the head of the church as hath bin proued before Ergo the pope hath no such preheminence As touching their generall counsels wherewith they binde mens consciences as with cordes how can they proue those counsels to be autentically true for whatsoeuer it be that is decreed by them they make them as oracles and necessarie conclusions of the trueth though they disagree neuer so muche from the Scriptures for suche matters must not be called into question for they hold it as a principle that from the determination of a counsell there can be no appellation but what if they erre They say they cānot erre whie Because they be the Church who alloweth it Will they prooue themselues to bee the Church who in their blinde and deuelishe doctrine and conuersation shewe themselues to be the Synagogue of Sathan I knowe not and I am sure themselues will neuer be able to prooue For the word of God is that which must trie out the trueth of the religion and Church of God For as for building faith vpon general Councels it is a verie feeble foundation and no question they might erre and did erre yea they are somtimes contrarie one to an other as the Synod of Constantinople gathered together vnder Leo the Emperour iudged that images set vp in Churches should bee ouerthrowen and broken in peeces A litle afterward the Councel of Nyce which the Empresse assembled in spite of him decreed that they should be restored both these Councels could not c true and whether of these should a man take to be true or how can he tell which is true but by that Scripture which is geuen by diuine inspiration which is the rule of the Church and the square of trueth whereupon the church must be builded els we shall neuer knowe what or which is the trueth Augustine saith that the latter Councell can not stande without present perrill of idolatrie Epiphanius saith it is a wickednesse and abhomination to haue Images seene in the Church of Christians The Councell of Constance forbad the Sacrament of the Lordes Supper to be geuen to the lay people but willed that the Priest onely should drinke thereof which I thinke the Romanistes themselues will not agree vnto Thus because Councels may easily erre ther is no faith to be built vpon them but all faith all religion and the true Church is onely to be built vpon the o Ephe. 2.20 Prophetes and Apostles Christ Iesus being the head corner stone the rocke that neuer falleth nor fadeth For this is a marke incident to the Church My p Iohn 10.3 sheepe saith Christ will heare my voyce Againe Christ saith He that is of q Iohn 3.47 God heareth Gods wordes you therefore heare them not saith he because you are not of God The sheepe will followe their good shepheard for they knowe his r iohn 10.3 voice A stranger they will not follow Therfore the church and true spouse of Christ must be subiect to her head and husband enclining to his wil and gouerned by his word For the Church which is not builded vpon the word of Christ is built vpon the s Mat. 7.26 Sand and so subiect to a continuall ruine and ouerthrow as Christ himselfe preached in his sermon But that which standeth vpon Christ the rock the t Math 16 18 gates of hell shall neuer preuaile a-against it as Christ tolde Peter Trie the spirites saith S. Iohn whether they be of v God or no f Iohn 4 1 for many false prophetes are come into the world Againe he that knoweth God heareth vs saith S. Iohn hee that is not of God heareth not vs by this we know the spirite of trueth and the spirit of errour The false prophetes saith hee speake of the world and the world heareth them because they are of the world but wee are of God saith he So that both Iohn and Christ shew this to be a marke to knowe the spirite of errour if they heare not the wordes of Christes apostles Let not the pope therefore deceiue thee gentle Reader as though he could not erre neyther let his generall counsell so bind thy conscience without appellation but that thou be free to trie the spirits by the worde of trueth For many false prophetes are come into the world Trie the gold by the touch stone For be he Pope be they generall councels yea be they Angels from heauen if they preach matter contrarie to the doctrin of Christ beleeue him not nay Anathema esto hold him accursed as Paule commandeth thee The Scribes and Pharises demaunded of Christ why his disciples transgressed the traditions of the elders Christ answered them Why doo yee Math 15 2 transgresse the precepts of God thorough your tradition for God commanded saying Honour father and mother c. Hypocrits saith he wel prophecied Esayas of you saying This people commeth neere vnto me with their mouthes and honoureth me with their lips but their heartes are farre from me but in vaine doo they worship me teaching for doctrine the preceptes of men And is not the religion of Rome as vain a worship when they teach for doctrine the preceptes of men viz. of generall Councels and that we must hold them as vndoubted oracles of the holy Ghost and that none must mutter against them or gainsay them vpon paine of a condemned heretik Yea they hold that the word of God is subiect to the censure of the Church which say they is their Pope generall councels