for these are the well growne fruits of the Apostles doctrine Let all things be done decently and in Order There is church-decencie where is noe lightnesse and there is church-order where is noe confusion and therefore frequenters of woods for churches haue noe church-decencie For a suppose of their owne pates rings them a peale to frequent woods that idolatrous Temples must never be frequented if once idolatrous and yet religion being reformed those temples though once idolatrous are againe to bee frequented to worship God with holy worship So Calvin Peter Martyr Beza Bucer and B. Iewell And to convert idolatrous temples into christian Temples was the practise of the Primitiue church at 179 yeare after Christ in king Luoius daies There is no church-order where is confusion where the same preacher or teacher doth contradict one doctrine with an other contradictions of doctrines are in Thomas Cartwright as Doctor Whitguift hath obserued And there are contradictions in Bellarmine and his fraternity for there are 37 generall parts of doctrine and 239 particular doctrines in which one Romanist contradicts an other as Pareus hath obserued in his Irenicum There is church-decency where the church and every part of the church is kept seemly And there is church order where superiors are in superior places equalls in equal places inferiors in inferior places And there is no Church-decencie where ruine neglect dust and filthinesse are Church-keepers this is almost customarie in these daies A wood a private conventicle a factious sect I feare is more solemnly frequented in many places in this land than the Church of God And there is no Church order where Superiors are made inferiors Kings to cast their Crownes at the feet of Schismatiques schismaticall Pastors yet thus M. Thomas Cartwright would haue it And hee calls the Deane of a Cathedrall Church the Canons the Major and Minor-Prebends the Chauncellour the Chaunter the Pistellers and Gospellers hee vnmannerly calls them all Abbi-lubbers Thus what Church-order hath established hee with a word of disgrace would put downe against all order There should be decency and order obseru'd in performing Gods holy worship which is the common prayers And this is reprou'd by some by others t is embrac'd but t is with a running reverence by others t is cut off in the middle to the dishonour of God and his Church by others t is mumbled vp in an vnknowne tongue as if Papists were vnwilling that all should knowe what they say vnto God yet every one had religion in his owne tongue Act. 2. T is decencie and order that we should stand vp at the rehearsing of the Apostles Creed to signifie that wee doe and will stand to our faith but this standing vp some doe maliciously oppose and this standing vp others doe vnwittingly neglect The Font is the commanded place for baptisme yet some doe baptize in Wells in Brookes in Rivers c. to defend to vphold a factious spirit T is decencie and order to edifie the Church but some care for no edifying To beleeue as the Church beleeues this forme of words is faith enough and the best of that false beleeuing side are afraid of essentiall and demonstratiue exposition of the infallible rules of exposition the scripture being granted to be the only axiomaticall principle of faith The learned rules of exposition of Scriptures which neither S. Austine nor any other father hath expresso praecepto these rules Papists dare not follow Some respect onely the factious edifying well known to the factious brethren by opposing Church-decencie and order But beyond this edifying they neuer intend to proceed like S. Pauls silly women who are ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth And therefore the able gracious practise of the Church is neglected by them A father of the Church must not be heard in his owne language because that spends time and doth not edifie And Church Organs the musicall instruments of the Churches gracious practise are tedious to them because they doe not edifie To ring the Church-bells in peale on the Lords day this the separatists call profaning of the Sabbath And t is their ignorance being vnable to tell the difference betweene the worlds servile workes which are forbidden by the fourth commaundement and betweene Churches musicall works which in their due time done doe praise the Lord. T is Church-decency and Church-order that the scriptures be taught learnedly and grauely but now the children of the Prophets goe for Church-Doctors and a Mechanicke a presuming spirit is receiued amongst the Perfectists for a lawfull preacher if their non-Ecclesiasticall spirit calls him yet the Text faith No man taketh this honour vnto himselfe but hee that is called of God as was Aaron Hebr. 5. 4. But one will obiect what meanes all this discourse but to occasion appearing of evill and to giue offence to the weake brothers conscience Be not deceiued here is no appearing of evill no offence Here is nothing but Church-decency and Church-order which neither appeare evill nor are they any offence for appearance of evill and offence are opposite to these well governing and obeying properties And who are the weake brethren Thomas Cartwrights Disciples In their conceipts there are none so godly none so holy in the Churches of God Thus farre I haue followed an vnseemly a disorderd company This was the cause that you should knowe who are the vndecent and the irregular in our Church that you may avoid them I commend the decencie order of the church vnto you and doe exhort you in the words of S. Paul 1. Cor. 1. 