vpon Iohn sayth thus Whereas they were all asked the question Peter alone answered Thou art Christ the sonne of the liuing God and it is sayd vnto him Vnto thee will I geue the keyes as though he alone had receaued the power to binde and loose when notwithstanding he both spake it alone for them all and receaued them with them all as bearing the person of vnitie and one did therfore both speake and receaue because there is vnitie in all The same wordes repeateth he againe in his 124. treatise vpon Iohn And in his ▪ 50. treatise he sayth when Peter receaued the keyes he represented the holy Church The same thinges auoucheth the blessed Martyr Cyprian in his little worke concerning the simplicitie of Clerkes Furthermore if we shoulde graunt any thing to be geuen héere singularly vnto Peter what is that to the Pope of Rome He hath not yet proued him selfe to be Peters heire and successor In his owne Decrées in the sentences of Hierom and Chrysostom in the xl distinction he shall finde that which will put him to his trumpe wring him by the eare and cut his combe Neither doth he which sayth that in Peter the keyes were geuen to the whole Church approue the Romish toyes ¶ Here is expounded the mysterie of the Armes cognisances of the Romane Bishops bearing brauely in their scutchions a triple crowne with a payre of Keyes BEfore I depart from hence I will glauncingly and bréefly set forth the thinges which séeme to perteine peculiarly to the keyes not of the kingdome of heauen but the keyes which the Bishops of Rome take to them selues and which they blaze abroad in their Armes that is to wit by painting and stamping them commonly in a scutchion and vnder an helmet yea and by fastening them vnto all their Bulls For vnder those armes and cognisances of theirs after the maner and fashion of scutchions and helmets doe they shadowe the fulnesse of their power and blaze it abroad to the knowledge of all men For the scutchion it selfe beareth the armes of the house of the Bishop that sitteth in the Sea. And ouer the scutchion stand two keyes a crosse so set that in stead of an helmet or crest they beare vp or haue set vpon the shéeld and keyes a triple crowne or cap of mainteinance which according to the interpretation of Austin Steuchus they them selues call their Royaltie The cap of mainteinance it selfe sheddeth out little Labells such as are hanging at Bishops Miters And all these thinges which were vtterly vnknowen to the Apostles and the first Bishops of the Romane Sea are according to the arte of Haraldrie made significatiue to shew forth the puissance or power of this king kingdome of all other the greatest The shéeld it selfe which beareth the armes of the Bishops linage sheweth that the kingdome and the power of the kingdome belongeth to him whose armes those be and which presently sitteth in that Sea. And the two keyes set crosse aloft vpon the shéeld like as also their two swordes doe according to their holy and misticall diuinitie betoken that vnmeasurable power of theirs which extendeth it selfe foreward and backward through the whole earth and aduaunceth it selfe also aboue the very cloudes euen into heauen In the meane while it was Gods good will to teach wise men by such fatall badges who and what maner a one this prince is verely euen the same of whom S. Iohn hath written in his Apocalips saying And I saw an other beast comming out of the earth and hauing two hornes like vnto the Lambes But those two hornes are Préesthood and Princehood and both of them belong to Christ the Lord who is continueth alone both King and Préest for euer For he is that Lābe of god Therfore it is piththely sayd that those hornes which the beast taketh vnto him are not the Lambes hornes for the Lambe kéepeth his still and lendeth them to no man but like the Lambes hornes For the Bishop will haue all men beleue that by Peter Christ hath geuen them equall power with him selfe that is to wit Préesthood and Princehood and so prate they in those tyrannicall Decretalls of theirs which thing for all that is but of their owne making neither haue they receaued any such thing of Christ or yet of Peter Furthermore their Royaltie or Crowne hath Labells hanging at it yea euen bishoply labells flaring about and wrythed with the keyes to the sides of the crowne meaning therby that this prince is no cōmon prince but both a prince and a préest Yea the crowne which this préestly king prince and Emperor beareth is not single and one but triple such as neuer any Monarkes wore that men can read of were they neuer so puissant neither are there any princes liuing at this day that weare the like And who I pray you would dout that there were a great mysterie in these thinges if it were not such a one as knoweth not that the matters of these men are stuffed with mysteries like the holy letters of the Egyptians This triple crowne therfore signifieth that he which beareth it is Lord of Lordes and King of Kinges or rather that he is the only prince vpon earth which hath power in earth in heauē and in purgatory vnder the earth or more verely which is king of heauen of the earth of the vnfortunate Ilandes or of the new found land Purgatory And this crowne is not of lesse value then the crownes of other kinges but much statelyer wrought with wonderfull cunning and garnished and beset with iewels and things of great price that at least wise euen therby they might do men to vnderstand that that power of theirs hath not his match in all the world but in all pointes surmoūteth all others Again it is come to passe by the goodnesse of God that none of all the princes in the world weareth such a crowne but onely the Bishop of Rome For so was it Gods will to shew openly by this peculiar marke that this prince thus capped with a triple crowne is the very same whom Daniell in his vij chapter termeth the little horne For the little horne in déede is the bishop and shepeheard which is bedecked with humilitie and whom God hath forbidden to reigne as a lord This little pretie horne springeth vp among the tenne hornes For whē the Romane Monarchie which is the olde beast was diuided and decayed there appeared vp a little slender horne and a despised one among the rest and swept away thrée of the other hornes By doing wherof he purchased him self power For the Bishops of Rome at the beginning of their créeping vp dispatched thrée princes First Gregory the second of that name pluckt vp Leo the third Emperor of Constantinople one of these thrée hornes by procuring his Exarke to be slaine in a hurlyburly at Rauenna and dispatching the Emperor quite out of Italy Afterward Pope Zachary draue Childericke king of Fraunce to decay by
counselling to depose Childericke and to aduaunce Pippin to the kingdome And so was an other horne ouerthrowen by the little horne The third horne which was the kinges of Lombardie was brought lowe at the incensing of the Popes and finally also vtterly wiped away by Pippin and Charles kinges of Fraunce But by the vndoing oppressing of these kinges the wealth of the Bishops of Rome increased and their power waxed strong whom Gods will was to shew by this triple crowne as it were with the fingar to be very Antichristes Thus much concerning the Keyes Armes and Cognisances of the Romane Bishops Now come to my way againe ¶ Of the wordes power and ministery and so is the disputation of the keyes knit vp I Know well inough it offendeth many euen in this discourse that I vse the terme power so seldome and the worde ministerie or ministration so often when notwithstanding the Scripture doth openly geue power to the ministers and it is commonly called the power of the keyes But how small a thing is that I beséech you if it be compared with the fulnesse of power which these men chalenge to them selues openly I graunt in déede that the administration of the Church or if ye like it better of the keyes is called power For the Lord sayth in the Gospell Like as a man that at his going into a straunge countrey left his house and gaue his seruauntes power c. But who knoweth not that the power which is spoken of héere is none other but to do seruice or to minister specially seing that in an other Euangelist it is more effectually opened what maner of power the same is in these wordes to geue his honsholde meate in due season sayth the lord Which thing no man will wrest to the fulnesse of power