all times As the command that sayes thou shalt loue the Lord thy God with all thy heart aud with all thy soule and with all thy strength binds semper ad semper and the neglect of our loue and duty at any time is a sinne The second command binds likewise that we should not make to our selues any grauen image or the likenes of any thing in heauen aboue or in the earth beneath and that we should not bow downe to it nor worship it This command also binds semper ad semper and the violating of it at any time is a great sinne against allmighty God and without repentance brings eternall misery The same may be said of the 3 and 4 commandements of taking the name of God in vayne and keeping holy the Sabbath day and of all the rest of the commandements Now I say if these words to the Philippians be a command as the Prelats would haue it then it is of the same nature with the rest So that the worship there prescribed and set downe and that worship onely is to be performed and not such worship and seruice as the Prelats would frame For God that requires worship from vs will haue it after his owne way likewise and will not be serued after mens phansies which he abominates So that if an externall and corporall worship be to be giuen at the name of Iesus as they say it must then be bowing of the knees and the confession with the mouth for the words are thus Set downe at the name of Iesus euesy knee shall bow and euery tongue shall confesse c. so that the very instruments by which this worship should be performed are set downe viz the knees and the tongue How is it then when the Lord hath so precisely set downe the instruments of this worship and the maner of it that the Prelats are yet so blind that they see them not in the Text or so willfull that they will not follow it at the name of Iesus saith the text euery knee shall bow and the Prelats in obedience to this command put vp their fingers to their FOVRE-SQVARE COWTVRDS and giue him a nod with the head and all this I auerre is their owne worship not Gods God doth not bid them bow their fingers to their form alityes but the text sayes expresly that at the name of Iesus euery knee shall bow this is the seruice outward and corporall and this onely that is by that text required if any And the truth is it is a mockery of God in the Prelats so to doe If a King should command a subiect to yeild him his hand to help him and if he should giue his foot would not such a fellow be keckt out of the Court and most worthily Paul in an other Epistle bids men lift vp pure hands and hearts in all places praying vnto God Now if one going to pray should lift vp his heeles and kecke vp his legs because Paul commands men praying to lift vp pure hands and hearts would not this fellow be condemned of prophanesse among all mē be thought a scorner of religion worthy of seuere punishmeut so to abuse the Scripture in this very manor doe the Prelats mock God for the reuerence that they performe is redeculous and such as the text commands not For that sayth not put of your hats or caps or nodd your head and make a leg no such businesse I promise you doth that require but explicitly sayes at the name of Iesus euery knee shall bow So that if the Prelats will either doe that themselues or enioyne others to doe it that is commanded in that place they must fall downe vpon their knees or at least make a curtsy as often as the word and sound Iesus comes to their eares making of a leg and putting of their caps or nodding with the head is no obeying of that command neither is it required of them but that their knes should bow not one in making of a legg for that is not to obey the commaundement neither but both for the text sayth at the name of Iesus euery knees shall bow and thus to obey Pauls commaund I neuer saw any Preist or Prelat to this day so that as yet they liue and continue in disobedience to it aud bring-in a commaund of their owne which they put vpon the people and the neglect or transgression of the which they punish with the ruine and vndoing of many a great wickednes in them to neglect the commaunds of God and vrge their owne traditions aboue them Besides if this be a command it is not sufficient onely in the Church to doe this but it must be done in all places at all times without limitation wheresoeuer whensoeuer the name of Iesus soundeth whether in Church or house court or country street or feild whether in preaching or reading whether in cursing or rayling banning or swearing euery body must fall vpon their knees or make a curtsy for the text sayth at the name of Iesus euery knee shall bow so the commandement runneth with out restriction AND THIS ALSO HAVE NEITHER PREISTS NOR PRELATS YET EVER DONE but liue and dye in the breach of this command which they so vnmercifully punish others for And were it so that at the name of IESVS the Prelats did fall downe vpon their knees or make an humble curtsy according to the commaund they had yet done but halfe seruice which is as