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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A68023	A briefe examination for the tyme, of a certaine declaration, lately put in print in the name and defence of certaine ministers in London, refusyng to weare the apparell prescribed by the lawes and orders of the realme In the ende is reported, the iudgement of two notable learned fathers, M. doctour Bucer, and M. doctour Martir ... translated out of the originals, written by theyr owne handes, purposely debatyng this controuersie.	Parker, Matthew, 1504-1575.; Bucer, Martin, 1491-1551.; Vermigli, Pietro Martire, 1499-1562.; Hooper, John, d. 1555.	1566 (1566)	STC 10387; ESTC S101661	56,521	86

generall rule and ende And blessed be God our tymes are here suche that no man in our Churches presumeth to adde to Gods word as acknowledgyng the perfitnes therof to our saluation And that our gouernours in the feare of God eschewe Saules disobedience and by ryghteous clemencie flee the tyrannye of Reboam and through the direction of Gods spirite walke zelously in the pathes of godly Ezechias in all those thinges whiche they fynde wrytten in the booke of Gods lawe to appertayne to his true seruice and worship not so much weyhing the displeasures of worldly potentates as the curses that the most mightie God powreth vpon all suche as truely and sincerely regarde not his religion and glory And blessed be the name of the Lorde for euer that hath stirred vp such Bishops and preachers among vs whiche neyther haue nor do flatter Princes to set vp theyr pleasures aboue the wyll and commaundement of God though some surmise the contrary As Audiam certayne sectaries layde to the Fathers charge of Nicaene counsell that they tooke an order in the troublesome dissention for keping Easter day to please and flatter Constantine the Emperour whereas they dyd it vpon inst consideration and to auoyde scisine Surely the examples whiche you bryng in of wycked Kinges and false Prophetes myght haue well at this tyme in this cause ben pretermitted as whiche concerne matters expressely forbydden or commaunded by God but that you woulde intimate to some not well stayed that the Prince in these thinges suffereth them contrary to Gods word and her lawfull aucthoritie whiche thankes be to our heauenly father for his aboundaunt blessynges most rychly powred vppon her is altogether otherwayes or that all preachers and subiectes obeyng so orderly demaundes are but false Prophetes and flatterers This is very sore iudgement to condemne all your brethren for manpleasers that obey their supreme gouernour vnder god in matters indifferent of whom as you knowe a great number when flatterye was muche more gaynefull refused to do it with no small daunger And if you marke your note well Flatterie hath not ben alwayes the sure marke of false teachers For you shall reade S. Jude foretell of some that should despyse them that were in aucthoritie You shall reade of the Donatistes Rogatians Circumcellions and Papists that are rather disobedient to iust and good lawes of Princes for that as they say they see not in the writinges of the Euangelistes and Apostles any suche example Nowe for the maner and condition of true Prophetes whiche you assure vs is to aduouche alwayes Haec dicit dominus Thus sayeth the Lorde It is maruayle you remembred not in what thynges that was then necessary and wherein it is required nowe Truely you are not so vnskilfull but that you knowe sundry seuerall thinges to be left to their iudgement who may for the more handsome feeding of Christes sheepe and not for their owne purse belly or kitchin say with S. Paule * Other thynges when I come I wyll set in an order Al rites and fassions which euery nation beleuing may stablishe and vse are not distinctly rehearsed in Scripture that the minister may say of euery one of them Thus sayeth the Lorde It is sufficient in suche thinges yf they truely serue to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is seemly order to retayne the which the Church hath power to abrogate olde and make newe lawes Wherein sayeth Doctour Peter Martir these conditions must be obserued ‡ Fyrst that they be not contrary to Gods word Then that iustifitation and remission of sinnes be not sought for in them Thyrdly that the multitude ouerwhelme not the Churche Fourthly that they be not decreed as necessary and not to be changed Last of all that they be not so vrged as yf he sinned dampnablye that sometyme omitteth them without offence or contempt Suche lawes then albeit they be not in playne termes and wordes mentioned in the scripture yet hauing these properties they are not to be reiected as yf they were by no maner of meanes in the worde of God It is a pitifull case to see howe you trouble your selues in comparing Chryst preaching the wyll of his father and the Phariseys teachyng theyr owne traditions as yf any man inforceth nowe mans lawe as part of Gods diuine seruice or