A WARNING TO TAKE HEEDE OF FOVVLERS PSALTER giuen by Th. Sampson ANCHORA SPEI Imprinted at London by Thomas Vautrollier for George Bishoppe 1578. TO MY VERY GODLY LOVING FREND AND BROTHER M. ROBERT ASKE GOLDSMITH AND ONE of the Bridgemaisters of the Citie of London YOV did sende of late vnto me at one time as you knovve tvvo bookes vvhich the Louanistes had sent into England the one vvas a Primer the other a Psalter The Primer is in latin and is as I thinke but a nevve burnishing of their old popish pelfe I did not peruse it neither do I entende to bestovv any labour thereabout For manye yeares are passed sithence I did leaue my Primer neither haue I any pleasure novve to looke vppon those pudles of poperie in vvhich I vvas plunged in the dayes of my youth and ignorance I do rather vvith the Psalmist humbly praye the Lorde not to remember the faultes and ignoraunces of my youth but according to his ovvne kindnes and for his goodnes sake to forgiue me It is besides all this novv become a tickle peice of vvorke M. Robert to medle vvith Primers vvill you knovv vvhy The olde Primers are of late greatly disgraced by pope Pius For he sayeth that they vvere filled vvith superstitious errours and sayth that many forged prayers vvere thrust into them vnder false and feyned names of Sainctes He calleth also all the pardons graunted in thē and printed in their rubrikes into doubte Thus doth this Pope dashe the deuotion of papistes Therefore lette olde papistes looke vvell vvhat Primers they vse and take heede vvhich of them they doe trust least they do not onely lose their labour but fall into the displeasure of the Pope And by the doinges of late Popes they maye see hovv vnsauery and vnsafe the doings of former Popes are for that vvhich one allovveth an other disallovveth one promiseth an other denyeth Therefore I thought good novv to leaue both them their Primer And because the Psalter seemed to be some straunge noueltie vvith vvhich the authours thought to make some freashe melodie I did take this their Psalter into my hande I did but touch the stringes thereof to taste vvhat sounde it did giue but I did not finde that in it vvhich the name seemeth to promise rather I finde in it vnsauery discorde stringes false and out of tune other such iarres as by perusing this litle pamphlet you may perceaue VVhich I doe not send to you my good brother as though I thought that you either delighted in such instruments as is that popishe Psalter or that you needed my helpe to dravv you from the delighte or daūger of such trumpery in vvhich Papists do take their pleasure God hath by his grace separated you farre from that secte and brought you into his ovvne schoole vvhere you may do vvith ioye heare learne and taste of the svveetnes of the Lorde and haue the songes of life and saluation praise the Lorde for it And pray him to holde you euer in this vvaye of life that you may alvvayes haue your harte and eare open and vvholly sette to heare the voice of Iesus and also closed shutte and fully turned from those false flatteringe and entising Syrene popishe voices vnto vvhich vvho so hearckneth pearisheth remediles Novve though you neede not my labour herein taken yet in recompence of your freindly and kinde remembring of me vvith such nevves as do come to your hāds I haue thought good to send you this vvritten paper to remaine vvith you as a token of my good vvill tovvardes you And if your sonne Iohn Aske of vvhose vvell doinge in God I haue some care vvith you may be admonished by it to learne euen in his youth to bevvare of such Popishe pastime as is made in that Popishe Psalter to giue heede to the truth of Iesus Christ the only true doctrine of our life and saluation I shal be gladde and reioyce to see him enryched vvith that fayth vvhich dvvelled in Gillian his naturall mother doth dvvel in you his natural father novv and so I hope shall vnto the ende That increase of true vnderstanding vvhich doth giue life in God I vvishe to you and all yours vvishe you the same to me and mine Lecester the 10. of October 1577. LAME Tho. Sampson Ephes 5. Be fulfilled with the spirite speakinge vnto your selues in Psalmes and hymnes spirituall songes singing and making melodie to the Lorde in your hartes giuing thankes alwayes for all thinges vnto God euen the Father in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ A WARNING TO TAKE HEEDE OF FOWLERS PSALTER GIVEN By Tho. Sampson IT hath ben alwayes the manner of such as do departe from the trueth and faith which is in Christ Iesus onely and do betake them selues to the errour and vntruth of their owne choyse and are setled therein their manner hath ben and is I say to inuente and deuise such proper thinges as maye serue to induce other men to like of that which they doe and by litle and litle to draw them to become like to them selues And to this ende they doe vse to paint their owne foule doinges with faire coulours for they thinke if they shoulde at the first openly showe that grosenes which is in their errour they shoulde driue all men from them rather then allure any to them And therfore they do make a choise of goodly wordes and do set the same as closely as they can vpon their errour because they woulde by a shewe of that which is good