of the Scriptures Now if I listed to play the Rhetoricien héere I could with many wordes declare that hell gates do not onely preuaile against the Romishe Bishops and their Court the filthiest that euer was but also that the very prince of féendes him selfe obteineth full and onely souereintie in them Which thing I could without trouble shew and proue both by the witnesse and by the complaints of the Bishops them selues But let vs ouerpasse that abhominable filthinesse and make hast to the opening of the residue of this place For there is no man so blockishe that hath not now of late euen felt with his handes that in these wordes of the Lord there is nothing spoken of the vnmeasurable power of the Pope but that there be set out vnto vs farre more heauenly and healthfuller thinges Prayse and thankes be geuen vnto God. ¶ That not euen by the gift of the keyes vnto Peter there is any fulnesse of power deliuered by the Lord either vnto Peter or vnto the Pope for that the keyes are a farre other thing yea and a thing of much greater holinesse then is the sayd fulnesse of the popish power THe Lorde addeth vnto the premisses And I will geue thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and whatsoeuer thou byndest vpon earth shall be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer thou loosest vppon earth shall be loosed in heauen By which wordes the Lord sheweth againe that this charge concerning blessednesse and eternall life which he hath hetherto layd forth perteineth not onely to Peter or the rest of the Apostles but also vnto all men through the whole world Moreouer he sheweth the meane and maner how men are brought into the Church that is to say how they be builded vpon the Rocke and made members of Christ and the Church and so enter into the kingdome of heauen You Apostles sayth the Lord shall open the way and as it were by reaching out your handes bring men into the company of me and of my Saintes and consequently into the kingdome of heauē and that shall be done by the preaching of the Gospell For by fayth we be graffed into Christ and his Church But fayth commeth by hearing and hearing by the preaching of the Gospell And therfore sayth the Lord I will geue you the keyes of the kingdome of heauen that is I will commit vnto you the charge of preaching the Gospell to this end that you shall go out into the whole world and by declaring vnto all men the remission of sinnes through me set thē loose that be fettered in the chaines of their sinnes and open the kingdome of heauen to them that beleue and on the other side bynde those that shake of the preaching of the Gospell that is to say declare and witnesse vnto them that they be subiect to eternall damnation And this your declaration and witnessing shall be so ratified and assured that whomsoeuer ye loose or binde by my worde vpon earth them will I also account as loosened or bound in heauē And this is the simple meaning of Christes wordes flowing out of the wordes them selues without any racking of the wordes at all Which meaning I will more cléerly enlighten and more assuredly confirme by that which ensueth The worde Keyes are not vttered alwayes in one signification in the Scripture For otherwise there is no man but he knoweth what they be in their proper signification that is to wit tooles wherwithall the lockes of doores chestes and such other thinges are opened or shut And they be conueyed ouer from bodily thinges to spirituall thinges from earthly thinges to heauenly thinges and sometime they be taken for souerein and full power like as when we read in the Apocalips that Christ hath the keyes of Dauid of death and of hell For by that phrase of spéech is betokened that Christ hath the souerein and most absolute power or authoritie to gouerne the kingdome of Dauid and also full power ouer death it self and ouer hell and that he is able to deliuer from death or to thrust down into hell whomsoeuer he listeth These Keyes that is to say this power belongeth onely vnto Christ and no creature is partaker of it Wherupon also in the Apocalips the Lord sayth with a vehemencie I haue the Keyes and he sayth not I haue had but I haue I say I haue them yet still and will haue them euer I resigne them to no man. There is also the Key of knowledge and the Key of the kingdome of heauen whereof we intreate at this present The Key of knowledge is instruction wherby a mans vnderstanding is opened and his want of skill amended And the Key of the kingdome of heauē is a plaine or lightsome declaration or laying forth of thinges whereby men are taught what way they may goe into heauen or how they may be saued I faine nothing of mine owne head in this behalfe in these thinges I followe the Scripture and for mine exposition I alledge the very worde of Christ saying in the Gospell after S. Luke Woe be to you Lawyers whych haue taken away the key of knowledge ye entred not in your selues and them that came in ye forbad Which wordes of the Lord Mathew vttereth in this wise Woe be to you Scrybes and Pharyseys for ye shut vp the kingdome of heauen before men ye your selues goe not in neyther suffer ye them that come to enter in Behold looke what Luke called the taking away of the key of knowledge that doth Matthew call the shuttyng vp of the kingdome of heauen And therefore what els I pray you is it to bring forth the keyes of the kingdome of heauen then to bring forth the keyes of knowledge that is to say the doctrine which cōcerneth the kingdome of heauen through the instruction whereof we may know how to become partakers of the euerlasting saluation Againe to take away the keyes of knowledge or of the kingdome of heauen is nothing els but to withstand the doctrine of the Gospell concerning the kingdome of God or to assault it or to geue commaundement that it be not preached You therfore enter not in sayth the Lorde I meane by harkening to my doctrine ye beleue not that ye might be saued neither suffer ye them to enter which come and are desirous of my doctrine concerning the kingdome of God that is to say which would faine heare and beleue my doctrine that by faith they might be made heires of Gods kingdome while you slaunder my doctrine and my workes as though they procéeded from Sathan and therefore were to be abhorred and eschewed of good men And by these wordes of the Lord it appeareth most manifestly that the keyes wherof he speaketh here in S. Matthew saying and to thee will I geue the keyee of the kingdome of heauen are not any other thing then the charge of preaching the Gospell committed by the Lord to the ministers of his Church that by the sayd