bad as none God calls for whole seruice he will not be serued to the halues Now the text that sayth at the name of Iesus euery knee shall bow the same text also sayth that at the name of Iesus euery tongue shall confesse that Iesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the father So that there is an outward orall and audible confession to be made with the mouth as well as an outward bowing with the knees and the one is as necessary as much to be vrged as the other for in the text they are both ioyned together and that which God hath joyned together I desire that the Prelats would not be so bold as to seperate least they be found guilty of the same crime of which they sometimes insimulat the Papists for they accuse them of Sacrilege for taking away the cup from the people which the Lord notwithstanding hath ioyned with the bread Now if it be sacrilege in the Papists to keepe the cup from the people as damnable sacrilege it is indeed and to be abhorred of all men It is greater impiety and sacrilege in the Prelats to rob God himselfe of a part of his worship and which in expresse words he challengeth and therefore in them to seperat the confession of the mouth part of the worship that is there required from the other of the knees especially when it is sayd with the mouth man confesseth to Saluation is without doubt a crying sacrilege and impudent temerity for what God
comedy in it Whereas they compared their bretheren to the rebellious Iewes I could earnestly desire that his Highnes and the Nobility would but seriously a little consider these mens proceedings and their Christian candor in it and that they would examine them by the rule of truth and Iudgement and then they should well perceiue that malice and enuy and not ripe and mature brotherly reason had dictated this calumniating ventosity to thē by which they make themselues preuaricators against God and men Let them not therefore say that those they brand with the name of Puritans are like the Iews but proue it Wherein I pray haue they euer shewne their least disloyalty to his Maiesty or plotted any thing against his life or dignity or impeached his royalty in any thing has he not their liues liberty and purses to the vttermost yea aboue their abilities at his command doe they or euer did they resist his royall authority in the least thing nay in any thing do not his seruants hale them to prison take away their goods driue away their cattle at any time vpon any pretence without the least reluctation Let dayly experience then the prisons convince this notorious calumniation wherefore then are these abominable things acted against them in their pulpits before King and Councell the whole Nobility and flower of the Kingdome I know there is not one of these poore men but would spēd their best bloud abandon their wiues and children and hazard their estates yea all they haue for the honour of his crowne and dignity and that most willingly and although they should be trampled vpon to death would neuer harbour a disloyall thought against his Soueraignty but as Iob sayd concerning God if the Lord kill mee I will trust in him so I dare promise in the person of them all if the King should conceiue neuer so meanly of them and of their allegiāce were it to death it selfe yet they would a thousand times rather die before they would be found disloyal in any duty that the King by the right of a King or the lawes of his Kingdōe can either expect or chalenge at their hāds or by any autority or Prerogatiue royall vindicat How is it thē I say that these unworthy Preists dare thus abuse the Kings royall eares and so honorable an audience with such dayly false accusations What a damnable hight of impiety are our profane Preists and Prelats come to to make the pulpit a stage and place to vent most seditious lyes in and those for the incensing of the king against his most loyall Subiects and that to make a diuision between the head and the members the vnity of which is not onely the glory but the safety of a kingdome which neuer florisheth so well as when there is a sweet harmony between the king and his people This is not to be Ministers of Christ who is the king of peace but of the deuill and Antichrist so to preach Looke vpon the first Sermon that euer was preached after the natiuity of Christ by the Angel to the shephards it was a sermon of ioy and Peace and of good tidings Listen also the heauenly host what a sermon they made in the theater of glory in their praysing of God and you shall heare them saying glory to God in the highest and on earth Peace and good will towards men And when the disciples like the Preists and Prelats of our age before better information would haue had fire come downe from heavē to destroy those that would not entertaine Christ he sayd vnto them you know not of what Spirit you are teaching all his disciples euer after by that Sermon to preach peace and good will and not to incite to destruction their auditors And