but he that is past all shame For the Lorde speaketh manifestly of the preaching of the Gospell whereby meate is set before the housholde I meane before the Church of god And when Paule to the Corinthians had termed the preaching of the Gospell the word of attonement by and by expoūding him selfe he addeth that the office or ministration of preaching the attonement was geuen vnto him behold héere he calleth that thing a ministration which he had euen now called the worde And he addeth againe that Christ by the ministers exhorteth men to be at one with god What power I pray you shall the faythfull minister claime by this géere Rightly therefore do some men geue warning that the power by lawe is one thing and the power by ministration is an other The power by lawe is that wherby ech man as an owner hath power ouer the thinges that are his owne subiecte to his owne commaundement and not to an other mans After this sort the Lord hath power ouer the Church who sayth in the Gospell All power is geuen to me in heauen and in earth So is it sayd before that Christ hath the key of Dauid of death and of hell This power is communicated to no creature but remaineth to God alone Therefore except they will be false ministers they will neuer take this power vpon thē But the power of ministration or office is that which the Lord hath committed to the ministers with a certaine limitation and not absolutely For these do not what they list them selues nor as owners of thinges but as their Lord and master hath commaunded them and onely in the same maner that he by his certaine determination hath appointed them to be done and if they do it not or do it otherwise then their master hath commaunded them they shall be but vntrusty seruauntes And so vndoutedly the minister of Christ hath the ministering power of the keyes in the Church to preach the Gospell to the Church and to preach it in such wise as the Lord hath commaunded him to preach and certeinly he shall be a false and vnfaythfull seruaunt to his master if he take vpon him any other power and specially fulnesse of power and preach not the Gospell at all or preach it otherwise then is appointed him Besides this I am not ignorant that Christ gaue the Apostles great power howbeit with limitation and but for the beginning and for a certeine time according as Mathew witnesseth saying And he gaue his twelue Disciples power against vncleane spirites to cast them out and to heale all maner of diseases and infirmities For I thinke not that any man will affirme the same power to be geuen to all ministers of the Church together with the keyes considering that we know how that the Gospell being sufficiently confirmed already by such signes they be now no longer common and vsuall in the rest of the Church no more then the ablenesse and vse of sundry tounges But howsoeuer the case stād with that wonderfull power it is most certeine that the Apostle Paule sayd of all maner of power geuen vnto him by the Lord that the same was geuen him to edifie withall and not to destroy Which thing vnlesse euery minister wey very aduisedly with him selfe not onely in vaine but also to his owne great harme shall he dispute of the power that is geuen him and much more daungerously shall he take it vpon him Hetherto I haue made discourse of the keyes with as much bréefnesse and plainnesse as I could Wherby I trust that such as shut not their eyes of malice may perceaue that the keyes are for an other thing then the Papistes face vs withall doutlesse not an absolute ouer thinges in earth and in heauen but an healthfull ministery of Gods worde or of the Gospell of Iesu Christ and the charge and good ordering of the very Church of God And therefore that whē the Lord sayd I will geue thee the keyes of the kingdome of heauen he gaue not Peter and the Romane Idoll an infinite power which they call the fulnesse of power For when the Lord promised and gaue the keyes he gaue not the keyes of an earthly kingdome but of the kingdome of heauen Which thing is chéefly to be marked in this discourse And in this kingdome in this his Church Christ is the souerein Lorde and abideth King Bishop and supreme head yea and that alone without any copartener or deputie But his messengers or Ambassadors sent to his Church are the Elders rulers and ministers of the congregations As for all power it is onely Christes the King Préest and Head and is not surrendred to any other For he him selfe caryeth yet still and vnto the very end will cary vpon his shoulders the key of Dauid and he will open and no man shall shut and shut and no man shall open and he alone both looseth and bindeth But his Ambassadors or preachers that are sent and ordeined to gather his Church doe preach this Christ the Lord assuring men by the preaching of the Gospell that Christ forgeueth the sinnes of such as beléeue certeinly and bestoweth eternall life vpon them
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
power giuen them of god Wherby you vnderstād that there is no cause why you should striue among your selues for souereintie For you sée that those which are in office already shall continue still in their charge Thus much sayd the Lord concernyng ciuill gouernemēt Now foloweth also concernyng the ministerie of the Church It shall not be so amōg you For I haue not chosen you to make you princes of landes but rather seruantes of the Churches not Lordes I say but preachers to publish the word of glad tydinges and to shyne before the people in example of holy lyfe Therfore I will not haue you once thinke of bearing rule or wish to reigne like princes of this world it shall not be so among you Howbeit for asmuch as ambitious pride had brought the Disciples this farre here also like as afore he commendeth lowlinesse vnto them saying whosoeuer will be great among you c. Neither is there any cause why the Romish sorte should now a dayes blere our eyes with their stile of Seruant of the seruants of God which the Pope vseth For that style is a forged style and the lowlinesse of these men is but a counterfet or hipocritly lowlinesse For the very experience of many hundred yeares witnesseth that in all the whole world there are none that can worse away with doyng seruice than this kynde of men Nay rather they will be worshipped for soueraines and kynges of kynges Or if they be the seruauntes of Gods seruauntes in déede why offer they their feete to be kissed euen of Gods princes And the Lord to moue them the more euidently addeth his owne example to his foresaid cōmaundement saying Like as the sonne of man is not come to be serued c. This is a notable saying for it is as much as if he had sayd If I which am your Lord and master and the liuyng sonne of the liuing God to and kyng of kynges sue not for ne chalendge not to my selfe any worldly preheminēce vpō earth as who am come into the earth to serue all mens turnes euen with the losse of my lyfe truly you ought to be ashamed of it that you which are but wretched men and no better then thralles are notwithstandyng not afrayd to gape after souereintie These thynges these thynges I say as dreadful thunderboltes not onely shake but also turne vpside downe that seate of the Romishe Byshops which they haue most boldly shamelessely exalted aboue the thrones of all kynges vnder pretence of Peter and of the graunted souereintie and vnmeasurable power which they say they receiued of Christ. And whereas the Lord vttered these thynges to his Disciples once or twise very earnestly and so forcibly as they could not be vttered more forcibly yet had ambition and desire of prerogatiue takē so déepe rootes in the mindes of the Disciples accordyng to the corruption of mās nature that at the Lordes last Supper when they vnderstode he should depart out of this world they fell againe to striuyng for the supremacie and prerogatiue then most of all that is to wit who should be chief vpon earth and preferred before all others in the Church when the Lord was gone away and receiued vp into heauen But the Lord inueyeth not sharply against his Disciples ne casteth them of as they had deserued for renewing their former errour now the third tyme and for by inforcyng it by harping still vpon it after he had so euident instruction and disprofe of their souereintie but salueth the disease of both them and of all other in the church that are atteynted with the same vice