but thereuppon to conclude that the ciuill magistrate is secluded from the gouernement of the Churche or that there néedeth no externall regiment is dangerous and sauoreth Anabaptisme In the same leafe and .19 reason these wordes be lefte out baÌ„ners and belles whiche argueth that they were before vntruly sayde to be vsed in gang wéeke But to lye is a small matter with these men Fol. 8. For Lords grace of Yorke there is the Archebishop of Yorke The cause of thys alteration I know not In the margent ouer against the 21. reason there is this note It conteyneth manifest blasphemy as may appeare Eâ—â—e 1.17 meaning this saying of the Byshop to those that are admitted ministers Receiue the holy Ghost The place in that Chapiter of the Epistle to the Ephesians proueth no suche thing these be the wordes I cease not to giue thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers that the God of our Lorde Iesus Christ the father of glory mighte giue vnto you the spirite of vvisedome and reuelation thorough the knovvledge of hym What sequele is there in this argument Saincte Paule prayed that God would giue to the Ephesians the spirite of wisedome and reuelation thorough the knowledge of him Ergo this saying of the Bishop Receiue the holy Ghost to those that are admitted into the ministerie conteyneth manifest blasphemy Such is your vsuall maÌ„ner of reasoning Fol. 9. and second article All this is added Neither is the controuersie betwixte them and vs as they woulde beare the worlde in hand as for a cap a tippet or a surplesse but for greater matters concerning a true ministerie and regimeÌ„t of the Church according to the word Which things once established the other melte away of them selues and yet consider I pray you whether their owne argumente doth not choke themselues for euen the very name of triftes doth playnly declare that they ought not to be mainteyned in Christes church and what shall our Bishops win by it Forsoth that they bee mainteyners of triftes and trifling Bishops consuming the greatest parte of theyr time in those trifles whereas they shoulde bee better occupied We striue for true religion and gouernement of the Churche and shew you the righte way to throw out Antichrist both head and taile and that we will not so much as communicate with the taile of the beast But they after they haue thrust out Antichriste by the head goe aboute to pull hym in againe by the tayle cunningly coulouring it least any manne should espye his foot steps as Cacus did when he stole the oxen What other men haue done I knowe not but for my parte I alwayes suspected and partely knewe that some of you had greater matters in hand and of more importance than cappe tippet and surplesse whiche surely was one of the first causes that moued me to be more earnest agaynst you than I was accustomed For I did vnderstand that you wer hatching opinions tending not only to Anabaptisme but to the ouerthrowe of the Gospel and disturbing the quiet state of this Churche And yet who knoweth not that you haue made the cap and Surplesse your pretence hitherto vntill nowe of late when you sée almost all men condemne your follie You say we choake our selues with our owne argumente for euen the very name of trifles doth playnly declare that they ought not to be maynteyned in Christes Church Surely of them selues they be but trifles as all other externall ceremonies and indifferent things bée It is the circumstaunces that maketh them no trifles but matters of weight For things indifferent béeing commaunded thus or so to bée vsed by the Magistrate not as necessarie to saluation iustificatioÌ„ but as conuenient and necessarie for order decencie bée not nowe trifles And who soeuer without a lawfull vrgente cause or in a case of necessitie dothe breake the law made of theÌ„ sheweth himselfe a disordered person disobediente a contemner of lawfull authoritie and a wounder of his weake brothers conscience And if any man shall saye that this is to bring vs agayne in bondage of the lawe and to depriue vs of our libertie I answere no for it is not a matter of Iustification but of order And to be vnder a lawe is no taking awaye of Christian libertie for the Christian libertie is not a licence to doe what thou list but to serue God in newnesse of mynde and that for loue not for seruile feare Of them selues therefore they vs but trifles but béeing commaunded by the Magistrate to be vsed or not to be vsed they are no trifles no more than it was for women to come into the Churche bareheaded or a man to praye hauing his cappe on his heade after that Saint Paule had made an order to the contrarie And therfore these scoffes and stoutes and what shall oute Bishoppes win by it forsoth that they bée maynteyners of trifles and triâ—ling Bishops consuming the greatest part of their tyme in these trifles where as they shoulde be better occupied myght with more commendation of youre modestie haue bene well forborne They see your doings tend not only to contention but to confusion not only to disobedience