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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19367	A supplication exhibited to the most mightie Prince Philip king of Spain &c. VVherin is contained the summe of our Christian religion, for theprofession whereof the Protestants in the lowe Countries of Flaunders, &c. doe suffer persecution, vvyth the meanes to acquiet and appease the troubles in those partes. There is annexed An epistle written to the ministers of Antwerpe, which are called of the confession of Auspurge, concerning the Supper of our sauiour Iesus Christ. VVritten in French and Latine, by Anthonie Corronus of Siuill, professor of Diuinitie.	Corro, Antonio del, 1527-1591.; Corro, Antonio del, 1527-1591. Epistle or godlie admonition, to the pastoures of the Flemish Church in Antwerp. aut	1577 (1577)	STC 5791; ESTC S116690	149,833	422

the Lorde our creator whose mercy and goodnesse are so plentiful that he maketh his Sunne shine both vpon the good and the euill Let vs not vse regarde that this man hath suche an ignoraunce nor that man will receiue any article of oure confession Let vs loue all helpe all embrace all and support the ignorances and infirmities of all For better were it that we failed in this point if it be a fault at all than to make vs iudges of the conscience of an other and giue out sentence of condemnation against those that agree not with vs. For ende deare brethren I beséeche you take in good parte this my Epistle or Letter mouing no otherwise than of an affectioned hart towards you wherof the Lorde is my witnesse and I assure it in myne owne conscience and let it not I praye you be an occasion to you to write Bookes nor Pamphlets ●eing I haue no meaning to enter into defiance or warre with the pen neither doth the tyme serue for it but rather of néede to vs all to apply our selues to better things and lette vs labour to encrease our knowledge in that which we want to be doctors of the Gospel for the acknowledging of our ignorance oughte rather to incense vs to a will to learn than to make our selues inquisitours and censors of the Faythe of others with employing the tyme to fill bookes and papers wyth questions altogither impertinent to edification I humbly beséech the soueraine maiestie of our good God and heauenly father that it will please hym to furnishe youre iudgements and vnderstādings wyth the knowledge of hys holy wor●● to the end that by the meane of youre preachings youre audience may learne a true faithe an assured hope in Iesus Christe and a carefull mortification of the olde Adam and that the same Lorde so renue youre harts and enflame your wills in the affectiō of charitie towards your neighbors that from henceforth wée béeing ioyned with you and you with vs in we liue in peace and tranquilitie of body and spirit in the assembly of our Lorde Iesus soueraine pastor of our soules who hauyng bought vs by the inestimable price of his obediēce and bloud most precious it may also please him to garde vs agaynste all dissentions make vs liue in the vnitie of himselfe vntill that being spoyled of this corruption we maye perfectly reioyce in the coniunction of him and the eternal glorie promised vs by his meane of the which in his own person the rather to make vs inheritors therof he hath alredy taken possession sitting on the right hande of God with all power in heauen and earth To whome be all glorie and empire for euer Amen In the tovvne of Antvverpe .ij. of Ianuarie 1567. Your affectioned brother in Iesus Christ and humble companion in the vvorke of God Anthonie de Corro of Siuill ¶ To the Church of Antwerpe THis onely deare brethren was intēded by this Epistle to imparte it by conference with the Preachers of the Church naming themselues of the confession of Auspurge withoute meaning to communicate it by publication albeit bicause diuers written copies are cōmen into the hands of sundry and seueral persons I thought it to better purpose to spread abrode and deliuer it in print thā to suffer it to be argued in secrete least the same mighte moue cause of sinister iudgement against the simple and sincere integritie of my meaning wherein as the labour was peculiar in my selfe without the enterviewe or counsell of any so if it include any matter to edifie or confirme your consciences it may please you to be thākfull to the Lord as author of all goodnesse And for the errors I beséech you let them he layde wholye vpon me as vpon a man who liuing yet in the peregrination to our heauenly country where we shal haue perfect knowledge may erre and faile in many things For we knowe that we are trauailers iorneymen in this body we are absent from the Lord and walke by faith and not by vewe For ende I wipe my hands afore God you all of any intent eyther to redarguate or confute the articles presēted by those that call thēselues of the Confession of Auspurge but rather to let thē sée vpon what smal causes they haue formed great quarrels