publishing of the Gospell they might open the kingdome of heauen to the beleuers and shut it against the vnbeleuers But if these thinges which notwithstāding if I be not deceaued I take to be euident strong inough do not yet satisfie you beholde I will vnfolde this whole matter of the keyes yet an other way though nothing differing from the interpretation which I haue set downe already as in respect of the pith of the matter The worde keyes are also vsed in the Scripture for the care ordering of an householde For the seruauntes whom the master of any house setteth in office haue keyes deliuered vnto thē wherewith to open and shut and to order all the house which thing is wont to be done by the Stewardes or Comptrollers that haue the chéef charge of the house By meanes wherof the keyes also are taken for the very charge the ordering or the gouerning of the house Héere againe I faine nothing of my self I follow the holy Scriptures For in Esay the Lord sayth I wyll lay the key of the house of Dauid vpon the shoulder of Eliachim which shall open and no man shall shut and shall shut and no man shall open And what els is this then if he had said without figure I wil put Sobna out of office and make Eliachim Lord Treasurer and commit the gouernement of the Realme or of king Ezechias palace which charge he shall performe with so great faithfulnesse and authoritie that whatsoeuer he ordaineth shall stand sure and inuiolable and whatsoeuer he disanulleth no mā shall attempt to ratifie In like respect are the keyes of the kingdome of heauen sayd to be geuen to the Apostles and other ministers I meane the gouerning or housholdly ordering of the Church therby to bring mē to the kingdome of heauen or to shut them out of the partenership thereof Which surely can be none other then that which it accoūteth as the chéef namely the message of Gods worde I meane the preaching of the Gospell of Iesu Christ concerning the remission of sinnes and euerlasting life The which truely is so certaine and sure that looke whom the ministers absolue from their sinnes by it they are also assuredly acquit before God and whom the ministers condemne by the worde for their vnbeléefes sake those remain also condemned to destruction before God. And as for these thinges which I haue layd forth concerning the ordering of a housholde by Stewardes that is to say concerning the ordering of the Church by the ministers they are not differing from the worde of god For the Lord in his Gospell rehearseth a parable of a man that went from home and committed the charge of his house to his seruauntes which should be as Stewardes to order his house Which Parable certesse is applyed to the Church the house of God and to the ministers placed in the same that in gouerning it they may chéefly beautifie it with the preaching of the Gospell For in the same Gospell the Lord sayth againe Who thinkest thou is that faythfull and wise seruaunt whom his Lord hath set ouer his housholde to geue them meate in due season But who knoweth not what the meate of the Church is Truely Paule writing to a Bishop that is to say to an ouerséer or steward of the Church sayth Indeuour to yeeld thy selfe an allowable workman vnto God not to be ashamed of and rightly distributing the worde of truth And the same Apostle speaking yet more manifestly of the ministers and the housholde order of the Church sayth Let a man so esteeme you as the ministers of Christ and housholde guides or stewardes of the mysteries of God. Then the which I pray you what can be spoken more fully and plainly in this our case Christ our Lord ordained in his Church ministers and not Lordes ministers or seruauntes I say to be stewardes or dealers forth of Gods mysteries in the Church that is to say of the Gospell and of the thinges that are annexed to the Gospell For so doth the Lord him selfe expound the worde Mysterie in the xiii chapt of Mathew and so doth Paule also in the third to the Ephesians These keyes that is to say this charge houshold order of gouerning the Church which is executed according to the appointment of the Gospell of Iesus Christ did the Apostles receaue and after them all ministers of Churches that be lawfully called to the same office ¶ What is ment in the Gospell by loosing and binding and how Christes Apostles did loose and binde NOw although our Lorde sayd I will geue thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and that by the way he made no mention in the processe following of opening and shutting which are the properties of keyes yet did he set down other termes in their stead that is to wit to loose and to binde by which doutlesse he ment to shew the power of the keyes and after what maner the Apostles doe either open or shut heauen with the keyes They open when they vnbinde or let loose for both those thinges come to one point and they shut whē they binde To let loose therefore is to open and to shut is to binde Otherwise to binde is a word of knowen signification For the officer bindeth which at the cōmaundement of his lord casteth a man in prison or by some