treatise also the mysterie of iniquitie in poperie is so fully discouered and the truth of our religion from point to point particularly so euidently declared that all men of any iudgement exercised in those treatises may easily see both the one the other yea many haue seene doe see both the one the other Notwithstanding as many haue seene doe see it so also Satan the god of this world doth stil detaine many in their former blindnes and ignorance Yea the nearer that his kingdome is to an ende the more diligently he goeth about like a roaring lyon seeking still whome he may deuoure Therefore he ceaseth not by his chiefe instrument the man of sinne and child of perdition I meane the Bishop and Pope of Rome continually to send forth into all corners of the realme swarmes of Iesuits and Seminarie priests as to harden those in poperie that haue not yet renounced that profession so also to infect other there with that are either of no religion or that hauing embraced ours are not yet sufficiently setled and grounded therein And truly both waies he doth the more preuaile partly because many haue not abilitie to buie the bookes of particular controuersies betwixt vs and the Papists they beeing some what costly partly because they haue no leisure to read them beeing many and large and partly because they haue no iudgement to conceiue of them beeing matters of learning and learnedly handled Where he cannot effect that which he would for the hardening of men in poperie or drawing them to poperie there he goeth another waie to worke either corrupting them with some other heresie or making them altogether profane and working in them a contempt of all religion Because all is one to him whether men be Papists or other heretikes or of no religion at all 2 Thus therefore seeing true religion euery where to decay the kingdome of Satan more and more daily to be enlarged partly by poperie partly by other heresies and partly by profanenes and contempt of all religion I haue thought good an other waie to trie the conuersion both of the ignorant Papists that are yet perswaded their religion to be sound and true and that wherein they please God and also of other heretikes and profane persons themselues if it be possible and likewise the confirmation and strengthening of such as professing our religion in shewe are notwithstanding vnstaied and wauering and therefore readie to be drawne any other waie To all these therefore I doe here offer these generall arguments following in defence of our religion and against poperie so briefly and plainely set downe that euen all that are not able to goe to the price of bookes of particular controuersies or that cannot intende the reading of them to waigh and conceiue them may yet generally see the truth of our religion and the falshood of poperie and seeing these things may likewise more seriously consider of our religion and contrarily of the most daungerous fearefull and wretched estate of all Papists and likewise of all other that are not as yet of our religion that so the one sort may not forsake our holy fellowship and the other may ioyne with vs and that both ioyned together in one truth may zealously professe it bringing forth plentifull fruits thereof Neither would I haue men wholly to content them-selues with these generall reasons neglecting particular treatises of particular controuersies but rather by this treatise to be the more encouraged to the reading of the other and to be made the fitter and euery waie the more able to iudge of them 3 That all men may the better see my meaning in this whole treatise and know the state of the whole cause by our religion I doe here vnderstand the religion now established publikely by publike authoritie professed in England and such other Churches as haue iustly forsaken Rome and are in good measure well reformed according to the word of God contained in holy Scripture To speake more plainly I meane by our religion that substance doctrine of faith wherein we dissent from the Church of Rome and doe all of vs consent among our selues both we with those other Churches and those other Churches with vs in this land By poperie like wise I vnderstand all that doctrine of the church of Rome which differeth and dissenteth from this our religion the doctrine held and professed publikely here in England other Churches in like manner reformed In this treatise therefore I doe vndertake by plaine and euident argumēts fit for the capacitie of all sorts both poore and rich both learned vnlearned though they can read or vnderstand onely the english tongue to prooue that this our religion is of God and that which God as touching the substance and doctrine thereof doth well accept and like of and contrarily by like arguments as plainely to shew that poperie is not of God and therefore also not in any account with him but abominable and detestable in in his sight THE FIRST ARGVMENT TOVCHING THE breeding and begetting of true religion THVS hauing declared both the reasons that moued me to this work and likewise the state of the whole cause hādled herein I will now enter into the arguments thēselues Here therefore first of al let vs consider the chiefe and principall meanes whereby both that religion that is of God and acceptable vnto God is at the first begunne and framed and afterward further built and perfected in them that atteine vnto it and also of the like meanes whereby poperie is at the first hatched and afterward brooded further strengthoned Touching the former it is most certaine that it is alwayes begunne by the word of God For the Apostle S. Paule expressly teacheth vs. Rom. 10. 