king yet notwithstādyng he laid aside the gouernement of temporall and worldly thyngs and tooke him selfe to the charge onely of spirituall thynges By reason wherof when Pylate asked hym whether hee were the kyng of Israell or no He denyed not him self to be a kyng but hee addeth an exposition and méekely aunswered my kyngdome is not of this world Whereupon in another place of the Gospell he sayd he came not to be serued that is to wit as a worldly prince but to serue or to do seruice him selfe and to giue his life for the raunsome of the whole multitude For that cause he vtterly refused the iudgyng or diuidyng of the heritage that was desired at his hand and put it ouer from himself to the lawfull iudges not without displeasure saying mā who hath made me a iudge or vmper betwene you And therfore when the people were purposed to haue made him a temporall kyng he fled and by that flight of his shewed that those his ministers must not séeke for worldly souereintie in the Church and much lesse possesse it or by any meanes claime it no nor receiue it or take it vpon them if it be offered Besides this he not onely commaunded to giue vnto Caesar that which is Caesars but also furthermore when the tribute that was wont to be payd to the Magistrate was demaunded of him he commaunded a penny that was taken out of a fishes mouth to be payd for him least he might be an offence vnto others Finally by the space of whole iij. yeares together in which he most faithfully went through with the charge that his heauenly father had put him in trust with accomplished all things enioyned him to the full he neuer gaue any inclyng no not the least that could be of any souereintie or worldly dominiō Unto this holy and most humble example of the Lord there is also further added his most modest doctrine For when he perceiued that his disciples beyng caught and led away with ambition burned altogether with desire of souereintie and striue among themselues for supremacie or prerogatiue or as the Romane Bishops terme it for greaternesse as surely this maladie sticketh fast to the ribbes of them that are atteinted neuer so litle with ambitiousnesse which thyng appeareth by the Romish sort them selues he gaue them a very sore checke and withdrew them from that desire of souereintie beating lowlinesse into them therwithall also mainteinyng the right of the Magistrate ordeined of God and finally committyng the ministration of the word to his disciples without any hope or mention of souereintie at all Therfore when in the xvii of Mathew Peter had payd a péece of twentie pence for the Lord and himselfe to those that demaunded but ten pence and that therby he had put the rest of the disciples in suspicion as though Peter should be aduaunced aboue all the rest of them or be made primate among them in the kyngdome of heauen or in the gouernement of the Church they began to dispute of the matter among them selues and eche of them accordyng to mans infirmitie gaped after that hyghest degrée of souereintie But what sayd the Lord and what did he in that debate of his disciples He tooke a child vnto him and setting him in the middes of them sayd Uerely I say vnto you except ye turne and become like children ye shall not enter into the kyngdome of heauen Therfore whosoeuer humbleth himselfe as this child he is greatest in the kyngdome of heauen Which is all one as if the Lord had sayd vnto them ye striue for preheminence which of you should be gréeted as greatest of all But I tell you for a certeintie except ye turne your myndes from such ambitious disputations that sauour of nothyng but pride and pompe and turne your selues in lowlinesse vnto me and my example yea and vnto the simplenesse of this little boy whom you sée here ye shal be so farre from greatnesse and gloriousnes in that kyngdome of myne that I will not so much as take you for my Disciples Uery truly sayth S. Chrisostome in his 59. Homely vpon Mathew litle childrē know not how to enuy nor how to gape for vaineglorie nor how to desire preheminence of dignitie neither are they any whit the statelyer if ye prayse them or honor them What then aunswereth the Lord to the question of his Disciples Who soeuer sayth he becommeth like a child by puttyng away naughtie affections but chiefly ambition and desirousnesse to beare rule truly the same is greatest in the kingdome of heauē Upon which place Chrisostome sayth agayn Thou séest how he hath taught that preheminence of dignitie is not to be coueted in any case And so forth Agayne in the 20. chapter of Mathew when the mother of Zebedies children came vnto the Lord with her sonnes Iames and Iohn and made sute for them that they might haue the highest roome and chief authoritie about him in his kingdome so as he should place them next him selfe the one on his right hand and the other on his left for looke who they be that are next about a kyng and garde his person in sittyng on either side of him those are counted chief men in the Realme like as at this day those be called Legates a latere or from the Popes side whō the Byshop sendeth from Rome with full power and authoritie The Disciples hauyng forgotten the thynges which the Lord had taught them afore mistrusted eftsoone that those two brothers should be preferred before them all By reason wherof enuying them they began to take pritch at it and to contend agayne among themselues for the preheminēce The Lord therfore calling them to him sayd ye know that the kynges of nations reigne ouer them and they that be great exercise authoritie vpon them It shall not be so among you but he that will be great among you let him become your seruaunt and he that wil be chief among you let him be your vnderlyng like as the sonne of mā is come not to be serued but to serue and to giue his life for the redemption of many Most trimly and effectually hath the Lord herein seuered the Ecclesiasticall ministerie from the ciuill authoritie And iustly doth he challendge and yeld to the Magistrate that which belongeth to the Magistrate without derogatyng or takyng any thyng from him and conueying it to him selfe and his and likewise shew the ministers what they also ought to do Ye know sayth he that there be Princes or Magistrates ordeined among people and among the Gentiles so as there is no neede that you also should be made rulers ouer nations I mynde not to make warres with the Romanes and to put downe their presidentes and Tetrarkes to set you vp in theyr roomes which thyng notwithstandyng the Iewes beleued that Christ should haue done and therfore when he aunswered not their expectation they acknowledged him not to be the Messias Princes haue their