towardes the lawes of the Prince but also to daungerous errours yea to the ouerthrowe of religion and therfore they are neyther maynteyners of tryfles nor trifling Bishops but wyse discréete vigilant and learned fathers whyche séeke to mayntayne peace preserue good order defende the authoritie of lawfull lawes and in tyme suppresse erronious doctrine You rather spend the tyme in trifles when you might be better occupied for you omitting al other necessary pointes of doctrine and profitable exhortations to good lyfe stuffe your sermons and furnishe your table talke with nothing else but with bitter inuectiues agaynst those rytes as though they were matters of damnation and agaynst those learned and discréete ministers of the word who according to their dutie vsing of them séeke in déed to beate downe Antichriste to plante necessarie poyntes of religion in mennes heartes and to teache repentance with newnesse of life which your vnfrutefull froward and coÌ„tentious dealing reioyceth the Papist discrediteth the sound and lerned preacher offendeth the godlie wouÌ„deth the weake worketh contempte of Magistrates and superiors in the hearts of the hearers destroyeth that which other men buylde finally doth good to none For what frute can there come to the hearers by inueying continually against cappe tippet surplesse ring in mariage womens white kerchers bagpypes funerall sermons mourning apparel c. Bishops Preachers Magistrates Prince These and suche lyke be only the common places you entreate of When you saye that you stryue for true Religion and gouernemente of the Churche c. You saye â–ª that you dooe that â–ª whyche is to bée wyshed you shoulde doo But youre doings tende to the defacing of true Religion and ouerthrowe of the righte gouernement of the Churche and although you be not the head of Antichrist yet are you his taile
be but very sclender proofes that the names and offices of Archebishops Lord Bishops c. be plainly forbidden by the word of God. Surelie you had thought that no man wold euer haue taken paines to examine your margent I am of Hemingius opinion in this pointe that I thinke this your assertiō smelleth of plaine Anabaptisme and surely if you had once made an equalitie such as you phansie among the Clergie it would not be long or you attempted the same amōg the laytie let thē take héede Tūc tua res agitur c. The fouretenth Then ministers were not so tyed to any forme of prayers inuented by man but as the spirit moued them so they poured forth hartye supplications to the Lorde Now they are bounde of necessitie to a prescripte order of seruice and boke of common prayer in whiche a great number of things contrarie to gods word are conteined as baptisme by women priuate communiōs iewish purifiengs obseruing of holydayes c. patched if not altogether yet the greatest pece out of the popes portuis To proue that ministers were not so tyed to any forme of prayer inuented by man but that as the spirite moued them c. you quote Rom. 8. and the 1. Timo. 1. In the eight to the Romaines the words be these Likevvise also the spirite helpeth our infirmities for vve knovve not vvhat to pray as we ought but the spirite it self maketh request for vs vvith sighes vvhiche cannot be expressed This place speaketh nothing against any prescripte forme of prayer for then it shoulde dissalowe the Lords prayer but it teacheth vs that it is the spirite of God that sturreth vs vp to pray and maketh vs earnestly poure out our supplications vnto god And this the spirite worketh aswell by prescripte prayers as by prayers sodenly inuented The wordes to Timo. Epist. 1 ca. 1. vers 2. are farre fetched and nothing to the purpose the words be these vnto Timothie my naturall sonne in the faith grace ▪ mercy and peace from God our father and from Christ Iesu our lord What maketh these words against any prescripte forme of prayers peraduenture you would haue alledged the firste to Timo. 2. I exhorte therefore that first of all supplications c. which maketh directly against you If you meane by prayers inuented by man such prayers as man inuenteth against the word of God as prayer for the dead prayer vnto saincts and such like then it is true that you say But if you meane suche prayers as by godly men be framed according to the holy scriptures whether they be for matters perteyning to the life to come or to this life then you shewe your ignoraunce for it is manifest that there hath bene always in the Church of Christ a prescripte forme of publique praier as it appeareth in Iustinus Martir Apolo 2. pro christianis and other auncient fathers neither did euer any learned or godly man or reformed Church finde faulte herewith or not greatly commend the same excepte only the secte of Anabaptists Damasus was a good Byshop and therefore no good thing by him appointed to be disalowed but he did not first ordeyne a prescripte forme of publike prayers he only added something therevnto as Gloria patri c to the ende of euerie psalme And decréed that psalmes shoulde be song aswell in