courses of the Iesuites the which I doe againe and againe assure you my Lord doetend to hold off Cyrus and to bring against her an Assur a rod of Gods wrath to tread her in the myre and to bring capitall iudgements vpon all those within this kingdom who hearken vnto their voice And seeing your Lo hath so good a King whose bountie hath been great toward you as you know whose Blood Royall is the brightest Starre which you carrie in the frontispice of all your Honors and whose sacred person you do so faithfully affect whose wisdome and learning hath that reputation with the best of the Papall Clergie as I haue related that they could admit his Maiestie among the first of Iudges to pacifie Christian dissensions if the Lord of his mercy should blesse this time with so happie a constellation Therefore let your Lordship be pleased to obey the voyce of such a King who doth enioyne you nothing contrary to holy Scripture Be with his Maiestie in the purchase of this crowne of glory which God hath said before him to obtaine by his putting forwards of Catholike Vnitie for the safetie of Christian Churches and people from the barbarous invasions of the common enemie the Turke you my Lord in speciall whose speciall merit conioyned with the virtue of your renowned Auncestors haue made you twice worthy to be next his Maiestie in places of publike seruice do hearken vnto the voyce of so many good and worthy Subiects in the Land who do heartily invite you to imbrace those Functions in the State which God nature and your peculiar vertue haue allotted vnto you to the furtherance of pietie and ius◅ice in the Common-wealth And to be briefe liue so that you may be honoured in this life and happie in the next for your constant action of Christian vertues which bee much surer meanes to strengthen a good Religion then Cloysterall bigottrie or contemplation in your Lo person principally As much would I exhort those also who either brooke in their hearts latent displeasure against the Church gouernment or to whom the acceptation of these vsefull Ceremonies would bee distastefull or who vnder colour of those haue distracted hearts from the State seeing the first is you know a most laudable restitution of the ancient Catholike policie and the second a point allowed for vnitie not by the grosse and obscure rudiments of reformation as you would say by Luther and Bucer but by Zanchius and others who shined thereafter as perfect lights in the Church We may be ashamed to bee contentious against such graue iudgements and against the authoritie of a whole Nationall neighbour Church whereof you are brethren and which of all those in Christendome hath onely been reformed perfectly by putting forth of all Idolatrie and holding forth of all noueltie Cato Utyconsis because hee found no reason to obey the time as hee thought he would not liue but slew himselfe although hee might haue possessed chiefe dignities vnder Caesar. Socrates hauing in his choyce either to dye or to be exiled hee chuseth death because said he a man cast from his common wealth is no more a man Is it not strange that you who hold your selfe an vpright christian yea and Pastor that vpon sure and inquestionable points or vpon trifling and indifferent Ceremonies you will not onely refuse to conforme your selfe but by the meanes of your separation you giue the opportunitie of seditious practises both of forraine Insidiators and intestine male-contents which is a cursed and bad part That wee should embrace the name of Separists to runne away and derelinquish that great Citie vpon the mountaine called by the Prophets Ciuit as quaesita non derelicta that we should turne backe to Iudaize by clandestine Synagogues and renounce that ample and famous Title of a true Christian Catholique Christianus mihi nomen Catholicus cogno◅ said all the holy Fathers We do refuse communion with the Church of Rome and with the greatest part of those in Germanie and if we should lye euer deuided from the heads and chiefest members of our owne bodie within this Kingdome certainely I know not what way to excuse such open delight of separation and singularitie since the marke of Christian profession is to bee Catholicke and vniuersall I know you will say the Saints of God are a handfull true but the Church of God is not so it hath by exterior marke◅ a large Communion and extent and cannot bee griped in one hand or in two What is there in reason in nature in Theology which doth not teach vs this Communion and coniunction the light of reason doth tell