indeed the Gospell is a message of peace and the Ministers of it should teach peace and good will and not warre incensing and inflaming kings against their poore Subiects and alienating the Subiects from their Soueraigne Lords and Masters Sainct Tiberne is a fitter Place pulpet for such Preachers then the kings chappell Neither can there be any thing writ spake or done too seuerely against such sowers of sedition and especially those that make the pulpit a place of it The peace-makers haue euer been blessed by Christs owne testimony but for such as are cause of sedition oppressiō and warre in a common wealth they are accursed Christ the blessed peace maker made peace between God and men Moses his seruant he stood vp in the gap between God and the people and made an attonement for the people The Apostles likewise were all preachers of peace and so are all their true Successors But our Preists and Prelats they preach warre and make the Pulpet a place to act their lying comedies in to the estranging of the king from his Subiects and breeding in his royall heart sinister surmises against them to the wounding of the poore Subiects hearts with greefe when they see their King and ruler the breath of their nostrils whom they honour and loue better then their liues to be alienated from them And that the Pecres and Nobles of the king dome should by their diabolicall preachments harbour any evill thoughts of them This I say wounds the poore Subiects hearts and of all this lamentable misery are the Prelats Preists the onely cause by their dayly acts in their pulpits They haue diuerse parts in their sceane Sometime they bring them in as most dangerous and pernicious enimyes of his Highnes making them worse then the powder plotters And because forsooth there was a man killed his mother and his brother not long since there must be a booke printed that he was a Puritan that he did that facinorous exploit because they would not kneele at the Sacrament and howsoeuer there be sufficient witnesses to the contrary yet that must goe for current there must I say be a rayling pamphlet set forth against the whole company of those that feare the Lord as if they were all of the same mold But had it been so that a distempered man had perpetrated so foule a crime through some deuillish temptation that had made profession of religion must it follow they are all such Because Iudas was a Traytor must all the Apostles be therefore condemned Because one Courtier may be found disloyall to his Prince therefore must all the rest be accused of the same wickednes and because one merchant may breake and play the knaue shall we say that all are such good reason will make no such illation And yet this must be acted and preached before his Maiestie and that by a Prelat that all Puritans are such and a thousand such impieties are dayly layd to their charge Yea what wickednes is there that they are not dayly accused of to King and Nobles both priuatly and publickly I haue heard many Sermons at the Court yet neuer did I heare any wherein I saw not the Puritan brought vp with one
all which you thinke will be censured of vnad uisednes at least if not thought scandalous and punishable To this I answer first that by Bishops I vnderstand the Prelats and by Preists their owne creatures a generation vnknowne in the Church of Christ and by Deacons the vnder Preists in this Kingdome Officers of which the Scripture knoweth nothing likewise For the Deacons such as the Churches chose and were allowed by the Apostels they were men of grauity full of Faith and the Holy Ghost men of wisdome and good gouerment and honesty and were the treasures of the faithfull and the Church of God and distributed the liberalityes of the Saints amongst the poore indigent and necessitated brethren Now I know neuer a Deacon in England either guilty of any of those Vertues before specified or that was euer imployed in that Office or was thought fit to be trusted with the treasury of the poore or tooke the least care of them who ordinarily they trample vpon and most reprochfully abuse with the name of rascality So that such Deacons as I pray against are limbes of the Beast and the inferior order of shauelings such as ought to be spewed out of the Church as profitable for nothing but the increase of wickednes And for Bishops such as God appoynted I honour them and will mayntayne their dignity to the last drop of my bloud so far I am from praying against such Neither did I euer speake vnreuerently against the Kings Bishops and those that were apoynted as an Order in the State till they had in their open court renounced his authority and run themselues by that and many other notorious proceedings into a Praemunire and so had made themselues enemyes of his Prerogatiue royall and delinquents against his Maiestie and vnder his Highnesses displeasure as by the Statutes of the Kingdome they are proclamed to be and by the defenders of their proceedings in their Ecclesiasticall