other way hampereth him in bondes And he looseth which dischargeth a man from bondes or bringeth him out of prison This thing is conueyed ouer from the body to the minde For bondes in the Scripture betoken as well spirituall as bodily imprisonment To loose therefore is to open the prison of sinnes by preaching forgeuenesse of sinnes through Christ who onely releaseth sinnes and bringeth out of prison Which thing shall be the rightlyer vnderstood if we vewe and consider more néerly this saying of the Prophet which the Lord Iesus him selfe expoundeth in the Synagog of Nazareth in S. Luke saying The spirite of the Lord is vpon me meaning vpon Christ because he hath annointed me and hath sent me to bring glad tidynges to the poore to heale them that be hart broken to preach release to the prisoners and recouery of sight to the blynd and to set the broosed at lybertie Héerunto adde also that which the same Lord said in Iohn Like as the father hath sent me so send I you Whose sinnes soeuer you release they are released vnto them and whose sinnes soeuer you retayne they be retayned The sonne of God then sent out his disciples after the same maner that he him self was sent out by the father But the sonne of God according as the Prophet hath auouched was sent to bring glad tidinges to the poore to preach deliueraunce to prisoners Ergo the Apostles also were sent forth to shew glad tidinges and to preach deliueraunce to prisoners Which thing when they do then open they heauen by the keyes and let loose them that were tyde in the bondes
of sinne releasing them their sinnes that is to say witnessing by the Gospell that their sinnes are released by fayth through christ For the Apostles release not sinne otherwise then by the warrant of the Gospell which auoucheth vnto them that onely Christ by his owne merite forgeueth sinnes For like as the Apostles are not sent to offer them selues in sacrifice for the clensing of the whole world as Christ was the sacrifice of whom alone clenseth away the sinnes of the whole world euē so doutlesse the Apostles were not sent to forgeue sinnes by their owne authoritie as Christ did but to witnesse vnto men that they be forgeuē by faith through christ For we must in these cases aduisedly and with a conscience obserue the matching of the superior with the inferior so as we may yéeld to ech partie that which is his owne and not wickedly attribute that glory vnto seruauntes which is due to the onely sonne of god Certesse Austine behauing him selfe reuerently in these matters sayth peremptorily that Christ worketh these thinges by power and that the disciples do the thinges which they do by seruice or seruauntly Wherof more shall follow anon Also Marke and Luke handling the same story which Iohn hath touched in his xx chapt do witnesse that in the talke which Christ hath in the day of his resurrection there is nothing els betaken to the Disciples but the office of preaching the Gospell For in Marke the Lord sayth Goe into the whole world and preach the Gospell And in Luke he sayth So behoued it Christ to suffer to rise againe from the dead the third day and repentaunce and forgeuenesse of sinnes to be preached to all nations in his name And therefore by laying all these places of Scripture together it is made most manifest and vndouted that the keyes which were geuen to Peter and the other Apostles is nothing els but the ministration of preaching the Gospel wherby the way is opened for the world into heauen wherby to be short is declared most assured release and forgeuenesse of sinnes through fayth in Christ to such as beleue Wherunto also séemeth to perteine this most elegant and fit sentence of the Lord speaking with Paule I will make thee a witnesse and messenger marke how he sayth a witnesse and messenger and will send thee vnto nations and realmes to open their eyes that they may be turned from darknesse to light and from the power of Sathan vnto God so as they may receaue forgeuenesse of sinnes and lot among those that be sanctified by the fayth which is to meward You haue in these wordes a most exacte description of the keyes of the kingdome of heauen Wherunto to adde any more I thinke it but superfluous Now if vnto all these thinges ye will adde the practise of the Apostles as they terme it and diligently search out how they haue vsed the keyes that were deliuered to them and after what sort they haue opened or shut the kingdome of heauen vnto men and also in what wise they haue either bound them or loosed them ye shal no where in all the new Testament finde them to haue exercised the Popishe practise that is to wit that the Apostles haue set thē selues downe in the places where they came to preach the kingdome of God and saluation and commaunded mē to come vnto them and there to crouch or to knéele after the maner of worshippers and to shriue them selues that is to say to poure out all their thoughtes wordes and déedes with all the circumstances of them into the eare or lap of the confessor as he sits and to craue of him the absolution of their sinnes with enioynance of satisfaction and that he on the other side laying his handes vpon the head of the shriftman whispered an absolution of sinnes ouer him in an ordinary forme of wordes and enioyned him a certaine satisfaction by the workes of penance Much lesse shall ye finde that the Apostles installed them selues in thrones and thrust downe sinners into hell by sentence of excommunication c. What then Looke vpon the Actes of the Apostles or rather goe through that booke wherein Luke hath most diligently written the notable sayinges and doinges of the Apostles and specially of Paule without ouerslipping of any thing which tended to soule health or was necessary to be knowen and therwithall hath in xxviii chapters set forth as many yeares that is to wit the things that