King and Keisar saue all only you who hath giuen him power by which as of himselfe he standeth who hath giuen him honour by which through his might he striketh he cutteth off he saueth saue onely you who hath giuen him the keies of hell and heauen where he bindeth and he loseth saue all onely you who hath sayd he is God Vicegerant in earth by which he ordaineth and deposeth but onely you who hath made him equall with God and most like vnto the highest saue all onely you his Schollers his Disciples his Ministers and such as are and haue béene accoumpted Heretiques and are of the same profession as are you wherfore returne come away flie froÌ„ the whore of Roome Apoc. 17. O be not deceyued she hath poysoned all the Kings of the earth with the venome of her cup Stay a while pause and consider and you shall sée the dampnation of this great whore that sitteth vpon many waters With her haue the Kings of the earth committed fornication with her haue the Inhabitants of the earth béene made drunke for shée sitteth vpon a scarlet coloured Beast A Beast is Roome called for the eruell sauadge vnnaturall beastly qualities found with in her as appeareth in Daniel Dan. 7.7 Sitting in Scarlet for that the was red and inglutted with the blood of the Saintes The outragious pride of this vvhore of Roome the Pope is séene In that at this day he hath vpoÌ„ his Pallace a Piller of stone that is valued at 20000. Crownes Hee hath his roose seeled vvith golde couer His hanginges are of precious stone lyke glasse And yeerely hath he comming in out of the common stewes an Annuall reuenew vvhich is his tribute of 20000. pounds from amoÌ„g the vvhores common vvomen of Roome so that he is the vvhore that sitteth in the golden chayte Then hauing names full of blasphemy for is there any one now or was there any euer héeretofore that had the same blasphemous titles as hath the Pope Then hauing vâ— heads which are seuen hylles on which Roome did stand and was built and so sometimes had seuen Kinges within her The whore is said to haue ten hornes many kingdoms vnder her Then she is arayed in Purple and Scarlet For the glorie of your Popedome staÌ„deth in outward Pompe and we know that no Prince in the world is more ritchly attired then is that monster at Roome Then she hath a cup of abhominations in her hand And not without cause in as much as all Heresies false doctrine and Superstitions of the late Churches haue come from her Then in the forehead is there a Misterie written Babilon the great the mother of whordome A Mysterie in déede for none can comprehend this secrete but the Elect None can tell you that this Roome is that whore but such as God hath touched None can open this plainly to the world saue onely those to whome God hath giuen it And therefore if your hearts were not hardned if in hearing you dyd not heare or in séeing you sawe not and were not blinded or if the Lord had not shut vp your vnderstanding for your wilfulnesse it could not be possible but in this lyght and beautie of our time of the trueth you should vnderstand and conuert be saued and deferre not off from day to day for the longer you stay the more fierce God is the longer you prolong the more seuere he is This day if you heare his voyce harden not your harts I tell you that the wicked man dooth moste prowdely kéepe his countenaunce and will not be chauÌ„ged the heart of the godly man melteth when he heareth of the Lord Rom. 2.5 wherefore take you héede that according to your hardnesse of heart and your impenitent soules which will not repent you heape vp vengeance against the day of vengeance against the day of wrathe the reuealing of the iust iudgement of God For wherfore should you stand thus in defence of the Pope wherefore should you hazard your selues for a mortall man wherefore stande you against the truthe is it for the you are ignoraunt you may sée Is it because you haue learned so Our Fathers are to be followed no farther then you follow the Lordet Reade Origen in Esech Hom. 7. reade Augu. vpon Iohn Tract 49. cap. 11 you shall haue another lesson the Lord God shall be your maister Is it because you feare man why the Lord our God is greater stande to him what haue your Fathers beléetâ—ed so then be you other men you shall not beare theyr iniquities what haue you learned this from them of olde why what then They erred go you vprightlie they sinned against theyr God prouoke you him not they liued in miserable dayes and sawe little you haue the lawe in your mouthe and it is open to all they desired and could not haue it you may haue and will not take it They had the Gospell kept from them by the Tiranny of the man of sinne that brused and stamped vnder his féete the Saints of
