Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	apostle_n	church_n	tradition_n	9,173	5	9.2350	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68023	A briefe examination for the tyme, of a certaine declaration, lately put in print in the name and defence of certaine ministers in London, refusyng to weare the apparell prescribed by the lawes and orders of the realme In the ende is reported, the iudgement of two notable learned fathers, M. doctour Bucer, and M. doctour Martir ... translated out of the originals, written by theyr owne handes, purposely debatyng this controuersie.	Parker, Matthew, 1504-1575.; Bucer, Martin, 1491-1551.; Vermigli, Pietro Martire, 1499-1562.; Hooper, John, d. 1555.	1566 (1566)	STC 10387; ESTC S101661	56,521	86

¶ A briefe examination for the tyme of a certaine declaration lately put in print in the name and defence of certaine Ministers in London refusyng to weare the apparell prescribed by the lawes and orders of the Realme In the ende is reported the iudgement of two notable learned fathers M. doctour Bucer and M. doctour Martir sometyme in eyther vniuersities here of England the kynges readers and professours of diuinitie translated out of the originals written by theyr owne handes purposely debatyng this controuersie Paul Rom. 14 I besech you brethren marke them which cause diuision and geue occasions of euyll contrary to the doctrine which ye haue learned and auoyde them for they that are such serue not the Lorde Iesus Christ but their owne bellyes and with sweete and flatteryng wordes deceyue the hartes of the Innocentes ¶ The counsell of S. Austen vnto Januarie Epistola 118. SVche thynges as haue diuersitie of obseruations by reason of the diuersitie of Landes and Countreys as of fastyng on the Sabboth daye or at other days Of communicating euery day Sunday or Saterday or otherwyse all these thynges haue freedome in obseruation And certes there is no maner discipline or vsage in these thynges more agreable vnto a graue and prudent christian man then that he attemper hym selfe to the orders of that Church whereto he shall chaunce to resort For by S. Ambrose counsell a man ought to obserue that maner whiche he seeth that Churche to vse whereto he chaunceably commeth yf he wyll not be slaunderous to any man or any man be slaunderous vnto hym As for me saith S. Austen when I diligentlye bethought my selfe of this sentence I haue alway had it in such veneration as yf I had receyued it as an oracle heauenly sent from God For I haue perceyued euen to my great sorow and heauynes much disquietyng of the weake to be caused by the contentious stubbernes and superstitious feare of certayne brethren which rayse vp so braulyng questions that they thynke nothing to be well done but what they do them selues and that in such matters which can come to no certayne ende neither by the aucthoritie of holy Scripture nor by the tradition of the vniuersall Church nor tende to any commoditie of the reformation of lyfe Yet is this disturbaunce made because some one hath deuised within hym selfe some maner of reason whatsoeuer it be eyther for that he hymselfe in his owne countrey accustomed so to do or els sawe other do in some such place where he hath trauelled The whiche the farther it was from his owne countrey so muche the better learned he thought that place to be ¶ To the Christian reader IF for any occasion the counsayle of Salomon contrarious to it self at the first sight maye haue place to be alleaged out of the. xxvi Chapter of his Prouerbes that is Ne respondeas stulto iuxta stultitiam suam ne efficiaris ei similis And againe Responde stulto iuxta stultitiam suā ne sibi sapiens esse videatur Aunswere not a foole accordyng to his foolyshnes lest thou be made lyke to hym And agayne Aunswer a foole accordyng to his foolyshnes lest he may sceme to himself to be wise It may now of good congruence be verified in the cause vttered in question for order of ministers apparell It is not vnknowen what argumentes and conclusions what letters and wrytynges haue ben vsed and tossed from man to man in secrete sort for these two or three yeres to disproue the libertie of the chyldren of God in the vse of externe thynges to conuel the obedience that true Subiectes shoulde perfourme to the aurthoritie of theyr Prince to the lawes of the Realme establyshed to the discredityng and condemnation of such which in a whole conscience thynke it lawefull for them to weare and yet charitably bearyng with the weaknes of such whose consciences are entangled with fearefull scrupulositie towarde the same The small weyght of theyr reasons and argumentes so set out theyr cause so harde to defende with learnyng so many graue wryters of iudgement agaynste them the matter fullye debated by the best learned men of the Realme of late with thorder of the counsayle taken in the tyme of blessed memorie Kyng Edwarde and fully concluded caused diuers men beyng yet