†A godly and necessarye admonition of the Decrees and Canons of the Counsel of Trent celebrated vnder Pius the fourth Byshop of Rome in the yeares of our Lord. M. D. LXII and. M. D. LXIII Wrytten for those godlye disposed persons sakes whych looke for amendement of Doctrine and Ceremonies to bee made by generall Counsels Lately translated out of Latine Psalm xxvi Odi ecclesiam malignantium I haue hated the Congregations of the wycked Math. xv What soeuer my heauenlye father hath not planted shalbe plucked vp by the rootes ¶ Imprinted at London by Iohn Day dwellyng ouer Aldersgate beneath Saint Martins ¶ Cum gratia et priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis per septennium The. xix of February 1564. These bookes are to be sold at hys shop vnder the Gate ⧠The Preface to the Reader OUr Lorde and Sauioure Iesus Christ when he hadde confirmed the mindes of his Disciples agaynste the daungers of persecution whych they shoulde be in daunger of for the confession of the truth of his doctrine with a spirite thurstyng our saluation brake foorth into these woordes What profiteth it a man sayd he though he win al the world if he lose hys own soule Or what recompence shal a man geue for his soule And his meaning was to admonish not onely his Disciples but also al vs together with them how much the saluation of soules is to be made of which being deliuered from the bodye and once abiected from God can by no price or recompence he redemed agayne But then are they most of al endaungered when they straye from the true knowledge of God and his syncere woorshipping For God is lyfe and truth and therefore the death of the soule is to decline froÌ„ the rule of the wyl of God reuealed in Christ. But bicause the Lorde speaketh not vnto vs from heauen but hath vpoÌ„ earth instituted the ministery of teaching whereby men are instructed of the wil of God we see that for that cause I say men are diuerslye affected For they which teach in the churche of God doo not euerye where professe one and the selfe same doctrine And when Christ sayde of true teachers He that heareth you heareth me And agayne If he shal not heare the church let hym bee vnto thee as an Ethnicke and a Publicane they excedinglye doubt vnto what congregation in so great a diuersitye of opinions they ought to soyne them selues For on the one syde they are holden by ordinary succession as they caâ—… it and custome and consent of very long tyme in whose congregation yet neuerthelesse they see very many errours and no small abuses which they them selues vnderstand and iudge that they ought of necessity to be amended On the other side against humane traditions they heare the expresse woorde of God brought foorth and vrged but for asmuch as they fynde among those meÌ„ also occasion to be offended and chiefely bicause they thinke that the chaunging of doctrine and ceremonies pertaineth not vnto euery man but vnto the ordinarye power they can scarse tel which way to turne them selues They flye therefore vnto the authority of a Counsel as to an onely sanctuary whereby they iudge that dissension sprong in the Church may most commodiously be taken awaye Of which thyng when deliberation was had long tyme and often by the orders of the Empyre neither yet by any conditions whereby on eyther syde it was requyred it could be obtained the saluation of many men hath by the stay of so long tyme bene miserably endaungered And although such are iustly to be reproued whych neglecting the very sounding from heauen of the sonne of God Heare him haue a regarde vnto the authority of men for the consideration of our saluation is not so obscurelye taught but that euen the moste simplest in fayth may comprehende it yet I thinke not that this kinde of men is to bee abiected But rather in that part wherin we see that they ar sicke we must after the exaÌ„ple of the Apostels to our power study to heale theÌ„ For that happeneth in this our time which we reade happened at Ierusalem on the day of Pentecost after the ascention of Christe into heauen For when the people saw and heard the Apostels with sundry tounges celebrate the wonderful things of God whom yet the Priestes Scribâ—…s and Phariseis had a litle before condemned and persecuted they were vtterly at their wyts ende and in doubte whose doctrine they should embrace For Christ seemed no lesse to commend the doctrine of the Phariseis than the doctrine of the Apostels when he said Upon the chaire of Moses syt the Scribes and Phariseis that which they say doo ye What maruaile is it if the rude and vnlearned people were doubtfull For the Phariseis vnto whom they were so long tyme addicted in learning the woorshippyng of God taught one thing and the Apostels