Basill nor with Gregorie Nazianzen nor with Ambrose in this matter but with the Lord will I holde And yet I tell you that euen these men Contra Idola Ambrosius Lib. de spiritu sancto cap. 12. Denieth it law full to pray to the Virgin Marie named by me are contrarie to them selues For Athanasius sayth in his booke of Prayer that Mens fons est orationis 1 The minde is the fountaine and well spring of Prayer And to the same vpon the fiftie and fowre Psalme he sayth Promptae semper in hominum praecationes Dei aures sunt 1 That is The eares of the Lord are alwayes open to the prayers of men By which his Testimonies he is contrarie to the other places of praying to Saintes for first Athanasius referreth all to the spirite of man and secondlie The Fathers haue not defended the praying to Saintes giueth all audience to the Lord and none other And Basill in his booke De vita solitaria is verie flat against him selfe he speaketh much in other places against praying to Saints For this he saith Ora ad Deum cum timore et animi humilitate That is Pray vnto God in feare and all humilitie of the minde You sée prayer made by him to God excludeth all other For it went a lyttle afore Pete ex fide semper quod binum est operans 1 Aske by faith doing that alwayes which is good Faith excludeth héere praying to Saintes séeing that Faith and beléefe is not to be reposed in them I may say the same of Gregorie Nazianzen and of Ambrose and Ambrose him selfe is flat against praying to Saintes and against all prayers that are to be made to the Virgin Marie as appeareth in his booke Lib. 3. De spiritu sancto ca. 12 Non quicquam adorandum praeter Deum sicut Scriptura dixit Dominum Deum tuum adorabis 1 There is nothing to be worshipped but God He giueth an other reason For it is written in the scripture Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God Wherefore I am of opinion that some Miscreant and wicked man moued by the Spirite of error hath enterlaced and in many places corrupted the good sayinges of the Fathers with euill opinions Tertullian in his Apollogie Cap. 17. sayth We must worship this onely one and true God who with his worde hath made the heauens and the elementes and all spirituall bodies in the same Epiphanius Lib. 3. against the Antidicomarianites and against the worshippers of the Virgin Marie hath many excellent sayinges concerning this thing to whome I referre you Gregorius Nazianzen in his Oration to the Subiects that were affrayde sayth thus Christus tanua et reconciliatio hominum ad Patrem factus 1 Christe is made the doore and the reconciliation of man vnto his Father Cyrill vpon Iohn Lib. 7. Cap 3. sayth That an entraunce is made vnto the kingdome of heauen all onely by Iesus Christe Wherefore I doo request you to reade that learned Theophilact in his Epistle to them of Colossa and Augustine to Honoratus Cap. 10. and the same in his booke of True Religion and they will satisfie you in this Question of praying and to whome to pray Wherefore I will conclude with two reasons drawne out of the Scriptures Psal 51.6 Iob. 14.4 Pron 24.16 Rom. 3.10 The first is this They which sinne as wée doo can not be helpers of vs in our prayer for all prayer is to them that are holie and perfect but the Saintes haue sinned and sinne as we doo Ergo Psalm 3.8 Esa 27.3 Hos 13.4 we haue no cause to pray to them but to the Lord that can helpe vs. Also it is euident that prayer is not to be giuen to any but such as can helpe themselues and other Now the Saints can helpe neither themselues nor any other but Christe Iesus onely must doo it Then no prayer is to be giuen to them for this is the nature of prayer and such things are to be required herein 1. First we must pray to God for he heareth the prayers of the whole world 2. Secondly to one that is able and can doo all thinges which onely is God 3. Thirdly that he be a worthy Person to whom we pray and so is none but the Lord. 4. Fourthly that he be no creature least we derogate from the creator so that the dead haue no portion or inheritaunce in our prayers but onely the Lord. Now therefore I will conclude that Israell must all onely serue the Lorde his God and none other neither in heauen neither in earth neither aboue the heauens neither vnderneath the earth is there any one to whom we must giue homage but onelye to him Then take the Cuppe of salnation into your handes and call on the name of the Lorde Sanctifie your selues and drawe néere to his Tabernacle A stronge Towre is the name of the Lord he that runneth to him shal be saued In Ierusalem is saluation and on the heads of the Goodly is strengthe no falsehood is found in the wise and no halting in those that feare God Though the world doo delight in Chariots and the Kinges of the earth in their Horses and great men in theyr strength yet will we onely call vpon the name of the Lord we wil say glory to the highest and prayses vnto him in the vppermost heauens we will offer sacrifice of thankes giuing vnto our God and paye our vowes to the Almightie we will singe to the Lord a new songe and Sion shall not staye to prayse her God we will singe with Moses and prayse the Lorde with Aaron in his holy assemblye we will not giue his powre vnto man nor the strength of his arme vnto a Forrainer our Crownes shal be set vpon his heade and we will fall downe to him as to our God we will giue blessing and glorie and honour vnto him that sitteth on the Throne for euer and euer and all the Beasts of the earth shall subscribe vnto vs. But as for you you haue not knowne the Lord the God of Iacob hath not béene your defence you haue giuen his honour to the great Beast and the Oragon hath frayed you so that you haue his markes of blasphemie in your foreheads you haue serued that great whore and bowed your knées to the Woman of sinne Therefore shall your portion be without the Gates of the holy Cittie and you shall not sée the Lambs and his face for euer In the Vinepresse of his wrathe shall you bee troden to péeces and if you repent not your portion shal be Fier and Brimstone for euermore You are the sonnes of the bloody Fathers that haue killed the Prophets you are the Children of the cursed séede You are of the posteritie of Amelech vnworthie to liue among Israell You are the reliques of Iebus and of the remnaunt of the Hittites that haue béene prickes and thornes in the sides of the righteous men You are the Chemerims
