for an Heretike shal be excommunicated lose al his spiritual liuing But if he shal kéep cōcubines Harlots he shal be a Catholike mā of a good religiō and kéepe al his liuings stil. Thus may y e pretious Pope the holy Church of Rome turne tosse the words meaning of Christ how they list but though they allowe and do these things yet therfore we must not think they ar good or to be liked but to be abhorred detested And I beléeue y t manye wil not allow their wicked laws and writings therein But now if y e Scriptures may haue sūdry senses at sūdry times may haue one mening at one time another mening at another time if this be so y t the Pope may chāge the senses of Christs Gospel for his pleasure thē why may not Christ change the meaning of his own Gospel for hys own pleasure therfore looke by what places of y e scripturs Peter his successors wer made Popes of Rome Christ may change the senses meaning of thē clean contrary therby vnpope them again For wheras Christ said Super han◠Petrā id est super ecclesiā Romanā edificabo ecclesiā meā which is Vpon this rocke that is to say vpō the Church of Rome I wil build my Church now Christ I thinke hath altered y e meaning sense of y e saying bicause y e order of the Church of Rome is changed therfore now to be vnderstāded thus vpon this rock being y e Church of Rome y e church of y e diuel shal be builded And wheras Christ said to Peter the first Pope as they say Whatsoeuer thou binds in Earth shall be bound in heauē now y e sense of y e scripture is changed the meaning therof is now thus whatsoeur y u binds in earth it shal be bound in Hel loke whose sins yée forgiue they shal not be forgiuen whō soeuer y u blesse in earth shal be curst in Hel whō soeuer y u curse on erth shal be blessed in heauē And wheras y e Pope sayes y t the meaning of Christ was y t the Popes being Peters successors should haue the keys which he gaue to Peter to open the gates of heauen to let vs in to it now I beleue y e same words of Christ haue another mening according to y e time chāging of y e Popes maners which are now quite contrarie to S. Peters conditions y t the keys now which the Pope hath shal shut men out of heauen open the gates of Hel let the Pope his Papistical Prelats into it thus the Pope by his chāging the sense of y e scriptures to serue for times hath made a very fair market for therby he is nether Pope nor Christs Uickar so he may binde in hel if he wil but he can binde nothing in heauen also therby he hath lost the keys of y e kingdome of Heauen hath in stead therof gotten y e keys of y e dungeō of Hel. For if y e Pope hath any spiritual keys at al as he sayth he hath by y e place of Scripture then the meaning therof is surely changed according to the time as Cusanus saieth so the Popes keys are not the keys of the kingdome of heauen but of the doleful dungeon of Hel. But though Hosius this Cusanus with other such like doth extol the Church of Rome sayth the authoritie theris aboue the scriptures that the meaning of y e scriptures are vncertain changes as the iudgement of the church of Rome changes y t nothing is takē for Christs cōmandemēt vnlesse the Church of Rome doth allow it Ther is no wise man wil beléeue them vnlesse they bring better authorities therfore thē their own bare words in y e mean space let vs giue credite to S. Aug. which was as godly a man as vertuous a mā as wel lerned a mā one y t knew what authority y e church of Rome ought to haue as wel as they who saith thus Cedamus cōsētiamus c Let vs yeld saith he consent to the holy Scriptures which can neither deceiue nor be deceiued He names not here the Churche of Rome nor sayeth that it hathe aucthority aboue the Scriptures nor yet sayth that the Scripturs haue sometimes one meaning and sometimes another and that the sense doth alter or chaunge but he bids both the Church of Rome and al other Churches whatsoeuer to yéeld and cōsent to the scripture which as he saith can neither deceiue nor be deceiued Truely if your Church of Rome had had any such aucthoritie aboue the scriptures as y e Popes proctors wold make vs beléeue then Irenaeus S. Ierome S. Augustine Tertullian Chrisost. other learned writers would haue writtē something of it nay if they had done so y e Popes doctors would haue brought thē forth for the better credite of their cause But bicause they write directly against thē as is before mētioned therefore they let thē alone Now if the scriptures according to Saint Au. can neither deceiue nor be deceiued then the Church of Rome which is inferior to the scripturs ought to giue place to y e Gospel being cleane contrary to the scripturs may deceiue vs therfore may erre ly as she cā do none other as before is very manifest but though these y e Popes prelates wold make vs beléeue y t ther were no certainty in the scriptures and y t the Gospell is vncertain the meaning therof chaunges according