And first of all he repeteth the same argument which he had obiected agaynst them in the 20. of Mathew saying There is no reason why you should striue for superioritie For the Princes that reigne at this tyme in the world neither are now nor shall hereafter be put down for me For the Magistrate continueth still in his former state dignitie He shall reigne but so shall not you reigne By the way also and as it were glauncingly he shadoweth out the office of princes saying And they which haue power ouer them are called Good Gracious that is to say they be ordeined of God to the end they should do good to their subiectes For the Apostle sayth The Magistrate is Gods minister for thy welfare For Princes are not a terrour to such as do wel but to such as do ill And what could be sayd more piththily and strongly in this case that which is sayd already or rather now twise repeted but so shal not you By and by he addeth an ordinaunce after what sort the Ministers must behaue themselues in their Ecclesiasticall charge saying He that is an elder among you let him become felow to the yonger That is to say he that hath gotten a greater roome in the Church is endewed both with sundry giftes and also with singular authoritie in respect of his old age and his experience in matters let hym not vaunt himselfe for those singular giftes but let him be wise after a lowly maner as if he were some young man without experience and as yet raw in so great a charge Also he that is a Prince 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is a Capteine Ruler or Gouerner let him assure himselfe that he hath not gotten a souereintie but a ministerie and therfore let him behaue himselfe as a Minister Unto these he addeth also other reasons whereby to lay forth to the eye that Apostolicke men are called not to reigne but to serue Greater sayth he is the prerogatiue of him that sitteth at the table then of him that serueth him which sitteth But the Church beyng called by the Lord to a spirituall feast sitteth downe And you serue the Church of that spirituall foode Ergo the Church is as your Lady and mistresse and you are the seruauntes of this mistresse but not her maisters and much lesse her souereines Hereunto agayne he ioyneth his owne example I am sayth he as a seruaunt among you Seyng then that I which am your Lord do neuerthelesse serue you it is a shame for you which be but seruauntes to thinke of Lordyng it in the Church considering how my most humble example is dayly before your eyes vtterly abhorryng from all desire of souereintie Furthermore he addeth this also Surely it is straunge that you should striue among your selues for superioritie considering how that I haue hetherto ben subiect to many and sundry afflictions Wherof you your selfe can beare witnesse vnto whom some part of my temptations and afflictions hath redounded Wherefore ye might rightlyer conferre among your selues of bearing the crosse and of patience than of Lordshyp superioritie Notwithstandyng he annexeth here agayne a comfort least their hartes might fayle them at the mention of afflictions And therefore he knitteth vnto it a declaration of heauenly rewardes that shal be liberally giuen vnto those in the euerlasting countrie which get
Peter what wicked féend willeth you Bishops to draw the sworde againe out of the scaberd contrary to the Lordes commaundement to shake it and to misuse it at your owne pleasure Doth it not irke you and shame you to say that by these wordes of of the Lordes is sufficiently geuen vnto you the power of both swordes whē as he hath geuē you so little or nothing at all therof hitherto that he hath euen openly striken the temporall sword out of your handes Now let the whole world iudge whether those Romish gripes haue proued by the foresayd textes of Scripture that Christ hath geuen vnto them the very full power of both the swordes Certesse the testimonies which they haue hitherto alledged out of the Scriptures haue not onely not geuen any thing too them but also taken from them all the thinges which they clayme to themselues against all right and reason Here are expounded these wordes of our Sauiour Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke c. and it is shewed that in thē there is nothyng spoken of the Popes fulnesse of power that the church of Christ is not builded vpon Peter or the Pope THat sword of theirs wherof they made their vaunte being striken out of their hand by and by they make hast to the rocke wherupon the Church is founded and consequently vnto Peter and his keyes For in these and by him they auouch themselues to haue receiued power and most full soueraigntie both of heauen earth And there they blaze out wonders of the building of the Church vpon Peter and of the keyes and wonderfull working power of them alledging for themselues the wordes of our sauiour which are written in the xvi chap. of the gospell of S. Mathew But these men with their sacriledge they are neuer able to cleare themselues or make amends therfore do corrupt this most holy place replenished with healthfull doctrine and consolation Which thing by gods helpe I wil euidently shew to the godly readers by the things that ensew The Lord in that place demaundeth of his disciples whom men take him to bée His disciples aunswer how there be diuers iudgementes and opinions of hym among the people some saying him to be Helias some Ieremy c. And by that question it was the Lordes wil to do them to wit how there haue alway bene alwayes shal be diuersitie of opinions in the world concerning religiō how be it that no man ought to be offended at that diuersitie for we read also the Lordes Apostle hath sayd there must néedes be heresies to the ende that such as be tryed among you may be made manifest And vnto the former questiō the Lord addeth forthwith an other namely what the disciples who had heard Christ now a long while and therefore doutlesse were better séene in matters of Religion thē the common sort were I say what opiniō they themselues had of christ And by this other question of his he shewed that the sure and true confession in matters of Religion is to be asked at the hand of the children of God for they must not wauer as the children of this world do and be sure of nothing nor apply themselues to euery kinde of opinion after the liking and course of this world Truly in many other places of the scripture also is required a singular and true confession of fayth at the handes of euery one of gods children To this question Saint Peter not so much in his owne name as in the name of all the other disciples vttereth a singular confession saying Thou art Christ the sonne of the liuing God very God I say and very mā euen that same anoynted namely the Messias or Christ that was to come into the world The king I say and priest the mediator pacifier redéemer and saluation of the whole worlde And that this confession is the true and sincere confession Paule also the apostle of Christ sheweth in the third fourth and tenth chapters to the Romaines and in many other places The Lord liking well of this confession sayth vnto Peter Blessed art thou Simon the sonne of Ionas geuing to vnderstand in these short wordes what and how great the force of true fayth in Christ is namely euen to iustify and make blessed that is to say to make pertakers of eternall life which thing the apostle sheweth in large wordes in his Epistles to the Romaines Galathians Ephesians in other places Furthermore the Lord immediatly addeth frō whence commeth that same so excellent fayth saying flesh bloud hath not opened it vnto thée but my father which is in heauen Fayth then hath not his originall in vs or of vs but is geuen vs from heauen by the father of lyght according as the Apostle witnesseth in many places and the Lord himselfe saith in Iohn No man commeth vnto me except my father draw him Moreouer this fayth grafteth vs in Christ and maketh vs Christians for there followeth in the Lordes wordes And thou art Peter namely for confessing of the rocke Petra now what a rocke is there is no man but he knoweth And in the scriptures it is euery where Metaphorically applyed vnto God because he is the strength the stedinesse the refuge and the foundation of the faythfull wheruppon they rest and in whom only they be preserued Of this Petra rocke was Simon the sonne of Ionas called Peter which name implyeth as