grind him to powder For this cause we must be subiect not onely for feare but also for conscience sake nor onely to the King as to the chiefe but also to Rulers as to them that be appointed by him for the punishment of those that doe ill and praise of them that doe well His pleasure if it could be knowne should be a kind of law vnto vs his law when it is promulgated should tye vs by a kind of oath of Alleageance Laudo fidem saith Tertullian quae ante credit obsâ—ruandum esse quam didicit I like of such a faith as beleeueth it ought to obserue this or that before it hath learned the euident reason thereof This hath place in some mysteries of Religion and so in some State-matters a kind of simple obedience is many times necessary but Tergiuersation and reasonings and murmurings and contentiousnesse they must be done away with all vnquietnesse What a motiue is this to induce vs to study by all meanes to giue content to our higher Powers for that we may say of them truly which the flattering Oratour said of the Romane Gouernour falsely Act. 24. By their meanes we enioy much peace and many worthy things are done to our Nation by their prouidence and for that we may say with the words of my Text that they sitting on the Throne of Iudgement doe scatter away all euill What doe they doe They scatter away What doe they scatter away Euill all euill It is said of Christ that he hath his Fan in his hand and will thorowly purge his floore c. Math. 3. The like office is here ascribed to a King a good King that he hath his Fan in his hand and before he doe scatter he doth Fan sift winnow trie for that is implyed in the originall word Zarah so then hee doth not scatter away all causes and persons that are brought before him the righteous as well as the vnrighteous like the cruell Tyrant that cryed out A Calvo ad calvum To the pot with them euery mothers sonne and as Benhadad proclaimed Whether they be come out for peace take them aliue or whether they be come out to fight take them yet aliue make bond-men of them all spare none And briefly as Henricus Stephanus writeth of a Iudge that his manner was when an old fellow was brought before him vpon suspition of felony to say Away with him hang him he hath committed many a felony I warrant you if a young fellow were brought Away with him too hang him he will commit many a felony if he be suffered I say good Gouernours doe not goe thus rashly to worke and as it were by whole-sale but they will separate the precious from the vile as the Prophet speaketh and weigh all things in the ballance of Prudence and will order their Iudgement with discretion as Isaak would not blesse his sonne before he had felt him and Salomon full wisely found out the true mother by tendring an offer and Claudius the Emperour almost as wisely found out the true son by making the like offer witnesse Suetonius in Claudio Ch. 15. Thus by searching they found out who hath right on his side who not who deserue punishment who reward then accordingly they proceed to Iudgement and scatter away all euill All Euill If all euill then the euill that is in the Tribe of Leui as well as in other Tribes Here then the Kings Supremacy ouer all persons is proued againe if all euill then the euill of impiety against the first Table as well as of iniquity against the second Table here then the Kings Supremacy in all causes is vouched What if Gallio and Festus in the Acts of the Apostles did put from them or did not care to meddle with church-Church-matters and matters of faith They were both Pagans and neither of them a member of the Church much lesse head of any Church So what if Constantine the Great tooke so little vpon him in the Councell of Nice albeit that Councell and others were conuocated by his authority and in that Councell he commanded the books of the Old New Testament to be produced forth tryall of controuersies What if Valentinian the second did endure to heare of Ambrose Ad Imperatorem palatia pertinent ad Sacerdotem Ecclesiae that is The Emperour hath to doe in his Palaces but the Bishop or Priest in Churches why Constantine and Valentinian were both Neophytes or young Schollers in the faith and neither of them as yet baptized Should this be a barre either to Theodosius the Great or to Martianus or to Iustinian or to Carolomannus or to his nephew Charles the Great or to the Othoes Fredericks Henries or to the Kings of France England Scotland Denmarke Swedeland or to such Princes and States that haue Iura Regalia that they should not make Lawes for the aduancement of the true faith and Seruice of God for the abolishing of Idolatry for the curbing of superstition for the rooting out of Heresies for the punishing of blasphemous and seditious Heretickes Briefly for the maintenance of the Ministery and for the inioyning of Ministers to their duty and so forth What reason in the world against this or that Princes should looke for a Commission and as it were an Oracle from Rome This for instruction So for Institution or admonition a word or two had need to be spoken for as S. Peter prophesied that in the last times there should come mockers walking after their owne lusts and saying Where is the promise of Christs comming or presence so peraduenture in this prophane age some will demand prophanely Where is the truth of Salomons assertion He saith That a King sitting in the Throne of Iudgement scattereth away all euill Now it is euident that the King sitteth on the Throne of Iudgement by himselfe and others carefully and Iustice was neuer better administred without respect of persons or Country and yet we see not all euils scattered away For when say some was there more impiety iniquity impurity in the world Quando maior avaritiae patuit sinus alea quando hos animos c. that is When was there more couetousnesse more deceiuing and cogging when was there more gluttony and drunkennes chambring and wantonnes strife and enuying neither can they be content to be drunke with wine and strong drinke as in former ages but they must be drunke euery day and almost euery houre of the day with smoake a sinne that our Elders heard not of Neither are they that weare soft clothing in Kings Courts onely as it is said in the Gospell but they iet it not onely in soft clothing but in cloth of gold and of siluer euen in townes and villages and many haue more vpon their backs then they are worth in their coffers Further euery man hunteth his brother as with a net as the Prophet saith Euery one catcheth his fellow seruant by the
