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
to determine of ecclesiasticall cases deposing and oppressing the catholicke Bishops and aduauncing and putting in their roomes leawd preachers and ministers of vngodlinesse Moreouer sayth the Bull she hath abolished the sacrifice of the Masse prayers fasting choice of meates single life and all catholicke rites and commaunded bookes that conteine open heresie to be set forth to the whole Realme and wicked mysteries and ordinances receiued and obserued by her selfe according to the appointment of Caluine to be also obserued of her subiectes She hath forbidden the Clergie and laitie to acknowledge the Romane Church or to obey the commaundementes therof yea and she hath compelled them to renounce by othe the authoritie and obedience of the Bishop of Rome She hath layd penalties and punishmentes vpon such as shall disobey and hath executed the same vpon such as haue continued in the vnitie of faith and obedience aforesayd and therwithall also she hath cast the catholicke bishops in prison where they haue ended their daies miserably pyned in much and long languishing and dayly sorow All which thinges are so notorious as there is no roome left for any excuse defence or shift to serue in the matter Wherfore rising now out of the throne of his with sword drawen and pronouncing the extremest sentence against the most vertuous Quéene yea and against all her complices through the whole Realme he denounceth and declareth her an hereticke and a fauourer of heretickes and therfore most proudly determineth her to be strickē through with his curse and cut of from the vnitie of Christes body and moreouer to be depriued of her kingdome and of all right of her crowne of all maner of other preheminence dignitie and priuiledge And not content with this he procéedeth yet further and geueth charge to all and singular the Quéenes Nobilitie and other her subiectes that vnder paine of the sayd curse they obey not hereafter the lawes and commaundementes of their pretensed or supposed Quéene as he termeth her Yea and in what sort soeuer they were sworne vnto the Quéene he assoileth them all of such othe and vtterly dischargeth them of all duetie of subiection fealtie and allegeance Upon all which thinges it followeth most manifestly that by setting that most vertuous Quéene and the noble Realme of England and other nations at oddes among thē selues he doth most cruelly and wickedly put her in hazard both of her foes and of her frendes yea and which is horrible to be heard of her owne subiectes to be trayterously torne in péeces through ciuill warres and most outragious seditions if there were any so mad and so voyde of all godlinesse and manhood as to suffer such that is to wit so deuilishe and hellish furie to be so inspired into them by the inchauntmentes of this venemous beast Hitherto I haue declared what thinges are conteined and set forth in that wicked slaunderous seditious and bloudy Bull. Of which thinges if any man be desirous to haue a more compendious abridgment and yet neuerthelesse as fully presumptuous and shamelesse as that which hath béen shewed already let him heare what maner of title the Bull hath set before it to the face of the world The sentence declaratorie of our most holy father Pope Pius the fifth against Elizabeth the pretensed Queene of England and the heretickes that cleaue vnto her Wherby also all her subiectes are declared assoiled of their othe of allegeance and of all other duties whatsoeuer and those that obey her heerafter are wrapped in the same curse ¶ That the foresayd vnmeasurable power of the Romish Bishop is not proued by these wordes of the Lord vnto Peter Peter louest thou me feede my sheepe HItherto you haue patiently heard the Popes sentence or declaration by his Bull against the most vertuous Quéene of England c. and now I pray you be so good as gently to heare me also I will bréefly and plainly shew how there is no truth substance or soundnesse in this Bull and that the cause which the Hope maintaineth and pleadeth against the most noble Quéene is euill and vniust but the case on the Quéenes side very good and rightfull And I will begin at that vnmeasurable power of the Pope which he boasteth of and by force whereof he taketh vpon him to be iudge in this case For that being once ouerthrowen all the whole Bull falleth to the ground together with the iudgement builded vpon this ruinous foundation and so shall the Pope sit in that seate of his not a terrible or iust iudge but an Idoll to be despised yea and to be spit at of all good men and his sentences shall be no more the thunderboltes of Iupiter but counterfait flashes glistering out of a basen in no wise worthy to be regarded Then let that most holy or rather most prophane father tell vs where or