an other thing The selfe same thing vndoubtedlye wee see happeneth in this our age For with our Elders great hath bene the authority of the Church of Rome wherewith the eyes of many men are yet styl blinded But no lesse yea rather farre greater is the authority of the woord of God whereby are reproued errours and abuses which haue throughe the negligence and auarice of men crept into the Church A man that wyl ryd him selfe our of these difficulties ought not vtterly to be vnskilful in holy matters and so to be addicted vnto the Church that in the meane tyme he same not against the manifest wil of God expressed in the woord of the Gospel But there are two rockes betwene which godlye men must wyth great care and diligence sayle For some by reason of lightnes of mind without iudgement and true faith embrace euery maner of religion But other some to stubbornlye resist and wyll not once so muche as vauchsafe to know the doctrine set foorth bicause their minde is bent vnto an opinion which they defend for the truth Or bring ouercome with the pleasures of this worlde they haue no care of the truth nor saluation of their soules But there is none amongest them that are trulye godlye so rude to thinke that so great inconstancye of minde in the doctrine of religion or stubbornes in errors should be numbred among vertues but by the holy scriptures they are taught that either of them is to be auoyded For against inconstancy the Apostle speaketh Let vs not be as â—…ytile ones wauering neither let vs be caried about with euerye wynde of doctrine But against stubbornes in errour Iohn hath left in writing Proue the spirites whether they be of God Wherwith the selfe same Apostle agreeth Quench not saith he the spirite despise not prophecies But proue ye al thing that which is good hold But bicause it is a singular gift of God to proue spirites and as the Apostle saith prophecye that is the naturall interpretation of the holy scripture belongeth not to euery man Manye suppose that thys
of the whole world These testimonies of the holy Scripture of the olde and newe Testament doo manifestlye teache that besides the obedience of Christe made in the fleshe there is no other satisfaction for synnes and that they are fowlely deceaued which do put some part of satisfaction eyther in theyr owne passions or elles in their fained purgatorye To deuide in halfe the merite of the passion of Christ is vtterly to abolish his meryte for he is no halfe or vnperfect redemer but a perfect redemer with one oblatiō saieth the Epistle to the Hebrewes hath he for euer made perfect those which are sanctified Heb. x. But bycause they see that the expiation or satisfaction for synnes is by moste manifeste testimonyes of the scripture attributed onely vnto Christe they goe aboute to auoyde them by a vayne distinction when they teache that the synnes themselues are not expiated but that for the eternall payne dew vnto synnes the satisfaction of temporall payne is expiation made but in affyrmyng of these thynges they shewe in very deede that they are vtterly ignoraunt what remission of synnes is For what other thyng ells is remission of synne than that God fyrst receaueth vs into fauoure and forgeueth the faulte of synnes then also he remitteth the punyshemente whiche we haue deserued by our synnes Wherfore where there is not a full and perfecte remission of payne but that some satisfaction is requyred there also is not a full and perfecte remission of synnes I knowe the Councell of Trent can not vnloose thys knotte and if thys be manifest to be the doctrine of the holy Ghost then will fal away theyr satisfactions for synnes and the fyre of purgatorye shal easiy be quenched And although the Lord somtimes do some what more seuerely chastē those whose sinnes he remitteth according to hys will as he vnderstandeth to bee expediente for them yet is that by no meanes to be counted a satisfaction for y e payne of sinne but a healthfull discipline to kepe them in doing theyr dutie and to cause them to woorke theyr saluation in feare and trembling When we are iudged sayth the Apostle we are corrected of the Lorde least we should be condemned with the world He sayeth not that we are corrected to the ende we shoulde satisfye part of the iustice of God but to the entent we should not synne hereafter or flatter our selues in sinnes Also y t fayned fyre of Purgatorye is manifestly against this sentence of Christ wherin he sayth Uerely I say vnto you he whiche heareth my worde and beleueth in him which sent me hath eternal lyfe shal not come to iudgement but hath passed from death to life It is also contra ry vnto the most sweete consolation of the Apostle which is written vnto the Thessalonians