offended with suche vnaduised wrytynges to holde theyr pennes without more confutyng or disprouyng the same as was easye for them to do partly stayed by the fyrst part of Salomons counsayle Ne respondeas stulto iuxa stultitiam suam ne efficiaris ei similis Yea moreouer charitie borne to the aucthours of such wrytynges moued some men to kepe pacience and the counsayle of S. Paule helde others in scilence whereas he chargeth his scoler Timothy thus Stultas et ineruditas questiones respue sciens eas parere pugnas porro seruū domini nō oportet pugnare sed placidū esse erga omnes propensum ad docendum tolerantem malos cum mansuetudine erudientē eos qui obsistunt si quando det illis deus paenitentiam ad agnoscendum veritatem et resipiscant a diaboli laqueo capti ab eo ad ipsius voluntatem Foolyshe and vnlearned questions put from thee remembryng that they do but gender stryfe for the sernaunt of the Lorde must not stryue but must be peaceable vnto all men and apt to teache and one that can suffer the enyll in mekenes and can infourme them that resyst yt that God at any tyme wyll geue them re pentaunce for to knowe the trueth that they may come to themselues agayne out of the snare of the deuyll which are nowe taken of hym at his wyll To enforce this text at this tyme in the particuler appliyng therof shalbe spared yet for hope of their amendement who haue disorderlye behaued them selues To eragerat the matter agaynste them with muche alleagyng learned mens iudgementes many dead some yet alyue otherwyse then to instruct them by a few reported shall also be spared as it would haue ben wyshed the matter wholly myght rather with scilence haue ben styll buryed But now the prouocation of a treatise so solemlye aduouched so confidentlye affirmed of very late so publiquely by prynt diuulged and dispearsed hath made this wryter nowe to thynke it hygh tyme to call to remembraunce the latter part of Salomons scntence Responde stulto iuxta stultitiam suam ne videatur sibi sapiens Not yet professyng by this examination to say halfe so much as myght be spoken in the comprehension of the cause nor takyng so much aduauntage agaynst that inconfiderat wrytyng as it myght deserue to be charged but briefely to put to the aucthours consideration the weaknes of the reasons the sophisticatiō of the arguments of that discourse vnworthy of it selfe to saye the trueth to be once aunswered as beyng so written as euery man but such as be eyther to parcially bent to the cause or for lacke of learnyng can not expende the substaunce of the wrytyng maye

by men it be commaunded but as the tradition or precept of god Thus farre Doctour Bucer With whom Maister Caluine very wel agreeth saying ‡ That which is part of decencie commended vnto vs by the Apostle though it be prescribed by man is Gods tradition and not mans as kneelyng at solemne prayers and suche lyke So then if you woulde haue rested vppon the censures of these godly learned men you shoulde not haue needed thus vnwysely to haue skoffed at this wysdome of man contaynyng her selfe within the limittes of the wysdome of God as is before proued and myght be fully iustified by infinite places of Germayne wryters and by theyr letters of late sent into the Realme to dyuers godly but for prolixitie The thyrde mayne reason you vse is That none of Christes litleones must be offended Whiche thyng accordyng to your vsage you augment with sundrye textes of Scripture as yf all the men of vnderstandyng in this Realme were yet aslepe and neyther saw nor harde the voyce of theyr maister Christ and his holy Apostle But you passe ouer with silence that whiche you shoulde haue substauncially waded through Vz That these orders nowe taken do iustly offende the weake lambes of Christes folde Wherfore to aunswere to the generall proposition it is not expedient seeing it is holden as most true of all men But concerning the offendyng of the weake briefely In indifferent thynges if lawe for common tranquilitie haue prescribed no order what ought to be done a Christian man ought to haue a great regarde of his neyghbours conscience accordyng to S. Paules doctrine But yf lawe foreseeyng harmes and prouiding quietnes haue taken lawefull order therin offence is taken and not geuen when the subiect doth his duetie in obedience so seuerely enioyned hym by Gods worde Notwithstandyng you say that a wyse shipper in saylyng wyll not come nygh rockes and flattes yf he may but take sea rowme ynough In deede the wyse shipmen of our Churche haue spyed the rockes of false doctrine superstition and errour wherevpon many haue ben cast away and to auoyde them haue taken rowme ynough in the scriptures of God For outwarde apparell of them selues are not suche rockes and flattes as you do phantasie neyther euer harde you any of Christes seruauntes to be in daunger of perishing iustly by them as they be now appoynted Yea you may beholde many a godly passenger vnder these orders