thūderbolt and no more to be feared then the thunderclappes smokes and mistes of Cacus were to be feared of Hercules as hath bene sayd already afore The blind mā to whom Christ had giuen eye sight was in old tyme cast out of the Synagoge of the Pharisies But that excommunication was so farre from hurting him that from thence forth he was receiued into Christes houshold by the Lord Christ himselfe who in his Gospell prophesying of the thinges that are now accomplished by the Pope sayd They shall thrust you out of their Synagoges Yea and the tyme commeth that who soeuer killeth you he shall thinke he doth God seruice And these thinges shall they do vnto you bycause they haue not knowē the father nor yet me But I haue told these things vnto you to the intent that whē that time is come ye may remember what I haue sayd vnto you Wherfore it hurteth not the Queenes Maiestie a whit that she is sayd to be cut of truly not from the vnitie of Christes body but from the felowshyp of the Popish corporation For were she not cut of from this verely she could not be reckened among the true and liuely members of Christes body neither could she haue God to be her father if she could finde in her hart to be an obedient daughter to the Syr that sitteth vppon mount Tarpey deuouring his owne sonnes and daughters like Saturne For the Lord willeth hys children to get them out of Babylon if they minde to escape the plagues of God and to atteine true saluation And we be not kept in the vnitie of Christes body which is the Church of the liuing God by obeying and reuerencing the Romane Church and the Bishop therof but by true faith in Christ according to the Gospell of god He that wanteth this or he that impugneth this hath no communion at all neither with Christ nor with the Church how much soeuer he pratle of the vnitie of Christes body ¶ That the Pope of Rome doth falsly and tyrannously giue sentence that the Queene of England is depriued of her kingdome and of all right of her crowne AFterward the Pope in his sayd definitiue sentence determineth peremptorily that the Quéene of England is depriued of her crowne and of all right of her crowne and of all other authoritie dominion dignitie and priuilege whatsoeuer But who hath made the Pope a souerein Monarche ouer the whole world to reigne alone and to haue all kingdomes vnder him and to hold all kynges and princes vnder his allegeance as his vassals or tenauntes at wil so as he might set them vp or thrust them out of their kyngdomes at his pleasure Heretofore when I discoursed vpon Ieremies wordes I haue set thee ouer kynges and kyngdomes c. I haue shewed openly and sufficiently inough so as there néedeth no more at this tyme that the Pope is not set ouer kynges and kyngdomes by God but rather vsurpeth superioritie and power ouer kynges and nations contrarie both to the open example and commaundement of the lord Therfore as now I wil adde no more but this that the Pope doth falsly or rather through mere tyranny without any right or regard of shame chalenge to him selfe this power which the Lord neuer deliuered to any man For the wise Prophet Daniel sayth Wisedome and power belong vnto the lord He it is that altereth the tymes and chaunges of tymes He it is that putteth downe kinges and setteth vp kinges The same thyng also haue Iob and Dauid in his Psalmes affirmed afore him Yea and the holy histories setting forth the same thyng most plenteously declare that God ordeined Saule kyng of the Israelites by the Prophet Samuel and by the message of the same Prophet deposed him agayne for his disobedience and rebellion aduauncing Dauid to his roome a man accordyng to Gods owne hart Agayne vnder Salomon Dauides sonne the kyngdome was rent a sunder and God by the message of his Prophet Ahia gaue ten partes of the kyngdome to Ieroboam and those ten partes of the kyngdome were not taken away from Salomon and his posteritie for any other cause then for that Salomon him selfe had withdrawen his hart from God and allowed his outlandish wiues wherewith to set vp and exercise their Idolatrie But the same Ieroboam is deposed agayne and none other cause of hys deposing by the report of the same Ahia the Prophet then for that he hearkened not to the word of the Lord but according to mans policie vpon a good intent of his owne made him straunge Gods and set vp the same for the children of Israel to worship and cleaued not vncorruptly to the word of the Lord. Other kinges of Israel also were deposed from from their kingdome by God as Baasa Ela Achab such other like and for none other cause then that they had leuer to folow the Idolatrie of Ieroboam then the word of the Lord. Furthermore when Iehu had destroyed Iezabell king Achabs wife and all his posteritie and therewithall made cleane riddance of all the Priestes of Baal yea