as if these orders vppon necessitie of saluation must be receyued and Gods blessed worde froden vnder foote Yet S. Augustine is this bolde touchyng the obseruation of profitatable rites in Christes Churche that he thynketh the contemptuous breaker of Ecclesiasticall orders to be corrected as transgressours of Gods lawes The Apostles you say preached not the dreames of their owne heades and yet for all that they made orders for the Churche whiche continued theyr tymes and season whereof we reade not theyr particuler commission True it is as you report that S. Paule willed not men to followe his deuises neyther preached he hym selfe at any tyme. What then Did he not appoynt temperall rites in the Churche which he had not Verbatim expressely at his masters hands and whiche nowe ceasse and are not in vse The lyke is said of suche doynges of the other Apostles whose constitutions were altered after theyr death You conclude thus Because these thynges haue no commaundement nor grounde in Gods worde therefore you refuse them Fyrst speciall commaundement needeth not in this part of Ecclesiasticall discipline Then edification order decencie aucthoritie of supreme magistrates haue grounde sufficient in the newe Testament and olde Last of al you should haue proued that they had no grounde in Scriptures But that thyng you neuer once touched but ranne a rouyng vpon the Maior to bleare the simple Christians eyes as yf you had sayd much of the matter when you neuer came towarde it Passyng from this fourth reason you frame an obiection vnto your selues as it liketh your selues and aunswere vnto it as you lyste Your obiection is That the Prince commaunding a thing indifferent and profitable for the state of the Churche may be added must be obayed Wherevpon you say it must folowe you disobeyng therein must both your selues offende and be a stumblyng blocke for others In aunswere herevnto howe sclenderly you excuse your selues and auoyde blame howe daungerously you passe ouer other matters it had not ben greatly amisse to haue quietly left but that this place as well as others would haue somethyng spoken of it The aucthoritie you affirme of a Prince in these thinges indifferent is to commaunde theyr good vse and forbyd the contrary Upon which your resolution a man may reason with you thus The good vse of indifferent thinges is gods commaundement whiche a Prince must execute But this may be a good vse of these orders now taken as the contrary is not proued by you so consequently the magistrate may call vpon the execution of the same Touching the Minor this much we haue of your graunt that a time may

of Moises and that in the Temple to wynne to Chryst the obstinate Jewes The histories Ecclesiasticall also haue diuers experiences howe much our auncient fathers increased Christes Churche by such godly pollicie Hence it was that they plucked not downe all the Jewyshe Sinagoges and Heathenyshe Temples but turned them to the seruice of God that they altered theyr feast dayes that they chaunged their rites to Godlye purposes And that this myght be done it appeareth by S. Augustine to Publicola saying Cum vero ista vel in honorem veri dei conuertuntur hoc de illis fit quod de ipsis hominibus cum ex sacrilegis et impiis in veram religionem mutantur When these thinges be conuerted vnto the honour of the true God it is of them as it is of the parties them selues whan they were before committyng sacrilege and impietie nowe they be conuerted into true religious persons These fathers thought not them selues in suche thynges vnder the commaundement which God gaue his people to practise in the land of Canaan therfore durst not with an herotcal spirite destroy all that the Heathen had inuented before But dyd Vindicare tanquam ab iniustis possessoribus in vsum suum clayme to theyr owne ryght vse as it were from the iniust possessours such lyke thynges as you talke of in this declaration Neyther dyd almyghtie God wyll his people to ouerthrowe the Cananites images and aulters leste those Gentyles shoulde be made more obstinate in their false religion as you alleage the cause but rather as the text declareth leste Gods seruauntes shoulde thereby fall vnto their idolatrie For they were charged not to bryng that heathenyshe people to Gods true seruice but to rote them cleane out of the land which they had so wickedly polluted Wherfore you do wrye this place from his naturall sense Upon this text you adde a note in the margent That al monumentes of Idolatrie must be destroyed signifing what your auditours and readers shoulde iudge of these orders which yet you your selues sometimes acknowledge to be indifferent and maye be vsed when occasion shall serue If these thynges required at your handes be preciselye vnder that commaundement of God to his people enteryng the lande of Canaan then is all this controuersie at an ende Proue that and al is done It woulde helpe you very much in this matter to consider that there is great