the Apostles did by the space of xxviii yeares together in the matter of saluation and thou shalt not finde in all that great worke that all and euery of the Apostles did any thing els then agreably and constantly in all places and in euery place preach the Gospell and promise remission of sinnes and euerlasting life to such as beleued in Christ and on the contrary part threaten endlesse and most assured damnation to them that beleued not Thus I say did the Apostles vse the keyes which they receaued of the lord Thus did they binde and loose If they would haue had any other thing or any thing more to haue bene done in the Church by their successors they would not haue dissembled it by the space of xxviii yeares preaching in all their doinges which Luke hath most faythfully written And among other places of the Actes of the Apostles let the godly read the second x. xiii.xvi and xviii chapters and they will beare witnesse that the thinges which I haue spoken héere are most true yea and also thinke them selues satisfied in this case I speake of such as are not contentious for such no man can well satisfie And at this present I say to them also as Paule sayd If any man seeme to be full of contention we haue no such custome neyther the Churches of God. And whereas the aduersaries vrge this singular spéech I wyll geue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen vnto thee I say vnto thee Peter vnto thee singularly and not vnto you plurally and in their vrging do cry out that I haue openly corrupted this place of the Gospell by communicating vnto the rest of the Apostles and to all their successors being ministers of the word the keyes that were geuen to Peter onely they bewray their owne grosse foolishnesse together with their inuincible malice considering how they can not deny but that such synecdoches or figures of putting one for a number and specially in such cases are very vsuall in the Scriptures Againe seing it is sufficiently knowen what the keyes be and that the rest of the Apostles receaued them as well as Peter I pray you what will they proue by their singular number But let them aske their owne fathers why the Lord wheras he gaue equall or one maner of power to them all did neuerthelesse say seuerally vnto Peter I will geue thee and they shall perceaue that therby is betokened and expressed the vnitie of the Church Surely Austine in his 118. treatise
Peter what wicked féend willeth you Bishops to draw the sworde againe out of the scaberd contrary to the Lordes commaundement to shake it and to misuse it at your owne pleasure Doth it not irke you and shame you to say that by these wordes of of the Lordes is sufficiently geuen vnto you the power of both swordes whē as he hath geuē you so little or nothing at all therof hitherto that he hath euen openly striken the temporall sword out of your handes Now let the whole world iudge whether those Romish gripes haue proued by the foresayd textes of Scripture that Christ hath geuen vnto them the very full power of both the swordes Certesse the testimonies which they haue hitherto alledged out of the Scriptures haue not onely not geuen any thing too them but also taken from them all the thinges which they clayme to themselues against all right and reason Here are expounded these wordes of our Sauiour Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke c. and it is shewed that in thē there is nothyng spoken of the Popes fulnesse of power that the church of Christ is not builded vpon Peter or the Pope THat sword of theirs wherof they made their vaunte being striken out of their hand by and by they make hast to the rocke wherupon the Church is founded and consequently vnto Peter and his keyes For in these and by him they auouch themselues to haue receiued power and most full soueraigntie both of heauen earth And there they blaze out wonders of the building of the Church vpon Peter and of the keyes and wonderfull working power of them alledging for themselues the wordes of our sauiour which are written in the xvi chap. of the gospell of S. Mathew But these men with their sacriledge they are neuer able to cleare themselues or make amends therfore do corrupt this most holy place replenished with healthfull doctrine and consolation Which thing by gods helpe I wil euidently shew to the godly readers by the things that ensew The Lord in that place demaundeth of his disciples whom men take him to bée His disciples aunswer how there be diuers iudgementes and opinions of hym among the people some saying him to be Helias some Ieremy c. And by that question it was the Lordes wil to do them to wit how there haue alway bene alwayes shal be diuersitie of opinions in the world concerning religiō how be it that no man ought to be offended at that diuersitie for we read also the Lordes Apostle hath sayd there must néedes be heresies to the ende that such as be tryed among you may be made manifest And vnto the former questiō the Lord addeth forthwith an other namely what the disciples who had heard Christ now a long while and therefore doutlesse were better séene in matters of Religion thē the common sort were I say what opiniō they themselues had of christ And by this other question of his he shewed that the sure and true confession in matters of Religion is to be asked at the hand of the children of God for they must not wauer as the children of this world do and be sure of nothing nor apply themselues to euery kinde of opinion after the liking and course of this world Truly in many other places of the scripture also is required a singular and true confession of fayth at the handes of euery one of gods children To this question Saint Peter not so much in his owne name as in the name of all the other disciples vttereth a singular confession saying Thou art Christ the sonne of the liuing God very God I say and