to thyne orders / and that is to preach the word of god / yf thow do not this / thow art not anoynted inwardly with the holy goste / but only vtwardly for a cloke But lord / how hath this most holy kiÌ„ge prevailed that he hath clene suppressed the gospell And why shall I not curse this cursed abominatioÌ„-The lord Iesus Christ destroye these idolles of the world / yower Popedoms and Cardinalshuppes / with all yower clokes faces / in to the depth of hell for ever Amen Now I thinke thow vnderstondist what it meaneth that this kinge is mightye in faces It foloweth And vnderstondinge rydles ¶ Soch a kinge / soch a lawe Danie viij Soch a lawe / soch people Soch people / soch maners / soch maners soche studies affectioÌ„s Sillogismus But the kinge is a very cloke / face / idolle Therfore his lawe must nedes be a starke lye faÌ„tasye / as Petre did prophesye ij Petri. ij There shal be false teachers among you / which thorow covetuousnes with fained wordes shall make marchaÌ„dise of yow ij Timoth. iij And in the fourth of the first pistell to Timothe which speake false thorow hypocrisye And how can he teach the trueth which is nothing him self but a cloke and lye / for he that is endewed with that opinioÌ„ that he will counte these fâ—ces substantiall thinges in erneste / he will not only speake lyes / but he shall not be able to sustayne nor abyde the trueth Is not this a notable / yee an abominable lye to teache ceremonyes for the faith of Christ / for the sprete / to ordeÌ„ traditions and learninges of men Doth not the Pope with his lawes avaunce and bost him silf that he governeth fedeth the chirch of god doth he not commend as good deades those thinges which are done by fulfillinge his lawe doth he not persequute and condemne those that obey not him al thowgh they observe and kepe all the hole gospell O this weked and cursed abomination Here is the sainge of Paule fulfilled / which is an aduersarye and is exalted above all that is called god / ij Thessa ij or that is worshupped / so that he shal sit in the teÌ„ple of god and shew him silf as god Doth not he sitte in the temple of god which saith and professeth him self to be the master in the hole chirch what is the temple of god Is it stones aÌ„d wodde doth not Paule say The temple of God is holy which temple are ye j. Corint iij. ij Co. in vj. Nether in the time of paule was there any house which was called the temple of god as we now call theÌ„ What meaneth this sittinge / but raigninge teachinge / and iudginge Who sith the beginniÌ„ge of the chirche / durst presume to call him self the master of the hole chirch But only the Pope None of the holy men / none of the heretikes / durst ever let scape them soch an horrible voice of pride Paule bosted him selfe to be the master of the gentils in faith and trueth but not the master of the chirch / doth he not avaunce him selfe as he were god while that for the wordes of Christ he teacheth his awne / aÌ„d for the rightuousnes of the faith he stablissheth his awne rightuousnes May he naturally be exalted aboue god ij Thessa ij Nay truely / but above all that is called god saith the apostle / that is to say above the word of god preached / for he is called god when he is preached and beleved in how be it above this god the Pope a greate while hath bene exalted aÌ„d sitteth still / for in the faithfull hartes in the stede of preachinge aÌ„d belevinge god / he preacheth him silf and his awne constitutioÌ„s / and so is preferred as the greke worde doth signify which the Apostle reherseth both above the honour and worshupe of god / and also above god which is worshupped As thowgh he shuld say in the harte of maÌ„ he shal be preferred above god / that is to say / his word shall more be feared then the worde of god / and they shall more obeye him and more worshup him / theÌ„ very god him silfe Doth this agre with any man but with the Pope In every place the word and precept of God is despised / But every man feareth the word of the Pope Trewlye there is no god nether in heven nor erthe whose word is reccaved with soch obedience as is the Popes word which thinge experience doth so clerly shewe and derlare vnto vs / that he which lacketh halfe his witte can not denye it Forthermore who did ever say that he came in the name of Christ / but only