of Rome his spouse all the while he is not our true father but a father in Law or rather against all Law nor she the true mother but a step-mother a putatiue mother like her in the 1 Kings that would haue had the child to be deuided For all the world he hath shewed himselfe such a kind of father as Saturne was who deuoured all his children that he could come at and whom Rhea hid not from him and she such a mother as Medea in the Tragedy who murthered all her sonnes that she had by her husband Iason and were sorry she had no more to murther that she might vexe him and grieue him more But as Moses said Our God is not as their god our enemies being witnesses so we may say Our father and King is not as theirs heauen and earth bearing record for their King is King of the Locusts Reu. 9. and himselfe the great Locust but our King is a King of peace and of bounty to speake the least and facilis placidusque pater veniaeque paratus as the Poet said So much of the person of the King I come now to the function and to the effect and to the instrument and I will but touch them slightly lest I should be tedious A King sitting on the Throne of Iudgement c. The Iewes write themselues and others write of them that while their Common-weale stood they had three kinds of Courts or places of Iudicature Batteidin the one in euery City where three chosen for the purpose sate and examined petite or light matters matters of trespasse and of debt this was the least Court but there were many of them The second was a greater Court and authorized to try matters of life and death the same consisted of the number of twenty three and was scattered thorowout the Tribes there were more than one for a Tribe The third and greatest and most solemne consisted of seuenty or as some would haue it of seuenty two those receiued Appeales from the other Courts and besides debated of matters of the State and of the Church This Court was holden at Hierusalem and in respect thereof it is thought the Psalmist speaketh so as he doth Psal. 122. For there Thrones are set euen the Thrones of the house of Dauid He doth not say Throne as of one but Thrones as of many by reason of the multitude of Iudges which made vp Sanhedrin as the Talmudists corruptly call it of the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Howbeit as Genes 37. Iosephs sheafe stood vp-right and all the other sheaues did compasse it about and did reuerence vnto it and as Ezech. 1. it is said of the wheeles that when the liuing creatures went they went and when those stood they stood c. for the spirit of the liuing creatures was in the wheeles so we may say that all the fore-named Courts both greater and smaller were subiect vnto the Kings-bench as it were as receiuing their authority and commission from it and so to be commanded by it and not to exercise any iurisdiction ouer it Baronius in his Annals a booke more painefull than faithfull speaking of the Sanhedrin that great Court holden at Hierusalem saith that it had power not onely to determine spirituall matters but also to question and conuent euen Kings he instanceth it Horum namque iudicio Herodes Rex postulatus est and for this and Herods cruelty especially he citeth Iosephus in the Margin I cannot say of this allegation as Saint Paul saith of Epimenides his testimony This Testimony is true for indeed his allegation is not true Herod was no King then when he was conuented nor sonne of a King but subiect to King Hyrcanuâ— who caused him to be sent for vpon complaint and was content that he should make an escape because a kinsman of Caesars had written for him but that Herod was King when he was conuented or that that Court had power ouer Kings to conuent them this we finde in Baronius onely but it is not to be found in Iosephus The truth is Qui Rex est Regem Maxime non habeat that is He that is a King must not haue one aboue him for such a one is a King onely in name but in truth a subiect for vnto Kingly authority or Soueraignety it is essentiall to be supreme and absolute absolute I say from the prescript of all persons but not from the obseruing of his owne Lawes vnto the which he graciously submitteth himselfe For this cause King Salomon erected a Royall Throne as of Iuory and gold to signifie the sincerity of his proceeding and how farre it should be from corruption and with Stayes and Lions to signifie that he would maintaine Iustice euen by force and power if it were impugned So with six steps or greeces and no fewer to shew the eminency of his Court aboue all other whatsoeuer Courts and Consistories and that the statelinesse of the making might procure awe and reuerence to it from all degrees and callings his meaning was not by erecting that Throne to suppresse all other Courts by no meanes for that had beene to pull downe the whole burthen vpon his owne backe which Moses the man of God disclaimed as being too heauy for him but to teach vs that all other Courts were subordinate to it as to the Court of the Lord Paramount 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I meane that all other should receiue orders and iniunctions from it but not presume to giue orders and rules to it So then as wheresoeuer the King maketh his abode there the Court is said to be the Court Royall so wheresoeuer any Court of Iudicature is holden by the Kings authority there the King himselfe may be said to sit interpretatiuè It is not therefore meant in my Text that the Kings personall presence is alwayes necessary for the scattering away of euill but that his authority should be there and that worthy and sufficient men be appointed by him for the mannaging of the affaires of Iustice. Where the King sitteth himselfe if he so please or prouideth that wise and incorrupt Magistrates doe fit there all enormities and abuses are easily chased away and scattered The Kings wrath is as the râ—aring of a Lion The Magistrate vnder him beareth not the sword in vaine What if the wicked be mighty in power in wealth in kindred in friends in alliance yet he thaâ— sitteth vpon the Throne is mightier than they What if they be as thornes that will not be taken vp with the bare hand Yet the Magistrate being fenced with Iron or with the shaft of a Speare 2 Sam. 23. will be too hard for them and they shall be destroyed in the same place It is hard kicking against the pricke saith our Sauiour and it may be well said If a man fall vpon authority it will bruise him but if authority fall vpon a man it will
principall measure thereof is for all such as are called to this waighty charge of being Gods Messengers and Interpretors vnto the people For if no man can say that Iesus is the Lord but by the holy Ghost 1. Cor. 12. then who can preach worthily of Iesus and of the doctrine of saluation but by him And if this key of the Spirit be requisite for the opening of all points of doctrine then is it thrice necessary to reueale mysteries Beloued this point of doctrine concerning the Incarnation and Office of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ is not onely a mystery but a mystery of mysteries that is a most deep and hidden mysterie which the Patriarches saw in a glasse and as it were in a darke speaking the Prophets searched after the very Angels desired to behold And therefore not onely we that take vpon vs to vnfold the same haue need to pray with the Prophet Dauid Lord open thou our lips that our mouthes may shew forth thy praise and speake worthily of this high mysterie but also you that are here present before God this day to heare words from my mouth ought to pray with all manner of prayer and with all instance that he that tooke away the scales from Pauls eyes and is called by Daniel The Reuealer of Secrets would so open the eyes of your vnderstanding that that which shall be deliuered vnto you may not be as a booke that is sealed or clozed fast but that you may know Christ and comprehend him for whose sake you are also comprehended of him This short Preface I thought good to make vnto you in respect of the excellency and diuinenesâ—e of the Argument or Theme vndertaken by me to stirre vp your godly deuotion that there may spring vp in you no root of profanenesse nor cold pang of