beaten downe the Temple of Baal and made a draught of it the Lord said vnto him for asmuch as thou hast earnestly executed the thing that is right in mine eyes and done vnto the house of Achab according to all that was in my hart thy sonnes shall sit vppon the seate of Israell to the fourth generatiō I could rehearse many other thinges of this sort no lesse notable then these but that I séeke to be brief as far as the matter giueth leaue And I haue rehearsed these thinges to the end that all men may manifestly perceiue how it is God himselfe and not the pope that createth kinges and displaceth them yea and which remoueth shaketh ouerthroweth repaireth and stablisheth all kingdomes vniuersally and seuerally Now although he haue disposed it by his messengers the Prophetes as by Samuell Ahias Eliseus and others yet is not the Pope called to these matters as those men were neither hath he receiued any commission from God in this case so much as by one little word but rather is commaūded to attempt no such thing Besides this God deposed kinges as it were extraordinarily by the Prophetes not by the high Priestes which were ordeined by God to be in Israell with the kinges least the kingdome and the Priest hode might be set at oddes betwene them selues Therfore although the Pope were the souerein Bishop yet should not the disposing and ordering of kinges belong to his charge Moreouer if a man consider wherefore God deposed those kinges by the meane of his Prophetes the Quéene of England hath wherwith to comfort and confirme her and the Pope hath that which graffeth him into the nomber of false prophetes discorageth him and vtterly ouerthroweth him For Ahias said out of the mouth of the Lord vnto Ieroboam if thou wilt hearken to my commaundementes and walke in my wayes as
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
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
king yet notwithstādyng he laid aside the gouernement of temporall and worldly thyngs and tooke him selfe to the charge onely of spirituall thynges By reason wherof when Pylate asked hym whether hee were the kyng of Israell or no He denyed not him self to be a kyng but hee addeth an exposition and méekely aunswered my kyngdome is not of this world Whereupon in another place of the Gospell he sayd he came not to be serued that is to wit as a worldly prince but to serue or to do seruice him selfe and to giue his life for the raunsome of the whole multitude For that cause he vtterly refused the iudgyng or diuidyng of the heritage that was desired at his hand and put it ouer from himself to the lawfull iudges not without displeasure saying mā who hath made me a iudge or vmper betwene you And therfore when the people were purposed to haue made him a temporall kyng he fled and by that flight of his shewed that those his ministers must not séeke for worldly souereintie in the Church and much lesse possesse it or by any meanes claime it no nor receiue it or take it vpon them if it be offered Besides this he not onely commaunded to giue vnto Caesar that which is Caesars but also furthermore when the tribute that was wont to be payd to the Magistrate was demaunded of him he commaunded a penny that was taken out of a fishes mouth to be payd for him least he might be an offence vnto others Finally by the space of whole iij. yeares together in which he most faithfully went through with the charge that his heauenly father had put him in trust with accomplished all things enioyned him to the full he neuer gaue any inclyng no not the least that could be of any souereintie or worldly dominiō Unto this holy and most humble example of the Lord there is also further added his most modest doctrine For when he perceiued that his disciples beyng caught and led away with ambition burned altogether with desire of souereintie and striue among themselues for supremacie or prerogatiue or as the Romane Bishops terme it for greaternesse as surely this maladie sticketh fast to the ribbes of them that are atteinted neuer so litle with ambitiousnesse which thyng appeareth by the Romish sort them selues he gaue them a very sore checke and withdrew them from that desire of souereintie beating lowlinesse into them therwithall also mainteinyng the right of the Magistrate ordeined of God and finally committyng the ministration of the word to his disciples without any hope or mention of souereintie at all Therfore when in the xvii of Mathew Peter had payd a péece of twentie pence for the Lord and himselfe to those that demaunded but ten pence and that therby he had put the rest of the disciples in suspicion as though Peter should be aduaunced aboue all the rest of them or be made primate among them in the kyngdome of heauen or in the gouernement of the Church they began to dispute of the matter among them selues