deceaue men the more readily and draw them to their euill So many olde Heretiques did in their heresie retaine the name of Iesus Christ and vnder that most holy name they did hyde all their poyson They did speake some good thinges and cited also some sentences of holy Scripture vnder these good couers to conueye their errours into the mindes of men Likewise do the Papists now They haue and hold for the couer of their filthes and abhominacions the names of God of Christ of Iesus of the Church of the spirit of truth of Catholike and what not But all these they do vse but as a sconse to deceaue and vnder these faire titles to drawe simple soules into their filth They haue heretofore foughte for them selues in this lande with fire and sworde feircely but when that tyrannie was as now it is ouerturned through Gods great mercy towardes vs blessed be his name for it by the most mercyfull and milde gouernement of our gratious soueraine Queene Elizabeth whose life amōg vs reigne ouer vs God almighty prosper and prolonge They soughte a while to holde maintaine their owne with bookes and writinges full of forgeries and of furiouse speaches threates cursed speakinges They haue also had their practises to recouer againe into their hands that gouernment which once they had and now they haue loste In which desire they haue ben and are as desperately set as any cruell tyraunte euer was
or can be And though our good God hetherto hath of his most gratious goodnes disappointed them of all their purposes blessed be his name for it yet they do still biggly breath foorth blood and slaughters and cease not For euen at this day they do by libells and letters threatten our ruine and blowe foorth their owne triumphe And herein they are so forewarde that they do name the persons which shal be they saye their captaines They assigne the time in which they shall reigne ouer vs they shall florishe we shall smoake or else their kalender fayleth them yea they do note the men almost by name whom they haue appointed to the slaughter and thus they do blowe vp the trumpette of their triumphe but before the victory thankes be to god Surely we do not feare them at all but we do feare God whose iust wrath we do prouoke by our vnholy handling of his most holy Gospel This this is it that doth most feare vs for by this we know that we do deserue that he shoulde once againe scourge vs with the whippes of these Popish Philistines But we do pray him that he will haue mercy on vs euen for his owne goodnes sake For he is kinde mercyfull and slowe to wrath yea he sayth of him selfe Isai 27. Anger is not in me May it please him therefore to giue vs the grace to be at peace at one with him we care not then though all the Papistes in the worlde and all the Deuills in hell do sette them selues against vs Whilest they fume freatte at vs we learne to beleeue that goodnes of the Lord which for our comfort he doth laye foorth Isai 48. where he sayth For my names sake I will differ my wrath for my praise I wil restraine it from thee that I cutte thee not of for mine owne sake will I do it And we humbly pray as they did Ier. 14. VVe acknowledge o Lorde our wickednes and the iniquities of our fathers for we haue sinned against thee Doe not abhorre vs for thy names sake cast not downe the throne of thy glory remember and breake not thy couenaunt with vs. And to this also we trust that he will haue an eye now as euer he hath had to his enemies and cutte them shorte of their purpose according to his owne good pleasure that they do not triumphe ouer him so we know that God as he is able so he wil deale against them for vs. He doth bid vs not to feare man whose breath is in his nostrells For wherein is he to be esteemed He biddeth vs not to feare them which can but kill the body but to feare him who when he hath killed the bodie hath power to cast the soule into euerlasting fire Notwithstanding all the bigge braue bragges which Papists make it seemeth that all thinges as yet do not come about to serue the turne so roundly as they woulde and therefore in the meane time they do content them selues to take a lower course and will by cullor of prayer creepe into our bosomes But the Apostle sayeth that the deuill can turne him selfe into the fashion of an Angell of lighte And therefore it is no great thinge though his ministers transforme them selues as though they were the ministers of righteousnes but their ende shal be according to their workes By libells at Oxford and bulls from Rome they breath out the furye of their conceaued malice and sodenly they chaunge their mode into their kind of prayer They do now herein as their kinge the Pope hath done hertofore against vs The last Pope Pius thundred out a bull of his currish censure against our good Queene Elizabeth to turne her out of her royall state and life and after that he sent into England closely a messenger whose name as Doctor Saunders telleth vs is Nicolas Morton by office a priest a meete officer for such a Pope purpose This man was sente to follow that Popish bull and he did it so freashly that thereon did follow a rebellion in the North partes of this lande But God almightie quenched this fire in his most riche mercy The rebells ranne their country Pope Pius by death