by what wordes our Lord deliuered vnto Peter alone and vnto Peters successor the Bishop of Rome that his fulnesse of power that is to say his supreme and most absolute power as well in spirituall as in temporall matters Let him tell vs where or by what wordes the Lord created the Bishop of Rome prince ouer all nations and ouer all kingdomes I am not ignorant of your stincking and vnsauerie fables in this behalfe I am not ignorant what Decretalls haue béene put forth by Gregory the ix Boniface the viij Innocent the 4. Clement the v. Iohn the xxij and such other like to these cōspirators Catilines companions As for me I will not heare those decrées or Decretalls which the famous Lawyer Marsilius of Padwa no lesse aptly than truely sayd to be neither Gods lawes nor mans lawes but proclamations of plaine vniuersall souereintie You say that without any parable at all Christ our Lord gaue the fulnesse of power which ye brag of to Peter and to Peters successor the Pope Bring forth therfore some euident record of this your allegation out of the new Testament Truely ye be not able to bring forth one tittle or one iote of this your allegation And therfore with most wicked lyes and forgeries haue both you and your predecessors now certaine hundred yeares scared and seduced good men that leaned too much vnto you through too light beléef and ouermuch fearfulnesse For where as they haue alledged the wordes which our Lord after his Resurrection did thrise repeate and vrge vpon Peter namely Peter louest thou me feede my sheepe Certes I wonder that both they and you are so past all shame that ye dare bring these thinges for the stablishing of your kingdome or rather your tyranny As who would say we be all of vs blind or blockes voyde of common reason and not able to perceaue how those wordes perteine not to souereintie but to seruice Peter was by this meane to be comforted by the Lord and to be restored to the name and office of Apostle which he séemed to haue lost at the Lordes passion chéefly in this respect because
may not faile c. For too what purpose this sentence pertayneth the Lord himselfe declareth immediatly by the wordes which he addeth saying And when thou art turned againe strengthen thy bretherne Starke mad and geuen vp into a wilfull wicked mynde must he néedes be that wresteth these sayinges to the maintenance of the Popes most wrongfull power which are most manifestly apparant to be spoken to the admonishment and comforte of such as are falne For that place by warning vs before hand doth simply teach vs the same thing which Peter him selfe hath taught vs afterward saying your aduersarie the deuill walketh about like a roaring Lyon séeking whome he may deuour which thing our Lord expressed by saying He hath craued you to winowe you whome withstande you watching by fayth For the Lord in those his wordes vnto Peter teacheth vs not only that thing but also this namely that our standing out in temptations is not by our own strength but by the defence helpe and benefite of Christe our Lord who doubtlesse geueth increaseth and maintayneth fayth in vs which Iohn in his Epistle calleth the victory that ouercōmeth the world Furthermore it teacheth vs that neither the offences which we haue committed nor the incessant and importunate trauailes of Satan against vs must in any wise make vs dispayre when we be exercised with temptations yea or also falne in our encounters considering how Peter the denier yea and forswearer of Christ obtayned forgeuenesse at Christes handes which was done for an euerlasting assuraunce and witnesse that all sinners although they be beguiled by Sathan shall neuerthelesse be gently receyued into fauour if they returne to the Lorde For this is it that Peter beyng himselfe winowed by Sathan but yet gathered vp againe and set vpon his féete and preserued by the protection of Christ shoulde strengthē his brethrē And what I pray you do these things make for the stablishing of the vnmeasurable and most licentious power of Popes It neuer came in the mynde of Christ nor yet of Peter to thinke any thing therof Full of sacrilege therefore is these most corrupt mens exposition whiche they force vppon vs vtterly against our Lordes wordes But what should it make to the proofe of their souereintie though it were neuer so true which they say that the fayth of the Romain church neuer fayled Yet finde we not that the Lord spake any such thing here I haue prayed for thée Peter sayth he that thy fayth may not fayle And although Peters fayth which he had geuen him which also he preached yea and adde further which he preached at Rome be continuall and such as neuer fayleth as truely through Gods grace it florisheth in places innumerable at this day through the whole world and like as also it was neuer vtterly quenched at any