and eche of them accordyng to mans infirmitie gaped after that hyghest degrée of souereintie But what sayd the Lord and what did he in that debate of his disciples He tooke a child vnto him and setting him in the middes of them sayd Uerely I say vnto you except ye turne and become like children ye shall not enter into the kyngdome of heauen Therfore whosoeuer humbleth himselfe as this child he is greatest in the kyngdome of heauen Which is all one as if the Lord had sayd vnto them ye striue for preheminence which of you should be gréeted as greatest of all But I tell you for a certeintie except ye turne your myndes from such ambitious disputations that sauour of nothyng but pride and pompe and turne your selues in lowlinesse vnto me and my example yea and vnto the simplenesse of this little boy whom you sée here ye shal be so farre from greatnesse and gloriousnes in that kyngdome of myne that I will not so much as take you for my Disciples Uery truly sayth S. Chrisostome in his 59. Homely vpon Mathew litle childrē know not how to enuy nor how to gape for vaineglorie nor how to desire preheminence of dignitie neither are they any whit the statelyer if ye prayse them or honor them What then aunswereth the Lord to the question of his Disciples Who soeuer sayth he becommeth like a child by puttyng away naughtie affections but chiefly ambition and desirousnesse to beare rule truly the same is greatest in the kingdome of heauē Upon which place Chrisostome sayth agayn Thou séest how he hath taught that preheminence of dignitie is not to be coueted in any case And so forth Agayne in the 20. chapter of Mathew when the mother of Zebedies children came vnto the Lord with her sonnes Iames and Iohn and made sute for them that they might haue the highest roome and chief authoritie about him in his kingdome so as he should place them next him selfe the one on his right hand and the other on his left for looke who they be that are next about a kyng and garde his person in sittyng on either side of him those are counted chief men in the Realme like as at this day those be called Legates a latere or from the Popes side whō the Byshop sendeth from Rome with full power and authoritie The Disciples hauyng forgotten the thynges which the Lord had taught them afore mistrusted eftsoone that those two brothers should be preferred before them all By reason wherof enuying them they began to take pritch at it and to contend agayne among themselues for the preheminēce The Lord therfore calling them to him sayd ye know that the kynges of nations reigne ouer them and they that be great exercise authoritie vpon them It shall not be so among you but he that will be great among you let him become your seruaunt and he that wil be chief among you let him be your vnderlyng like as the sonne of mā is come not to be serued but to serue and to giue his life for the redemption of many Most trimly and effectually hath the Lord herein seuered the Ecclesiasticall ministerie from the ciuill authoritie And iustly doth he challendge and yeld to the Magistrate that which belongeth to the Magistrate without derogatyng or takyng any thyng from him and conueying it to him selfe and his and likewise shew the ministers what they also ought to do Ye know sayth he that there be Princes or Magistrates ordeined among people and among the Gentiles so as there is no neede that you also should be made rulers ouer nations I mynde not to make warres with the Romanes and to put downe their presidentes and Tetrarkes to set you vp in theyr roomes which thyng notwithstandyng the Iewes beleued that Christ should haue done and therfore when he aunswered not their expectation they acknowledged him not to be the Messias Princes haue their
power giuen them of god Wherby you vnderstād that there is no cause why you should striue among your selues for souereintie For you sée that those which are in office already shall continue still in their charge Thus much sayd the Lord concernyng ciuill gouernemēt Now foloweth also concernyng the ministerie of the Church It shall not be so amōg you For I haue not chosen you to make you princes of landes but rather seruantes of the Churches not Lordes I say but preachers to publish the word of glad tydinges and to shyne before the people in example of holy lyfe Therfore I will not haue you once thinke of bearing rule or wish to reigne like princes of this world it shall not be so among you Howbeit for asmuch as ambitious pride had brought the Disciples this farre here also like as afore he commendeth lowlinesse vnto them saying whosoeuer will be great among you c. Neither is there any cause why the Romish sorte should now a dayes blere our eyes with their stile of Seruant of the seruants of God which the Pope vseth For that style is a forged style and the lowlinesse