10. Now I beseech you brethren by the name of our Lord Iesus Christ that yee all speake the same thing that there be no division among you but that yee bee ioined perfectly together in the same minde and in the same iudgement And doe you assuredly beleeue that Non-conformists haue not the spirit of God to guid them For they are the troublesome inventers of division For whereas there is envying and strife and divisions among them are they not carnall While one saith I am of Paul another I am of Apollo whilst they will heare none but a division making preacher are they not carnall S. Paul saith that they are carnall 1. Cor. 3. 3. 4. But I haue taught you better things then to be carnall Here is church-decency to cleanse the Lords house and to beautifie it and therefore learne to be decent with church-decency Here is church-order to set all things vniformely in Gods holy Temple and therefore learne church-holy orders that you may be decent and well-ordered Temples of the holy Ghost that in this life you may so liue together in true faith and religious charity that in the world to come you may liue together in immortall glory Which God for his infinite mercy grant vnto all through Christ Iesus To whom with the Father and the holy Ghost three persons and one immortall God be ascribed all glory honour power might saluation and thankesgiving this day and for ever AMEN FINIS
belieue our Church Regeneration is by infusion of grace by sowing the good seed it differs frō increase of grace perseverance Regeneratiō is ortus boniseminis the springing of good seed This good seed did grow in stony and thorny ground Regeneratiō is the individual act making Christians Increase of grace perseverāce preserue Christians And morall perswasion cannot regenerate stony and thorny hearts dead in sinne Therefore regeneration being the individuall act of God bound to his Church by his owne covenant iudge as our Church doth concerning the baptized that all baptized are regenerate The grace of Gods covenā◠doth admit of noe Separatists for it did not separate but bind Isaac Ismael vnto God in obedience neither doth it separate but vnite the baptized vnto Christ As for the separating iudgement according to the mercifull decree of election who are the saved this belongs only to God to pronounce But let all Christians religiously pray and liue according to the grace of restitution and humbly submit their iudgments concerning the secrecy of personall election The Separatist sinnes against the 17. Article which sayth that Gods election is secret to vs for we know not the elect by their particular names He sinnes against the 35 article at the 2. 4. 5. 6. 7. 10. 11. 15. 19. 20. 21. homilie For these doe charitably exhort the whole cōgregation to obey and honour God whereas the separatist is noe freind of Publicans and sinners but the vncharitable accuser of our Saviours pittied cōpany The Anabaptist is he whose purenes is a supposed birth without originall sinne And yet our bodies are parts of Adams nature that did sinne And no man was borne without sinne Christ only excepted His tenet is that infants must not be baptized Yet Isaac was circumcised the eighth day And to be circumeised and baptized are one and the same in effect And Abrahams Religion and ours are the same Gal. 3. 9. 14. 15. 16. 17. And therefore by a necessarie seale of the Covenant we must doe as Abraham did binde little children in covenant to God This Puritan sinnes against the 9 27 Articles The one affirmeth that infants are borne in originall sin the other that infants must be baptized If infants be borne without originall sinne then t is noe controversy That originall sin foreseene is not the meritorious cause of reprobation The sinner deserues the iudg intends punishment So 't is certaine that sinne is not the foreseene intending efficient of that preordain'd punishing decree And it is without question that Gods Supremacy may pardon or punish pro absoluto beneplacito only as he will seeing 't is the prerogatiue of supremacy he being supreame Iudg. But he cannot be iust in decree if he so reprobates but for sinne foreseene For the law was not that any should die in Adam if he had not eaten of the forbidden fruit and therfore this law in prevision transgressed is the meritorious efficient of reprobation The Brownist is he whose purenes is to serue God in woods and feilds He is a wildernes of purenesse His opinion is that Idolatry cannot be reformed without pulling downe of Churches But King Hezekiah commaunded the Levites to sanctifie the house of the Lord and to carry forth the filthines out of the sanctuary c. 2. Chron. 29. 5. And our Saviour whipt the buyers and sellers out of the Temple though it was prophan'd yet without any pulling downe he calls it the house of prayer Mat. 21. 12. 