Selected quad for the lemma: church_n
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B07159
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A most humble supplication of many the Kings Maiesties loyall subiects, ready to testifie all civill obedience, by the oath, as the law of this realme requireth, and that of conscience; who are persecuted, onely for differing in religion, contrary to divine and humane testimonies as followeth..
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Murton, John.
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1621
(1621)
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STC 563.7; ESTC S95969
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22,236
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39
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instructing them with meeknesse that are contrary minded proving if God at any time will give them repentance that they may acknowledge the truth and come to amendment out of the snare of the devill c. 2. Tim. 2. vvhich plainely sheweth that repentance must continually be waited for and not constreyned by persecution for repentance is the gift of God and cannot be constrained at mans pleasure Fiftly Christs Kingdome is not of this world Ioh. 18. neither are the vveapons thereof carnall but Spirituall 2. Cor. 10.4 And therefore the worldly weapons of earthly Kingdome cannot accomplish the things of Christs Kingdome The reason of all these are Because they who are now tares may hereafter become wheate they that now resist him may hereafter receive him they that are now in the devils snare even adversaries to the truth may hereafter come to repentance some come not till the eleventh houre Mat. 20.6 If those that come not to the last houre should be destroyed because they come not at the first then should they never come but be prevented CHAP. VII The Testimonies and practises of famous Princes against persecution FIrst your most excellent Majestie saith in your exposition upon Revel 20. ch First Printed in Edenborough 1588. after in London 1603. Sixtly the Compassing of the Saints and besieging of the beloved Citie declareth unto us a certaine note of a false Church to be persecution For they come to seeke the faithfull the faithfull are those that are sought the wicked are the besiegers the faithful the besieged And in your Highnesse speech at the Session of Parliament 1609. you say It is a sure rule in Divinity that God never loves to plant his Church by violence and bloudshed And in your Majesties Apologie for the Oath of Allegeance pag. 4. you say I gave a good proofe that I intended no persecution against them for conscience cause but onely desired to be secured of them for civill obedience which for conscience cause they were bound to performe And Pag. 60. speaking of Blackwell the Arch-priest your Highnesse saith It was never my intention to lay any thing to the said Arch-priests charge as I have never done to any for cause of conscience c. And in your Majesties Meditation upon the Lords Prayer your Highnesse adviseth that in the matters of Gods worship we should not doe that we doubt Also that noble Prince The King of Bohemia hath written thus Notwithstanding the successe of these latter times wherein sundry opinions have beene hatched about the subject of Religion may make one clearely discerne with his eye and as it were touch with his finger that according to the veritie of holy Scripture and a Maxime heretofore held and maintained by the ancient Doctors of the Church That mens consciences ought in no sort to be violated urged or constrained and whensoever men have attempted any thing by this violent course whether openly or by secret meanes the issue hath beene pernitious and the cause of great and wonderfull innovations in the principallest and mightiest Kingdomes and Countries of all Christendome c. For which cause his Majestie saith So that once more wee doe protest before God and the whole world that from this time forward we are firmly resolved not to persecute or molest or suffer to be persecuted or molested any person whatsoever for matter of Religion no not they which professe themselves to be of the Romane Church neither to trouble nor disturbe them in the exercise of their Religion so they live conformably to the Lawes of the State c. And for the practise of this thing it is well known that many great Monarchs Princes and States suffer Religion free and doe not constraine the conscience of any man by bodily persecutions not onely Heathen Princes as the Turk and Persian but even Catholique Princes and many Protestant Princes also CHAP. VIII Divers Testimonies of inferiour men against persecution HIllar contra Auxen The Christian Church doth not persecute but is persecuted and lamentable it is to see the great follie of these times and to sigh at the foolish opinion of this world in that men thinke by humane aid to help God and with worldly pompe and power to undertake to defend the Christian Church J aske you Bishops what help used the Apostles in the publishing of the Gospell with the aide of what power did they preach Christ and converted the Heathen from their idolatry to God When they were in prisons and lay in chaines did they praise and give thankes to God for any Dignities Graces and Favours received from the Court Or doe you thinke that Paul went about Regall mandates or Kingly authoritie to gather and establish the Church of Christ Sought he protection from Nero Vespation whose envie and hate against Christ made the Gospell and the acknowledgement thereof more to flourish The Apostles wrought with their hands for their owne maintenance travelling by land and water from Town to Citie to preach Christ yea the more they were forbidden the more they taught and preached Christ but now alas humane helpe must assist and protect the faith â—nd give the same countenance with and by vaine and worldly honours doe men seeke to defend the Church of Christ as if he by his power were not able to performe it Hill con Arian The Church now which formerly â—y enduring miserie and imprisonment was knowne to be a â—rue Chruch doth now terrifie others by imprisonment banishment and miserie and boasteth that she is highly esteemed of the world whereas the true Church cannot but be hated of the same Ambrose in his booke of Widowes The Church oâ—ercommeth the power of the adversarie not with worldly but with spirituall weapons which are powerfull before God â—o cast downe holds and spirituall wickednesses Damasc 3. sent cap. 33. The Gospell is preached â—hrough the world which overcame not the adversaries â—hereof through the sword or by warre but a few naked poore unlearned and scourged people confounded and brought to nought the wise men of the world for how shall â—he Church otherwise have Martyrs if she her selfe martyred others Ierom. in proaem lib. 4. in Ieremiam Heresie is to be cut off with the sword of the Spirit let us strike thoâ—ow with the arrowes of the Spirit all sonnes and disciples of misse-led heretiques that is with Testimonies of holy Scripture the slaughter of Heretiques is by the word of God Tertul. ad Scapul It agreeth both with humane equiâ—ie and naturall reason that everie man worship God uncomâ—ompelled and beleeve what he will for it neither hurteth nor profiteth any man another mans Religion or Beleefe neither beseemeth it any Religion to compell another to be of their Religion which willingly and freely should be imbraced and not by constraint for as much as the offerings were required of those that freely and with a good will offered and not from the contrary Brentius upon 1. Cor. 3. No man hath power to make or