maintaining dissention for a thing of small importance and forbeare to deale in matters more necessarie Seing also good brethren that vpō the impression there remained certaine leaues voyd vnfurnished of matter I thought it not out of purpose to fil them with certaine places of holy Scripture persuading the faithfull to actes of Charitie with brotherly vnitie one to another yea not to forbeare to loue our proper enimies and such as pursue vs with persecutiō a vertue at this day most important and necessary the rather for that Sathan employeth a wonderfull diligēce to sowe séedes of dissention and quarrels with speciall endeuor straunge meanes to corrupt the league of charitie left vnto vs by Christ of such commendation and all this vnder a pretence of diuersitie in religion wherein as we ought to stande vpon our gard against the subtilties and policies of the diuel so assuredly God hath not left vs either licence or libertie once to thinke that it is lawfull for vs to hate any man in respect to maintaine our religion séeing we are expresly enioyned by the words of the same to loue such as despise vs and pray for those that persecute our bodies and doings But alas we are slipt into a time so miserable and infected with such corruption blindnesse that in the maintaining of the integritie of oure faith we become preiudicial to the league of charitie with a negligent care of the vertue of the same For my part I allow iustly such diligence as is vsed in the purgation of abuses errors to the ende our holy fayth and Religion maye the rather be purified and remayne without spot albeit I wishe a precise obseruation of Christian charitie least in making war against the heretikes of our faith we become not heretikes against charitie For whiche cause and to the ende that euerye one be priuie to the bonde and obligation which God in this purpose demaundes at our handes I haue here collected out of the diuine word certaine speciall texts importing our charitable dueties office vnto our neighbour desiring you deare brethren to construe in the best my intent tending simply and altogither to refute those Fables dreames and errors whiche I sée sundrye with no small diligence labor to support and maintaine in the Church of Christ wishing they participated rather with a spirite of humilitie and myldenesse in the correction of the opinions of others than to striue to become inquisitors of other mens faith and much lesse to enter into sentēce of iudgement against such as refuse their interpretations vntill they be assured by the spirit of god that such opiniōs are directly against the

by hooke or by crooke one waye 〈◊〉 an other For as thoughe it were a ●●all matter to deuoure and at a mor●ll to choppe vppe the quicke to gnawe 〈◊〉 theyr bones and as the Prophet ●yth to breake them in péeces and ●st them in a potte to make themselues ●oath wythall they wyll also resem●le the Crowes and praye vppon ●e deade carkasses For what is to ●ée called a deuouryng of men a liue if ●hys be not That no mā be he neuer so pore without present pay might either haue his ch●● christned or bishopped as they term 〈◊〉 nor any be priested nor maried nor ●●ceiue the Communion nor be anoyl● lastely which is a moste euident arg●ment of the insatiable couetousnesse 〈◊〉 these gréedy cormorants might not b● buried and layde in the earthe which 〈◊〉 common to al men except these fellow had their mony paide afore hande b● specially if a poore man ought any pe●tithe firste fruite or any other Church duety he shoulde not haue Christian b●riall before he hadde satisfied therefor● And then also I beséech you what chantic did they shewe to the deade after a● this forsoothe they woulde make the executours pay for their Masses and D●●ges for their singing and chaunting fo● crosse and crosse cloth for bell and candle light for soule knells for sensing fo●beare and beare cloth wyth infinite other polling recknings that these shauen Syres and these pedling Mercers ha● learned in the schoole of Satan their Syre● And this is the cause moste myghtye Prince why a number haue willingly ●parted out of your Maiesties Realme 〈◊〉 Spaine sorowing to sée before theyr ●●es so manye and so horrible abuses in ●e Popish Church and hauing no hope 〈◊〉 redresse in so curelesse a case for suche 〈◊〉 durste either priuyly or openly make ●eyr mone to others or declare their ●dgement in religion ●asted the Inqui●●ours tiranny therfore some being exe●●ted by fire quicke some strangled to ●●athe some perishing vppon the racke ●nd other their tormentes inexplicable ●me by the filth and corruption of the prison others moste cruelly intreated at ●he Gaolers handes and yet of all the ●est this is most slaunderous and grea●●st dishonour to your Maiesty that all ●●ese tyrannies are countenaunced with ●our aucthoritie and by vertue of your ●ighnesse commission as the common ●●ying is that your Maiestye is the au●hor thereof and the Inquisitours but ●oure instrumentes