difference betwixte those thynges that were meerly inuented of the Heathen to the worshyp of Idols and to maynteyne idolatrie and those that haue ben abused of papistes specially these fewe thynges beyng first institute for no such intent From this argument of not edifiyng wherein you would haue vs rather yelde to your saying then be perswaded by your reasons you fall to speake against pollicie without the compasse of Gods word vnder the which you would comprise these orders not impius wicked And for want of matter thorow your spirite of ironie you must as you do to the Prince the Counsayle the Byshops the learned men ● wyse geue also to the aduertisementes theyr gyrde and nip whiche very prudently thinketh it well yf Ministers receyuyng these orders teache and protest for what ende and purpose they take and vse the same wherby others may learne what difference there is nowe when these thynges are set forth for decencie and order and the tyme when suche lyke were inforced as the seruyce of God What fault you fynde with this rule you declare not Peraduenture you thinke those garmentes yet stayned with Idolatry and therefore not to be receyued by any protestation wherein you are contrary to your selues to all learned men and to the scriptures Or els you thynke not this declaration suffient in these thinges indifferent that they be not vrged of necessitie that they be onlye appoynted for decencie and order wherevnto you maye adde more circumstaunces yf you wyll but they are contayned vnder those two whiche yf the Minister both holde hym selfe and diligently declare to other he may with discharge of conscience obey his Prince knowyng that comelynes and order edifie the Churche of Chryst. Well the aduertisements must be defaced with the infamous title of the inuention of man and such lyke And vpon what reason shall this be done Forsoth it is lyke the wysdome of them that woulde haue ymages you say in Churches to exercise theyr strength in refraynyng from the worship of them whiche thyng is agaynst the wysdome of God Deut. 7. You shoulde haue done the dueties of discrete preachers yf you had vttered this your vnlykely lykelyhood to them that stande in so fonde defence of ymages whereof what the doctrine of this Realme is it is publykely declared And as for these orders all obedient men well vnderstande that they are not geuen to trye any mans perfection Neyther do they passe the wysdome of God whiche in the Scriptures willeth all thynges to be done decently and orderly whiche graunteth the godly magistrate aucthoritie of makyng ecclesiasticall lawes whiche hath geuen also power to the Churche whiche promiseth his spirite to Synodes yea for ordeynyng rytes and maners But to beate downe this pollicie of mans brayne you say very lytle nay nothyng at all to the purpose that in thinges neyther commaunded nor forbydden we must not folowe our owne phantasies lest we heare In vayne do they worship me teaching doctrines the preceptes of men These preceptes of men wherewith the Prophete and the Apostle saye God is not worshipped were such as Chrisostome wryteth whiche the seniours had made newe other wayes then Moyses commaunded and preferred them in Gods seruice before the lawe of the Lord and added them to Gods worde as iudgeyng it otherwayes vnperfect for the saluation of Gods people On this maner no man at this tyme vrgeth these orders That holsome lawes of godly magistrates whiche seruing God as S. Augustine affirmeth they make not onlye for humayne societie but also for Gods religion which furthermore he truely tearmeth Clensing instrumentes of the Lordes barren floure profitable terrours commodious admonitions healthsom boundes medicine right phisical That these I say are not to be thought the preceptes of man it needeth not to call together here all the auncient felowship of fathers Doctour Bucer vpon this place may teache you the same who most godly pronounceth thus Quicquid homo statuerit quod quomodocunque ad vsum proximorum faciat c. Whatsoeuer man shall decree whiche by any meanes may make to the vse of his neighboures for that the same is deriued from the rule of charitie as be lawes ciuill domesticall statutes ceremonies and rytes whiche Christian men vse thereby to teache or heare Goddes worde more commodiouslye or to praye and about the Lordes Supper and Baptisme yea whatsoeuer shalbe a furtheraunce to passe our lyfe here more profitablye and decently That thing ought not to be esteemed as a tradition or precept of man though

