doth what he can To oppose the Romish Church Priest It s he but wote you one that then In high Commission sate In learned sort in open Court His fault did aggravate You 'ld feign know how I tell it now A number standing by In sober wise he doth advise And tells him this plainly That Banbury men were stiff at first Oh they would nothing do But now they would doe best and worst And something over too And you said he will peevish be You 'le in New Prison lie And there perhaps ere long like Bates A Malefactor die Prot. What said he thus then had he quite The poor mans Courage dasht But that he knew it was not true His Lordship over-lasht For thus to speak of worthy Bates How he was not afraid Instead of a Malefactor he A Martyr he should have said What though we are not so precise And little Scripture can We are perswaded he lived well And died a faithful man Will Turner think you turn his Coate And say he cares not what Will Sharp of Banbury change his note And now go fing a flat No Turner stood and heard his tale And was asham'd to hear The Bishop vent such foul untruths Without all shame or fear Priest Well true or false it matters not You see here 's just occasion Why we resolve their Lordships have A Catholique perswasion And truly they deserve our Church Should yield them great applause In shew they much oppose indeed They much maintaine our cause What though they rate us now and then To give the State content And calls us Powder-plotting men That so we may be shent Though you and they do term us oft The common adversary Yet they and we do well agree We very little vary And though in outward policy They needs must make fair weather They know full well their cause and ours Will stand or fall together With Puritans and Preachers all With most our Kingdom shake Accounting those our common foes They present order take Of such Precisians what they can The Churches they disarme And leave in Pulpit scarse a man Will do us any harme Pro. Yes sundry men soundly to tax Your foul Idolatry Your Masse your Vows your Pilgrimage And Popes Supremacy Your Salt your Spittle and your Cream Your kneeling to the Bread Your Sacrifice your Fasting dayes And prayers for the Dead Your calling on departed Saints Your Purgatory fire Strange Penance pardons Indulgence And such like Popish mire Your Censing and Baptizing Bells Your Tapers and your Lights Your Crossing holy Water Oyle And conjuring of Sprits Your Orders Altars and perfumes Your Letany procession Strange Language lying Miracles Auricular confession Your Church beliefe your Merits Works of Supererrogation Your Cannonizing Traytorus Saints Your gross Equivocation Your Singing Ringing Requiems Your Monthly minds your Feasts Your Legends Bulls babe frighting toys More base then Skoginggs jests Your pillar prayers reliques woods Your Curtsey knocking breasts Your false Communion kissing paxe And keeping it in Chests Your Counsels Cannons decretals Decrees and mens Traditions Your Jewish Churchings and such like A thousand superstitions These are the Doctrines whereunto Your practises do suite All which our Learned Clergy-men Do labour to confute Priest In words 't is true your Clergy-men Our Doctrines do disclaime But who sees not therein they give Themselves a privie maime We some time hear and well can bear You call our Doctrine dotage Provided though you do not eate Our meate you sup our Pottage What are our Ceremonies good And are our Doctrines naught In sense can these be practised And not the other taught The blusters which your Doctours makes 'T is but a blast of breath There 's in it no such danger 't is No Dagger but a Sheath Themselves must sob and come and Crouch And cause to bow the knee When as they bid to take and eate The Bread as well as we They must put on our worthy weeds Cap Tippet and Surplus And do such rites for which what word Or Warrant but from us If any other should alledge Alas he should but feigne And Coyn them from his own conceit Or from some others brain What orders have we you have not I 'le wage an hundred pounds Our Papacy your Prelacy Stands at the self same grounds You keep our Fasts and feastings days You read our Leiturgy Our Cannons and your Laws from us You have your Ministry Your Churchings Organs and your quire Your Letany containes Some worthy points whereof there is Not one of us complaines All points wherein we will accord I cannot recken up On Fishstreet hill one gives the Bread But would not give the Cup. One pleads in Pulpit for our faith Implicit and eare shrift And saith none kneelers must be damn'd They can it no way shift A third to prove you kneeling good Although it came from us Reads in our Mass book word for word And thence concludeth thus Here 's Sursam Corda which saith he We have from Popish write Our Church as good reteins and which Of us complains of it Some yet more cunningly concur In act and shun the name Like Usurers when as our work And worship