17. That faith is by hearing the word of god preached S. Iames also chap. 1. 18. saith that we are begotten againe by the word of truth Our Sauiour likewise in the parable of the seede Matth. 13. plainely sheweth that that onely is good ground into the which the seede of god his word falling bringeth forth good fruite and so likewise that that onely is to be accounted good fruite which springeth from the seede of the word As the word of god is the only ordinary meanes whereby faith and regeneration are begunne in euerie man whome God will haue to be saued so also it is the especiall meanes whereby they are to be further built till they be finished S. Peter exhorteth the Christians to whome he wrote that as they were allreadie borne a new by the word of God 1. Pet. 1. 23. So also as new borne babes they should desire the sincere milke of the word that they might grow thereby chap. 2. verse 2. Saint Paule likewise hauing first exhorted the Thessalonians not to quench the spirit which they had receiued that is to cherish the spirite meaning the worke of faith regeneration wrought by the spirit a Metonymy of the cause
God I answer with S. Iohn They went our from vs but they were not of vs 1. Ioh. 2. 19. They professed our religion but they neuer truly embraced the same neither did euer truly feele the power of godlines in their soules yea though it may be that they had some ioy in our religion yet it was but the ioy of the stony ground wherin the seede of the word hath no sound rooting Math. 13. 20. and like vnto the ioy of Herod at the preaching of Iohn Baptist Mark 6. 20. Yea but some perhaps will obiect further that many of the best of our religion are often in great heauines of minde and doe much doubt of God his fauour c. yea that most part of their life they continue in this pensiuenes To this I answer that although this fruit of ioy and sound comfort do alwaies grow vpon the tree of our religion yet sometime the twigges of our olde crabstocke into which this religion is grafted doe grow out so farre through our euill husbandrie and not pruning them in time that the leaues thereof beeing very thicke according to the nature of the crabbe doe so shadowe this fruit that euen he that is grafted with the impes and sciences of our religion can hardly finde this fruit without narow search and diligent turning ouer and remoouing the leaues as it were one by one with his hand As also we read that although Christ were in the presence of the two disciples that were going to Emaus and talked with them and yet was not discerned by them because their eyes were holden that they could not know him Luk. 24. 16. as also that Marie Magdalene saw Iesus and talked with him but yet knew him not Ioh. 20. 14. So also the children of God that by a true and liuely faith are partakers of Christ do not yet see Christ nor the great comfort which they haue by Christ because their eyes are holden that is their sight is dimmed by the sight of sinne partly and partly also by the sleights of Satan that they can neither see nor feele that matter of ioy and comfort which they haue and carrie daily about within their breasts 8 Finally touching this comfort it is with the children of God and such as are truly of our religion as it is with many simple men in the world touching their earthly possessions and inheritances For although they haue neuer so good right vnto them and neuer so good assurance of them euen as good as possibly they can haue and as all the lawyers by all the law in the world can make them yet for all that they oftentimes meete with some pettifogger and cousening mate that telleth them their title is naught and not worth a straw so forth Now by such wordes the simple man is halfe perswaded and beginneth something to doubt yea sometime almost to feare and thus he continueth till he meete with his learned counsaile that doe againe declare vnto him and assure him of the contrarie so Isaie is it with the children of God and such as are truly seasoned with our religion By Christ Iesus they haue as good right to the kingdome of heauen as is possible and their estate is so good as that all the enemies they haue either carnal or spirituall cannot possibly defeat them thereof notwithstanding such is their simplicitie in heauenly things as oftentimes it is greater in earthly things that their enemie and the enemie of God meeting with them and reasoning the case either by his outward instruments or by those secret friends which he hath in a man his owne heart doth at the last by his subtiltie make them to doubt and filleth them with feare till they meete againe with their old counseller the spirit of God who sometime keepeth himselfe close and for a time will not as it were be spoken withall to trie what his clyents will or can doe without him but when they meete and conferre with him by the time that he hath a little repeated their assurance and declared their right from point to point by his seuerall effects in their hearts and how