their dealing is with me being through the goodnesse of God not to be touched with any such blame and one who according to the measure of the guift of God haue laboured now some yeares painefully in regard of the weake estate of my body in preaching the Gospell and as I hope not altogether vnprofitably in respect of the Church But J beseech your Honours to giue me leaue breifly to declare the particular reasons of their letters and what answer I haue to make vnto it The first is that as they say I am not lawfully called to the function of the ministery nor allowed to preach according to the lawes of this Church of England For answer to this I had need to divide the points first to make answer to the former wherein leauing to shew what by the holy Scriptures is required in a lawfull calling and that all that is to be found in mine that I bee not too long for your other waightie affaires I rest I this answer my calling to the ministery was such as in the calling of any therevnto is appointed to bee vsed by the orders agreed vpon in the Nationall Synods of the lowe Countries for the direction and guidance of their Churches which orders are the same with those whereby the French Scottish Churches are governed whereof I haue shewed such sufficient testimoniall to my L. the Archbishop of Canterburie as is requisite in such a matter whereby it must needs fall out if any man be lawfully called to the ministery in those Churches then is my calling being the same with theirs also lawfull But I suppose notwithstanding they vse this generall speech they meane only my calling is not sufficient to deale in the ministery within this land because I was not made minister according to that order which in this cause is ordained by our laws Whervnto I beseech your Honours to consider throughly of mine answer because exception now againe is taken to my ministery whereas hauing beene heretofore called in question for it I so answered the matter as I continued my ministery and for any thing I discerned looked to heare that no more obiected vnto me The communion of Saints which every Christian man professeth to beleeue is such as that the acts which are done in any true Church of Christs according to his word are held as lawfull being done in one Church as in another Which as it holdeth in other acts of ministery as baptisme marriage and such like so doth it in the calling to the ministery by reason whereof all Churches doe acknowledge and receaue him for a minister of the word who hath beene lawfully called therevnto in any Church of the same professiō A Doctor created in any Vniversitie of Christendome is acknowledged sufficiently qualified to teach in any country The Church of Rome it selfe and the Canon law holdeth it that being ordered in Spaine they may execute that belongeth to their order in Italie or in any other place And the Churches of the gospell never made any question of it Which if they shall now begin to make doubt of and denie such to be lawfully called to the ministery as are called by another order then our owne then may it wel be looked for that other Churches will doe the like if a minister called in the low Countries be not lawfully called in England thē may they say to our preachers which are there that being made by another order thē theirs they cānot suffer them to execute any act of ministerie amongst them which in the ende must needes breed a schisme dangerous division in the Churches Further I haue heard of those that are learned in the lawes of this land that by expresse Statute to that purpose Anno 13. vpon subscription of the Articles agreed vpon Anno 62. that they who pretend to haue beene ordered by another order then that which is now established are of like capacitie to enioy any place of ministery within the land as they that haue bin ordered according to that is now by law in this case established Which comprehēding manifestly all even such as were made Priests according to the order of the Church of Rome it must needs be that the law of a Christian land professing the Gospell should be as favorable for a mimister of the worde as for a Popish Priest which also was so found in Mr Whittingames case who notwithstanding such replies against him enioyed still the benefit he had by his ministerie and might haue done vntill this day if God had spared him life so long which if it be vnderstood so and practised in others why should the change of the person alter the right which the law giveth to all other The place of ministery wherevnto I was called was not presentatiue and if it had beene so surely they would never haue presented anie man whō they never knew and the order of this Church is agree able herein to the word of God and the ancient best Canons that no man should be made minister sine titulo therefore having none I could not by the orders of this Church haue entred into the ministery before I had charge to tend vpon When I was at Anwerp and to take a place of ministerie among the people of that nation I see no cause whie I should haue returned againe over the seas for orders here nor how I could haue done it without disallowing the orders of the Churches provided in the country where I was to liue Whereby J hope it appeareth that my calling to the ministery is lawfull and maketh me by our law of capacitie to enioy any benefit or commoditie that any other by reasō of his ministery may enioie But my cause is yet more easie who reaped no benefit of my ministery by law receaving only a benevolence and voluntary contribution and the ministery I dealt with being preaching only which everie Deacon here may doe being licensed and certaine that are neither Ministers nor Deacons thus J answer the former of these two points whereof if there be yet any doubt J humbly desire for a finall ende thereof that some competent iudges in law may determine of it wherevnto J referre submit my selfe with all reverence and dutie The second is that I preached without license where vnto this is my answere I haue not presumed vpon the calling I had to the ministery abroad to preach or deal with any part of the ministry within this Church with out the consent and allowance of such as were to allow me vnto it my allowance was from the Bishop of London testified by his two severall letters to the inner Temple who without such testimony would by no meanes rest satisfied in it which letters being by mee produced J referre it to your Honours wisdome whether I haue taken vpon me to preach without being allowed as they charge according to the orders of the Realme Thus having answered the second point also J haue done with the