the Pope / for he only the first of all men doth boste him silf with intollerable blasphemye / The pope is the vicare of 〈◊〉 on erthe and pride to be the vicare of Christ and the vicare of god in the erth What signifieth the vicare of god But to sitt in goddes stede what is it to sitt in goddes stede But to shew him silf as thowgh hewere god Dowtest thow yet whether the prophesye of Paul be fulfilled sith these two are so like to be the vicar / of god / and to shew him silf as thowgh he were god Therfore Christ did well prophesy / that these Apostles of Antichrist shuld come in his name / for the other heretikes all thowgh they did couÌ„terfet dissemble the trueth / yet they never pretendid to do it vnder the name of Christ / but that was only reserved to Antichrist Wherfore Christ in the xxiiij of Mathew not content to have prophesied that they shuld come in his name / did adde and expownd him silf Sainge that I am Christ / as thowgh he shuld say / They shall take myn awne name vpoÌ„ them / Math xxiiij which is Christe And say that they be Christ And that they have obtayned / for of the Pope and Christ with their chatteringe they have made one / sainge that they are so annexed coÌ„ioyned to gedder / that Christ caÌ„ not be seperate froÌ„ the Pope nether the Pope froÌ„ him O what a furyous malicious blasphemye is this A weked wretched bawde / vsurare / theffe cruell tyraÌ„ne / is mingled ioyned with the lord Christ / is made one with him Come lord Iesu Christ aÌ„d perscribe some order / or els finishe and make an end of this horrible and blasphemous abomination Yet I pray you what doth this vicare of god settinge in the stede of god Doth he fulfill teach the coÌ„mavndmentes of his prince Nay trewly / what doth he theÌ„ Only teach his awne constitutions / yet doth theÌ„ not him self How be it if he did teach the coÌ„maâ—ndmentes of god / yet shuld not he be the vicare of god / for a vicare is there as the prince and hedde is absent
he painteth the popedom aÌ„d setteth it out with his colours to the vttermost pointe / for after that he had prophesyed that false masters shuld come which in covetuousnes with fained wordes shuld make marchaundise of the people of Christ / which shuld bringe in sectes of perdition And drawe many after them / EveÌ„ deniyng Christ that hath bought theÌ„ / theÌ„ doth he feare them with .iij. notable examples Of the Angelles Of the floude that was in the time of Noe. And of the Zodomites And he saieth that all these were / punisshed of god / for thexample of the weked which shuld come / theÌ„ he prosequutinge his matter as concerning these weked mastres doth saye Namlye theÌ„ that walle after the flessh in the lust of vnclennes / and despise the ruelars / Presumptuous are they stubborne / and fear not to speake evill of them that are in authorite / Peter speaketh not of them that do not obey Bisshoppes / but as he began of the weked mastres them silf / that is to say of Bisshopes / Cardinalles / the Pope / for these are they that this epistle speaketh of First who seyth not that the Popes secte above all other walketh after the flessh in the lust of vnclennes For sith they are forbidden matrimonye / and abounde in riches and idelnes / what shuld they do but walke after the flesshe They labour not / as other men do / therfore their iniquite springeth with their fatte / Nether canst thow assigne me any masters and ruelars of the people / which do thus / but onely the papistes The clarkes are dayly encreased / and matrimonye forbidde and both thorow the rule and authorite of the Pope and every man may perceave what profite comethe vnto the chirch by it / for alas where as by matrimonye manye women might be good and please god livinge chastlye / they are now compelled to be harlottes / aÌ„d that for .ij. causes the one is the misshevous entyesinge thorow giftes and fayre wordes that these venemous locustes vse The other is that their is soch scarsnes of clene men out of his orders that they are not sufficient to the hole nature of women So that if this shuld long continew it wold be the destruction of the hole world Besides that / they despise rulars / who doth so but the Popedome / and the secte of papistes What calleth he the ruelars and powers / but princes and worldly officers For the Bisshopes and