very mā euen that same anoynted namely the Messias or Christ that was to come into the world The king I say and priest the mediator pacifier redéemer and saluation of the whole worlde And that this confession is the true and sincere confession Paule also the apostle of Christ sheweth in the third fourth and tenth chapters to the Romaines and in many other places The Lord liking well of this confession sayth vnto Peter Blessed art thou Simon the sonne of Ionas geuing to vnderstand in these short wordes what and how great the force of true fayth in Christ is namely euen to iustify and make blessed that is to say to make pertakers of eternall life which thing the apostle sheweth in large wordes in his Epistles to the Romaines Galathians Ephesians in other places Furthermore the Lord immediatly addeth frō whence commeth that same so excellent fayth saying flesh bloud hath not opened it vnto thée but my father which is in heauen Fayth then hath not his originall in vs or of vs but is geuen vs from heauen by the father of lyght according as the Apostle witnesseth in many places and the Lord himselfe saith in Iohn No man commeth vnto me except my father draw him Moreouer this fayth grafteth vs in Christ and maketh vs Christians for there followeth in the Lordes wordes And thou art Peter namely for confessing of the rocke Petra now what a rocke is there is no man but he knoweth And in the scriptures it is euery where Metaphorically applyed vnto God because he is the strength the stedinesse the refuge and the foundation of the faythfull wheruppon they rest and in whom only they be preserued Of this Petra rocke was Simon the sonne of Ionas called Peter which name implyeth as much as if a man shoulde say grounded vpon the rocke God and grafted into Christ the sonne of God stedfast and so consequently a Christian for the doctors interpreters of holy scripture do terme Christians Peters also because that beyng setled by fayth vpon the rocke Christ they draw stedinesse strength and lyfe out of him so as through the operacion of Christ they be all their lyfe lōg stedfast in fayth honor Christ with all kind of vertues And Peter himselfe also expounding this mysterie vnto vs sayeth Christ the rocke is the lyuing stone forsaken in deede of men but chosen and precious vnto God vpon whom we also as liuely stones are builded that we may be a spirituall house offeryng spirituall sacrifices acceptable to God through Iesus Christ. Whosoeuer are not such Peters or stones there is no cause that they should glory at all of the name of Peter or Christians for they continue that which they bée euen the children of this world There followeth yet further in the Lordes wordes And vpon this Rocke will I build my Church By which woordes Christ ascending from the particular to the generall and deliuering an vniuersall lesson to his Church declareth most manifestly that these thinges belong not to Peter alone or to his disciples onely but to the Catholike that is to the vniuersal church wherof the foundacion Rocke and head is Christ vpon whom being builded by faith she shal obtayne saluation As if the Lord had sayd not onely Peter is so called of me the Rocke but also as
felowshyp yea and also a new head they be Cacodoxi that is to say misbeleuing or Kirtodoxi that is say ouerthwart beleuyng and not Rightbeleuyng and Catholike But now gentle reader wey me throughly within the compasse and vniuersalitie of what body or in what vnitie of doctrine and fayth the Romish sort be who by reason of certeine peculiar and straunge opinions of theirs which they professe and mainteine and for their Popish Church set vp vnder the Pope as head of it call themselues onely Catholike Let them say to vs whether the thynges which these men vrge so sore vpon vs were knowen and generall to the Catholike and Apostolike primitiue Church fayth and doctrine Let these Catholikes then which by their owne iudgement are the onely rightbeleuers vpon earth shew vs whether the aūcient Apostolike Church acknowledged Rome to be the head of all the Churches in the world whether all the faythfull seruauntes of Christ must vppon payne of saluation and damnation be subiect to the Byshop of Rome as who hath both the swordes in his hand iudgeth all men and is to be iudged of no man Whether the primitiue and aunciēt Church did pray vnto dead Saintes Whether it accounted them for patrons and spokesmen to God the father Whether it worshypped them with sacrifices holydayes and such other kynd of seruices Whether they builded them tēples or set vp images to them Whether the images of God and the Saintes he profitable and necessarie in the Churches of the Christians whether the soules that be sindged broyled and rosted in the fire of Purgatory be deliuered by yearemyndes and other satisfactions for the dead Whether Christ be worshypped in the Masse and whether it be to be beleued that Christ himselfe is offered there in sacrifice for the sinnes of the quicke the dead whether our owne workes deserue eternall lyfe and whether they iustifie vs also whether the state of Mōkes be the state of perfection or no And whether there were any cloysters of Monkes Nunnes in the Church afore Paule the Heremite of Thebe Antonie and Benet now if these and many other thynges like these were not séene nor knowen as they were not in déede tell vs wherfore ye boast them to be Catholike or how wil you be called Catholike of thē will ye that I tell you most falsly most vniustly sauyng in that your Antichristian kynd For as for the rites and customes which you call and brag to be Catholicke antiquitie hath registred them among Idolatries Cease therefore to delude the simple with your gentle termes of Catholike and Rightbeleuyng The faythfull know who you be Amend therfore and liue lyke true Catholikes with vs not in the Popish Church of Rome but in