obiection of dealing without calling or license The other reason they alleage is concerning a late action wherein J had to deale with Mr Hooker Master of the Temple in the handling of which cause they charge me with an indiscretion and want of dutie in that I inveighed as they say against certaine points of doctrine taught by him as erroneous not conferring with him nor complaining of it to them My answere herevnto standeth in declaring to your Honours the whole course and carriage of that cause the degrees of proceeding in it which J will doe as briefly as I can and according to the truth God be my witnes as neere as my best memorie and notes of remembrance may serue me therevnto After that I haue taken away that which seemeth to haue moved them to thinke me not charitably minded to Mr Hooker which is because hee was brought into M. Alveyes place wherin this Church desired that J might haue succeeded which place if J would haue made sute to haue obtained or if J had ambitiously affected and sought J would not haue refused to haue satisfied by subscription such as the matter then seemed to depend vpon whereas contrariewise notwithstanding J would not hinder the Church to doe that they thought to be most for their edification and comfort yet did J neither by speech nor letter make sute to any for the obtaining of it following herein that resolution which J iudge to bee most agreeable to the word and will of God that is that labouring and suing for places and charges in the Church is not lawfull Further whereas at the sute of the Church some of your Honours entertained the cause and brought it to a neare issue that there seemed nothing to remaine but the commendation of my Lord the Archbishop of Canterburie when as he could not bee satisfied but by my subscribing to his late articles and that my answere agreeing to subscribe according to any law and to the statute provided in that case but praying to be respited for subscribing to any other which J could not in conscience doe either for the Temple which otherwise he said he would not commend mee to nor for any other place in the Church did so little please my Lord Archbishop as he resolued that otherwise J should not bee commended to it J had vtterly here no cause of offence against Mr Hooker whom J did in no sort esteeme to haue prevented or vnderminded mee but that God disposed of me as it pleased him by such meanes and occasions as I haue declared Moreover as J had taken no cause of offence at Mr Hooker for being preferred so there were many witnesses that J was glad that the place was given him hoping to liue in all godly peace and comfort with him both for acquaintance good will which hath beene betweene vs and for some kinde of affinitie in the marriage of his neerest kinred mine since his comming J haue so carefully endevoured to entertaine all good correspondence agreement with him as I thinke he himselfe will beare mee witnesse of many earnest disputations and conferences with him about the matter the rather because that contrary to my expectation hee enclined from the beginning but smally therevnto but ioined rather with such as had alwaies opposed themselues to any good order in this charge and made themselues to be brought indisposed to his present state and proceedings For both knowing that Gods commandement charged me with such dutie and discerning how much our peace might further the good service of God and his Church and the mutuall comfort of vs both J had resolued constantly to seeke for peace and though it should fly from me as J saw it did by meanes of some who little desired to see the good of our Church yet according to the rule of Gods word to follow after it Which being so as hereof J take God to witnesse who searcheth the heart and reines and by his sonne will iudge the world both the quicke and dead I hope no charitable iudgement can suppose mee to haue stood evill affected towardes him for his place or desirous to fall into anie controversie with him Which my resolution I pursued that whereas I discovered sundry vnfound matters in his doctrine as manie of his sermons tasted of some sower leaven or other yet thus I carried my selfe towards him Matters of smaller weight and so covertlie discovered that no great offence to the Church was to be feared in them I wholly passed by as one that discerned nothing of them or had been vnfurnished of replies For other of greater moment and so openlie delivered as there was iust cause of feare least the truth and church of God should be preiudiced and perilled by it and such as the conscience of my dutie calling would not suffer mee altogither to passe over this was my course to deliver when I should haue iust cause by my texte the truth of such doctrine as hee had otherwise taught in generall speeches without touch of his person in anie sort and further at cōvenient oportunity to confer with him in such points According to which determination whereas he had taught certaine things concerning predestination otherwise then the word of God doth as it is vnderstood by all churches professing the gospell and not vnlike that wherwith Coranus some times troubled his church I both delivered the truth of such points in a generall doctrine without anie touch of him in particular and conferred with him also privatlie vpon such articles In which conference I remember when I vrged the consent of all churches and good writers against him that I knew and desired if it were otherwise what authors hee had seene of such doctrine he answered me that his best author was his owne reason which I wished him to take heed of as a matter stāding with christian modestie wisedome in a doctrine not received by the church not to trust to his own iudgment so far as to publish it before he had cōferred with others of his profession labouring by dailie praier and studie to know the will of God as he did to see how they vnderstood such doctrine notwithstanding hee with wavering replying that hee woulde some other time deale more largelie in the matter I wished him praied him not so to doe for the peace of the church which by such meanes might be hazarded seeing he could not but thinke that men who make anie conscience of their ministrie will iudge it a necessarie duty in them to teach the truth and to convince the contrarie Another time vpon like occasion of this doctrine of his that the assurance of that we beleeue by the word is not so certaine as of that wee perceiue by sense I both taught the doctrine otherwise namely the assurance of faith to be greater which assureth both of things aboue and contrarie to all sense and humane vnderstanding and dealt with him also privatlie vpon that
