truthe and worde of god Theirs raiseth many douts and questions in religion breedeth many troubles and contentions and wyl haue nothyng examined that they doe but many must abâ—e for the pleasure of some one of them and all must abide the determination of one suche Lordshyp they claime ouer the faithe of their christian brethren The Apostle renouncing it and acknowledging hymselfe to be a helper If they say Lordshyppe of bishops is agreeable to the word of God who may say agaynst them wythout much trouble yea dare say against them yea what preuayleth it to say against them if they hold together to whom it is to swete to say say agaynst it or if my Lords grace Metropolitane of al England holde sticke fast in the matter for so it goeth many must to one so froÌ„ one to one til it come to the Pope of Lambeth as it was wont in the Poâ—ishe church cleane contrary to the course of the scriptures for there is no more ones but only one one to whome all the churche must obey and from him the whole church hath authoritie ouer the membres of the same for so goeth the scriptures you haue but one maister all you are brethren heare him and tell the church thys is the scripture Now except they will followe the Popes rule and bryng the vniuersal churche to be but a particulare place and a particulare man in that place as Rome is the place and the pope is y man or as Caunterbury or Lambeth might be the place and my Lorde hys grace the man the scriptures and their doings will not agree And hys Lordship shall be a Pope and his confederates the Popes vnderlings excepte they leaue their Lordlynesse and submit them selues to the church of God to be ordered by the same according to the woorde And take them for better who shall they are none other but a remnaunt of Antichristes broode and God amende them and forgeue them for else they bid battell to Christ and his church and it must bid the defiance to them all they yeelde And I protest before the eternall God I take them so and thereafter wil I vse my self in my vocation and many moe to no doubt which be careful of God his glory and the churches libertie wyll vse themselues agaynst them as the professed ennemies of the churche of Christ if they proceede in thys course and thus persecute as they doe What talke they of their being beyond y seas in Quene Maries dayes because of the persecution when they in Queene Elizabethes dayes are come home to rayse a persecution They bost they followe the steps of good maister Ridley the martir let them followe hym in the good and not in the badde What man Martyr or other is to be followed in all things why follow they not M. Hooper as well as him who is a martir also or Rogers or Bradforde who are martirs also They say all those good men in Quene Marres dayes died for the booke of common prayer but they slaunder them for they toke not so slender a quarel they dyed for god his boke and for a true faith grounded vpon the same Diuers of those martires would not in those dayes of king Edwarde abide all the orders in that booke but if they had had such a time beyonde the seas in the reformed churches to haue profited and encreased in knowledge of a right reformation as these men had it is not to be doubted but that they would haue done better then he promised y had rather all England were on a fishpoole then he would be brought to matters fâ—r lesse then now of hys owne accorde he wilfully thrusteth hym selfe vpon Why we they not followe the examples which they sawe beyonde y seas In which of the reformed churches saw they a Lord bishop allowed or the Canon lawe to direct church orders or will they translate the boke of common prayer into Latine and their pontilicall and vse the Latine of the popishe portuise manual and pontifical in those matters wherin they haue folowed those bokes and but translated them out of Latin and will they require abide y iudgements of the reformed churches concerning the matters If they be not singulare if they meane plainely lette them doe thus If it will abyde the triall then let them vse it still They shal not be disgraced but we for disquieting of theÌ„ They haue fâ—cendes that will saye for them they are a learned company and neâ—oe not the helpe of any other churches Then let them offer to defende their course by learning Let them neuer goe ouer sea for the matter and yet surely I woulde some toke that translation in hande toke some paynes in the matter to procure the iudgements of those reformed churches but lette them offer free confereÌ„ce heere at home Nay let them take our offer for conference by wryting to auoyde muche brabble if they will and shew themselues ready to the state wythoute cunning practise to stoppe it by their freendes and let vs ioyne in it freely and then we will thincke better of them and yeelde oure selues to haue beene deceiued in them if they deale plainly O Lord that we wer deceiued â—n them