of these men is but a counterfet or hipocritly lowlinesse For the very experience of many hundred yeares witnesseth that in all the whole world there are none that can worse away with doyng seruice than this kynde of men Nay rather they will be worshipped for soueraines and kynges of kynges Or if they be the seruauntes of Gods seruauntes in déede why offer they their feete to be kissed euen of Gods princes And the Lord to moue them the more euidently addeth his owne example to his foresaid cōmaundement saying Like as the sonne of man is not come to be serued c. This is a notable saying for it is as much as if he had sayd If I which am your Lord and master and the liuyng sonne of the liuing God to and kyng of kynges sue not for ne chalendge not to my selfe any worldly preheminēce vpō earth as who am come into the earth to serue all mens turnes euen with the losse of my lyfe truly you ought to be ashamed of it that you which are but wretched men and no better then thralles are notwithstandyng not afrayd to gape after souereintie These thynges these thynges I say as dreadful thunderboltes not onely shake but also turne vpside downe that seate of the Romishe Byshops which they haue most boldly shamelessely exalted aboue the thrones of all kynges vnder pretence of Peter and of the graunted souereintie and vnmeasurable power which they say they receiued of Christ. And whereas the Lord vttered these thynges to his Disciples once or twise very earnestly and so forcibly as they could not be vttered more forcibly yet had ambition and desire of prerogatiue takē so déepe rootes in the mindes of the Disciples accordyng to the corruption of mās nature that at the Lordes last Supper when they vnderstode he should depart out of this world they fell againe to striuyng for the supremacie and prerogatiue then most of all that is to wit who should be chief vpon earth and preferred before all others in the Church when the Lord was gone away and receiued vp into heauen But the Lord inueyeth not sharply against his Disciples ne casteth them of as they had deserued for renewing their former errour now the third tyme and for by inforcyng it by harping still vpon it after he had so euident instruction and disprofe of their souereintie but salueth the disease of both them and of all other in the church that are atteynted with the same vice And first of all he repeteth the same argument which he had obiected agaynst them in the 20. of Mathew saying There is no reason why you should striue for superioritie For the Princes that reigne at this tyme in the world neither are now nor shall hereafter be put down for me For the Magistrate continueth still in his former state dignitie He shall reigne but so shall not you reigne By the way also and as it were glauncingly he shadoweth out the office of princes saying And they which haue power ouer them are called Good Gracious that is to say they be ordeined of God to the end they should do good to their subiectes For the Apostle sayth The Magistrate is Gods minister for thy welfare For Princes are not a terrour to such as do wel but to such as do ill And what could be sayd more piththily and strongly in this case that which is sayd already or rather now twise repeted but so shal not you By and by he addeth an ordinaunce after what sort the Ministers must behaue themselues in their Ecclesiasticall charge saying He that is an elder among you let him become felow to the yonger That is to say he that hath gotten a greater roome in the Church is endewed both with sundry giftes and also with singular authoritie in respect of his old age and his experience in matters let hym not vaunt himselfe for those singular giftes but let him be wise after a lowly maner as if he were some young man without experience and as yet raw in so great a charge Also he that is a Prince 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a Capteine Ruler or Gouerner let him assure himselfe that he hath not gotten a souereintie but a ministerie and therfore let him behaue himselfe as a Minister Unto these he addeth also other reasons whereby to lay forth to the eye that Apostolicke men are called not to reigne but to serue Greater sayth he is the prerogatiue of him that sitteth at the table then of him that serueth him which sitteth But the Church beyng called by the Lord to a spirituall feast sitteth downe And you serue the Church of that spirituall foode Ergo the Church is as your Lady and mistresse and you are the seruauntes of this mistresse but not her maisters and much lesse her souereines Hereunto agayne he ioyneth his owne example I am sayth he as a seruaunt among you Seyng then that I which am your Lord do neuerthelesse serue you it is a shame for you which be but seruauntes to thinke of Lordyng it in the Church considering how my most humble