vsurpyng monstruously the place of supreme head And finally which hath presumed to dispose parsons of churches other Catholicke Priestes and to make constitutions in cases Ecclesiasticall deposing and oppressing the Catholike Byshops and aduauncing or restoryng wicked preachers and ministers of vngodlinesse to the roomes of those that be deposed c. This ye may sée is the fayre Helene for the winnyng of whom the Romish Byshops haue made warre in Christendome now these certeine hundred yeares agaynst all Christen Kinges and Princes This is the ground of all their grief verely this is the onely cause for which they haue turmoyled the whole world and cease not to turmoyle it euen at this day that is to wit in so great light of the Gospell which now shyneth bright and triumpheth through the whole world a most assured proofe of inuincible shamelesnesse and wilfulnesse For the Lord without any parable and most manifestly in the Gospell sayth to the pastors of Churches The kings of the Gentiles reigne ouer them but so shall not you Neuerthelesse the Byshop who will séeme to be the Prince of pastors despising or rather trampling that so manifest commaundement of the Lord vnder his féete is not ashamed to take vppon him all power as well in spirituall as temporall matters And what els is that but to wype away all shamefastnesse and openly and wickedly to rebell agaynst God and to outface him with saying to him but we will do so and not simply but also farre further yea and more to But I haue shewed euidently inough afore that all pastors of Churches are called and ordeined by Christ not to beare rule but to serue in all thinges Monstruously therfore doth the seruaunt of seruauntes which is excluded from all Lordship and appointed onely to do seruice vsurpe to him selfe the thyng that is peculiar onely to souereines whom God hath set in authoritie For if the thyng be sayd to be done monstruously which is done either agaynst nature or Gods expresse ordinaunce I pray you what can be deuised more monstruous than that he whom the Lord of all thinges of whom commeth all power and dominion hath cast downe as the basest seruaunt of all and put farre vnderneath the footestooles of all Lordes should not onely take vpon him the chayre of estate which God hath graunted onely to kynges but also moreouer deuise himselfe a throne which he will haue séeme to be exalted aboue the thrones of all kinges and mountyng vp into the same without remembraunce of his own base estate deuilishly vaunt himselfe to the whole world not now as a King or Emperour onely but also as chief Byshop that obteineth both the swordes and all power both in heauen and in earth Here is that dubbleshapped monster here here is séen that deadly and detestable that horrible also and wonderfull monster which is blased in the holy Scriptures by the title of the great whore which fitteth vppon many waters and vppon the scarlet colored beast full of names of blasphemie But for a kyng or a Quéene to be called a head as well in spirituall as temporall matters within their owne Realme it is no monstruousnesse at all bycause the Lord hath so ordeined it in Gods word Princes be called the heades of the people so the thing can not be sayd to be done mōstruously agaynst nature which is done according to Gods will word With Kyngs I ioyne Quéenes also and not without cause least the Pope perchaunce might surmyse that women are excluded from reignyng or that it is a monstruous thyng if a woman should reigne For we know that the thinges which the Apostle speaketh concernyng the obedience of wiues and the silence of women in the congregation of God are not to be wrested vnto reigning For it is certein that the Lords Apostles impeached not the successions in kyngdomes ne disordered not the accustomed maner of inherityng in kyngdomes Also we know that mention is made in the Bible of the noble Quéene of Saba to her great prayse for her much conference with Salomon Neither will I now say any thyng of Delbora that Iudged Israell of other Princely Ladyes Truly Esay not onely sayd And Kynges shal be thy foster-fathers but also added And Quéenes shal be their nurces they shall bow downe themselues before thée c. Esay 49. ¶ How it is no monstruousnesse for the Queene of England and consequently for all ciuill Magistrates to determine in cases Ecclesiasticall or to vndertake and beare the charge of Church matters as to depose euill Byshops and to set vp better in their roomes NOw then it is out of dout that the sayd most vertuous Quéene is supreme head or souerein Lady in that her Realme ordeined of God himselfe and set ouer the puissant Realme of Englād except it be false which the Lords Apostle and chosen vessel Paule hath sayd Let euery soule be subiect to the higher powers For there is no power but of God and the powers that be are ordeined of god Therfore who soeuer resisteth power resisteth Gods ordinaūce And they that resist shall purchase dānation to themselues Seyng now that all men know these thinges to be most true it foloweth there withal not onely that the Quéene of Englād is Quéene by Gods ordinaūce