and whatsoeuer sense they set vpon the scriptures is to be receiued for true without questioning against it what is this els but to make the head subiect to the foote the sheepe to rule their shephearde and the Spouse which should be subiect to beare authoritie ouer her husband that shoulde be soueraigne her Lord and maister to gouerne her after his wil But herein the Church of Rome sheweth her self to play the harlot plainly when she renounceth her head when she forsaketh her husband and runneth a whoring after her owne ymagmations Iudge then gentle reader whether thou think to be the true church ours that is builded vpon the foundation of Christ the prophetes and apostles or the church of Rome that is builded vpon the Pope his Cardinals and his generall councels Ours that acknowledgeth Christ to be the onely head thereof or theirs who most dishonourably to christ acknowledge the Pope the head therof Ours that is builded vpon God ortheirs that is builded vpon slippery men Ours that admitteth no impuritie or theirs who for money and to serue their turne will dispence with most monstrous and haynous cruelties Their religion which seeketh and thirsteth after blood beeing therein like to the Deuill their father who was a z Iohn 8 44 murtherer from the beginning or ours which seeketh peace of conscience in a godly conuersation Ours seeketh the glory of God theirs seeketh their own pomp and the glory of the world Ours giueth free liberty to
all to try the truth therof out of the sacred scriptures they bind mens consciences with the decrees of their own councels without apellation We say with the Prophet Esay That all our righteousnes is like a defiled cloath and with Paule that Christ is made vnto vs a 1. Co. 1.3 ct righteousnesse by the bountifulnes of God and wisedome and redemption that as it is written He that b Iere 9 23 reioiceth should reioice in the Lord. We say with Christ that no man can come vnto him vnlesse it bee c Iohn 6 65 giuen him from his father We say also with Paule in plaine tearms that it is d Phil. z 3 God that worketh both the will and thee deede They say they haue free will of themselues to good acceptable to God by I knowe not what blinde light of nature they haue good woorkes yea workes of superogation meritorious for themselues and others also wherein they may boast and bragge but not before e Rom. 4 2 God So we ascribe all all glorie to God and they robbe God of his glory and take it to themselues Peter was commanded to feed the f ohn 21 flock of Christ and he did according The Pope he starueth the flocke of Christ without any foode and yet he taketh the fleece for ignorance saith he is the mother of deuotion and heathen Idols be the bookes that Lay-men must looke on and this is the foode he ministreth and the knowledge and trueth Christ biddeth the people Search the g Iohn 5.39 Scriptures the papisticall church saith no It breedeth sectes and schismes as though they wer wiser then christ The religion of God is sincere holy and pure for money a man may haue a pardon and dispensation of the Pope for all kindes of beastlie vilanies what dooth this shew but that their bellye is theyr God their kitchin is their roligion yea they are not ashamed to publish murther of christian princes to be a matter meritorious and wherfore contend they for this but that they may raigne themselues in earthly pompe and sit aboue kings adorned with large extēded authority This last point is such a blur to their religion that he is wilfully blind that seeth not the falshood thereof yea it is such a spot to their religion to giue a commission to commit murder that by the name of meritorious that it bewraieth al the rest of their religiō to be ful of fraud deceit open trecherie For what man of sound wit can be perswaded that he that is a true faithful apostle indeed can dispēce in anie sort with such open grosse faults which are euen odious to the law of nature readie footpath to bring the bodie into bondage the soule to hellish tormēts I would wish therfore no mans im plicita fides to be so intangled with his open sleightes as to beleue him in anie thing for he sheweth himself reuera to be verie Antichrist in such perspicuous maner that no man can doubt thereof for what doth he els but sit in the h 2. Thess 2. temple of God and boast himselfe to be God when claiming the Apostolike sea he calleth himself the vicar of Christ in earth the head of the church that he cannot erre that he can forgiue sinnes matters that belong peculiarly to God alone and yet that proud Antichrist will be extolled with those titles what is this but to sit in the seate of God as God Also that he claimeth to be Dux ducum Rex regum imperator imperatorum that hee hath authoritie to depose and set vp princes at his pleasure to build and ouerthrow kingdomes what is this but malepertly and moste blasphemously to thrust himselfe into the seat of God boasting himselfe to be God for it is God per quem Reges regnant ac principes dominantur But let all the Romanistes knowe this that is also written in the same Chapter concerning their Antichrist the pope that for the decite wherewith hee hath deceaued the inhabitantes of