vs that Vi◅ vnita fortior Things which be vnited are most strong Nature doth shew to vs that the dumbe Elements communicate qualities among thēselues that the most distant Climates of the earth haue mutual commerce beasts which do liue together within the precinct of our Isle will be ordinarily of our societie Theologie hath taught vs to beleeue it for an Article of our Creede that their is a Communion of Saints For the loue of this Communion betwixt man and Angel and for the prosperitie of the kingdome of heauen God did pardon Adam and retreat his holy word Thou shalt die the death so soone as thou dost cat of this And shall not wee re◅it one dramme of our presumptuous purity for our Christian Communion with our brethren of our Church without the which this great Isle our common mother can neuer be truely fortunate nor the ports thereof surely closed against the plots and insidiation of our enemies as if the whole efficacy of Christianity did consist in that one point of Precisenesse while as our good father Saint Augustine did comprise an hereticke vnder that word Agnosca◅ qui precisisunt veniant ad fidem did discriue an vpright Christian by those three properties Contra rationem sobrius contra Scriptur as nemo Christia◅ contra Ecclesiā nemo Catholi◅us That as a sober man he must be subiect to reason as a Christian man subiect to the Scriptures and as a Catholike subiect to the Church The first of which three doth admonish vs all in generall that in any light of reason if wee doe not sing one harmonie in the publike seruice of God we are not as good members of the Church should be studious of her glory nor as good subiects of this kingdome should bee desirous of its felicity The second doth admonish you who are an obstinate Papist that you are no true Christian who will not make the Scripture the infallible rule of your faith The third doth admonish you who are a Stoicall and stiffe Puritane that you are not a peaceable subiect who doth contradict the authoritie of a setled and Orthodoxall Church Alwayes to you who doe hatch grudges for other Interims of the state such as pressure of Subsidies or pretended pouertie of the time I will say this and if it haue no reason I am content to sing
I doe present vnto him with the right Epigramma ad Regem CVI decus immortale triplex cuique aurea cingit Gloria conspicuum Rex Iacobe caput Prima tibi antiquae fidei quum cura tuendae Proxima sit populi paxque salusque tui Procur at quod vtrumque lubens quod promouet vltro Quid tibi Seruitio gratius esse queat Tale ministerium libro hoc tibi praestat offert Hayus ab antiquis nobile germen auis Quemque suo Regem populo caput caput vnum Dum Christum omnigenis gentibus esse probat Parendum his Solum invictis rationibus vrget Quas monumenta Patrum sacraque scripta ferunt Et fugienda Lupae Babilonis pocula suadet Et quae seditio turbida monstra parit Palantesque reducit oues ad ouile Rebelles Et populos Regum flectit ad obsequium Dignum opus ingenio Domini quo munere verum Christigenam ciuem se probat esse bonum Dignum opus aeterno Genio quoque quem dabit O Rex Aspirans sacri Numinis aura tui Haec M. E. D. ⧠The Contents of the seuerall Chapters wherein this Treatise is diuided CHAP. I. Folio 1. COntaineth the occasion of the Treatise Some clâ—…ere testimonies of the perfection and plainenesse of the Scripture The Apologie of the Asse to shew the reason of the Title CHAP. II. fol. 17. Containeth two infallible grounds set downe for the better triall of idolatrous worship and preuarication in Gods seruice The first is the force of our naturall light and diuine instict of our conscience The second is a true definition of Idolatry CHAP. III. 37. Containeth a faithfull relation of the lewd open superstitions and of the ridiculous Iests of pretended Miracles which the authour did contemplate in the Church of Rome CHAP. IV. 51. Containeth a rehearsall of the impiety of Papall Indulgences that is to say Pardons and dispensasitions Of the auowed pollution of the celibate and monasticke life and of other capitall vices which be pregnant in the Court in the Cloysters and in the city of Rome to the manifest discredit of all Christian doctrine and profession CHAP. V. 65. Containeth a perfect discourse of the Orthodoxall authoritie of Christian Princes ouer the state Ecclesiasticall in the primatiue Church Of the pernicious Doctrine of the Iesuites which doe impugne the same contrary to the opinion of the French Church and of that famous Palladium of the Sorbon A discouery of