much as if a man shoulde say grounded vpon the rocke God and grafted into Christ the sonne of God stedfast and so consequently a Christian for the doctors interpreters of holy scripture do terme Christians Peters also because that beyng setled by fayth vpon the rocke Christ they draw stedinesse strength and lyfe out of him so as through the operacion of Christ they be all their lyfe lōg stedfast in fayth honor Christ with all kind of vertues And Peter himselfe also expounding this mysterie vnto vs sayeth Christ the rocke is the lyuing stone forsaken in deede of men but chosen and precious vnto God vpon whom we also as liuely stones are builded that we may be a spirituall house offeryng spirituall sacrifices acceptable to God through Iesus Christ. Whosoeuer are not such Peters or stones there is no cause that they should glory at all of the name of Peter or Christians for they continue that which they bée euen the children of this world There followeth yet further in the Lordes wordes And vpon this Rocke will I build my Church By which woordes Christ ascending from the particular to the generall and deliuering an vniuersall lesson to his Church declareth most manifestly that these thinges belong not to Peter alone or to his disciples onely but to the Catholike that is to the vniuersal church wherof the foundacion Rocke and head is Christ vpon whom being builded by faith she shal obtayne saluation As if the Lord had sayd not onely Peter is so called of me the Rocke but also as
many as shal hereafter by Peters example confesse me to be Christ the sonne of the liuing God and by this true fayth settle themselues vpon me the onely foundation all them will I take and acknowledge for my household that is to say for my church And this that is to say Christ the Rocke shall be the only foundation of Gods church in earth and all they shall be members and citizens of this holy church euen as many as beleue as Peter did and settle themselues vpon this foundation of soule health by the same fayth And this is it that the Lord ment by saying And vpon this Rocke will I builde my Church And least any man may doubt of this simple and true exposition of the Lordes wordes considering how diuers wrest them and draw them some one way and some another Behold I will by other places of scripture also confirme and enlighten this exposition aboue recited Surely the scripture doth euery where agréeably witnesse that by fayth onely in Christ we be iustified grafted into Christ and made members of Christ and his church which is the communion of all saintes that is to say of the faythfull resting vpon Christ and that no creature no not euē Peter himselfe much lesse the bishop of Rome cā be the Rocke the head the foundatiō of the Catholike church And least any mā may thinke this thyng hard and varying from the truth forasmuch as it is directly against the decrées of the Romish church Loe I in this case bring in the cleare and vndoubted recordes of the holy Ghost himselfe speaking by the prophetes and Apostles Dauid in the 18. psalme cryeth out saying Who is God besides the Lord and who is the Rocke besides our God And God himselfe in Esay sayth Behold I lay a corner stone in Sion a chosen one a precious one he that beleueth in him and resteth vppon him shall not be ashamed Moreouer also the Apostle Paule sayeth The Rocke was Christ. And agayne Other foundation can none be layde then is layd already which is Iesus Christ. Which thing he expoūdeth yet more fully in his Epistle to the Ephesians Whervnto in all pointes agréeth the witnesse of S. Peter who sheweth out of Dauid that Iesus is that stone or Rocke wherupon it behoueth them to be builded by fayth which will become the house of God or be made pertakers of the churche of christ Which thinges being vndoubtedly so These wordes of the Lord Vpon this Rocke will I build my Church must of necessitie be vnderstoode of Christ alone as who reigneth from heauen in his saintes as the head doth in the members and from whom as the liuely head they be watered with the spirite and sucke lyfe out of hym and through him do liue a lyfe beséeming hym And to be a head as it is most manifestly gathered by the doctrine of the Apostles is to be a Lord and Sauiour and to inspire life into the members that be subiect to the head Neither may the head at any time be from the body without the destruction of the body Seing then that Christ is the onely head of the Church it behoueth him to be alwayes with his Church By reason wherof she hath no néed of any deputie or vicegerent vpon earth For a deputie or vicegerent is the deputie or vicegerent of him that is absent But Christ is euermore present with his Church For he sayth in the Gospell I will be with you euen to the vttermost end of the world will neuer leaue you comfortlesse Our religion therfore willeth vs and the vniforme doctrine of the Prophets and Apostles willeth vs to expound these thinges not of Peter or of the Bishop of Rome but of Christ only Therfore if ye méete with any interpreters be they olde or new that interprete the foresayd wordes of our Lord to be ment of Peter and the Pope the authoritie of the Prophets and Apostles yea and of this selfsame Peter too ought to beare more sway with you than the authoritie of any men els whatsoeuer they be in the world For Christ abideth euerlastingly the foundation of his Church and as for Peter and the rest of the Apostles and the ministers that haue come in their roomes they remaine as workmaisters of this building which build not vpon them selues being mē but vpon this onely and euerlasting foundation according as the Apostle teacheth plainly in the third chapt of the first Epistle to the Corinth And let this be our brazen wall Neither fighteth it against this that in the Apocalips the Citie of God is sayd to haue twelue foundations and the names of the twelue Apostles written in them For sayth Paule there can none other foundation be layd then is layd already notwithstanding forasmuch as in the laying of this foundation that is to say in the preaching of Christ the Apostles were Gods workfellowes bestowed their trauell faythfully theraboutes therfore that Citie is sayd to haue twelue foundations For otherwise the Apostle in his 2. chapt to the Ephesians sayth You are fellow citizens wyth the sainctes and Gods houshold meyny builded vpon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets whereof the corner stone is Christ Iesus him selfe in whom the whole buildyng beyng semented together groweth to a temple in the Lorde vpon whō you also are builded to be a dwellyng place for God through hys spirite And what man that hath his right wits will after these thinges séeke for manifester Wherfore let all of vs beware of that rotten and tottering foūdation which the Court of Rome striueth to set vnder vs. We will yet héerunto adde the wordes of our Lorde that follow after least any thing of this place may remain vndiscussed And the gates of hell sayth Christ shall not preuayle agaynst it By which wordes is declared the power and victoriousnesse of Christ and of his Church of fayth The gates of hell are all kinde of powers that are against it yea euen the power of Sathan which of all other is the strongest and noysomnest to the faythfull And therfore it is sayd that no force be it neuer so mighty whether it be of Sathan him selfe or of the world or of any other aduersary power vnder heauen or in hell shall preuaile against Christ the Rocke and the Church that is builded vpon the rocke which howsoeuer it be tempted and persecuted must notwithstanding at length ouercome in Christ through fayth For the Lord him selfe hath sayd The prince of this world is already condemned and cast out And againe Be of good cheere I haue ouercome the world And Iohn the Apostle All that is borue of God sayth he ouercommeth the world and the victory that ouercommeth the world is this euen your fayth Also who is he that ouercommeth the world but he whych beleueth that Iesus is the sonne of God So I say this place is opened plainly inough by laying together