fire Deut. 4.24 For the Lorde he is a iudge of the world 1. Sam. 2.10 he is as in Egle swift to anger Exod. 19.4 he is as a man strengthened with wine Psal 78.65 hee is as a roaring Lyon to the wicked Isay 31.4 and as a deuourer and eater vp of the impenitent The Lord he is terrible Deut. 7.21 a reuenger of vnrighteousnes he is swift to deuoure the families of the wicked and he will not spare the vngodly houses therefore out of these places of scripture I make this conclusion His wordes are to be feared and his lawes and comandements are to bee kept that is able if wee disobay him to destroy vs But The Lord our God is a consuming fire a two edged sworde as a flaming fire to the wicked that disobey him ergo The Lorde our God is to be feared and his lawes his command ementes but none other whatsoeuer coÌ„trarie to his are to be kept Now this coÌ„maundement here is taken two manner of wayes Exclusiue 1 Excluding all manner of false worship 2 Excluding all other commaundements of men contrarie to this 3 Excluding all foraine power and iurisdiction of Turke and Pope contrarie to this Inclusiue For God includeth all kinde of true worship within this coÌ„mandement of his word The second circumst was this Who they were this commandement did concerne touch They were the Israelites and the people of God hereof I may principally yeeld two reasons 1 First because the promise made so Abraham should be kept that God shoulde be mindfull of that that was spokeÌ„ namely that he and his séede should be blessed for euer which â—hing hath bene must largely and most aboundantly both séene and knowne to all the world and continued so long as Israel feared his name serued him the Lord their God Was it not so of old and doe not we knowe that it is true Israel why they were the inheritaunce of the liuing God Deut. 4.20 Deut. 9.26 Deut. 14.2 2. Sam. 21.3 Israel they were redéemed in his strength Israel was a holy people to their God Israel was as the vineyard of the Lord and he brought out the Heathen and planted them Psal 80.9 Israel was elected of God and the Lorde loued them euermore Deut. 10.15 Israel was a royall Priesthoode Exod. 19.6 and a holy nation counted of till they forsooke the Lord their God of hoste and then God forsooâ—e them 2 Secondly this lawe was giuen to Israel that it might be a witnes vnto them of the iust iudgements of God if they obeyed him not as Moses did prophecie for for this cause are they called by God Rebels and runnagates from the Lorde Deut. 9.24 Psal 106.40 Then were they castawayes from the face of GOD. Eze. 16.3 Then were they counted a wicked generation and of the posteritie of Cham Then as they sell straungely were they called ignominiously by the name of Apostataes Then Eze. 2.3 Then named hypocrites for their dissembling with their God Rom. 2.17 Then Incredulous persons for their vnbeliefe Then were they called the Slayers and murtherers of the Prophetes Iohn 7.28 for in déede they killed them Then the Persecutours of the Gospell Matth. 23.34 for they hated the way of life Then were they called the betrayers of Christ for they killed him And from that day to this Actes 13.46 haue they and their séede bene Vagabonds in strange landes they haue runnâ— from countrie to countrie Actes 3.13 and they haue had no place for why they prouoked the Lord their God to anger and nowe hath he punished them according to the wordes of his seruaunt Moses long before Nowe therefore this appertaineth vnto vs As the Ammorites Pâ—eresits and Iebusites were dâ—â—en â—ut of their owne land thâ—â—â—â—â—el might postede and eâ—â—oy the same So were the Israelites dispossessed of their inheritaÌ„ce for their sinnes that we might be heirs in their steede for séeing that this lawe was giuen vnto them to kéepe and they disobeyed it it is taken from them and giuen vnto vs that we may loue it And in as much as all the day long the Lord stretched foorth his hande vnto a disobedient and gaynesaying people we haue also to take héede that we harden not our heartes as they did in the day of temptation wherefore in many trials and in a long patience and sufferable affection did the Lords leade them from time to time that they might knowe him At the length did he cast them off for their stubbornnesse and hardnesse of heart and whereas they were accepted before GOD gaue vnto them the spirite of slumber and their table was made a snare and a net and a stumbling blocke as 〈◊〉 recompence vnto them to this day And whereas before they were braunches of the right Oliue trée nowe are they cut off and we are taken in in their steade Rom. 11.24 Israel is cast off and we the Gentiles are in their place we must therefore take héede that we also liue now according to the lawes of our God lest that the Lorde despise vs God is of long suffering and of great mercy but when as he striketh he is a consuming fire as he did them for his rigor vpon Israel and his mercy towardes vs his angrie countenaunce shewed vnto them and his louing fauour to vs warde declare both his seueritie and iustice vpon