the true Catholike Church vnder the head Christ who onely is our saluation To him be glorie for euer Amen ¶ The Queene of England hath iustly cōmaunded her subiectes that they should not acknowledge the Church of Rome or obey the lawes therof Iustly also hath she bound them by othe to abiure the authoritie and obedience of the Romish Byshop The Bull procedeth in his purposed accusation agaynst the Quéene saying She hath forbidden the Clergie and laitie to acknowledge the Church of Rome or to obey the lawes of it Yea and she hath compelled them to renounce the authoritie obedience of the Romane Byshop by othe appointing penalties and punishmentes to such as disobey the which she hath executed vpō those that haue continued in the vnitie of fayth and the obedience aforesayd But the Quéenes Maiestie euen in this case also hath done nothyng but that the Lord God himselfe hath commaunded her to do which all good Princes among the people of God haue done before her For it is alredy manifestly inough shewed and proued before that by Gods ordinaunce it is lawfull for Kinges and Magistrates to take vpon them the care and orderyng both of cases and of persons Ecclesiasticall Therfore looke what the Quéene hath commaunded her subiectes in this behalfe she hath done but that she ought to do by vertue of her office And wheras she hath commaunded that they should not acknowledge the Church of Rome or obey the ordinaunces therof hath she not cōmaunded that thyng by the appiontment of Gods word for truly God commaūdeth his people in his law that they should not giue eare to such as teach thinges contrarie to his law also he commaundeth the Magistrate that he giue no place either to superstitions or to false doctrines but rather that he roote vp these and restreine the others Ieremy like as the rest of the Prophetes also inferreth and vrgeth the same thyng Among other thynges sayth he thus sayth the Lord of hostes hearken not to the woordes of the Prophetes that prophesie vnto you For they teach you vanitie tell you the visions of their owne hart euen their owne inuentions and not out of the mouth of the lord But it is more clearer then the light of noone day that the Romish Doctors and teachers are not onely such but moreouer most cruell enemyes to the sound doctrine of the Gospell or rather persecuters imbrewed with Christian bloud The Lord hymselfe in his Gospell but specially in Mathew the vij and xxiiij chapters and in Luke the vij chapter hath forbydden vs to giue eare to false Prophetes and false Christes specially which shall come in this last perillous ago He chargeth vs that we should neither beleue them nor folow thē And S. Peter with great grauitie sayth kéepe your selues from this generation Which thyng he intreateth of more plenteously and diligently in his latter Epistle Yea and S. Paule also agréeing with the doctrine of S. Peter describeth the corrupt gouerners of the Church in this last age verely froward men not lightes but firebrandes of the Church and he biddeth the faithfull depart from them If any man desire to sée the places he shal find them in 2. Cor. 6. and in 2. Thes. 2. and in 1. Tim. 4. and 6. and in 2. Tim. 3. and 4. chapters Flée ye from Idolatrie sayth the same Apostle And S. Iohn sayth beware of Idols Besides this it is reueled to S. Iohn from heauen and commaundement is giuen thus my people get ye out of Babylon that ye be not partakers of her sinnes and receyue of her plagues also Uery rightly therfore and accordyng to the commaundementes of God hath the Quéenes Maiestie done in chargyng her subiectes that they should not acknowledge the Romane that is to say the Popish Church nor obey the Popes law or ordinaunces as vtterly wicked or fightyng agaynst the word of God. But the thyng that most of all gréeueth and chafeth hym is that the Quéene hath compelled her ▪ subiectes to renoūce the Pope and his authoritie which in very déede is none at all and the Papacie it selfe by othe Neuerthelesse euen in this behalfe also what hath her highnesse done which the
no equitie willeth to condemne a partie that is vnconuicted yea and vtterly giltles in the offence that he is charged with For by Gods owne iudgement he is an vniust a partiall and a wicked Iudge whosoeuer he is that condemneth a person which is vnconuicted yea and cleare to and dischargeth or acquiteth a person that is conuicted and found giltie in déed Truely by law Iudges heare the enditementes of the accusers and likewise on the other side the aunswers of them that be accused and yet he that is accused runneth not in any danger by law so long as the articles of inditemēt be not lawfully prooued but rather if he cleare himselfe of the articles of the enditement by lawfull and euident aunswer he is discharged of all domages and acquit of al fault Now forasmuch as it is certainly apparant by the thinges aforediscoursed that all the accusations wherwith the pope hath hetherto charged the Quéene of England and which he hath alleaged by hys Bull are disproued by iust open euident reasons or aunswers and therefore that her royall Maiestie is not conuicted of any of the faultes that be layd against hir It is also certaine and sure therewithall that the popes definitiue sentence against that giltles Quéene vnable to be conuicted of any of the crimes layd to hir charge is both most partiall and most vniust and that the Pope which taketh vppon him as a Iudge in thys cace is a most wicked and abhominable iudge And yet I wil not say that euen he the pope hath contrary to all right reason made himself both accuser iudge in thys case and hath bables out what so euer came at hys tounges ende and what so euer he listed but proueth not ne confirmeth not any whit of hys case ¶ That the Queene of England is not an hereticke and therefore not stricken with the popes curse nor cut of from the