not tel what reuenewes of my father V. Yf you wil be free from suche bordens couer your pate with a coule P. What in an earneste matter mocke you your old scholer and frende My question to you is of libertie V. Of libertie then what hath libertie to doo with those reuenewes that you paye to munckes it is more precious then which ought to be mingled with those thynges which are brickel and endure but for a tyme. P. Then if I be not frewhie teach preach you libertie on that maner must we so be deceiued V. You take libertie other wise then it is taught by vs / for they that be free are not fre on the sort in the Christentie that euery thynge is laufull that they wyll but a christian rather takith libertie so that he being deliuered from sinne and the curse of the lawe remembrith now that he is become euery mans seruante P. What maye I be a seruant both a free man it is not lyke in so mâ—…e that the word meanith some other thynge farre from that V. We use not to speake of that libertie wherby the people thynke it is lawful to doo euel and to be disobedieÌ„t it is an other maner of thing as I sayed afore to be free in the christian pael P. Then howe vsed the olde men thys worde libertie Were not the cyties of Grecia called free because they were free froÌ„ kynges exactions V. Be it they were as free as coulde be from kynges exactions yet they lyued after theyr owne lawes as at this preseÌ„t many cities are caused soo not be cause it is lawefull to doo in them what euery man wil but because they lyue vnder ther owne lawes / nowe to whom I pray you doo the lawes permitte to do euery thynge but go to let vs se how Tully vsed this word what is libertie sayth he / power to lyue as thou wylte Then who lyueth as he wyll but he that foloweth good thynges whiche is glad to do his dutie whiche hathe consydered and prouyded how to lyue whiche obeyeth the lawes not for feare but fulfylleth and kepeth them because he iudgeth that to be moste profitable Adde hyther that of Socrates who beynge asked whether he had goten any profyte of the studie of Philosophie answered that I may know how to be free menynge from euyll de syers whoÌ„ a good mynd must not serue P. Your sayenge comith to this end to make me bond free although ther be not so greate distaunce betwene heaueÌ„ yearth as ther is betwenene fredom and bondage V. I knowe that emonge the Romanes the state of a fre maÌ„ and a bond man were diuerse but we speake of thes thynges christenly with whome they be so conioyned that they can not be separated P. you plainly make me to doubte howe thes can be true / first of all declare wherin Christian libertie consistith V. Libertie amonge christian men is nothing els then to be deliuered from sinne from the curse of the lawe from death from Satan and from hel and that trely for christis sake P. Here is not one word concerneng exactions V. Not one for this fredom is the fredoÌ„ of the sprite coÌ„science and can not be wrested to ciuil exactions / in so moch that if it be wrested thither it can not be called libertie And thynke you it but a trifle to be fre from the accusement of sinne and coÌ„demnemeÌ„t of the lawe I verely can not tell whether a greater libertie can come to any man as the which maketh vs lordes of all thynges for Christis sake Nowhat shulde it profite vs to be free from certaine burdens for a tyme if we shuld coÌ„tinuewe the seruauntes of vnrightuousnes Nether the comon sayeinge is folishe altogether he is noughtily made fre on whom the 〈◊〉 hath power P. yet I heard a certaine maÌ„ affirminge in a pulâ—â—â— as well the outwarde libertie as the libertie of the conscience 〈◊〉 that I maye saye nothing of that which I haue hard in the open lectours V. That diuision well handeled and vnderstode aright hathe no danger But here you muste take hede leste whiles we teach a certaine outward kind of libertie you gyue occasion for the fleshe to sinne / 〈…〉 for the Apostle sayed not without acause brethren you be cauled to libertie / so that you gyue not your libertie an occasioÌ„ vnto the flesh P. Whie then put you not a difference betwene both the kindes of libertie V. We touched eueÌ„ now the inward and spiritual and the scripture for the mooste parte speakith of that / as often as it makith mention of libertie / hither perteinith that in Iohn / if the sone shal delyuer you Iohn 8. ye be free in dede and the trueth shall delyuer you / ther was a coÌ„tention betwene Christe and the Iewes the Iewes dreaming of a certaine corporall libertie and Christ caulyng them by al wayes to an inwarde and a spiritual as the which consistith in the forgyuenes of sinnes in the giuyng of the holy goost in the exchaunge of liuyng finally in the fulfilling of the coÌ„mandmentes willyngly VpoÌ„ thys Paule sayth also wher the spirite of the lorde is ther is libertie / the Apostle grantith that there is a certaine libertie but of the spirite of the heart of the conscience and which can be taken by no meanes