to y e times which is a moste diuellish doctrine yet I will approue that there is neyther certainetye trueth nor godlinesse in the Popes lawes nor in the Church of Rome Platina sayth that the Popes y t follow do euermore eyther breake or wholye abrogate the decrées of the Popes that were before now séeing there is such vncertaintie in the Popes lawes decrées are not we worthye to beléeue and credite the same Looke what lawes God did sende vnto vs by Iesus Christ his sonne which is the Gospel he neuer disanulled them nor did deliuer vs anye other since nor neuer wil his doings and iudgements are so certaine true infallible and therfore Gods law his holy gospel is so right true perfect infallible that al other doctrines ought to be iudged and tryed by it Therfore if you be the children of God you wil credite no doctrine be it neuer so auncient and séeme it neuer so glorious nor so holye no further than it doeth agrée with the Scriptures and the worde of God Therefore beléeue not the Church of Rome whose Doctours doctrine are so diuellish as before is well proued and as hereafter shal be more manifested Therefore marke well a little more of this doctrine of your church of Rome which if you be
Therefore let the Pope take héede least he come there among the vnruly Diuels for though he rule on Earth the Diuell wyll bée ruler in Hell it were a foule ouersighte of the Pope to goe to Hell and to be ruled of the Diuels that nowe doth rule both Angels in Heauen and men in earth Wel howsoeuer the Pope hath gotten his authoritie he hath it and will holde it as long as he can and if these two pillers will stay him he meanes to sit stil in his seate The first is the Church of Rome whatsoeuer she say or doe can neuer erre for the Pope makes it Heresie to say so another is the Pope whatsoeuer he doe may neuer be called to any reckning if these two points be graunted then he may do what he list Iohannes de Parisijs sayeth We must expound euery fact of the holy Father for the best and if it bee theft or any other thing that of it selfe is euill as aduoutrie or fornication wee must thinke it is done by the secrete inspiration of GOD. An other sayeth If the Pope drawe infinite companyes of people by heapes togither with himself into Hell to bee punished with hym with manye strypes for euer yet let no mortall man presume to reproue hys faultes You may sée that these holye Fathers did not meane to liue godly that allowed their Doctours to defend their abhominable liuing as the fruites shewe what the trée is so the Popes doing shewes what they are and haue bin euen the very Antichrist But to satisfie you that almost nothing will satisfie I wyll prooue vnto you y t the Pope of Rome is the very whore of Babilon that Saint Iohn speaketh of in his Reuelation euē with the verye wordes that the learned Doctor Fulke dyd vtter in his excellent Sermon made at Hampton Courte to that ende The Angel did expound to S. Iohn that the seauē heades of the beast whereon the woman sitteth doe signifie seauen Hilles and where is there any Citie in all the world but only Rome in Italie that is builded vpon seauen Hilles and these are the names of the Hilles Palatinus Capitolinus Auentinus Exquilinus Viminalis Quirinalis Caelius The Angell herein hath more plainely shewed this great Babilon to be Rome than if he had named it to bée Rome For the Citie of Constantinople was once called new Rome but yet it is not builded vppon seauen Hilles as this Rome is Therefore Rome must néedes bée the seate of Antichrist if the Woman bée Antichriste that dyd sitte on the beaste And further the Angell sayeth in playne wordes that that great whore of Babilon is that great Citie which hath dominion ouer Kings of the Earth Nowe it is euident that then the Romaynes had the fourth Monarche spoken of by Daniel and had rule ouer the Kyngs of the Earthe So that wythout all contradiction Rome must néedes bée the place where that whore doeth sitte And Ireneus a moste auntient writer that liued almost fiftéene hundreth yéeres since writing of the Sée of Antichrist vppon the last verse of the thirtéenth Chapter of the Reuelation of Saint Iohn where the number of the beast is expressed to bée sixe hundreth sixtie and sixe shewes plainely that the same number correspondent to the Gréeke letters makes this word Lateinos whiche in Englishe is the Latine man or Romaine and these are his wordes Sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nomen sexcentorum sexaginta sex numerorum c valde veresimile est quoniam verissimum regnum habet hoc vocabulum this name Lateinos saith he cōtaining the number of 666. is thought to be the name of Antichriste and it is very like so to be for that verie kingdome hath this name for they are Latines that nowe do raigne Thus that olde and auncient Father Irenaeus founde out by the number of the beast that his name is such a one as