Emperour Universal Bishop And without doubt as St. Augustine saith Rome is that Temple of God where Antichrist and the Man of Sin should sit according to St. Paul so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God shewing himself that he is God But you may say How doth he shew himself that he is God I aswer thus Here he sits in his great magnificent Throne in his rich Robes his Triple Crown on his Head and in his pretended Peters Chair where he shews himself that he is God in blessing whom he pleases but not without Money and cursing whom he pleaseth Here he makes his unlawful Decrees to be believed and honoured equal with the Scripture upon pain of his Curse if they do not Here they must kiss his Feet give him his Godhead Title Most Holy which is due to none but God Here he delivers Souls out of Purgatory makes Indulgences and Pardons for Sins past and to come Here they buy their Sins and the Man of Sin sells their Sins but non of these without great Sums of Money In all these things he shews that he is God because he can put whom he pleaseth into the State of Salvation and whom he will into the State of Damnation nation and for Money forgive them their Sins past and to come I have hear shewn you that that wicked man is revealed the man of Sin whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of his mouth and with the brightness of his coming whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders For this cause God shall send them strong delusions that they should believe a lye that they all might be damned who believe not the truth but have pleasure in unrighteousness Beloved Brethren I beseech you in the Lord Jesus Christ that you do not adhere to the Man of Sin nor believe his deceivable lying Doctrine that you have no part with those of whom St. Paul speaks who believe lies and believe not the truth but have pleasure in unrighteousness Again the Man of Sin stiles himself the Vicar of Christ and Head of the Church but follows not Christ neither by Example not Doctrine Christ was humble meek and lowly and taught us to pray for them that hate us The Man of Sin contrary to Christ's Doctrine curses them that hate him and many of them that love him if they displease him The Apostles told our Saviour he should command strange Fires to consume his Enemies he told them they knew not what Spirit they were of he came not to destroy Men but to save them The Man of Sin contrary to this Doctrine by his Persecution burns many of Christ's Servants by Fires as in the time of Queen Mary The Apostles asked Christ who should be greatest Christ told them That he that would be greatest should be as him that serves or Servant to all The Man of Sin maketh himself greatest and above his fellow-Bishops yea above all that is called God contrary to Christs Doctrine You see how he proves himself to be the Man of Sin St. Paul speaketh of to the Thessalonians by his Wicked Practise as in tolerating Perjury Rebellion Treason and Murder in this late Plot against our Sovereign Lord the King and his Loyal Subjects to destroy the Government head of Church and State Now the Lord bless our Sovereign Lord the King the Duke of York and all the Loyal Subjects of England The Lord keep us all from any adherence with the Man of Sin and that we believe not his deceivable lying Doctrine lest we should come into the state of the Damned which St. Paul speaketh on And Lord we thank thy gracious Majesty that thou hast delivered us out of the hands of the Man of Sin and of his Wicked Designs and from all the Plots our Enemies have had ever since we have been a Church O Lord I beseech thee to continue thy good hand of Providence over us thy unworthy Servants in preserving us from all dangers that may fall upon us by reason of our Sins O Lord give every one of us such a measure of Grace as thou shalt think fit that we may hate Sin and every false way which hinders thy Blessings from us The Lord grant that our Sovereign Lord the King and his Successor may take such care over this present Church that as God shall deliver the Enemies of this Church into his hand they may have Justice done according to the Will of God that so he may truly be called The Defender of the Faith in Heaven as well as on Earth And all this we beg for Jesus Christ's sake our Blessed Redeemer Presbyterian Government defective in breaking the Vnity of the Church of England FIrst they brake their Oath of Allegiance with their King then the Ministers broke their Oath of Canonical Obedience with their Bishop which are both Perjury Then they raised an Army against their King both in Scotland and in England which is Rebellion which is as the sin of Witchcraft then they Fought against the Kings Person which is Treason a crying sin then they turned out their Bishops out of their Spiritual Office and sold the Church Lands and took away the Discipline of the Church and Common Prayer which was composed by Martyrs and robbed Gods Church which is Sacrilege then they pursued the King with their Armies and took him and murdered him which is Treason in the highest degree And all this as they pretended was for a Reformation which in the end proved a Deformation of the Church of England Judge in your selves what Reformation could be when all their Actions determined in sins and of a deep Dye as