the ambitious designe of this wicked and treacherous Cleargie CHAP. VI. 114. Containeth the particular means whereby it pleased God to reclaime the Authour from that idolatrous religion together with his Counsell against superstitious and popish obduration CHAP. VII 124. Containeth a paralell or comparison betwixt Ierusalem and Rome that as Rome fell away with Ierusalem so must shee bee with her subiect to reformation and restitution The order and meanes of Christian Reformation after the Example of Ierusalem Aiust expostulation against the desperat paroxisme and implacable contentions of the religious Cleargie on both sides with a most Christian admonition to them to carrie simple and vpright mindes of pacification The occasion of the euill carriage which hath beâ—…e in Christian reformations The reformation of the Church of England most perfect and most happy CHAP. VIII 148. Containeth a limitation of the Primitiue Church whereunto and to no other all Christian People are to appeale for true reformation The infallible auctority thereof The iudgement aswell of the ancients as of our Archi-reformatours touching the retaining in reformed Churches of the Primitiue and Catholike policy of Episcopall gouernment and of in different Ceremonies receiued from antiquity not contrary to Gods word CHAP. IX 159. Containeth a search of the best and surest policies which be in nature in the ciuill state in Oëconomy in morality shewing that the Monarchicall authority is most agreeable with Gods will expressed in Nature CHAP. X. 171. Containeth a discourse in fauor of Episcopall Iurisdiction by some chiefe and ingenuous Reasons which do approue the same CHAP. XI 191. Containeth the opinion of all the famous reformatours who haue beene since Luther hitherto of the Church Policy an excellent and necessary point for our information some graue and pithy speeches touching the waight of Episcopall function CHAP. XII 205. Containeth the reasons why wee should receiue againe into the Church Organs and Musicke for honour of antiquity for our domestick vnion with our more then halfe arch the Church of England and for the holy and deuote importance which is shewn to be in Musicke together with the like discourse for reception of the clerical garments which be in the same Church CHAP. XIII 233. Containeth briefly a suruey of the Princes and States which are Catholike Romans out of that a consideration of the possibilities to practise an vniuersall Reformation of Christendom CHAP. XIV 259. In the last chapter from the present condition of this Kingdome of Great Britaine is drawen a principall argument of the falling of Babel and of the approach of the Iubile of Catholike reformation the contemplation whereof is heere set downe in sundry waightie circumstances and worthy of consideration to rectifie the iudgement of euery well disposed subiect that they may truely vnderstand the mystery of this time the rare blessings of God so long reserued for our age and rightly discouer the clandestine and pretended grudges of those who carry seditious and distractedmindes from the State A VISION OF BALAAMS ASSE VVherein he did perfectly see the present estate of the Church of ROME CHAP. I. The occasion of the Treatise The perfection and plainenesse of holy Scripture The Apologie of the Asse and reason of the Title MY very NOBLE LORD it is certain that Christian faith and Christian virtue goe inseparable together that is the tree and these are the fruit and where wee see not plenty of these it is an argument of the Tree decaying So that our greatest happines in this world consists in our constant action of Christian workes howsoeuer our eternall felicitie is chiefely contemplation yet our contemplatiue life here vpon earth euen where it is most syncere doth but resemble Alpestre and mountanous grounds which be stately but barren compared with the fruitfull Valleyes of the virtuous actiue life properly obserued by that famous Doctor Greg. Mag in his Allegorie vpon the double wiues of Iacob Rachael videns pulchra sed sterilis Lea lippa sed faecunda Among vertues it hath euer carried a great reputation to trauell abroad for increase of knowledge to enter vpon the chiefest stages of the world to see aboue the vulgar reach and as the good Merchants ship to bring precious wares from farre Countries or like the industrious Bee to sucke the hony of true wisdome from the rarest herbes of experience the varieties whereof are best found in Trauelling As the Scripture saith in Eccles. He who would apply his minde to the meditation of Gods Law