beares rule ouer Rome this is not deuised by anye late Author but by one that is so auncient that he in no wise is to be mistrusted for then in his time there was neyther Pope nor Papist neither Lutheran nor Zwinglian Tertullian a worthie and auntient writer saith very plainly that Babilon doth signifie Rome these are his words Euen so doth Babilon of our Iohn meaning the wordes of S. Iohn in the Apocalips beare the figure of the Citie of Rome which is as great and proude in raigne and as great a persecutor of the Saints as Babilon was Thus you heare the opinion of that auntient writer Tertullian that liued aboue thirtéene hundred yeares since who sayeth flatly that this Babilon bears the figure of the Citie of Rome Saint Chrysostome likewise sayeth Antichrist shall inuade the principalitie of the Empire being voide shall assay to drawe vnto himselfe the Empires both of God and men What can be more manifest than this for did not the Popes kingdome and rule encrease by the decaie of the Empire yes truely and at the fall of the Emperiall Monarchie the Pope chalenged the rule both spiritual and temporal Marke what Saint Ierome sayeth wryting vnto Algasia Nec vult c. whiche is neyther will he openly say that the Romaine Empire should be destroyed which they that gouerne it thinke it to be euerlasting wherefore according to the Reuelation of Saint Iohn in the forehead of the purple whore there is written a name of blasphemie which is Rome Euerlasting Here Saint Ierome a credible authour and one of the Doctours of the Church nameth the whore of Babilon to the Purple whore of Rome in whose forehead is written a name of blasphemie whiche is Rome Euerlasting For so the Pope takes Rome to bée that Rocke that can by no meanes be remoued For the Pope bragges that Rome is that same Rocke againste whiche Hell gates cannot preuayle but he and all they that trust him be maruellouslye deceyued for God with his breath that is his word will ouerthrowe and destroy it And also Sainct Ierome calleth Rome the daughter of Babilon and taketh Babilon in Chaldea for Babilon the Elder and Rome hir daughter for Babilon the yonger Also Sainct Ierome writing in his Preface vnto the booke of Didimus de spiritu sancto writing to Paulinianus vttereth these wordes Cùm in Babilone c. when I was in Babilon sayth he meaning Rome and was an inhabitaunte of the Purple Harlot and liued after the lawes of the Romaines I thought to entreate something of the Holy Ghost Here contemptuouslie he calleth Rome by the name of Babilon hauing no occasion so to doe whereby it appeares he was fullye persuaded that Rome coulde be none other but that Babilon mentioned by Sainct Iohn in the Apocalips And Sainct Ierome writing to Marcella a vertuous Gentlewoman of Rome persuaded hyr to forsake Rome whiche was the Babilonical Harlot appointed for the byrth of Antichrist which there should arise and exercise his Tirannie and from thence shoulde deceiue the whole
it hath not yet it had néede to haue a very strong commission to tie the trueth so harde to it that it shoulde neuer departe thence Hierusalem was once a holy Cittie and the Temple of God was placed in the same wherein hée appeared and shewed his Maiestie and reuealed his will in which Temple King Salomon that buylded it thought the Lord would dwell there for euer and that there should be his house and his Churche yet now God hath lefte both that Cittie of Hierusalem and the Temple suffred them to be destroyed and ouerthrowen now if God hath departed from and left Hierusalem and the holy Temple which he himselfe appointed to be buylded to be his house for himselfe and wherein he appeared and reuealed his will and pleasure then there can be no great warrantie made but that he and the truth may departe from and forsake the Cittie and Churche of Rome which he neuer called his Cittie neyther appointed any Temple or Churche there to be buylded for him to dwell in neyther euer appeared there and reuealed his will to his Prophetes and seruants as he did in the Temple of Hierusalem which Cittie of Rome was first buylded with murther continued with murther and maintayned with murther where in is the Churche of couetousnes the pallace of pryde the Castell of crueltie the boothes of brothelrie the Innes of Idolatrie the mansion of mischiefe the houses of Harlotrie and the dungeon of all Diuelishnesse and iniquitie Therefore it is verie harde to warrant that the truthe shall neuer departe from this your Churche of Rome vnlesse you meane that the trueth can not departe from thence bycause it is not there or neuer wil be there By this vndoubted assertion it should séeme that you haue bound Christe in some great bond or statute Marchant that he beyng the trueth shall not departe from the Pope but it were more méete that the Pope were bounde not to departe from Christe Therefore seing the truth hath departed from