Perjury and Rebellion Sacriledge Treason and Murder All which proceed from the Spiritual Man of sin the Devil who is the cause of all Sin and Division Hear what St. Paul saith Mark those that cause Division and avoid them for they serve not the Lord Jesus Who then must they serve but the Devil From the Presbyterians after they had broke the Unity of the Church of England I say from that evil Root sprung the Independant Anabaptist and the Quaker and all these are divided within themselves in Judgment of their Religion There is the Presbyterian against the Independant and Anababtist and the Anabaptist against the Independant and the Presbyterian and the Quaker against them all and all these against the true Episcopal Church as I told them upon a Dispute there was Ephraim against Manasse and Manasse against Ephraim and both against Juda. If they were Gods Disciples they would love one another but I fear they are not because they have not Charity one towards another St. John in Epistle 1. Chap. 2. ver 10. saith They went out from us because they were not of us for if they had bin of us they would no doubt have kept with us Now for all those crying Sins I have repeated I wish from my heart they are not guilty of them and what I have written is not out of any malice but as they were Brethren once to inform them of their Error and Sin wishing their Repentance might be their Punishment for I believe that many of them are civil honest-meaning Men but they erre not knowing the true meaning of the Scripture Now I beseech the Lord God of Peace and Love That he would give those Dissenters such a measure of Grace that they may see their Errors and repent and come into the true Episcopal Church they went out of which hath been proved a true Church by Fire and Sword as Gamaliel told the Jews That if the work were of God they could not overthrow it lest they were found fighters against God Therefore have a care that you speak no evil nor Fight no more against this Church lest you be found Fighters against God Now the Lord grant that these Dissenters may come into the true Church they went out of and conform to the Government of the Church which is allowed by God and the King and there they may exercise their Spiritual Parts God hath given them that they together with us may serve God with one Heart and with one Mind holding the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace and Love without which no Man shall see the Lord Which the Lord grant of his mercy through the Merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. FINIS
Ireland This was an inhumane Persecution such as the very Heathen would abhor They rebelled agains their King ripped up their Women with Child and slew their Husdands at their own door The next Persecution was against the King and the Church of England by the Nonconformists especially the Presbyterians for they first broke the Unity of the Church of England and caused a Rebellion in Scotland by raising an Army against King Charles the First one of the best Kings that ever Reigned in the World about the year 1640. and after pursued the Rebellion and raised an Army in England and fought against the King himself and killed many of his Loyal Subjects and pursued their King until they had brought him to the Block This Persecution was against the Church as well as the King they murdered the Archishop of Canterbury and Dr. Huet and deposed the Bishops of all their Spiritual Employments and then they fell to Sacriledge to robbing of the Church abolished the Common Service Book and sold the Bishops Lands and most of the Church-lands and put down the Discipline of the Church as much as they could imitating the Papists in many things committing Rebellion Murder Treason Sacrilege and Perjury pretending as the Papists do now all was for the Glory of God and for the Reformation of the Church Episcopal Religion was ordained by Christ and his Apostles who ordained the first twelve Bishops and after the Apostles gave order for the placing of Bishops in many Churches for the well ordering of the Church Joseph of Arimathea Disciple of Christ one that buried him planted our Church of England according to the purest way which hath continued for above 1600 years a true Church for the most part as many Historians write notwithstanding much Persecution by the Heathen and the Antichristians and yet they have enjoyed and kept up this Church in some corners of this Land till a Change of Government hath hapned and the Governours have been converted by it and have defended it from evil Men. Now I beseech you all the good People of England from the King to the beggar to take especial notice of the Persecution of this innocent Church of England which is the truest mark of a true Church You see how Satan by the Heathen and by the Papists and by the Nonconformist hath persecuted it to the utmost of his power yet God of his Mercy and Providence hath defended it against all the fury of the Enemies Therefore all good People of England comfort your selves and. serve God in this Church with rejoycing and praising God for preserving and defending this Church against all his Enemies Wherefore you may be assured as Gamaliel told the Jews this work is of God and it cannot be overthrown for saith he if it be of themselves it will conic to nought