also Christ Iesus purchased saluation for them and bestowed it vpon them and therefore also gaue him vnto them as an earnest pennie thereof to seale and confirme the whole gift then doe they cast away their former feare and recouer their ancient comfort So is it from time to time with them whilst Satan talketh with them and the spirit of God hideth himselfe they doubt but when the spirit of God talketh with them by his liuely and sensible operation in their hearts then are they of good cheere and comfort yet euen whilst they feare they haue no cause of feare but their right is alwaies one and the same onely sometime by their simplicitie they see not their right This shall suffice to haue spoken both of the abundance of all heauenly comfort in our religion and also of the want thereof in poperie Wherefore I doe againe conclude both that our religion is most pleasant and acceptable vnto the God of all comfort and also that poperie is altogether abominable in his sight THE EIGHT ARGVMENT touching the wisdome of true religion an infallible note and signe thereof I May here also not vnfitly nor out of place adde the foolishnes of poperie For what can be more foolish or ridiculous then the worship of such reliques as they doe both worship and also take great paines and trauaile many myles defray great charges for the worship of theÌ„ especially most foolish absurd and grosse is it to worship such as before haue beene named as the verie â—ayle of the asse wheron Christ rode such like I aske here no pardoÌ„ as speaking grossely the holines of the thing must take away the homelines of the word But I maruaile they could get nâ— better and sweeter morsell then the taile it may be they came too late to market and so all the better peeces being taken vp before by dogges kytes ravens and such other customers as doe vse to resort to such markets this onely was left and so it was bought for the Pope his owne tooth but he of his meere holie conscience would not eate meate of so great a price and of his great liberalitie bestowed it vpon the church for euer If they make so much account of the taile they would much more haue honoured the head if they had come time enough to the market what then would they haue done with the whole bodie if they could haue gotten it and if they make such reckoning of a peece of a dead asse I suppose that if they had the liuing asse and could keepe him aliue and yet what a foole am I to make a question of their power in such a thing when as euerie man knoweth that their Pope and euery Priest of his begetting can make God himselfe and we heard also before that the Pope himselfe can make something of nothing
heare the Scriptures search the Scriptures meditate the Scriptures and pray vnto God for the true vnderstanding of the Scriptures the more also do men mislike of poperie and grow into loue of our religion The Papistes themselues see this to be so and can not denie it therefore doe they by all meanes they can not onely accuse the Scriptures of such difficultie obscuritie as whereby they discourage the vnlearned sort from reading of them but also they vtterly denie them to the common people in their vulgar tongue On the contrarie they care not how common their vnwritten verities be If they feared not the ouerthrow of their religion and the growing of ours by the vse of the Scriptures why should they so streightly restraine the common people from it if they thought as they speake and write that their vnwritten verities were of God aswell as the Scriptures why should they make thē more common then the Scriptures Is it because they thinke them more easie and therefore fitter for the capacitie of the common people then the Scriptures This will not stand with that which they make the ground of them and which they pretend for their speciall warranr namely with the wordes of our Sauiour to his disciples Other thinges haue I to say vnto you but yee cannot beare them now c. Iohn 16. 12. For by these wordes it is manifest that those things which Christ had further to say vnto his disciples were harder thē those that then he did speake are now writtē otherwise he would not haue added as a reason why he did for a time conceale them but yee can not beare them now 5 Now to finish this point forasmuch as that religion which God accepteth and liketh of is wrought by the preaching of his owne word forasmuch as Poperie hath not such beginning but is onely engendred by the slyme of traditions and doctrines of men Finally forasmuch as the religion now publikelie professed in England is both begotten by that immortall seede and doth also grow to further perfection by that pure milke of the word of God therefore I conclude for my first argument that poperie is onely such as those slimie traditions doctrines are whereof it is ingēdred and that our religion is not of man but of God and acceptable vnto God THE SECOND ARGVMENT TOVCHING THE PRE seruing and maintayning of true religion THE same is also manifest by the second meanes whereby poperie hath bine from time to time and yet is vpholden and mainteined For as touching this what shall we say of the impudencie of the Papistes I meane such as account themselues the learned Papistes both in falsifying the auncient Fathers also in alleadging patches onely of their writinges as making against vs but leauing out some part of the same sentēces or some sentence going before or following after whereby both that Father his minde is made euident and also our doctrine approoued Is not this to deale with the Fathers as the deuill doth with the Scripture against our Sauiour Mat. 4. 