For they saye that ●our Maiesty hath straightely charged ●nd commaunded that all suche persons as shall holde opinion that these thinge● that be aboue named bée abuses and desire to liue in that fréedome of conscienc● wherein God hathe placed vs by the Gospel of hys sonne Christe shoulde suffer imprisonment tortures death in most● cruell sorte that can be deuised And therfore it behooueth your Maiesty greatly most gracious Prince to take notice of this cause which our aduersaries for the respect of their own priuate lucre séek by al means to kéep from your knowledge fearing that our cause being knowen they gaines would ceasse before your grace authoryze by Commission suche vniust● Iudges and not to permitte that they shold sit of life and death ouer them who can best declare to your grace the subtill practises of thys generation bycause they knowe them beste It is reported in histories that Hadrian the Emperor who knew not Christ nor his religion neuerthelesse woulde not reiecte the supplications and bylles of petition exhibited vnto hym by the Christians Neyther did Pontius Pilate that Iewe enter into iudgemente of ●ure Sauioure Christ before he hadde ●y orderly Processe and as it were ●y due fourme demaunded of the par●ye hym selfe what hys cause was ●utting apart out of the place of iudge●ente all his accusers Festus and Felix twoo chiefe Rulers among the Romaynes and Lieutenauntes of the Prouynces woulde ●ot condemne S. Paule till they hadde wyth pacience hearde hym pleade hys owne cause Neyther woulde youre moste noble progenitoure and late Emperour Charles the fyfthe of moste famous memorye bée quiete in hys mynde before ●ée hadde hearde Luther speake for ●ymselfe in hys Maiestyes owne presence And also as it is reported of ●enne of verye good credite dyd pri●ately séeke to vnderstande the whole ●ate of hys cause at Luthers owne ●outhe Whervpon Pope Paulus the thirde of ●hat name began to haue him more than halfe in a ielousy and to conceiue some displeasure towardes hym frowned vppon him fouly therefore in so much that he lette not to threaten the Emperour t● remember hym for suffering an heretike to speake in hys presence though in hys owne cause The whyche is an euident argument of a full weake and an vniuste quarrell when a man refuseth to haue his cause referred to the debating and determinations of indifferent iudges For if the Pope and his Clergy maintaine a righteous quarrell why dare he not referre it to the iudgement of Kings and Princes why fléeth he the triall therof why is he afraide to come to conference and haue hys cause fréely debated in a generall councell where the controuersies of religion might be debated and disputed of and euerye man be hearde to speake his opinion according to the truth of the Gospell without feare or danger of their tyranny What impediment was ther thinke you why the East churches of Greece Macedonia Asia Africa Constantinople and Antioche woulde not gyue their consent to the primacie of the ●pedo me not giue their consent naye 〈◊〉 at moued thē with might and maine ●withstande that ambitious nation of 〈◊〉 Romishe Supremacie by vertue ●●ereof say they we may displace kings ●o Emperours from their Kingdomes 〈◊〉 Empires wée maye spoile them of ●●ir Crownes we may take the sword ●t of their handes and dispose all that ●●me at our owne pleasures and at our ●illes giue the spoyle thereof where it ●●easeth vs And yet Princes and Po●●ntates being drunke with the Babilonicall harlot doe kisse hys féete honour ●im in earth like a God and so do terme ●im the God of the earth their most ho● father and supreame Bishop and be●●g falsely perswaded that hée can not ●●re doe therefore thinke that the poore ●rotestants are iustly condemned by his ●ome bycause they will not fall downe ●nd worship the enimy of God thinking ●hat all Princes may with very good iu●tice and with a iuste conscience execute ●ll things that are commaunded by him and that the inquisitours likewise m● doe the same by vertue of theyr commision O mercifull God what a blyndne● is this O how sharp are thy iudgmen● O Lord that hang ouer our heads the men being worse blinded inwardly as in more grosse and palpable mists of i●noraunce than the outwarde mistes a● darkenesse that the people of Egipt we● in shoulde notwithstanding thinke the did as perfectly sée the truthe as the Su● at middaye and on the other syde iudg● them to be blinde that haue the true an perfect light euen the spirite of Christ ▪ giue light to

