beginning of the world And this is true humility when we presume nothing upon our owne strength or worthinesse but depend wholly upon the truth of Gods promises Moreover marke the Comandement of the Apostle to the Cor. Prove your selves whether you are in faith examine your selves know you not your own selves how that Jesus Christ dwelleth in you except ye be reprobates 1 Cor. 3.5 Know yâ— not saith the Apostle know ye not that is assuredly and certainly without doubting c. The Prophet Nathan said to David 1 Sam. 12. Thy sin is done away And our Saviour Christ said Son be of good cheere thy sinnes are forgiven thee Mat. 9. And thy faith hath made thee whole hath hath not shall shall it is done doubt not c. Therefore we justly conclude out of the stable Word of God That faith is a knowledge firme and certaine But Popery doth crosse this plaine truth That knowledge ought to go with faith There is nothing more hatefull in that Kingdome of darknesse than to heare of knowledge and in this particular most they abide it not For Nic Cusanus Epist 2. ad Baron a great pillar of their Church is not ashamed to write that Obedientia irrationalis est consummata obedientia perfectissima quando obeditur sine inquisitione rationis sicut iâ—mentum obedit Domino suo Obedience without reason is a full and most perfect obedience when thou obeyest without asking any reason as the horse doth his Master Upon these words Bishop Babington in his Exposition upon the first Article of the Creed saith thus A most strange speech and fitter for a horse or Baalams Asse than for a man surely most ill beseeming a Cardinall but that errour will often be most grosse Yet he stayeth not here but again in the same Epistle answering to this Objection What if the Church comand contrary to Christ whom must we obey with as great grosnesse he saith againe Ab hoc est omnium praesumptionum initium c. This is the beginning of all presumption when particular men thinke their own judgement to be more agreeable to Gods Comandements than the judgement of the Universall Church Whereby you see that he utterly disliketh the people should any way seeke to know what they believe or what they obey unto but simply and sillily to follow blind guides whithersoever they please to lead them The very selfe same darknesse doth Doctor Smith and other of their Catholick teachers againe deliver in one of his Books where he saith That albeit a man do by the comandement of his Bishop or Priest a wicked thing yet this very cloak of his simple obedience shall excuse him But the blessed Apostles knew no such obedience when they answered Whether it is better to obey God or man judge you c. Sir Thomas Moore and other of that side not unlearned boldly avoucheth that If ten should preach in a day and every one contrary to another yet shall he never thrive that will search who saith true directly contrary to the Commandement of our Saviour Christ John 5. Search the Scriptures and to that notable example of the men of Berea so comended and liked by the Holy Ghost that believed not even Saint Paul himselfe without triall but searched the Scriptures whether those things were so Acts 17. And we further read in the Scriptures 1 Thes 5. and 1 John 4.1 and 1 Cor. 11.1 Prove all things hold fast that which is good believe not every spirit but try the spirits whether they be of God or no be ye followers of me but how even as I am of Christ Mark this example well and consider in your own heart whether any Priest or Prelate under heaven may challenge more obedience of Gods people than the blessed Apostle might but the Apostles will be obeyed no further than he obeyeth and followeth Christ which he leaveth us ever to try him in As this Doctrine of Proving all things now in question doth reprove the palpable ignorance and blinde zeale of the Papists so it doth comend the activity and diligence of many of the Laity as of the Clergy in those last times that have attained unto a great measure of knowledge of Gods revealed Will by an industrious and frequent reading of the Scriptures joyned with prayer and hearing of the Word not omitting conference with the learned and using other good means for the right understanding of them This Doctrine I say doth approve the labours of some that in humility of heart sâ—eke the Lord but withall it condemneth the arrogancy and over-boldnesse of others that have a zeale of God but not according to knowledge Rom. 10.2 That boast much of the spirit but can they shew the fruits thereof in their words and actions If we live in the spirit let us also walke in the spirit Let us not be desirous of vaine glory provoking one another The Apostle telleth us The fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meeknesse temperance against such there is no law Galat. 5.22 23. Moreover the Papists are more blinde in their beliefe than they are grosly idolatrous in their worship and service of God It shall be worth our time and paines to consider the worshipping of Images whether it be lawfull for a Christian man or woman cringing kneeling creeping crossing kissing lighting up candles to it and such like as we see done in the Church of Rome with great observation In the Scriptures of God we have a plaine Comandement Thou shalt not make any graven image c. Read the 4.5.6 and 7 Chapters of Deut. Neither shalt thou set thee up any graven image which the Lord thy God hateth Deut. 16. Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image an abomination unto the Lord the workes of the hands of the craftsman and putteth it in a secret place Deut. 27. See Exod. 23.24 Levit. 26.30 and Isai 41.29 and 44.10 and Jer. 43.13 and Psalm 97. Let it fall then even in the feare of God what mans head inventeth against the Lord in his own duty and at the last let us see it to be a vain mocks to think we can worship God in an Image and by it or under it Our Adversaries have a shift for defence of Images in the Church but it is a very ill favoured one They are say they Lay-mens books and stand in very good stead to put us in mind of God Now that they are no good Books but very dangerous and deceiving sights for lay-men or other whatsoever let the Word of the Lord himself be Judge The Prophet Jeremie in Zeal of Spirit detesteth such books and refuseth to be put in minde of God by any such deceitfull means For the Stock saith he is a doctrine of vanity yea they are vanity and the work of errours and in the time of their visitation they shall perish Jer. 10. The Prophet Habakuk againe saith That the image is a teacher