saylyng with a straight course towarde that heauenly Hauen whervnto he trusteth safely to arriue Al these men in this ship of Christ takyng example by the politike gouernour S. Paul crye out aloude and say Non omnia papistica edificant All popery doth not edifie and are marueylous circumspect and carefull lest any of Christes deare flocke should be offended As for the place alleaged by you where S. Paule forbyddeth Cōmunion with the Gentyles in their idolatricall worshyppyng yf you had applyed it you shoulde haue perceyued no sequele therof For thankes be to God we dwell not among the Babilonians and Chaldies we haue in our Church no publique worshyppyng of Idolles no Heathenishe or idolatrical sacrifice as were in some place of the citie of Corinth whose societie contagion we ought to auoyde And yf there be in a Church where Christes Gospel is purely preached and his sacraments rightly ministred some euyl among the good as in one net diuers sortes of fishes in one fielde wheate and tares in one barne corne and chaffe yet the good are not sayde to communicate or be defyled of the badde as long as they consent not to theyr wickednes but depart from among them not by corporall separation but by dissimilitude of life and diuersitie of maners though they both vse the same temple the same table the same sacramentes as S. Augustine setteth out at large It is one thyng to flee from communicatyng with open professed idolatrie theyr prophanes rites and deuylyshe orders though in hart we worshyp God and another ryghtly to vse rites and fassions abused all the abuses beyng clearely condempned Of the one we haue an expresse commaundement in Scripture the other our auncient fathers haue practised before you and Gods holy worde hath not forbydden it The fourth foundation or grounde that you lay is That you must needes cast away and forsake all those thynges as haue ben brought into the Church besides or contrary to the Scripture This platte you enlarge with a dosen seuerall sentences all which paynes you myght well haue saued yf you had not mynded to haue ben bytyng and snappyng by the way at your superiours This trueth all faythful Christians confirme with you That concernyng fayth and doctrine concernyng remission of sinnes and eternall saluation nothing ought to be taught or receyued which is contrary or not grounded in the Canonicall Scriptures For holy writ geuen by the inspiration of God is not only a lyght to our feete as Dauid sayth but also so profitable that thereby the man of God maye be absolute beyng made perfecte vnto all good workes as Saint Paule testifieth And though this be most true touchyng the substaunce of Christian religion yet the maner and order of settyng of it foorth is not particularly expressed but generally left to the disposition of Christes Churche from tyme to tyme accordyng to those wordes of Saint Paule * Let all thynges be done comely and orderly Wherein whatsoeuer shalbe lawfully done to those purposes is not to be iudged besydes the Scriptures As for example Fastyng is commaunded in Gods worde But what dayes we shoulde fast or what dayes we shoulde not beyng not there determined yf the Christian Churche decree it is not besydes the Scripture The ministryng of Baptisme the Lordes supper is commaunded in Gods worde But what dayes what tymes what places in what companye with what prayers before and after yf the Christian Churche decree it is not besides the Scriptures And accordyng to this Saint Augustine wryteth touchyng the receyuyng of the Sacrament of the body bloud of Christ fastyng in the mornyng Saluator ideo non praecepit quo deinceps ordine sumeretur vt Apostolis per quos Ecclesias dispositurus erat seruaret hunc locum Our Sauiour therfore hath not cōmaunded in what order the Sacrament shoulde be afterwarde receyued because he myght reserue this place to his Apostles by whom he woulde order the Churches Thus also the preachyng of the Gospell is commaunded in Gods worde but howe to do this office in Pulpit or otherwayes in mornyng or after noone and so forth yf the Christian Churche decree it is not besides the Scripture The lyke may be sayde concernyng lawes politike of Princes affayres and trafficke betwixt man man whose groundes and rules are in Gods worde and yet the particular circumstaunces in practising them being diuers in sundry Countreys accordyng to the iudgement of magistrates are not besides Scriptures when al those diuersities haue Gods worde for theyr