the earth and for his treasons and blasphemies against the mighty God the Lord from heauen shall consume him with the i 2. Thess 28. spirite of his mouth and confound him in the brightnesse of his comming Babilon must k Reul 18 2 fall yea great Babilon must fall and must become an habitation of deuils a prison of alvnclean spirits Now let him boast that he is Peters successor that maketh him neuer a iote the more lawful apostle vnlesse he perform the office of a sincere Apostle as Peter did l Iohn 10 1 for otherwise he is a l theefe a robber and a Woolfe that appeareth in sheepes clothing of whome Christ bad vs beware And therein he doth nothing els but like the deuils impe transform himself into an angel of light to deceiue simple soules Let them glory in the name of the church crying that Rome is the mother church the mother church what benefite is it to haue the name and to want the thing for in trueth all their preheminence is onely in names of the church of Peters place in the statelinesse of their Hierarchie of goodly order of their carnal cardinals and in such outward pompe and glorie But alas these painted clothes bewray the raggednesse of their religion for the churche of God is not builded vpon such outward shewes but vppon sinceritie of doctrine and conuersation Therefore leauing the Lion to be knowne by his clawes whome times and seasons haue so manifestly disclosed I counsell thee to forsake the pope and to learne of Peter build thy faith not vpon the pope who of himselfe wanteth a foundation but vpon Paule and Peter and the rest of the Apostles Christ Iesus himselfe being the corner stone Take heed of implicita fides learne thy selfe out of the worde of God what thou beleeuest and wherevpon thy faith is builded for if it be builded generallie vpon men thy faith is wauering and doubtfull but if vpon God then is it built vpon a rocke against which the gates of hell shall neuer preuaile Followe the aduise of Christ n Iohn 5 39 Searche the scriptures diligently read them with reuerence in all humilitie and pray to God earnestly so shall his word be a light vnto thy feete o Psal i19 105 and a lanterne to thy pathes to direct thee in the way of trueth to keepe thy minde sincere and thy eye cleere to see and discerne the trueth from falshoode a shepheard from a woolfe a true Apostle from a false and Christ from Antichrist FINIS
they beleeue though one rise from the dead Thus we are referred to build our beliefe vpon Moses and the prophets Christ himselfe saith and commandeth vs g Iohn 5 39 to search the scriptures for saith he they are they that testifie of me So that the people are bolde to heare Christ Moses and the prophets and apostles with this clause also added that if any though an Angell from heauen teach doctrine contrarie vnto them Anathema sit wee must holde him accursed so that we are not to beleeue the Pope nor his vnwritten verities nor generall Counsels nor yet ancient Fathers no not Angels themselues though comming from heauen if they teach matter contrarie to the sacred scriptures as the people are to hear such kind of Teachers so are also all that take vpon them the office of teaching or of Apostleship not to teach doctrines of men or their owne fantasies or blind dreames but onely such stuffe as they receiue from God Moses he gaue the lawe to the Israelits but he did it by commandement from the Lord and spake as from his mouth What maner power the prophetes generally had is very well described in Ezechiell Thou h Ezek. 3.18 sonne of man saith the Lord I haue geuen thee to be a Watchman to the house of Israell therefore thou shalt heare the worde out of my mouth and thou shalt declare it to them from me Look to the Apostles and see what commission they had Goe saith Christ h Mat. 27.19 and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the father the sonne and the holy Ghost teaching them to keepe all thinges whatsoeuer I haue commanded you so the apostles commission was to teach that which they had receiued from Christ Christ himselfe the sonne of the euerliuing God in respect that hee was an apostle or messenger sent from God his Father answereth the Iewes in the seuenth of Iohn saying My i Iohn 16. doctrine is not mine but his that sent me So Christ himselfe taught no other doctrine but that which he had from his father And S. Paule as a faithfull Apostle affyrmeth to the Corinhians that he k 1 Cor. 11 receiued that of the Lord which he deliuered vnto them Thus wee see that the apostles spake from the mouth of Christ Christ from the mouth of his Father and all both Christ and the Apostles Moses and the prophetes spake as from the mouth of God which is also verified by that one saying of the Authour to the Hebrues God l Heb. 1 1 in times past diuers waies spake vnto the Fathers by the Prophetes but in these last daies he hath spoken to vs by his sonne And Paule telleth Timothy that all scripture m 2 Tim. 3 16 is giuen by diuine inspiration and written as with the finger of God who is all trueth and therefor it is impossible should either lie or erre Therefore touching matters of religion let God alone be heard and the sacred Scriptures produced for the