for the deliueryng from ciuile burdens P. And yet you coÌ„fessed a certaine kinde of outward libertie V. I denie it not P. wher in coÌ„sistith that same V. That we maye knowe that we are deliuered from the parte of the lawe which coÌ„teineth the Iewesh ceremonies and iudgementes / for so we be fre that ther it is permitted vs to vse other ceremonies especially such as be not agaynst the gospel also other lawes after that god alowed the Gentiles sworde P. What are we not deliuered from all the lawe Gala. 4. whie saith Paule after that the fulnes of the tyme came god sent his sone made of a woman made vnder the lawe that he might redeme them wihch were vnder the lawe I thynke he speakith here ingenerally of al the law V. Concerning our iustification we be deliuered from all the lawe euen from the .x. commaundemeÌ„ts as which threateÌ„ moost of al damnation onles they be kepte / for iustification comith not by fulfillyng of the .x. commaundmentes but of goddes mere ientlenes whiche he gaue to the worlde by Christe And as farre as we laye hold by faith vpon that goodnes so farre we be iustified / but coÌ„cernyng obedieÌ„ce we be so deliuered from the .x. commaundementes that if thei be not kepte we can not be cauled christians Mat. 19. as Christe sayeth also if thou wilt goo to life kepe the commaundementes / yet here there is one affection of the good man an other of the hipocrite / thei which are good men in dede doo willyngly freely merely finally for no fear of punishmeÌ„t that which
Newes From Rome concerning the blasphemous sacrifice of the papisticall Masse / with dyuers other treatises very Godlye profitable Come awaye from Babilon my people that ye be not partakers of her synnes least ye receyue of her plages for her syns are gone vp to heauen and the Lorde hath remembered her wyckednes Apoca. 18. To my ryghte honorable lorde and mayster my lorde Thomas Hawarte / Randoll Hurleston wyssheth helthe in the Lorde AS ofte as I consyder right honorable lorde the wracke that the churche suffered afore tyme I am compelled whether I wyll or no to lamēte greatly the blindnes and ignoraunce wherin they were noseled all their lyfe tyme. And where as it was the ministers duties to haue wonne and brought them to Christe frō their blyndnes they toke a contrarie waye beatenge in to their heades a sorte of beggerly ceremonies fet ched out of the bottome of hell / howebeit there was many which for asmoche as they knewe the the lyghte in no maner wolde retayne thē Then they perceyuinge that their doctrine wold not roote in all mennes hartes called to remembraunce howe blody Iulian emperoure of Rome handled the christians and as he whē he perceyued that by tyrannie he could not ouercome the Christians made a decre wherby the Galileans bokes were forbidden to be towched for so they cauled the folowers of Christe Euen so our spirituall perceyuenge that by fyer sworde and roope the vnlerned professours of the gospell coulde not be vanquesshed sette such laues and statutes wherin they for hade men to loke vpō their bokes whiche were sincere professours of the gospell Coulde any thinge haue ben inuented more deuyllyshe then this to destroye the Christen religion for they knewe well inough that after that men were shutte vp from theyr bokes which were published for the edifieng of other they shuld become as it were vnarmed and naked in euerie side so that they shulde not be able to withstand their gloses commentaries and scole poyntes wherin the zeale that they bare to the christen religion aperith manifestlye And all though they came to vs in shepe skynnes yet inwardly they were rauenynge wolues not sparynge the flocke as apereth most euydētly by their frutes Howe be it many of them nowe do repent and forsake their accustomed naughtines and submitte them selues to the scriptures and to the kinges iniunctions groūded vpon the scripture in so moch that they knowe the night from the daye of the which benefite a great sorte more had bene partakers of at this present had not the deuyll withstode the godly endeuours of oure yonge Iosias And althoughe hetherto the religion haue not gone so prosperously forwarde as some fayth full wold yet it becometh not thē that professe the true religiou to ceasce at any tyme from exhorting other to ensue godlines and vtterly to forsake their acustomed deuyllishnes The which thinge must be done both wyth out feare and shame for the wordliges will neuer ceasce from hurting them with her stinge howbeit caull to remembraunce how wonderfully god deliuered his seruantes in the old tyme as Daniel from the denne of lyones the thre children from the fyry furnace and in the newe testament leest the faithfull shulde leaue their seruice saith Christe in Mathewe in the tenth chapter feare you not them that kyll the bodys and cānot kyll the soule and to thintent they might the more desierously serue out to the ende he promised that if they continued vntil the last breath