tyme what pertayneth that to the Romish Church in these dayes and to the most arrogant supremacie of the same But it is much more easily spokē then proued that the fayth of the Romane church neuer fayled if by her fayth ye meane that simple and vncorrupted fayth which Peter had and taught For to auoyde multiplieng of wordes goe to let indifferent comparison be made what maner of doctrine and fayth Peters was in old tyme and what maner of doctrine and fayth the Romaine churches is at this day vnder the Romane bishops Go too let comparison also be made betwene the maners whole lyfe of Peter and the maners and lyues of the Romish bishops which will néedes be Peters successors And therupō let iudgement be geuen When the Lord after supper as he was goyng to the garden of mount Oliuet bad his disciples sell euen their garmentes and get them swordes and vpon the answer of his disciples how they had two in redinesse sayd they were enowe he did not then deliuer both the swordes as well spirituall as temporall to be vsed in the Church vnto Peter to whome onely and peculiarly he did not then speake For by and by he addeth the cause of this his commaundement saying I say vnto you yet must this Scripture be fulfilled in mée and he was reckoned among offenders verely meaning thereby that he should vppon mounte Oliuet be bound and led away as a transgressor and that his disciples also should be put in extreme hazarde of their liues from which notwithstanding he would deliuer them not by the terror of any sworde but by his owne only voyce or power The Lord then ment another thing yea and a farre other thing than to yeld the vse of the temporall sword and this endlesse authoritie either to Peter or to any other mā Nay rather whē his disciples were redy armed to fight he ment too set before their eyes euē vpō mount Oliuet that in the persecutions which should come vpon thē for his sake they should not be deliuered by the helpe of temporall swordes but by the ayde and worde of their maister Christ saying if ye séeke me let these go their wayes And to this end did the Lord suffer Peter to draw his sworde and to make assault vpon Malchus the bishops seruaunt But what preuayled Peter by that So little did he with that sworde of his deliuer himselfe or his fellowdisciples and much lesse his maister from the present daungers that he had rather turned the bloudy weapons of his enemies vpon himselfe if his maister had not sayd let these go their wayes Then was it Christes protection and not the sword that saued the disciples and euen at this day also as many as be saued in persecution are saued by the same defence Which thing he ment to shew to the eye by those swordes both to them and to vs warning vs couertly by the way that in persecution we must turne vnto Christ and craue his help who is able euen with a worde to asswage any manner of tempestes be they neuer so outragious And to this purpose serued the swordes at leastwise which were brought at this tyme and to this ende to mount Oliuete at the commaundement of Christ. Besides this the Lord expounding his owne woordes turneth hym vnto Peter and sayth put vp thy sword into the sheathe for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword Thinkest thou not that I can presently pray to my father and he will geue me mo then xij legions of angels But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled for so must it bée Séeing therfore that the Lord commaundeth Peter earnestly to put vp his sworde into the scaberd who séeth not that the Lordes bidding of his disciples to cary out swords with them was to the end that now by this sight he might openly and effectually and without all couerture restraine the vse of the sword both from Peter and frō all ministers yea and to plucke it out of their handes when they had taken it already Considering then how the Lord pulled that temporall sword out of the handes of
many as shal hereafter by Peters example confesse me to be Christ the sonne of the liuing God and by this true fayth settle themselues vpon me the onely foundation all them will I take and acknowledge for my household that is to say for my church And this that is to say Christ the Rocke shall be the only foundation of Gods church in earth and all they shall be members and citizens of this holy church euen as many as beleue as Peter did and settle themselues vpon this foundation of soule health by the same fayth And this is it that the Lord ment by saying And vpon this Rocke will I builde my Church And least any man may doubt of this simple and true exposition of the Lordes wordes considering how diuers wrest them and draw them some one way and some another Behold I will by other places of scripture also confirme and enlighten this exposition aboue recited Surely the scripture doth euery