where the death of the Godly is called a sleepe I will not sayth the Apostle that you shoulde be ignoraunte brethren of those whiche haue fallen on slepe c. But it might be called a wonderfull sleepe if it were ioyned with so greate a tormente of purgatory fyer Which the Sophisters affyrme differeth nothing from the infernall fyre but only in respecte of duraunce of time Whereof you shall heare what the Disciple sayth in his Sermon of soules whose words are these For if all the coales of the whole worlde being gathered together vpō one heape were on fyre and if a man shoulde stande in the middest of them he shoulde not susstaine so greate heate as the soules sustaine in purgatory Of thys fayned fyre of purgatory the holy prophetes and Apostles know nothing y e holy scripture is ignorant therof neyther knoweth it of any other fyre after thys life than of the infernal euerlasting fyre of the damned which shall neuer be quenched but al the misery of those y ◠shal be saued endeth in this world wherein yet also is the beginning of eternall life And although y ◠Byshops of Rome with their Cardinalles Byshoppes Sacrificers and monkes were man◅ yeares ago admonished of all these pernitious errors ye◅ se great is their stubborn◅es and security in defending of errors that in s◅ manifest a lyght of the doctrine of y e Gospell they are bolde to obtrude them agayne vnto Christian people so muche are they bewitched by the spirite of lying that they shoulde not geue place vnto the truth of the heauenly doctrine whiche the Lord hath raysed vp againe in the latter times hath kindled the true lyght in the hartes of many I thought good to admonishe the godly reader of all these thinges before I tooke in hande to confute the rest of the decrees and Canons whiche were made vnder the Bishop of Rome Pius the fourth concerning the Sacramentes all which namely decrees and Canons seing they were allowed by the Counsell gathered together the laste yeare they whiche are but meanely instructed in the doctrine of pietie may most manifestly see y ◠there is no good thing to be hoped for at their handes For what but euen briefly to repeate all things pietie or sounde doctrine canst thou looke for of them which acknowledge not the disease of the corrupt nature of man dare denye it to be sinne contrary to the Apostle Which denye that man is dead thorough sinne and doo attribute vnto him strengthes yet remayning wherby he may apply him selfe vnto grace Whiche also excuse workes of the Ethnikes and infidels from sinne Whiche are ignorant of the nature difference of the law and of the Gospell Which condemne the righteousnesse of faith which thorough the obedience of Christ resteth onely in the mercy of God Whiche teache a man continually to doubt of the grace and fauor of God Whiche dreame y ◠the faythfull can fulfill the lawe of God Whiche besides the passion and death of Christ do teache vs to seeke other satisfactiō in this life in y e world to come What good thing I saye can a Christian Publique welth hope or loke for from suche fathers when as with their peruerse and vngodly decrees they do not o◅ely peruert the foundations and principall poyntes of Christian Religion but also as much as lieth in them vtterly ◅uerthrow them Where as there are fiue principall feast dayes wherein the benefites of the sonne of God are yearely celebrated in the Churche the feastes of the Natiuitie of Christ of hys Passion Resurrection and Ascencion into heauen also the feast of Whitsontyde Of all these feastes the Fathers of the Counsell of Trent haue left vs nothyng but the names and truth of the historye whiche is also in the deuilles vnto whiche fathers thou mayst most aptly apply this sayeng of Paul They professe that they know God but in dedes they deny hym when as they are abhominable and not harknyng to his worde and reprobate to all good workes For the power and fruite of the holye Natiuitie of Christe is to purge and make cleane our vnpure Natiuitie whiche were
cōsiderations a cōtrary custome hath grown in vse being by y e church praysed com maūded which cōmaūdemēt appeareth by such a custome which is y e best interpreter of laws such a receiuing is rash presūptuous offēsiue sedicious a disturbing of Ecclesiastical rite cōsequētly inducing to eternal dampnation Now hast thou after y e reasōs rehersed here as it were in one word again repeted in a sūme what the counsell of Cōstāce thinketh of y e cōmunion vnder both kinds namly that the receauing of it nether is nor euer was by y e law of god And y t thei which endeuor themselues to put it in vse ar rash presumptuous seditious disturbers of y e church of God which incurre the blame of geuing of offence it iudgeth them worthy of