of sinne releasing them their sinnes that is to say witnessing by the Gospell that their sinnes are released by fayth through christ For the Apostles release not sinne otherwise then by the warrant of the Gospell which auoucheth vnto them that onely Christ by his owne merite forgeueth sinnes For like as the Apostles are not sent to offer them selues in sacrifice for the clensing of the whole world as Christ was the sacrifice of whom alone clenseth away the sinnes of the whole world euē so doutlesse the Apostles were not sent to forgeue sinnes by their owne authoritie as Christ did but to witnesse vnto men that they be forgeuē by faith through christ For we must in these cases aduisedly and with a conscience obserue the matching of the superior with the inferior so as we may yéeld to ech partie that which is his owne and not wickedly attribute that glory vnto seruauntes which is due to the onely sonne of god Certesse Austine behauing him selfe reuerently in these matters sayth peremptorily that Christ worketh these thinges by power and that the disciples do the thinges which they do by seruice or seruauntly Wherof more shall follow anon Also Marke and Luke handling the same story which Iohn hath touched in his xx chapt do witnesse that in the talke which Christ hath in the day of his resurrection there is nothing els betaken to the Disciples but the office of preaching the Gospell For in Marke the Lord sayth Goe into the whole world and preach the Gospell And in Luke he sayth So behoued it Christ to suffer to rise againe from the dead the third day and repentaunce and forgeuenesse of sinnes to be preached to all nations in his name And therefore by laying all these places of Scripture together it is made most manifest and vndouted that the keyes which were geuen to Peter and the other Apostles is nothing els but the ministration of preaching the Gospel wherby the way is opened for the world into heauen wherby to be short is declared most assured release and forgeuenesse of sinnes through fayth in Christ to such as beleue Wherunto also séemeth to perteine this most elegant and fit sentence of the Lord speaking with Paule I will make thee a witnesse and messenger marke how he sayth a witnesse and messenger and will send thee vnto nations and realmes to open their eyes that they may be turned from darknesse to light and from the power of Sathan vnto God so as they may receaue forgeuenesse of sinnes and lot among those that be sanctified by the fayth which is to meward You haue in these wordes a most exacte description of the keyes of the kingdome of heauen Wherunto to adde any more I thinke it but superfluous Now if vnto all these thinges ye will adde the practise of the Apostles as they terme it and diligently search out how they haue vsed the keyes that were deliuered to them and after what sort they haue opened or shut the kingdome of heauen vnto men and also in what wise they haue either bound them or loosed them ye shal no where in all the new Testament finde them to haue exercised the Popishe practise that is to wit that the Apostles haue set thē selues downe in the places where they came to preach the kingdome of God and saluation and commaunded mē to come vnto them and there to crouch or to knéele after the maner of worshippers and to shriue them selues that is to say to poure out all their thoughtes wordes and déedes with all the circumstances of them into the eare or lap of the confessor as he sits and to craue of him the absolution of their sinnes with enioynance of satisfaction and that he on the other side laying his handes vpon the head of the shriftman whispered an absolution of sinnes ouer him in an ordinary forme of wordes and enioyned him a certaine satisfaction by the workes of penance Much lesse shall ye finde that the Apostles installed them selues in thrones and thrust downe sinners into hell by sentence of excommunication c. What then Looke vpon the Actes of the Apostles or rather goe through that booke wherein Luke hath most diligently written the notable sayinges and doinges of the Apostles and specially of Paule without ouerslipping of any thing which tended to soule health or was necessary to be knowen and therwithall hath in xxviii chapters set forth as many yeares that is to wit the things that the Apostles did by the space of xxviii yeares together in the matter of saluation and thou shalt not finde in all that great worke that all and euery of the Apostles did any thing els then agreably and constantly in all places and in euery place preach the Gospell and promise remission of sinnes and euerlasting life to such as beleued in Christ and on the contrary part threaten endlesse and most assured damnation to them that beleued not Thus I say did the Apostles vse the keyes which they receaued of the lord Thus did they binde and loose If they would haue had any other thing or any thing more to haue bene done in the Church by their successors they would not haue dissembled it by the space of xxviii yeares preaching in all their doinges which Luke hath most faythfully written And among other places of the Actes of the Apostles let the godly read the second x. xiii.xvi and xviii chapters and they will beare witnesse that the thinges which I haue spoken héere are most true yea and also thinke them selues satisfied in this case I speake of such as are not contentious for such no man can well satisfie And at this present I say to them also as Paule sayd If any man seeme to be full of contention we haue no such custome neyther the Churches of God. And whereas the aduersaries vrge this singular spéech I wyll geue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen vnto thee I say vnto thee Peter vnto thee singularly and not vnto you plurally and in their vrging do cry out that I haue openly corrupted this place of the Gospell by communicating vnto the rest of the Apostles and to all their successors being ministers of the word the keyes that were geuen to Peter onely they bewray their owne grosse foolishnesse together with their inuincible malice considering how they can not deny but that such synecdoches or figures of putting one for a number and specially in such cases are very vsuall in the Scriptures Againe seing it is sufficiently knowen what the keyes be and that the rest of the Apostles receaued them as well as Peter I pray you what will they proue by their singular number But let them aske their owne fathers why the Lord wheras he gaue equall or one maner of power to them all did neuerthelesse say seuerally vnto Peter I will geue thee and they shall perceaue that therby is betokened and expressed the vnitie of the Church Surely Austine in his 118. treatise
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
the vpper hand in persecutiōs aduauncyng his maner of spéech from bodily and earthly thinges to spirituall and heauenly thinges Yet notwithstandyng after all these thinges which surely may séeme a wonder to the whole world yea euen after thrise most earnest warning and euident instruction the Disciples dare byanby vpon Christes Resurrectiō and at the verie instant of his Ascension into heauen make mētion yet agayne of reigning yea and to cloy the Lord again with their desirousnesse of superioritie saying Wilt thou at this time that is to say before thou depart from vs into heauen restore the kingdome vnto Israell Unto which question the mercyfull Lord bearing with the weakenesse of his Disciples aunswereth méekely agayne and biddeth them referre the seasonable doing of it vnto god In the meane while he repeteth and beateth into them agayne what they should do and what he requireth at their hands saying After that the holy Ghost is come downe into you you shall receiue power and you shal beare witnesse of me not onely at Hierusalem but euen to the vttermost costes of the earth also And what els is this then if he had sayd The holie Ghost shall teach you to vnderstād what maner of kingdome mine shal be doutlesse spirituall not worldly wherin I shall sit and reigne the chief onely souerein And in this my kingdome that is to wit in the very Church of the saintes you shal be witnesses not kinges preachers and not princes For by preachyng of the Gospell you shall gather me a Church out of the whole world This I say is Christes doctrine concerning supremacie and reigning concernyng the ministerie of Christ in the Church more lightsome thē the sunne Wherby also it appeareth more clearely then the day light that the Byshop of Romes vsurping of souereintie in the Church and his bosting of himselfe to be ordeined head ouer all kinges and Realmes contrarie to Christes example and doctrine is not by the lowlie