is the same Our Robes must be your Ornaments Or for distinction sake You must have honest burial And therefore prayers make Our Churchings are your giving thanks Strange Language Learning deep Instead of our procession you Perambulations keep Our kneeling is your comliness Our Cross in babes face Is now become your Christian badge And no small sign of grace Our Images are portraitures Of men that do adorn Your Churches if you pull them down It hardly will be born If Banbury men will do there geere I tro they have their doom Their orders are well stuffe I hear With welcome news to Rome Ye welcome news I hope ere this 'T is over all the Town Your Church men have no thority To thrust our pictitures down Your homily saith they defile wherein it seems to lye This order writes another Style To wit they beautifie And so concludes that who so doth them molish or deface Is justly censured as one That doth profane the place What practice we that you do not Have we Stews you have stage Blaspheme we you have Lotery Maintain'd with wrong and rage Pardon we faults you let forth fees For filthinesse to farme The strumpet poor must penance pay The rich hath no such harm Sometime indeed for very need The silly stand in sheet When with bare breast and head bare drest The silken walk in street In brief what ere may be the fruit Of all your tollerations Our penance pardons indulgence And other dispensations The same is of your punishing Of sin by sheet or purse Your fees for absolution Your Canons Court and Curse Nay further name a sin who can That any doth commit But your conformity will breed Or feed and foster it Ah ha Sir Large how like you this Did he not say the troth That said you would
brought in Godfathers and Godmothers in the year 143. Pope Adrian brought in the white linnen Surplice in the year 769. Pope Zacharias brought in Priests Garments Copes and Vestments horned Caps and that none but hallowed Garments should be used Pope Telesphorus ordained Lent to be kept seven weeks before Easter Pope Higinus hallowed Churches or Temples Pope Calistus Church-yards Pope Honorius in the year 1214. brought in kneeling at the Sacrament Pope Nicholas forbid Marriage in Lent and other set times Pope Calistus the Imbring daies for Fasts four times in the year Pope Silvester the first added Wednesdaies Fridaies and Saturdaies weekly Pope Innocent put unto the former the Apostles Eves The Saints and Angels were beholding to those Reverend Fathers for hallowing their daies For generally all the Saints and Angels found such favour with Pope Boniface that they had not only a Catholick holy day called Alhallows but a famous Temple in Rome once dedicated to all the Devils called Pantheon was turned by this Holy Father into the name of Maria Rotunda and consecrated to the B. Virgine and all Martyrs Boniface the eighth shewed like honour to the four Evangelists Pope Sabinian ordained bells to call the people together to Divine Service vertue attributed to bells first to preserve the Fruits of the Earth secondly to drive away the evil will of our enemies thirdly to expel storms Tempests Thundrings Lightnings fourthly to drive away Spirits and Devils and therefore it is that the Custom is continued in many places as yet to ring as they call it the passing bell when a man or woman is dying Pope Felix the third made holy the day of the Arch-angel Michael Pope Damasus as Writers say added to the Psalms Glory be to the Father c. and to be sung in turn as the Church of England yet useth Pope Witalianus brought in the Organs to make up the Musick in the year 653. Pope Gelasius brought in prick-song Pope Gregory plain song Pope Vitalianus descant Pope Clement the first brought in Confirmation of Children by Bishops Anno 310. Melciades succeeding him said it was a more worthy Sacrament than the Sacrament of Baptism Pope Anasiasius brought in as VVriters say standing at the Gospel iâ— the year 404. Pope Damasus enjoyned Hierome to make an Order of Service for Churches and how many Psalmes and prayers should be said on every day c. which being done the Pope commanded all Churches should use that Order and no other And a much like exploit was performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and his brethren as Master Fox reports in King Edwards daies and coninues still by the Convocation-house I shall omit some things one Pope put the Pater noster into the Masse and commanded it to be sung Pope Marcus would have the Nicene to be sung after the Gospell Pope Anacletus would have the priest and the people to salute one another in Service time and therefore appointed the one to say The Lord be with you and the other to say And with thy Spirit Pope Sergius put in at the Sacrament O Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the World have mercy upon us Pope Symachus added the Hymne Glory be to God on high The other Popes brought in their parts and patched together the