wearinesse oppresse you to make the Word vnprofitable For if they escaped not that despised Moses his Law much lesse shall we escape if we despise the Gospell that is if wee shall not reuerently heare and religiously lay vp in our hearts this most gladsome tydings concerning Christ manifesting of himselfe in the flesh to communicate himselfe vnto vs and to draw vs vnto him But let vs come to the glad tidings it selfe Behold a Virgin shall conceiue c. Three notable things or rather wonderfull are contained in this short verse 1. A wonderfull Conception 2. A wonderfull Birth 3. A wonderfull Coniunction of the Diuine and humane nature in one person A Virgin shall conceiue This is the first of the wonders A Virgin shall beare a Sonne This is the second His name shall be called Immanuel that is Gâ—d with vs because of the assuming of our nature vnto himselfe This is the third A Virgin shall conceiue This truth is contradicted by two sorts of men especially by the wrangling Iewe and by the doubtfull Infidell The one saith It was not so the Prophet did not meane that shee should be a Virgin that should be the mother of Immanuel The other saith It could not bee how can a Virgin conceiue c These be the obiections of the vnhappy miscreants the Iewes the Gentiles the Atheisticall scorners whom I will not answer diligently or at large lest I should seeme too much to honour them but I will confute them briefly that I may furnish you with some reasons against the day of battell against the time I say that your faith shall be shaken with such kind of persons To the Iewe therefore this I say That though we take no aduantage of the Etymon of the Word vsed by the Prophet and yet as the Learned know the Hebrew tongue doth excell all other tongues in fitting the nature of things with proper fit names yet forasmuch as the word signifieth one that is kept close and secret who else but a Virgin can be meant But to omit this aduantage and to omit also the authority of the seuenty Interpreters which were Iewes and so translated it before this matter was in controuersie and therefore not excepted against for partiality Let vs consider the matter it selfe Doth not the Prophet in Gods name promise to shew them a signe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a prodigious and strange thing surpassing the course of nature Quale autem signum erat adolescentulam non Virginem parere saith Origen against Câ—lsus What signe were that what wonder were that for a young woman that lyeth with a man to conceiue This were a wonder not to be wondred at Therefore either the Prophet Esay spake absurdly and called these things which were not such as though they were such which was farre from that wisdome and eloquence that was in him or an extraordinary Conception and which exceeded the bounds of nature and the experience of the world is here signified This is enough to beat downe the Iewes enough in this place for if I should stand to refute all their canils I should seeme to forgâ—t mine Auditory To the Infidels that cry out It is impossible that a Virgin should conceiue this I answere euen as Christ did in the like case That with men indeed it is impossible but with God all things are possible Whatsoeuer God will that hee doth both in heauen and earth or speake I this after the manner of the Scripture and saith not Nature the same Yes verily 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All things are easie to God c. for if any thing were too hard for God then he were not God but that which is too hard for him should be God rather since by reason hee that is strongest and aboue all hee onely deserueth the name of God It remaineth therefore that all things aâ—â— subiect to God subiect to his pleasure subiect to his motion then Nature specially then he may alter it as it pleaseth him Indeed Beloued though he hath made a Law for all his creatures yet he hath not made a Law for himselfe he will be brought vnto subiection to none He is and will remaine Liberrimum agens a most free Agent Therefore let no man say no Infidell nor any whatsoeuer This is not wont to be done therefore it cannot be done I doe not see how it may be done therefore it is impossible for surely he speakes rather madly then foolishly that speaketh so since there be infinite examples and in all ages to the contrary Why naturally we know the Lord hath made the sands for bounds to the Sea and hath appointed the same to checke the billowes thereof c. and yet many aliue haue seene the same to range ouer its bankes and to carry away with it whole Townes and Shires c. So naturally man onely hath the gift of speech and not presently after his birth but he must stay a certaine time but yet when it pleaseth God to shew a miracle euen Asses haue spoken and Oxen at the Plowe and a child in his mothers belly I doe not tell you fables but stories So
if any will celebrate Christs Natiuity aright he must put off concerning the conuersationin times past the old man which is corrupt with the deceiuable lusts of error and be renued in the Spirit Verily for this cause Christ was borne that we should be borne againe he would be borne againe that we might walke in newnesse of life The conclusion is this that as Saint Peter saith It is sufficient for vs to haue spent the time past of our life after the lusts of the Gentiles walking in wantonnesse lusts drunkennesse c. And as it is in Exodus This moneth shall be vnto you the beginning of moneths so we endeauour euery one of vs euen at this present to cast away the workes of darkenesse and to make an end of those things whereof we haue cause to be ashamed and hence-forth to follow righteousnesse and holinesse and charity and brotherly kindnesse and loue towards them that call vpon the Lord with assurance of heart This is the feast of solemnity that the Lord requireth this will please the Lord better then thousands of Rammes or ten thousand riuers of oyle Let vs now come to the Third generall part concerning the wonderfull vniting of two natures in Christ and what comfort and fruit we may reape thereby And shee shall call his name Immanuel That we may speake in some order and so you remember the better what shall be spoken this course wee will take First we will speake of the party that was to giue the name because it is said here She shall call c. Secondly of the giuing of the name or calling She shall call Thirdly of the name it selfe Immanuel and what mysterie and Doctrine and comfort is contained therein The two first parts I will dispatch very briefly The last which indeed is the very kernell not onely of this Text but also of the whole Scripture I will dwell the longer on and euen spend the chiefest part of the time that is allowed me for this taske For the first it may be demanded why this honour should be atributed to the mother to giue the name to the Child since Adam gaue names vnto all creatures and not Eue if she were then made And when Rachel tooke vpon her to call her second sonne Ben-oni her husband crossed it saying His name shall be called Ben-iamin And to be short Elizabeths naming of her sonne was not yeelded vnto by her kinsfolke vntill they had knowne the fathers pleasure who called for writing tables and wrote His name is Iohn This for examples So for precepts you know what Saint Paul saith to Timothy I permit not a woman to vsurpe