spirite of Christ but by the proude spirite of Lucifer ¶ Nor that the Apostles of Christ tooke vppon them any souereintie in Christes Church but onely the ministerie ANd when the Apostles had receiued the holy Ghost they vtterly displaced all ambition and desire of souereintie out of their hartes perceiuyng now that no such thing as they and the Iewes had hitherto surmised was to be sought or looked for in the kyngdome and Church of Christ but farre greater and diuiner thinges namely spirituall thynges And therfore accordyng to their Lord maisters cōmaundement traueling ouer the whole world they so behaued them selues that in all thinges they were sound to be the very Disciples and folowers of their maister endewed with lowlinesse not with Lordlinesse renowmed for their faithfull seruice not for stately superioritie For they not onely preached the Gospell purely without mens forgeries and traditiōs but also were wont to reuerence kynges as next vnto God in earth and chief of all men and to call them their Lordes and to pay them tribute and to obey them faithfully and to pray for their welfare without ceasing yea and to threaten Gods vengeance to such as refused obedience to the Magistrate commaunding no wickednesse They no where intermedled them selues in worldly affaires in somuch as they cast euē the care of the poore which otherwise is most holy vpon the shoulders of the Deacons verely to the end they might the earnestlyer apply them selues to the preaching of the word They no where vsurped to them selues the benches of iudges or the thrones of princes and much lesse did they depose any kyng or prince from his kingdome were he neuer so wicked and yet there is no man ignoraunt what the Romane presidentes were that liued in the time of the Apostles full of couetousenesse lechery and pride and the posteritie of Herode euen venemouse slippes yea and the Emperours them selues most filthie and vngracious persons as the Tyberiusses the Caligulaze the Claudiusses and the Neroes or discharge his people of their allegeāce or contend with any prince for the souereintie and much lesse did they euer purpose or practise to place exalt them selues aboue him Nay rather they suffered sore persecutiō the which they ouercame by patience and not by violent withstanding nor by practises and pollicies of malicious wylinesse and gathered verie great Churches vnto Christ out of the whole world by preaching the Gospell ouer all the earth S. Luke the Euangelist describeth these thynges diligently and plenteously in his booke of the Actes of the Apostles wherin although he pursue their doinges by the space of xxviii yeares together Yet doth he no where giue any little incling of that supremacie and fulnesse of power which they at this day do boast of that call them selues Apostolick and crake of the fulnesse of their power But if any man desire to here some singular thyng of S. Peter he is alwayes set first in the register of the holie Apostles But all men know that this formershyp of Peters is not in ouer ruling but in order for accordyng to the doctrine of the Gospell all the Apostles were indewed with like dignitie and power and the Churches were gouerned by their trauell in common In the meane while it was requisite that there should be order both in speakyng and doing for the auoydance of disordered confusion they that had obteined greater giftes were more honored and had in more estimation and authoritie than the residew Like as Paule speaking of Iames Peter and Iohn sayth that they séemed to be pillars in the Church Not for that they were preferred afore all the rest or had obteined a larger Commission but bicause that hauing obteined greater giftes they did more luckely and easly go through with all pointes of their charge wherin otherwise the residew had as good part as they and therfore were had in greater price and estimation among the faithfull So also were the Apostolike Churches which were first founded by the Apostles worthely had in great price and estimation in old time For their authoritie was of great credit with other Churches not that they were beleued to haue superioritie ouer them but bicause that being the first that were conuerted to the faith they kept still vnappaired the faith which they had once learned of the Apostles and gaue light to other Churches by their purenesse and constācie These thinges are set forth more at large by a very auncient writer called Tertullian in the prescriptions of heretickes In which place also he not onely calleth Rome an Apostolike Church but Ephesus also and Corinth and Thessalonica and other Churches founded by the Apostles And it is not to be douted but that the men of old tyme called Peter and Paule the princes of the Apostles not that they were secular or worldly princes or that they had dominion ouer the rest or that they had obteined a larger commission but bicause that being endewed by God with most
good and thou shalt receaue prayse of him for he is Gods minister for thy welfare but if thou do the thing that is euyll then be affrayde for he beareth not the sworde in vaine for he is the minister of God to take vengeance on them that do euyll Why then did not these men well whome the Bull bewayleth for so should they doubtlesse haue receyued both prayse reward at the Quéenes hand being a gracious and bountifull prince The Quéene hath done nothing in this behalf which God hath not commaūded to be done afore in his law yea and also which is not ordayned in the lawes of the emperors Arcadius and Honorius L. Quicunque C. concerning Bishops and clerkes as hath bene sayd heretofore Yet will I not here sing the prayses of those that are set vp in the places of them that be deposed by Gods grace do their seruice at this day to the Churches of England peaceably and healthfully Their owne vertue commendeth them sufficiently so as they haue no néed of my prayse ¶ That the Queene of England hath not chosen mens opinions for herself and hir realme to follow but Gods pure word hertofore sought out and receyued by King Edward the sixth nor yet sette foorth bookes of heresie or forced her realme to receiue them THe goodly Bull a Gods name proceedeth on still to lay together the rest of the articles of his accusation against the Quéenes Maiestie in these wordes She hath sayth he commaunded hir subiectes to obserue the wicked misteries and ordinaunces which she hir selfe hath taken vp and obserued according to Caluins setting forth Also she hath set out bookes to hir whole Realme contayning manifest heresie But the lying and slaunderous Bull shooteth wide al the féeld ouer Perchance the Romish sort measure al men by themselues and because they them selues hang wholy vpon men in so much as there be many thousandes to be found among them which both will be called haue a plesure to be called Benedictines of Benet Franciscanes of Frauncis and diuersly and sunderly after many others and will both séeme to séeme to liue and glorie to liue according to these mens ordinances rules or appointmentes therefore they imagine that we also woulde be called Lutherans of Luther Zuinglians of Zuinglius and Caluinistes of Caluine and that we hang wholy vpon these mens ordinaunces but it is not so Paule the Apostle of Christ hath forbidden any such thing to be done in the Church saying to the Corrinthians Euery of you sayth I hold of Apollo I of Cephas and I of christ Is Christ deuided was Paule crucifyed for you or were you baptized in Paules name And againe when one sayth I hold of Paule and an other I holde of Apollo are ye not fleshly Therefore the true Christians will be named but onely after christ As for the names of men be they neuer so excellent we acknowledge them not in this case neither do we regard or receyue theyr ordinances furtherfoorth then they agree in all poyntes with Gods woorde and when we receiue them we receiue thē not for their sakes but for Gods wordes sake And the Quéene of Englands Maiestie neuer receiued of Caluin or of any other excellent and well learned men any ordinaunces to follow nor neuer regarded them and yet by the way if any of them haue taught any thing out of Gods pure woord no godly man can take scorn of for the Quéene in that reformation of hirs had an eye onely to the liuely woord of God deliuered vnto vs by the holy scriptures and so she setled all matters of religion vppon the very