13. This Puritan sinnes against the 35 Article at the 1 homily which teacheth a decent keeping of the Church Loves familist is he whose purenes is to serue God as wel at his Neighbors charge as at his owne Omnia sunt Communia no one saith that the things which these Loue-Masters possesse are their owne but all are Common Yet S. Paul saith that he is worse then an Infidell that provideth not for his owne family If he be poore his poore purenes must not labour with his hands to get his liuing though he be a Mechanicke he must only meditate on the word Yet the text saith he that will not Labour let him not eate He in his conceipt is a greater S. then S. Iohn the Baptist and that he is in persecution for the Gospell and therefore Ananias doth sell his possessions that the poore brother may participate of his brotherly kindnes Concerning S. Iohn our Sauiour saith that he was as great a Prophet as any borne of a woman Concerning Ananias S. Peter saith that he dissembled with the holy Ghost Concerning this poore Saints persequution for the Gospell his punishment is iustly to be inflicted on him for abusing the gospell with his deceipt to maintaine idlenes His neighbour seduc'de to sel is vndone this is iniurie which must not escape vnpunished This Puritan sinnes against the 38 Article For this truth is to be beleeu'd that as in persequution the rich did releiue the poore Saints So in the time of peace all able men must labour to preserue the Common wealth Here note that Loues-familist in the 38 Article is called the Anabaptist and t is true subiectiuè sed non formaliter The same man may be Loues-familist and the Anabaptist but to be formally the Anabaptist is not to be Loues-familist their definitions differ The Precisian is he whose purenes is not to sweare before a Magistrate yet this kind of swearing is commanded Deut. 6. 13. He teacheth that vnlawfull swearing is a greater sinne than murther God indeed is greater than man Hence is the compare But the effect destructiue is greater by murther for thereby mans life is destroyed but vnlawfull swearing cannot wound so deepe And God commands that the Murtherer die the death blood must be shed for blood he deales not soe seuerely with the swearer This Puritan sinnes against the 39. Article which teacheth that t is lawfull to sweare before a magistrate The Sabbatarian is he whose purenes is to preach downe all holy dayes Preaching the instrumentall directing cause to keepe holy the sabbath day he makes to be the keeping holy the Sabbath but Gods holy worship common praier is this keeping holy the sabbath day For preaching the holy direction teacheth holy worship common praiers to be the holy practise of that day to praise the Lord for our Redemption c. This is the sole principall end of preaching on the Lords day The Sabbatarians preaching is a Sylua synonymorum Tantologies Iterations His praying is too much brainsike babling His opinion is Labour thou sixe dayes therefore there must be noe holy dayes but the Lords day T is true in an vnderstanding iudicious sence Thus. Thou must praise God for the Creation Redemption Restitution and preseruation of the world To praise God for these causes onely the 7. day is set apart which is not the Iewes Sabbath the sabbath only for the creation But this is the day following when Christ rested from subduing sinne hell and death when
in order THE 19. of the 39. Articles of Religion affirmes that the Church may erre that the Church hath erred The reason why the erring Church is become the lost sheep is because shee submits not vnto the onely true rule of faith which is Gods faithfull word The 20. Article saith that the church cannot erre that t is no erring church but a true church not a church voide of authority but a church having authority to decree Rites and Ceremonies to handle iudge and decide the hard subtile and deceiving controversies of faith For this well tempered and well governed church obserues Gods not deceaving nor deceaved word to be her principium fidei her principle of faith to be faithfully beleeved to be her true signifying Rule to be taught learned and kept Whatsoeuer is contrary to this heavenly voice she hates being all diabolicall lies whatsoever exposition doth make scripture to be contrary to scripture she examines confutes reformes by the true rules of exposition Whatsoever is besides scripture shee reiects for mans inveution for humane tradition for superfluous vnnecessarie Herein the church is a faithfull keeper and a faithfull witnesse of holy writ And let the church let this church persevere a faithfull witnesse and a faithfull keeper of Gods most true and most holy word to preserue her authority in rites and ceremonies in resolving Faiths factious controversies to expound the scripture learnedly according to rule in summo gradu necessitatis in the propriety of truth and to reiect mans flattering additions prudently according to Gods all-sufficient precept This is the summe of S. Pauls spirituall councell to advise and instruct the church Let all things be done decently and in order Which words are the substance of the 20. of the 39. Articles of religion they containe fowre parts The first is Commande Authorizing Let. The second is how many things are Authorized All things The third is the obeying of this commaunding Authority Be done The fourth is the manner of obeying this command This is Decently and in order In the commande Authorizing obserue Who and what Commands who commands This is first God the Holy Ghost secondly S. Paul What commands This is Gods will this is Gods word Let. In how many things there are authorized obserue the doctrine of faith the discipline the rites and ceremonies of the church All things In the obeying of this commaunding Authority obserue who must obey and this is the church Secondly that shee doth obey in keeping the doctrine discipline rites and ceremonies commaunded Be done Let all things be