but also that the byshop that resisteth her setteth himselfe naughtely agaynst her prouoketh Gods greuous iudgemēt agaynst himselfe But forasmuch as the Pope thinkes it a monstruousnesse that a king or a Quéene or any ciuil Magistrate in a cōmō weale should determine of Ecclesiasticall cases put down naughtie Priestes or Bishops aduaunce set vp better in their steddes and take vpon him to beare the charge not onely of temporall affaires but also of spirituall or Ecclesiasticall matters Lo I will proue and shew by euident and inuincible argumentes and examples of holy kynges howbeit briefly that the same thinges are parcell of their dewtie and therfore that the Magistrate doth then by Gods law and accordyng to the commaundement of the euerlastyng God and that the Bishop of Rome snatcheth them to him selfe and to his rable tyrannically and wickedly agaynst God playeth the Antichrist in pluckyng them from those to whom God hath giuen them That God in any wise would and that he hath ordeined from the beginnyng that Kynges in their kyngdomes and Magistrates in their common weales ought to take vpon them the care euen of Religion and to looke faithfully vnto it and to order it diligently accordyng to the rule of Gods woord this is the greatest proofe that God in hys law doth straitly commaund a copie of the law to be deliuered to the Prince of his people therby to dispose all his affaires And in the same law he commaundeth the Magistrate to make examination of doctrines and to restrayne yea and to smyte such as withdraw mē from God and such as teach stubbornly agaynst the law These thinges are to
or peruert the matters of the Church and bryng thinges into the Church which Gods word hath not allowed and fill all thinges with mens traditions Furthermore we haue notable examples of those Emperours and Princes which accordyng to the Prophesies came into Christes Church and renownced their heathenishnesse and shewed themselues faithfull fosterfathers ouerséers and defenders of the Church Among the first in account is Constantine who for his noble actes and manifold vertewes was surnamed the great This man closed vp the temples of idols and abolished all heathenish sacrifisings In Nice a citie of Bithynia he called a Counsell the greatest of all Counsels and of most authoritie And there he rebuked the Byshops sharply and layd his commaundement vpon them set order in the matters of the Church Eusebius in the life of Cōstantine is not afrayd to terme this Prince a Byshop bycause he did most diligently looke to the matters of the Church If any man require the authors wordes thus they be Cōstantine sayth he imployed his care vpon the Church of god And bycause many were at oddes among themselues in diuers places he beyng ordeined a common Byshop by God sommoned a Dyet of Gods Ministers Neither disdained he to be at it himself to sit amōg them to become a felow of theirs to dispose to all of them the thynges that made for the peace of god Thus much sayth he Behold here is a Councell called not by the Pope but by the Emperour Wherupon when one Ruffinus obiected a certein Councell agaynst Ierome he aunswered saying shew thou me what Emperour commaunded it to be assembled Moreouer the strife of the Byshops had burst further out if this Emperour had not bridled them and brought them to order This Prince by his intermedlyng in matters of Religion of the Church dyd within a while not onely salue them but also greatly further them Which thing the Emperours Valentine Gratian and Theodosius did in likewise as it appeareth in the beginnyng of Iustinians Code And the Emperour Theodosius in Nouellis tit 2 concerning Iewes Samaritanes c. confesseth to Florentius that the searchyng out of Religion is the chief charge and greatest care that belonges to the Maiestie of an Emperour Also the Emperours Leo and Anthemius in L. omnes C. concernyng Byshops and Clerkes haue set downe by name that Ciuill Magistrates were and ought to be iudges of the Byshops And before the reigne of these Archadius and Honorius in L. Quicunque C. concernyng Byshops and Clerkes denounce a Byshop that breakes the common peace to be vnworthy the name of a Bishop and depose him from his Bishoprike and finally will that he shal be banished The Emperour Iustinian about the yeare of our Lord 550 made many lawes openly settyng order in matters of the Church appointyng Byshops Clerkes what they should do And in Nouellis Constit. 123. he commaūdeth the Presidentes of Prouinces that if the Byshops forslow to kéepe conuocations then they should do it and execute the lawes and mainteyne the ordinaunces of the Church Furthermore Charles the great kyng of Fraunce and Emperour and his sonne Lewis the milde published many Ecclesiasticall lawes concernyng the holy doctrine the ministration of the sacramentes and the Ministers them selues Abbot Ansegisus compyled their lawes into foure bookes But it would be too tedious to rehearse and of these lawes therby to shew and proue that which is otherwise sufficiently proued already namely that the charge of Religion and of Church matters perteineth also to Kynges and Quéenes and that it is no monstruousenesse at all though the ciuill Magistrate determine of matters of Religion vnles those so many so mightie and so holy Kynges Princes and Emperours whose examples I haue hitherto alledged were all monsters But no such thyng can sinck in godly mens mindes who doutlesse do rather beleue that Pope of Rome the author of this rayling Bull is a monster both most hideous and most vgly as hath ben sayd also héertofore Which thinges beyng vndoutedly so the vertuous Quéene of England hath done nothing amisse but rather she hath done her dewtie and deserued eternall prayse for succoryng the persecuted and forwéeryed state of the English Church and for takyng vpon her the case of Religion which she hath vertuously disposed hetherto