successours of thapostles have not rueles and powers / but services and administration And are called the servantes of the Chirch of Christe as Paule sayeth in the first to the CollosyaÌ„s Colo. â— Is not this the dispisinge of powers and rueles / to exempte hiÌ„ silf by his awne authorite froÌ„ tribuetes / subiection / and all bourdens of the comen welth Paule commaundeth in the xiij to the Romaynes to geve tribute / custome and honour to them / â— Petri. ii that it is dewe to And Peter will that we be subiect vn to kiÌ„ges / and to all maner ordinaunces of man / how be it the Pope coÌ„trarye wisse doth exempte his awne person and possessions / yee and all his adherentes promulgatinge serse and cruell lawes / condemninge them noâ— to one hell that will heare the voice of Paule or Peter / and to bringe his shawelinges in to an order / requiringe and exactinge tribuete / honoure and their duetye And now is he so far from honouringe of these powers / that he will tell skorne to admitte them to kisse his holye feate forthermor he exalteth every prest and monke though they be as rude as stockes / and more weked theÌ„ any baude / above all the nobles and princes of the worlde / by cause he is marked with his worshupfull signe and character Crakinge in his most weked rydles and lawes / of maiorite and obedience That the Pope excelleth the emperour as the sonne doth the mone Insomoch that of those most wretched dregges of men / which are avaunced by the Popes mageste / the powers are despised / yee and compelled to honour those idolles of whom they ought to be honoured them silf And I praye you in what ruele and power raigne not these clowdes of abominable men It is a mervelous thinge how aptly Peter calleth them / ii Petri. ii presumptuous and stubborne for after they have obtained this that they them silf only are called spirituall / and all the other seculare and temporall as even now they abvse the wordes at their awne pleasure there is nothinge but they dare behold to take it apoÌ„ them vnder the name of this spirituall secte / forthermore if they have presumed to take any thinge on hand / how invincible / stiffe / aÌ„d harde harted they are / vntill they have prevailed so fare that they may with full authorite and with oute regarde blaspheme the gloryes and powers Doth not the pope being but a smalle worme of the erth how be it enflamed with the sprete of Sathan Curse / excommunicate / rebuke with all kindes of checkes the hyghest kinges and ruelars when he liste All though he was ordened onely to blesse theÌ„ Nether yet doth he that by cause the kinges resist the Gospell aÌ„d the faith But because they can not suffer and mayntayne the superfluous riches of these shavelinges and holy chirch of Rome with their most weked maners and intollerable tyraÌ„nye / or els that they resist the Popes vngodlines and iniquite And this meaneth the Apostle wheÌ„ he sayeth / they fear not to speake evill of theÌ„ that are in authorite ii Petri. ii Nether is the Popedom counted in the name of power and mageste Nether yet if it were so counted hath it suffered any soch thinge Sith that no power hether to hath prevailed against him But contrary he hath so prospered against the powers / that he may sporte and playe him not onely in the matters of inferior people / but also in the powers and magestes as is will lyeth / transposinge them Puttinge in and out / ad Chaungeinge them as often as he thinketh best Do not the storyes of the kingdomes / of Fraunce / Grece / germanye / Neapoles / Sicilye and soch other imperyes thus resufye Did not lâ—â— the tenth which of him silf was a good man beinge deceaved by the councels and examples of his adherentes Assaute with this tyrannye the dukedoÌ„s of Italye / which was expulsed from vrbine / and often beseaged Ferraria And the Cardinalles aÌ„d Busshopes do counterfete him full nobelye / for the Cardinalles are made superiores to kinges / Bisshopes to priÌ„ces O this most wretched kind of men / which is scante worthy to feade hogges / thus they honour the powers / thus they blesse the magestes / thus seake they other meÌ„nes profittes displeasing them silves / thus put they away presumptuous boldnes / and walke in the fear of God / woo be to