woord of God and not vpon any men Dauid speaking of Gods woord sayth in the 119. Psalme Thy woord O Lord endureth for euer in heauen Thy woord is a lanterne to my féet and a light vnto my paths Lord thou art righteous and thy iudgement is rightfull Princes sit together and rayle vpon me because thy seruaunt talketh of thy statutes and because thy testimonies are my delight and my counsellors Princes haue persecuted me without cause but my hart standeth in awe of thy woord And Lord seing I stick to thy testimonies bring me not to shame c. That godly prince of blessed memorie and woorthy of immortall glorie King Edward the sixth folowing the examples of Iosias and Constantine the great two of the excellentest princes that euer were in the world began the reformation of the English church For like as Iosias calling a parlament or Couusell of his noble men Priestes and Commons did first cause the law of God to be read openly before them and then obediently refourmed hys whole realme woord for word according to the law that was read And like as Constantine summoned a generall counsell of the teachers and Ministers of the Churches through the whole worlde and sitting downe among them sayd The bookes of the Gospelles and the Apostles together with the oracles of the auncient Prophets do plainly entruct vs of Gods meaning and will and therefore laying aside all enemylike discord let vs take the exposition of our questions out of the sayinges of the Holie Ghost Euen so King Edward summoning a parlament at London of all the Nobilitie Bishoppes and notablest learned men through hys whole realme admitting also the famousest clarkes of other realmes being Gods seruauntes commaunded them to shew by the holy scriptures what was to be followed of him and his realme in so great diuersity of opinions And they executing faythfully the charge which the King had enioyned them did the same time with one consent and according to Gods woord agrée vpon certaine articles which the King did both receiue and publish without delay wyth this title set afore them Articles agréeed vpon by the Bishops and other learned men in the Parlament holden at London in the yeare of our Lord 1552. for the taking away of the diuersitie of opinions and the stablishing of consente in the true religion published by authoritie of the Kinges maiestie Therefore by the labour and endeuor of that godly prince King Edward the English Church was refourmed according to the rule and appointment of the holy scriptures After King Edwardes decease Quéene Marie repealing the same reformation abrogated it for a time And Queene Elizabeth hauing receiued it againe by Gods grace hath eftsoones set it vp in perfect estate And therefore nothing els hath she receiued and deliuered to be kept of hir whole Realme then that hir brother of blessed memorie King Edward héertofore most godlily and wisely thought méet to be receiued and beleued of himself and to be conueighed ouer to his subiectes out of the liuely woord of God as hath bene sayd already whereby it appeareth now most manifestly that the thinges are false and forged which the lying Bull hath bruted concerning wicked misteries with spightfull interlacing the name of Caluine receyued by the Quéenes Maiestie and enioyned to the Realme of England
With like vanitie lightnes and malice the Bull is not ashamed to geue foorth that the Quéene setteth foorth or enforceth to hir whole realme bookes contayning manifest heresie for the Quéene hath authorized no bookes to be set foorth to hir realme but such as hir Maiesties brother King Edward willed to be set foorth afore specially the volume of the holy Bible Now to say that this contayneth manifest heresies it is an horrible and blasphemous wickednes and the greatest treason to God that may be Howbeit by the way there be many maintayners of the Pope and his sea which make neyther shame nor conscience to put openly in writing and to teach that heresies are learned out of the Bible and that he which hath the Bible and readeth it without the interpretatiō of the church of Rome hath nothing But I will speake no more at this time of the blasphemies of these wicked men Peraduenture the Bull meaneth the booke of common prayers and ceremo nies of the church of England But so ought it also to haue bene shewed which be heresies that are contayned in that booke The soresayd parlament of London maketh honorable mention of that booke And there shall be enow that will annswer if there be heresies in that booke at least wise if the bull meane that booke shew them expresly vnlesse peraduenture according to the maner of these stately sires euery thing must beare the blame of heresy which hath not the sent and tast of the stinch of the pope or of the sea of Rome which thing deserueth no aunswering at all Truely the Quéenes Maiestie hath prohibited all vngodly bokes to be dispersed yea or read in hir realme which are hereticall indéed and repugnant to the sinceritie of our Christian religion Neither may any man spread abroad any wicked or blasphemous booke or opinion in hir realme without punishment ¶ Here be recited other articles of accusation which the Bull mentioneth concerning the Queenes abolishing of the masse and hir taking away of many other superstitions and abuses Also here is expounded what catholikenesse is and who be catholike THe Bull knitteth héerunto also other articles of accusation agaynst the Quéene She hath also sayth the bull abolished prayers fastinges choyce of meates single life catholike ceremonies As concerning the sacrifice of the masse the Quéene not vniustly but for many and most iust causes hath abolished it like as King Edward had abolished it afore In the Syuode of London whereof we haue made mention now once or twise already thus remayneth in writing concerning the masse Christes oblatiō once made for all is a ful redemption attonement and satisfaction for all the sinnes of the whole world as well originall as actuall Neither is there any other satisfaction for sinnes sauing onely that one Wherfore the sacrifices of masses wherein the priest was commonly sayd to offer Christ for release of penaltie and fault for the quicke and the dead are but forgeries and hurtfull deceites Thus much is written there But it is the dutie of kinges to abolish and banish yea and to punish noysome deceites and deceyuers Worthely therfore haue the Kinges of England abolished the masse neyther haue they trespassed at all in that behalfe against God or against their owne office Moreouer by the Masse the holy institution of the Lords supper hath bene ouerwhelmed with mans inuentions additiōs vtterly peruerted made of publike priuate also dismembred For the Lord gaue it to all his faythfull in both kindes as they terme it Also wheras the massemūger taketh vpon him in his masse as a mediator betwéene God and men he committeth such an horrible offence as is neuer able to be purged by no satisfaction For there is no mo priesthodes but the priesthode of Christ and that is according to the order of Melchisedecke and so vnremoueable as it cannot passe vnto any other by succession Againe they offred or solemnized the masse in remembraunce and honor of saintes departed which now liue in heauen But the Lord had sayd do it in remembraunce not of saintes but of me And S. Paule would in no wise haue garlands and oxen offered vnto him Who then can thinke it likely that he would haue the Sonne of God offred in honour of him in a masse Shall the Lord of Lordes being now in glory do seruice still as a seruaunt to hys owne seruaunts These are frenzies and furies of men that be out of theyr wittes I could alleage many other abhominations of the masse like vnto these but I will adde no more but onely thys to all the rest That Christ our Lord instituted his holy supper without pompe or superfluitie simple moderate without ceremonies but yet commendable for the simplicitie and honourable for the authoritie of the founder But the Masse is most ceremonious most pompous most sumptuous and set out with persian furniture which in processe of time hath so encreases with hir abuses that in some thinges it could not be abated or purged but it must néedes be taken quite away Truly the common sorte made more accoūt of their Chapleines Masses aduaunced them more then the very sacrifice of Christ which few of them either knew or estéemed as became