accordyng as she began at the first deposing from their estate and office the bishops that were sworne to the pope which preached the pope and papistry and not Christ our Lorde and his pure Gospell and preferring to their roomes men sworne to Christ our Lorde and to the Quéenes Maiestie which preache Christes Gospell sincerelye through the whole Realme without any corruption of popery The slaunderous Bull rayling vppon these Ministers of Christ lawfully ordeyned by the Quéene termeth them in way of disdaine and reproch lewd preachers and ministers of wickednes But it is well for them for Christ our Lord sayth Blessed are ye when men reuile you and speak all euill against you béelying you for my sake Furthermore the Apostle was not ashamed to name him self a publisher or preacher of the Gospell neyther are they lewde preachers which according to Paules saying deuyde the woord of truth rightly and honestly and endeuour to shew themselues allowable woorkmen afore God neyther are they ministers of wickednesse that do theyr seruice vnto Christ and his Church with all faythfulnesse and singular dilligence I will not say at this present how cruell those bishops whom the Quéenes Maiestie hath deposed frō their estate cast in prison were when they had the law in their owne handes agaynst the faythfull professors of Christ nor how stubbornely they sticked to idolatry and to the Romane Idoll vnto whome they had bound themselues by othe defending most pestilent and manifesterrors and continewing malicious and vnappeasable enemies of the truth of the Gospell in so much as the Quéenes Maiestie neither could vse their seruice nor ought to wink at their rebelliō traiterousnes lewd meaning if she meant to aduaūce maintain the peace of hir realme the welfare of hir people the procéeding of the Gospell Therefore if these men pyned away for sorrow and dyed miserably in prison that is nothing to the Quéenes Maiestie for they may wite it vppon theyr owne vniust stubbernesse ioyned with maliciousnes they may wite it vpon their owne most wilfull rebelliousnesse and in generall vpon their owne wickednes And as for those that be punished or put to death for their owne offences the righteous Lord God geueth sentence vpon them in his owne law saying Their bloud be vpon their owne heades Most excellent and true also is the sentence of S. Iohn Chrisostome No man is hurt but by himself Furthermore Paule in expresse wordes to the Romanes saith Princes are not a terror to them that do well but to them that do euil but wilt thou not feare power thē do the thing that is
A CONFVTATION Of the Popes Bull which was published more then two yeres agoe against Elizabeth the most gracious Quéene of England Fraunce and Ireland and against the noble Realme of England together with a defence of the sayd true Christian Queene and of the whole Realme of England By Henry Bullinger the Elder AT LONDON Printed by Iohn Day dwelling ouer Aldersgate AN. 1572. ¶ Cum Priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis per Decennium ¶ To the right honourable and his singular good Lord Robert Dudley Earle of Leicester Baron of Denbigh Knight of the honourable order of the Garter one of the Queenes Maiesties most honourable priuie Counsell c. Arthur Golding wisheth health prosperitie and abundaunce of Gods grace WHat mischiefe hath of late yeares bene attempted against this Realme and how great a flame hath bene kindled against the walles of the Church through the great Treasons that haue bene practised to confound the whole state by reason of the Popes most pestilent Bull your Lordship right well knoweth yea and it is euen yet still so apparant or rather present in all mens eyes as there is no wise man but he trembleth at the dreadfull remembraunce nor simple godly minded man but he wondreth at the marueilous disappointing of the daungers which were sundry times ready to haue ouerwhelmed vs euen in one moment had not God reached out his mercifull hand from heauen in the open face of the world to defend vs For it can not be denied but that therby open defiance hath bene made to faythfulnesse and allegeance honestie and vertue were shamefully defaced Religion and Iustice were openly assaulted neiborod and charitie were trecherously despised God and godlinesse were wickedly impugned our most vertuous and renoumed Princes Maiestie was traiterously impeached her rightfull preheminence diuersly assailed her vnblameable doinges causelesse diffamed her gracious clemencie scornfully abused her noble person priuily pricked at the welfare of the whole Realme daungerously hazarded and the state thereof either intitled to inward Competitors or profered as a pray to forreine enemies Is it not a straunge case that a Romishe Bull or to speake more rightly a childishe bable should be able to worke such inconueniences euen where the Gospell shineth most lightsomely And yet we see that not onely some of the rude and witlesse sort but also many of the greater sort which thought them selues no small fooles ne were in deede no young babes were contented to become such Calues as to runne out of Gods blissing into the warme Sunne and to turne their weapons into their owne bowells at the bellowing of an outlandishe Bull which notwithstanding was but a Leaden Bull a paper Bull a painted Bull and had neither breath mouing nor voyce of it own till the Calues them selues had breathed into it But righteous art thou O Lord God and rightfull are thy iudgemētes They digged a pit for others are fallen into it them selues They layd a snare for thine elected and their own feete be snarled in it Yea thou hast turned their purposed mischief vpon their owne heades Let the Papistes still feele and let all the world still see how it is thou onely that fightest for vs O Lord God of Hostes. Now albeit that the brunt of that abhominable Bull were bent directly at our most gracious