written in the Book that Hilkiah the Priest found in the House of the Lord. And like unto him was there no King before him that turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soule and with all his might according to all the Law of Moses neither after him arose any like him 2 Kings 22 23. Chapters Now therefore my Lord the King arise and be doing and the Lord be with thee And command all your Children your Confederates and Allies your Nobles and your Commons and all the people of your Kingdoms to help you saying Is not the Lord your God with you And hath he not given you rest on every side for he hath given your enemies into your hands and the Land is subdued before the Lord and before his people Now set your heart and your soul to seeke the Lord your God arise therefore and build ye the Sanctuary of the Lord God establish Religion in its purity according to Gods Word settle the Church government compose the differences and heal the distempers that our sins have made repair ye the breaches and build up the waste places in the Church and State and doe you Judgement and Justice throughout all my Dominions And comand all the people to gather themselves together as one man and to make confession saying O Lord the great and dreadfull God keeping the Covenant and mercie to them that love him and to them that keepe his Comandements We have sinned and have committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled even hy departing from thy precepts and from thy judgements Neither have we harkned unto thy servants the Ministers and Preachers of thy Word and Ordinances which spake in thy name to our King our Princes and our Fathers and to all the people of the Land O Lord to us belongeth confusion of face because we have sinned against thee To the Lord our God belongeth mercies and forgivenesses though we have rebelled against him O Lord we have been disobedient and rebelled against thee and cast thy Law behinde our backs have slain thy servants which testified against us to turn us unto thee and we have wrought great provocations therefore thou deliverest us into the hands of our enemies who vexed us in the time of our trouble when we cryed unto thee thou heardst us from heaven and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest us Saviours who saved us out of the hands of our enemies But after we had rest we did evill again before thee therefore leftest thou us in the hand of our enemies so that they had the dominion over us yet when we returned and cried unto thee thou heardst us from heaven and many times didst thou deliver us according to thy mercies Thou didst not utterly consume us nor forsake us for thou art a gracious and a mercifull God Now therefore our God the great the mighty and the terrible God who keepest Covenant and mercie Let not all the trouble seeme little before thee that hath come upon us on our King on our Princes and Nobles and on our Ministers and Elders on our fathers on all thy people since the time of the Kings departing from his Parliaments and people unto this day Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us for thou hast done right but we have done wickedly Neither have our King our Princes and Nobles our Elders and Ministers of thy Word nor our Fathers kept thy Law nor hearkned unto thy Commandements and thy Testimonies wherewith thou didst testifie against them For they have not served thee in their Kingdom in thy great goodness that thou gavest them and in the large and fatland which thou gavest before them neither turned they from their wicked works Behold we are servants this day and for the land which thou gavest unto our Fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof behold we are servants in it And it yieldeth much increase unto them whom thou hast set over us because of our sins also they have dominion over our bodies and over our cattell at their pleasure and we are in great distress And because of all this let us make a sure Covenant and write it and let the King our Princes and Nobles our Elders and Ministers of Gods Word and Ordinances our Fathers and all the people of your Majesties Dominions seal unto it And finally may it please your Excellent Majesty to attend unto the doctrine and exhortations of the Apostle 1 Thes Chap. 5. and Hebrews 13.20 21. Quench not the spirit despise not prophesyings prove all things hold fast that which is good abstain from all appearance of evill And the very God of Peace sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole spirit and soule and body be preserved blameless unto the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ Faithfull is he that calleth you who also will do it Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Iesus that great Shepherd of the sheep through the bloud of the everlasting Covenant Make you perfect in every good work to do his will working in you that which is pleasing in his sight through Iesus Christ to whom be glory forever Amen I have not omitted for many yeares together my Sovereign Lord daily and constantly to pray for the temporall and eternall happiness of the King the Queen your Consort and Royall Progeny with that integrity of heart zeal and devout affection as I pray for the Church of God and the salvation of my own soul Thus rejoyceth evermore to pray without ceasing Royall Sir Your Majesties humbly devoted Oratour most dutifull loyall and faithfull Subject and Servant in the Lord Thomas de la More Cornet to his Excellencie Sir Thomas Fairfax Knight Generall of England c. From my Quarters at Spaldwick in Huntingdonshire Feb. 22. 