them in refusing them and his clemencie towarde vs that were straungers in that he hath chosen vs as an other Israel and an other Church vnto him selfe for we are nowe the Israel of God and so long we shall be the same as we either obey him rightly or serue him vprightly or be readie to serue him or swerue not from him but kéepe the right way which that we may doe we will examine the third circumstance The thirde circumstance What is the commaundement commaunded here It is this These wordes which I commaund thee this day shall be in thy heart c. Wherein I wold that you noted many thinges 1 First the words commaunded are the words of God not the wordes of Man Turke Pope c. 2 Secondly giuen this day noteth that as yeres doe consist of dayes so day after day making many dayes doth declare that God is to be loued and feared euery day 3 Thirdly here is to be noted the future time these words shal be in thy heart which is a precise lawe that in as much as no time is limited but the future time named it doth argue that God is to be remembred at all times 4 Fourthly I doe gather here in that God saith These wordes shall be laide vp in thy heart that therefore Rires and ceremonies are not to be required so much in the true seruice of the Lord as is the soul and spirit For God will be serued in spirit and trueth 5 In that his wordes are to be remembred is
wine to euery one neither is his holy Institution to bée broken Paule vnto them of Corinthus saith thus No alteration of Christs institution by the Apostles ergo much less ought you to chop change as you â—od That which I receiued I receiued of the Lorde and it was this that the same night Christ was betrayed he tooke bread and brake it in remembrance of him Then after supper he tooke the cup and saide it is the newe Testament in my bloude this doe as ofte as you do iâ—in remeÌ„braunce of me There followeth a Confirmation of the Institution with a reason cause thereof namely As often as you shall eate this bread 1. Cor. 11.24 and drinke this cup you shal shewe the Lordes death till he come Out of this place I gather these collections The first is a Christipersona from the person of Christ In good things we are not to gainsay the good doings of our predecessors and Cyprian â—o Iulianus saith that al allowed by the apostles al thinges set down by Christ and all customes confirmed by the spirite of God are to be kept ergo this of bread and wine must not be altered thus knitt together that which Christ did that same did Paul imitate and keepe in his Churche of Corinthus ergo wee ought not or any other nation else but keepe the same custome in breaking breade and giuing wine vnto all that come in our Church The seconde reason is this taken a persona Pauls from the person of Paul for Paul would do no other thing than that which was lawfull which also is to be done of vs but Paul vsed bread and wine indifferently to all without acception ergo wee also ought to doe the like The thirde reason is taken ab Ecclesia from the custome of the Church and the church of Corinthus was verie precise in obseruing the ordinances of Christ Paul wherefore seeing they in that Church had the sacramentes ministred in bothe kinds the church of England all other godly refourmed churches ought to do the like This without question was wel suâ—â—iciently knowen to the churches in the East West 〈◊〉 the space of many hundred yeares after Christ vntil the image of desolation was set vp the tyranny of the Pope fully established these such like deformities were not knowen De Consee dist 2. Can. Cum om ne Paragrapho illud Inhus a Pope writing to the bishops that were in Egypt sindeth great fault with them for not deliuering the bread the wine vnto the people wherof he yeldeth two reasons the first for that Christ commended to the Apostles both his body his bloud The second for that there was a commendation seuerall by it selfe left to all both of the bread of the wine that was in the cup. And Gelasius doth write to certein bishops sayth Anathematizariomnes qui accepto corpore Christi In decret abstineant a Calicis communione that is Those men are all accursed who taking the body of the Lord shal abstain from the receiuing of the cup. Now this was one of your Popes too for iâ— is euident that this beggerly slauish decision came in a loÌ„g time after our sauiour Christ therfore the greater is your condemnation as knowing that these are the deuises of men wil yet for all that cleaue vnto theÌ„ so stedfastly The Tripartite historie doeth make mention that S. Ambrose wrote to Theodosius the Emperor to this effect Lib. 9. cap. 30. O Imperator Princeps conseruorum c. that is O Emperor Prince of thy fellow seruants for there is only one God king lord creator of all with what eyes are you able to looke vpon the temple of the high God how will you lift vp your handes to heauen which drop downe continually with the bloud thou hast shed vniustly For I finde that at that time seuen thousande men were slaine euen good Christians by the coÌ„mandment of Theodosius at Thessalonica A worthie and rare example of a most learned and famous doctor and therfore Ambrose proceedeth in his Epistle to Theodosius thus How can you O Emperour receiue the holy body of Christ with such hands With what rashnes can you take the cup and put it to your mouth to tast of his moste precious bloud when as by the fury of