Courts who in a booke set forth by their common consent doe conclude all those in a Premunire that challenge their authority Iure diuino as the Pope and clergie of Rome which at this time they doe And for your better satisfaction looke in the Apology for proceedings in Courts Ecclesiasticall a booke made by the Prelats owne creatures and in the first chapter you shall see all the Prelats by their owne witnes in a Premunire and delinquents against his Maiestie in a high degree of contumacy And truely I thinke there was neuer such an affront put vpon regall dignity as on that day I was censured neuer such dishonour put vpon the Scriptures by such as would be thought Ministers of the word and the Bishops and Pastors of Christ neither were the scriptures euer more blasphemously abused thē they were at that time in their open assembly I shall briefly therefore tell you that dayes work of which there is a thousand witnesses as also of their impious words against the most sacred word of God and diuine oracles of holy writ by all which you will see I haue good reasō to call them ANTICHRISTS LITTLE TOES and to pray against them for they are as Disperatly impious equally to be detested of all such as truely feare the Lord and the King for if wee compare them together there will no disparity appeare between them they being euery way as malicious against the word of God and his deare seruants and as diametrally opposing regality as Antichrist himself But that all things may the more clearly be euidenced vnto you let mee tell you that dayes proceedings You must take notice that howsoeuer they had fained some triuiall articles against mee they were all by the generall consent of the Court thought so poore as they openly auerred they would not condemne mee for them so much the rather because those that had sworne to them were proued to be my capital enimyes and also in their depositions to haue sworne point blanck one against an other and like euill witnesses could not agree in swearing therefore they onely cōdemned mee for my booke which I writ in defence of the honor of Christ and his Kingdome and of the Kings most excellent Maiesties prerogatiue Royall and Supremacy against the Pope and Popish Bishops prouoked there vnto by a Papist to which duty I was bound both by the law of God the law of the land my speciall oath all which I alleged at the barre farthermore added that in writing against the Bishop of Rome I intented no such Bishops as acknowledge their autority from Kings and Emperors but onely those Bishops that vsurp autority ouer Kings and Emperors and their fellow brethren and the Church of God iure diuino and so I had prefaced in my book which also I openly read there And to speake the truth I looked for fauour and assistance in this combat from the Prelats neuer suspecting that they would haue been my enimyes for this endeauour especially I hauing also in that place alleged the Acts and Statutes establyshed by the publick consent of the whole Kingdome in which it was ratified that the Prelats haue all their autority and iurisdiction which they now exercise from the King as immediately deriued from him and to affirme the contrary is to be ipso facto an enimy of his crowne and dignity And as the Prelats were an order established by the King and state I was so farre from opposing them that I neuer impeached their dignity in the least thing in all the booke neither would I euer haue medled with them if they had kept that standing but they like the euill Angels out of pride not keeping their first station BVT OPENLY RENOVNCING THE KINGS AVTORITY and affirming that Iesus Christ made them Bishops and that the holy Ghost consecrated them and that they were Princes and had their thrones and that before Kings and all this iure diuino by all which they made mee their enimy they being delinquents against the King And because I had retified whatsoeuer I sayd in my booke by the word of God they as they had before renounced the Kings autority and barbarously reuiled mee for my paines most impiously likewise vilified the holy scripture Saying in their Sessions that they looked for some great matter in my booke finding mee so confident but more diligently reading of it they found nothing but scripture in it which was the refuge of all Schismaticks and Heriticks and that the Scripture could not be knowne to be Scripture but by the Fathers nor distinguished from the Apocriphd but by the Fathers nor the meaning of the scripture could not be knowne but by the Fathers and because the Fathers as they sayd were in their interpretation diuerse from mee which notwithstanding is not so therefore they condemned me But I pray are not all these blasphemous popish and damnable assertions could worse haue been forged in the very conclaue of hell Is not this I pray you to tell the Spirit of God to