authority ouer the man And to the Corinthians I will that you know that Christ is the Head of euery man and the man is the womans head c. The preeminence therefore being in the man and this being accepted a matter of excellency and preeminence to giue the name it would seeme that too much was giuen to the blessed Virgin to haue this giuen her I answer That if it were a matter of preeminence indeed and so much to be reckoned of as many wise gossips with vs doe make reckoning of it striuing for the same at the Font as they would doe for the wall or for an vpper-seat If I say the matter were of importance and argued superiority and so not to be challenged by the women without the leaue of the man c. Yet for all that since the bleâ—sed Virgin was conceiued with child of the holy Ghost and of none other and so not subiect to man for her Child it is no maruell nor no wrong that the whole honour if it be any honour of naming the child be ascribed to her For the rule that is in the Decretall is true being taken out of Beda Quod non est licitum in Lege necessitas facit licitum Necessity maketh that lawfull which the Law dissalloweth as our Sauiour Christ himselfe defendeth Dauid for eating the shew-bread in the extremity of his hunger Forasmuch therefore as the blessed Virgin was mother and father too as it were for any earthly father that our Sauiour had by good reason is this honour ascribed to her being the onely earthly partie that had interest in his nature And verily for this cause especially doe I thinke it to be said in my Text She shall call and not He shall be called or the like to shew the miraculousnesse of Christs Incarnation as being to take nature of his mothâ—r without a father This point is not so waighty and therefore I wiâ—l not stand longer vpon it lest I should seeme to bestow in Lenticula vnguentum The second point was of calling or naming Shall call his name Here likewise it may be demanded why the Prophet should tell the Iewes that the promised seed the Messiâ—h should be called Immanuel that is to say God with vs and not say plainely He shall be God and man both since it is not so materiall what or how one is called but what he is I answer granting indeed that with men it is so they be not alwayes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their nature or disposition doth not agree with their name neither to good nor to euill It hath been an obseruation of the Popes that none were worse then they that called themselues by the most gracious names as that Vrban whom they called Turban for his turbulent nature and for troubling the whole world That Innocent that they called Nocent Non est Innocentius imò Nocens verè That Benedict whom they called Maledict and A re nomen habe Benedic Benefac Benedicte aut rem commuta Maledic Malefac Maledicte This for Popes The like writeth Epiphanius of Noëtus the Heretike that like as we vse to call our Dog though he be but a Curre by the name of Lyon and the Furies Eumenidas that is gentle by a kind of Antiphrasis c. So saith he this Hereticke was called Noëtus that is wise when indeed he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a very foole and senselesse in matters of Faith Thus Epiphanius But indeed what should I bring you one example out of one writer when all writers in all ages do afford many They were not all white that were called Albini nor black that were called Nigri nor wise that were called Catones or Catilines nor little that were called Pauli nor faire-spoken that were called Aemylij c. Thus of Romans So they were not all honorable that were called Cleons nor the best that were called Aristophanes nor the fairest that were called Calliae c. Thus of the Grecians So for the Hebrewes Rehoboam signifieth an enlarger of the people and he you know had tenne Tribes fallen away from him at a clap So Absalon signifieth a peaceable father and was there euer any more rebellious child whom though his father would haue had to escape yet vengeance Gods vengeance would not suffer him to liue
hee hath done more then he is bound whereas in many things we offend all as saith the Apostle and All our righteousnesse is a as filthy clout as the Prophet Esay speakes De nullo gloriandum quia nostrum nihil est saith Saint Cyprian vâ—e laudabili vitae nostrae si remota misericordia consideretur as excellently Augustin and whether Doctrine I pray you more sound more sauouring of piety more tending to humility Thus we haue shewed the excellency of the Gospell aboue all Pharisaisme and Iewishnesse and therefore that there was no cause why any in those dayes should be ashamed of it Shall I now let sinke my speech and enter into a comparison betweene the Gospell and new Pharisaisme Popery I meane Beloued I doe not call sowre sweet to adorne the Doctrine that by authority is set forth within this Realme with the title of the Doctrine of the Gospell neither doe I call good euill to liken our Aduersaries positions to the leauen wherewith the Pharises would haue marred the rellish of the Gospell taught and preached by our Sauiour and his Apostles for we are able to proue that howsoeuer we be termed by them Nouatores New-fanglers such as haue forsaken the path of our Fore-fathers and gone beyond the bounds which our Elders haue put yet that we broach none other Doctrine but that which we find in the fountaine of the Prophets Apostles which are the onely authenticke Pen-men and Registers of the holy Ghost and that their Doctrine howsoeuer they would grace it with the grauity of Antiquity yet it is no more ancient then the Country and habitation of the Gibeonites was farre remote and distant from the Land of Canâ—an for all that they tooke to themselues old sacks and old bottles and old shooes c. we are able so cleerely to proue that wee feare not any indifferent iudgement Let vs take a short view of some of the most materiall differences betweene them and vs. The Supremacy of the Pope is an Article which they chiefely stand vpon him to be Christs Vicar Paramount Supereminent and Vniuersall aboue all persons of the world they make it a matter of faith his decisions to yeeld vnto as proceeding from irrefragable authority they make it a matter of conscience his precepts simply to put in execution they import a flat breaking of the Commandement of God they thinke themselues tyed in obedience lussa sequi tam velle mihi quà m posse necesse est nec ciuis meus est in quem tua Classica Caesar audiero Papa habet â—oeleste arbitrium De iudicio summi Pontificis alicui disputare non licet What word for this That which Nicholas the third alleageth De electione cap. fundamenta in Sexto Leo distinct 19. Their sound went into all the world c. And why This maketh rather against them then for them for it is said their sound as of many not his sound as of one that is Peter But yet principally of Peter that from him as from a certaine head he might shead his gifts as it were into the whole body Thus the foresaid Niâ—holas in the foresaid cap. Fundamenta Beloued that Christ ascending vp on high gaue gifts to men and that of Christs fulnesse wee receiue grace for grace I read Ephes. 