second foundation of your reasons is that these diuersities of vestures were inuented of Antichrist therefore we ought not only to forsake the Pope but all his inuentions Besydes this ye woulde haue all maner of difference of vestures and apparell of Ministers to be taken away Wherefore seyng these two be the chiefe strength of your argumentes I wyll fyrst intreate of them Afterwarde I wyll adde what soeuer it be yf I can call to my remembraunce any other thyng brought in of you to confirme your opinion In Moses lawe or Priesthood after Aarons order there were sacramentes with the whiche it pleased God to confirme as I myght say by puttyng his seale to them the promises made of Chryst commyng I knowledge do graunt that all these thynges be abrogated neuer to be brought in agayne for we beleue that Christ is alredye come and not that he wyll come And we haue other seales in Scripture delyuered to vs of Chryste hym selfe in the Gospell bread wyne and water therfore we neede not call agayne signes for this purpose vsed in the olde Testament There were also in that lawe other signes actions so ordeyned that they could not be properly called Sacramentes and yet they had some respect to comelynesse to order and to some commoditie And these I iudge may be restored retayned as thinges agreeyng to the lyght of nature and inducyng to some profitable vse Who doth not see that the Apostles to the intent they that beleued myght lyue more peaceably and quietlye dyd commaunde the Gentyles to abstayne from bloud and strangled And yet these thynges without all doubt were fetched frō the order of Aaron if ye wyl comprehend generallye all thynges whiche was in the olde lawe And there is none of vs ignoraunt but that the tenthes was fetched from thence which now in our dayes be appoynted to fynde the Ministers of the Church thorowout Christendome You can not wel proue by the Scriptures of the new Testament that Psalmes and Hymnes were songue in the Churche at publique seruice which thyng yet appeareth most playnelye to be done in the olde Testament I wyll here omit that Saint Ambrose in his exposition vpon the. xiiii Chapter of the fyrst to the Corinthians sayth moste playnely that the maner of prophesying whiche Paule teacheth was deryued out of the Sinagoges into our Churches To these I could bryng foorth other thynges and that not a fewe in number yf tyme suffered me to consider diligently the matter which our Church haue borowed out of Moses decrees And that I may speake only of holy dayes which we kepe in memory of our Lordes resurrection byrth and death of Chryst Pentecost shoulde we therfore abolyshe them because they be the reliques of the olde law You see as I suppose by all these thynges howe that not all that pertayned to the Priesthood of Aaron is so abolyshed that nothyng of it maye be retayned or vsed of vs at these dayes Nor here ye shal not by and by saye that this is nothyng els but to open a wyndowe to all abuses as to holy water sensynges in the Churche and to infinite suche other For the aduersaries wyll strayght shape you this aunswere Fyrst of all that there must be limitted a measure in any case as well of those that be reserued as those that shalbe brought agayne into the Churche And secondarylye that no opinion or vertue of religion is at all to be attributed vnto them contrarywise to that we see is done of the papistes in theyr holy water sensyngs Last of all there must good heede be taken lest our Christian libertie be brought into some daunger which shoulde be in ease yf y t such thyngs as be reserued or restored be appoynted necessarye meanes for to obteyne saluation For so are such thynges to be brought in agayne or to be tollerated that they be layde away when they appeare not to be put to good vse And so it seemeth to me we must do at this tyme with this diuersitie of apparell accordyng as I declared my mynde before For I woulde and nowe wyshe that they were layde asyde but forsomuch as yet hytherto it hath not preuayled vntyll better may be I thynke we ought to beare them And yf it pleased God I woulde that the Churches of Germany myght redeeme theyr libertie with this one inconuenience although I wishe by al meanes that no superstuous thyng shoulde be forced vpon them But let vs consider your other argument that is to say It is not lawfull to vse these kinde of vestures because they were inuented of the popes tiranny In this poynt I do not well perceyue howe it maye be affirmed for a suretie that we can vse nothyng that perteyned to the Pope and is vsed in popery Truely we must take good heede that we bryng not the Churche of Christ into such bondage that it may not vse any thyng that the Pope vsed It is very true that our forefathers toke the temples of Idols turned them into holy Churches where Christ should be worshypped And they toke also the salarie and reuenues consecrated to the Idolles of the Gentyles to theyr wicked shewes and playes and to theyr holy votaries virgins transposed it to finde the Ministers of the Church And yet all these thynges dyd not onlye seruyce vnto Antichrist but vnto the deuyll Yea the holy Ecclesiasticall wryters dyd not sticke to take the Uearses of Poetes which had ben dedicated vnto Muses and to other diuers gods goddesses for to be played in playes and spoken in shewes to obteyne the fauour of theyr gods I saye they dyd nothyng stycke or feare to vse