example is dayly before your eyes vtterly abhorryng from all desire of souereintie Furthermore he addeth this also Surely it is straunge that you should striue among your selues for superioritie considering how that I haue hetherto ben subiect to many and sundry afflictions Wherof you your selfe can beare witnesse vnto whom some part of my temptations and afflictions hath redounded Wherefore ye might rightlyer conferre among your selues of bearing the crosse and of patience than of Lordshyp superioritie Notwithstandyng he annexeth here agayne a comfort least their hartes might fayle them at the mention of afflictions And therefore he knitteth vnto it a declaration of heauenly rewardes that shal be liberally giuen vnto those in the euerlasting countrie which get
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
With like vanitie lightnes and malice the Bull is not ashamed to geue foorth that the Quéene setteth foorth or enforceth to hir whole realme bookes contayning manifest heresie for the Quéene hath authorized no bookes to be set foorth to hir realme but such as hir Maiesties brother King Edward willed to be set foorth afore specially the volume of the holy Bible Now to say that this contayneth manifest heresies it is an horrible and blasphemous wickednes and the greatest treason to God that may be Howbeit by the way there be many maintayners of the Pope and his sea which make neyther shame nor conscience to put openly in writing and to teach that heresies are learned out of the Bible and that he which hath the Bible and readeth it without the interpretatiō of the church of Rome hath nothing But I will speake no more at this time of the blasphemies of these wicked men Peraduenture the Bull meaneth the booke of common prayers and ceremo nies of the church of England But so ought it also to haue bene shewed which be heresies that are contayned in that booke The soresayd parlament of London maketh honorable mention of that booke And there shall be enow that will annswer if there be heresies in that booke at least wise if the bull meane that booke shew them expresly vnlesse peraduenture according to the maner of these stately sires euery thing must beare the blame of heresy which hath not the sent and tast of the stinch of the pope or of the sea of Rome which thing deserueth no aunswering at all Truely the Quéenes Maiestie hath prohibited all vngodly bokes to be dispersed yea or read in hir realme which are hereticall indéed and repugnant to the sinceritie of our Christian religion Neither may any man spread abroad any wicked or blasphemous booke or opinion in hir realme without punishment ¶ Here be recited other articles of accusation which the Bull mentioneth concerning the Queenes abolishing of the masse and hir taking away of many other superstitions and abuses Also here is expounded what catholikenesse is and who be catholike THe Bull knitteth héerunto also other articles of accusation agaynst the Quéene She hath also sayth the bull abolished prayers fastinges choyce of meates single life catholike ceremonies As concerning the sacrifice of the masse the Quéene not vniustly but for many and most iust causes hath abolished it like as King Edward had abolished it afore In the Syuode of London whereof we haue made mention now once or twise already thus remayneth in writing concerning the masse Christes oblatiō once made for all is a ful redemption attonement and satisfaction for all the sinnes of the whole world as well originall as actuall Neither is there any other satisfaction for sinnes sauing onely that one Wherfore the sacrifices of masses wherein the priest was commonly sayd to offer Christ for release of penaltie and fault for the quicke and the dead are but forgeries and hurtfull deceites Thus much is written there But it is the dutie of kinges to abolish and banish yea and to punish noysome deceites and deceyuers Worthely therfore haue the Kinges of England abolished the masse neyther haue they trespassed at all in that behalfe against God or against their owne office Moreouer by the Masse the holy institution of the Lords supper hath bene ouerwhelmed with mans inuentions additiōs vtterly peruerted made of publike priuate also dismembred For the Lord gaue it to all his faythfull in both kindes as they terme it Also wheras the massemūger taketh vpon him in his masse as a mediator betwéene God and men he committeth such an horrible offence as is neuer able to be purged by no satisfaction For there is no mo priesthodes but the priesthode of Christ and that is according to the order of Melchisedecke and so vnremoueable as it cannot passe vnto any other by succession Againe they offred or solemnized the masse in remembraunce and honor of saintes departed which now liue in heauen But the Lord had sayd do it in remembraunce not