auctoritie in respect of the abuse of the abuse I saye which he sawe had so great strength then in many places of Englande But you peraduenture fearyng leste this his saying were not so strong vpon your part as you wyshed you farther say that he wylleth in suche case as yeare nowe in no wyse to receyue them Wherevnto you cite his exposition vpon the. xviii Chapter of Saint Mathew This place yf you would haue indifferently rehearsed you should haue opened to the worlde that his mynde was that some ceremonies abused might be styl retained His wordes are these in the begynning almost of that his exposition Fateor equidem ●●●t ab Antichristis inuectum sit c. Though whatsoeuer thing is decreed contrary to the libertie of externe matters it hath ben brought in by Antichristes as the difference of persons meates dayes places and very many moe yet because commonly men were perswaded that all those thynges were the commaundementes of the Churche directed by the spirite of God so receyued all those thynges as comming from the wyll of God I acknowledge in deede that reason it is we vse circumspectly euen now the libertie obtayned by Christ and with Paule sometyme circumcise Timothy that is that we vse well some ceremonies whiche others abused takyng occasion thereby to teach Christ purely although by no meanes these inuentions of man can be compared with circumcision or the lyke ordinaunces of God Thus farre Doctour Bucer In this sentence though many thinges may be noted as that the false opinion of men dyd not perswade hym to caste all these thinges away as that these thinges were not to be refused because they were the deuises of man as that occasion myght hereby be taken to preache Chryst purely and suche other yet it shall suffise to put you in mynde that he thynketh godly men may well vse some rites whiche were abused before tyme. So that if you take one peece of his exposition with another you shal not neede to terme your betters and felowe seruauntes in Christ that receiue this apparell to be enemies or shrinkers This wel learned fathers wordes to his frend beyond the sea well wayed maketh nothyng agaynst the orders nowe practised For we may and do prayse be to God holde faste Puritatem rituum et doctrine the puritie of rytes and doctrine and also flee and detest the leuen of Antichrist with all erroures and superstition though we kepe these fewe ordinaunces accordyng to the rules of Gods booke wherein men had superstition before vs. There is a difference you knowe betwixt the puritie of rites and the cleane takyng away of all But peruse this godly mans Epistle Here you rehearse doctour Peter Martir by peccemeale when as there is no wryter of these dayes more euidently agaynst you But because you woulde haue men to suppose that all the learned ranne vppon your syde you are content also that this man should speake two wordes rather then be thought to kepe silence As touchyng this great Clarkes mynde peruse ouer his Epistle that foloweth and loke on his Commentaries vpon the fyrst to the Corinthians That glorious Martir of Chryst doctour Rydley you report howe he beyng required of papisticall persecutours to do on all their massyng apparell that thereby the papistes myght reioyce and worke theyr spite he you say refused them and spoke then vehemently agaynst them Surely herein he dyd lyke a constant professour of Christes religion perceyuyng the ende and purpose nought and wycked wherfore those thynges were then inforced vppon hym It was meete that he shoulde not then yelde one iote to them that sought to bryng hym into spirituall bondage agayne But euery man that wyll may see a great vnlikelyhood betwixt those tymes and ours betwixt their vse then and nowe betwixt their ende and cōmaundementes those that be now What iniurie you do to that worthy Byshop Master Jewel in framing his sentence to serue your humour al men that know him see and further vnderstand that he is not of your mynde You would fayne belike make a number yf you myght wherfore you wyll haue one way that you want another They that require your conformitie in these thinges hauyng by Gods lawe and mans the ouersight also of Gods people in this lande haue good hope that these thinges wherein they wyshe that you go forwarde with them to the worke of Gods buyldyng wyl do good and not hurt in this Churche at this season accordyng to those wordes whiche you bryng out of that excellent worke of so learned a Byshop They well weye the nature of theyr people the manifolde occasion they may obtayne hereby to spreade abrode the sweete smellyng sauour of the Gospell of Christ with diuers other the lyke considerations You had done wel if you woulde haue made some profe in these matters before you so confidently bare the matter downe with your vndoubted asseueration that they do hurt and want al good properties as yf you saw in one of your paroeces what is conuenient for the whole Realme And here with this stoute denyall wanting his proses you conclude the opinions of men which all both aliue and dead are as doth fully appeare cleane contrary to your iudgement in these matters of garmentes In the fourth and last place you consider what shal happen to yourselues yf you receyue these rites as you maye wel do with the rest of your brethren who fight in the lordes warfare a good fight hauyng fayth and a good conscience You shalbe thought you saye to bryng the people into Egypt agayne