where agréeably witnesse that by fayth onely in Christ we be iustified grafted into Christ and made members of Christ and his church which is the communion of all saintes that is to say of the faythfull resting vpon Christ and that no creature no not euē Peter himselfe much lesse the bishop of Rome cā be the Rocke the head the foundatiō of the Catholike church And least any mā may thinke this thyng hard and varying from the truth forasmuch as it is directly against the decrées of the Romish church Loe I in this case bring in the cleare and vndoubted recordes of the holy Ghost himselfe speaking by the prophetes and Apostles Dauid in the 18. psalme cryeth out saying Who is God besides the Lord and who is the Rocke besides our God And God himselfe in Esay sayth Behold I lay a corner stone in Sion a chosen one a precious one he that beleueth in him and resteth vppon him shall not be ashamed Moreouer also the Apostle Paule sayeth The Rocke was Christ. And agayne Other foundation can none be layde then is layd already which is Iesus Christ. Which thing he expoūdeth yet more fully in his Epistle to the Ephesians Whervnto in all pointes agréeth the witnesse of S. Peter who sheweth out of Dauid that Iesus is that stone or Rocke wherupon it behoueth them to be builded by fayth which will become the house of God or be made pertakers of the churche of christ Which thinges being vndoubtedly so These wordes of the Lord Vpon this Rocke will I build my Church must of necessitie be vnderstoode of Christ alone as who reigneth from heauen in his saintes as the head doth in the members and from whom as the liuely head they be watered with the spirite and sucke lyfe out of hym and through him do liue a lyfe beséeming hym And to be a head as it is most manifestly gathered by the doctrine of the Apostles is to be a Lord and Sauiour and to inspire life into the members that be subiect to the head Neither may the head at any time be from the body without the destruction of the body Seing then that Christ is the onely head of the Church it behoueth him to be alwayes with his Church By reason wherof she hath no néed of any deputie or vicegerent vpon earth For a deputie or vicegerent is the deputie or vicegerent of him that is absent But Christ is euermore present with his Church For he sayth in the Gospell I will be with you euen to the vttermost end of the world will neuer leaue you comfortlesse Our religion therfore willeth vs and the vniforme doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles willeth vs to expound these thinges not of Peter or of the Bishop of Rome but of Christ only Therfore if ye méete with any interpreters be they olde or new that interprete the foresayd wordes of our Lord to be ment of Peter and the Pope the authoritie of the Prophets and Apostles yea and of this selfsame Peter too ought to beare more sway with you than the authoritie of any men els whatsoeuer they be in the world For Christ abideth euerlastingly the foundation of his Church and as for Peter and the rest of the Apostles and the ministers that haue come in their roomes they remaine as workmaisters of this building which build not vpon them selues being mē but vpon this onely and euerlasting foundation according as the Apostle teacheth plainly in the third chapt of the first Epistle to the Corinth And let this be our brazen wall Neither fighteth it against this that in the Apocalips the Citie of God is sayd to haue twelue foundations and the names of the twelue Apostles written in them For sayth Paule there can none other foundation be layd then is layd already notwithstanding forasmuch as in the laying of this foundation that is to say in the preaching of Christ the Apostles were Gods workfellowes bestowed their trauell faythfully theraboutes therfore that Citie is sayd to haue twelue foundations For otherwise the Apostle in his 2. chapt to the Ephesians sayth You are fellow citizens wyth the sainctes and Gods houshold meyny builded vpon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets whereof the corner stone is Christ Iesus him selfe in whom the whole buildyng beyng semented together groweth to a temple in the Lorde vpon whō you also are builded to be a dwellyng place for God through hys spirite And what man that hath his right wits will after these thinges séeke for manifester Wherfore let all of vs beware of that rotten and tottering foūdation which the Court of Rome striueth to set vnder vs. We will yet héerunto adde the wordes of our Lorde that follow after least any thing of this place may remain vndiscussed And the gates of hell sayth Christ shall not preuayle agaynst it By which wordes is declared the power and victoriousnesse of Christ and of his Church of fayth The gates of hell are all kinde of powers that are against it yea euen the