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A04809
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An epistle [s]ent to divers [pa]pistes in England prouing [th]e Pope to bee the beast in the [1]3 of the Reuelations, and to be the man exalted in the temple of God, as God, Thess. 2.2 ... / by F.K.
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Kett, Francis, d. 1589.
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1585
(1585)
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STC 14944.5; ESTC S2164
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14,613
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51
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not bee afrayd for any euill tidinges for his heart standeth fast and beleeueth in the Lord. Psal 112. The coppy of an Epistle sent to English pilgrems and papists 1584. By F. K. I Am moued by the royall law of God which is to loue our neighbour as our selus and to doe good to our enemies to write to intreate you my desired to the truth âf the Gospell to heare and reade the wordes âf exhortation vnder your duety in the feare âf God and reuerence to his Gospell hoping âhat the sweete motion and tendernes of your âules health will moue you hereuÌto Wherin âârst I beseech you to measure the breadth âââength and deapth of your inward man and âhe path of your saluation by the ballaunce of âhe pure Scriptures and not by traditions ââd decrees seing that the Scriptures are aââe to make you wise to saluation Tim. 2.3 through âith in Christ Iesus Therefore seing that ââw is the accepted time yea now be the dayes ãâã health in which Christ Reu. 3. according to Iohn ââth set the doore of his Gospell open it is high time that you wake out of sleepe and enter with the bridegrome while the doore is opââ lest you fall into strong delusion and stumâââ at noone day and looke for light when ãâã darknes For which cause say clearly amâââ your selfes Vp let vs go to our deare countââ of England and walke in the light of ãâã Lord and become true citizens with all faâââfull alleigance to her beloued Maiesty ãâã so vndoubtedly and sincerely hath linked ãâã scepter to the scepter of Iuda For if thou dâ desire Ezechias to raigne ouer EnglaÌd ãâã diligently walked in the law of the Lord 2. Cron. 29. âââged his Realme of Idolatry set vp againe ãâã true worship of God and exhorted all his suâiects to follow the lawe of the Lord God tâ behold blessed ELIZABETH the ânoynted of the Lord abounding in all ãâã giftes of vertue gouerning her Realme ââcording to the purity of Gods word and treâââ And if thou desirest Iosias that most goââ King 2. Cron. 34. which walked so purely in the wayeâ ãâã the Lord that he declined neither on the ãâã hand nor on the right who when the book ãâã the lawe was deliuered vnto hym did not onây cause the booke to bee red before hym but âe hym selfe red it and all Idolatyr destroyed restored the true religion to his Kingdome Or if thou wouldest haue Iosophat that walked in the commaundements of the Lord 2. Cron. 27. and âoued Gods word so intirely that he sent his Princes Leuites and Priestes to teach in all partes of Iuda which had the bookes of Gods lawe with them and went about in all the Ciââes of Iuda and taught the people then consider in the dexterity of conscieÌce our worthy gouernesse Queene ELIZABETH how that her Maiesty is not inferior to any of them in amplifying the glory of God and spreading abroade of his word For whereas Esdras red the lawe of the Lord plainely and distinctly to the people and they gaue very earnest and diligent attendance to the hearing of it so our imperiall Princesse 2. Esâl 8. and vertuous Queene hath caused the word of God to bee plainely red and preached through all her Realme by many a faithfull Esdras that euery man may plainely heare it and reade it them selfes to their soules consolation Whââ is it then that you seeke for beyond the Seaâ Hath not God promised that his Gospell shâââ be preached to all nations and to euery peopââ in their proper Landes Math. 24. What then hast thââ to doe being an Israelite to walke againe ãâã the streates of Egypt or to wander in thâ way to Assiria Behould sayth the Lord whâ hast thou now to doe in the streate of Aegypâ to drinke foule water Ieremy 2. or what makest thou ãâã the way to Assiria to drinke water of tââ floud Thy owne wickednes shall reproue theâ and thy turning away condemne thee Aââ so ye English pilgrems what make yee in tâ streates of Rome or in the way to Italy ãâã feare that your owne thoughts condemne yââ and your turning away will bring you to heâuy destruction vnlesse yee repent O therâfore come away and turne to the treuth aââ be not thereof ashamed for the Lord knoâeth your secret thoughts with whom you mâââ not dissemble and halt betweene two opiââons but bee faithfull vnto your Soueraigâ Queene and let King Dauid be your exaÌpââ who would by no meanes lay blouddy handes vpon King Saule his enemy being the Lords anoynted Wherefore yee English Romaines examine your selues try out the deapth of your conscience remember the dreadfull day of Iudgement and be no longer deceyued for loe how wreched your state is to flie the light of the Gospell to seperate your selues from your alleigaÌce to hope for a day by mischiefe Esay 30. Know yee not that it is a woe to forsake the counsell of God to seeke and sticke to the counsell of men and knowe yee not that the Lord sayth woe bee those shrinken children which take a web in hand but not after my will Then see what web is this of youres to trust in pardons indulgences to commit supplications to Saintes to hope to be reskewed out of the paynes of fayned purgatory by a masse to buylde true godlines vpon outward ceremonyes and solemnities and to hold the word of God in an vnknowne language Ephes 5. knowe yee not that Paule sayth that whatsoeuer is manifest is light how can you then hold in true conscience that such kindâ of religion is the light when as they are not manifest by the scriptuâes Wherefore Paule exhorteth you not to walke in the vanitye of minde Ephes 4 blynded in vnderstanding and Christ counselleth thee to buy of hâm pure gold Reu. 3. and to anoynt thine eyes with eye salue that thou mayst see How then can the Latyne Seruice be to thee an eye-salue to see the truth of Goddes worde when as thow canst neyther reade it nor vnderstand it Is it not an vncertayne sounde to an ignorant eare which can cary no truth of edifying when it is propounded vnto vs that all thinges should be done to edifye Then no doubt but that it is Gods holy will that the scriptures should be in our mother language as a pretious eye-saluâ in our house that we may be established ãâã Gods holy truth and not be deceaued Harkeâ therfore deare Countrymen and be carefully aduised and learne to be wise to that which is good and innocent to that is euill and fauour not the preceptes ordinaunces of meâ more then the institutions of God For sayth Paule he that studieth to please men is no the seruaunt of God Galath 1. and the Gospel sayth he which I preach I receaued it not of men Therefore take heede how yee looke after the traditions of men and follow superstitions seing the word of your