Hierusalem and the Temple there which was the Cittie and Temple of God where he was content to appeare and reueale his will to his people Then the truth may well departe from Rome if it were there which God neuer chosed for his Cittie neyther euer appeared there in any Temple nor appointed any house there to be buylded for him as he did in Hierusalem Yet we may boldly affirme that the truth was once in Rome and the Gospell of Christe was there embrased and then there was the Churche of God but now of a long time it hath not had the truth as before it appeares but is the enimie to the truth and forsakes and driues from them the trueth that is the Gospell Therefore Rome is not nowe the Churche of God but the Synagoge of Sathan Yet Doctor Harding did write that the Churche that nowe is meaning the Churche of Rome and the Churche that was in the olde time is one Churche as the man in his olde age is the same he was in his youth I graunt herein that Maister Harding saies true but though hée be the same man yet the same man may be an honest man in his youth and a false harlot in his age Euen so your Churche of Rome when shée was yong she was godly honest and was a true spouse to Christe hir husbande but now your Churche of Rome in hir olde age is become wicked dishonest and false to Christe hir husbande and is a verie vnshamefast whore and an aduoutresse and goeth a whooring worshippes Images and committes Idolatrie And as the learned Maister Iewell late Bishop of Salisburie saith thus vpon the same Euen so is the Moone being full and the same Moone Eclipsed is one Moone Euen so a man well aduised and the same man starke madde is one man Euen so the house of God and a caue of theeues is one house And the same Master Harding was so farre in loue with the Church of Rome that he thought it to be so holie true that all other Churches ought to receyue their truth and light from it and would not haue it dayed or Iudged by the Scriptures or by any other thing but that all other Churches ought rather be daied iudged by the church of Rome thought she was too old ancient to be controlled in these daies either of God Christ or of the Scriptures And therfore he saith thus as followeth Our doctrine meaning the doctrine of the Pope and of the Churche of Rome hath had too high a teacher to be tried by mē now it hath bene approued too lōg to be put in daying in these daies at the latter end of the world Thus much saieth he of the Churche of Rome thinking she is too true honest and auncient to come to triall or to be put to daying But I say he that refuseth triall of his matter doubtes belike that it is not very good he that standes so much vpon his honestie and will refuse to be tried by his neighbors may be thought to be scant an honest man so the Church of Rome refusing to be tried by the Scriptures and by the worde of God which is as honest as true and as auncient as she is I am sure doubtes the truth of hir cause and suspects hir owne honestie The Iewes doctrine was once the doctrine of God and the auncientest truest of al other they the people of God it was long before y e Gospel which is y e doctrine of Christ yea and before the Popes holie religion or the Romish doctrine yet for all that the Iewes now are not the people seruantes nor the true Churche of God Who might now say thus aswell as the Popes proctors a great deale better Our law hath bene approued too long to be put in daying in these daies at the latter end of the worlde I trust you would not thinke y e saying were sufficient to ouerthrowe your Churche of Rome although it might well inough It is not the auncientnesse but the truth of the doctrine that ought to be allowed or accepted Caine the first wicked murtherer that murthered his brother Abel was elder than Abel Yet murther for all the auncientnesse and long continuance therof may be put to daying wel enough and that by Gods lawe which Abel profest though he were the yonger brother The Heathen may say by as good reason our worshipping of Idolles beyng long before the religion of the Christians hath bene approued and vsed too long by our auncestors to be put in daying in these dayes in the latter end of the worlde The Diuell was before the worlde began and fell from Heauen for his pryde a great while before God did sette foorth his lawe eyther by Moses or else by Christe Yet I trowe that pryde is not therefore to be allowed to be good The Diuell might likewise say my law of pryde began so long agoe yea before the worlde