6. And that the Papists doe thus abuse the readers by citing the Fathers in such sort is sufficiently shewed by those that haue written in particular controuersies To proue the APOCRYPHA bookes Canonicall Scriptures they alleadge the testimonie of Augustin lib. 2. de doctrina Christiana cap. 8. Yet that Augustin did not so vnderstand the word Canonicall as they applie his testimonie is manifest in the same place let the learned reader see Whitak Controuers 1. quest 1. Cap. 4. Pag. 15. In like manner they deale with Ambrose whose testimonie they alleadge for proofe of this that manie things are hard in the Scriptures thereby indeed to discourage all vnlearned from reading of the Scriptures as though all things were hard in them and yet in the verie same place Ambrose also saith that in the Scriptures is matter fitt for all persons to drinke first second and last where by he also teacheth that as there are some things to be drunke last in the riuers of the Scriptures that is not till men be well grounded in knowledge and iudgement so also there is for yong beginners such as haue not entred or that haue made but litle entrance So they deale with Augustin oftentimes in the same question of the perspicuity of the Scripture as also the learned reader may see Whitak quest 4. pag. 276. In like manner they deale with the Fathers almost in all other questions and controuersies Sometime also they alleadge the testimonies of the Fathers out of some of their books not regarding how they haue either opened their minde or retracted their former errors in other of their bookes Sometime againe they pleade the authoritie of some Fathers in citing testimonies of their bookes which they wrote after that they were fallen into some heresie So they alleadge the testimonie of Tertullian out of such workes as he made after that he was a Montanist Whitaker quest 6. pag. 449. Finallie oftentimes they are not ashamed to name the Fathers in particular questions as if they were on their side whereas the cleane contrarie is manifestlie prooued and shewed by our writers and is likewise euident to them that are acquainted with the writings of the Fathers For proofe hereof let the reader looke their preface to the translation of the new testament into English by thēselues and likewise reade M. Fulke his aunswer to the same 2 For their first reason why they translate the new Testament according to the vulgar latine translation and not according to the greeke originall is this It is so auncient say they that it was vsed in the Church of God aboue 1300. yeares agoe as appeareth by the Fathers of those times But M. Fulke sheweth first that no one translation was in those daies commonly rèceiued Secondly by many examples that Tertullian Cyprian the Clergie it selfe of Rome in Cyprian his time Hierome Arnobius Hilarie and Ambrose did not followe this vulgar translation but did reade the text farre diuersly from the same In their fourth reason they commend it as that which for the most part euer since Hierom his time hath beene vsed in the Churches seruice expounded in Sermons alleadged and interpreted in the Commentaries and writings of auncient fathers of the latine Church But M. Fulk prooueth and sheweth First that their Church seruice is not so auncient as Augustine his time many of their Church lessons beeing taken out of Beda and other writers liuing many hundred yeares after Saint Augustine his age Secondly that such parts of the Scripture as seeme to haue beene of most auncient times vsed in the church of Rome are not taken out of their vulgar text and thirdly that since Ierome his time Optatus Melevitanus Fuigentius Primasius Prosper Aquitanicus and Leo likewise himselfe Bishop of Rome did alleadge and interpret the texts of Scripture much differing from this vulgar translation 3 The like may be said of their belying the Fathers in their
particularly as he spake to her and saide Luk. 1. 28. Hayle or according also to the naturall signification of the word reioyce and be merrie as one that is freely beloued and againe whatsoeuer thy sinnes be c. yet feare not for thou hast found fauour with God v. 30. as if also another should saie as he did to the shepheards Luk. 2. 10. Be not afraid for behold I bring you tidings of great ioye that shall be to all people c. This comfort and this ioy doth our religion teach and commend and offer yea also bring vnto all them that truly embrace the same Yea certenly they that by the powerful working of our religion in their hearts and in their outward conuersation doe know themselues not to be hypocrites but truly to haue embraced our religion and the doctrine thereof they I say may better cast away all feare and more certenly assure themselues of God his fauour and therefore also more truly reioyce then all the Papists in the world or any one of them remaining in his poperie may or might not onely if one angel but if all the angels in heauen should come and speake vnto them in like manner This is a great word but it is a true word