soueraigne Lady Queene Elizabeth at her Maiesties Realme and faythfull subiectes yet notwithstāding forasmuch as the matter doth implyingly concerne the whole state of Christes Church which the Romishe Antichrist laboureth to draw away frō the obedience loue of her true husband Christ to the adulterous imbracing of Sathan Henry Bullinger the Elder that godly painfull minister of Christes Gospell in the Church of Zurike being by nation a mere straūger but by Christen Religion a deare brother vnto vs hath as it appeareth by his owne Epistle written this present confutation therof in Latin at the request or motion of certeine of our right reuerend godly Bishops By meanes wherof the case which otherwise had bene more peculiar to our selues is now become cōmon to all the true worshippers of christ For such is the nature bond of holy Religiō that whatsoeuer happeneth to any seuerall mēber of Christes Church the feeling therof disperseth it self into the whole body so as they ioy together sorow together also lay all their forces together to withstand their cōmon enemy to put him to flight by the power of the word of the spirite wherwith they be led gouerned Therfore to the end that such as haue any where ben bewitched by the sorceries of the Romish Circe and her Idolatrous hypocrites may returne to their right wits ceasse to be deceaued and that the simple ignorant may not be seduced by such fond toyes heerafter He learnedly pithely breefly confuteth the vnhonest and shamefull slaunders of that rayling and reprochfull libell defendeth the innocencie of our most vertuous souereigne Lady maintaineth the Religion now stablished by publike authoritie of this Realme disproueth the false vsurped supremacie of the Romane Prelates sheweth the right vse of the keyes which Christ hath cōmitted to his Church bewrayeth the weaknes of the Romish Iupiters thūdercracks and discouereth the horrible crueltie and outrage of the Popes in maintaining their wrongfull vnmeasurable power And heerwithall his desire is that the same his doing may turne to the profit cōmoditie of as many as may be For the accōplishment wherof that our nation in whose behalfe it was chiefly writtē may the more largely plenteously enioy the benefit wherof the first cause hath sprong frō thēselues I haue turned the sayd boke into our own mother toung a worke right necessary profitable for all such as mind to keep them selues true seruauntes to God faithfull subiectes to their prince or can finde in their hartes to loke vpō the light of the truth to their own benefite incomparable comfort For doubtlesse if there be any whom the present experience of our owne times can not moue they shall see it euidently proued by this booke that the fruite which the crediting or receauing of Popishe Buls such other pedlary trash of Rome yeeldeth is nothing els but horrible murther Rebellion slaughter Treason all maner of diuelish mischieuous wickednesse matched with most extreme calamitie hartgreef misery and in the end vnlesse Gods wrath be pacified by timely repentance accōpanied with vneschewable losse both of body of soule Wherfore as well in consideration of the premisses as also presuming vpon the apparant signes of your Lordships former fauour great good will towardes me but specially forasmuch as you are of that most honourable nūber vpon whose wisedome foresight trustinesse pollicie stoutnes God hath ordained the securitie of our most gracious soueraigne Lady of her Maiesties Realme subiectes which more is of his owne Religion and holy word to rest depend I haue takē boldnes to
of the Scriptures Now if I listed to play the Rhetoricien héere I could with many wordes declare that hell gates do not onely preuaile against the Romishe Bishops and their Court the filthiest that euer was but also that the very prince of féendes him selfe obteineth full and onely souereintie in them Which thing I could without trouble shew and proue both by the witnesse and by the complaints of the Bishops them selues But let vs ouerpasse that abhominable filthinesse and make hast to the opening of the residue of this place For there is no man so blockishe that hath not now of late euen felt with his handes that in these wordes of the Lord there is nothing spoken of the vnmeasurable power of the Pope but that there be set out vnto vs farre more heauenly and healthfuller thinges Prayse and thankes be geuen vnto God. ¶ That not euen by the gift of the keyes vnto Peter there is any fulnesse of power deliuered by the Lord either vnto Peter or vnto the Pope for that the keyes are a farre other thing yea and a thing of much greater holinesse then is the sayd fulnesse of the popish power THe Lorde addeth vnto the premisses And I will geue thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and whatsoeuer thou byndest vpon earth shall be bound in heauen and whatsoeuer thou loosest vppon earth shall be loosed in heauen By which wordes the Lord sheweth againe that this charge concerning blessednesse and eternall life which he hath hetherto layd forth perteineth not onely to Peter or the rest of the Apostles but also vnto all men through the whole world Moreouer he sheweth the meane and maner how men are brought into the Church that is to say how they be builded vpon the Rocke and made members of Christ and the Church and so enter into the kingdome of heauen You Apostles sayth the Lord shall open the way and as it were by reaching out your handes bring men into the company of me and of my Saintes and consequently into the kingdome of heauē and that shall be done by the preaching of the Gospell For by fayth we be graffed into Christ and his Church But fayth commeth by hearing and hearing by the preaching of the Gospell And therfore sayth the Lord I will geue you the keyes of the kingdome of heauen that is I will commit vnto you the charge of preaching the Gospell to this end that