they shuld be saued wherfor leat feare wythdrawe no man from the settynge forth of Christes religion And although the gospell semith mere folishnes in the wordly wise mēs eyes yet be thou of an other mynd nothinge esteming the glorie of this worlde which stinketh before the face of god and auelith nothing at all but rather be minded to suffer with our maister Christe and his faythfull Apostoles bloues checkes taūtes and death for the gospels sake and neuer of al this geare be one whit ashamed but say wyth Paule I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of god from whose profession be thou by no meanes brought awaye and be as feante in defendinge thy religion as the Ethnykes were in defendynge of theyrs we reade that the men of Athens wo were wonderfully gyuen to supersticion as appereth in the Actes vsed at certayne tymes to be sworne whose othe was this I wyll fyght for the religiō both my selfe alone with other Then seynge they whiche had no knowledge of god but by nature were so earnest in defendīg their religion howe moche more ernest ought Christians to be in defendinge their religion whiche was taught the congregacion by God him selfe But of these wordes let no man gather that I wolde the people whiche haue receyued the lyght to make an insurrecciō for I take God to witnes I meane nothynge lesse but that onely the temporall feare and shame shuld not withdrawe any man from the lyuynge God Then let the example of the heathen moue vs and make vs more earnest in delating of our religion then we haue ben in tymes paste And suffre it not nowe if it be Gods pleasure as it is to be troden vnder foote but let vs thanks God for this we haue receyuyd and desyer him to encrease in vs the knowledge of his wyll that we may cōuert the stubburne and strengthen the weake For this cause haue I taken in hande to set forth in englishe this lytle boke wherin sondry maters wherby the people haue ben long seduced be well opened the which boke I am so bolde as to set forth in your lordshyppes name / for as moche as it becometh all men to declare them selues thankefull to them of whome they haue receyued sundry commodities and not for that cause onely but that your lordshyppes chyldrens chyldren your hole posteritie may knowe what religion youre lordshyp folowed forsakynge throughly the Romisshe ydoll with al his toyes and inuencions contrary to gods holy words Wherefore I praye God kepe your lordshyppe in the lyght of his worde whiche you receyued beynge but a chylde and encrease in you all Godlynes that you may contynewe his seruaunte for euer To the reader THe truth when it hath ben hydden a longe tyme commeth out at the length the which hathe aproued trewe in these oure dayes as concernynge thynges that belonge to relegion For how the pope blynded oure fathers eyes it is not unknowen / and how many haue bene blinded in our dayes by winchesters gospels it nedith no probacyon The whiche caste such a myst before mens eyes that they were not able to discerne chalke from chese For when the lyuely worde of God was taken from men there was nothing left wherby theyr feates myghte be tryed whether they were of God or no. And to th entent that theyr dreames myght more commodiously crepe into mens cōscience and not be utterly reiected they threatned the people with sic volo
bene onely the cause that I haue gone so seldome to the church Curi What Lutherians howe so Aluta I neuer come in to any churche where as they be gouernours but that I fynde some man preachynge or the people syngynge psalmes in the mother tonge which thinges I can not abyde and I thynke they be not well done for who can abyde hym that in his sermon alwayes rūneth aboute one stringe and the people synging one song but chefely the preachers here be so hote that they alwayes inueygh agaynst synne they alwayes bete in to mennes heades repentaūce they alwayes preache Christ they alwayes moue men to fayth they haue charyte alwayes in theyr mouthes and I can not tell what crosse Howe moche better were it for them to please the people and caule them to the feare of God by chaunge of ceremonies as our fathers dyd Curi I can not se howe that sermones of repentaunce of Christe of fayth and of the crosse can be odious to any man seynge in them is the foundacion of christen religion And verely whome sermons of the gospell moue not I can not tell what ceremonie wil moue them What is the chiefest cause why the people be called together that the word may be preached and harde and that then we maye cause to God to gyue the encrease for I perceyue not howe he can be called a christē man which desyreth not moost feruently the truthe and the worde as Christe sayth Ioh. 8. he that is of God heareth the wordes of God ye therfore heare not the wordes of God because ye are not of God verely I graunte that it semeth vayne lyp labour to the and suche as thou arte yf Christ be ofte spoken of yf suche thynges be earnestly preached as