was created or made and hath bene allowed approued and vsed by many great Emperoures Kings yea and Popes Cardinals and Byshops and many other too long to be put in daying in these daies at the latter ende of the world But whereas the murther of Caine the Idolatrie of the Heathen and the pryde of the Diuell began long before Christe yet the Pope and his Religion began long and many a day after Christ as plainly appeares Therefore seing the murther of Caine the Idolatrie of the Heathen and the pryde of the Diuell that are so ancient and so long before Christ may be put to daying then the Popes authoritie his new Romishe religion that began so long after Christ wherein murther Idolatrie pride beares such a sway may aswel be put to daying be brought to accōpt Therfore regard not the church of Rome for hir anciētnes who though you beléeued she was so old so ancient yet in cōparison of y e gospel she is very yōg but sticke to the worde of God and the Gospell which is both auncient and true wherevpon the right true Churche is buylded and be not angrie with vs for forsaking that false late vpstart Church of Rome and in following Christ and his Gospell which makes vs the true Churche neyther say that we boast our selues to much in saying so which is no proude boasting but a godly reioysing For if it be a proude parte to followe Christe in religion and liuing who is the best patterne to followe of all that euer dwelled on the earth what is the Pope then that claymeth Christes authoritie to him selfe and to be as Christ For one saluted the Pope in this maner as followeth Touching prymacie thou arte Abel Touching gouernment thou arte Noe touching the Patriarkeship thou art Abraham touching order thou arte Melchisedech touching dignitie thou art Aaron touching Authoritie thou art Moses touching Iudgement thou art Samuel touching power thou arte Peter touching annoynting thou art Christe All this I trowe is sufficient for a Pope and I may say further touching thy takyng of all this vppon thée thou art Antichrist That Churche that hath such a head and chiefe Captaine as claymes and takes all these Titles and yet for all that is a very limme of the Diuell muste néedes be a true and holy Churche such a Churche is that Churche of Rome that you haue so much estéemed therefore if you meane to be of the Churche of Christe then flie away with spéede from this Churche of Antichrist For how can that be the Churche of Christ that will not suffer the Gospell which is the Statutes and Lawes of Christ to be red and taught in it As all earthly Emperours Kinges haue their statutes lawes for the obeying of them the maintenance of the countrey Cōmonwealth so hath Christ the sonne of God his statutes lawes for them that be his people the Christians thereby to obey their Captaine Christe to do these things that may conserue them all togither here in a holye congregation and that maye leade them the waye to the kingdome where their head King Captaine in Christ is But as they that wil not suffer the lawes of their Kings or Emperours to be read published to their people but will hyde them destroy them and burne them bycause they should not obey their Emperours and kings and that they should not do their things that should be for the prosperitie concord and continuaunce of their Countrey and common wealth are no true subiectes of those Kings or Emperours but rather rebels and traytors Euen so the Pope and the Churche of Rome are not the true children nor Churche of Christe but rebels and Traytors to him that hydes destroyes and burnes the Scripture Gospell Gods worde bycause we shoulde not knowe our duetie to oure Christe and that we shoulde not kéepe his commaundements Perhappes some of you wil saye if the Popes be so wicked their doctrine so detestable and the Churche of Rome so contrary to Christe as is here alleadged then why doth the Emperour and diuers Kings and so manye Rulers in Christendome followe him and do not espie his diuelish doings Mary I wil tel you why they do not forsooth bicause they looke not in the worde of God whych is the only Candle that woulde make them to sée and so without it they are blinde therefore the Pope doth suppresse it burnes it and hydes it and falsely expoundes it and makes them beléeue it is Heresie to be in their vulgare and knowne tongue and all bycause he woulde not haue them to sée that he maye leade them by the noses whiche waye he liste for the Pope is assured that if the Kings and Rulers that are the defenders of his religion did once know the Scriptures and had them in their vulgare tongue as oure gracious Quéene of England the King of Denmarke the King of Scots and other Dukes and Rulers of Germany and of diuers other Countries haue then they woulde spye his iugling and forsake him as hir Grace and the other Kings Rulers haue done The Lion or wilde Bull saieth M. Iewell bee they neueruer so cruell or great of courage yet if you may once closely couer their eyes ye may easily leade them whether you lyst without resisting Euen so doth the Pope hoodwinke and blindfolde the Princes of the worlde and holde them in ignoraunce for want of looking in Gods worde which done he maketh them to holde his Styrrop to leade his horse to kneele downe and to kysse his shoe and to attende