you shall go out into the whole world and by declaring vnto all men the remission of sinnes through me set thē loose that be fettered in the chaines of their sinnes and open the kingdome of heauen to them that beleue and on the other side bynde those that shake of the preaching of the Gospell that is to say declare and witnesse vnto them that they be subiect to eternall damnation And this your declaration and witnessing shall be so ratified and assured that whomsoeuer ye loose or binde by my worde vpon earth them will I also account as loosened or bound in heauē And this is the simple meaning of Christes wordes flowing out of the wordes them selues without any racking of the wordes at all Which meaning I will more cléerly enlighten and more assuredly confirme by that which ensueth The worde Keyes are not vttered alwayes in one signification in the Scripture For otherwise there is no man but he knoweth what they be in their proper signification that is to wit tooles wherwithall the lockes of doores chestes and such other thinges are opened or shut And they be conueyed ouer from bodily thinges to spirituall thinges from earthly thinges to heauenly thinges and sometime they be taken for souerein and full power like as when we read in the Apocalips that Christ hath the keyes of Dauid of death and of hell For by that phrase of spéech is betokened that Christ hath the souerein and most absolute power or authoritie to gouerne the kingdome of Dauid and also full power ouer death it self and ouer hell and that he is able to deliuer from death or to thrust down into hell whomsoeuer he listeth These Keyes that is to say this power belongeth onely vnto Christ and no creature is partaker of it Wherupon also in the Apocalips the Lord sayth with a vehemencie I haue the Keyes and he sayth not I haue had but I haue I say I haue them yet still and will haue them euer I resigne them to no man. There is also the Key of knowledge and the Key of the kingdome of heauen whereof we intreate at this present The Key of knowledge is instruction wherby a mans vnderstanding is opened and his want of skill amended And the Key of the kingdome of heauē is a plaine or lightsome declaration or laying forth of thinges whereby men are taught what way they may goe into heauen or how they may be saued I faine nothing of mine owne head in this behalfe in these thinges I followe the Scripture and for mine exposition I alledge the very worde of Christ saying in the Gospell after S. Luke Woe be to you Lawyers whych haue taken away the key of knowledge ye entred not in your selues and them that came in ye forbad Which wordes of the Lord Mathew vttereth in this wise Woe be to you Scrybes and Pharyseys for ye shut vp the kingdome of heauen before men ye your selues goe not in neyther suffer ye them that come to enter in Behold looke what Luke called the taking away of the key of knowledge that doth Matthew call the shuttyng vp of the kingdome of heauen And therefore what els I pray you is it to bring forth the keyes of the kingdome of heauen then to bring forth the keyes of knowledge that is to say the doctrine which cōcerneth the kingdome of heauen through the instruction whereof we may know how to become partakers of the euerlasting saluation Againe to take away the keyes of knowledge or of the kingdome of heauen is nothing els but to withstand the doctrine of the Gospell concerning the kingdome of God or to assault it or to geue commaundement that it be not preached You therfore enter not in sayth the Lorde I meane by harkening to my doctrine ye beleue not that ye might be saued neither suffer ye them to enter which come and are desirous of my doctrine concerning the kingdome of God that is to say which would faine heare and beleue my doctrine that by faith they might be made heires of Gods kingdome while you slaunder my doctrine and my workes as though they procéeded from Sathan and therefore were to be abhorred and eschewed of good men And by these wordes of the Lord it appeareth most manifestly that the keyes wherof he speaketh here in S. Matthew saying and to thee will I geue the keyee of the kingdome of heauen are not any other thing then the charge of preaching the Gospell committed by the Lord to the ministers of his Church that by the sayd
excellent giftes both in their sayinges and doinges yea and finally in their writings and vertewes they shyned as most bright Cressets among the rest of the Starres For S. Peter neuer chalendged to him selfe any superioritie no not euen ouer the basest sort of men and much lesse ouer princes he neuer aduaunced his throne which he had not aboue all kinges and all kingdomes Cornelius the Centurion a knight of Rome fell down at his féete and it was no small cause that made him so to do For the aungell of the Lord had set a great commendation vpon this Peter vnto him wherupon he fell downe before Peter But Peter liftes him vp agayne and humbly sayth that he him selfe is a man also So also when he had lifted vp the lame man and made him whole and sound at the temple of Ierusalem and that the people stode wondering and worshipping of him he gaue all the glorie vnto Christ and told them that he him selfe was but a Minister Neither doth he in his Epistles aduaunce him selfe with any prelacie but simply calles him selfe an Apostle and felowelder forbidding the elders to vsurpe any Lordship ouer the Clergie Neither sitteth he still in his chayre at Hierusalem and sendes abroad his Legates a latere but he is contented to let the cōgregation send him with Iohn into Samaria Yea and in the Counsell of Ierusalem he chalendgeth no preheminence to him selfe All thinges were done in that Counsell by common aduise and consent And the Apostle Paule who in all thinges euen of the smallest sort was a most diligent obseruer of the ordinaūces of his maister Christ no where acknowledgeth S. Peter as preferred