them when it seemed to them conuenient imitatyng Paule the Apostle who stocke nothyng at all to rehearse for his purpose Menander Aratus and Epimenydes that he did in intreatyng the holy Scripture appliyng prophane wordes to set forth gods religion We reade also howe that Wyne was consecrated vnto Bacchus Bread vnto Ceres Water vnto Neptune Oyle vnto Minerua Letters vnto Mercury Song vnto the Musis and vnto Apollo and many other thynges Tertullian rehearseth in his ▪ booke entituled de Corona militis Christiani where almost he entreateth this selfe same argument Yet for al that we stycke not to vse all these thynges freely aswell in holy as in prophane vses although at one tyme or other before they had bē consecrated to Idolles and to deuyls Howbeit I wyll not graunt that these diuersities of vestures haue their begynnynges of the Pope forsomuch as I reade in the Ecclesiasticall Hystory howe that John the Apostle wore at Ephesus where he dwelled a byshops apparell tearmyng it Petalum seu lamina Pontificalis As touchyng Saint Ciprian the holye Martir Pontius the Deacon writeth that a litle before he shuld be beheaded he gaue vnto hym that was appoynted to behead hym his vesture called Birrus after he had put it of to the Deacons he gaue his other vesture

generall rule and ende And blessed be God our tymes are here suche that no man in our Churches presumeth to adde to Gods word as acknowledgyng the perfitnes therof to our saluation And that our gouernours in the feare of God eschewe Saules disobedience and by ryghteous clemencie flee the tyrannye of Reboam and through the direction of Gods spirite walke zelously in the pathes of godly Ezechias in all those thinges whiche they fynde wrytten in the booke of Gods lawe to appertayne to his true seruice and worship not so much weyhing the displeasures of worldly potentates as the curses that the most mightie God powreth vpon all suche as truely and sincerely regarde not his religion and glory And blessed be the name of the Lorde for euer that hath stirred vp such Bishops and preachers among vs whiche neyther haue nor do flatter Princes to set vp theyr pleasures aboue the wyll and commaundement of God though some surmise the contrary As Audiam certayne sectaries layde to the Fathers charge of Nicaene counsell that they tooke an order in the troublesome dissention for keping Easter day to please and flatter Constantine the Emperour whereas they dyd it vpon inst consideration and to auoyde scisine Surely the examples whiche you bryng in of wycked Kinges and false Prophetes myght haue well at this tyme in this cause ben pretermitted as whiche concerne matters expressely forbydden or commaunded by God but that you woulde intimate to some not well stayed that the Prince in these thinges suffereth them contrary to Gods word and her lawfull aucthoritie whiche thankes be to our heauenly father for his aboundaunt blessynges most rychly powred vppon her is altogether otherwayes or that all preachers and subiectes obeyng so orderly demaundes are but false Prophetes and flatterers This is very sore iudgement to condemne all your brethren for manpleasers that obey their supreme gouernour vnder god in matters indifferent of whom as you knowe a great number when flatterye was muche more gaynefull refused to do it with no small daunger And if you marke your note well Flatterie hath not ben alwayes the sure marke of false teachers For you shall reade S. Jude foretell of some that should despyse them that were in aucthoritie You shall reade of the Donatistes Rogatians Circumcellions and Papists that are rather disobedient to iust and good lawes of Princes for that as they say they see not in the writinges of the Euangelistes and Apostles any suche example Nowe for the maner and condition of true Prophetes whiche you assure vs is to aduouche alwayes Haec dicit dominus Thus sayeth the Lorde It is maruayle you remembred not in what thynges that was then necessary and wherein it is required nowe Truely you are not so vnskilfull but that you knowe sundry seuerall thinges to be left to their iudgement who may for the more handsome feeding of Christes sheepe and not for their owne purse belly or kitchin say with S. Paule * Other thynges when I come I wyll set in an order Al rites and fassions which euery nation beleuing may stablishe and vse are not distinctly rehearsed in Scripture that the minister may say of euery one of them Thus sayeth the Lorde It is sufficient in suche thinges yf they truely serue to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is seemly order to retayne the which the Church hath power to abrogate olde and make newe lawes Wherein sayeth Doctour Peter Martir these conditions must be obserued ‡ Fyrst that they be not contrary to Gods word Then that iustifitation and remission of sinnes be not sought for in them Thyrdly that the multitude ouerwhelme not the Churche Fourthly that they be not decreed as