4. and Iohn 1. But that Saint Peter should be the head or the necke either by which they should distill I doe not finde Scriptum esse doceat Hermogenis of ficina Oh but Christ said not in vaine Feede my Sheep feed my Lambes O but he said no more then Saint Paul said to all the Elders of Ephesus Feed the flocke of Christ whereof the holy Ghost hath made you ouerseers But what feeding is meant A Ciuill rule and gouernment with the sword and Scepter after the manner of Princes O no Disce Sarculo tibi opus esse non Sceptro vt opus facias Prophetae said Bernard Learne thou that thou hast need of a weeding hooke or the like toole and not of a Scepter that thou maist doe the worke of a Prophet Saint Paul saith Wee together are Gods Labourers yee are Gods husbandry Gods building Whereby you may easily learne how that place of Ieremy 1. whereof the Popes in the Sext and Extrauagant would take hold but it runneth into their hands for their labour I haue set thee ouer the Kingdomes to plucke vp and torooâ—e out and throw downe and to build is to be vnderstood namely not carnally by force of armes or brachio seculari for when did the Prophet exercise any such authority He denounced Gods iudgements against the impenitent Nations but as for force he vsed not any or made head against the least of Nabuchadnezzars Captaines his weapons therefore were not carnall no more then the Apostles were yet mighty through God to cast down holds What holds Casting down imaginations euery high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing into subiection euery thought to the obedience of Christ So doth Lyra himselfe interpret that place in Ieremy Thou shalt plucke vp plant destroy c. that is Thou shalt denounce thatthey shal be destroyed So doth Ambrose interpret this later of St. Paul He bringeth into captiuity euery thought while he doth by reason ouercome the gaine-sayer induceth him to the faith of Christ c. You see therfore that howsoeuer the Popes Supremacy be a Doctrine that soundeth forth from Rome is their Gospell or gladsome tydings yet it is not part of the Gospell of Christ whereof St. Paul was not ashamed he would haue bin ashamed of this sauouring only of the pompe of this world nay exceeding the pompe of the proudest Tyrant not of the humility of Iesus Christ Not that we are Lords of your faith but helpers of your iâ—y 2. Cor. 1. Then St. Paul disclaimeth Soueraignty euen in spirituall matters So doth S. Peter The Elders I beseech which am a fellow Elder I beseech I doe not command your fellow Elder Not your Lord or Soueraigne And for the obedience to the Ciuill Magistrate they are both plaine Let euery soule be subiect to the higher powers Rom. 13. Euery soule 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Though thou be an Apostle though an Euangelist c. saith â—hrysostome if an Apostle must be subiect then he that calleth himselfe Apostolike much rather 1. Pet. 2. Submit your selues to all manner ordinance of man Which if it be so then to Kings as to the chiefest Shall we cauill with Innocent III. and his Glosse cap. Solitae decret sect prim That because it is said Tanquam praecellenti therefore that it is a similitude onely of preeminency and not preeminency indeed that is to be vnderstood This indeed is an interpretation that they may be ashamed of for if Tanquam there doe signifie a similitude onely and not a truth then in the next words Be subiect to Rulers as
water is carried by pipes into the Cisterne be either stopped with Preiudice or poysoned by Partiality then they that are to pronounce according vnto their mouthes must needs pronounce amisse Therefore they that are faulty this way deserue double punishment 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because they offend themselues and make others to offend So much against Partiality The third thing that impeacheth Iustice is Bribery A Lacedemonian Generall complained that he was driuen out of Asia by a thousand Archers he meant by the King of Persia his money an Archer was the stampe of the Persian coyne So in the late ciuill warres in France many were said to haue beene pelted with Spanish Pistols a Pistoll is an indifferent word both for a certaine coyne and a small Peece So the Philistines cryed out Who shall deliuer vs out of the hands of these mighty Gods and so many haue said Who can withstand an Army of Angels of golden Angels But as Austine said Aliud est ridere aliud resp ndere It is one thing to iest another thing to answere So I thinke such a sinne as Bribery is must be beaten downe and broken in pieces more grauely and more substantially then by breaking of Iests It is a truth that corruption is a very old sinne euen Hesiod that liued seuen or eight hundred yeeres before Christ complaineth that his brother went beyond him by bribing of Magistrates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by greatly honouring such as deuâ—urâ—d gifts And Plato long after him yet long before Christ reciteth a Sentence of an old Poet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is The greatest Rulers and the greatest Gouernours they that are like Gods vpon the earth haue beene won and ouercome with gifts There is no City so inuincible said one but an Asse laden with gold will make the gates flie open And another receiued this Oracle Fight with siluer Lances and thou shalt be sure to conquer But we need not to rake in the puddle of heathenish writers to know the power of Bribes and gifts Salomon the wisest and best experienced King saith A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it it prospereth whither-soeuer he turneth it And againe A mans gift maketh roome for him and bringeth him befoâ—e great men Yea God himselfe by Moses in Deut. sheweth the great strength of gifts or the great weakenesse of man to withstand them A gift saith he doth blind the eyes of the wise and peruerteth the words of the iust therefore thou shalt not take a gift As if he told vs that there was I know not what poyson in them and indeed men vse to say that beneficia be venificia that the very handling of them will infect a man As â—liny writeth of the fish called Torpedo that if a a man touch it not onely with his hand but with sticke or rod or such like it will benumme him And as Scholers know that Dâ—mosthenes by poysoning Harpalus his Goblet was tempted and weighed to fauour his cause to the great danger of his Countrey and vnto his owne vtter shame No man doubteth but Samuel his sonnes were well brought vp by their Father and so was Gehesi as well by his Master Elisha and Iudas best of all at the feet of our Sauiour And yet Iudas for money sold his Master and Gehesi for money shamed his Master And Samuel his sonnes for money by taking of gifts made their Fathers Gouernment odious to the people which otherwise they could neuer haue beene weary of Now if this were done in better times and where the best examples were shewed then what is to be expected in these worser times in the wane of the Moone as it were in the decrepit age of the world Is it for any man that is in authority being wise to giue absolute credence to his followers that that must be true which they doe prompt iust which they perswade Or are they not rather to suspect them when they see them earnest in a cause that Boâ—em habent in lingua as one said Argentum in faucibus as it was said of another It is certaine that it is not enough for a Magistrate to haue abstinent hands himselfe but he must looke to the fingers of his followers that they be not giuen to finger or prowle Plutarch writeth of Pompey