before all other men by any prerogatiue neither would he in any wise haue neglected it if he had euer thought him to haue ben preferred afore the rest by the lord Nay rather he fréely reproued Peter in the Church of Antioche accordyng as he himselfe declareth in the 2. to the Galathians In the same place in déede he calleth Peter a Piller but not Peter aboue and therfore much lesse the piller of all pillers greatest and most excellent For with Peter he matcheth two other Apostles whom he termeth pillers as well as him euen Iames and Iohn yea and he putteth Iames afore Peter He had sayd heretofore that the same were had in reputation to the end we might know wherfore he called them pillers Meaning that they were in authoritie as men that by their common and faithful trauell séemed as it were to vphold the Church which els was like to fall if it had not ben vnderpropped and stayed vp through the grace of God in their faithfull teachyng And yet Paule affirmeth that those pillers added nothyng vnto him But rather comparing him selfe with Peter The same sayth he which was mighty in Peter in the Apostleship ouer the Circumcision was mighty in me also among the Gentiles And the same Paule speakyng of the plurall nomber saith he was nothing inferiour to the chief Apostles And in the 3. chapter of his first Epistle to the Corinthians what is Paule sayth he what is Apollo and in this place is Peter or Cephas to be implyed also as of whō he had made mention in the first chapter vsing the same maner of speaking Neither is there any reason why the opinion of those should hold vs in a mamering which surmise that here is not ment Peter but some other disciple whom Paul calleth by the name of Cephas For the truth of the Gospell crieth out against them in the first of Iohn and so doth Paules owne declaration in the second to the Galathians What are they saith he but onely ministers by whom you haue beleued euen as the Lord gaue vnto euery man I haue planted Apollo hath watred but God gaue the increase Therfore neither is he any thing which planteth nor he which watereth but God which giueth the increase And anone after speakyng of all the Apostles yea and euen of Peter or Cephas to Let a man sayth he in such wise esteme vs as the Ministers of Christ and the disposers of the secretes of God. These lightsome and euident textes of Scripture are sufficient for men that be curable as for vncurable quareling men we leaue them to God the iust iudge and doe witnesse manifestly enough that neither Christes Apostles no nor the Apostle Peter him selfe vsurped so much as one iote of souereintie in the Church but onely tooke vpon them ministration of the glad tydinges of saluation and of Christes holy Church all their life long euen vnto the last gaspe of their liues And therfore there is no reason why the Bishop of Rome should hereafter in maintenance of himselfe his supremacie alledge any more the supremacie of Peter which is now sufficiētly apparant to be vtterly none and alwayes to haue ben none at all in déede ¶ That the first Bishops of Rome vsurped not any souereintie at all in the church but were lowly shepeheardes teachers and ministers of the Church of Rome yea and besides that also Martyrs of Christ. I Will not now dispute whether Peter came at Rome or no. Wherof I sée learned men to dout not without cause Surely it may be proued by substantiall argumentes that Peter sate not in that seate at that tyme and so long a tyme as he is commonly sayd to haue sit continually together If he came to Rome at all certes it was late ere he came and peraduēture not long afore his death For all the old writers euen those that were néere the Apostles time do agreably and stedfastly affirme that Peter was crucified at Rome vnder the Emperour Nero for preaching Christ and his Gospell the same time that Paul was beheaded Which thing I can easly graunt But from this Peter vnto Siluester there be registred 33. Byshops or pastors of Rome Of whom notwithstandyng none tooke vpon him any souereintie either ouer the Citie it selfe or ouer the Church of Rome and therfore much lesse aduaūced they them selues ouer kynges and kyngdomes Yet am I not afrayd to say thus much more of them that if they might be found to haue attempted any whit of this preheminence or to haue sewed for souereintie it is certein that they started aside from the way of their predecessours yea and from their maister Christ and grew out of kynd from their owne Peter Wherfore their sayinges and doinges being against the expresse testimonies of Christ and the Apostles aboue rehearsed could proue nothing Howbeit like as in other Churches as of Antioche Alexandria Corinth Philippos Ephesus Cesarea and the rest there were pastors or teachers which were called Bishops set ouer the Church of God which by their holy ministerie serued seuerally their owne shéepe that were committed to them and not other mens shéepe or in many places at once for at the begynnyng euery pastor had his slocke appointed and committed vnto him So also was done in the Church of Rome which