their vnderstādyng Who senses also and vnderstādyngs they da● go about to blind and to captiuate lea● happily they shoulde espie their iugling and treacheries naye plucke their ey● rather out of their heads molest vex di●quiet torment kill and slea those by fin● and sworde and by all kind of torments whome God accompteth to bée of hy● flocke and hathe béene maruellously carefull and tender ouer to bryng them vppe to foster and cherishe them and 〈◊〉 encrease their number and for whose ●ke Iesus Christe the euerlasting sonne 〈◊〉 the almightye father hath shedde hys ●oste precious bloude to worke their re●●emption and saluation And then began 〈◊〉 thus to thinke secretely wyth my selfe What meaning haue these fellows with ●●em If wée bée heretikes as they ac●ompt vs to be why haue they no com●assion of our soules forasmuch as they ●éeke not only not to saue our bodies but work our vtter destructiō Why do they putte vs to death perseuering in oure opinions and iudgementes whyche they ●all Hereticall especiallye beyng per●waded as they are that our opinions be damnable Why labour they not ra●her to teache vs the truthe and to bring vs backe into the ryghte pathe agayne Why are they not contented to spoyle vs of oure lyues but imagine howe they maye doe it in moste despitefull and cruell sorte that can bée deuised to the ende that they myght driue men into desperation whose saluation they might driue men into desperation whose saluation ought of Christian charitie to be moste deare vnto them Now● surely so it hath pleased God to order it that these men shoulde bestirre them i● this sorte like furies and helhounds that they maye declare themselues to bée th● séede and generatiō of Sathan their Sire who hath bene a murtherer from the very beginning the broode of Cain subiecte to the curse of whome God in the laste daye at his comming to iudgement will aske a strayghte accompte for the innocent bloud of his Saints shedde here in earth by them and reuenge al the whole from innocent Abel to the very laste of his Prophets and Martyres As our sauiour Christe doth moste manifestly declare speakyng to the Pharisies Verily I saye vnto you it shal come vpon thys generation from the bloud of iust Abel to the bloude of Zacharias the sonne of Barachias whome you haue slaine betwixte the Temple and the Aultar Wherefore in most humble manner I pray and beséech your Maiestie most gracious soueraigne not to defile nor embrewe your ●ndes with the bloud of your moste in●cent subiects nor to permit and suffer ●y longer that these limmes and mini●ers of the Deuill the deadly enimies 〈◊〉 God shoulde abuse your gentlenesse ●nd good inclination any longer Let not 〈◊〉 great and so horrible cruelties be pra●ised and countenaunced wyth your au●horitie Cast not the shéepe committed ●nto you by God into the mouthes of ●hose moste rauening Wolues leaue not ●ehinde you so lamentable a memoriall to your posteritie that your grace should be registred among them that volunta●ily and after their owne luste and pleasure haue by all meanes persecuted the true Christians the children of God and put them to death lette it neuer be saide that good men haue bene vniustly oppressed without cause knowen but only pretended contrary both to Gods lawe and mans and that in your Maiesties moste Princely throne and consistory For besides that this corrupte kinde of dealyng in the seate of iudgement will séeme most monstrous most detestable and most vnreasonable to thē that shall follow there is a worse thing greately to bée feared least God the Lord of hostes the moste myghtye and strong defence of Israell will laye so greate and so horrible Plagues vpon these moste cruell and vniust Iudges and vppon their issue theyr realms and dominions that it shal remain as an example for al posterity that shall come after the memory of them shal not be worne out while the world endureth No more then is the memory of Pharao that was drouned in the depth of the sea or of Nabuchodonozor that was transformed into a brute beaste or at the leaste whyche is as much in effect giuen ouer to brutish and beastly delyghts and exercises or of Holofernes whose heade was striken from his shoulders by the hands of a séely woman or of Herode that was eaten vp with wormes of Nero Caligula Iulianus other like tyrāts It is therfore a good lessō in this case to beware to be wise by other mens exāples For it is a great grace of God to learne by the mishaps of other men as it were at the handes of a scolemaster what is best for our owne behoofes The whiche your grace may easily learne most mighty prince if it may plese you to cast your eie aside to behold the miserable calamities whiche in youre memorie haue hapned vnto them that haue persecuted and vexed the church of god Nam tua res agitur paries cū proxmus ardet as the common saying is When thy neighbours house is on fire take héed of thine owne But to returne to my purpose these are the chiefe occasions that enforced me to leaue Spayne and to betake my selfe to the wide worlde and to wander as a Pilgrime and stranger in forrain countreyes In the whiche trauayle for the space of tenne yeares besides great sicknesse I haue suffered extreme Pouertie and haue bene constrayned to becom as an infant again and to learne to speak strāge languages to be able to vnderstand others to expresse mine owne mynde The which things notwithstanding trusting in the mercies of God I haue