that marching with his men in Sicily because hee would haue them to keepe good rule hee caused their swords to be sealed vp in their scabberds and if he found the seales stirred it was an argument to him they had beene meddling and had done some body wrong and then they paid for it I doe not wish Officers or their men should haue their purses sealed or their armes tyed behind them when they begin their Circuit or enter vpon their imployment By no meanes For The Labourer is worthy of his reward And Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the Oxe that treadâ—th out the Corne. And if we thinke them worthy their hyre that gather stones out of the fields to mend the high-wayes or that doe plucke vp weeds out of a Garden that the good herbes may haue the more roome and grow the better then how can we honour or reward them too much that doe plow vp iniquity by the rootes and doe take all offences out of Church and Common-weale Therefore such Fees as are granted them by Law let them take in the Name of God no man is to grudge at it Onely this I aduise and admonish and pray that they that be in authority whether Ciuill persons or Ecclesiasticall yea and their seruants also would thinke Iâ—hn Baptists charge to the Souldiers in Saint Luke to belong to themselues Vse no violence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tosse no man to and fro get nothing by sycophansie and be content with your wages whatsoeuer is taken aboue that is euill What if it be giuen of good will should any mans eye be euill because some mans hand is good Truely if it be giuen of single sincere good will I haue nothing to say against it for nothing is freer then gift and volenti nulla iniuria But what if it be Mixta voluntas as in a tempest the Merchant throweth his goods into the Sea to saue himselfe and his ship shall we call this beneuolence or good will to the Sea or is it not rather necessity or inforcement Why Dauid the time was did make choice of the plague which otherwise he would haue shunned as the gates of death but it was because he would escape a greater Plague euen the plague of Famine or Sword So many put themselues to great charges which they would be glad with all their hearts to saue sauing to auoyd a greater mischiefe Gifts from them that haue no suite present or toward are kindnesses gratuities liberalities and against such there is no Law from them that haue a suite either in present
you It is not in heauen that you should say who shall ascend thither and fetch it vs neither is it beyond the Sea that you should say who shall bring it vs thence But what saith the Scripture The Word is very neere vnto vs we may helpe our selues and saue our skinnes if we will Doe well embrace holinesse purity righteousnesse keepe your selues innocent from the great offences free from presumptuous sinnes Giue vnto Caesar the things that are Caesars obedience honour feare c. then there is no danger nor feare Rulers are not fearefull to them that doe well but to them that doe ill To this effect speaketh Saint Paul in my Text Agreeable to that which Saint Peter hath Who is he that will harme you if ye be followers of that which is good My method shall be this First I will consider with you what Rulers be here meant Secondly to what persons and for what causes they be fearefull Touching the first Some Romanists will haue no way but that Saint Paul speaking of Rulers and Powers as he doth here in this Chapter doth comprehend not onely Ciuill but Ecclesiasticall Rulers Euen such as the Apostle speaketh of 13. Helr Obey them that haue the rule ouer you and submit your selues for they watch for your soules as they that must giue account but herein I make no doubt but they are deceiued First Chrysostome to whom themselues attribute much and indeed he deserueth respect from all commenting vpon this place of Saint Paul ranketh Ecclesiastikes euen the greatest of them among them that are to yeeld obedience to the Higher powers therefore themselues cannot be the Higher powers here meant For as no man can be father and sonne in one respect no more can he be Superiour and inferiour Now Chrysostomes words be these Though thou be an Apostle though an Euangelist though a Prophet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Yea whosoeuer thou art thou must be obedient to the Higher powers He addeth a reason for obedience doth not ouerthrow piety that is It is no disgrace to the highest degree in the Church to yeeld obedience to the Prince and to his authority to this effect Chrysostome out of whose words we may conclude thus with Bernard If an Apostle must be subiect then the Apostolike he I meane of Rome that claimeth from the Apostle Peter he must be subiect much rather for Peter could not leaue to his Successor a higher and freer estate than he had himselfe But this he left vnto him Solicitudinem Ecclesiarum as the same Bernard saith a care for the Church Bernard is bold and addeth Planum est Apostolis interdicitur dominatus that is It is euident the Apostles are forbidden to domineere Goe your wayes therefore and vsurpe vnto your selfe being a Successor of the Apostle a Lordly domineering you must leaue one of them either Lordlinesse or Apostolickenesse you may not vse both Thus Bernard But we haue a greater testimony than of Bernard or of Chrysostome either the very letter of my Text if you looke vnto it thorowly doth plainely euict that the Apostle speaketh preciseâ—y of the obedience that is due to the Ciuill Magistrate Hilarie hath a good rule Dictorum intelligentia aut ex praeposilis aut ex consequentibus expectetur that is The meaning of Texts of Scripture ought to be gathered either from that which went before or from that that followes after and to like purpose speake the Rabbins He that takes vpon him to interpret a place in the Scripture and doth not marke Mah tegamalah umah lemattah that is What is aboue and what is below he peruerteth the words of the liuing God What is aboue ye haue seene already and ye haue heard the Collection of Chrysostome and of Bernard namely that subiection from the Highest Minister of the Church without any exemption or priuiledge for them at Rome is required Now the same appeareth more plaine by that which followeth For doth not the Apostle make it manifest in the fourth verse that he speaketh of that Ruler that beareth the Sword Now to whom doth that belong doth it belong to any but to the Ciuill Ruler Indeed Boniface the eighth he flourished and braued it with his Ecce duo gladij Behold here are two swords said Peter therefore said Boniface I am the highest Prince not onely the highest Priest Emperour at the least specially in the vacancy Also Iohn Archbishop of Millaine shewed himselfe with a Crosse in one hand and a Sword in the other as though it belonged to him to play Rex and to play the warriour but indeed these were exorbitances and enormities from the prescript of Christ from the beginning it was not so They should haue remembred that the weapons of our warfare are not carnall yet mighty through God to the pulling downe of strong holds c. and the sword that they should haue taken was the sword of the Spirit the Word of God which entreth in to the diuiding asunder of the soule and spirit and of the ioynts and marrow c. This would better become the Successor or follower of Peter that was bid