the night time as in the day time in euerie Churche but they were song in the Church before and as I haue said there was a prescript forme of prayer in Iustinus Martirs time who was long before Damasus Gregorie added the Letanie onley I muse what you meane to write so manifest vntruthes You note not here neither ar you able any prayer in the whole Communion booke wherin there is any thing not agréeable to gods word We may say as Sainct Augustin sayth in his 121. epistle writtē ad Probam viduam Et siper omnia precationum sanctarū verba discurras quātū existimo nihilmuenies quod nō ista Dominica cōtineat cōcludat oratio Vnde liberū est alijs atque alijs verbis eadem tamen in orando dicere sed non debet esse liberum alia dicere And if thou runnest thorough all the vvordes of the holy prayers I suppose thou shalte finde nothing vvhiche the Lordes prayer doth not conteine and comprehende therefore vve may in other vvords speake the same things in our prayers but vve may not speake contrarie things But you say A number of things cōtrary vnto gods worde are conteyned in this boke as baptisme by women priuate communions Iewish purifiengs obseruing of holydayes c. patched if not altogither yet the greatest peece out of the Popes portuis Here is not one prayer in all the whole cōmuniō booke found fault with and yet your quarrell is against a prescripte forme of prayers inuented by man. You maruellously forget your selfe and confusedly go from matter to matter without any consideration Digressing therefore from prayers conteyned in the communion booke you come to other matters in the same against gods word as you say and first you alledge baptising by women I deny baptising by womē to be expressed in that booke and whē you haue proued it to be necessarilye gathered out of the same then shal you heare my iudgemente thereof Your places of scripture alledged against it are not of sufficiente force to proue your purpose Christe in the 28. of Mathewe saide to his Disciples goe and teache all nations baptising them in the name of the father c. Ergo women may not baptise I say this argumente followeth not no more than this doth Ergo pastors may not baptise for it is manifest that an Apostle is distinct from a pastor The second place you doe alledge is .1 Cor. 14. where Paule sayeth it is a shame for women to speake in the congregation Paule sayeth not that it is a shame for womē to speake at home in priuate houses for women may instructe their families yea and they may speake also in the congregation in time of necessitie if there be none els there that can or will preach Christ and hereof we haue examples If women do baptise they baptise in priuate houses not in the congregation Surely you are able to marre a good matter for lacke of skilfull handling You say in your margent that Victor An. 198. did first appoint that women might baptise By this ye adde more credite to the cause than you are aware of For Victor was a godly bishop and a martir and the Church at that time was in great puritie not being long after the Apostles time But truly I can finde no such thing in all his decrées only this he saith that such as be cōuerted of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ in time of necessitie or at the pointe of death may be baptised at any time in any place whether it be in the Sea or in a riuer or in a pond or in a well so
this reason is alledged among other euen in the boke of Common prayers And that it is not to make baptisme perfect the boke of common prayers it selfe declareth in these words And that no man shall thinke any detriment shall come to children by deferring of their confirmation he shall know for truth that it is certaine by Gods vvorde that children being baptised haue all things necessarie for their saluation and be vndoubtedly saued You adde as though the Byshop coulde giue the holy Ghost the Byshop may vse the ceremonie vsed by the Apostles that is imposition of handes may safely say this godly prayer conteyned in the boke Defend O Lord this child vvith thy heauenly grace that he may continue thine for euer and dayly encrease in thy holy spirite more and more vntill he come vnto thy euerlasting kingdome Amen And other such godly praiers ther conteyned Of any other kinde of giuing the holy ghost there is no mention in that booke and therefore these additions myght very wel haue bene left out of your libell But of the Bishops benedictiō by laying on of his hands heare Master Caluines iudgement in his Instit. cap. 19. secti 4. Talem manuum impositionem quae simpliciter loco benedictionis fiat lando et restitutam hodie in purum vsum vilim Such imposition of handes as is simplie made in the steade of blessing I do commend and vvish that it vvere restored at this day to the pure vse There shall you also reade the very self same for me manner of confirmation allowed which is now vsed in this Church of England To the ende of the eleuenth reason these wordes be added and open our eyes that we may see what that good and acceptable will