establishing of that religion which shall be acceptable in his eies For a mans faith is to bee builded vppon the surest anchor and m 2 Tim. 3 16 rocke and in such sort that neither windes nor waues be able to remooue it and that must be as Christ teacheth vpon his woord which is infallible and neuer fayleth And all both reason and diuinitie so perswadeth for that saying of Paule is true Let n Mat. 7.14 God be true and euerie man a lier It is well knowne and dayly experience can tel vs that men may erre and goe awrie but he o 1 Ioh 5.10 that beleeueth not God maketh him a lier as S. Iohn saith which cannot be without horrible blasphemie Let vs therefore not build our faith and religion vpon any man be he Augustine Cyprian Ambrose Hierome or whosoeuer nor vpon generall Councels for they were also compounded of men and Humanum est errare Men may erre therefore no question but they might erre And if in any any thing they doo not erre it is because they haue the word of trueth and of sacred Scripture for their confirmation or els they must needs erre So that all those ancient Fathers and generall Counsels they must all drawe water from the pure fountaine the sacred word of trueth or els they doo nothing els but preach the puddle of their owne inuentions which if they should doo though they were Angels from heauen we must not beleeue them nay Anathema sit we must hold him accursed by the rule of Paule aforesaid The woorde of God deliuered as from the mouth and hand of God being laide as a foundation wee are not to doubt but that our religion builded thereupon is most sure and certaine neuer able vtterly to bee ouerthrowne with all the power and pollicie of Antichrist and his adherents bee they neuer so subtil in the one or ful of fortitude in the other For why Christ the head of his Church is the defender thereof and the confounder of Antichrist The Papistes and enemies of the true Church of God they call vs Heretikes by a metaphoricall speach borrowed from themselues and giue railing sentence vpon bs when they are no longer able to conuince our reasons shewing therein their malignant tongues and malicious hearts but we answere with Paule that with that which they call heresie we serue the liuing God They call our religion a condemned doctrine attainted long ago by general Councels If they shew me the reuealed counsell from God I wil beleeue them and of generall Counsels some are meere repugnant and contrarie one to another so that they are of litle credite But what if it be condemned by men if it be allowed of God what neede we care We knowe that at Ierusalem they held a councel together to put p Math. 26.4 Christ to death as a malefactor yea and condemned him Was therfore his doctrine euer the worse or was it therefore so because they condemned him Did they not hold a councell against Stephen and stone him to death and yet Stephen is recorded to be a man full of q Act. 6.12 faith and of power What will the deceitfull Papistes say of Peter their Popes predecessour as they vainely boast There was a generall councell held against him also and condemning his doctrine scourged him and the rest of the Apostles with an inhibition that they should not teach any more in the name of Iesus If their general councels be of force to condemne vs and our religion I see no reason but that their religion should be also condemned by the former councell against Peter but Peters doctrine was true notwithstanding the Counsell and so may ours notwithstanding their Councels against vs For we as I haue oft said builde our religion vppon Christ vpon Peter the apostles and prophets The Papistes therefore do both foolishlie and ignorantly paint out the beautie of their Church by the tytle of vniuersalitie and thereupon
liuing God whome Peter confessed If Peter then be not the head of the Church downe must fall the title of the vniuersall Bishop of all the Church which title the pope proudly hath vsurped as deriued from Peter who was content to be a member of the Churche and not the head thereof but the swelling ambition of the Pope is so monstrous that hee neither careth to commit treason against christian princes but most proudly hee will intrude himselfe into the seate and throne of God himselfe and he will be head of the Churche to dye for it but I beleeue in the end he will scarse be so much as the foot or one of the toes of the Churche his blasphemie is so monstrous and so intollerable If then sillie Pope thou wilt be head of the whole Churche shewe which way thou makest title for Peter from whome thou claymest was content to be a member of the Church And thou because thou canst not be a member of the church most proudly claymest to be the head because thou canst not be the head thou wilt be no part of the church at all I beleeue the consequent darest thou proud pope without all authoritie derogate so much from the glory and maiestie of Christ as to take from Christ his crown to set it vpon thy head most traiterously and thinkest thou that he will not trample thee vnder his feete doth not Paule to the Ephesians speake in plaine tâ—armes that God raised Christ from the dead and set him at his right hand in heaueÌ„ly