your commaundement so much bloud hath beene shedde without a cause c. In this it is moste apparantly to be séne that in the time of Ambrose hoth the Emperorâ— his people vsed to receiue the communion in both kinds so that wee are to suspect you now more vehencently then we did before and wee may think that you are some grieuous deceitful Gibeonites come hither to espie what Iosuah and his people Israel doth and in the ende to make some conquest and to praye vppon vs for if you did reade and holde vppon the fathers of olde whome very glosingly you haue in your mouth to begyle the simplicitie of yong heads withall it could not be that you should so much differ from them as you doe For which of them all affirmeth as you do affirme or defendeth that you do defend or mainteineth that you mainteine or standeth so vndiscreetely in so manifest vntruethes as you do Search see all the whole Senate and good troope of famous learned men are against you Euen Fabianus your countriman and a Roman that liued vnder Gradianus and Philippus continued till the raigne of Decius as witnesseth Platina gaue in commaundement Vt quisque Christianus singulis annis ter Eucharistiam sumeret Sabellicus Volateran That is That euery one named a Christian shoulde euery yeare receiue the supper of the Lord without exception it is commaunded and as appeareth in the customes of the Church they did receiue it in both kinds of bread I meane and wine August Canone Qui manducant De Consec dist 2. Augustine sayeth thus They that eate and drinke Christe eate and drinke him vnto eternal life he that eateth him is refreshed he that drinketh him is quickened and liueth The glose in that place sayth thus Idest Dist 2. Can. si Quotiscunque in specie panis vini as much to saye as the wordes spoken by Augustine are to be vnderstoode in both the kindes both breade and wine Ambrose is of this same opinion in the deciding of this matter vppon the wordes of consecration Hilarius ibidem Can. Si non Hilarie is as plaine as he was graue in this point Si non sunt tanta peccata vt communicetur quis non se debet à medicina corporis sanguinis Domins separare That is If thy sinnes be not such but that thou maist communicate no man must presume to separate Christes body from his bloud Cyprian is very hoat with Cornelius the Pope and sayeth At verò nunc non infirmis In Epist 2. de Caena Dom. sed
yelded vp their right For Gregory the seuenth caused it to bee agréed vppon to be idolatrie if any one obeyed not the sea of Rome And Adrian Pope affirmed and in the same constituted Ex 2. Actione 7. Synod that the church of Rome was the heade and mother of all churches in the worlde and that all other churches shoulde stoope and obey her ordinances It is well knowen that Alexander the seconde writt to Philip king of Fraunce that all the decrées of the sea of Rome are as certeinly to be helde vppon to be beléeued and as surely receiued of all men as are the Canons of the whole worlde This caused Bonifacius to list vp his head so high aboue heauen and earth and writing to Ruffus and to other Bishops in Thessalia did chide thē mightily for their resisting him alleging out of the decrées of Pope Gelasius 9. q. 3. C. pater that the word of the Apostle of the see of Rome was neuer retracted but by the leaue of so reuerend a father and if he will not we will take leaue his fatherhood hath lyed a little and his lye is the greater as he woulde fauour that vpon the Lord 1. Sam. 10.1 which is contrary to God and his worde The Lorde sayth he choose Saul but the Pope was neuer chosen by God 1. Sam. 16.13 The Lorde did fetche Dauid from the sheepefold 1. Reg. 1.30 and willed his people to feare him And Salomon did the Lord set in the throne of his father but I do not finde that the Pope though he dwell at Rome hath any roume at all no not the breadth of a nayle in the booke of God I know that Iosias was sent from God The pope is one the King another the Pope of Sathan the King of God the Pope of mā the King is of the Lorde the Pope by vsurpation the King by ordination and therefore the Popes name is not in the Bible Kings be Matth. 20. a defender of his people and Iehosaphat was accounted as one of the worthies among the Princes and Ezechias is estéemed as a man renowned for his holynesse But for the Pope he may get him a place in some odde corner of the worlde by tyrannie and bloudshed but he was neuer ordeyned or set in place by the Lorde our God This I remember Christ sayth The Kings of the earth do raigne and striue for rule but sayth Christ to his Apostles it may not be so with you of which I inferre that séeing the Pope is in the place of Peter as he sayth in the roume of an Apostle he must not therefore rule and raigne ouer vs. Moreouer Reddite quae sunt Caesaris Caesars Giue vnto Caesar the things that are Caesars But it was neuer sayde Math. 22. giue vnto the Pope that which is the Popes for as I doe finde his authoritie is and hath béene from time to time vsurped So that for my owne parte I tell you truely you that are here the hirelings of the Pope you the very members of the very Antichriste I am so farre from beléeuing either his ordinances or his decrées or his Canons that he hath made that I will not cease to praye continuallye daye and night that the Lorde our God woulde reuenge the iniquitie of the man of Rome and plucke him out of that seate of deadly