1646. Note * Mistakes in the imprinting may be thus amended Page 1. line 7. read unrighteousness p. 4. line 23. blot out neither p. 5. l. 3. read weed p. 7. l. 11. blot out so p. 17. l. 13. read conveying p. 20. l. 10. read butt line 12. blot out the second but. p. 24. l. 8. read we are sold we were sold Imprimatur Iohn Downame A Protestation concerning the Church and Common-wealth of ENGLAND Composed 1641 By Thomas de la More of Graies-Inne Esq revised and published in the Yeer of Grace and Truth 1648. The first Part. SECT I. JOSVAH'S Resolution IEHOVAH our King who ruleth the Hoast of Heaven and scepters the hearts of Princes and great Potentates on earth with the powerfull Arme of his Justice mightily defendeth and with the sovereigne hand of his mercy graciously preserveth these our Kingdomes of great Britaine and Ireland from desolation and miserable confusion Satan rageth and his ministers fight against Christ they take the weapons of righteousnesse and smite their Reprovers like the mad Prophet with obloquie and murtherous intentions They maligne revile and
Church and Commonwealth Why such a one as I so obscure to the eye of the world and so mean in many respects would adventure or dare once to peepe forth among the press of Wits that justle abroad by whole Troops and Bands like so many Armed Souldiers fit for Rencontre in this understanding eagle-ey'd literate knowing age To this I answer First albeit I am of green years and 't is true I am of a weak and raw judgement of small experience learning and ability yet it is now almost thirteen years since I was admitted a Scholar into the University at Oxford where I continued six years and upwards and sithence I have been resident for the most part in London and a Student in the Municipall or Common Laws of the Realm and some knowledge I have gained in Travell Secondly I have met with great oppositions and contradictions of the Religion which I professe by Papists Arminians selfe-knowing conceited men and others popishly affected in the Society wherein I live and in other places where I have been conversant And herein I would gladly quit my selfe of the prejudice and misprisions of mine Adversaries by protesting against them and their Tenets And thirdly only for holding and defending the Doctrine of the Reformed Protestant Religion as it is expressed in the 39 Articles of the Church of England and agreeable to Gods Word and for my obedience thereunto and likewise for maintaining the honour the Wisdome and Justice of the proceedings of the High-Court of Parliament against the malice and force of Ignorance and blinde Zeal against the rash opinions of unsetled vain-heads and against the intoxicating poysonous breath of malevolent Tongues This I had for my paines I was counted and esteemed of as a Time-server a Puritan a Brownist an Ignoranius if not a Separatist a Schismatick an Heretick and one that had the spirit of giddinesse These things I say were strong motives unto me to make this Apologeticall profession of my faith the sincerity of mine intentions and actions But the chief reason indeed that moved me to write this my Protestation was the faithfull and true discharge of my conscience For where God hath given a minde a will and in some measure abilities there ought not to be an unprofitable doing nothing But the Talents of Grace according to our Saviours precept are to be well imployed that when we are called to give an account of our Stewardships our Master Christ Jesus may receive from us his servants the glory and praise of his own grace And since I might not and in truth it were unseemly that I should bring a rough and unpolished Talent to the Common Gazophilacy or Treasury of Religion I deem it meet to cast this Mite into my Spirituall mothers lap the Church of England And though I am no Pilot to guide or to steer the course of our Church which like a ship tossed and blown to and fro with storms and tempests is floating in a Sea of Errours Schismes and Heresies yet as a Passenger being on ship-board I may put forth a hand to help take in Sailes when this great Vessell is either in danger of running a ground upon the quicke-sands of prophanesse or of being bruised by clashing against the Rock of Popery and Superstitions But I know that our Saviour Jesus Christ our onely Mediatour our mercifull Redeemer Head and Governour is both able to keep and he will preserve his Church the pillar and ground of Truth from a finall merging and sinking Now that I may draw to a period of this my Discourse I will cast anchor upon a Resolve Notwithstanding all the pestilent and wicked oppositions the malice envy and hellish projects whereby any Adversary powers do endeavour and plot our ruine and destruction yet let us be strong and very courageous let us resolve and say with Joshuah we will serve the Lord. And let us pray O Eternall God our heavenly Father graciously heare us that those evils which the craft and subtilty of the devill or man worketh against us be brought to nought and by the providence of thy goodnesse they may be dispersed that we thy servants being hurt by no persecutions may evermore give thanks unto thee in thy holy Churh Through Jesus Christ our Lord. I will conclude with the usuall prayer of Martin Luther Confirme O God in us that thou hast wrought and perfect the worke that thou hast begun in us to thy glory So be it Now unto God alone who in his own Substance is Originall in and by himselfe the very Essence of all naturall created existences and beings and the Authour of all Order and Authority be ascribed all due Honour Majesty Might and Dominion by men here by Saints and Angels in the Heaven of Heavens Halelelujahs be sung evermore Amen Amen FINIS