be read in Deut. 13. and 17. and in other places of the booke of the law Besides this Moses whom God had made the onely lawfull and chief Magistrate of hys people ordeyned not onely iudges but also Priestes and by Gods word appointed euery of them his office yea euen vnto Aaron the high Priest and chosen of god It would be to long to recken vp these thinges particularly Likewise also Iosue that most deuout Capteine of Gods people geueth charge to all estates yea euen vnto the Priestes to what euery of them shall do For he ruled not onely ciuill or warlike affaires but Church matters also both by himselfe and by others Howbeit he restreined all thinges general and particular not at his owne pleasure but to Gods holy law So did Dauid order the Priestes and the Churchmatters also In conueying and settling the Arke of the Lord wherein is séene the ordering of the whole Religion he consulted with his Princes and afterward made all the people priuie to it and lastly also sent to the Priests and Leuites appointyng them as well as others what they should do Let the first booke of Chronicles be read in which he also sorteth the Priestes into degrées and appointeth euery man his office by Gods commaundement for the which thyng he deserued right great and perpetuall commendation in the Church In the 2. booke of the Chronicles and the viii chapter we read that Salomon according to the ordinaūce of Dauid his father appointed the degrées of Priestes in their ministrations and the Leuites in their degrées to wash and to do seruice before the Priestes c. And byanby there foloweth For so had Dauid the man of God commaunded Neither did they omit or go beyond any part of the kynges commaundement as well the Priestes as the Leuites The same Salomon deposed Abiathar the hygh Priest and set vp Zadoch in his sted And many other such thyngs as these did that wise king Salomon the beloued of God with Gods well likyng his owne glorie The same thinges did the rest of the kings of Iuda Dauides holy ofspryng that folowed after hym For Asa put the Priestes out of office that were defiled with idolatry set in others that were more godly Iosaphat callyng the Priestes together giueth them their charge and ioyning certein of the noblemen with them sendeth them through his Realme to preach Gods law And he not onely disposeth the Courbarres of iudges but also ordereth the offices of Priestes King Ezechias than who there was not a better since Dauid except Iosias onely repayred the temple of the Lord like as kyng Ioas also had done afore him who likewise had the Priestes at commaundement and sommoned a Counsell of the Priestes where he made an excellent Oration to them like a good diuine He delt with them as one hauing full power and commaūded them in these wordes Giue eare Clense ye Cary away c. The Priestes also rebelled not stubbornly agaynst their Prince after the maner of our prelates saying vnto him thou puttest thy siccle into an other mans corne for it is no part of thy charge to commaunde the Priestes But they submitted themselues redely to their Prince and obeyed his holy hestes in all thinges It is declared at large in the holy Scriptures that Iosias did set order in the whole Religion accordyng to the rule of Gods law commaund the Priestes puttyng some of them out of their office placing other in their roomes I will rehearse no mo examples for makyng my readers wéery But vpon all these I conclude that Kynges Princes among Gods people had souereintie and authoritie by Gods ordinaunce ouer the Priestes ouer the hyghest Byshop and ouer the whole Clergie and disposed not onely ciuill but also Ecclesiasticall matters accordyng to Gods law both rightfully and also with singular commēdation And yet in the meane while the Princes meddled not with the sacrificing which God had committed to the Priestes For that was not lawfull for them without punishment as it appeared by kyng Azarias otherwise named Osias who was striken with leprosie for presumyng wilfully to burne incense vpon the brasen altar contrarie to Gods ordinaunce For it is one thing to sacrifice and to execute the offices that belong peculiarly to the Priestes and an other thyng to dispose the Priesthode and discipline of the Church in conuenient order and to kéepe them when they be ordered For God hath sorted these offices asunder and will not haue them confoūded And what man except it be some giddybraynd and froward Anabaptist will say that Christen Princes haue lesse authoritie and power in the Churches of Christenfolke than the Iewish kynges had in the Synagoges Can ye say that the authoritie of these is diminished by Christ our Lord or by his Apostles Most certein it is that it is not diminished by christ For the Prophetes and among them specially Dauid in the 2. Psalme and Esay in his 49. chapter in other places haue foretold that kings should come into the Church of Christ that they should not onely lead their liues there after the maner of other Christen men but also more ouer continue there still in gouernyng defending aduauncing Church affaires as kinges still executyng kyngly power Which point S. Austin handleth excellently garnishyng and enlightenyng it with many sentences agaynst the Donatistes which denyed the Magistrate to haue any power at all to deale in matters of the Church Furthermore it is certein that Christes Apostles remoued not the faithfull Magistrate from the administration of Ecclesiasticall matters therby to make Christen kynges of lesse power than the kynges of the Iewes had For they say expresly that Princes are Gods ministers yea and ordeined to plant the thing that is good and to plucke vp the thing that is euill But who is so ouerlodē with the flesh that he will restreine these things to the flesh onely and to outward affaires and not also extend them to mens soules and to spirituall matters Considering how it is agréed vpon among all men of a right opinion that a Magistrate ought to looke chiefly vnto such thinges as belong to the maintenaunce of the publike welfare of the common weale or of the happy state of their Realmes But it is out of all dout that the diligent care of faith and Religion make to the increase and preseruation of the happie state and welfare of kyngdomes and common weales and therfore no man but he that is an enemy to the happy state of Gods people can deny that the regard of Religion also perteineth to Princes or Magistrates And that so much the lesse bicause we learne plainly by readyng the stories of the kinges of Iuda and Israel that those kyngdomes were and are most happie wherin the Princes do faithfully administer matters of Religion and that those be most vnhappie wherin the kynges either neglect