a mowth speakinge great aÌ„d mervelous thinges These eyes be the rydles / and the sotle vnderstondinge of these ridles / is the wisdome of the flesshe / the blasphemous mowthe against Christ Ephe. iiij Paule in the .iiij. to the Ephesians doth moch more fersly entreate of these rydles sainge / let vs hence forth be no more children wavering and caried with every wind of doctrine by the wylynes of men and craftenes where by they lay away te for vs to deceave vs. But the two greke wordes which thapostle vseth have moch more mistery then here can be expressed / for the first signifieth not only wylines / but also castinge at dyse / and the second is both a craftenes / aÌ„d sotle illusion as it were of iuglers which with their sportes aÌ„d pastimes deceave meÌ„nes senses So these weked masters castinge the wordes of god as they were dyse accordinge to their awne minde and plesure / with their trifeling ceremonies / deceave vs aÌ„d make vs vnstable / vndermininge vs with these sotle craftes to make vs fall and erre / this is their hole entent that they vse their wordes aÌ„d deceytfull ceremonies / to vndercrepe vs craftely / and prevely deceave vs or we be ware So he monissheth vs in the .ij. to the Collossians Collo ij Be ware lest any man come and spoyle yow thorow philosophye 〈◊〉 deceatfull vanyte / thorow the tradâ—◠〈◊〉 of men and ordinations after the 〈…〉 after Christ And a litle after even â—s pointinge with his finger to this hidoth and bely wisdome / doth say After the coÌ„maundmentes and doctryns of men / which thenges have a similitude of wisdome in chosen holines and humblenes and in that they spare not the bodye / and do the flessh no worshupe vn to his nede Marke howe their hydoth hath a similitude of wisdom and is but very superstition and hypocrisye ii Petri. jii And Peter in the .iij. of his second pistell saith There shall come in the last dayes deceatfull mockers which will walke after their awne lustes Doth he not here touch both the deceate and the illusion by cause they deceave in wordes and mocke and illude in clokes and faces imputinge the one to the doctrine / aÌ„d the other to the workes / even as Paule did meaninge no nether thinge by this deceate and illusion / Ephe. iiij but that which Daniel signifieth by this worde hydoth This also must be observed and noted that this word / vnderstondinge / doth pertaine vnto the mind and affection / for Daniel in the xi speakinge of the same monsire doth say Danie xiâ— And he shall have no vnderstoÌ„dinge that is to say minde affectioÌ„ to the god of his forefathers / nother to the desire of wives / nother to any god / where it is evident that the word 〈◊〉 signifye affection / and regarde / for he shaâ—â— not be so ignorante / not to know what 〈◊〉 is / what a woman is / what a wiff is / â—hat it meaneth to desyre a womaÌ„ or a wiff but he shall not regarde them / but make statutes contrary to god and matrimonye / takinge no thought how impossible it is to beare and suffer this bourden of matrimony / and wedlocke which is denied theÌ„ EveÌ„ so Daniel when he calleth this kinge wittye / Danie viij and vnderstondinge rydles / vseth the same maner of speakinge and meaneth rather the affection and mind / then the vnderstondinge And truely there was never thinge ordened in the worlde more folisshe and vnsaverye then the Popes lawes In so moch that they are gested at / yee and abhorred of the verye Canonistes which reade and professe them / Proverbe for they have a proverbe amonge them silf that a pure Canoniste is a greate Asse / forther more the world had never imperye whose princes were redyare aÌ„d maddere to make lawes then the Popes of Rome / so that in their decrees is as moch want of learninge as superfluite of folisshe hardenes / and both are above mesure What doth the Pope in the chirche buâ—daye by daye hepe vpe and accumulate moo newe lawes / which he stablisshith and cancelleth / confirmeth and disanunlleth / chauÌ„geth rechaungeth / without any cause with oute any reason / eveÌ„ as it cometh to his wittes ende / be â—e dronke or furious And no doute vseth and â—â—â—eth oure weke and wretched conscience EveÌ„ as they were dyse / which when he playeth for his pure pleasure he casteth and turneth hether and thethere as he list him silf / yee somtime to his bawdes and herlottes O this is a worthy reward for oure vnfindnes ii Thessa ij Be