sinne wherein he sitteth For what is the Pope and his vsurped authoritie that wée should obey his ordinances His customes are the customes of Egypt and his abhominations are the abhominations of Chanaan and they are not to bee followed Facietis iudiciamea praecepta mea seruabitis Leu. 18. in eis ambulabitis You shall doe my iudgementes you shall keepe my preceptes and walke in them sayth the Lorde I will tell you the deapth of my heart You are like vnto the men that the king of Assur brought from Babel for euen as you doe in Rome so did they At the first they serued the Lorde indifferently but in processe of time when the Lyons were taken from them they returned to their olde customes againe and did as the Nations and as the Countries round about them did From whome as I suppose you haue made stealth of your Demye Goddes 2. Reg. 17.27 retaining the maner of that seruice which the Nations did You can giue no reason of your religion It was saide of olde time that men beleued on the Lord as Abraham Isaac Iacob did and after that in the GOD of Abraham Isaac and Iacob and after that men did beleeue in Christ in the doctrine of the Apostles but the Papistes say they beleeue as their fathers beleeued This did Lucius Papa 24. and Marcellus Pope reprehēd and they referred all to Christ and his Apostle◠not to Fathers if it be demaunded at your handes saue onely this that you doe as your Fathers doe and that this your faith is that by which your auncestors were saued O be not beguiled shall your saluation be grounded vpon man shall you not aunswere euerie one for your selues and euerie man for his owne soule Yes your fathers shall not defend you at the day of wrath your fathers shall not be able to maintaine your cause when both they and you shall giue an account of the workes you haue done Your fathers downfal may not be your rising your fathers miserie can not be your ioy your fathers curse shall not be your blessing but if all they did goe astray returne you home vnto the Lord and so shall you be deliuered at the day of appearing of the iust God And if you will followe the fathers remember what the good fathers haue saide and followe them I wil not hinder you It is good counsel I tell you that Cyprian giueth who hath this saying to a brother of his Non est frater charissime Lib. 2. Epist Epist 3. quod aliquis aestimet sequendam esse quorundam consuetudinem c. That is It is not to be thought my welbeloued brother that a man should esteeme the customes of al men to be retained among vs as cōmendable things For this is to be regarded who they were that they folowed Did not God say from heauen this is my beloued Sonne heare him Then it is Christe alone to whome we must giue eare The aduise of Augustine may be taken herein that in his second booke of Baptisme hath such or like wordes Lib. 2. Dist 8. Can. Veritate Veritate manifestata cedat consuetudo c. That is Custome after trueth is knowne must giue place For no man will allowe of any custome as he will of reason and of the trueth of any matter bicause reason and trueth goe before all thinges I call to minde what Gregorius saide vnto Gulielmus Auersanus Bishoppe Dist 2. Can. Si consuetudinem Si consuetudinem fortassis opponas aduertendum est quod Dominus dixit Ego sum via
veritas vita non dixit ego sum consuetudo sed veritas That is You will peraduenture set some auncient custome against me but it is to be noted what God saith It is saide by him I am the way the trueth and the life and GOD did not say I am the custome but I am the trueth Wherefore Augustine saide well Ad Casulâ—num Praesbyterum Dist 11. Can. consuetud Consuetudinem laudamus quae contra fidem catholicam nihil vsurpare dignoscitur That is We allowe and commend that custome that is not knowne to haue vsurped any thing at any time contrarie to the true and Catholique faith Therefore I aunswere you here if you can proue to me out of the Scriptures those Articles and pointes of religion which you affirme you holde by custome I will yelde and condiscend to your opinions otherwise I am of the minde these learned Fathers are of That we must beléeue the truth before all your customes and if you doe not thinke that my iudgement is sound you shall giue me leaue to offend to erre and to goe out of the way with them There is nowe remayning the last thing yet as good and necessarie a thing as any other and it is this God saith thus My words shall be in your heart what his words the words of the Lord You will heare no word at all Is it so and the Lordes wordes howe hardly are you drawne to heare them at this present Why how in what manner where shall we lay them vp where shall we repose them In your heart and in your soule they should be laid vp And I do ensure you sithence my last being in this place and from the time that I haue séene so dissolute and lewde behauiour among you and howe pyningly and howe vntowardly and howe scornfully and howe irreuerendly howe hautily and howe disdainefully you stand here before the Lorde before his Angels in his Church before vs I am not onely astonied vpon the wickednesse and sinne I sée within you as I am amazed at the heauie iudgements of the Lord that hang ouer you Contempt of his word It was neuer noted but in Castawayes Irreuerend behauiour when the word is preached It was neuer séene but in the reprobate vnséemely demeanor and disdainfull lookes vpon the Prophetes You finde it not all onely saue in the Baalites and Chemerims or Saducées or Pharisées or in some such like vnto to them Wherefore you are of that froward generation and those vntoward sprigges That claue and rent in sunder that gnashed their teeth Actes 7. and fell vpon Stephan when they heard his preaching Why 2. Pet. 1.23 Matth. 