how so verily because one greater then all the angels doth speake it and biddeth all such not to feare but to reioyce God himselfe generally thus speaketh in all the Scriptures to all such generally and the holy Ghost his effectuall working of true faith and true godlines in euery particular person that is truly of our religion speaketh also the same thing Therefore the greater and more credible that the master is then the seruant and so also God himselfe then the angels which are but the worke of his hands and therefore his seruants and ministring spirits the more certen also may euery one be assured of God his fauour to whome God and his spirit by their effectuall working doe testifie the same then if the angels of heauen should speake as much to one in whome were not the effects of the spirit Further also the reason of that comfortable speach of the angels to Marie and the shepheards beeing well obserued doth confirme that which I haue said of the applying of the same comfort to all those that are truly of our religion For why will the angel haue the virgin Marie not to feare because shee was freely beloued and had found fauour with God but how doth the angel prooue this because saith he thou shalt conceiue in thy vvombe and beare a sonne and thou shalt call his name Jesus If therefore to conceiue in her wombe and beare this sonne onely were a sufficient argument to perswade her to cast away feare to reioyce and assure her selfe that shee had found fauour with God how much more may he cast away feare reioyce and assure himselfe of God his fauour whose soule and whole man hath embraced whole Christ is likewise embraced of Christ and is made one with Christ euen flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone and which knoweth this by the death of sinne and the life of righteousnes in him through the death and resurrection of Christ If shee were so blessed whose wombe should beare Christ according to the flesh and whose pappes should giue him sucke how much more blessed are they that heare the word of God and keepe it Luc. 11. 28. 5 The like may be saide of the argument of the angel to the shepheards for be not afraid saith the angel but why I bring you trdings of great ioye that shall be to all people What are these tydings and what is this great ioye Vnto you is borne this day in the city of Dauid a Sauiour which is Christ the Lord c. Now if this were such ioye to heare onely of the birth of Christ Iesus how much greater is it to heare of the birth of the whole life of the death of the resurrection of the ascension and of the sitting of Christ Iesus at the right hand of God there making intercession for all his members yea not onely to heare but also to be assured of these things by the effects of them in our consciences Neither doth our religion onely bid men thus to reioyce for a time and at a start but we saie also with the Apostle Reioyce in the Lord alwaies and againe I say reioyce Phil. 4. 4. But vpon what ground doth our religion bid men thus to reioyce because it assureth them not onely of the present fauour of God but also of the continuance thereof for euer to them that are once truly incorporated into Christ Iesus For whome God loueth he loueth to the ende Ioh. 13. 1. and the gifts of God are without repentance Rom. 11. 29. and in God is no change nor shadow of change Iam. 1. 17. Neither is he as man that he should repent hath he saide and shall he not doe it hath he spoken and shall he not accomplish it Num. 23. 19. And againe Heauen and earth shall passe but the word of the Lord shall not passe till all things be done Luk. chap. 21. vers 33. 6 Vpon these and many other the like grounds we bidde them that truly haue embraced our religion to reioyce alwaies and doe assure them vpon the immutable nature of God and of his word that they shall neuer be cast out of his fauour yea that it is as possible for the power of hell to take away from Christ one of the members of his materiall bodie now glorified and raigning in heauen as to plucke away or cut off any member of his mysticall and spirituall bodie here in earth Therefore of all such euery such we saie that God speaketh as Isaac spake of Iaacob after that he had one blessed him I haue blessed him therefore he shall be blessed Gen. 27. 33. As Pilate also saith of the title and superscription which he had set vpon the head of Iesus Christ crucified when the high Priests laboured him to alter the same What I haue written that I haue written Ioh. 19. 22. So saie we of all them whose names God hath once written and registred in the booke of life that the decree of God beeing like the decree of the Medes and Persians which altereth not Dan. 6. 8. though all the deuills in hell should labour God for the rasing of any out of the booke of life whose names are written therein yea if it were possible that all the blessed angels should indeauour and intreat any such thing that God would alwaies keepe his purpose and answer them Him that I haue written I haue written This is the ioye and comfort of God his children and this ioye and comfort is in our religion and neuer to be found in poperie or to be attained vnto thereby 7 If any obiect that many sometime of our religion doe vtterly fall away and sometime also despaire for euer of the goodnes and fauour of