That they were not wickedly bent to maintaine that which they are entred into to the great disquieting of thys Churche of Christe in Englande vntill the Maister come which they thinke will deferre hys commyng and disquiet them whome he fynedeth like lordly Epicures eating drynking wyth y worldly drunkardes and beatyng their fellow seruauÌ„ts They that are poore men already beggered by them and which haue many wayes bâ—ne molested and imprysoned some in the Marshalsey some in the white Lion some in the Catchouse at Westmiâ—ster others in the counter or in the Clynke or in the Ficete or in Bridewell or in Newgate they whych haue these many wayes and times bene hampered ill handled by them they stil offer themselues to al their exercinities and therefore put for the their treatises because they passe not howe deare they bought it so they myght redeme our state out of this deforâ—ed reformation to a ryght platforme drawne oute of the scriptures They say such are men pleasers Surely if they soughâ—e aduauntage that way it were best for them to please my Lords They say they are desirous to be sayd to be in pryson that they profite by it they would not then kepe themselues out of the way nor wheÌ„ they are in be suche suters to come toorâ—he nor abide to be stifeled and choked with the stench of the prison but that is an old shift and cunning of he aduersary to say so No no God hys cause is the mater You pretend a reformation and followe not the worde of God nor will be led by that The summe of all therfore is thys that eyther you of the Parliament muste â—ake order to haue all reformed according to
which led by the word of God doe freely vtter their cōsciences against the abuses in our Reformation Or rather shal not they find harder dealyng then Hanson did will not they take on more agaynste the author of thys booke and suche lyke then against Hanson Lette vs proceede who be their Chauncelloures but most suspected papistes I heare not of one of them that is no briber Who be their summers but the vertest varlets What are the Canonistes What are they but suspected Papistes and where haue they their moste countenaunce but of the byshops to be theyr cheefest doers and hyghe Commissioners wyth them to wryng their brethren if they be God hys children and to let papistes scape scotterfree or to be punyshed but lyghtly what causes deale they in for the good of the church certainly fewe at all but as they should doe they deale in none How are matters dealt in in their courts but all for mistresse money who can recken their disorders in those former Treatises you reade of a blessed companie doe you not howe stiffe sturdie are they in the maintenāce of their disorders how haue they shaken of the honest sutes of many honest worshypfull citizens and others yea of honorable personages whych haue dealt with them for those whome themselues ought to haue had most care of Howe lyghtly haue they esteemed the learned letters of manye famous men at home abrode wrytten vnto them in the same case howe many honest men haue they by their flatterie and tirannie peruerted and drawne to their side wherof many lyue wyth wounded cōsciences at thys day amongste them and yet for feare of losse of lyuyng for they muste haue a lyuing they say doe therfore serue the bishops appetites What a charge are they to their cleargie and what a summe haue they yeerely that myght be saued and it is no smal matter y mamtayneth their courtes all whych charges myght be saued also and matters belonging to the gouernment of the church myght be better more godly ended To conclude thys parte wythall what is more expresly forbidden in y scriptures then those names and offices whych they haue Oure sauioure sayth expresly to hys Apostles you shal not be called gracious Lords and surely they were as worthy as any ministers were since or shall be yea they were the Archbuylders not the Archbishops nor was there anye Archbuilder of them one more then another and not anye since are allowed to haue the name of Archbuilders And albeit any woulde haue called them gracious Lords and geuen it them yet they myghte not haue taken it but oure menne though they haue vsed the same texte and other learned men as a playne text vse it also agaynste the dignitie that the Pope chalengeth aboue all other byshops and against hys two swordes ▪ yet it meaneth no suche matter wyth oure men but that they may be Lords ouer their brethren and vse ciuill iurisdiction also It forbiddeth them to seeke it they say but if it be offered to them they take it Our sauioure refuseth to deuide the land betweene the two brethren when it was offered hym he auoydeth when they soughte to make hym a king what thinke you he would haue taken it if it had bene orderly offered by the whole state no he sayth my kingdome is not of thys worlde or a worldly kingdome I came not to be ministred vnto but to minister and euen