of saintes but of me And S. Paule would in no wise haue garlands and oxen offered vnto him Who then can thinke it likely that he would haue the Sonne of God offred in honour of him in a masse Shall the Lord of Lordes being now in glory do seruice still as a seruaunt to hys owne seruaunts These are frenzies and furies of men that be out of theyr wittes I could alleage many other abhominations of the masse like vnto these but I will adde no more but onely thys to all the rest That Christ our Lord instituted his holy supper without pompe or superfluitie simple moderate without ceremonies but yet commendable for the simplicitie and honourable for the authoritie of the founder But the Masse is most ceremonious most pompous most sumptuous and set out with persian furniture which in processe of time hath so encreases with hir abuses that in some thinges it could not be abated or purged but it must néedes be taken quite away Truly the common sorte made more accoūt of their Chapleines Masses aduaunced them more then the very sacrifice of Christ which few of them either knew or estéemed as became thē And for asmuch as the Apostle Paule when the Lordes Supper began in his time to grow into abuse taught how to call it backe to reforme it accordyng to the Lordes institution Like as Christes Martyr S. Cryprian also beyng taught by the same Apostles example counselleth and commaundeth vs that in repayring or setting vp agayne the true vse of the Supper we should go to the wells head and séeke out the originall and not do any other thing in this behalfe then that which he hath done which is before all men and alonely is to be heard Seing that the Quéenes Maiestie hath done so in abolishing the Masse and setting vp the Lordes Supper agayne in the place of it Surely she hath not sinned at all but is falsly accused by the Bishop in his Bull. Most false also is this that the Bull auoucheth the Quéene to haue abolished prayer and fastyng For she hath abolilished the abuses and superstitions in them and not the good thynges themselues which God hath commended vnto vs Which thing the matter it selfe doth openly auouch It can not be denyed but prayer and fastyng are couered with abuses and superstitions yea and with Idolatries almost innumerable among the Papistes Among them prayer is not made to God alone neither beleue they that God heareth vs for the intercession of Christ alone For they call vppon innumerable creatures as well as the creatures yea and vpon them more earnestly then vpon him And they haue in such wife commended the intercession and defense of Saintes to the wretched people that they know litle or nothyng of Christes intercession to God the father which is the onely acceptable and effectuall intercession Furthermore
a Frier of the same order in his beadroll of heretikes sayth thus At such time as S. Dominike with xij Abbotes of the order of Cistertiū preached the Croysie against the heretikes of Albigia the Catholikes that is to say the Crossed papists slew a hundred thousand of them Of whom one hundred foure score continewing in their stubbornesse agaynst the Church of Rome chose to be burned rather then to abiure their heresie Which thing was also done And S. Dominik abode x. yeares in those quarters in the office of preaching and weeding out of heresie when all the rest returned home to their owne Thus reporteth he of his owne founder of that butcherie Wherby it appeareth that the pope had good cause afterward to canonize him and make hym one of his Saintes Neither is it without cause that Dominikes mother being great with child of him dreamed that she bare in her wombe a dog or as other say a wolfe with a firebrand in his mouth wherewith he did set the whole world on fire c. But I will returne to my matter Therfore at the Popes preaching of the Croysie the Lantgraue of Thuring addressed himselfe to the warres Againe there is running to weapon on both sides agayne wretched Germanie is by the Popes incēsing rent a sunder wounded with her owne weapons and slayne with ciuill encounters Conradus Duke of Sweueland the sonne of Friderike proclaimed king of Romanes encoūtering the Lantgraue of Thuring vanquisheth chaseth and sleaeth all his hoste for all their being marked with the Crosse. The same yeare the Lantgraue dyed of a wound The princes of Germanie that tooke the popes part being not yet made the wiser by their so great miseries but fauoring the Pope more then their owne countrey set vp another king against Friderike and his sonne Conrade For Pope Innocent sent his Legate Cardinall Peter Capuce into Germanie who calling the princes together to Colon caused them to chuse Williā Earle of Holland king agaynst Friderike Conrade Which thing wrought new broyles in the Empyre And forasmuch as Pope Innocent had excōmunicated king Conrade also