hold vs which wold not receave the love of trueth that we might be saved / are worthely comitted in to the handes of this man of sinne / and sonne of perdinon which thorow trifeling / lawghinge / and gaminge hath layde sinnes and perditions vpon vs / with an incredible and malicious furye And to be shorte we may perceave copiously by the forsaide faces / these sotle ridles for sithe the hole Popes lawe doth nothinge els but order these clokes and faces And sithe in the faces is nothing but mockinge and deceavinge by the which the trueth of the faith in the gospell is suppressed it is evident ynough which experience doth teache vs that the Popes doctrine is mockinge and deceatfull / for he gothe not aboute to make vs serve / obaye / aÌ„d beleve in god But only to serve hem and to be subdewed vnder his iurisdiction And truely it were impossible if he were of God / but that he shuld entreat / move / and entyse vs to the gospell with all his might and power And teach vs plainly that all thinges are fre / aÌ„d that 〈◊〉 can not synne in vsinge clothinge / meates / places / parsones / or any soch thinges / for synne coÌ„sisteth not in the vse of thinges / but in the inordinatte desire or hate of theÌ„ / but the pope putteth synne rightuousnes only in the vsinge / therfore he is the maÌ„ of synne sonne of perditioÌ„ / filling the world with these folisshe and vaine / sinnes iustices And yet by cause he feareth the coÌ„scieÌ„ces vnder the title aÌ„d preteÌ„ce of Christes name he maketh of those thiÌ„ges which in theÌ„ self are no synnes / very grevous offences For he that beleveth that he doth sinne / if he eat flesshe on the Apostles eve / or say not matens prime in the morninge / or els leve vndone any of the Popes preceptes No doute he synneth Not by cause the dede which he doth is synne / but by cause he beleveth it is sinne against this folissh belefe coÌ„scieÌ„ce / offeÌ„deth / of the which folyssh coÌ„science only the Pope is hedde author / for a nother doinge the same dede / thinkinge that he doth not sinne trvely offendeth not And this is the cause that the sprete
of Paule coÌ„plaineth that manye shall departe from the faith ij Timo. iiij And for this folissh conscience / mennes tradititions be pernicious and noysome / the snares of soules / hurtinge the faith / the libertye of the gospell / if it were not for this cause they shuld do no hurte Therfore the devill thorow the Pope abvseth these coÌ„scieÌ„ces to stablissh the lawes of his tyrannie / to suppresse â—â—e with and libertye / and to replenisshe 〈◊〉 worlde with errours / vngodlines / synnes and perditions And well doth Paule calle those coÌ„sciences marked with an hotte yeroÌ„ / by cause they are not so of their awne nature / nother yet of the sprete / but are marked against nature with the hotte yeron of mannes traditions and doctrines / Paule teacheth that there is nothinge to be refused i. Timot. iiij And the vicare of Christ saith / yes butyre / and whitmeates most be refused ever on certayne prescripte dayes Christ in the .x. of luke said Luc. x Latinge and drinkinge soch as they have But his vicare saith / eare no flessh nor egges Christ suffereth all maner of garmentes frely and indifferently But his vicare commaundeth one maner of rayment to the laye men and taketh a nother maner to him silf and his adherentes / and that vnder deadly synne and precepte of the chirche And in all these thinges they make them selfe a scrupulous conscience as though they did well in kepinge them and synned deadly in transgressinge / though it be nothiÌ„ge so Therfore truely soch conscieÌ„ces are violently made / yet neverthelesse they be sore hurte as we have said in the transgression of these payne preceptes for soch a kinge / soch a lawe Soch a lawe / soch synne and merite and soch a conscieÌ„ce also reserved that as I said of a folishe vayne synne is made a true synne / thorow the erroure of the coÌ„scieÌ„ce / this is the hort yeron which doth marke him It foloweth And his strength shal be stablisshed / and not in his awne might and power Danie viij ¶ This third propertye of this moÌ„struous kingdome is also mervelous and vnlyke all other imperies / by cawse it shal be streÌ„ghted stablisshed with a straÌ„ge power For who hath harde any soch thinge in all other kiÌ„gdoms The imperye