one that hath the eie of reason may easily conclude And we haue many presidents in sacred writ both for the change of the roome in the celebration of the Supper of the Lord. And also for multitudes of communicants as in the whole Church here of Corinth for one and the Apostle commands them that they should come together in publick but for the changing of the time and gecture it is no where in sacred writ to be found but amongst the Apostles and primitiue Christians they were both obserued and kept And so much concerning that Now let vs looke into the oppositions of Antichrist and his disciples and see there other diuerse mutations in this diuine ordinance They haue not onely changed Christs Supper into a breakfast but into a sacrifice an other abominable imimpiety and nefarious innouation turning the Sacrament of the Lords owne appointing wherein Christ Doth graciously giue and offer himselfe with all his merits to the faithfull and beleeuing communicants into a sacrifice of the masse as they call it Propitiatory for the liuing and dead where they say that the body and bloud of Christ is offered vp by a Preist after the order of Melchisedeck for the sinnes of the quick and dead and by vertue of this Sacrifice they affirme that Christ is there corporally and really present and with all adoration as the second person of the blessed Trinity to be worshipped In the which action to say nothing for the present but this for the blasphemies and abomination of it are innumerable there is greater idolatry committed then euer was in the worshipping of Dagon Rimon or the God of Echaron and of all them that loue the Lord Iesus and looke for redemprion by him and hope for his blessed comming ought to be detested and abhorred as the deuill and hell it selfe with all the damnable crew of Preists that are agents in it and fauourers of it Thus I say Antichrist and his complices that oppose Christ in all things haue changed this blessed supper a type of our heauenly and spirituall cōmunion with Christ and the faithfull and the bread and wine in that into a most detestable idol and breaden God And in this fearfull idolatry do our Prelats harmonise with them and are making as great speed to their old Mistris as they can for they haue brought in Preists and altars allready and they haue all the wedding garments prepared and euery thing for the purpose they want but an opportunity to accomplish all things And howsoeuer they seeme to vary it is but in shew for they agree well enough among themselues A reall presence of Christ they both acknowledg and a corporall adoratoon and reuerence in regard of that they both inioyne But before we come to the abuses that follow vppon the supposition of the reall presence let vs see what Christ and his apostles teach concerning that and what the Pope and his disciples teach You shall see that the Pope and Prelats will euer oppose Christ and his Apostles in whatsoeuer they doe or teach Christ Iesus the Lord commaunds his Apostles and in them all Christians in eating the bread and drinking the wine saying do this in remembrance of mee Luke 22. 19 And Saint Paul relating the institution as he had it from the Lord commands them in receiuing the bread and wine saying cafe and drinke this in remembrance of mee farther adding for as oft as yee eatt this bread and drink this cupp ye do shew the Lords death till he come By all which it is manifest that the Lord is not there present The same doctrine he commendeth vnto the Colossians in the 3 chapter hauing eleuated their minds from all terrene obseruations aud will worship and trifling inuentions of men in Gods seruice he bids them seeke those things which are aboue where Christ sits at the right hand of God And Saint Peter in the Acts tels vs that the heauens must containe him till the last day Infinite places to this purpose might be produced to proue that Christ is now in heauen and there to remayne till the consummation of all things as in our Creed also we beleue Yea the Scripture in many places calleth the elements by the proper names of bread and wine So that by all these maner of expressions and by the apparent words of the text the Lord Iesus himself and his Apostles teach vs that there is in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper a real absence of Christ. But Antichrist and his Apostles teach vs a real presence Now here is the doubt whether we shall beleeue Christ and his Apostles or Antichrist and his shauelings Christ and his Apostles teach vs a real absence they a real presence Certainly one of those most teach false But Christ and his Apostles they teach not false ergo the Pope and Prelats teach false doctrine and are not to be listned vnto Now from this supposition and opinion they haue brought in damnable idolatry worshipping of a peece of bread for the blessed Son of God Christ Iesus himself the worshipping of the cup and pixe communion tables Altars temples the name and Syllables of Iesus and infinit other trumperies making of one place more holy then an other But as the worst Nutmegs are commonly gilded ouer so the worst things