13.33 Ephe. 6.17 Mark 4.32 Iere. 5.14 Ezech. 3.33 Wherefore for what cause should this be so The worde of the Lorde is that which assureth The worde of the Lorde is the leauen that leaueneth The word of the Lord is the sword that striketh The worde of the Lorde is the graine that increaseth The worde of the Lorde is the fire that inflameth The worde of the Lorde is the honie that sweetneth Howe then shall you escape the iudgements of God the fierce wrath of the highest the furie of his countenaunce the displeasure of our God that both vnwillingly doe come to heare and so like men of Bedlam and as if you were possessed by some foul fiende rage and byte when you vnderstand the trueth Then if not for Gods cause yet for your owne safetie regarde and marke this reason taken out of the former scriptures alledged That thing which bringeth death with it and destruction and confusion for euer is neither to be done or allowed or committed by any godly man nor by you The contempt of Gods worde your irreuerend behauiour in this sacred place bringeth death with it and destruction and confusion for euer if you repent not Ergo This vnseemely dealing in you which bringeth with it all these inconueniences should be done or allowed or committed neither by any godly man nor by you Consider then weigh and regard where and before whom you stand Here is the Lord that seeth you here be his Angels that behold you 1. Cor. 11.12 For whose sakes also you should do the things that are comely And vndoubtedly a greater comfort should there be none to the godly man or to any one vnder heauen then to féede vpon the trée of life then to drinke of this spirituall drinke Deut. 32.2 Mark 4.14 Psal 119.104 Ier. 23.29 Esai 55.1 the word of God This Why It is the rayne that bedeweth It is the seede that groweth It is the rule that leadeth It is the axe that heweth It is the fountaine that springeth It is the well that draweth the water of life to all that come that heare that beléeue that will be saued Then receiue to your comfort comprehend vnto life attaine vnto saluation heare and refuse not that the Lorde may blesse you For there is a verie comfortable reason and a strong conclusion gathered out of this place thus That which bringeth life and is commaunded by God is to be doone of all to be allowed and to be obeyed without exception The worde of the Lorde doth bring in life and is that which is commaunded by God vnto all Ergo The word of the Lord and the Gospell of trueth which is preached is to be heard of al and of you without exception His worde 2. Sam. 22.31 Psal 12.7 it is pure it is immaculate it is tried in the fire it will followe all them that hope and trust in him His wordes they are chaste and milde speaches they are seuered from the earth Psal 18.33 and purged more then seuen times His wordes his wayes They are not polluted wayes but they are leaders vnto life and the Lord is a protectour of all those that trust in him As for you I sée it as for you I doe well perceiue it as for you you doe declare it That you are none of those that haue his statutes before you His lawe is not regarded by you the bright morning starre hath not shined on you You you walke according to the wayes of them of Gomorrah You you trust in Pharaoh and in his mightie power you repose all on the Popes shoulders not on GOD You you are comforted in Herode his pleasaunt Oration and swéete style hath bewitched you You you are protected vnder the shadow of the great beast in the reuelation to whom the most of the Kinges of the earth doe â—â—ll downe and giue worship you you are angrie with Caine you you are hardened as was Sehon you you are the sonnes of the fathers that haue cast stones at the Prophetes you you are bouldened with Zedechias you you are still and you will be Sacrificers stil to the Quéene of HeaueÌ„ you you are peruerted as were false Prophets you you are proude and stately as were the Scribes you you couer sinne with sin as the Iewes dyd you you
71. And see if there be any honor or reuerence or adoratioÌ„ giuen to any other saue onelye to the Lord God then I conclude Ergo none ought to be giuen vnto the Pope The holy order of the Priesthood is not vnknowne vnto you yet if you could finde either in Aaron or in Eleazar or after that in Ely and his sonnes or els if you made any shewe at all of the honor that was giuen to Iehosuah in Zachary Cap. 6. the may séeme to be equiualeÌ„t or come néere vnto yours which you attribute to your Pope no doubt you would cauill perilousâ—ie and fight manfully for your Popedome Your Pope Os Porci that is a Hogge for his filthines of life and after that chaunged his name to Sergius did according to his former name vsurpe the name of God and Constantinus the fyrst was also the fyrste that kissed the Popes feete fell dovvne vnto him as vvitnesseth both Nauclerus Platina but for as much as there is no resemblaunce vnto that man of sinne made by any one in the old law you are lawlesse men that so vnlawfully will striue and impugne the lawe of the Lorde And concerning