eternal destruction and hel fire But thereason wherebye they proue the deniall of the cuppe and the vse of one kinde doe not onelye wante the woorde of Godde but are moreouer folyshe ridiculous blasphemous against Christe and contumelious against◅ the church of God as it is manifest by those things whych we haue before spoken But graunt that ther wer some daūger if the vse of the Cup should be retained what was the prouidence of these fathers greater than the wisedome of Christ of his Apostles Could not they also see these daungers and admonish the church thereof that so great a Sacrament of God shoul◅ not be prophaned Of these reasons soundeth the second Canon of y e Coūsel of Trent wher it saith If any man shal say that the holy catholike Churche was not by iust causes and reasons led that the laimen also the Clergy which celebrate not should cōmunicate vnder the forme of bread onelye or that it therin erred let him be accursed Thou seest christiā reader that by the authority of the Counsel of Trent reasōs that are foolish blasphemous contumelious agaynst the Churche of God are counted and allowed for iust causes which if any man shal gainsay let him be accursed Many haue hitherto doubted certaine also haue vtterlye denied that the Counsell of Trent is ruled gouerned by the holy ghost But I do not onely nothing doubt thereof but am fulli persuaded y e the coūsel assēbled vnder Pius y e. 4 B. of Rome is not at al gouerned or ruled by y e holy gost For men y ◠ar sober left onely vnto humane iudgemēt or sense would neuer ordain things so absurde which hitherto haue ben mencioned to haue come from this coūsel But bicause the fathers of this counsel haue once fully determined vtterly to plucke vp by the rootes blot out extinguish the doctrine which we professe God punisheth in them the syn of obstinate malice euen w t the synne of most grosse errors as y e apostle hath left in writing God saith he sendeth on them the efficacy of illusion y ◠they shoulde beleue lies to the end al they might be iudged which haue not beleued the truth but haue consented vnto iniquitye And thys grosse ignorance blasphemy of the counsel is so directed of the lord that it profiteth the Church of God For al y e true faithful do now not only se but also euē fele with their hands y e the fathers of the counsel ar deliuered vp into a reprobate minde that they defend most grosse palpable errors tread vnder foote the manifest truth In the third Canon is confyrmed y e self same sacrilege manifest idolatry that vnder the paine of a curse we must beleue that whole Christ is receaued vnder one kind onely But how can the faithful beleue this when as it wanteth the woord of promise For faith leaneth vnto y e word of God but ther was neuer any word of God that Christe would in the bread only dispense his body blood there is no wher such thing extant in the Euangelicall historye or writing of y e Apostles These subtilties as touching christ y t he is not deuided ar of no force We know that fyrmly beleue it But here the question is not of the integritye of Christ but of the dispēsation of his body blood He receiuing the cup said Drinke ye al of this this is my blood c. This cup being abrogated how canst thou w c a true faith settle thy self y ◠in the vse of y e bread thou art made partaker of his blood For when he toke the bread he said not this is my blood or eate ye my blood How subtile soeuer this impiety be yet can they neuer defende support thys sacriledge In the. 4. canon they deale very hardly with the holy fathers especially w t Cyprian Augustine also with the church y t was at that time wherin was accustomed y t vnto infants also of Christiās the Eucharist was geuen But although we also disalowe this custome neither thinke it mete to be called again into the church yet iudge we y ◠the holye Fathers ought more gentlye to be delt with in this matter But farre bee it from me that I shoulde prescribe any thing to y e spirite of this counsell which seing it hath vpon iust causes cōfirmed this sacrilege in this sacramēt it shall also vndoubtedly if God will haue most wayghtye most iust reasons of this curse which reasons to resyst is to sin against the holy ghost To these four canons they adde other two articles whither for any cause or consideration the vse of the cup is to be permitted vnto any man Also whether that for certain honest reasons such which agree with Christiā charity y e vse of the cup is to be graūted to any nation or kingdom vnder certayn conditions what cōditions they are The examinatiō definīg of these they reserue to an other time Undoubtedly a worthy deliberation consultation of so long time in a thing so obscure doubtfull wherof childrē that are but