The wearyng of this apparell which as you often testifie is in his owne nature indifferent cannot be lykened to the bondage of Egipt whiche is slauerie to sinne errour and superstition The substaunce of popishe religion may well be compared to those cheynes for that many are sure tyed there with ignoraunce and blyndnes frō the which you may still go forwarde to Gods prayse and your owne discharge by discrete and diligent teachyng to loose Gods people sitting in darkenes and in the shadowe of death as many a godly man doth yet still folowyng the worthy examples of wyse preachers aforetyme who in such lyke thinges contented themselues with the maner of the region where they preached and neuer wylled them to lay aside their Heathenishe apparell no more then almightie God commaunded his people to caste away from them the Agiptians clothes when he delyuered them thence and preached vnto them newe lawes and ordinaunces Though Moyses suffered the people so redeemed from captiuitie to vse the Egiptians apparell yet no man thought that he woulde euer bryng them into Egipt agayne Thus then by doctrine yf you labour still to pull some out of captiuitie and darknes and go before your flocke on that maner as S. Paul speaketh you should be a paterne in worde in conuersation in loue in spirite in fayth and purenes you nede not to

from the begynnyng synce that I applyed my selfe vnto the Gospell my mynde was that this difference of vesture shoulde be taken awaye but yet so that I dyd not iudge it of theyr owne nature eyther wicked or pernitious I beseche God almyghtie to preserue you safe sounde with all your householde through Chryst Jesus our Lorde Farewell At Oxforde the fourth of Nouember 1550. Yours both in minde and spirite vvholly Peter Martir Amplissimo domino et Colendissimo Symmistae Ioanni à Lasco ¶ The Lorde graunt vnto vs in these troublesome tymes of the Church to begyn and finis he all things that offences and daungers be not encreased Amen THe more diligently I weigh and consyder both what fruite we may gather by this controuersie of vestures also what Sathan goeth about thereby to worke I woulde haue wyshed before the Lorde that it neuer once hadde ben spoken of but rather that all men of our function had agreeably and stoutlye gone forwarde and continued in teachyng true repentaunce the holsome vse of all thynges yea in commendyng and puttyng on the apparell of saluation I see in very many right honorable alas I say I see their marueilous diligence in abolishing Amelech concernyng stones stockes vestures those thynges that be without vs when in theyr deedes and whole lyfe they most styflye retayne the whole Amelech styll I knowe also some that helpe forward this stryfe so that in the meane tyme the chiefe and most necessary poyntes are lesse regarded called vpon that is of remouyng sacrilegious persons from spoylyng of Churches of prouydyng fyt ministers for euery paryshe of the restoryng of discipline agayne As for my part yf I thought those ceremonies and vestures were impure of them selues I woulde not take vppon me in any wyse the office of a Byshop vntyll by ordinary aucthoritie they were taken away c. But to the purpose I thynke it not impartinent vnto this matter that we all be admonyshed to take heede of Sathans accustomed sleyghtes whereby he leadeth vs away from the care of necessary thynges to the carefulnesse of those thynges whiche may be well let passe and from the searchyng out of the true doctrine of Chryst to induce vs to those things wherin few can consent a like finally by the which he kyndleth in diuers men a zele to purge those thynges which are without vs thereby to neglect our inwarde deformities And seyng whatsoeuer we do eyther in worde or deede both priuately and publiquely we ought to do it in the name of our Lord Jesu Christ geuing thanks by hym to God the father Surely it is our duetie no lesse circumspectly to beware that we nether do nor leaue vndone any thyng whereof we haue not sure or certayne auctoritie out of Gods worde touchyng our actions and matters domesticall and Ecclesiasticall It is alwayes in all thynges synne whatsoeuer is not of fayth of the certayne worde of God But to consider this question in it selfe I haue accordyng to my gyfte weyghed your reasons and yet I can perceyue no other but that the vse of all externall thynges aswell in holy ceremonies as in priuate matters ought to be left free to the Churches of God I call that free vse wherin godly men vse thynges created of God without any superstition and to a certayne edifiyng of theyr fayth in Chryst. I veryly as I haue confessed vnto you and haue declared in deede vnto our countreymen had rather that no kynde of vesture whiche the papistes vsed were retayned amongst vs and that both for the more full detestation of the Antichristian priesthood and also for playner aduouchyng of Christian libertie yea and to be shorte for the auoydyng of daungerous contentions among the