done In the manner of obeying this commaund obserue how many-fold this manner is and this is twofold first decently secondly in order in the outside by beawtie decently within and without according to rule In order Let all things be done decently and in order You haue the diuision of my text God commaunding the Church to decencie and order of doctrine and discipline and therefore let no man accuse me ignorantly that I am not come to edifie for if Gods S. Paules doctrine and discipline may edifie I shall edifie And let noe temporizing faction act the dissembling Hypocrite and say that my doctrine is not true but rayling for I am come to you with the doctrine of our receaued and established faith And let no trembling Neuter plead that my words are too deepe mysteries to be vnderstood No but let him striue to know his Faith how it differs from heresie that he may be truely faithfull in the pure and vndefiled Religion My text doth not stay to request but requires my text doth not intreate and pray but doth will and commaund you to be faithfully religious and that in a word and that in the first word of my text Let. This word is commaund though t is but a signe yet by it commaund is vnderstood and vnderstood to speake not by prohibition to make any stopp or stay but with commaund to make hast and not to fayle at your perill This Let is the actiue part of Gods commaund in the first place of S. Paule in the second place in person commaunding thirdly of the scripture which is S. Paules commaund which is Gods souereigne and vncontrouleable commaund You know the almighty power of Gods commaund that by it he made nothing to be all things For he spake and it was done he commaunded and it stood fast And shall he now speake and shall nothing be done Shall he now commaund and shall nothing stand fast Gods word is sharper then any two edged sword and 't is as possible to resist Gods word and liue eternally as 't is to resist a sword dividing the heart and after that to enioy this temporall life At the giving of the law Gods voyce was so terrible that the people that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more for feare of death Heb. 12. 19. For Gods voyce did then shake the earth and it shall once more shake both heaven and earth Heb. 12. 26. Here is maiestie and power and Gods will must be done for he commaunds to the terrifying of heaven and earth Gods word is not a bare sound but his word is a conuerting word and if the conuerted will not stand in grace God hauing giuen the will and the deede what doe they that resist but neglect great saluation But see that yee refuse not him that speaketh For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth much more shall not we escape if we turne away from him that speaketh from heauen Heb. 12. 25. It concernes you then very much to heare Gods commaund S. Paule Gods deputed commaunder tells you that it concernes your saluation and loose this loose all the world But what 's the matter that mens hearts are so litle knowne to a commaunding God Who hath bewitched them that they will not obey truth T' is true that there must be Heresies for lying and dissembling tongues doe deceaue seduce and vnder a colour of a little godlines bring Church and Common wealth into confusion and destruction of soule and body And is it not then high time to exhort you with S. Paule Beware of dogs beware of evill workers Philip. 3. 2. Beware of them that barke at the Articles of religion Beware of thē that bite at the gouernment of the Church Beware of fiery zeale set on fire by a factious spirit Beware of despisers of Gouernours of inuentors of evill things Beware of the disobedient For they hate the doctrine and discipline the rites and ceremonies of the Church which is my second part of text implyed in these words All Things By all things are not vnderstood all things of this world for they are enmitie against God But by All thinges are vnderstood all things which God commands to build and beautifie the Church which God commands to gouerne preserue the Church So that these All things are all Ecclesiasticall things all things that belong to
the Church The text doth mentiō prophecying speaking with tongues prayer 1. Cor. 14. faith hope and charitie 1. Cor. 13 all spirituall guifts 1. Cor. 12 the Ceremonies of the Church 1. Cor. 11 the sacraments Baptisme The Lords supper 1. Cor. 10 the Ministers dues 1. Cor. 9 Meats offer'd to idolls not to be eaten 1. Cor. 8. Marriage and single life 1. Cor. 7. Forbearing to goe to law one with an other 1. Cor. 6. Excommunication 1. Cor. 5. reuerence due to the Cleargie 1. Cor. 4 diuision and sectes in the Church Chap. 1. 2. 