necessary and not to be changed Last of all that they be not so vrged as yf he sinned dampnablye that sometyme omitteth them without offence or contempt Suche lawes then albeit they be not in playne termes and wordes mentioned in the scripture yet hauing these properties they are not to be reiected as yf they were by no maner of meanes in the worde of God It is a pitifull case to see howe you trouble your selues in comparing Chryst preaching the wyll of his father and the Phariseys teachyng theyr owne traditions as yf any man inforceth nowe mans lawe as part of Gods diuine seruice or as if these orders vppon necessitie of saluation must be receyued and Gods blessed worde froden vnder foote Yet S. Augustine is this bolde touchyng the obseruation of profitatable rites in Christes Churche that he thynketh the contemptuous breaker of Ecclesiasticall orders to be corrected as transgressours of Gods lawes The Apostles you say preached not the dreames of their owne heades and yet for all that they made orders for the Churche whiche continued theyr tymes and season whereof we reade not theyr particuler commission True it is as you report that S. Paule willed not men to followe his deuises neyther preached he hym selfe at any tyme. What then Did he not appoynt temperall rites in the Churche which he had not Verbatim expressely at his masters hands and whiche nowe ceasse and are not in vse The lyke is said of suche doynges of the other Apostles whose constitutions were altered after theyr death You conclude thus Because these thynges haue no commaundement nor grounde in Gods worde therefore you refuse them Fyrst speciall commaundement needeth not in this part of Ecclesiasticall discipline Then edification order decencie aucthoritie of supreme magistrates haue grounde sufficient in the newe Testament and olde Last of al you should haue proued that they had no grounde in Scriptures But that thyng you neuer once touched but ranne a rouyng vpon the Maior to bleare the simple Christians eyes as yf you had sayd much of the matter when you neuer came towarde it Passyng from this fourth reason you frame an obiection vnto your selues as it liketh your selues and aunswere vnto it as you lyste Your obiection is That the Prince commaunding a thing indifferent and profitable for the state of the Churche may be added must be obayed Wherevpon you say it must folowe you disobeyng therein must both your selues offende and be a stumblyng blocke for others In aunswere herevnto howe sclenderly you excuse your selues and auoyde blame howe daungerously you passe ouer other matters it had not ben greatly amisse to haue quietly left but that this place as well as others would haue somethyng spoken of it The aucthoritie you affirme of a Prince in these thinges indifferent is to commaunde theyr good vse and forbyd the contrary Upon which your resolution a man may reason with you thus The good vse of indifferent thinges is gods commaundement whiche a Prince must execute But this may be a good vse of these orders now taken as the contrary is not proued by you so consequently the magistrate may call vpon the execution of the same Touching the Minor this much we haue of your graunt that a time may

the Church and that both they and theyr ministers woulde labour with all diligence to attayne to that bryghtnes and comelynesse that all at length may shyne in the vestures of ryghteousnes and saluation And it behoueth Ministers to vse some garmentes not onlye to couer and to defend theyr bodyes but such as may also haue some signification and may admonyshe them of some thyng Nowe therefore forasmuch as it is thought good to the Kynges Maiestie to the chiefe councell of the Realme to reteyne the vse of these vestures for this present they ought to chaunge the wicked abuse of the papistes in these good creatures of God in them selues to some Godly vse both to the glory of God and to the honour of the Kynges Maiestie and so openly to declare that all thynges to holye and good men are holy and pure And that they be truelye sanctified by the worde prayer so that neyther deuyll nor man can defyle any creature of God but that Godly men may vse them Godly and to the glory of God yea euen for some vse of signification not onlye in the fruition of theyr naturall effectes For all creatures may admonyshe vs many wayes to consider the creatour both of them and of our selfe and of our gratitude towarde hym besyde the consideration of his large liberalitie in respecte of theyr naturall effectes And to these admonitions they maye and ought publiquely be vsed Which sentence of myne I myght iustifie with diuers Scriptures besydes the example of the Apostles which dyd so long vse Moses ceremonies without any impietie As concernyng the second question this is my sentence gathered as I beleue out of holye Scripture They which do say that it is not lawfull to vse the apparell that is in question in any maner yea in