in him vers 49. but this people that know not the Law are cursed The truth of this is as plaine as may be that the Scriptures being the rule of Faith perfect and absolute and that the plainenesse of them is such as that by the Spirit of God they may easily be understood of those that feare and obey God but of none else and that such are most commonly the poore and despised For if any want wisedome be he never so simple let him come unto God and hee will give him Iam. 1.5 which is also confirmed by humane testimonie The Protestants confesse that in the Primitive Church the doctrines and severall points of Religion were known and discovered by the most meane of the people and rhe Bishops exhorted them therunto c. Whits way pag. 7. And that this rule is of that nature that it is able to direct any man be he never so simple yea the most unlearned alive may conceive and understand it sufficiently for his salvation pag. 9. And they relate the sayings of the Ancients in this time First Clemence Alexandrinus The word is not hid from any it is a common light which shineth to all men and there is no obscuritie in it c. pag. 32. Next Augustine God hath bowed down the Scriptures to the capacitie of babes and sucklings that when proud men will not speak to their capacitie yet himselfe might After him Chrisostome The Scriptures are easie to understand and exposed to the capacitie of every servant and Plowman and widow and boy and him that is most unwise therefore God penned the Scriptures by the hands of Publicanes Fishermen Tent-makers Shepherds Neatherds and unlearned men that none of the simple people might have any excuse to keep them from reading and that so they might be easie to be understood of all men the Artificer the Housholder and Widow woman and him that is most unlearned Yea the Apostles and Prophets as Schoole-masters to all the world made their writings plaine and evident to all men so that every man of himselfe onely by reading them might learne the things spoken therein Next Iustine Martyr saith Heare the words of the Scripture which be so easie that it needs no exposition but onely to be rehearsed And this the Protestants say was the perpetuall and constant judgement of the ancient Church c. And further he alledgeth pag. 21. Theodoret who writ of his times You shall every where see these points of our faith to be knowne and understood not onely by such as are Teachers in the Church but even of Coblers and Smiths and Websters and all kinde of Artificers yea all our women not they onely which are booke-learned but they also that get their living with their needle yea mayd-servants and wayting-women and not Citizens onely but Husbandmen of the Country are very skilfull in these things yea you may heare among us Ditchers and Neatherds and Wood-setters discoursing of the Trinitie and the creation c. The like is repeated by others And say the Protestants His doctrine that was President in the Trent Councell That a Distaffe was fitter for a woman then a Bible was not yet hatched c. Oh! it were well if the contempt of these pious practises were paled onely within the Romish profession and were not practised in and among those that professe themselves to be separated therefrom As what is more frequent in the mouthes of many learned Protestants then these and such like words Must every base fellow Cobler Taylor Weaver c. meddle with the exposition or discoursing of the Scriptures which apperteyneth to none but to the learned Yea doe they not forbid their owne Ministers to expound or discourse of the Scriptures Read the 49. Canon which is No person whatsoever not examined and approved by the Bishop of the Dioces or not licenced as is aforesayd for a sufficient and convenient Preacher shall take upon him to expound in his owne Cure or elsewhere any Scripture or matter or doctrine but shall onely studie to read plainly and aptly without glosing or adding the Homilies alreadie set forth or hereafter to be published by lawfull Authoritie c. So that not onely Iesus Christ and his Apostles who are alive in their doctrine though not in their persons are forbidden all exposition of holy Scriptures or matter or doctrine not being licensed by the Bishops but also their owne Ministers who have sworne Canonicall obedience to them Yet when they are put to answer the Papist who practise the same thing they take up both Scriptures and ancient Writers to confute it CHAP. V. The learned in humane learning doe commonly and for the most part erre and know not the Truth but persecute it and the professors of it and therefore to be no further followed then we see them agree with the Truth THe next in order is That seeing the Lord reveileth his secrets to the humble though wanting humane learning That we now prove that on the contrarie God usually and for the most part Hideth his secrets from the learned and suffreth them to erre and resist the Truth yea so far as to persecute it and the professors of it And first let us beginne with the learned Heathen who were behind none in humane learning The wise men of Egypt how did they resist the powerfull truth of God delivered by Moses yea they resisted it with such signes and lying wonders as the heart of Pharaoh and all his people was hardened against it Exod. 7.11.12.18 8.7 And what was the cause of the destruction of Babel but the trusting in the learned Esa 47.13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy Counsels c. And Esa 44.25 I destroy the tokens of the Southsayers and make them that conjecture fooles and turne the wise men backward and make their knowledge foolishnesse The things of Gods dealing none of the learned of Egypt or Babel could interpret but Ioseph and Daniel Next come to the learned Priests and Prophets of the Iewes whose lips should have preserved knowledge and at whose mouth the people should have sought the Law But saith the Lord Mal. 2.7.8 They are gone out of the way they have caused many to fall by the Law c. Also Esay 29. Stay your selves and wonder they are blind and make you blind they are drunken but not with wine they stagger but not by strong drinke for the Lord hath covered you with a spirit of slumber and hath shut up your eyes the Prophets and your chiefe Seers c. Therefore the Lord said Because this people come neere unto me with their mouth and honour me with their lips but have removed their hearts far from me their feare towards me was taught by the precepts of men Therfore behold I will againe doe a marveilous worke in this people even a marvellous worke and a wonder for the wisedome of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of the prudent shall be