power of Sathan which of all other is the strongest and noysomnest to the faythfull And therfore it is sayd that no force be it neuer so mighty whether it be of Sathan him selfe or of the world or of any other aduersary power vnder heauen or in hell shall preuaile against Christ the Rocke and the Church that is builded vpon the rocke which howsoeuer it be tempted and persecuted must notwithstanding at length ouercome in Christ through fayth For the Lord him selfe hath sayd The prince of this world is already condemned and cast out And againe Be of good cheere I haue ouercome the world And Iohn the Apostle All that is borue of God sayth he ouercommeth the world and the victory that ouercommeth the world is this euen your fayth Also who is he that ouercommeth the world but he whych beleueth that Iesus is the sonne of God So I say this place is opened plainly inough by laying together
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
tyme vnto Moses when he drew backe and would haue shunned the Lordes callyng But in those wordes there is no speakyng at all of souereintie but of the charge of preachyng Whereupon it ensueth that Ieremie is instructed how to teach and not how to reigne And there foloweth in the Lordes wordes behold this day haue I set the ouer natiōs kyngdomes to plucke vp roote out destroy and ouerthrow to build vp and to plant By which wordes the Lord sheweth vnto Ieremy to whom he sendeth him what his office should be or what should be end of his ambassade He is sent vnto nacions and kyngdomes as a preacher of Gods word and not set ouer them as a prince or a king For there foloweth to plucke vp c. Which is the office of a teacher and the end of the Lordes ambassade And a Prophet plucketh vp ouerthroweth buildeth vp and planteth two wayes First when by Gods word he declareth to people nacions and kyngdomes that the Lord which hath planted the nations kyngdomes will roote out the same for their outrageous sinnes vnlesse they amend For Ieremy of himselfe did not ouerthrow or build vp kyngdomes but the Lord alone did it But Ieremy beyng Gods minister and messenger told them out of the Lordes mouth or by his word that the Lord would do it And this sence is ministred and furthered by the thynges that folow in the 45. chapter where the Lord sayth behold I pull downe the thynges that I haue builded and I plucke vp the thynges that I haue planted And agayne in the 42. chapter I will build you vp and not pull you downe I will plant you and not plucke you vp Besides this to plucke vp and to plant are termes of husbandry like as to build and to pull down are termes of masonry and carpentry Hereupon now the Prophet is by an allegoricall speach informed what he must do and wherunto his commission extendeth Like as husbandmē and builders do first prepare their ground and cut it vp with the plough and afterward sow it with séede or first pull downe the decayed buildynges and clense the floore and then afterward build vpon it So is it the dewtie of a Prophet or preacher first and formest to confute by Gods word to pull downe and plucke vp wicked opinions Idolatrie and whatsoeuer thynges els are raysed vp agaynst God and afterward in place of the thynges that be rooted out to plant agayne sound doctrine the true worshyppyng of God and all maner of godlinesse and finally to kéepe the Lordes field in tilth and to decke Gods house with all diligence These thynges wil be the more enlightned if ye compare them with the Lordes owne wordes in the 13. and 15. of Mathew and with the wordes of the Apostle Paule in the third chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthiās and in the tenth chapter of the second Epistle Once againe therfore by the cleare natural and right construed interpretation of this place of Ieremye we haue wonne that the Pope by that Bull of his hath wickedly and trayterously to the Lord Godward corrupted and inuerted his wordes and wrested them to his own souereintie or rather to his owne tyranny which the Lord hath not ordeined or defended by his word neither here nor in any place els And if they be not yet ashamed of their wicked wrestyng and corruptyng of this place of the Prophetes Let them tell vs what maner of souereintie Ieremy bare in Hierusalem the chief Citie of Iewry or ouer what nation or kyngdome he reigned From the death of kyng Iosias he liued vnder the wicked kynges Ioachaz Ioachim Iechonias Zedechias The horrible déedes of these princes are described both in the holy stories of the Bible also in the same Ieremyes booke let them tell vs then in what wise Ieremy by the vertue of these the Lordes wordes I haue set thee this day ouer nations and kyngdomes c. dyd roote out or plant and which of those vngodly kynges he plucked vp and excommunicated or where he taught that bycause of the