Lethany or Lithurgy out of which the Service-bâ—ok is taken Pope Leo as some affirm brought in Infant-baptism about 300. years after Christ Pope Pase halus decreed Tythes in the year 827. Pope Vrbanus ordained Canterbury to be the chief patriarchal Seat Many things of this nature I shall omit at present as also the names of the several Authors who writ of them but I hope Wife you will believe me Husband if these things came from Rome tell me what the Reverend Dean and Doctor W. meant when he said We bless thee Lord for the solemnities of the Church Truly Wife as far as I conceive the Formalities and Ceremonies of the Church now in use but I can tell you what an old Non conformist would express in his prayer Lord purge thy Church of all the Remnants Reliques of Popery Idolatry Superstition which do but adulterate thy worship cause the sacrifice and oblation to be abominable in thy sight and take away those things which do but contaminate the Consciences of thy people are but as botches and blains in the face of thy Spouse This man was a sufferer necessitated sometimes to leave the Nation never changing his Judgement But this Doctor being sometimes a Clark in the Convocation-house made a handsome well-pen'd Speech against some formalities and was accounted a young Puritan and was called to the Bar and to his knees too but had a Friend But now his narrow silken throat is grown wider he can sup Ceremonies yea and swallow a fat Parsonage a Prebendship and a Deanry and never keck at it I have seen him in his formalities that if he had worn bells on his Legs you would rather have taken him for a Maide-marrian in a Morrice dance than a Minister and with us much contempt cast upon him as ever I saw upon a man in a Pulpit indeed he saith he doth it to come as near Rome as he can under pretence of drawing them to his religion for that end he hath now put himself into the Suburbs and it is supposed by many that he wil be as easily perswaded to come to live in the City as he shal perswade What that is I know not he puts so many simples in the consection the Romanists to come to live in the Suburbs One thing I took from the mouth of an honest Countrey man of his which was the Doctors Speech thus That it was a lesser sin for a man to kil his father than for a man in regard of the ceremonies to refrain coming to Divine service established in the Church of England the one was the killing of a particular person the other made a breach in the mystical body of Christ but this I shall only say O Doctor Doctor quae te dementia cepit what madness hath possest thee remember from whence thou art fallen Husband I would be satisfied in one thing concerning this Divine service how it came to be imposed how came it up at first The first that ever I read of was Pope Damasus who enjoined Hierom to mak an Order or service for Churches and appoint Guliel Durandus what prayers should be said on every day c. and how many Psalmes c. which being done the Pope commanded all Churches should use that service and none other and the like was performed by the Archbishop and his brethren in King Edwards dayes as Mr. Fox reports and stil continued by the Convocation-house as at this day Object But did not the Lord give forms of blessings prayers and Psalms c. therefore why may not the prelates do the like I tel thee what I shal say Dost think Ieroboham had so slender a
reason for his golden Calves God gave a Law by Moses therefore there may a Law be given by the Bishops the Apostles wrote a New Testament or Gospel therefore the Convocation-house may write a Testament or Gospel if the prophets practise will bear them out in the one I see no reason why it should not bear them out in the other and let them if they can shew where any of the Apostles made any forms of prayer and imposed on other Churches neither did I ever hear any man stand for common-Common-prayer that had the spirit of prayer 'T were other passages I heard you speak of the Doctors I did so the one was we thank the Lord for the reformation he might rather have called it a regradation for as the Sun went back ten degrees in the dayes of Ezekiah by the Sun-dial of Ahaz so we in England according to an outward appearance Fascicu temp are gone back ten degrees by the Sun-shine of the Gospel of Christ And whereas you told as that on Fryday next you shal have the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel which day is to be kept holy by the appointment of the Church of God I suppose he means Rome to be the Church of God because pope Felix the third ordained and appointed that holy day What meant our Reverend Diocessan when after one year of his being our Diocessan and had not preacht two Sermons he told us they were our spiritual fathers Paul saith that although you have many Instructors I have begotten you indeed if the Patriarch had told us how many thousands of pounds he and the rest of his brethren of the Cloyster