vnitie of Christes bodie ALthough the Bull be now sufficiently confuted and the Quéenes innocencie defended and declared and the popes outragious tyranny cruell wrong and excessiue vnindifferencie layd foorth so as his most vniust definitiue sentence may easely and by very good right be ouerpassed despised yea and laughed at yet shall it not gréeue me euen for an ouerplus to peruse it againe in sifting it by péecemeale The same hath chiefly fower points First the pope declareth and denounceth the Quéene of England to be an hereticke and a bolsterer of heretikes therfore that she is stricken with his curse and cut of from the vnitie of Christes body But it hath bene shewed in many woords already that the Quéene is a catholike and Christian princesse and not giltie of any heresie or crime Wherupon it followeth that the pope by his condemning of so giltles and rightbeleuing a Prince bewrayeth and vttereth himself what he is namly euen one of those of whome Peter hath sayd They despise higher powers presumptuous are they and stubbern and feare not to speak euill of them that be in authority c. A few yeares past the reuerend Bishops of England dyd setfoorth a godly and learned Apologie in the third chapter whereof chiefly they shew howe the Realme of Englande hath no aliance at all with heretickes or heresies In the same they plainly and stedfastly professe their fayth and openly declare themselues to be of a sound and christian religion eloquently and truely washing away all the accusations and slaunders of the papistes It is more manifest then that it néedeth to be reported with many words what the Doctors diuines ministers of the Church of Christes time haue thought to be heresie and whome they haue demed to be heretickes As for the law of Lucius the thirde concerning the suppressing of heresie which is registred by Gregory the ninth in the thirde booke of decretalles the seuenth title concerning heretickes wherby the popes deuise and shape all their iudgementes and condemnations Wise men and godly men haue alwayes déemed it tyrannicall contrary to the iudgements of holy and religious antiquitie and therfore we thincke it not woorth the naming and we estéeme all the decrées that be formed and pronounced according to the same to be tyrannicall Yet notwithstanding I can not stay my selfe but I must néedes at thys present rehearse the opinion of the auncient writer Tertullian concerning this matter In his booke of the veyling of Virgins Heresies sayth he are ouercome not so much by newnesse as by truth What so euer fauoureth otherwyse than of truth the same is heresie yea though it be euē auncient custome And againe in Prescriptions of heretikes Heresies sayth the same author are termed of the Gréeke woord as in respect of the choyce which a man vseth eyther in the mayntayning or in the receyuing of them And therefore he sayth that an heretike is condemned in himselfe because he hath chozen the thing wherein he is condemned But it is not lawfull for vs to do any thing vpon oure owne head nor to choose the thing that an other man hath brought in of hys owne head We haue the Lordes Apostles for our warrant who chose not any thing of theyr owne head to bring in but faythfully deliuered ouer to all nations the discipline that they had receyued of christ And therfore if euen an Angell from heauen should preach any otherwise vnto vs we would hold him acursed Thus far Tertullian Wherfore séeing that the Quéene hath chozen nothing of hir owne head to deliuer to hir subiectes but onely hath betaken to them propheticall and Apostolicall truth of the scriptures to be followed hir maiestie is vtterly discharged of the crime of heresy And séeing that the romish opinions and the popish rites and ceremonies differing from our opinions and ceremonies are nothing els but opinions inuented by mens owne braynes selfchozen ceremonies Let the Romanistes consider to whether of vs the crime of heresy may iustlyest be imputed and to whome it sticketh fastest Besides this the Imperiall lawes commaunde all that be vnder the Empyre to follow that religion which S. Peter deliuered to the Romanes And it addeth We pronounce that such as folow this law embrace the name of catholike Christians and that the rest are to be taken for heretiks iudging them to be mad and out of their wits But the Quéene wil haue nothing to flourish in hir realme but the Apostolike doctrine ergo she is a catholike and not an heretike neither fauoureth she heretikes nor can abide to haue heresies taught in hir realme nor cherisheth such as be stayned w the spotte of heresy but rather euen for the same cause she hath banished the romish traditions and popish ceremonies out of her whole Realme least she might be sayd to beare with any thing against the Apostolike doctrine and Christian Ceremonies And therfore the thunderclap of that Tarpeian or Romane Iupiters curse wherewith he will haue the Quéene to séeme to be striken through is but a blockish