and wayte vppon him at his pleasure but if they eyther knewe him or them selues they woulde not doe it which they will neuer knowe well before they know Gods word better than they doe And thus the blynde Popes leade the blinde Kyngs Princes and Rulers whereby they are all lyke to fall in the ditche and the Pope learnes the blinde Kings and Princes méekenesse and humilitie and the Diuell teaches him to bée presumptuous and proude for humilitie it can not wel be called vnlesse the Pope hath one humilitie and Christ an other For Christ sayth learne of me for I am méeke lowly in hart Nowe if Christ which is the chiefe teacher of humilitie and méekenesse had thought it had bene a point of humilitie to haue troden in the Emperours necke that an Emperour with his wife and childe shoulde haue come in the colde frost and to stande thrée dayes without at his gate for his absolution and pardon that an Emperour shoulde holde his Styrrop whiles he got vp on his horse y e Kings shoulde holde his horse leade his horse by the brydle and go on foote whyles he did ride to set the Emperours Crowne on his head with his foote and to strik it off againe with his foote to suffer a Duke to lie in chaynes vnder his Table whiles he was at dinner and that Kings and Emperours shoulde
East Church haue offended that they may not be dispenced withall to marry as wel as the Priests of the Weast Church belike the Pope thinkes that God hathe appointed the Easterne Priestes to liue in whoredome and the Westerne Priests to liue in marriage sureâ—y this your Romish religion is the fondest the vnreasonablest and most coÌ„trary to it self of al other Thus I trust you are satisfied for the marriage of Priests and Ministers which I haue not onelye proued to be lawful by Gods lawe by the ancient Doctors by reason but also haue manifested what mischiefe and wickednesse this vowed chastitie of Priests hath wrought besides the Popes abhominable lawes and shameful suffring nay rather maintaining and procuring of whordome and most vitious liuing of his Prelates and Priestes And nowe as I reproued the forbidding of Priestes marriage and other of the doctrine of the Churche of Rome manifesting the same to be moste wicked and vngodly and against the word of God euen so I will proue that your Masse is moste wicked detestable and that the Sacrament as you vse it is bothe moste abhominable Idolatrie and not the body of Christe as your Romishe religion doth teach and as you beléeue though you thinke Gods worde can not confounde it no doctrine disproue it no writers ouerthrowe it nor no reason condemne it And now to beginne therein whereas many of you are persuaded that this youre Masse was vsed of Christe and his Apostles and so came from them your opinion therein is moste vntrue false for if Christe hadde instituted it and the Apostles had vsed it then assure youre selues that Christe woulde haue made mention thereof in the Gospell or Saint Luke would haue shewed it in the Actes of the Apostles or the Apostles woulde haue written of it in their Epistles or else GOD would haue reuealed it in the Reuelations whereby Saint Iohn woulde haue vttered it in the Apocalips and therefore forasmuche as there is no mention at al in any of those places eyther of the Masse or of any part of it as you haue it wée muste néedes thinke and are moste assured that it is not to be receiued allowed vsed nor estéemed but rather to be eschewed and contemned of all true Christians for whatsoeuer is necessarye for vs Christe and hys Apostles haue vttered in the Newe Testament And therefore this that I haue alreadye sayd is sufficient to ouerthrowe and quyte to confound your Masse For where shoulde we Christians looke for Christe oure Capitaines lawe but in Christes Booke and what other Booke hath Christe but onelye the Newe Testament therefore hys lawe and wil is there to be founde and no where else and so whatsoeuer is not to be found in that booke is not the law of Christe and bycause your Masse is not to be found in the Newe Testament therefore it is not Christes lawe nor commaundement and séeyng it is not Christes lawe nor commaundement what shoulde Christians doe with it this me thinke were sufficient for you vtterly to refuse and forsake the Masse bycause it is not mentioned by Christe nor his Apostles Perhappes some of you wyll saye thoughe it be not in the Gospell yet therefore it is not to be reiected for that Christe lefte many things oute of the Gospell that hée woulde haue vs to follow whych you would séeme to proue by these wordes of Christe which he spake to his Apostles I haue many things to saye vnto you but you are not able to beare them yet c. if this be the best foundation to build your Masse on it wil be quite ouerthrowne at the firste I can tel you that this is the text whereby the Pope would proue his Purgatorie and pardons with much of his other trashe