but if it be of God you cannot overthrthrow it lest you be found Fighters against God Charles the First sealed it with his Royal Blood the twelve Bishops and Doctors sealed this Church by Fire and Blood in Queen Maries Reign The Blood of the Martyrs is the seed and seal of a true Church I shall now speak something of the Church of Rome which was planted by St. Paul as most Historians write because he commends it in I Rom. in these words I thank God thy Faith is spoken of throughout the whole World and so it continued a true Church for near 600 years having above Gixty Bishops whereof Linus was the first whom St. Paul speaks of in his Epistles All those Bishops were godly Men being subject to the Civil Magistrate Pelagius the Second in his days perceiving that Maurice the Emperour went about to make and establish an Universal Bishop very much opposed it and decreed That no Bishop no not the Bishop of Rome himself ought to be called the Vniversal Bishop and Bishop Gregory his Successor writeth That none of his Predecessors ever consented to use so prosane a Title And also the said Gregory writeth to the Bishop of Constantinople who was willing to take that Title upon him What wilt thou answer to Christ the Head of the Vniversal Church that thus goest about by the Name of Vniversal Bishop to make all his Members subject to thee Whom dost thou imitate in so perverse a Name but Lucifer that would have been singular alone above all his fellow Angels Sabinianus succeeded Gregory and after him Boniface the Third who obtained of Phocas the Emperor as afterwards is set down That the Bishop of Rome should be called the Head of the Church Since which time the Pope hath been called the Prince of Priests and Supreme Head of the Vniversal Church Titles due only to Christ himself the Great Bishop of our Souls Cedrenus setteth forth Phocas to be a Wine-bibber given to Women a bloody Man fierce without Mercy cruel of Manners an Heretick and Theophylact Simocatta describeth him after this manner A Caledonian Tyrant covered with Iron in a manner barbarous of the Generation of the Cyclops a Centaur in Purple most petulant whose chief strife was for the Kingdom of Drunkenness A fit Man to be Antichrist's Midwife to bring him into the World The Authority of the former Bishops extended no farther than unto Matters of Religion they were subject to the Emperours some of them created by him as Paget affirms in his History of the sundry sorts of Churches and denied the Popes Supremacy with their Superstitious Worship introduced by Boniface the Third by calling Councils of a few Italian Bishops and turning out many good Bishops which would not consent to their creating of Sin And some they murdered as Paget affirms because they withstood their wicked Decrees especially in the Council of Trent who enacted a Canon That the Traditions of the Church of Rome must be honoured and embraced with the like honour and reverence as the Holy Scriptures are honoured In this Council their first Sin they created and decreed was for Image-Worship contrary to the Second Commandment 2. Invocation of Saints contrary to the Practice of the Church the Examples of Holy Men and to the Doctrine of the Holy Scriptures 3. The Propitiatory Sacrifice in the Mass which derogateth from Christs Sacrifice once offered for us 4. Communion in One Kind directly against Christs Precept in the Institution St. Paul saith Col. 1.18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of Angels intruding into those things which they have not seen vainly puffed up by their fleshly mind In this Council they also decreed That all Bishops and Ministers must teach the People to worship Saints Images and Angels contrary to the Doctrine of the Apostles and of St. John the Divine in Rev. 19. who saith I fell at the Angels feet to worship him and he said unto me See thou do it not I am thy fellow-servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus Worship God Here good People take notice their Decrees are
A VINDICATION OF THE True Episcopal RELIGION As it was Planted and Set forth by our Saviour Christ Who Ordained the First Twelve Bishops and afterwards maintained it by his Apostles against all his Enemies especially the Papists and Non-Conformists Who have strove to disparage it and to overthrow it By W.C. Student in Divinity LONDON Printed for W. Chandler 1681. A VINDICATION of the True Episcopal Religion c. THis Church of England as it is now was planted by Joseph of Arimathea who buried the Body of Jesus The Church of Jerusalem being in great Persecution Joseph was put into a Cell or Dungeon and watched by the High-Priest but by Providence was delivered out and came to a place where were Ten Christians that the Jews had put into a Boat without Oars to shift for themselves into this Boat Joseph and his Son Joseph entred which brought them to Marsellis in France from whence they came into Britany as Cardinal Baronius affirms out of the most ancient Records in the Vatican Library of Joseph's Preaching here his words were Lazarus Mary Mary Magdalen Martha and Marcela whom the Jews hated more than others were banished Jerusalem with Maximinus a Disciple Cardinal Baronius sets down the Year when Joseph came into England out of the ancient Records in the Pope's Library viz. in the Nineteenth year