which albeit they bee seuerally distinguished by nature yet can we make no vse of them but when they are conioyned The ciuill Magistrate among the Iewes certaine it is hee might not offer sacrifice or performe religious Ceremonies things proper vnto the Priest as againe militarie discipline matters of the fisk and such like went peculiarly vnder the name of the Prince but in points of pietie and iustice the rule of the people Iudicatura â—…orum their obedience to Gods Law they were not onely conioyned but in the hand of that gouernment the ciuill Magistrate had that place of the finger which is called the key of the hand Into Ierusalem there was two Sanedrim for so was their great Councell called one suâ—…reme in Ierusalem consisting of 70. together with the Prince and Priesthood another small Sanedrim in euery Citie of reasonable importance contayning 23. wise men together with a number of the Priesthood which was done by a generall ordinance of God himselfe Populo mandauit vt Iudices constitueret secundum tribus suas in omni Ciuitate That they should in euery Citie appoint Iudges according to their Tribes and againe in the next chapter he made a Law of Appellation commanding In omni re dâ—…fficili constituere Sacerdotes Leuitici generis Iudices To appoint ouer all difficile causes some of the Priests and some of the Iudges hee hath not saide onely the Priest nor onely the Iudge as neither did Moses when hee went into the Mountaine make any separation but left the spirituall and ciuill Magistrate coniunct Ecce Aaron Hur. That the ciuill Magistrate hath a diuine charge and was so counted among the Iewes there it is seent where after Iudges were constitute in euery towne the King saide to them Uidetâ—… quid agatis non enim pro Homine sed pro Deo iudicia 〈◊〉 Behold sayd Iosua what you doe because you doe not iudge for men but for God Againe to shew this coniunction he doth subioyne omnis causa qua venerit ad vâ—…s de fratribus Euerie cause which commeth from your brethren vnto you dwelling in the countrie where he maketh no separation of spirituall from ciuill causes euen as Moses hath done before where he or daines the people to goe to the Leuites and the Iudges si aliqua difficilis causa natafuerit if any difficile question 〈◊〉 in the gouernment of King Dauid those coniunctions are cleerelie expressed for he did absolutely distribute the peculiaâ—… charges of the Leuites Hebroniâ—…s vltra Iâ—…rdanem prâ—…cit in omni negâ—…tio diuino ministeriâ—… Râ—…gis he did promoue the Hebronites beyond lordeâ—… to all the functions appertayning to Gods house and to the seruice of the king and â—…ine in the laâ—…t verse of the same hâ—…s prefecit Dauid sâ—…per 〈◊〉 Gadâ—… in omni negâ—…tio Dei omni negotio Regis which power of constitution in Dauid is sufficient to prooue that the regall function is negotium diuinum chieflie where it is Christian and orthodoxall may not Moses and Dauid serue vs for matter of light in gouernment to qualifie this coniunction of religion and empire which made the Iudaicall law to be accounted a parte of Theologie So that we may with great reason conclude that he is not Orthodoâ—…s Theologus no right meaning Theologue who would refuse vnto christian Kings that authoritie in Ecclesiasticall affayres which was not onlie graunted but commanded vnto the Kings of Israel and which godlie Dauid vpon his death bed did render into the handes of Solomon from the warrant who made doubt of it of the holy Scripture saying Eccâ—… autem distributiones Leuitâ—…um ad vâ—… qâ—…odque ministeriuâ—…â—…omus Deipenes te sunt ad oâ—…ne opus voluntary denique omnes Principes totus populus parati ad verba tua Behold sayd he the distributions of all Leuiticall offices in the house of God is in thy power and they be ready to obey thee as also the princs and people where in that example wee see no exemption of the Leuite more then laitiefrom the kingly authoritie howsoeuer princes may not vse priestlie function yet are they bound to superintend Christes vineyard and to guard it not onelie from forraigne inuasions but from intestine perrill and corruption which is more frequent and more pernicious of the two to stop ambition auarice and dissention from comming among the prelates who were neuer in any time able to rule nor shal not be to theend without their Pallas be armed with authoritie of good and lawfull kings who doth not see that of diuine functions vpon earth the preistlie office is the contemplatiue part and the