I muse that any wil be so fonde as once to thinke that a text wil proue that thing wherof it makes no mention you are very hard driuen for your Masse when you muste be faine to trye it by a sentence that neither names it nor meanes it He is harde bestadde that is enforced to go to one for the tryal of hys honestie that neyther knows him nor euer sawe him Bycause Christe saide I haue manye things to say vnto you but you are not able yet to beare them therefore you muste knéele to the Masse whiche is a Sacrifice both for the quicke and the dead Is not this a good proofe thinke you what if the Quéenes Maiestie should say to one of hir seruantes sirra I haue many thinges to saye vnto thée but bycause thou canst not nowe remember them al I wil tell thée my minde when I come againe Nowe when the Quéene is gone if the same fellowe shoulde saye that hir Grace by these wordes did giue him one of hir greatest Parkes and Lordships that he woulde choose and so hée therevppon pluckes downe hir Pales and houses putting oute hir tenauntes and buildes what he listeth vppon hir ground do you thinke therfore that this was the Quéenes meaning or doe you thinke that she will be well contente with his doynges I thinke not Nowe looke what authoritie this man had by these hir wordes to haue one of hir beste Parkes and Lordshippes and to plucke downe hir houses and Parke pales and thereon to build what he list euen so by like aucthoritie of the saide wordes of Christ the Pope hath entred and taken possession of Christes Church plucking downe his ordinaunces taking away the Scriptures whiche is the wal and defence of his Churche and putting out the Preachers of Gods worde building and setting vp insteade therof in the same this your monstrous Masse with all the Idolatrie belonging to the same which Christ neuer thought nor meant by these his words if euery seruant might construe take his Maisters wordes in this order spoken in like sorte and shoulde by aucthoritie haue it performed the Maisters within a while should become seruants the seruants would be Lords Maisters as the Popes be who make the scriptures to meane what they list But Christe to hedge you out of this libertie and that you shoulde not build your Masse nor other dreames out of these aforesaide wordes written in the 16. chap. of S. Iohn he shewes more plainely in the 14. chap. of S. Iohns gospel what things they are y t they are not yet able to bear away or remember And these are the words But that comforter the holy ghost whome my father will sende in my name he shall teache you all and bring al to your remembraunce whatsoeuer I haue tolde you Hereby it plainly appéeres y t neither the Pope nor any other can imagine out of their own brains any thing by y e same words of Christ but only such thiÌ„gs as Christ had told his disciples before al which throughe their fleshly weaknessâ— they coulde not remember vntill they had receiued the holy Ghoste who dyd then putte them in remembraunce of al thynges that Christ had tolde
heauen aboue encountred with them Earthquakes brake out and ouerthrewe there buildings lightnings fel downe and burnt both the tooles in their hands and the coates on their backes And then was the Gospell of Christ more bewtiful and more glorious than euer it had bene before Thus the Iewes might haue perceyued that God was bothe angrie and dispised them and their Iewish sacrifices though once he estéemed them aboue all other and the Temple that he before commaunded to be buylded and wherein he appeared to the Iewes now he from heauen ouerthrewe and the builders thereof Wherby they also might well vnderstand that he had an other people and Religion that he estéemed better and would fight for And therefore séeing God ouerthrewe the building and the builders of the Temple of Hierusalem which he commaunded to be builded and that he once so well liked then he must néedes ouerthrowe as he hath begon partly well already all the dennes buildings of the temple or church of Rome which he vtterly hates and that he neuer commaunded to be builded For as Christ sayth euery plante that my heauenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted vp Therefore flie from this your Romish Church and hir doctrine which God doth daylie ouerthrowe and let the Pope and his partakers do what they can at length he wil plucke vp by the rootes and walke in the lawe of God least God powre his plagues and cursses vpon you For if they are accurst by Gods lawe that turnes out of it either to the right hande or to the left hande then thinke not that you are blessed that wilfully walke cleane oute of it and neuer come in it And let this suffise you that Woolues deuoure and Shéepe are deuoured So that the deuouryng Woolues are of the Sinagoge of Sathan and the deuoured Shéepe are of the Church of God But some of you haue saide that God in the olde lawe shewed for the