by his Lord to put vp the materiall sword into his sheath But we may say vnto him as Bernard said to one of his predecessors In his successisti non Petro sed Constantino that is In these things you shew your selfe not the Successor of Peter but of Constantine This therefore is one reason whereby we may proue the Ciuill Ruler precisely to be meant for that he is said to beare the Sword Another and the same a strong one may be gathered out of the sixth verse where the paying of Tribute is mentioned Now Tribute is not due to any but to them that haue Iura Regalia which no Church-man euer could claime by vertue of his Priest-hood or Father-hood either There was once in England a young Earle made of an old Bishop which same had Palatine power which was little lesse than Regall but he could not say as Saint Paul saith I was free-borne But as the Heathen Captaine said there with a great summe obtained I this freedome So in the dayes of the Conquerour and his sonnes Kings here The man of Rome claimed Tribute from hence because forsooth some of his Predecessors had Peter-pence from hence but he was answered that almes and beneuolence was one thing Fealty and Tribute another thing If he would haue more than Charity he deserued to haue euen that taken from him The truth is that at the first the Church had for her maintenance 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Beneuolences and Collections Afterwards when Emperours and Kings embraâ—ed the faith they were made partakers of the good things of the Land with the rest of their subiects before many of them and by name they were endowed with Tithes and Glebes yea and Lordships also in Francke-alme which they might claime and sue for
sent of him Rulers were not sent indeed but as it were sent Which is so shallow a shift that it is not worth the confuting Of like moment is the other which Innocent and the Glosse hath in the same place that it is a Counsell and not a Commandement for the Lords sake If we will supererogate we may but we are not bound Whereas it is euident to euery one that hath but halfe his eye open that Saint Peter hath the same meaning that St. Paul namely to yeeld obedience not only for feare of man and of punishment but also and especially for loue towards God and for conscience sake But I haue stood ouerlong vpon this point of the Romish Gospell touching the authority of the Bishop of that See and touching his shamelesse eluding of such places as make for the Princes Soueraignty It is well said by Optatus Cùm supra Imperatorem not sit nisi solus Deus c. Forasmuch as there is none aboue the Emperour but onely God who made the Emperour while Donatus exâ—olleth himselfe aboue the Emperour he had now as it were exceeded the bounds to esteeme himselfe as God and not as man c. Let him of Rome thinke that of Optatus to be spoken to himselfe and so I leaue him for that matter What if I should now enter vpon an Antithesis betweene other points of the Romish Gospell and the true Gospell of our Sauiour Christ should there not be matter of shame and confusion ministred to our Aduersaries and to vs of glory and reioycing Their Doctrine of the Head of the Church militant you heare is carnall while they reioyce in a thing of naught and make flesh their arme also seditious while they will haue him to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to meddle out of his Dioces and to haue an Oare in euery Princes Boate. Now what is their Doctrine of the body it selfe the Church what of the food thereof the Word what of the badges and seales thereof the Sacraments what of the Keyes thereof the power of binding and loosing what of the exercise thereof prayer and fasting what of the life thereof Faith in the Sonne of God what of the Iustifier and Sauiour thereof Iesus Christ and that with that one bloody Sacrifice of his body and blood once for all c As Tertullian saith De praescript Ipsa Doctrina eorum cum Apostolica comparata ex diuer sitate contrarietate suapronuntiabit non Apostoli alicuius authoris esse neque Apostolici c. Their Doctrine it selfe being compared with the Apostles Doctrine by the diuersity and contrariety thereoâ— will pronounce that it came not from any Apostle nor Apostolike man So if wee lust to enter the comparison wee shall soone finde how much their Doctrine differeth from the Gospell and how agreeable ours is to it We teach that Christs true Church being his body and a Communion of Saints consisteth onely of such as belong to God They that it comprehendeth bad as well as good Reprobate as well as Elect They that the visible Church is discerned by multitudes and succession of Bishops c. We that it should be rather by purity of Doctrine and sincerity of ministring the Sacraments Whether truer and more consonant to the Gospell of Christ Doth not our Sauiour teach that when he commeth he shall scarsely find faith in the earth Where then be multitudes and the visibility thereof Doth not Saint Paul that after his departure there should enter grieuous Woolues What reckoning then of Succession Malè vâ—s pariâ—tum amor caepit c. Your loue that you beare to the walls of the Church is but a bad loue You doe euill to reuerence the Church by roofes and buildings c. Anné ambiguum est in ijs Antichristum esse sessurum Is there any doubt but Antichrist will sit there Montes mihi Spinae Lacus Carceres Voragines tutiores sunt iâ— illis enim Prophetae aut manentes aut demersi Dei Spiritu prophetabant Mountaines and Woods and Lakes and Prisons and deepe Caues are safer for me I may more safely haue recourse to them for direction and safety for in them the Prophets did either abide or being drencht there did prophecy Thus Hilary against Auxenâ—ius As for the Word the Food of the Church how many wayes blessed God! doe they adulterate it or make it vnprofitable and so make it no Gospell at all They equall their Traditions they call them the Apostles Traditions but while they cannot shew them in the writings of the Apostles Non accipio quod extra Scripturam de tuo infers as Tertullian saith with the written Word of God So doth the Councell of Trent yea the Decretall Epistles of the Popes Inter Canonicas Scripturas Decretales Epistolae connumerantur So hath my Gratian dist 19. in the Title and the Glosse also taketh it so I know not whether they be ashamed of it and haue corrected it in the later Editions This is one way Againe they keepe it in an vnknowne tongue as it were vnder locke and key or a booke that is sealed or if it be translated by Godly Learned men they storme as much as Alexander did when he heard that Aristotles bookes wherein he would be onely cunning were published nay as much as Herod was troubled and all Ierusalem with him vpon the newes that Christ was borne for that now their Kingdome was neere to an end They pretend that it is not well translated by our men and therefore they are so much against it but why doe not they translate it better Why in their forty seuen yeeres of leisure for so many it is since they left their Country haue they set forth the New Testament onely and that in such sort as all men may plainely see how much against their hearts it is that the people should haue any knowledge of the Word of God whereby they might discouer reproue the falshood of their Doctrine They that would not haue a Lyon or an Elephant to stirre they hudwinke them They of Mitelene when they would vse their subiects like slaues and oppresse them with tyrannie tooke order that they should not put their sonnes to schoole and that they might learne nothing witnesse Aelianus The like practice Nahash the Ammonite attempted with them of Iabesh-Gilead That if they would haue peace they must buy it with their right eyes If you will haue this applyed take the simplest of the people and make them applyers Their Kingdome is a Kingdome of darkenesse dumbe Images for their Teachers dumbe signes in the Masse for their Preachers dumbe or not-vnderstood Seruice for their deuotion c. And therefore without darkenesse and ignorance it cannot be vpholden Come we to the Doctrine of the Keyes of the Church Christ deliuered to Peter and in him to all the Apostles as Origen Cyprian Chrysostome Augustin and which not of the ancient Fathers doe teach the