so he telleth hys disciples it muste be amongste them And yet further dothe that text forbid ambition in the ministers and allowe it in princes for he disproueth not the kings that they are lordes and exercise authoritie ouer their nations and haue great titles for not onely there but the scripture is playn that they may so doe and yet not be ambitious whych they may be if they contente not themselues wyth their owne countreys and titles but couet others But in thys place he sheweth that they muste not exercise authoritie as ciuill magistrates doe and may doe nor be one aboue another you shall not be so he that is cheefe among you let hym be your seruaunte so that if they will take it it may not be giuen them The apostles they also auoided it amongst thēselues and they forbid it in others as the place of Peter is playne and so playne that it is a worldly wyse way to seeke some other shyfte to face oute the matter and to vnderprop thys ruinous Hierarchie wythall The scryptures are playne agaynst it and therfore some other deuice must be found at a pynche to flap the world in y mouth wyth somewhat to tel them that good and auncient chronicles make mention of the lordly degree of bishops and to bring forthe the heraldes craft to helpe out the matter to blase the armes of such worthy prelates as haue ben of long time before This were a worldly wise way and as I heare is entended to be practised But surely if thys be practised they must also practise to stoppe the course of the scriptures for else the scriptures will on the other side display as faste the follie of suche proude men Heere some keepe hote schooles what say they euery one as good as another amongst the ministers shall not one be better then another what is disorder if thys be not well thys is God hys order and in dede as I sayd afore the best order How is that saith another Thus I say First let no one minister meddle in any cure saue hys owne but as he is appointed by common consent of the next conference or counsels as afore prouinciall or nationall or further if it may fall out so generall of all churches reformed A conference I call the meeting of some certaine ministers and other brethrē as it might be the ministers of London at some certaine place as it was at Corinth or of some certaine deanrie or deanries in the countrie as it might be at Ware to conferre and exercise them selues in prophesying or in interpreting the scriptures after the which interpretation they must conferre vppon that whiche was done and iudge of it the whole to iudge of those that spake and yet so as some one be appoynted by all to speake for them as they shall amongs them selues agree what shall be spoken whych thyng was alwayes vsed among the Apostles one to speake for the rest whych cōferences may sometime be more generall then other sometime as occasion of the Churches may require to call the brethren together At which conferences any one or any certaine of the brethren are at the order of the whole to be employed vppon some affaires of the church which they shall shewe to be needefull for the same So was Iohn Peter sent by the Apostles to Samaria to cōfirme Philips worke So was Paule and Barnabas sent from Antioche to the businesse appointed them by the Lord and yet so which I wold haue well marked that
causes also and that so handled that it woulde greeue a chaste earc to heare the bawdie pleading of many proctors and doctors in those courtes and the sumners yea and the registers themselues master Archdeacon and master Chauncellor are eiten faine to laughe it oute many times when they can keepe their countenance no longer An vnchast kinde of pleading of vnchast maters They haue much adoe in marriage matters when folke maye not marrie what degrees may not marrie and much more adoe about diuorcements then either God or equitie would restraining bothe parties from marriage as long as they bothe are aliue togyther Besides they haue the triall of titles to benefices and trial of tithes trial of testaments and by their high commissyon they may do many moe things and vse other then spirituall coertion as they call it they may do what they will sauing life I thinke beat prison punysh by the purse banishe I wot not what All persons dicares and curates all church wardens all side men sworne men and many forsworne and all paryshes are at their commaundement They may commaund al Matres Bailiffes Constables and such like officers All persons are open to them all iaylors obay them receiue their prysoners and hamper them as they enioyne them They haue good causes and bad brought before them and punish both sometimes but the worst seldomest least and the best oftenest and moste Many of their causes much of their dealings are declared in the former treatises therefore I wil be but brefe And thus I say y neither they nor any order we haue in EnglaÌ„d this day doth or can do that which only