princelie office practicall acting the honour and worship of God by making people to obey his Lawe Who was the first instrument of God for redeeming the Church from persecution and the crosse to establish her prosperitie was it kings or priests was it not Constantine the great by what meanes againe was the Church redeemed from the flood of the Arrian heresie was it not by the seculararme of Carolus Magnus and his predecessors Pipino and Carolo Martello so that to goe about to separate things which God hath knit together as the soule and bodie it is to make a sacriledgious diuorcement and specially to take from the prince that which is his due to giue it vnto the priests it is iust as the serpent did in Paradizeto seduce the weaker partie of the two in that coniunction it is euen as if we would send Aaron vnto the mount of God to learne the wisedome of actiue gouernement and leaue Moses with the people to his returning And since such is the impudent and arrogant malignitie of the Iesuiticall ambition in their doctrine about this point what if to meete them in their owne language and pay them home with their owne Coyne I should goe yet one degree higher in that particular to say that appearantlie God himselfe doth prefer the regall function when by his Prophet setting aside all sacrifices and ceremonies which was the Priests part hee did require the Office of the ciuill MagistrateÌ„ Quid affertis tanta sacrificia discite vos reges Principes qui populum regit is benefacere quaerite iudicium dirigite oppressum What shall I doe with so many sacrifices would God say that is not the substance of my worship being but religious ceremonies learne yee Kings and Princes to doe well aske iudgement to gouerne the people and to relceue the oppressed which would the Lord say is the matter of my true worship to practise my law and make it to be obeyed The Deutr. doth shew that the office of a Prince was not to frame his owne life after the deuteronomicall but to prouide that both Priests and people should keepe the same inuiolable If Priests debord and transgresse Gods law must not the Prince corect them yea if they shuld sow haeretical doctrins who could stop the growth of them other
and his tyranny againe intercepted by Henry the seuenth These were the infinite effusions of natiue bloud during that tempest of Naufrage wherein their Writers doe collect haue beene sixteene or 17 seuerall pitched battells the slaughter of nine Kings or Kings sonnes forty Dukes Marquesses and Earles 200000. of the popular And what extraordinary punishment haue wee in our time seene inflicted vpon the persons houses and states of diuerse disloyall subiects who haue attempted to abuse the sacred authority of our most gracious Soueraigne certaine it is a ground in reason a tryall in experience a conclusion of all politickes and warranted by Gods word in holy Scripture strengthened with the opinion of graue Doctors of the Church That Rebellon doeth euer moue greater mischiefe then Tyranny CHAP. X. A defence of Episcopall gouernment by diuerse most cleere and ingenuous reasons NOw wee come to conside◅ what affinitie the Church gouernment hath with those others whereof we haue spoken before the written Law of Moses God did elect so many Patriarckes to rule his first Church Enoc Noah Abraham Isaac Iacob and others And our Sauiour before the written Law of the Euangel or of grace hee did elect so many Apostles to rule the second whereof the former was the type when the numbers of the beleeuers did increase euen vnto Moses were adioyned seuenty to assist him in his charge so did Christ next his twelue Apostles elect seuenty Disciples In Israel there were many particular Princes and Elders of the people who did rule euery man his own Centuries and Chiliads but these seuenty were created to beare vniuersal rule as we collect frō the words of Moses Ego solus ferre omnem populum istum non possum I only cannot beare the charge of this people answere Congregatibi gather vnto you which is to be his Collegues and yet they were subordinate for while Moses went to the mountaine he left a deputation ouer the people Ecce Aaron Hur. If any man haue controuersie let him come to Aaron and Hur euen so these seuenty Disciples howsoeuer they were adioyned to the Apostles yet they were subordinate and inferiour the Apostles being still chosen to be conuersant with Christ constant witnesses of all his actions and onely intire with him like vnto Moses who onely went vp to talke with God We read in the twelfth