bothe willingly and paciently accepted and suffered knowing assuredly that the Disciples souldiours of Christ cannot be in better estate and condition than their Maister and Captaine hathe bin And this is the cause why the world that is naturally enclined to malice and spight refuseth to be at league with me For if I were a worldling then surely woulde the worlde embrace me as one of his broode would commend and extoll me would sette me alofte in honour and authoritie would endue me with riches and would yéeld me at full al other commodities and pleasures as it is accustomed to do to his own But I for my part render vnto almighty God moste hartye thanks for that it hath pleased him fréely and of his mere grace without anye desert of mine to imprinte in my hearte true and perfecte faith by the which I do not onely stedfastly beléeue in his dearly beloued sonne and in his Gospel but also do manifestly abide suffer al thinges for his name sake and am made partaker of his Crosse Howbeit in all thys my long trauayle there is nothyng that séemeth to me so vnséemely as that suche as be aboute your Maiestie and of your Counsel shoulde vse suche diligence sparing neyther for labour and coste to apprehend and to clappe in prison a number of vs Spaniards that haue fled your Realme and

in their dominions of auntiēt right that your maiestie might with indifferencye determine all these controuersies bring home again peace and trāquilitie vnto your countreis reléeue and succour poore men that are moste cruelly persecuted racked spoiled wounded and condemned to the stake breake the furye and outragious tiranny of these Termagants whiche vnder the colour and pretence of Christian religion doe persecute those that accompte nothyng so deare or precious vnto them as Christian religion Otherwise vnlesse youre Maiestie prouide some presente remedye for these calamities what other issue can youre Maiesty looke for of these things but that in stéede of moste faithfull subiectes to obey you and such as wil be prest and readie to spende both life and goods in yours Maiesties quarrell you shall in the ende be no kyng of men but onely of corses some hanging on the gibbet or gallowes some murthered in corners some burned vnto ashes For this one thing haue the inquisitours and their complices béene deuising and practising continually and no doubt of it will as they haue begun long since bring to passe that these spoils of mens goods wherby youre Maiestie and youre Kingdome shoulde haue reaped greate commoditie shall be transported into forraine Countries to the greate decay of you and your realme of Spaine And what doeth youre Maiestye thinke to bée the destruction of your people the decaye of your realme the empairing of youre Maiestye and dammage to youre moste royall person if thys bée not the verye confusion of all they that preferred the Monarchie that is to saye that kynde of gouernement and that state wherein one ruleth were moued so to do by the similitude likenesse of mās body For the king or chiefe ruler in a common wealth maye aptely bée resembled to the heade in the naturall body the Subiectes likewise to the inferiour members And this similitude besides the resemblaunce of preeminence and of subiection doeth sufficiently declare vnto vs howe greate concorde and what affection ought to bée betwixt the rulers the subiects how vnresonable a thing is it thē how vnsemely that the King shoulde wyth hys owne handes delyuer hys owne sworde into the handes of a madde man wyth the whiche he may cutte in sunder the members of the Princes owne bodye mangle them disseuer them one peece from an other and yet hée as one without sense beholde it with his eies and permit it who woulde not iustly meruaile at so greate follie and madnesse or can youre Maiestye be ignorant hereof that you are the person that playeth the same part in committing to the inquisitors your aucthoritie and power as it were a naked sword into their handes wherewith they maye cutte and hewe in péeces your Subiectes the very members of that bodye wherof youre Maiestie is the heade to the greate decaye of your people and weakening of your estate For example wherof it may please your maiestie to consider the kingdoms nexte aboute whose power and strength being by these means empaired and decayed both by lande and sea haue fallen into moste miserable calamities and haue bene constrained to praye aide of their enimies to succoure them in their extremities I omitte here to declare howe farre this disagréeth from the good and iuste kinde of gouernment described by the wise and beste learned in those affaires for subiectes to bée not onely not defended preserued and vnder the protection of their soueraignes nor aduaunced by them but spoiled oppressed and most cruelly put to death and murthered Aristotle in the bookes which he wrote of the state of common weales recordeth not without great detestation of so horrible a facte that certaine