places aboue all principalities powers and lordships and euery name that is named not onely in this world but in the world to come and hath submitted all thinges vnder his feete and hath made him head aboue all thinges to the Churche which is his body the fulnesse of him that filleth all in all If Christ be the head of the Church as this text doth most plainly proue then caÌ„not the pope be the head of the church in earth as hee proudly vsurpeth for there can be but one head of the Church and that head is Christ so that it is the sole appropriated title of Christ to be the head of his church on earth and euerie where for God hath giuen this title to neither man nor angell nor archangell but to Christ onely whom he raysed from the dead Looke through the whole life of Peter looke through all his Epistles and doctrine and thou shalt finde in him all the markes of a true and worthie Apostle his minde humble not eleuated with pride his doctrine sound which he had receiued from Christ his counsell good his admonitions wholesome his Epistles most deuine The pope his boasting successor cannot abide the charge of preaching sincerely the word of God but yet will hee be an Apostle as touching the place and retaine the name of an Apostle and when a man is no more an Apostle and reuera wanteth both the doctrine and sincere minde of an Apostle what is this else but to be a false Apostle and an intruder into the Church of God What his doctrine is perticularly to recite al were to tedious and almost infinit their idolatrous masse their inuented purgatorie deuised onely to purge mens pursses not their soules their bowing to idols their intercession of saintes their freewill their iustification by workes nay their workes of superogation and infinite more what doe all these but make voyd the crosse of Christ and disanull the grace of God repugnant plainely against the law of Moses and the sacred scriptures But who may speake against him in anie thing who may tell him that God commandeth we should not k Exod. 20. bow down nor worship carued Images and if he leaue out this second commaundement cleane out of the booke because it maketh agaynst him who can reproue him In his absurd doctrne of transubstantion after the wordes of consecration vttered who can perswade him but that the bread is the verie body of Christ and the wine is the verie bloud though Christ call it plainly the l fruite of the vine in plaine tearmes Who may tell him that he should onely teach the godly doctrine of Christ as a faithful Apostle and not his vnwritten verities nor curtoll the scriptures of God nor yet dispence with any thing therein contained who may tell him of his charters of pardons his dispensations to commit cruell and vnnaturall murders against Christian Princes rebellions robberies adulteries and all the villanies of the world and all this vnder a pretensed colour of the supremacie which Peter neuer had ouer the Church of God ouer all Princes and Emperours yea and I thinke aboue God himselfe for what is this els but to chop and chaunge and to vse at his pleasure the sacred word of God and to abuse it to all vngodlinesse and wickednesse Their answere is short that the Scriptures are to be expounded by generall counsels and they and the pope make the Church and the Church cannot erre And whatsoeuer therefore they shall say or decree that is the worde of God and to be reuerenced as an oracle from heauen whatsoeuer it be And hereupon is builded the implicita fides of the Roman papistes to beleeue as the Church beleeueth is fayth good inough for a papist This argument is verie pithagorium Ipse dixit ergo verum est O subtill papistes O simple and deceiued people O moste diuelishe and pestilent religion thus to bewitch mens heartes and to cast a mist before their eyes to blindfolde them in such polluted doctrine And the more to colour this their fraud and apparent deceite they haue established ignorance for the mother of deuotion and images they haue made lay mens bookes and as for the Bible that shal be read to the people in an vnknowne toong as in Latine O diuelish deuise of Sathan O hellish darkenes Not the deuill himselfe could haue inuented a more subtil yet a most pernitious religioÌ„ Is ignoraunce the mother of deuotion when Christ calleth it the mother of error saying to the Saduces you Mat. 22 29. erre not knowing the scriptures Can an vnlearned man sayth Paule say Amen to thy seruice vttered in an vnknown toonge when he knoweth not what thou saiest and he sayth plainly that there is no Rom. 14. edification in such vnknowne language howe can these men boast that they edifie the people then when the people say Amen they know not to what and their implicita fides beleeueth they knowe not what they tell them the church cannot erre and this is sufficient for them if you will goe anie further the Church must answere O silly Romanistes so much seduced by that deluding Antichrist wherevpon is your Church builded vpon the pope as the head of the church and the generall counselles Peter neuer claymed to be the head of the Church hee neuer had that authority giuen him nay it was denied him to seeke after it And Christ onely is