departed in peace Let the noblemen and cleargy of the whole realme dispose the succession of the kingdome by common aduice that while we retayne the vnitie of concord no man may practise the disquietnesse of his contry realme by violence and ambition But if this warning correct not our mindes ne bringeth our hart to the regard of the common welfare Heare our determination Whosoeuer of vs or of all the people of Spaine shall by any conspiracie or practise breake his oth which he hath made for the welfare of his countrye and the nation of the Gothes or for the preseruation of the kinges estate or shall lay handes vpon the kinges person to murther him or depose him from his royall authoritie or by tyrannicall presumption vsurpe the crowne Cursed be he in the presence of God the Father of his Aungels and let him becomme a forreiner from the Catholike churche which he hath defiled with hys periurie and a stranger to all companies of Christians with all the partakers of hys wickednes For it is méete that they which be wrapped in one offence should also be subiect to one punishment And this their definitiue sentence they double twise or thrice still beating and harping vpon it Which thinges I haue hetherto rehearced and many other of the same sort coulde I alleage but that I know that these are enough to such as vse reason Let the pope then goe as he is woorthy with that absolution of hys not Apostolicall but apostaticall and diabolicall whereby he dischargeth the Nobilitie and Commons of England of all fealtie and obedience shamlesly and openly teaching them to practise wicked rebellion treason and cursed periurie against theyr Quéene sette ouer them by God which vices God according to hys righteousnes hath alwayes hated and vtterly abhorred Yea and he him selfe also is stricken with the curse euen now rehearced iustly pronounced against forswearers by the fathers in the fourth Counsell of Tolet because he is not onely forsworne himselfe but also teacheth forswearing Nay rather he sheweth by this as a most certaine marcke how he is the man of sinne of whome the Apostle speaketh For like as he himselfe swarmeth and ouerfloweth with sinnes and wickednes euen so doth he entice and enforce all men into sinne and wickednes by his publications or decrées Therefore looke to thy selfe O Englande and beware of this man of sinne whome God comming downe from heauen to iudge the quicke and the dead shall shortly wype away and according as Iohn hath truely foretold throw him headlong into a lake of fyre burning with brimstone together wyth all those that haue more willingly obayed him that is to say to Antichrist than to Christ. ¶ That the Nobilitie and Commons of England must not obey the popes commaundement nor feare his curse And here is shewed what thing subiectes owe to theyr Princes by Gods appoyntment and how greuously God hath alwayes punished rebelles and sedicious persons LAstly the Bishop of Rome in his definitiue sentence commaundeth all the Nobilitie and People of England that be subiectes to the Quéene that vpō paine of his curse they obey not hir Maiesties lawes and commaundementes hereafter What shall they do then Marie forsake theyr allegiance cast of the yoke of obedience and with hurliburly ryse vp against the Quéene whome God hath geuen them to be theyr soueraigne Ladie and thrust hir from hir crowne and through vnspeakable treason murther hir and then set all the Realme on a broyle beat downe all the faythfull and rid them out of the way fill all places with slaughter and confound heauen earth together These are the counsels and commaundementes of this blissed syre borowed of that father of his of whome the Lord speaketh in hys Gospell saying You are of your father the deuill and you will folow the desires of your father He was a murtherer from the beginning and continued not in the truth because there is no truth in him They therefore that loue godlinesse and their owne saluation and the honor peace and welfare of their owne countrie as euery good and godly man must of duetie do let them flye as far as may be from thys diuelish cruell and bloudy decrées of the pope Neyther is there any cause why they should feare to incur the displeasure of almightie God for disobeying the Popes Decrées For the Pope hath published those Decrées agaynst God against the true word of God. For God hath taught thinges plaine contrarie and fighting full but against the Popes Decrées namely that euery man ought to yeld both honour feare to his Prince or Magistrate and also to pay him tribute and custome and performe due subiection and obedience to him And these things are to be read word for word written by the Apostle Paule in the xiij to the Romanes For subiectes ye and all good men must both thinke and speake reuerently and honorablie of their Princes or Magistrates as whom God in his word vouchsaueth to call by the name of Gods as by whom God himselfe gouerneth iudgeth defendeth bridleth and preserueth his people In consideration wherof in the booke of Iudges iudges be termed Sauyours Which thing al subiectes ought to acknowledge with a certeine reuerence admiration and giuing of thankes For we be commaunded to make earnest intercession for our Princes in our prayers vnto God we be commaunded to loue our Magistrate vnfeynedly and in a comly decent and diligent wise to honor them with the honours accustomed to eche countrey So haue all the holie Priestes Prophetes and faithfull seruauntes of God done to their king as it is to be séene in many places of the holy Scripture Besides this it is an expresse commaundement in Gods law Thou shalt not speake euill of the Gods nor curse the Prince of thy people Moreouer the Prince is also to be feared of his subiectes that they practise not any thing against him and much lesse make not insurrection against him as enemies or moue sedition or otherwise commit vngracious actes and worthie to be punished For if thou do the thing that is euill sayth Paule then feare for he beareth not the sword in vayne For he is Gods Minister to punish him that doth euill And truly good men feare their Princes not as executioners but as fathers For agayne the Apostle sayth Princes are not a terror to them that do well but to them that do ill And wilt thou not stād in feare of authority then do the thing that is good and so shalt thou receiue prayse of him Moreouer subiectes must pay their Princes all maner of tributes customes and all other dewties For againe the Apostle saith who goeth a warfare at his owne charges But Princes serue the common weale therfore it is good right that they should be mainteined of the common charges Surely Paule saith expresly euen therfore do ye pay tribute for they be Gods