seuen yeres of age are able to geue sudgemēt if they be but well enstructed in theyr catechisme But the words of the counsell are diligently to be marked whither for any cause or consideration the vse of the cuppe is to be permitted vnto any man The institution of Christ is w t the coūsel of Trēt no cause or reasō at al why ye good holy fathers can bring or deuise anye other reason than the precept cōmaundemēt of Christ yea his very expres wil What wil ye be wiser thā Christ thā the apo stles than y e primatiue church Or what sacrilegious bold nes is this that ye wil not but vpon certain conditions those as we shal a litle afterwarde heare most vngodlye graūt the vse of the cup not to the vniuersal church but to som certain nations kingdoms ◅e vnderstand as I suppose Germany England Denmark now peraduēture Fraunce also which for the most part hauing left the fylthinesse of the babilonish whore
of Priestes But what profyte I praye you redoundeth vnto the Churche of GOD whether the Byshoppes be resident here or in any other place when as they neither teache nor yet can teach the people of y e wil of God which thyng â—…et is the dewty and office of Byshoppes But they neglectyng that haue turned thys office into Princely gouernamentes and vnder the rytle and name of Byshops they inuade the kyngdomes of the worlde hauyng no regarde vnto soules whose saluation tey ought by teachyng diligently to prouide for 〈◊〉 â—…he when they are preseut they are more hurte than when they are absent Whiche thing the Byshops them selues vnderstaâ—… better than my pen is able to expresse If they of the Papacy mynde in the Counsell earnesssly to prosecute the matter of Reformation why do they not wayghe the griefes proposed by the Orders of the Empyre vnto the Legate of Adrian the Bishop of Rome in the Imperiall assemblies at Norimberge in the yeare of our Lord. 1523. Unto whiche vnlesse they as it is mete aunswere who will beleue that they haue any regarde of thys thyng But whilest I exactely consider and waygh with my selfe all singular these things I can not hold my selfe but that I muste talke a fewe wordes with the Fathers of the Counsell Ye remember as I suppose the moste seuere admonition of the Lorde made by Malachy vnto the Priestes of the olde Testament And nowe sayth he vnto you is this commaundement Dye Priestes It ye will not heare nor consider in yput heart to geue glorye vnto my name sayeth the Lorde of holles I will send vpon you pouerty and will curse your blessynges and I will curse them bycause ye haue not considered it in your heart Beholde I will corrupte your seede and will cast vpon your faces the dongue of your solemne feast dayes and it shall cleaue faste vnto you And ye shall knows that I haue sent thys commaundement vnto you that my couenaunt myght stande whiche I made with Leuy sayeth the Lord of hostes I made a couenaunt of lyfe and peace with hym and I gaue hym feare and he feared me and was afrayed before my name The lawe of trueth was in hys mouth and there was no wickednesse fouâ—… in hys lyppes he walked with me in peace and equitye and dyd turne many one awaye from their synnes For the Priestes lyppes shoulde preserue knowledge and they shoulde seâ—…e the lawe at hys mouth for he is the Aungell of the Lorde of hostes But ye are gone out of the waye and haue caused many to be offended at the lawe ye haue broken the couenaunt of Leuy sayeth the Lorde of hostes Therefore haue I also made you to he dispysed and vyle before all people bycause ye kepte not my wayes but haue bene parciall in the lawe but the Lorde shall destroye both the master and the scholer out of the tabernacle of Iacob with hym that offreth an offring vnto the Lorde of hosses Knowe ye that thys admonition pertayneth vnto you vpon whome ye haue turned all the eyes of whole Christendome For euen as the Lorde made a league with the tribe of Leuy whose office was to kepe knowledge that beyng demaunded concernyng the will of GOD they shoulde aunswere and instructe the people of GOD So also woulde he haue the Byshoppes to be diligent kepers of the Apostolicall doctrine and to be successors vnto the Apostles not so much in seate as in doctrine But alas that thyng hath happened in our tymes and in the tymes of oure Elders which the Prophet complayned of concerning the priestes of hys tyme. For in steade of knowledge and the lawe of God are kept humane traditions whiche are repugnaunte vnto the lawe and will of God Ye haue departed from the way of the Lorde and haue bene an offence vnto many in the lawe of the Lord which haue embraced these doctrines Christ sayd vnto the man that was sicke of the palsey Haue confidence my sonne thy sunnes are forgeuen thee But contrarily