are varnished ouer with finest names and compellations to say nothing of morall vices that carry the name of vertues But to the matter in hand all these abominable impietyes of will worship superstion human inuentions idolatry prophanesse of the Lords day must be vshered-in vnder the name of lawfull recreatious reuerence decency obedionce to the Church order c when indeed they bring in confusition and disorder both to the Lawes of God and the King and a profanation of his ordinances and execrable wickednesses all arising from the vaine conceit of a reall presence and the incitements of the deuill that desires to destroy the image and workmanship of God in all his works and ordinances and therefore suggests into his sworne seruants those rebells to the will of God which they can not obey thousand inuentious for the peruerting and corrupting of them because they can not altogether abolish them And if they should come which opon opposition and say let vs fall downe and worship the bread and wine or the crosse or table or alter or the Church for this is God they know that all men would then explode them and therefore being all for the most part not onely the Popes knights I meane fir Iohns bachellors of wicked arts but Masters of the black and deuillish art of deceiuing I say they pretend that Christ is there really present and therefore in honour to him they doe all this reuerence I know what they haue alwayes pretended for their wickednes but that must not suffice in things of this consequence aud in matters that concerne the worship of God where we looke for his expresse word for our rule oboue and beyond
rising of the Sun euen vnto the going downe of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles and in euery place incense shall be offered vnto my name c here wee see now this prophecy accomplished by Christ and all places consecrated to his seruice Ye shall neither in this mountaine nor yet at Ierusalem worship the father and Paul exhorts Christians in all places to lift vp pure hands and hearts sufficiently instructing those to whom hee writ that all places were made holy for such purposes Now I desire that any of the Popes at home or abroad would tell mee ingenuously what he thinks of Christs concecration here was it good or bad did he consecrate well or not let him answer mee in the word of a Preist with out tergiuersation candidly If he shall say it was not well consectated I will tell him to his face he is a blasphemer and proue him so If he shall freely confesse Christs consecration to be good and authentick and that all places indeed were consecrated by Christ himself to the worship of God then how impious and arrogant a thing is it in the Prelats to vnconsecrate and to make profane that which Christ hath consecrated and made holy For so they doe in their consecrations as by and by we shall see I will assure you there is a greater piaculum in this thing then men at first can well discerne and looke into Mee thinks that of Saint Peter in the tenth of the Acts should deterre them from such abominations where when the vessels descended to him like a foure cornered sheet full of all manner of foure footed beasts of the earth and creeping things and foules of the ayre and the voice also came vnto him bidding him kill and eate And Peter answered not so Lord for I haue neuer eaten any thing that was common and vnsleane And the voice spake vnto him againe the second time saying what God hath cleansed that call not thou common By which Peter as you may in the same place see learned by that that Christ had taken away the wall of difference and had consecrated and made all things cleane And fore-warning him that he should not make that vncleane that he had purified cleansed Mee thinks I say this might something haue deterred our great Masters from their dayly impietyes Nothing with them is holy and cleane but that that hath been washed with the Popes holy water or hath had their filthy greasy Fingers of consecration vpon it of which procedings of theirs there is not a word of warrent in all the book of God without which there can be nothing made holy neither is there any need of such wretched fooleryes for as I said before Christ the Lord both of heauen and earth hath consecrated it and made all places cleane and so they were all cleane before they had polluted them with their greasy consecrations with their idols and idolworships Insomuch that there is no place more vnholy then their cathedralls and altarchurches and their cloicters which are so many dens of theeves and cages of filthines and Idolatry which I shall euer be able to mayntayne And from this impious polluting of that that Christ hath made cleane I had thought that of Paul might some thing haue diuerted those vngodly men for so they are yea notoriously wicked against God and vncharitable all wayes towards the liuing temples of the holy Ghost I say I had thought that of Paul in the 17 of the Acts 24. 