saluation commeth not from men but from God And now ye seminaryes Iesuites you enter into mens houses like smokie fire-brands you take in hand to enforce the people after your wayes that were escaped bondage Doe ye not respect the daunger which is toward them that seeke to deuour soules put stumbling blockes like Balam before the people It standeth you vpon to examine the scripturs what foundation you doe lay lest if you recant not you prooue yourselues the Locustes which come out of the bottomles pitte Reu. 9. Doe ye still ioyne the order of Aron the order of Melchisedec ioyntly as in one religion when Christ hath translated away the priesthoode of Aron with all his ceremonies then it can not bee that your doctrine religion can be good seeing ye mayntayne that which Christ hath abolished For which cause I beseech you all to search the difference of these two Pristhods and seperate them as they ought to be and I am assured that Gods grace will enter into you to see presently how far you decline from the purity of Christ his Gospell that you maâ be reformed to your soules consolation Wherâfore deare Countrey-men dearely boughâ with the bloud of Iesus Christ I pray to God that such may be the fruites of this our age that the eyes of the blinde may be lightened and the eares of the deafe opened that in thâ wildernes Wells may spring Esay 35. and dry ground turne to riuers for a woe is prescribed to theâ that call darkenes light and light darkenes and to them that are wise in their owne sighâ and thinke themselues to haue vnderstaÌding For which cause it behoueth vs Esay 5. to try out thâ truth by the fire of Gods holy word lest thaâ we facion our selues to be seruauntes of thâ bond woman Gal. 4. and not children of the free wâ man Wherefore I refer your secret thoughâ to the goodnes of God hoping that you wâ consider deepely of your religion and take âxample of the children of Israel retorned aââer the destruction of Ierusalem into Aegipt âaying thereby what a daungerous thing it is ãâã renounce the truth and cleaue to customs ântiquities and the actes of the forefathers âeing not grounded vpon the pure word of God For they answered Ieremie saying as for thy words which thow hast spoken vnto vs in the name of the Lord Iere. 44. we wil not heare them but whatsoeuer goeth out of our owne mouth that wil we doe we wil offer sacrifice to the Queene of heauen as our forefathers did for then we had plenteousnes of victuales then were we in prosperity and no harme happened vnto vs but since we left to offer many stormes of troubles and euills haue greued vs TheÌ answered Ieremie saying forasmuch as your sinnes were so greate in such sacrifices the Lord could no longer suffer you and so this is the cause of your misery because you forsake the truth The like wounde hath the Lord geuen to you and your whole kingdome of Papisty because of your superstitious offerings to Saints and pilgrimages when you say that you had all plenteousnes But now the daies are not so agreeable in cheapenes ãâã therefore beware that you being forewaââ of the truth of the Gospell by many a true remie do not harden your selues and say wil doe as our fathers did we wil pray to Sââtes and goe on pilgrimage to such a Sainâ goe offer at such a mâsse for then we haâ things cheape lest that you so cutting off truth from you doe perish with them of âgipt And furthermore whereas you ãâã sent among vs many of your smal writingâ gloses like sugred pills which hauing anâ ward feeling of sweetnes are notwithstaÌâ in the full taste thereof as bitter wormâ in that you turne the word of the Gospell lawe to wormwood by inducing reasons oâ the ceremonial lawe of Aron to prooue ãâã superstition which is abolished by Christâ therfore search the scriptures more theÌâââditions that you may gyrd your selues with verity and not hurt by your writings and amples the tender sheepe of Christ But eâ deepely into the bottom of your heart and cââsider that you ought not to bring straunge ãâã âpon the altar as Abihu Nadab did no âore ought yee to make other worship then the âospell doth commaund you contrary to the âhich your traditions and superstitions bee âany from which wash you and make you âleane Esay 1. and then your sinnes though they were ãâã redd as skarlet shall be made whiter then âowe Wherefore measure not the pure reliââân and truth of the Gospell by looking to the âife and sin of the people but try the truth by âhe very Word it selfe For wickednes will ârowe vp among the true professors in that âathan doth there beare greatest spight to ârawe theÌ into sinne Therefore thou people of England make thee ready to mete thy God ând let not thy houses be ful of voluptuousnes ând thy Citties full of wickednes Ezech. 30. For Ezeâhiel sayth that God wil powre out his indigâation vpon sinne Therefore O England âuffer not wilfulnes to wax greene malitiousâes to growe vp vngodlines to take deepe âoote vnmercifulnes to increase For sayth God by the Prophet Amos Amos. 1. For three or foure âickednesses I will not spare Iuda and Israel Damascus and Tyre Moab and Ammâ For which cause hate the euill and loue ãâã good and then shall we still inioy the bleâ dayes of king Asa who sayde Because ãâã haue followed the lawes and truth of God hath geuen vs peace round about And God preserue our blessed Queene long to raigne ouer vs and send vs peace in Christ Amen God saue the Queen