3. Doctrina generalis hic traditur circa Doctrinam precepta diuina leges de decoro ordine Ecclesiae circa ritus circa externam disciplinam so Pareus By all things are vnderstood the doctrine of the Church divine precepts lawes for decencie and order of the Church the Churches rites and externall discipline The doctrine of the Church is here vnderstood The doctrine of the primitiue Church which is the law and the Gospell the old and the new Testament and here is vnderstood the doctrine of the Reformed Church which is the 39. Articles of Religion This is the materiall breife of all Christian doctrine and let this suffice for this present For to speake particularly to every part of faith in the old and new Testament and in the 39. Articles of Religion is more then the tongue of men and Angells is able to deliuer within the short limits of an howre The discipline of the Church is here vnderstood which is the ordayning of Superiours and their gouerning and 't is the practise and humble obedience of inferiours This is Moyses and all inferiour Magistrates iudging and gouerning This is Aarons and all inferiour Preists expounding and instructing the people and 't is the Magistrates Preists and peoples reverent worshipping the Lord and their sincere keeping of the law The Imperiall and Preistlie gouerment still remaine not in rigour for that our Sauiour hath mitigated but they are still Authorities one supremely commanding the other is supremely instructing Kings are nursing fathers and Queenes are nursing Mothers and they are so much higher than Preists as Christs Kings office in spirituall things is higher than Christs Preists office in spirituall things The superioritie still stands a superioritie in the Clergie There was a superioritie still in the Ministerie Christ aboue the twelue Apostles the twelue Apostles aboue the seuentie disciples S. Paule aboue Timothie Timothy aboue the Presbyters in the Church of Ephesus in doctrine and manners of the Church 1. Tim. 1 in ordaining Bishopps Deacons 1. Tim. 3 in having authoritie to punish the Elders offending and other Church-offenders 1. Tim. Chap. 5. 6. At the 326. yeare after Christ the Councell of Nice decreed that there should be in the Catholique Church three Patriarchs one at Rome one at Alexandria one at Antioch to gouerne inferiour Bishops Religion was planted in this land by S. Paule So Parsons the Iesuite and by Simon Zelotes So Mr Mason out of Necephorus and Dorotheus and by Aristobulus Bishop of Britaine so Dorotheus and by Ioseph of Arimathea so Iohn Capgraue and that in the life of Tiberius Caesar so Gildas in the 35 yeare of Christ so learned B. Morton cap. 3. sect 9. of the Grand Imposture hath obserued out of famous Papists Cardinall Baronius and the Iesuite Suarez From the yeare of the Lord 179. there were Arch-bishops Bishops in the Church of England and Wales so Lelandus and they haue successiuely continued to this day In their first consecration till 600 years after Christ they were Primitiue Bishops From 600 years till 1533 they were Popish corrupt sicke with heresy almost to the death From 1533 they haue 5 years excepted continued good because reformed Bishops Here note that our Church did not beginne a little after Luther but being sicke with Popery she thē recouered her Apostolicall faith Like as a sick man recouering then enters not into the World to beginne his life but into the recouery of his former health so Popery and Puritanisme being purged out of these parts of the Catholique Church 't was not then a new planted but a new reformed Church All things Here is vnderstood Ecclesiasticall discipline The King doth gouerne by Christs regall power and command The Bishop doth gouerne by the key of knowledge and by the key of iurisdiction The Bishop doth gouerne in the Church by the key of knowledge in that he giues authority by ordaination mission to able and fit men for to preach to pray c. in the Church By the key of iurisdiction the Bishop doth gouerne in the Consistory by examining and censuring with the helpe of his Iudge-assistant To know all Church-discipline I referre you to the Rubricke in the Common-praier-booke to the Canons of the Church c. This part of my text is All things and therefore I must not omit the rites ceremonies of the Church for they are vnderstood in these All things The rites and ceremonies of the Church which were tipicall in the Iewes time did signifie Christ to come and therefore at Christs comming they were abrogated Quia veritas venit signum tollitur so S. Augustine Because Christ is come into the flesh there is no vse of a signe to signifie that Christ is to come But in our church the ceremonies are not typicall but they are signes of church-beauty for morall ornament And that to beautify gesture in acknowledging the Lord Iesus to be King of heauen and earth of the triumphant militant Church hence it is that in Church-assemblies we bow at the name of Iesus or to beautify gesture at praier when we pray The body and blood of our Lord Iesus Christ preserue soule and body to euerlasting life c. hence it is that we humbly and reuerently kneele on our knees at receiuing the Lords supper Or in token that we will not be ashamed to confes the faith of Christ crucified manfully to fight vnder his banner c. hence it is that little Children baptized after the forme of baptisme are signed with the signe of the crosse or to signify the sincerity of the Ministers vnspotted faith hence it is that our Church-priests doe weare the surplesse at performing holy worship to God or to signify the vndeuided loue of husband and wife till death them depart hence it is that in marriage the ring is giuen for a token and pledge or to signify a thankfull remembrance vnto God for giueing vs Christian examples and encouragements to perseuere in the true Apostolicall faith in that God gaue vs his Sonne his one and only Sonne to be our Mediatour and the Blessed Virgin to bee his Mother according to his humanity the holy Apostles to preach Christ Iesus the Saviour to the ends of the world for giving vs many and miraculous deliverances from great and apparent dangers hence it is that Holy-dayes were ordain'd and are kept The nativitie of