25 might haue restrayned such palpable impiety for there he saith God that made the world and all things therein seeing that be is Lord of heauen and earth dwelleth not in temples made with hands neither is worshipped with mens hands as though he had need of any thing seeing he giueth to all life and breath and all things What could be sayd more manifestly for the ouertrowing not onely their reall presence but also of that fiction of theirs that one place is more holy then an other when he is the Lord of all things and one place and creature is as much his as an other and the seruice offered vnto him in one place according to his will as well pleasing as in an other It is a prodigious wickednes in deed and a thing not supportable to compare the Creator of all things to the creature or to circumscribe the incomprehensible or to think with magnificence and statelinesle of buildings or any presents to procure his fauour or make him more propitious vnto vs. All which base conceits haue euer been the fountaynes of all superstition and idolatry in all nations and come from the deuill And so much the more we should be desmayed from such vaine imaginatious of reall presence which is the source of all other will worship if we considered what Paul sayth in the 5. of the 2. of the Corinthians 16. wherefore henceforth know wee no man after the flesh yea though we haue knowne Christ after the flesh yet now henceforth know we him noe more as much as if he had sayd wee must not think of Christ after a carnall manner who hath now left the world and is to be thought of and considered of vs spiritually All those fictions therefore of the reall presence of Christ rather in one place then an other as at CRVCIFIXES CROSSES PICTVRES ALTARS TABLES are the dreames of idolatrous braynes suggested by the diuill for the keeping of the minds of men fixed vpon earthly things and attent to his seruice making them belecue that Religion consists onely in outward performances and by such delusions as these he hinders them from seeking those things which are ahoue where Christ sits at the right hand of God which is expresly contrary to the comand of Paul How outragiously superstitious then yea diabolically impious are those men thinke you that spend such mighty summes of mony in adorning and making such sumptuous buildings as serue for no vse but superstition and idolatry and the mayntenance of LAZY BELLIGODS AND PROPHANE SCORNERS OF ALL TRVE RELIGION GODLINESSE AND PIETY and neglect the very liuing temples of the holy Ghost that famish for want of food Truly it cannot but be a great occasion to prouoke the Lord to iealousie and hot displeasure against this land when contrary to the light of reason and apparent scripture his reuealed will they set vp superstition and idolatry and will worship and think better of their owne inuentions and preferre their traditions before his most holyest lawes and precepts and by them transgresse the lawes of God scandall and offend their brethren yea punish the meanest neglect of them or the speaking against them more seuerely then the breach of all Gods comandements I say these things must needs exceedingly prouoke the Lord when mens deuices shall be so aduanced and promoted and when the Gospell and the poore members of Christ are stamped vnder foot and droue by vnkind vsage both out of the Kingdome What may
the PRELATS may commit any insolency against the King and his people and no body dare say why doe you so it is enough that they seeme to fauour the prerogatiue royall though by their actions they conculcate it which makes vs thinke now that it was their inuention likewise to silence all the lectures in London and in all infected places that in as much as in them lyes they might aduance their damnable superstitions and idolatryes And to what end else should such preaching vp of ALTARS in all places meane such vrging of beautifying of temples such bowing to altars tables at the letters and syllables of Iesus if they had not some great designe of innovation For these things vsed not to be within these few yeares and cannot churches be comely mayntained as they haue formerly been but the whole kingdome must be troubled about them for their sumptuosity and the furnishing of them with fopperies fit for nothing but to prouoke God to anger and who hath expresly said he is not pleased with such things There was a wise Deane not long since who it seemes had been a little before in heauen for he brought news fram thence that Saint Paul was very merry and glad to see their loue towards him and that the King and Nobles were so ready to yeild their helping hands towards his releife in bestowing new cloths vpon him or rather mending his old ones and that Paules it selfe and the very stones did reioyce that the reparations went on soe prosperously and many a fine thing he had to this purpose concerning that holy place for so he termed it But I dare presume in saying that Paul was very glad to see their loue to him