that maner which I haue described I say that they be at the least in errour for that they denye all thynges to be holye to them that be sanctified The same do I affirme of suche whiche for the same cause wyll not weare those vestures forasmuche as the vse of them is receyued neyther vppon superstitious or lyght cause but by the publique lawe of the Realme and by the consent of the Churches In deede the vse of these vestures may be forced by such superstition to pleasure the Roman or any other Antichrist as it is nowe in Germany that it can not be godly admitted of the Godly ministers of Christ. For I must nedes say that they take from the godly Magustrates theyr due honour whiche doth deny that theyr iudgement ought to be folowed in these matters Rom. 14. for that they do declare the vse of these garmentes to be obserued of that consideration which I haue a litle before described I trust your most Reuerende fatherhood wyll beare all these thynges well in worth For to aunswere to briefly and to grossely I thought it a great offence especially for that I see with what art Satan doth resyst leste that at once the whole religion of Chryste shoulde be restored amongste vs as were necessary and as al godly Kynges hath done theyr diligent labour accordyng to Gods preceptes and examples which he hath declared by Moses and Chryst his sonne whyles Satan goeth about to stirre vp so many pernitious contentions of all the circumstaunces of our religion aswel in doctrine as rites For surely excepte that we remoue so horrible and manyfest sacriledges dishonorynges of God whereby the whole kyngdome of the sonne of God maye be receyued and we lowly submit our neckes to his good yoke O howe intollerable wrath of God shalbe kyndeled agaynst this Realme The Scriptures be full of suche examples as he doth nowe shewe most terrible vnto Germanye Our Lorde Jesus Chryst assyst the Kynges Maiestie with his holy spirite and be present with you the head fathers of the Churches and all the nobles of this Realme that ye may both knowledge and embrace duetifully in time the dayes of your holsome visitation al other such thynges in the which only standes the peace and health of this Realme God preserue your fatherhood At Cambridge this tenth of December ¶ To M. Martin Bucer doctour in Diuinitie most vvorthy his reader and maister most reuerende GRace and peace from the Lorde c. For what cause I am nowe in trouble moste Reuerende ye shall vnderstande it by this messenger in wrytyng I praye you that you woulde vouchsafe once to geue it the readyng and yf that ye shall espye any errour therein I desyre you to signifie it vnto me by your letters If any thyng hath ben vttered too darklye and with fewer wordes then the cause requireth I pray you that you woulde set it out in the margent with more lyght and apter wordes If ye see the cause iust and meete for a godly minister subscribe therevnto in the ende I hartyly pray you I sende you also that I haue written before three yeres agoo vpon the ▪ x. preceptes that your worthynesse may knowe what my iudgement is in the cause of diuorse I pray you vouchsafe to reade it that if I haue erred in this part by humayne ouersyght I maye be aduertysed by your learnyng and fatherly admonition and that I may refourme the same I pray your fatherhood therefore and I doubt not but I shall soone obteyne that you woulde helpe the Churche in her conflict by the great and most notable gyftes of God vndoubtedlye bestowed vppon you I require the same of M. doctour Martir to whom after your sentence and prudent iudgement is knowen this messenger which I sende shal repayre The Lorde Jesus long preserue your worthynesse At London the. xvii of October 1550. Yours in hart and prayer all hole Iohn Hoper ¶ To the Reuerende and learned father Iohn Hoper Byshop his good Lorde Grace and peace through Iesus Christ our Lorde RYght Reuerende and in Jesus Chryst most dearely beloued I had purposed to aunswere before this tyme vnto the letters which of late I receyued from you but I was so let with wayghtie sundry businesse that I could not before nowe accomplyshe eyther myne owne wyll or your expectation in this behalfe wherfore I besech you according to your accustomable gentlenesse and wysedome to take in good part this my delay What ye haue written of the controuersie whiche is rysen betwene you and the right Reuerende Lord Bishop of London as touchyng the apparell of ministers I haue both read it as your request was and also consider it as attentiuely as I coulde for the shortnes of the tyme. I saye shortnes of tyme because I could not retayne with me your writing but only one nyght For the messenger who delyuered it vnto me set foorth the next day early in the mornyng toward Cambridge whyther ye wylled me to send it being once read by hym vnto maister Bucer Whiche thyng I dyd both diligently and without all delay In that litle tyme that I had to peruse your wrytyng I