better crediting of the same many wonderfull miracles that there haue bene many strange miracles for the confirmation of the Popes religiō Then belike you looke for miracles for a religion you think without miracles is nothing worth and therfore one of your religion said where be your signes where be your miracles but as Christ called the Iewes an euill aduouterous generation bicause they required a signe from heauen that they might the better credite him his doctrine so I can not count you a godly generation that wil not beléeue the gospel of Christ without miracles yea such miracles as you your selues should like And wil you not beléeue our doctrine without miracles nay will you beléeue it with great strange miracles I would you would Wel bicause yée would so faine haue myracles you shal haue myracles that other manner of miracles than euer your Romish church could shewe for the confirming of hir doctrine therfore marke them wel for they are wonderful and maruellous miracles Our litle Bible hath driuē al your great idols out of al the churches of England Our holy Communion hath put to flight all your Masses which you thought nothing could ouerthrow They that were blind the Gospell hath made them now to sée clearly the craftie iuggling of the Pope they that before were dumbe nowe speake so plainely and vehemently preach the Gospel of Christe These are wonderfull myracles I thinke But if some of you should say that these are no myracles or else no great miracles to be counted of yet I dare boldly say they are maruellous great myracles yea and passe your miracles a great deale For marke this well if you had neuer knowne that fire would increase in burning and should haue suddenly séene a whole Cittie burned and cōsumed with one litle sparke of fire and that such a huge and mightie fire shoulde come of one little sparke would you not haue thought that the same had bin a wonderfull myracle I thinke you would then why should not you thinke that the spiritual burning and enflaming with such a little sparke of the gospell at the first of such a number of peoples hartes consuming and wasting the idolatrie false religion and Papisticall superstition of Kingdomes Dukedomes Prouinces and such a great number of countries Cities and Townes and the mightie encreasing of this spirituall fire the gospell and that within so shorte a time is a maruellous myracle although the Pope and his power did what they could to quench the same Surely it is such a miracle in all wise mens eyes considering the Pope and his power do what they could were not able to quench as there can not be a greater And there is nothing that may more better persuade you that this our Religion is the very true Religion and worde of God than that God so mightily defendeth it and so miraculously increaseth it This and the other miracles before mentioned are sufficient miracles I hope for the confirming of any Christian hart to beléeue the Gospell yet you shall heare more miracles hereafter And now for that you haue called for our miracles I trust I may likewise call for your miracles What kind of miracles were they wherby your Romish religion was cōfirmed forsooth they were such as might make the wittie to become fooles but oures are such as will make fooles to become wisemen And now marke your miracles of your Romish Churche your Roodes and Images can speake if they haue a false knaue stande behinde them your Idols can roll their eies wagge there chappes and caste their armes abroade if there be one behinde them to plucke there Engines and they will sweate in Winter and colde weather if they be well oiled with Penetratiue oyles yea your images can light their owne lāps which is as great a miracle as a iack of the clocke to strike on y e bell your holy water can chase away Mise and your Priestes giuing women good counsell and blessing them for the Pope will not haue it called kissing and dallying miraculouslie make them to be with child your Popes pardons can make men die desperately and suddenly your Cardinals blessings can make Bishops breake their neckes your Agnus deis can make menne hang themselues are not these your Romish myracles wonderfull are they not woorthie to go for myracles yes I trow our miracles of the Gospel are no such they are not lyke vnto them but this you were best to beléeue that our miracles before mentioned are of God and these your miracles nowe mentioned are of the Diuell Thus I trust I haue sufficiently proued by Gods word by auncient Fathers and learned Doctours by naturall Reason by Argumentes by Similitudes by Examples by the Popes themselues by their owne wryters and by persecuting and murtheryng that the Pope and many of his predecessors Popes was and is wicked Diuelish the Diuels deputies not Christes vickars and the verie Antichrist and that his Religion is most false erronious and detestable and cleane contrarie