in repayring that raw bond building he preached then without his book which Deanes seldome doe before the King I beleeue if Paul were vpon the earth to see what they now doe about that businesse he would giue them as little thanks for that endeauour and for all their paynes as he did at Lystra to the Preists of Iupiter that would haue sacrificed to him and Barnabas No without doubt it would exceedingly trouble and perplex Paul who hated all superstition and such like trumperies as may easily be seene in the seuententh of the Acts where be reprehends the Athenians for their superstition and care about temples and told them that God dwelt not in temples made with hands nor had no need of such deuices and earnestly dehorted them from all such doings and shall we now thinke though a Deane sayes it that Paul would preach an other doctrin contrary to that No no Paul was no temporiser he stood allwayes to his principles and abhorres all such fooleries and impietyes His whole study was how to build vp the true temples and Churches of God in their most holy faith and how to preach and promulgate the Gospell and how to promote the honor of it by his Sufferings and by teaching and instructing the people night and day from house to house His care was not taken vp in making of houses and edifices magnificent or repayring them fit for nothing but superstition and idolatry and the MAYNTENANCE OF IDLE ALBEY LVBBERS concerning which he giueth strict command that except they wrought and laboured with their hands they should not eate Paul indeed had the sollicitude of all the Churches continually lying vpon him and his whole study was to build and reedify them but they were the liuing temples and those indeed he built vp dayly in the knowledge of God and of themselues and with all tooke speciall care for the releife of the poore saints and how to procure aide and comfort vnto them in the times of their necessityes Yea so farr was Paul from putting men to vnnecessary expenses and burthening of them or any way charging of them about building of Churches that he would not be beholding to them for the repayring of his owne body the Temple of the holy Ghost but laboured with his owne hands for his proper maintenance and preached the Gospell to them gratis and that night and day and thought no time enough for that holy duty And shall wee then thinke when Paul was such an aduancer of preaching and such a publisher of the Gospell and so great a hater of superstition and idolatry that hee now is well pleased with the supperfluous repayring of THAT IDOL TEMPLE and the prouiding of a place for such droanes as he thought not worthy to eate Nay I dare maintaine out of Pauls owne doctrine that those infinit summes of money to haue been bestowed vpon the poore indigent brethren would haue been farre more pleasing vnto God for the poore are in the world for the exercise of mens charity and for the common good of kingdomes but of such reparations and buildings there comes neither honor to God nor the King pretend Popelins what they will And all this I say I am ready to make good But to such a passe are times now come that the Pulpits which should be the place of God and his truth are now become stages to make playes on and to vent lyes impiety superstition and idolatry But one of the greatest hypocriticall mockeries of all the rest is their capping and crouching at the name of Iesus and the vrging of all men to doe the same Nay some say they make the PRINCE of WALES to doe it I say in that their damnable hypocrisy is seene for howsoeuer they vrge the obseruation of that ceremony and custome more then they doe the keeping of any command of God and punish the neglect of it with more seuerity then the transgression of the whole law yet there is not one word of warrant for it in all the booke of God the very place they pretend no way fauouring them nor their procedings being the 2. to the Philippians 10 To say nothing of the opinion of all antiquiry that is against them nor how that text by all the torrent of moderne learned men is interpreted contrary to their opinion and by both ancient and neoterick Expositers applyed to the confuting of damnable hereticks and not for the bringing-in of apish tricks in the seruice and worship of God But to come now to the words let vs see whether the Prelats doe that the text inioynts which is the thing they so earnestly vrge The words are these That at the name of Iesus euery knee should bow of things in heauen and things in earth and things vnder the earth and that euery tongue should confesse that Iesus is the Lord to the glory of God the father If these words conteyne in them a command not onely of an inward but an outward bodily reuerence as the Prelats and their Preists affirme Then I say this command binds not onely semper but ad semper as all the other Commandements of God do for it is of the same nature with them and the neglect at any time or in any place of that seruice is a sin at