brethren though notwithstandyng I woulde haue the Ministers of Churches to vse sage vesture and such whereby they myght be discerned from other men but chiefely I woulde all the discipline of Christ to be in force among vs Yet I can not be brought by any Scriptures as farre as I see hytherto to denye that the true Ministers of Christes Churche may vse without superstition and to a certayne edification of fayth in Christ any of those vestures whiche the Antichristians abused For what shoulde let but that the Churches maye vse that whyte vesture or more vestures to monyshe vs precisely of that diuine benefite which he by the holy ministerie of the Church dealeth vnto vs the benefite I saye of the lyght and dignitie of that heauenly doctrine by the which also the Ministers them selues may be the more myndfull of theyr offyce and had both for it and by the admonyshment of that outwarde token in greater reuerence of the common people of the Churche Whether we wyll or naye we are compelled to confesse that the insignes of them that beare publique offices helpe somethinges to retayne and encrease the auctoritie of Magistrates and publique power yf other thynges want not by the which the true reuerence is geuen vnto them For yf these thynges be not ioyned with those ensignes they induce not a veneration but rather the singuler detestation of them who vnworthyly vse these notes of vertue Signes in deede are signes and not the thynges yet how much they are able to admonyshe moue the mynd God geuyng the increase he that obserueth wyll wonder Wherefore whereas otherwayes the true dignitie of Ministers is euident if any perticuler Church by publique iugement do consent vpon the retaining of certain vestures only for the cōmendyng vnto vs of the gyftes of God which he geueth by the ministery of the Church and for to put the yonger and ruder sort in mynde without all superstition Truelye I can not see why suche vse of vestures in suche a Church may not serue to some commendation of the holye ministerie and so consequentlye to the edification of fayth For what let is there but at this day they which are indued with the same spirite of faith may vse a few signes as godly as the auncient holy men haue vsed many They had you wyll say expresse writing concerning the vse of their signes I graunt and in deede it made much touchyng the true vse of their signes But in that God dyd commaunde the vse of those and many signes we certaynly learne that the vse of those signes may serue he geuyng grace to promote true religion and that it hath none vncleannesse in it selfe or superstition neither can be by the abuse of the wicked so polluted that it can not be healthful to godly men vsyng it godly Nowe when as God by his worde hath sanctified all thyngs by our prayers and hath made al thynges pure to the pure what cause can we alleage out of the worde of God to deny that god wyl not blesse such vse of signes wherof we speake that it should not be effectuous to that Church to some commendation of the ministery and therof also to some edification of fayth For

by men it be commaunded but as the tradition or precept of god Thus farre Doctour Bucer With whom Maister Caluine very wel agreeth saying ‡ That which is part of decencie commended vnto vs by the Apostle though it be prescribed by man is Gods tradition and not mans as kneelyng at solemne prayers and suche lyke So then if you woulde haue rested vppon the censures of these godly learned men you shoulde not haue needed thus vnwysely to haue skoffed at this wysdome of man contaynyng her selfe within the limittes of the wysdome of God as is before proued and myght be fully iustified by infinite places of Germayne wryters and by theyr letters of late sent into the Realme to dyuers godly but for prolixitie The thyrde mayne reason you vse is That none of Christes litleones must be offended Whiche thyng accordyng to your vsage you augment with sundrye textes of Scripture as yf all the men of vnderstandyng in this Realme were yet aslepe and neyther saw nor harde the voyce of theyr maister Christ and his holy Apostle But you passe ouer with silence that whiche you shoulde haue substauncially waded through Vz That these orders nowe taken do iustly offende the weake lambes of Christes folde Wherfore to aunswere to the generall proposition it is not expedient seeing it is holden as most true of all men But concerning the offendyng of the weake briefely In indifferent thynges if lawe for common tranquilitie haue prescribed no order what ought to be done a Christian man ought to haue a great regarde of his neyghbours conscience accordyng to S. Paules doctrine But yf lawe foreseeyng harmes and prouiding quietnes haue taken lawefull order therin offence is taken and not geuen when the subiect doth his duetie in obedience so seuerely enioyned hym by Gods worde Notwithstandyng you say that a wyse shipper in saylyng wyll not come nygh rockes and flattes yf he may but take sea