Barbarians in time paste vsed this maner that whosoeuer entred into any place of regiment before all things shoulde take a solemne othe that he shoulde do nor saye nothing in fauour and behalfe of the people nor séeke to kéepe concorde and loue among the people as though loue and felowship would rather cause breach of lawes than hatred and enmitie What would Aristotle saye then if hée were alyue among vs againe Is it not like hée would saye that the Princes of Christendome are of the same minde affection and purpose and that they had determined conspired and vowed the same with a solemne othe that the people shoulde haue none more deadly foe and enimy vnto them than the prince and ruler by whose sufferance commandement or negligence or dissembling or authoritie euery good man shuld either be hanged or banished or imprisoned causelese without desert or crime eyther of fellonie or murder or adultery or anye suche like offences but onely bicause hée is contented wyth hazarde of life and goodes rather to obey the commandement of God than in leauing them to folowe the vaine fantasies and deuises of mans braine and the doctrine of false hipocrites the whiche thing shoulde bée more manifeste than the lighte of the ●aye euen to Princes themselues if before they were haled so violentlye to most horrible execution they myght be herein the defence of their cause and innocency Béesydes what pleasure can a prince take which feareth not to incurre the hatred of hys Subiectes and whose conscience pricketh hym that hys people loue or regarde hym not as theyr father or Captayne but hate him as their ennimye how can it bée that that woman shoulde beare anye good affection towardes hym whose tyranny hath bene the cause that theyr béeloued husbandes haue béene haled out of theyr armes and putte to moste cruell deathe howe can children honor hym that haue séene their parēts most cruelly persecuted and slaine before their faces al by his vnmercifulnesse Will not all the whole people bée loath to put their life and goods in ieopardye for him who hath wronged and iniuried thē most spitefully The consideration whereof if it be but of small force to moue your Maiestie thoughe they be very weightie and worthy the marking of all sortes of people yet let the name of Christian religion of Christian beliefe yea the name of Christ moue you wherwith we flatter and please our selues and vaunt our selues aboue other This barbarous tyranny leaue it to infidells the very name of Christe shoulde be of force sufficient to moue your Maiestie beléeuing in Christe and therof bearing the name of a Christian to haue an earneste zeale and ardent affection to embrace mercie charitie and méekenesse of heart● What was meant by the ceremonie of the olde lawe when it was commaunded that Princes ere they tooke vppon them the gouernement of the state should be annoynted wyth oile anye other thing but in following the qualitie of the oile they shal deserue the good will of the people by lenitie mildenesse and gentlenesse and consider that the vertue of the oile is to supple the olde sores not to make any gréene woundes And doubtlesse Christiā Princes oughte to be so muche the more of gentlenesse mildenesse and cherefulnesse bycause they haue in chardge the

●ne iudgement and opinion may remem●er that we are called to be members of ●ne body wherof Lord we acknowledge hée to be the chief and supreme head and so detesting in ciuill partialities we ma● be of one opinion agrée in one mind an● vse one mutuall and charitable directio● touching the matter of our religion Thou hast left vnto vs O Lord the cel●bration of thy holy supper as a memora●● of oure communion and spirituall vniti● with thée and also to instructe vs in suc● lawes of charitie as ought to be of fam●liar conuersation amongst vs all And ye we such is the nature of our fragilitie 〈◊〉 condition of our vnworthinesse as we abuse the excellēt benefit of that most hig● fauour séeing that in place to tye and cōioyne our selues with thée we doe more estrange vs from thée and that by reasō o● our quarrells and questions of contentiō In place to cōsider that we are one body one church and one bread made of sundry graines we shewe our selues proud and giue sundry proues of our ambitiō in séeking to establishe a speciall estimation o● our peculiar priuate opinions in handling very often thy presence in thy holye supper by subtill disputation we become farre from thy true and liuely presence in contending whether the sinners and vn●●ithfull may cōmunicate thy bodye we ●ake our selues sinners incapable to ●eceyue and enioy thy benefites lastly ●nd in effecte oh Lorde our zeale is so ●●discrete that in stryuing to entertaine ●he puritie of the doctrine of fayth we ●reake the league law of charitie yea ●nd in persecuting with rebuke such as ●e accoūt to be heretikes in the doctrine ●f fayth our malice with want of dis●retiō makes vs séeme transnatured into heretikes of charitie