God his order can do and was appoynted to do Neither their prouincials nor the whole course of their canon lawe nor their articles nor commissions can rightly order Christes church nor any statute auaileth therevnto but only that lawe which bindeth the whole land to God hys orders for the gouerning of hys church And therfore to make lawes it auayleth not saue mere ciuil as in thys case which they count spiritual for the prouisyon of the ministery a law to stablysh a ryght reformatioÌ„ drawn out of the scriptures I would leaue to speake any further of their conuocation house bicause the force of it depeÌ„deth vpon the other houses of parliament and my lords the bishops pleasures for nothyng they doe but for a fashion vntyll they come to the subsidie and they haue had prety deuises to stop their doing they haue had an order ere now to speake nothing but latin which was the way for many to tell but short tales for fear of shame But yet among abuses of these clergye men thys is a great one the whole house is a great abuse but the polling of their cleargye for their clarkes fees and theyr disorderous chusing of their clarkes may be numbred among the rest of their enormities following none other order but for the face of a thyng sauing only my Lord byshops pleasure or else he will know why and yet it shal be as he wil when at is done for either his Archdeacon shal haue one roume to beare his charges wythall whych otherwise must be there Ex officio so ware hys owne charges or some other of hys frends shall haue that roume hys Chancellor shall haue the other to pleasure hym wyth not for any pleasure commonly y the ChaÌ„cellor can do in thys house who ca scarse say as they say shue to a goose and if they had neede of a deuines answer or hym wing most commonly a dudging Canonist sometime a Doctor But when he is best best is to bad Thus I say for thys matter the byshop dealeth or to testowe it vpon hys chapleyne whych shall wayte at the stirrop or at y brydle to buy hym a new gowne somewhat wyth but as vnfit for the house as the former commonly but the byshop wyll haue the apoynting of bothe roâ—meâ— O the tyrannie that they vse many many wayes I haue thus brefely as I could and handling matters as I ought passed through many abuses in the ministery and gouernment of the church of Christ in England and I haue accordyng to my pore talent declared what shoulde be the state of a well ordered and reformed church How many sortes of ministers how they shuld be called to y function what their effice is what order should be amongst them what metings conferences there should be for the continuing of true religion and for them to increase in knowledge by And in like sorte I haue waded in declaring what offycers there should be in the gouernment what stroke they may bâ—are so it be by the coÌ„gregation what a consistorie is what excommunication is what prouision there shuld be made for the pore what the deacons office is and or al other orders of the consistorie which it pleased God that I had in mynde and thought most profitable to vtter It remayneth for me now to returne agayne to the state To the Queenes most excellent maiestie the hou 〈…〉 able Co 〈…〉 rs all the Nobilitie all the worshypfull Commons of thys realme And I humbly â—eseeche her Maiestie in principall to vouchsafe the hearyng of vs and lyke as 〈◊〉 make our appeare from the L. byshops to be vprightly heard what may be sayd of our partes further and more 〈…〉 ghly in thys matter of Gods by diuers oâ— no small learning and iudgement 〈…〉 tie of liâ—e so it will please her maiestie and you all â—erem to accept our appeale y not only we may 〈◊〉 jus be oppressed wrung as we are against all equale and conscience but also that God hys cause should not iâ— so troden vnder foote the benefite of hys churche so lyttle regarded suche daily contentions raised by and not pacified such greeuing of godly mennes consciences they not releeued In so quiera raigne of our soueraigne that Papists for pitie are not much disquieted and yet there should be a persecution of pore christians and the professors of the gospel suffered not farre vnlike to the sâ—â—e articles whych cratty heades deuised and prought y king her noble father vnto as they wold do her maiestie how That we should haue God his cause by vs truely and faithfully propounded by others wyckedly oppugned and withstode yet it may not by vs againe be maintained wythout great perâ—l We beseeche you to pitie thys case and to prouide for it It is the case already of manye a thousand in this land yea it is the case of as many as seeke the Lord aright desire to haue hys owne orders restored Great troubles will come of it if it be not prouided for euen the same God that hath stirred me a man vnknowne to speake thoughe those poore men which are locked vp in Newgate neither do nor caÌ„ be suffred to speake wil dayly stir vp moas yet vnknown