the Chayre and Cathedrall estate of Peter wherin you suppose him to haue set as Lord and chéefe of the Apostles I saye thus much vnto you if in the Scripture there be any such thing founde of Peter eyther that as Lord he ruled the rest or as Christes Vicegerant he tooke the office or as Vniuersall Bishop he gouerned at Rome or as Supreame head Peter commaunded all or that Peter left any Successour behinde him or that hee was honoured and reuerenced and called vpon as your Pope is I will yéelde subscribe vnto all your opinions But if you cannot prooue this you speake of the Pope will you yéelde to vs wyll you confesse a truthe and renounce your errors will you come to the Lorde and acknowledge your backsliding from the trueth This will I doo if any one of your side can finde the name of Pope or Supreame head or Lord of the Angelles or a Man that can not sinne or generall Bishoppe or successour of Peter or a holie Father or gouernour of the whole Church or any other of your Titles that you giue vnto him I say that againe finde them in any one place of the Bible olde or newe I will subscribe and become as one of you In contrarie manner if not then yéelde you vnto vs. How euer it be we can conuince you by the Scriptures therefore against the Pope héere is the second reason Against the Pope the second reason That which is not found in the Scriptures for the which you haue no warrant which derogateth from the Maiesty of God is not to be done The name of your Pope the tytles of your Cardinals the honor and worship you giue to the Pope and them taketh and derogateth from the maiestie of God Ergo. Your Pope is not to be worshipped as you worship him and that you doo and giue vnto him is not to be done This is not rare in Popes to cause blood shed and rayse Treâ—sons and tumults in coÌ„mon vvealths for by blood Engenius vvas elected vnder Ludouicus Prus Zacharie Pope in his tyme stoode against Caesar and gaue the kingdome of Fraunce to Pâ—pinus after Christe 755. Childericus the true heyre vvas shauen then thrust into a Monastarie by the Pope and thus would he deale with Englande if he could Where finde you that death and lyfe is in the Popes handes as you doo affirme that hée may dispence with any sinne as he dooth That he can redeeme Soules from out of hel and Purgatory as you imagine that he may giue lybertie to whordome frée accesse to Treasen without breache of lawe that he may send out his Bulles with frée release of all the sinnes men haue committed Thinke you that we may suffer these horrible blasphemies or that â—ee may snffer you that vpholde them what an other redéemer beside Christe what that a mortall man shall haue lyfe and death in his handes what that they shall be lybertie graunted to finne and frée accesse to all wickednesse what that any one may redame the soule of his Brother from hell or that a satisfaction maye bée made after his departure What Bulles Pardons Indulgencies or Masses for any Soule aliue or dead Why where what place by whome in what Prophet what Scripture haue you this in It is straunge it is vnknowen to vs Abraham neuer heard thereof Isaack and Iacob neuer knewe so much Daniel Enoch Iob these thrée righteous men neuer spake it they can saue but theyr owne soules in the day of the Lord. And shall we giue more vnto the Pope then we haue done vnto them It is the Lord that bindeth the golden chaine about the necke that giueth Siluer and Golde vnto féeble men The Lorde is cloathed with glorie and honour for it is he that couereth him selfe with lyght SaluatioÌ„ commeth of none but of the Lord lyfe of none but of the lyuing glorie froÌ„ none but from God that is glotious Ergo God onely not the Pope can haue any of these giuen vnto him and spreadeth the heauens as a Curtaine The Lord openeth his handes and filleth with good thinges and the gates of death are at his pleasure He sendeth his spirite and they are created and he â—arieth downe to the nethermost hell He spared not the Families of Core and the multitude of Rebelles were swallowed vp quicke He euen the Lord dooth binde Princes to his wyll and he teacheth his Auncientes wisedome he can holde their féete in the stockes and he can chayne them with chaynes of Iron The Lord can saue and defend his people the Lord can delyuer and lyft vp but farre be it from the sonnes of men and let not disobedient chyldren take it vpon them least he strike if he be angrie least his indignation doo aryse and we perishe And if any one will haue lyfe or the people of the Land looke for redemption let them come to the Lord of hoastes the God of I acob shall be their defence Cursed is he that trusteth in man and I wishe all those that feare the Lorde to saye Amen And now concerning my selfe for that I speake vnto you at this tyme rather then any other it is bothe because I would confirme the doctrine which my brethren haue Preached héeretofore and in part also for the hope I may doo some good among you I thinke this and thus of you you haue from your Infancie béen trained vp in blindnesse and error neither doo you vse to reade the scriptures If Papists prayed earnestly lyued soberly and hardned not theyr haits vvylfully but vvould submyt them selues to the Lord vvyllingly then vvould they not erre so grossely so much as to tranaile and ware old in the Doctors So that vpoÌ„ thrée causes which may well be taken away I easily perceyue