corrupting the mea●es of cōmunication brotherly vnitie I beséech thée therfore oh son of God ●et thy gracious pitie fal vpon vs and so opē the eies of our vnderstanding as we may discerne the true fruite of thy holy in●titution ordinance take from amōgst vs all sectes varieties of opinions and reduce vs at last to the obediēce of thy holy only worde reueale vnto vs thy holy spirite with this priuiledge of grace that by his vertue he may drawe vs all into one corporation and bodie whereof thou O Lord mayst be heade and lette him breath into vs strēgth and power to perseuer in workes of true Iustice innocencie and holynesse during our course i● this tragicall and miserable pilgrimage and in the ende let we beséeche thée th● same holy spirite translate vs into the eternall life purchased to our vses by th● sacrifice and oblation of thy most precious death wherein thou raignest now gloriously with the father and holye Ghost and there shalt remaine infinitely Amen To my most dearely beloued in our Lord Iesus Christ the onely redéemer and aduocate of men towardes the heauenlye Father my brother Ministers and Pastours in the Churche of ●ntvvarpe naming themselues of the Church of Au●urge Grace and peace from God and hys sonne Iesu Christe to the ende that by the bonde of his holy spirite vve may all be knit in the vnitie and Confession of the Gospell of Christ AT my first comming to this towne of Antwarpe right honourable in Christ and that at the request of certain the Faythfull there I founde cause of singular comforte in the vewe of the wonderfull worke raysed vppe by the Lorde by meane of his seruauntes and that in so shorte tyme as sauing to such as haue assisted it it maye séeme no lesse impossible than incredible For if wée wonder in certayne Trées and Fruits who somtimes yéeld encrease aboue custome or against the cōmon course of Nature when as the Lorde were of purpose to releue and restore some cou●trie afflicted with hunger what may w● say of these spirituall plantes which th● father of mercy so sodenly and agayn● all hope of man hath set and planted 〈◊〉 these Low countries speciallye in th● citie of Antwerpe Truly we are boun● to acknowledge it as a worke of strang● maruell of our God and to say with t● prophet this incredible increase hath b● made by the Lord whō we find worth● of admiration in our eyes it is the rig● hande of God which hath reuealed h● vertue it is the right hand of God th● hath exalted vs it is the right hande 〈◊〉 God that hath manifested his power 〈◊〉 shall not die at all but we shall liue 〈◊〉 declare the doings of the Lorde whereas as I entred more déepely into the vie● and consideration of these things so 〈◊〉 thought it also an office and dutie in 〈◊〉 to crie with the sayd Prophet Confir● Lord and aduaunce the worke thou h● begon in vs build vp again the wall of thy holy temple restore the ruines thy heauenly Ierusalem to the ende th● the Kings and Princes of the earth may come to doe thée homage and offer presentes gather togither againe O God the dispersed of Israel This was the cause wherein I reioy●ed for certayne dayes with glad conti●uance till vpon further viewe of the matters of estate within the Citie I ●ounde occasion to mixe some sorrowe with this my ioye as séeing on euerye ●ide with what diligence Satan labou●ed to hynder the aduauncement of this Church not onely by meanes of open ●nimies but also by the indiscretion and ●ant of regarde in such as name themselues maister Masons in the house of God for such as feared God and wished a publication of his glorie cryed oute and exclamed that the chaire of truth was become the chaire of dissention ser●ing no more as a Pulpit to preach Ie●us Christ the appeaser of troubled cōsciences to pronoūce an vnity a brotherly charity nor the mortificatiō of the old Adam with the wicked motiōs of cōcupiscence but rather it was vsed as a place of inuectiues iniuries with wordes of malice tending to a mutual hate of one towards another dissention of doctrine wherein vpon inquirie of such fault with the circumstance authors of the same I finde your side not least guiltye as being such amongest you who in open assemblye with words and libels of malice are not ashamed to call the other Ministers of the Gospel Heretikes Sacramentaries rebels against the state and people vnworthie of place in the common wealth with other wordes improper and vnfitte for the maiestie of such a place which is consecrated purposely to teach the word and will of our God. Nowe brethren if such or such lyke matter of reproche should be pronounced in the Pulpit of certain Monks or monstrous Friers the very organs of the Romane Antichriste sent of their suppostes to trouble the Church of Christ to darkē his glory and resist the aduancement of his kingdome we woulde endure them with pacience as knowing well inough that such sorte of Prophetes be the disciples of Balaam who sell their toungs to curse the people of God yea somtimes against