rowme ynough In deede the wyse shipmen of our Churche haue spyed the rockes of false doctrine superstition and errour wherevpon many haue ben cast away and to auoyde them haue taken rowme ynough in the scriptures of God For outwarde apparell of them selues are not suche rockes and flattes as you do phantasie neyther euer harde you any of Christes seruauntes to be in daunger of perishing iustly by them as they be now appoynted Yea you may beholde many a godly passenger vnder these orders saylyng with a straight course towarde that heauenly Hauen whervnto he trusteth safely to arriue Al these men in this ship of Christ takyng example by the politike gouernour S. Paul crye out aloude and say Non omnia papistica edificant All popery doth not edifie and are marueylous circumspect and carefull lest any of Christes deare flocke should be offended As for the place alleaged by you where S. Paule forbyddeth Cōmunion with the Gentyles in their idolatricall worshyppyng yf you had applyed it you shoulde haue perceyued no sequele therof For thankes be to God we dwell not among the Babilonians and Chaldies we haue in our Church no publique worshyppyng of Idolles no Heathenishe or idolatrical sacrifice as were in some place of the citie of Corinth whose societie contagion we ought to auoyde And yf there be in a Church where Christes Gospel is purely preached and his sacraments rightly ministred some euyl among the good as in one net diuers sortes of fishes in one fielde wheate and tares in one barne corne and chaffe yet the good are not sayde to communicate or be defyled of the badde as long as they consent not to theyr wickednes but depart from among them not by corporall separation but by dissimilitude of life and diuersitie of maners though they both vse the same temple the same table the same sacramentes as S. Augustine setteth out at large It is one thyng to flee from communicatyng with open professed idolatrie theyr prophanes rites and deuylyshe orders though in hart we worshyp God and another ryghtly to vse rites and fassions abused all the abuses beyng clearely condempned Of the one we haue an expresse commaundement in Scripture the other our auncient fathers haue practised before you and Gods holy worde hath not forbydden it The fourth foundation or grounde that you lay is That you must needes cast away and forsake all those thynges as haue ben brought into the Church besides or contrary to the Scripture This platte you enlarge with a dosen seuerall sentences all which paynes you myght well haue saued yf you had not mynded to haue ben bytyng and snappyng by the way at your superiours This trueth all faythful Christians confirme with you That concernyng fayth and doctrine concernyng remission of sinnes and eternall saluation nothing ought to be taught or receyued which is contrary or not grounded in the Canonicall Scriptures For holy writ geuen by the inspiration of God is not only a lyght to our feete as Dauid sayth but also so profitable that thereby the man of God maye be absolute beyng made perfecte vnto all good workes as Saint Paule testifieth And though this be most true touchyng the substaunce of Christian religion yet the maner and order of settyng of it foorth is not particularly expressed but generally left to the disposition of Christes Churche from tyme to tyme accordyng to those wordes of Saint Paule * Let all thynges be done comely and orderly Wherein whatsoeuer shalbe lawfully done to those purposes is not to be iudged besydes the Scriptures As for example Fastyng is commaunded in Gods worde But what dayes we shoulde fast or what dayes we shoulde not beyng not there determined yf the Christian Churche decree it is not besydes the Scripture The ministryng of Baptisme the Lordes supper is commaunded in Gods worde But what dayes what tymes what places in what companye with what prayers before and after yf the Christian Churche decree it is not besides the Scriptures And accordyng to this Saint Augustine wryteth touchyng the receyuyng of the Sacrament of the body bloud of Christ fastyng in the mornyng Saluator ideo non praecepit quo deinceps ordine sumeretur vt Apostolis per quos Ecclesias dispositurus erat seruaret hunc locum Our Sauiour therfore hath not cōmaunded in what order the Sacrament shoulde be afterwarde receyued because he myght reserue this place to his Apostles by whom he woulde order the Churches Thus also the preachyng of the Gospell is commaunded in Gods worde but howe to do this office in Pulpit or otherwayes in mornyng or after noone and so forth yf the Christian Churche decree it is not besides the Scripture The lyke may be sayde concernyng lawes politike of Princes affayres and trafficke betwixt man man whose groundes and rules are in Gods worde and yet the particular circumstaunces in practising them being diuers in sundry Countreys accordyng to the iudgement of magistrates are not besides Scriptures when al those diuersities haue Gods worde for theyr