is picked ouer the pearche Our Queene Elizabeth doth still holde her place thankes be to God reigneth in Godly quietnes O Lord graunt that she may longe so do Pope Gregorie that now is seeing this roughe attempt of his predecessor haue so euil succes chaungeth the course of his Popishe proceading and hath nowe sente by his suppostes certain bulls into England in which he promiseth full remission of sinnes to them which after that dissembled deuotion which he putteth downe shal pray for the conuersion of Englande he sayeth to the Catholicke fayth but he doeth meane the peruertion of Englande from the true Christian faith into that filthe and falsehoode of the Romish error Thus the Popes are cōtēt to fall from armes fighting and cursing to faire promises flattery and praying But I trust English men for whose pleasure the Pope wil seeme to haue brought foorth this bull haue learned more wisedome in the Gospell of God then now to be made calues by such a Popish bull In like manner our Louanistes hauing spente as it seemeth the greatest parte of their common shotte at vs but in vaine thankes be to God beginne to allure vs to like of them by teaching vs to praye But we haue already learned to praye of the best schoolemaister that euer was is or shal be euen of our Lord Iesus Christ And therefore we haue no eare to hearken to these Popish bunglers and corrupters of holy thinges They haue to this ende published in prince of late a thing which they call Iesus Psalter and the author thereof or Master Fowler the printer therof doth tell vs That there be three manner of Psalters the first is called Dauids Psalter which containeth thrise fifty Psalmes the second sayth he is called the Psalter of our Lady cōteining thrise fiftie Aues the third is called the Psalter of Iesu or the inuocatiō of Iesus conteining fiftene principall petitions which tenne times repeated make also thrise fiftie What meane these men so farre to forgette them selues that they do now commend to the Reader but these three manner of Psalters Their forefathers haue ben more liberall to vs as shall forthwith appeare The Psalter of Dauid conteyning 150. Psalmes we do acknowledge to be deliuered to vs by the spirite of God for our comforte and instruction For Christ Iesus himselfe teacheth vs that Dauid in his Psalmes doth speake inspired by the holy Ghost And therfore with all humblenes of harte and reuerēce we do receaue the same as a booke of holy Scripture deliuered to vs as other bookes of the holy Scripture are euen by God him selfe We do not receaue it as a Psalter giuen to vs by the Papistes For it is no Psalter of theirs although it pleaseth them nowe in
lighte it is meate it is medecine For Iesus is lighte to them which sitte in darknes he is meate to them which do hunger and thrist after righteousnes and saluation he filleth the hungry with good thinges he is a medecine and a playster of life for the sicke soule and broken harte Yea if all these had misliked him he mighte haue tolde vs yet that one of his owne elders sayth that the name of Iesus is a sweete name a name full of delighte a name comforting a sinner a name of good hope and that this man thus speaking of this name Iesus brusteth foorth into prayer as it shoulde seeme feeling some excellent sweetnes in that name and sayth O Iesus be vnto me a Iesus that is O Sauiour be vnto me a sauiour or O sauiour saue me All these thinges M. Fowler doth passe ouer and giueth vs as he sayth a psalter of Iesus in which he doth teach vs oftē to name the name of Iesus But it is a matter of vnderstanding sence and feeling truely to speake of Iesus it is not a matter of fidling with tenne fingers as M. Fowler teacheth They which haue experience of Iesus do know this best This is not had nor fee lt by looking on the letters nor spelling of the name of Iesus by sillables nor yet by bare pronouncing the name Iesu The old heretikes called Marcosij made them selues much adoe about this name and the letters thereof yea and curiously deuised on some nomber which mighte be noted by the letters of this name as Epiphanius doth write And notably doth this auncient writer saye to them all as in one Vocem enim solum habes virtutem vero ipsius ignoras that is thou hast onely the worde or voice but the vertue or power thereof thou doest not know It is one thing to pronounce the worde and an other to vnderstand and feele the vertue and power noted by that word This this giueth life and therefore to speake of Iesus with vnderstāding and sense of that life and saluatiō which Iesus doth giue is such a thing as the holy Ghost doth worke in the elect alone whereof the Apostle sayeth 1. Cor. 12. No man can saye that Iesus is the Lorde but by the holy Ghost If we saye the Lord Iesus truely we are taught so to do by the holy Ghost for it onely doth frame our tongues to make a true confession of the Lord Iesus and of the saluation which by faith we do feele in our hartes that we haue by him It teacheth vs to speake of Iesus not in bare speache alone but waying what we say as Hierom noteth in these wordes Tamen hoc ipsum dicere non sermone sed affectu cordis est ponderandum that is this saying is to be wayed with and in affection of harte not in or with bare speach Otherwise many haue