had gotten he had said something but let him or any of his brethren say and speak truth that since I came to this place or City the Lord hath blest my labours for such a poor Soul came to me and told me that the Lord had by my Ministry made him to see how that he was most vile wretched sinner and under the wrath of God which if they can as I am confident they cannot I le submit and do penance in a White Surplice which is as base as in a White Sheet In the next place now Wife we wil talk a word of our own Reverend Dean he saith that we must worship in the Temple at the Temple and going from the Temple and speaking of the several Gates to Heaven he told us that Baptism was Infants Gate you need not question the truth of it seeing it appears to be plainly exprest in the Church Catechism To his Temple worship I shall say nothing because he is supposed to be a Mongrel Papist but I cannot but admire that Baptism should be Infants Gate into Heaven and so much the more for that when they are there they do not stay there scarce one in an hundred but out they come tumbling and by the fruit they bring with them speak evil of that good land but this I can say of him that he is a great admirer and lover of fish on Fasting-dayes and eats no other flesh and there is some reason for it Durandus renders it why fish is more holy than flesh because God curst the earth but never curs'd the water Husband another of our Doctors cryes out against Sacriledge what 's that He tell thee Wife as they account it a robbing of the Church and so by consequence as they would maintain it a robbing of God but they never tell how the Church first rob'd the poor Countrey by telling them that it was a meritorious-work promising them to fetch souls out of Purgatory Henry the third was pressed by his Clergy and hookt in to grant liberally unto them and by his Magna Charta saith thus Henry by the grace of God King of England c. To all Archbishops Bishops c. Know ye that to the honour of God and the salvation of my Soul and the Souls of my Progenitâ—rs and Successors do give and grant c. An easie piece of matter to cheat both King and Nobles as my Author saith when neither of them could write or read And Richard Wetherhead alias Wethershead Archbishop of Canterbury by a Provincial Constitution it was forbidden to all Physitians to administer any Physick to a â—ick person upon pain of excommunication until the Priest had first shrived him for his sins although his condition was ever so desperate The pretence was to physick his Soul first but the intent was to get a â—ollop out of his estate Surely he that would not have the hire of an Harlot to be brought into his house will never accept of such lands and goâ—ds thus cheated to be imployed in his service but most sure it is that God doth not accept of any thing that he doth neither requite nor command But we know these fellowes came but to fill their bellies and if the means were gone they 'le be like Bagg-pipes when the wind is out they tattle no longer Husband you know they are accounted but Fanatiques and Schismatiques that speak against those men or their practises you have been in some trouble already medle not with their Cathedral service and things which as they say are for decency Wife for my fathers sake I shall not because its next my fathers Religion he being a Roman Catholique and yet for the poor Jews sake I am not willing to be silent it s a bad requital for the prayers they put up for us Gentiles Cant. 8. ver 8. we have a little sister and she hath no breasts what shall we do for our sister in the day that she shall be spoken for See what a stumbling block we cast before them we tell the Jew that all the Ceremonies of the Mosaical Law were abrogated by the coming of Christ he will argue thus Why may not we use those Types and Ceremonies instituted by Moses at Gods command as well as you to make use of those Ceremonies instituted by several Popes which you say were Antichrists Christs utter enemy Ask the Ceremoniaster or the Ceremonimaster what he can say to that But as for accounting others Fanatiques they are the greatest Fanatiques themselves who leaving the sacred Scripture which are the rule of life doctrine and discipline and set up the traditions of men whereas his Worship must be as his Word is sincere quasi sine cera without mixture or composition of humane invention and is forbidden by the second Command as William Gloucester Bishop saith And then what can you say for your Cathedral service Wife you know that neither praises nor prayers are accepted with him unless they be the fruit of his own spirit Jesus Christ takes the Odours which are the prayers of the Saints and presents them to his Father if not acceptable they must needs be abominable Do you think that Jesus Christ will take the bawling squeling voices of singing men and boyes together with the grunting squeking noise of the Bishops Pigs I mean the Organs