of God is and be more earnest to prouoke his glorie to the which I only answere Amen In the ende of the twelfth there is something left out which they haue placed in the 13. reason but it is answered before Fol. 6. There is nothing added or altered worth the noting only in the fiftenth reason where they sayde before that we honored Byshoppes by the titles of Kings nowe they haue recanted that and condemned themselues of an vntruth for they haue left out that title In the ende of that fiftéenth article or reason this is added and whiche of them haue not preached against the Popes two swords nowe whether they vse them not thēselues Touching the Popes two swords we are of the same minde stil for the Pope contrary to the worde of God taketh from Princes vnto him selfe that authoritie whiche is due vnto them by the worde of God and woulde haue them to receiue that authoritie from him whiche he hath no power to gyue the Pope also requireth the full authoritie of a ciuill magistrate and exempteth him selfe from all subiectiō which is flat contrary to the word of God our Byshops in this Church do not challenge as of their owne right any such ciuill authoritie but only according to their duty execute that that by the Prince lawes of this Realme for iust considerations is layde vpō them Neither do they medle in all ciuill causes or exercise all ciuill iurisdiction but such only as helpeth to discipline and to the good gouernment of this church and state Wherefore we may safely preache against the Popes two swords and yet lawfully defende that iurisdiction and authoritie that any bishop hath in this Church for any thing that I knowe Fol. 7. Wheras before it was thus in the margent and. 19. reason to proue that the regiment of the church shoulde be spirituall reade Eph. 1.23 1. Thess. 5.13.1 Ti. 5.2 Heb. 10.30 now it is thus altered to proue that the regiment of the church should be spirituall read Caluine in his cōmentaries vpon these places Eph. 1.23 1. Thes. 5. 13.1 Ti. 5.2 Heb. 10.30 Belike bicause the scriptures thēselues do not sufficiētly proue your assertiō therfore you would haue vs to leaue them to reast vpon Caluines interpretation which is nothing else but to prefer mans iudgemēt before the word of god or to giue master Caluine authoritie to conclude that which is not determined by the scripture If this be not your meaning why flye you frō those places themselues to master Caluines interpretatiō vpon them But what if you now abuse master Caluines cōmentaries vpon these places as you did before the places themselues In his commentaries vpon Ephe. 1. vse 23. This is all that he sayth touching this matter Nam vtcunque Christus omnia perficiat nutu virtuteque sua tamē specialiter loquitur hic Paulus de spirituali ecclesiae gubernatione Quanquam nihil interea impedit quo minus de vniuersali mundi gubernatione accipias For howsoeuer Christ maketh perfecte all things with his becke and by his power yet Paule speaketh here especially of the spiritual gouernemēt of the church Although that in the meane time it is no hinderance why thou mayest not also vnderstād it of the vniuersall gouernement of the world These words serue litle for your purpose There is no man that doubteth but that Christe doth spiritually gouerne his Churche and raigne in the hartes of the faithfull by hys sprite But your meaning is that the gouernement of the Churche is only spirituall which you can no more gather of these wordes of Caluine than you may that the gouernemente of the whole world ought only to be spirituall The same Caluine writing vppon .1 Thessa. 5 vers 12. for the which you haue noted the .13 saith on this sorte Hoc additum videtur ad notandum spirituale regimen tametsi enim Reges quoque magistratus Dei ordinatione prosunt quia tamen ecclesiae gubernationem dominus peculiariter vult suam agnosci ideo nominatim praeesse in Domino dicuntur qui Christi nomine mandato ecclesiam gubernant This seemes to be added to note the spirituall regiment For although kings also and Magistrates do gouerne by the ordinance of God yet bycause the Lorde would haue the gouernemente of the Churche knowne peculierly to be his therefore namely they are saide to rule in the Lorde whiche gouerne the Churche in the name of Christe and by hys commaundemente Hitherto Caluine also affirmeth that whiche no man denieth that God doth by the ministerie of his worde spiritually gouerne his Church But this taketh not away the ciuill Magistrate neyther yet ciuill lawes made by the Magistrate externally also to gouerne the Churche In his Commentaries 1. Ti. 5. verse 2. he speaketh not one word of this matter for any thing that I can perceiue Vppon the place to the Hebrewes he onely sheweth that God dothe gouerne hys Churche the whiche I thinke no man is so wicked as to denye You muste more plainly sette it downe what your meaning in this matter is before you can be fully aunswered For to proue that God dothe spiritually gouerne his Churche is néedlesse being denied of none either Papiste or Protestant