vsed this name Iesus and pronounced it but euill and to their owne hurte We do reade of certeine vagabounde coniurers which tooke in hande to name ouer them that had euill spirits the name of the Lord Iesus saying We do adiure you by Iesus whom Paule preacheth They abused the name of Iesus they did not vnderstande the vertue and power of Iesus Though they did pronounce the word Iesus yet had they not faith in Iesus nor feeling of his power and sauing health They spake not of Iesus by the holy Ghost and in true vnderstanding and they did speede thereafter For the euill spirite aunswered them Iesus I acknowledge and Paule I know but who are ye Thus were these coniurers driuen awaye beaten and wounded euen by the euill spirite whom they thought to haue driuen awaye by pronouncing the name Iesus You maye see that coniurers and the deuill him selfe can name and pronounce the name of Iesus and yet are no whitte the better for so doing It is not therefore the bare pronouncinge of the name that doth profit at all as by this example is to be seene We do also reade of a certeine sorcerer that made him selfe so boulde of this name Iesus that he called him selfe Bariesus as though he were the very man of saluation And yet did this wretched man withstand so much as he coulde the doctrine of Iesus preached by Paule and sought to turne others from the faith and labored to peruerte the straight waye of the Lorde We are by Iesus Christ him selfe forwarned to take heede of such as shall abuse and counterfeit his name to deceaue and seduce vs beleeue them not sayth Christ Suche a company of counterfeits are in Poperie For in it they haue their brotherhoodes of Iesus their feastes of the name of Iesus their pardons of Iesus their Masse of the same mattens howres and euen song of it And of late dayes the Papists haue hatched and brought foorth a swarme of such vermine as call themselues Iesuites whose trauell is like to that of Bariesu that is to peruerte the right wayes of the Lorde Iesus to turne men from the true vnderstanding of the vertue and power of Iesus To this purpose be they sent foorth to carrye men from hearckening to the Gospell of Iesus and from beleeuing truly in Iesus and yet they be called Iesuites vnder this faire name to worke their feate that is to seduce men and leade them from Iesus They are enemies to Iesus to his doctrine power sauing health as both by their name doing and doctrine is proued at large by that learned writer of our age Martin Kemnitius And euen so to their new found psalter is the name of Iesu by them added but as a snare whereby the psalter maker woulde drawe his reader from the truth of Iesu into the puddle of poperie It may be maruailed greatly that Papistes dare thus boldly and impudently abuse the name of Iesus the name of our blessed God and Sauiour Haue they no conscience of breaking Gods commaundement Thou shalt not take the name of the Lorde thy God in vaine for the Lorde will not holde him giltles that taketh his name in vaine Though now they do not feare to committe the faulte yet shall they not escape but by a true verdicte be founde guilty of it before god For to take his name to confirme a falshoode is to take his name in vaine and to breake his commaundemēt But thus do they now take the name of the Lorde Iesus therefore lette Papistes holde vp their handes and aunswere guiltie or not guiltie if they pleade not guiltie they shall abide the triall before God by his lawe and then they wil be founde guiltie I know it will grieue them to be thus charged but if any of them do thinke them selues to be ouercharged herein lette them tell vs truely who made them so bolde to applie the holy name of Iesus to their owne deuises to their Masses pardons brotherhoodes and such trumperie or to call their sectaries Iesuites or to call this their new deuise the psalter of
young a thing among auncient councells is this proper springalde their popish purgatory before then it was not concluded in any auncient holie councell so that yet the head of it neede not to be gray for age It is no maruell then that the papistes haue now againe in Trent concluded thereon For it serueth so well for their kitchins that they had rather loose heauen it selfe then this proper purgatory And now our papists may say that it is a thinge decreed in councells sithence a seconde councell nowe againe hathe concluded it but yet such councells as are neither auncient nor holie Thus pleaseth it the papists now to burnish and refresh the old forgeries of olde infidelles and to sette the same foorth as an article of their catholike faith The opinions of Pagans touchinge purgatory some auncient wryters sithence the ascension of Iesus Christ and the time of the Apostles haue repeated as Eusebius doth some haue giuen their addition to them as Origen and some other and yet that purgatory was not like vnto this of papistes For papists do allowe that the soules fried in the fier of their purgatory may be releued by the deedes and helpes of liuing men But this is not seene in the olde purgatory of Origen nor in that of the Pagans so plainely as papistes now talke of it When purgatory had once thus put in a foote into the church it went forwarde yet for a good space of time but weakely