of the Acts how the Apostles found Iustus and Matthias onely sufficient of all the rest to succeed in the place of Iudas argument enough of the Apostolicall superiority ouer them Luke againe and Marke were of good authorities among the Apostles because they were the Euangelical Historians yet were they not of the seuenty Euangelists being elected by men and not our Sauiour as Tertullian writeth of Luke Non Apostolus sed Apostolicus non Magister sed Discipulus vtique Magistro minor Not an Apostle but Apostolicall no Master but Disciple and alwaies inferiour to the Master That diuerse had the holy spirit as the Apostles who were not yet their equals it is euident after their dispersion Philip did Euangelize at Samaria but Peter Iohn were sent to constitute the churches The holy spirit without the ministery of S. Paul did come vpon Cornelius and his company for besides these two orders of Apostles and Disciples there was a third among the number of an hundred who were present at the choosing of Matthias besides the twelue Apostles and seuenty Disciples there were thirty eight who beene in neither ordination were Prophets as all the learned do affirme who treat of this point of which number was Annamas and Agabus endued with propheticall spirits to impart to the Church diuers reuelations which they had Touching these againe who were thereafter called Episcopi Presbiteri we see that in the Apostles daies the Church was a while without them the first mention of of that order we finde it in the Church of Ierusalem in the twelfth of the Acts for so long as the Apostles and Euangelists did remaine there was neither Episcopus nor Presbyter but after they were disseuered Iames being beheaded and Peter fled then did they enter from that forth Luke doth coniunctly report of them with the Apostles Saint Paul so like vnto himselfe in all his Epistles we cannot thinke that without a reason in his Epistle to the Philipians hee hath giuen salutation to the Episcopi and Diaconi and hath not done so in the rest of his Epistles In that Epistle to the Romanes hee salutes diuers whom he calles his co-operarij or fellow labourers as Andronicus and Vrbanus famous among the Apostles And of the Domestick Church which was some while at Ephesus and somewhile at Corinth to these hee giues them their owne praises yet doth he not call them Episcopi nor Presbyteri as hee doth Epaphroditus in that to the Philipians And Archippus in that to the Colossians when hee came to Rome we read how hee was receiued but by no Presbiteri which had not beene omitted if that ordination had beene then among them more then it is omitted in the 15. and 21. of the Acts where he is said to be receiued of Presbyters all this time there was no Presbiteri yet planted other then Timothy Titus Apollo Luke Stephen Fortun. Achai and a few others whom the Apostles did send vpon occasions nor these Churches had then no other Bishop but S. Paul In the meane time the Apostles and the Euangelists did at their commodities visit them as Epiphan and Ambrosiu◅ beare witnesse Epiphanius thus while the preaching of the Gospell was but resent the holy Apostle write according to the time and to things that were where there were Episcopi hee write to them and vnto Diaconi where they were for the Apostles did not ordinate saith hee al things vpon the sudden there was great neede of Presbiteri and Diaconi vnder the Apostles because by these Ecclesiasticall function is perfect Where none was found worthy of Episcopall charge that place did remaine without a Bishop for they being no great multitude of beleeuers saith he they were no great numbers found capable of the Presbyterat therefore the Church at that time did rest vnder the Apostolike Bishopricke till with time things grew to greater perfection in which words we doe obserue this that in the beginning while the Apostolicall mission was limited to Iudea Christ did onely chuse 12. Apostles and 70. Disciples but after the Legation was generall both to Iew and Gentile they tooke vnto them co-operarij Euangelists Prophets and others and when the Gospell beganne to spred they did institute Episcopi and Presbyteri So that Christs Church was planted by the like beginnings and had the like growth of policie as that of Ierusalem both hauing their originall in the persons of Moses the figure and Christ the man figured and both with time diuoluing by little and little into a diuersity of subordinate rulers of whom the Apostle setteth downe the cleere distinction and imparity giuing