commanded but was highly displeased with as of Masses Pilgrimages pardons paines of Purgatory and such like further that no one sequell vrged by the Apostle against the Galathians for ioining circumcision with Christ but might be aswell enforced against the Lutherans that is that for their vbiquitie it may be aswell said to them if yee hold the body of Christ to be in all places you are fallen frō grace you are vnder the curse of the law saying cursed be he that fulfilleth not all things written in this booke with such like he added yet further that to a Bishop of the Church of Rome to a Cardinall yea to the Pope himselfe acknowledging Christ to bee the saviour of the world denying other errours being discomforted for want of workes whereby he might be iustified he would not doubt but vse this speech Thou holdest the foundation of Christian faith though it bee but by a slender thread thou holdest Christ though but as by the hem of his garment why shouldst thou not hope that vertue may passe from Christ to saue thee That which thou holdest of iustification by thy workes overthroweth indeed by consequent the foundation of Christian faith but be of good cheere thou hast not to doe with a captious Sophister but with a mercifull God who will iustifie thee for that thou holdest and not take the advantage of doubtfull construction to cōdemne thee And if this hee said bee an errour I hold it willingly for it is the greatest comfort I haue in this world without which I would not wish either to speak or to liue Thus far being not to bee answered in it any more he was bold to proceed the absurditie of which speech I need not to stand vpon I thinke the like to this and other such in this sermon and the rest of this matter hath not beene heard in publique places within this land since Queene Maries daies What consequēce this doctrine may be of if he bee not by authoritie ordered to revoke it I beseech your HH as the truth of God his gospell is deere and pretious vnto you according to your godly wisdomes to consider I haue beene bold to offer to your HH a long and tedious discourse of these matters But speech being like to tapestrie which if it be folded vp sheweth but part of that which is wrought and being vnlapt laid open sheweth plainely to the eye all the worke that is in it I thought it necessarie to vnfold this tapestrie to hang vp the whole chamber of it in your most Honorable senate that so you may the more easily discerne of all the peeces and the sundry workes and matters contained in it Wherin my hope is your HH may see J haue not deserved so great a punishment as is laid vpon the Church for my sake and also vpon my selfe in taking from me the exercise of my ministery which punishment how heavie it may seeme to the Church or fall out indeed to be J referre it to them to iudge spare to write what I feare but to my selfe it is exceeding grievous for that it taketh from mee the exercise of my calling Which I doe not say is deare vnto mee as the meanes of that little benefit whereby I liue although this be a lawfull consideration and to bee regarded of me in due place and of the authority vnder whose protection I most willingly liue even by Gods commandement both vnto them and vnto me but which ought to bee more pretious to me then my life for the loue which J should beare to the glory and honour of Almightie God and to the edification and salvation of his Church for that my life cannot any other way be of like service to God nor of such vse and profit to men by any meanes for which cause as J discerne how deare any ministery ought to be vnto me so it is my harty desire and most humble request vnto God to your HH and to all the authoritie I liue vnder to whom any dealing herein belongeth that I may spend my life according to his example who in a word of like sound of fuller sense * comparing by it the bestowing of his life to the offering powred out vpon the sacrifice of the faith of Gods people and especially of this Church wherevpon I haue already powred out a great part thereof in the same calling from which I stand nowe restrained And if your HH shall finde it so that J haue not deserved so great a punishment but rather performed the duty which a good and faithful servant ought in such a case to do to his Lord the people he putteth him in trust withall carefully to keepe I am a most humble suiter by these presents to your HH that by your godly wisdome some good course may be taken for the restoring of me to my ministery and place againe Which so great a favour shall bind me yet in a greater obligation of dutie which is already so great as it seemed nothing could be added vnto it to make it greater to honour God daily for the continuance and increase of your good estate and to be ready with all the poore meanes God hath given me to doe your HH that faithfull service I may possibly performe but if notwithstanding my cause be never so good your HH can by no meanes pacifie such as are offended nor restore me againe then am I to rest in the good pleasure of God and to commend to your HH protection vnder her Maiesties my privat life while it shall be led in dutie and the Church to him who hath redeemed to himselfe a people with his pretious blood is making ready to cōe to iudge both the quick the dead to giue to every one according as hee hath done in this life bee it good or evill to the wicked and vnbeleever iustice vnto death but to the faithfull and such as loue his truth mercy and grace to life everlasting Your Honours most bounden and most humble suppliant Walter Travers Minister of the word of God