ye Fathers of the CouÌ„sell of Trent saye Doubt my sonne and appoynt not assuredly of the remission of thy synnes The Apostle sayth The holy ghost beareth witnesse vnto our spirite that we are the children of God Contrarily ye in your Counsel decree that we must perpetually doubt and y t we must haue more regarde vnto our own vnaptnesse and weakenesse then to thys testimony of the holy ghost Christ sayth concerning the cup of the supper Drinke ye al of this Ye contrarily say Let not all but the priestes onely drinke of the Cup. Iohn sayeth Christ is made a propitiation for the sinnes of the whole worlde And againe The bloud of Iesus Christ clenseth vs from al sinne Contrarily ye fathers of the Counsell say That not only the sacrifice of y e crosse but also the sacrifice of the masse is a propitiation for oure sinnes Also that not only the bloud of Christ but also the fire of Purgatorye clenseth vs from some sinnes Christ teacheth vs to call vpon God only Ye being gathered together in this Counsel teach coÌ„maund tocal vpoÌ„ Saints also Christ concerning y e bread of y e supper saith Take ye eate ye Ye coÌ„trary ordayne y e it must be kept til to morow included and earâ—…ed froÌ„ place to place Christ sayth That whiche entreth in through the mouth defileth not man The counsel sayth If any man at certaine times abstaine not from the eating of flesh let him be accursed S. Paul sayth Led a Bishop be y â— husband of one wife which hath obedient children The counsel sayth Let a Bishop haue neither wife nor children and let such as be ioyned in matrimony be put out and suspended from this so holy an office But who can recken vp all the thinges in whiche ye papistical priests haue departed from the law of the Lord This also was the cause why the Prophet sayde in thys place I haue made you to be despised vile to all people bicause ye haue not intended in your hart to geue glory to God Therfore also is your glory troden vnder foote as in an other place the Lorde of hostes speaketh vnto Eli the priest Whosoeuer shall glorifye me I will glorifye hym but they which contemne me shal be made vile To y â— end ye would establish the glory of the priestes ye violate and teare in peces the Testament and laste will of the Lordeâ—… namely y â— priestes should be had in honor and estimation let the lay men be spoyled with the vse of the cup as the Counsell of Constance hath decreed It greueth you very much that the glorye honâ—…ure and estimation of priestesis euery where decayed which sometymes were moste highlye esteemed of Kynges and Princes and of the people of God Inipute this contempt vnto your selues your owne sinne is the cause thereof for that ye haue forsaken the law of the Lord and haue departed
from the way of the Lord. Your manners are not in thys place reprehended whiche are not agreable vnto the dignitye of a priest Here is chiefely entreated of the true worshipping of God whiche ye haue corrupted and contaminated and therefore also accordyng to this oure Prophet all your sacrifyces are contaminated and ye are in very dede made vile vnto all men Neyther can I beleue that all you whiche are assembled together at Trent are a lyke so vtterly ignoraunte of the holy Scriptures that ye vnderstand not these thinges Wherfore the greater daunger and greuouser punish ment of God is to be loked for if agaynst your conscience ye condemne the manifest truth But rather if ye desyre to mayntayne your name honour and dignity returne vnto the couenaunt and law of the Lord that is to the doctrine of the Prophets of Christ and of the Apostels see that ye embrace it casting awaye the inuentions of humane traditions Seeke the glorye of the Lorde eudeuour your selues to extoll hys name and honour and hee wyll on the other syde glorifye you and which thyng ye only desyre wyl subdue the whole world vnto your ministery And ye shall bee no more a reproche vnto all your neyghbours Neyther thynke ye it to bee a shame to acknowledge an errour The Priestes of the olde Testament also were bewytched wyth thys opinion who sayd We are wyse and the lawe of the Lorde is wyth vs. Unto whom the Prophet speaketh Put ye no confidence in the woordes of lying saying The temple of the Lorde the temple of the Lorde For they thought that God was so bounde vnto this temple that his grace was perpetually present although they taught thynges contrary vnto the law and woorshipped hym otherwyse than hee had commaunded them Come sayd they and let vs imagine some deuise agaynste Ieremy for the law shall not perysh from the Priest nor counsel from the wyse man nor the woorde from the Prophet come and let vs smyte hym wyth the toung and let vs not geue heede to any of his woordes Let not such