thē And for asmuch as the Apostle Paule when the Lordes Supper began in his time to grow into abuse taught how to call it backe to reforme it accordyng to the Lordes institution Like as Christes Martyr S. Cryprian also beyng taught by the same Apostles example counselleth and commaundeth vs that in repayring or setting vp agayne the true vse of the Supper we should go to the wells head and séeke out the originall and not do any other thing in this behalfe then that which he hath done which is before all men and alonely is to be heard Seing that the Quéenes Maiestie hath done so in abolishing the Masse and setting vp the Lordes Supper agayne in the place of it Surely she hath not sinned at all but is falsly accused by the Bishop in his Bull. Most false also is this that the Bull auoucheth the Quéene to haue abolished prayer and fastyng For she hath abolilished the abuses and superstitions in them and not the good thynges themselues which God hath commended vnto vs Which thing the matter it selfe doth openly auouch It can not be denyed but prayer and fastyng are couered with abuses and superstitions yea and with Idolatries almost innumerable among the Papistes Among them prayer is not made to God alone neither beleue they that God heareth vs for the intercession of Christ alone For they call vppon innumerable creatures as well as the creatures yea and vpon them more earnestly then vpon him And they haue in such wife commended the intercession and defense of Saintes to the wretched people that they know litle or nothyng of Christes intercession to God the father which is the onely acceptable and effectuall intercession Furthermore
departed in peace Let the noblemen and cleargy of the whole realme dispose the succession of the kingdome by common aduice that while we retayne the vnitie of concord no man may practise the disquietnesse of his contry realme by violence and ambition But if this warning correct not our mindes ne bringeth our hart to the regard of the common welfare Heare our determination Whosoeuer of vs or of all the people of Spaine shall by any conspiracie or practise breake his oth which he hath made for the welfare of his countrye and the nation of the Gothes or for the preseruation of the kinges estate or shall lay handes vpon the kinges person to murther him or depose him from his royall authoritie or by tyrannicall presumption vsurpe the crowne Cursed be he in the presence of God the Father of his Aungels and let him becomme a forreiner from the Catholike churche which he hath defiled with hys periurie and a stranger to all companies of Christians with all the partakers of hys wickednes For it is méete that they which be wrapped in one offence should also be subiect to one punishment And this their definitiue sentence they double twise or thrice still beating and harping vpon it Which thinges I haue hetherto rehearced and many other of the same sort coulde I alleage but that I know that these are enough to such as vse reason Let the pope then goe as he is woorthy with that absolution of hys not Apostolicall but apostaticall and diabolicall whereby he dischargeth the Nobilitie and Commons of England of all fealtie and obedience shamlesly and openly teaching them to practise wicked rebellion treason and cursed periurie against theyr Quéene sette ouer them by God which vices God according to hys righteousnes hath alwayes hated and vtterly abhorred Yea and he him selfe also is stricken with the curse euen now rehearced iustly pronounced against forswearers by the fathers in the fourth Counsell of Tolet because he is not onely forsworne himselfe but also teacheth forswearing Nay rather he sheweth by this as a most certaine marcke how he is the man of sinne of whome the Apostle speaketh For like as he himselfe swarmeth and ouerfloweth with sinnes and wickednes euen so doth he entice and enforce all men into sinne and wickednes by his publications or decrées Therefore looke to thy selfe O Englande and beware of this man of sinne whome God comming downe from heauen to iudge the quicke and the dead shall shortly wype away and according as Iohn hath truely foretold throw him headlong into a lake of fyre burning with brimstone together wyth all those that haue more willingly obayed him that is to say to Antichrist than to Christ. ¶ That the Nobilitie and Commons of England must not obey the popes commaundement nor feare his curse And here is shewed what thing subiectes owe to theyr Princes by Gods appoyntment and how greuously God hath alwayes punished rebelles and sedicious persons LAstly the Bishop of Rome in his definitiue sentence commaundeth all the Nobilitie and People of England that be subiectes to the Quéene that vpō paine of his curse they obey not hir Maiesties lawes and commaundementes hereafter What shall they do then Marie forsake theyr allegiance cast of the yoke of obedience and with hurliburly ryse vp against the Quéene whome God hath geuen them to be theyr soueraigne Ladie and thrust hir from hir crowne and through vnspeakable treason murther hir and then set all the Realme on a broyle beat downe all the faythfull and rid them out of the way fill all places with slaughter and confound heauen earth together These are the counsels and commaundementes of this blissed syre borowed of that father of his of whome the Lord speaketh in hys Gospell saying You are of your father the deuill and you will folow the desires of your father He was a murtherer from the beginning and continued not in the truth because there is no truth in him They therefore that loue godlinesse and their owne saluation and the honor peace and welfare of their owne countrie as euery good and godly man must of duetie do let them flye as far as may be from thys diuelish cruell and bloudy decrées of the pope Neyther is there any cause why they should feare to incur the displeasure of almightie God for disobeying the Popes Decrées For the Pope hath published those Decrées agaynst God against the true word of God. For God hath taught thinges plaine contrarie and fighting full but against the Popes Decrées namely that euery man ought to yeld both honour feare to his Prince or Magistrate and also to pay him tribute and custome and performe due subiection and obedience to him And these things are to be read word for word written by the Apostle Paule in the xiij to the Romanes For subiectes ye and all good men must both thinke and speake reuerently and honorablie of their Princes or Magistrates as whom God in his word vouchsaueth to call by the name of Gods as by whom God himselfe gouerneth iudgeth defendeth bridleth and preserueth his people In consideration wherof in the booke of Iudges iudges be termed Sauyours Which thing al subiectes ought to acknowledge with a certeine reuerence admiration and giuing of thankes For we be commaunded to make earnest intercession for our Princes in our prayers vnto God we be commaunded to loue our Magistrate vnfeynedly and in a comly decent and diligent wise to honor them with the honours accustomed to eche countrey So haue all the holie Priestes Prophetes and faithfull seruauntes of God done to their king as it is to be séene in many places of the holy Scripture Besides this it is an expresse commaundement in Gods law Thou shalt not speake euill of the Gods nor curse the Prince of thy people Moreouer the Prince is also to be feared of his subiectes that they practise not any thing against him and much lesse make not insurrection against him as enemies or moue sedition or otherwise commit vngracious actes and worthie to be punished For if thou do the thing that is euill sayth Paule then feare for he beareth not the sword in vayne For he is Gods Minister to punish him that doth euill And truly good men feare their Princes not as executioners but as fathers For agayne the Apostle sayth Princes are not a terror to them that do well but to them that do ill And wilt thou not stād in feare of authority then do the thing that is good and so shalt thou receiue prayse of him Moreouer subiectes must pay their Princes all maner of tributes customes and all other dewties For againe the Apostle saith who goeth a warfare at his owne charges But Princes serue the common weale therfore it is good right that they should be mainteined of the common charges Surely Paule saith expresly euen therfore do ye pay tribute for they be Gods