perteyne to the christiās But we knowe with the apostle whiche reioyseth that he had preached nothynge to the Corinthiās but Christe 1. Cor. 1. that these preachynges of the gospell are the vertue and powre of God Rom. 1. and that to saluacion to all that byleue Then seynge that holy preachynge be thynges so necessarie to saluaciō me thynke they do well and semely the whiche preferre no ceremonies althoughe it be neuer so comendable before the preachynge of the worde not that I condempne all ceremonies in lyke but that I thynke Goddes worde muste not be robbed of his due honour Aluta here the comon prouerbe pleaseth me well Nothing to moch for in this thynge there must be a measure Curi There is no thyng in the hole world but causeth loth somnes oneles there be measure Onely desyre to heare the worde of God except neyther knoweth fulnes or feeleth lothsomnes as it apeareth in Magdalene which Luc. 10. wolde not leue Christe as he was teachynge no not by the cōplayntes of Martha Aluta I can be wel contented you thynke so so that I maye also haue myne owne mynde But nowe syr what euell spirite brought fyrst these songes in the mother tong in to the churche had not the fathers brought in ynoughe afore tyme Curi No what wytche hath bewytched thy head that thou darest reproue a thyng which is good of his owne nature and take it for a naughty thynge Arte not thou content to speake scornefully of the worde whose authorite ought to be most holy amouge all men except thou also imprudētly despyse Dauids psalmes and other spirituall songes But why ponder you not diligently whom you dispise for the lutheranes diuysed not fyrste to synge psalmes and spirituall son ges on this maner in the congregation Eph. 5 it was taught the churche by S. Paule as profitable and necessary for a semely ordre whome seynge you dispyse beware that you dispyse not Christe hymselfe to youre great daunger Excepte paraduenture you thynke it was spoken in sport and as they were in quassynge Luc. 10. Mat 25. He that dispiseth you dispiseth me And what soeuer you haue done to one of the least of myne you haue done it to me But nowe what is in the hole stewes church I wold haue said that cā delyte moch a good mynd that loueth Christe Aluta Mary I wyll tell you The walles be excellently paynted the altares be excellently trymmed the role of the churche is gallantly furnyshed with gyftes offred to sayntes what shulde I speake of those holy and many colored vestmentes of vessels and of all the geare wherby the sacrifice of the Masse hath ben accustomed to be furnysshed hether belongeth the synginge vsed in the church the agreynge of the synginge men a wonderful ordre in all thynges whiche be of suche strength that they can mollyfie euen a stonie harte and drawe him to the contemplacion of heauenly thynges I wyll speake nothinge of the sacrifice of the Masse wher at to be in my iudgement is the greatest felicitie in the worlde namely yf you tarie the ende take a blessynge of the preest Beholde you nowe the rytes of those churches whiche you be wonte to call the deuyls coūsell houses behold the worshyppe wherby they endeuour to wynne Goddes fauoure Curi As farre as I can perceyue you lacke no tonge in rehersynge of the worshyp that youre sacrificers vse yf the tauerne coulde forbeare you you coulde playe the Ape amonge these Asses And althoughe in maner you haue rekened all kyndes of ornamentes which they customably use itheyr churches yet you haue lefte out one speciall thynge Aluta Haue I so then I wolde be glad to know what it is Curi The apparell of their concubynes which they fede at home for as they haue them nowe onely to loke vpon theyr pagines euen so they trimme thē and haue them in no lesse estimacion thē theyr aulters for I dare not saye they take thē for saintes Aluta You bad me to speake of the vsages in the churche and not of theyr cōcubynes although it greueth me very sore that they conueygh no more cleanly Curi Cake you then this abundance of apparell vessels and songes for the worshyp whiche God commaunded and wold to be frequented in the churche Aluta Why not Curi Heare then whether you be of the same mynde with the fathers in this matter whiche alwayes hast the fathers in thy mouthe Hierō speaketh on this maner of this mater Let other buyld churches cloth walles make great pyllers and dresse the toppes of thē with golde put a dyfference betwyxte gylded aulters by precious clothes and stones but haue you an other thyng before your eyes that is to clothe Christ in the poore to fede hym in the hungery to vyset hym in the sicke to gyue hymlog ynge in suche as lacke loginge With whome agreeth Barnarde sayenge Oh vanitie of vanities but not more vayne than folyshe The churche walles glyster and the poore nede it couereth her stones with golde and leaueth her chyldren naked the ryche mennes eyes be serued by the poore mens purses Heare you nowe what the father 's set by this folishe worship ynge of God