wickednesse of these kynges their people ought to yeld no obedience vnto them Let them tell vs where or when he discharged the noblemen and commons of the Realme of their othe made vnto the sayd kinges yea or vnto Nabuchodonosor which was a heathen kyng Or which of the kinges Ieremy cast downe frō his throne and afterward aduaunced another to it at his owne pleasure Tell me tell me I say Why are ye thus dumine Bicause ye be neuer able to proue by any Scriptures the thyng that you take vpon ye For the truth witnesseth manifestly that Ieremy was the humble seruaunt of the Lord God a poore Minister and therewithall a faithfull Prophet of the Lord God and that he was pitifull vexed imprisoned and persecuted by those kynges agaynst whom for all that he ment so litle to draw any sword at all that in all ciuill cases he willyngly obeyed them and taught all the people yea the nobilitie also to obey them and finally acknowledged and reuerēced them as his soueraine Lordes In déede he did sharply rebuke the wicked offences of these kynges and preached Gods greuous iudgementes not so much to them as to the Priestes and to the whole people vtterly after the same maner that the Lord had commaunded him to do it But in the meane while he made no commotions in the Realme but rather patiently suffered persecution at their handes prayed earnestly for their welfare Yea and this selfe same Prophet dyd diligently carefully teach the very people of God to obey euen the kyngs of Babylon Nabuchodonosor Euilmerodach and Baltazar Like as Ezechiel also blameth Zedechias very sore for falsifying his othe and breakyng his fayth geuen vnto Nabuchodonosor Therefore there is no reason why the Byshop of Rome should cloke his tyranny with Ieremyes wordes consideryng that Ieremyes wordes fight agaynst hym and that he in no poynt resembleth Ieremyes patterne ¶ That the Bishop of Romes vsurpyng of supremacie ouer kynges and nacions is agaynst the open example and expresse commaundemēt of our Lord Christ. NAy rather to the intent the matter may appeare yet more euidently vnto all men so little did our Lord Iesus Christ mynde to ordeine either Peter or any other of his Apostles souereines ouer kynges and kyngdomes in the Church that I am able presently to set the euident example of the Lord him selfe and his doctrine or expresse commaūdement agaynst the tyranny wrongfull dealyng of the Pope and as it were to shew with my finger that his vsurping of soueraintie ouer kynges and kyngdomes in the Church is extreme iniurie and vngodlynes This matter is of it selfe right plentifull in the holy Scriptures but I will as much as may be comprehend thē in a brief Therefore although our Lord Iesus Christ was by his almightie father ordeined both kyng and priest in his kingdome and that he manifestly auouched himselfe to be a
déede that wise Prince king Henry the viii turned the Church that is in England away from many Romish superstitions that were very fowle And what offended he therin Nay rather he deserued prayse and his fallyng away is counted among wise men a vertue and not a vyce Moreouer the renowme of this Prince is so famous among all good and godly men as it can not be defaced by the raylinges of these rascals of the Romish sink He was of singular learnyng of notable wisedome and experience of excellent corage and adorned with all heroicall vertues and feates méete for a Prince And it is not I alone that thinke thus of this Kyng there be other graue personages which haue commended the same thinges in hym This Prince departyng blessedly out of this lyfe in the xxxviii yeare of his reigne about the end of Ianuary in the yeare of our Lord .1547 and hauyng erst by his will intayled the succession of his Crowne first vnto his sonne Edward a young child of ix yeares of age and successiuely after hym vnto his daughters Marie and Elizabeth was succeded by the sayd Edward the vi of that name whose ample commendations that notable Historiographer Sleidan hath comprised in few wordes in the xxv booke of his Comentaries saying Edward the vi the kyng of England doutlesse a Prince of singular towardnesse departed out of this lyfe the vi day of Iuly in the yeare of our Lord. 1553. beyng about the age of xvi yeares truly to the grief of all godly men For after his decease there folowed a very great alteration of thinges in England Surely Europe hath not had any kyng of so great hope now these certein hundred yeares Beyng very well trayned vp in godlinesse and instructed in learnyng euen from his tender yeares he was séene not onely in the Latin toung but also in the Gréeke the Frēch tounges and he had an earnest loue to the doctrine of the Gospell and gaue interteinement and defence to all learned men Germaines Italiās Frenchmen Scottes Spanyardes and Polonians Thus much saith he