thoughtes for Gods sake possesse your myndes that ye should harden your hartes against the woord of God being falselye perswaded that the law can not perishe from the Priest that is that ye cannot erre For I suppose that by this short admonition ye maye vnderstand that the lawe is perished from the Priest and y â— horryble errours are brought in into the Church of God by your Prophetes that is by your interpreters of the holy scripture Whych errours if ye haue determined wyth to othe and nayle styll to retayne and if ye wyll not geue heede vnto al the woordes of the Prophetes and of the Apostels then knowe ye that accordyng to the example of these Priestes your destruction is at hande vnto whom God threatened perdition I beseche you hate not your owne soules so that ye wyll bee blynde leaders vnto the blynde but remember the commaundement of Christe Teache ye the Churche to keepe the thynges whyche hee hath commaunded that ye maye at length shine as stars of the Fyrmament for euer and euer Whyche thyng the Lorde hathe by the Prophet promysed vnto godlye Teachers whyche instructe other in the true ryghteousnesse The Priestes Leuites and Scribes and all the people could for a time oppres the Prophetes whose dâ—…ctrine they repelled sâ—…ying The woorde that thou hast spoken vnto vs in the name of the Lorde wee wyll not heare it of thee 〈◊〉 Unto whom the Prophet agayne aunswered Dyd not the Lorde remember the Sacrifice whyche ye sacrificâ—…d in the Cityes of Iudah and in the streetes of Ierusalem both you and your Fathers your Kynges and Princes and the people of the lande and hath he not considered it And the Lorde coulde no lâ—…nger forbeare bycause of the wyckednesse of your inuentions and bycause of the abominations whych ye haue committed and your lande is turned into desolation and made an astonyshment and a curse and wythout inhabitaunt as appeareth thys daye So also maye wee pronounce of you if you go on as you haue be gonne ye maye in deede condemne the doctrine of our Churches whych is Apostolicall and ye may persecute the godlye Teachers but take heede that ye also haue not experience of the selfe same fortune whyche the people of God felte whom he abiected for theyr obstynate malice whereby they endeuoured themselues to defende Idolatrye and myghtely saued the Prophet wonderfull farre aboue the expectation of that people and contrary to the wyll of all hys enemyes Be myndefull I beseche you of your saluation and of the saluation of all Christians preferre not so lyttle glorye and pleasure that soone vanysheth awaye before the truthe of the heauenlye doctrine I beseche you remember that whych was spoken vnto Paule the persecutour from heauen Saule Saule why persecutest thou mee It is hard for thee to kycke agaynste the prycke Your enterpryse vndoubtedly shall be in vayne and turne to your owne destruction yf ye shall endeuour your selues to oppresse the doctrine whyche hath put foorthe the beames of hys lyght into all the kyngdomes of the world And they myserablye deceaue you whyche go about falselye to persuade you that your authoritye is styll of force The eyes of all men in a maner are open that they see what blyndnes of mynde ye are infected wyth And your owne menne whyche yet you haue for defendours euen they accuse you and godly admonishe you to take in hand an other doctrine and amendement of ceremonies maners than was instituted of you in thys also the former Counsell of Trent For they see that their Churches can neither consist neither their Subiectes can be kept and contayned in tranquilitye and doyng their dutye vnlesse suche thinges be graunted vnto them whych thing euen the Magistrates also which are on the Popes syde vnderstaÌ„d to be neither vniust nor vngodly Apply your mindes I beseche you vnto the godly and true reformation of the Church of Christe and to whom God in this your assembly hath reuealed hys wyll lyfte vp in the Counsell your voyces as a Trumpet crye out and cease not crye out I say Our fathers and we haue synned and haue departed from the law of the Lord. Let vs returne vnto our fyrste husbande Let the woord of the Lorde bee the onelye rule and Captayne of our Counsels and Canons Let vs bee addicted vnto his glory and vnto the health of the church and let vs restore vnto it a godlye peace being disturbed with dissensions and we shall receaue a rewarde worthy the studye of peace and truthe But I shall desyre you to pardon me if I haue helde you longer in consideration of this thyng than I woulde than which there is none more holy and more woorthy and healthfull both vnto you and vnto the Church of Christ. He hath reserued as I thinke vnto himselfe and vnto vs many which both vnderstand these thinges