Keyes of the Kingdome of heauen not of the earth not of any place vnder the earth They giue authority to their Pope to dispose of earthly Kingdomes at his pleasure and full Iurisdiction ouer Purgatory which they take to be vnder the earth Christ teacheth vs to pray vnto God for forgiuenesse of sinnes Forgiue vs our trespasses They fall downe before their ghostly Father and craue of him Absolution Against the iudgement of Cyprian Veniam peccatix quae iâ— Dâ—minum commissa sunt solus potest ille largiri qui peccata nostra portauit c. He onely can grant pardon to our sinnes which wee haue committed against the Lord who onely bare our sinnes Against the iudgement of Hierome who plainely teacheth in Math. 16. That as the Priest in the old Law did not make any cleane or vncleane but onely shewed in what case they were So in the New the Bishop or Priest doth not bind such as are guilty nor loose such as be faultlesse but according to his duty he heareth the varieties of offences or offenders Peccatorum hee knoweth who is to be bound to wit of God and who to be loosed Thus Hieronym Briefely Christ said to the Thiefe vpon the Crosse and in him to all that are truely penitent This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Thou shalt be translated from death to life and forthwith too without suffering any thing any where after this life They teach that though the sinne be forgiuen in the Sacrament of Penance yet that the punishment must be indured in Purgatory if there be not satisfaction made either here by giuing of Almes gadding in Pilgrimage c. or hence by the Priests Masses or by the Popes Pardons prouided that both be well paid for What is to make merchandize of the Word of God what to make merchandize of the soules of men if this be not Neither is their doctrine sounder touching the exercise of the Church Prayer and Inuocation Saint Paul saith that hee had rather speake in the Church fiue words with his vnderstanding that he might instruct others then a thousand with a strange tongue Yea Lyra himselfe though he liued in a most darke time yet saw thus much Si populus intelligat orationem Sacerdotis melius reducitur in Deum deuotius respondet Amen c. If the people doe vnderstand the prayer of the Priest he is better reduced vnto God and doth more deuoutely answer Amen What doe our Aduersaries Doe they that which is better and more deuout No they serue the people with Latin Seruice which they doe no more vnderstand then they doe the Turkish language and so whether they blesse them or curse them speake to them or speake to God they cannot tell Were it not all one for vnderstanding and edifying to be in Cyclops Caue where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as in such a Church This for the manner of their prayer So for the obiect Saint Paul would haue vs to lift vp pure hands to God 1. Tim. 2. And our Sauiour whatsoeuer yee aske the Father in my Name hee will giue it to you And Augustine Quis andiuit aliquando fidelium stantem Sacerdotem ad Altare c. Who hath heard at any time a Christian Priest standing at the Altar c. and say in his prayer O Peter O Paul O Cyprian I offer vnto thee a Sacrifice whereas in the Oratories dedicated to their memories the offering is made to God who made them both men and Martyrs If no Sacrifice be to be offered then not the Sacrifice of prayer if an outward or visible Sacrifice be not to be offered to them much lesse then an inuisible and spirituall But now how is it with our Aduersaries As the Prophet vpbrayded the Iewes According to the number of thy Cities be thy gods O Israel So may wee say to them According to the number of thy Prouinces nay of thy Townes nay of thy Churches nay of thy Trades nay of thy persons be thy gods thy Saints thy Tutelares dij God the Father was shunned and abhorred as one that dwelled in the light that no man can haue accesse vnto nay as one that had Foenum in Cornu and with whom there was no dealing God the Sonne was forgotten as one that was gone into a farre Countrey or that was asleepe and needed to be awaked like Baal or that was wearyed with hearing suites himselfe and therefore for his ease had appointed certaine Deputies vnder him as Darius did or certaine Masters of Requests to report vnto him the seuerall suites of his subiects as many Christian Princes haue whereas for power He is God and can perfectly saue them that come to him themselues and for will He became man and weake and was tempted that Hee might be touched with a feeling of our infirmity And for credit with his Father you know what is written Math. 3. This is my beloued Son in whom I am well pleased Therefore as Saint Peter saith Lord to whom shall wee goe thou hast the words of euerlasting life This for the matter of Doctrine and instruction so for the matter of prayer and supplication we may and ought to be of Augustines resolution Tutius incundius loquor ad meum lesum quà m ad aliquem Sanctorum Spirituum Dei I find it more safe and sweet to speake vnto my God then to any of the Saints of God Now for the causes of our saluation and the meanes thereof doth the Scripture set downe any other meritorious cause then the Death and Passion of our Sauiour Christ or any other meane or instrument to take hold of the same then Faith God hath giuen vs eternall life in his Son Iohn 5. The blood of Iesus Christ cleanseth vs from all sinne Vnto men there is no name giuen by which they may be saued but onely the Name of Iesus Christ. The Scripture hath concluded all vnder sinne that the promise by the faith of Iesus Christ should be giuen to them that beleeue Gal. 3. And to be short As many as receiued him to them he gaue power to be the sons of God euen them that beeleue in his Name Iohn 1. Thus Christ is made to be the meritorious cause to be the authour and finisher of our Iustification and Saluation and Faith is made the instrumentall Therefore if they like not of the Doctrine we may say to them as Constantine did to Acetius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That they were best to make a new Ladder to clime vpto heauen by since the Ladder of Iacob will not serue the turne Will you know how they shift off such a cloud of Testimonies and what is their doctrine When they are pressed with those places that doe plainely make Christ to be the Alpha and Omega the beginning and ending of our Saluation c. they grant he is so in this sense that he giueth grace to men to worke righteousnesse and to