furthermore Iohn Bale Byshop of Ossoria in Ireland reporteth that this King did also exercise himselfe in writing and among other thinges wrate a Comedie of the whore of Babylon Concernyng the gouernaunce of Quéene Mary and her bringyng of the Church backe agayne to the Sea of Rome I will say nothing at this present bycause the declaration therof would be very sorowfull and lamentable and to say truth it sticketh yet still more fresher is all mēs myndes thou that it néedeth to be ripped vp agayne This onely will I say further that the Bishops of Rome were euen then also heauie frendes to the Realme of England as they had ben oft afore accordyng as they had alwayes wrought mischief vnto other kingdomes also in Christendome for these fiue hūdred yeares and more But God will iudge them when he séeth tyme. After Quéene Marie succeded Quéene Elizabeth in the kyngdome not a thrall of wickednesse as the Popes rayling mouth doth slaunderously reuile her but the seruaunt yea and the faithful seruaunt of Iesus Christ our redemer and Lord as by him set at libertie from the thraldome of sinne and made his fréewomā so as she is now the daughter of God and an enemie of all wickednesse yea euē of the Popes for their wickednesse sake For she cleaueth entierly to her onely Redemer Christ to him onely doth she with singular faithfulnesse and diligence indeuer to knit the people of her Realme and the subiectes that be vnder her charge Her owne selfe liueth a lyfe beséemyng a Christian princesse commendyng holy and honest conuersation to all folkes through her Realme and as much as in her lyeth forbidding restreining all wickednesse Which thing truly is not to draw backe her subiectes to destructiō but to plucke them from destruction and to restore them to assured saluation They that know this Quéene know also that I feyne nothing here to curry fauour And I touche these things the more sparely least I may séeme to purpose in any wise to flatter Neither hath her maiestie any néede of my defence considering that her owne godlinesse and innocencie defend her Surely her Maiestie like as also her brother of most blessed memorie Kyng Edward the vi did opened a Sanctuarie to outlawes I meane mē that fled their countryes and banished men that is to wit which were driuen out of the Popish common weales not for committyng wicked crymes but for castyng away of Idolatrie and for professing the healthfull Gospell of Iesu Christ. I graunt that these folke are enemyes or angry in their hartes howbeit not against Christ and his most holy Gospell but against the Pope and his most lewde practises cursed superstitions I graūt that the pope termeth these mē heretikes howbeit wrongfully for in very déede they be right Catholikes abhorryng all heresie fightyng agaynst it He that receiueth these receiueth Christ accordyng as Christ himselfe witnesseth who also promiseth most ample reward to such as giue enterteinemēt to his outcastes Therfore let that gracious Quéene reioyce let her reioyce I say in openyng refuge to the miserable outcastes that are driuen out of their countrie for the true Religion for she shall assuredly receiue those most ample rewardes at the Lordes hand And let not her Maiestie passe at all for that abhominable barbarousnesse and crueltie of Rome which both persecuteth the innocentes most outrageously it selfe and also cruelly commaundeth others to persecute oppresse and murther them That these men should so do S. Peter hath foretold in his Epistle where he matcheth them with wyld beastes Let that vertuous Quéene then shunne these cruell and beastly examples and let her rather hearken to Esay the holy Prophet of God speaking in the name of his God and saying Set thy shadow as a night in the midday hyde the chased and bewray not them that be fled Let my banished people dwell with thée Moab be thou their refuge agaynst the destroyer To impeach the right of hospitalitie hath alwayes ben reputed as one of the heynousest crymes that could be euen among the heathen But to giue harbrough to the afflicted and to the Church of Christ it hath alwayes and specially in Christes Church bene reckened among the cheefest vertues and allowed of all good men ¶ That it is no monstruousnesse at all for the Queene of England to be called supreme head of the Realme of England vpon earth ANone after among the haynous offences neuer able to be purged with any sacrifice and which most of all moueth the choler that boyleth inwardly in the brest of the vniuersal bishop and souerein Lord as he him selfe will séeme to be as well in cases spirituall as temporall bycause that power can abyde no partnershyp the foresayd thyng is bitterly recited in the Bull euen in these wordes Which will haue her selfe acknowledged alone for souerein Lady in cases spirituall and tēporall by