of Rome was gotten / encreased / mayntened thorow his awne strength The hole scripture doth rebuke the horses aÌ„d flessh of Aegipte and other kingdoÌ„s / in the which the Iewes did put their trust and confidence / forthermore the kingdome of Christ doth more consist in his awne powre then any of the other For the trueth of it silf is stronge ynowgh And only this kiÌ„gdome is stablisshed with others streÌ„gth Strength in this place doth signifye the power / which oure philosophers do call the power to worke vtwardly / which is not of the soule / iii. Reg. xix Gene. xxxj but of the meÌ„bers So Ezechias in the xix of the fourth boke of kinges The childreÌ„ came to the birth / the mother had no power to deliver them And in thâ— xxxj of Genesis I have served youre father it 〈◊〉 all my power And Iob. I counted fâ—â— hinge the power of their handes / thuâ—â— to say that they were able to do In the Hebrew tonge it was called â—uth / and the Apostle in the greke toÌ„ge calleth it energeran And the interpreter called it in the latin tonge / efficaciam / and in the englissh toÌ„ge it must be called might and power as in the .ij. to the Galathians / he that was mighty in Peter in the apostleshippe over circunsition / the same was mighty in me amoÌ„ge the geÌ„tils Gala. ij Therfore the power of this kinge sith it stoÌ„deth not in armure / nor in the gospell of Christ / must nedes be raysed vp by his awne doctrines and stablisshed by the power of other Marke this goodly order / first are faces And then lawes / and both are fained and clene alien at from the trueth After theÌ„ cometh his power / which is not staâ—lisshed by him silf But with other strange powers and strenghtes / for truely a lye can not endure by his awne power And so hath the kiÌ„gdome of Antichrist of Rome prospered / that even in the apostles time it began to lene sticke to workes Afterward the chirch as they call it was endewed aÌ„d garnisshed with certayne ceremonies And at the length the Pope patched theÌ„ all to gedder made aswere sawce / and thorow them suppressed all liberty / turninge theÌ„ into most strayre 〈◊〉 lawes In so moch that it is with out 〈◊〉 â—â—re a greater offence to transgresse these lawes and ceremonyes / then the preceptes of god So of these faces are sproÌ„ge lawes / of the lawes the streÌ„gth / of the streÌ„gth greate power authoryte as it shall folow / for as maners make a lawe / so of the lawe ryeseth a strength to confirme the maners And of the strengthe springeth powre and authoryte Therfore let vs coÌ„sidre with what power this king of perdition is strengthed and stablisshed ij Thessa ij The Apostle in the .ij. of the second pistell to the ThessalonyaÌ„s doth attribute applye it vnto sathan sainge Whose cominge shall be thorow the operation of Sathan in lyeinge and mervelous signes / for eveÌ„ as Christ did trulye stablissh the faith his worde by signes miracles thorow his awne vertue power Even so this counterfettinge Ape / and adversarye of Christ / shall stablissh his faces and lewde lawes / thorow lyeing signes of others that is to say Sathans power The first operation of Sathan in his signes and illusions is this / that the chirch of Rome hath had perpetuall contention with the chirch of the GreciaÌ„s / yet being weked and vniust hath ever prevailed though it were defeÌ„ded / with false causes wrested scriptures so prevailed that she hath exalted coÌ„firmed her self to be the lady mestres of the faith mother of all chirches Besides 〈…〉 subderved all men with mervelâ—â—â— good chaunce aÌ„d prosperyte were he next also greate / learned holy which ever hath resisted her lawes / statutes / iudgementes glorious pleasurs Who will not iudge that these were mightye signes mervelles / that no maÌ„ did ever attribute to any / but to god which did fight for the holye chirch of Rome As though god did not vtterly abhorre this abominable and pernicyous doctrines of men with the arrogante pride of these faces Now to this pointe is it brought that kinges / princes / and Bisshopes / which other hurte the holy decrees / libertes or patrimonyes of the chirch of Rome or els do not honour and prefere them above the preceptes of god / shall perisshe by the stroke of the terrrible swerd of excommunication ExcoÌ„munication In so moch that the hole world is in