of the Reign of Tiberius the Emperour and in the Thirty fifth year of Christ I might quote many more Authors which all agree of his coming into Britany and planting the Christian Religion but sure it was he planted the Time Episcopal Religion here as he had it from the Apostles which hath continued here in England ever since though with much Persecution The First Persecution was by the coming of the Saxons I might speak at large of the Heathen Persecutions but I shall wave them and come to the Christian Perfecutions And first by Austin the Monk whom Gregory Bishop of Rome sent over to England to pesuade them to condescend to the Orders of the Church of Rome and to unite with them which the British Bishops refused and told them that our Church was planted before theirs Yet Austin uses all the means he could for the bringing of them to their Society having procured by means of Ethelbert a Meeting of divers British Bishops and other Principal Men of the Clergy at a certain place in Worcestershire called after upon this occasion Austin's Oak where by Persuasions Threats and. all manner of means he endeavoured to draw the Britans to an entire Conformity with the Church of Rome which then was fallen from the Purlty of former Times whereas the Britains had still continued as Geoffery of Monmouth saith in the same Tenor of pure Doctrine which they had received in the first Infancy of the Church Their Answer was short and peremptory That they might not submit themselves to him having an Archbishop of their own Austin not discouraged procured another Meeting to which many more of the Britains repaired than before it is said there were seven Bishops Before this Assembly certain Britains thought it good to ask Counsel of a certain Old Man to know of him whether he thought it best for them to submit to Austin or not he advised them if he were a Man of God to take the Course he shewed them and to follow the same and when they asked him how they should discern whether he were such an one or no he pronounced this Saying of our Saviour Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart if then this Austin be a meek and humble Man it is an evident sign he beareth the yoke of Christ but if he be stout and proud he is not of God you may be sure This therefore is my advice Have a care that he and his Company be first in the place where you meet if then you being the greater number he rise not to do you Reverence but despiseth you despise you him also and his Counsel Austin first entred the Place with great pomp and when the British Bishops came in never moved to rise or salute them This they taking very ill gainsaid him in every thing exhorting one another not to yield a jot unto him by any means For say they he that will not dain so much as to rise out of his Chair to salute us how much more when we have submitted our selves to his Jurisdiction will he despise us and set us at nought With this Repulse Austin was so much moved that he could not forbear to send out Threats against the poor Britains telling them That they which refused Peace with their Friends should shortly find War and Enemies How well he seconded his Words by Deeds appeareth by the Words of Thomas Gray who wrote the Chronicle about 300 years since Austin being refused by the Bishops and other Learned of the Britains complained to King Ethelbert who forthwith levied his Power marched against them and slew them in a most cruel manner having no more regard of them than Wolves have of Sheep Their fury was so great against them that Ethellert sent Elfred King of Northumberland to help him and that Austin met them at Chester upon this occasion The Britains received a great Overthrow for besides an infinite number of Soldiers were slain a great Company of Monks no less than 1100 who never sought at all but by Prayer Of all other of the Clergy the greatest spleen was against them as the greatest Wrong-doers because they would not receive quietly the yoke of a Forreign usurping Jurisdiction intruded upon them The next Persecution was by Queen Mary about the year 1554 who hurned the Twelve Bishops and Doctors which compiled the Book of Common Prayer with many more of the Clergy and of the Commonalty till a Gentleman told the Queen If she used this way of Burning she would weaken the Church of Rome for all that beheld them admired them that Death being so sanctified to them that they seemed not to feel the Flames This Persecution was terrible for the time it lasted but it pleased God to take her away in a very short time and bring in Queen Elizabeth of happy Memory who established the Lpiscopal Religion again with the Book of Common Prayer which Queen Mary had burned whom God blessed with a Reign of 44 years The next Persecution designed by the Papists was in King James's Reign in 1603. when they had plotted by Gunpowder which was laid for that purpose under the Parliament-house to blow up the King and the Chief of the Nobility of this Land This devilish Plot had it taken effect had been the worst of all the Perfections for it would have taken away their Lives in a moment so that they should have no Meditation for their Souls good This Plot aimed to destroy the Soul as well as the Body but Melted be God it was discovered The next Plot that was by the Antichristian Papists was in