He ceased not to persecute his sonne Corradine the rightfull heyre of Puell and Sicilie likewise and to dispossesse him of his fathers heritage In which matter Alexāder the fourth Vrbane the fourth and Clement the fourth which succeded next shewed themselues no flothfull folowers of Innocentes steppes Wherof Corradine set forth a publike proclamation wherin he lamentably reckeneth vp the sore wronges which those Bishops did vnto him And first he declareth how Innocent the fourth anoyed him being yet an innocent and fatherlesse yea and committed to the wardship of the Church by beréeuing him of his kingdome and dealing it among his owne graundchildren and kinsmē After whom folowed Alexander and he allured another mā to take his kingdome from him by force And Vrbane also shewing small vrbanitie towardes him called Charles king of Fraunce out of his owne Realme to take possession of the kingdome which was due to the sayd Corradine by descent from his father And Clement voyde of all clemencie set vp the sayd Charles as counterking agaiust Corradine and so most wrongfully spoyled the right heyre of his inheritance By meanes whereof he was compelled to séeke his right by rightfull force of armes which was wrongfully withheld him by the wrongfull demeanor of the Bishops These thinges are to be read in the Chronicles of Nauclerus Duryng this broyle Pope Clement the fourth hearing how Corradine was raysing a power in Germanie did put forth a Bull wherby he forbade all faithfull Christiās to call Corradine king of Sicill or to giue him any Councell or ayde agaynst Charles whom he had crowned king of Sicill for a péece of money Thus the pope blowes vp the trumpet the Christians fall together by the eares again It commes to hand strokes at the first the Germanes get the better hand and the Frenchmen are put to flight But when the Germanes brake their aray and fell more gréedely to the riffeling of the baggage of their enemyes thē was méete for them the Frenchmen fallyng againe in order of battell gaue a fresh charge vpon them vnwares and sleaing them down as they were escattered obteined the victorie There were taken two Princes Corradine king of Sicile and Duke of Sweueland and Fridericke Duke of Austriche who had takē part with Corradine to ayde him Also there were other Lordes and noblemen taken who were all caryed prisoners to Naples there kept in very streyt ward It is reported that Charles wrate to the Pope for his aduise what he would haue done with the prisoners and that the Pope amōg others aunswered The life of Corradine is the death of Charles and the death of Corradine is the life of Charles But Robert Earle of Flaunders the sonne in law of Charles by whose aduise he had gotten the victorie remembring the state of mens affaires counseled Charles to make peace and to bynd vnto him by bond of alyance these two young Princes of excellent towardnesse borne of the noblest houses in Germanie and the ofspryng of Emperors wishing that Corradine should haue Charles his daughter and Frederike his néere But whyle the tyme was prolonged in these consultations Robert returned home and then the bloud royall was condemned to death And so the xxix of October beyng Monday in the yeare of our Lord. 1268. a place was couered with purple there was Fridericke first beheaded with an axe Whose head Corradine taking vp and kissing it with teares lamentably bewayled the cruell death of that giltlesse young Prince his deare frend of whose destruction he himself was the cause Afterward hauing greatly complayned of the bitternesse and trecherie of his enemyes who contrarie to all right conscience whereas of all others he was most innocēt and blamelesse had bereft him of the heritage which his father graundfather greatgraundfather and graundfathers graundfather had purchased with their bloud and hauing committed his case to the souerein iudge calling vpon God the reuenger of trayterousnesse and murther he appealed to Christ our Lord and God and to his iudgement seate and cried vnto him for vengeance with castyng his gloues vp to heauenward and then in his owne right bequeathing these kingdomes to his Cousin Peter king of Aragon whose graundmother was sister to the Emperour Friderike he held out his necke vnfearefully to the execution and had his head striken of lastly eleuen noblemen of Sweueland and Italie suffered the same execution Among whom Gerhard of Pisa a noble gentlemā was one Within a few yeares after Peter king of Aragon began to lay clayme to Sicilie And the Westerne Frenchmen haue now about ij hundred foure score and seuen yeares striued with the Spanyardes for those kingdomes with exceding bloudshed and wasting of the countreys But in the sayd two Princes were extinguished the lynes of the Dukes
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