and waueringely The opinion thereof was cited by some followinge wryters after Origen For Ambrose whose maner is as some haue noted to take many thinges out of Origen doth make mention of this purgatorie So doth Hierome and also Augustine but very diuersly For sometime they doe as it were but dispute and reason of the matter as if it were a question to be doubted of Sometime it is affirmed Sometime that whiche one affirmeth an other denyeth And here is a peece of the false dealing of the papists to be marked For their manner is to cyte the olde fathers and their sentences in which they make this mention of purgatory as though they had with one consent wrytten so of purgatory as them selues doe at this daye holde They will not make knowne to the people in trueth neither from whence this Purgatorie did first come nor how it crept into the Church nor how some of the olde fathers doubled about it Some doubted of it some denied it all this I saye the Papistes nowe doe conceale for the knowledge therof would marre their market and not serue well for their kitchin Therfore they doe still drawe closely the sayings of the olde writers to prope vppe this purgatory as though there were no doubt in the matter but that all the olde fathers did faithfully beleeue that to be true which nowe they doe holde of purgatory And yet because their own consciences doe beare them witnes that they want sufficient warrant of the worde of God true antiquity to vphold their purgatory they haue bene driuen to make other shiftes for the same And therefore where truth and antiquitie doe not serue their purpose they haue busied them selues to susteine purgatory by other follyes as by their forgeries of satisfactions and by that same their preattie profitable deuise of praying for the dead To this they haue added straunge visions voyces and sightes of such as were by their conceites reuealed in purgatory and deliuered out of it say they yea they haue added some such straunge sightes as liuing men haue seene in traunses and they do not stick also to father some of their owne new false forgeries for purgatory vpon some writers of antiquitie which neuer taught any such thinge And thus for their purgatory for proofe whereof they haue no direct worde of God they drawe in fathers yea and Angels and spirites they saye but lyinge spirites I saye They bringe in also deade men yea and the sculls of deade men to speake to men liuinge on earthe for purgatory And not content with all this they doe still proceede and the better to setle this purgatory in their church as an article of their faithe they make them selues so bold euen with God him selfe that they do draw his most holy word with new racking and wrasting the same out of time to serue this their purpose wherein verely they shew them selues to be corrupt handlers of the worde of god Vpon these proppes did their purgatory stande stowtly till the light heate of the glorious Gospell of God did bewray it and consume it to ashes Then did this Dagon fall before the Arke of the God of Israell blessed be his name for it And nowe that they see their purgatory doth beginne to decaye they doe roare and crye for greefe and doe styll seeke to maintayne it by newe additions or reparations so loth they are to haue it so decay that it shoulde serue their turne no more Some tyme they tell vs of the kinde of those sinnes which are to be purged in purgatory some time they tell vs of the greatnes of the paines which soules suffer there some time of the releefe which soules doe feele there some time they tell vs of the place where purgatory is But these their tales be not all one nor they them selues in telling these tales doe agree in one For towching the place where this purgatory is Some of them haue found this purgatory as they saye in Irelande and this they call the Purgatory of Patricke vnto which also they say that once they had a keye I knowe not whether they haue loste it And in this purgatory one lustie Champion Noble Nicolas as they saye trauelled and did see the straunge paynes and sights which were in it One other purgatory their holy Sainct Odilo did finde for them in the iland of Sicily in the fiery hil Aetna And of this inuention by the good aduise of their pope Iohn did spring vp the solemne feast of al soules al the busy paines that they do take about the same which yet the church of Christ both could did well spare aboue the space of one thowsand yeares after Christes ascension although the popishe sinagogue can not now spare it for pinchinge their bellies not one yere These men not content with these purgatories and fearinge the ruine of it without it be continually repayred haue gotten of late the fauorable help toward this worke of a new Archbishop of theirs named Aolaus Magnus This man hath founde a third purgatory in the Iland of Thyle which we call Iselande for there sayth he are hills which haue snow on their toppes and burning fyer at their foote and he telleth vs that there is the place to purge soules Thus groweth the popishe purgatory in errour and ignoraunce and getteth grounde still more more among ignoraunt men This popish palace of purgatory should be very large truely if it did reach so farre as is Iseland from Sicily What fyer there is I