c. In deede sayth he the bodie of Marie was holye but God it was not The Virgin was a Virgin in deede and honorable but she was not giuen to vs to be worshipped but hir selfe worshipped him that was borne of hir who came to hir from heauen out of his fathers bosome And for this cause dothe the Gospell arme vs telling that whiche the Lorde spake woman what haue I to do with thee mine houre is not yet come least any should thinke the holy virgin to be more excellent he calleth hir woman as it were prophecying suche thinges as by reason of sectes shoulde come to passe on the earth Least that any bodye maruelling too muche at the holy Virgin slippe into this heresie and these dotages For all the handling of thys heresie is but a mockerie and as a man maye saye an olde wyues tale For what Scripture hathe euer declared whiche of the Prophetes commaunded man to be worshipped muche lesse a woman shee is in deede an excellent vessell but a woman and nothing chaunged from hir nature Shee is honorable in honoure bothe in vnderstanding and sense euen as are the bodies of the Sainctes And if to hir glorifying I should haue sayde somewhat more euen as Helias a virgin from his mother and so still remayning was translated and sawe not deathe euen as Iohn that leaned on the Lordes breast whome Iesus loued euen as sainct Thecla Yea Marie is yet more honorable for the dispensation of the mysterie wherewith shee was made woorthie But neither Helias is to be worshipped althoughe he be yet alyue neither is Iohn to be worshipped althoughe by his prayers he obtayned his wonderfull sleepe or rather hee obtayned grace of God Nor yet Thecla neyther any Saynct is worshipped For the auncient errour shall not master vs that leauing the lyuing God wee shoulde worshippe those thinges that are made of hym For they worshipped and honoured the Creature more than the Creator and became fooles If he wyll not haue Angels to be adored howe muche more will he not haue hir whiche was engendred of Anne which was giuen to Anne of Ioachim which by their prayers and all their diligence according to the promise to hir father and mother was giuen yet was she not engendred beyonde the nature of men but as all are of the seede of a man and the wombe of a woman c. For it is vnpossible for any to bee engendred on earth beyonde the nature of man Only it was sitting for him nature gaue place to him alone he as the work master and hauing powre of the matter fourmed him self of the Virgin as it were of the earth VVho beeing God the word discended froÌ„ heauen â–ª and put on flesh of the Virgin Mary but not that the Virgin shoulde be worshipped not that he would make hir a God nor that we should offer in the name of hir c. he suffred hir not to giue baptisme nor to blesse the disciples he bad hir not rule in the earthe but onely that she shoulde haue hir sanctification and bee made worthy of his kingdome From wheÌ„ce then commeth agayne to vs the round Dragon that wrappeth him self on a heape fro wheÌ„ce are these Councels renewed for any cause Let Mary be had in honor let be worshipped the father the sonne and the holy ghost let no man worship Mary I say not a woman no not a man This mysterie is due to God the Angels receiue not suche glorifying Let the thinges euill written he rased cleane oute of the hearte of those that are deceyued let the luste of the tree be taken out of their eyes let it tourne to the Lorde that framed it let Eue vvith Adam feare God that shee maye vvorshippe him onely least shee be ledde by the Serpentes voyce But let hir abyde stedfast in Gods commaundement eate not of the tree Let no body eate of the errour that is for sainct Mary For thoughe the tree bee fayre yet it is not to be eaten althoughe Mary bee moste fayre and holy and honorable yet is she not to be adored But these Arabicke women worshipping Mary do renue again the mixture to Fortune and prepare a table to the Diuell not to God as it is written they are fedde with the meat of wickednesse And agayne And their women do boult flowre and their children gather stickes to make cakes kneaded with oyle to the Q. of heaueÌ„ Let suche women be put to silence by Hieremie and let them not trouble the worlde let them not saye wee honour the queene of heauen c. Thus sayth Epiphanius and muche more neither for hir only though chiefly for hir but in generall for all the Saintes Non conuenit colere sanctos c. It is not mete to woorshippe the Sainctes beyonde comelynesse but it is meete to honour the Lorde of them let the errour therfore ceasse of those that be seduced Nowe if ye say vnto me all this is spoken againste the worship of offring to hir and sacrifising to hir not for inuocation of hir first this shift is false M. Sta. for Inuocation in déede is the chiefest worship that we can giue not of the lips so much as of the heart farre aboue any outwarde sacrifice of the bodie and therefore to be muche more giuen to God alone as S. Aug. reasoneth Sicut orantes c. Euen as when wee praye and prayse wee directe signifying vowes vnto God when we offer the verie thinges in our heart the whiche we signifie so sacrifycing we know that no visible sacrifice ought to be offred to any other than to him to whom we our selues ought to be an inuisible sacrifice As therfore no bodily sacrifice may be directed to any but to God so knew Epiphanius that all spirituall sacrifice is onely due to god And therefore he so little ascribeth it to hir or any other that bothe in the beginning of his treaiise and in the ende he maketh his inuocations onely to god Saying in the beginning Nunc autem clarè c. But let vs now clearely speake of the heresie it selfe and inuocating God as we will adioyne confutation agaynst it c. And in the ende thereof Ad vnam illam c. Let vs proceede to that onely heresie which is yet vntouched inuocating God that he would helpe vs c. Thus ye sée to whome he ascribeth inuocation not to hir of whom he writeth or to any other saincte but alonely to god This shifte fayleth therefore in saying he writeth onely agaynst offring and sacrificing to hir But setting all this aside haue not you I beséeche you offred and sacrificed to hir I pray you turne back agayne to those your prayers whiche I haue cited that playnely confesse the facts and glorie therein Neither coulde they tell by what meanes they shoulde worshippe hir inoughe But if it yrke ye to turne to that whiche was so yrkesome to reade before I will shâ—…we you yet once more so playne a
them master Stapleton till ye set them downe I thinke they will all come in the ende to the effect of this sentence here so often by all yourside alleaged Ye cite Chrysostome as though it were at the full Where in déede ye cut off both the heade the middle and taile of his sentence whereby considering the occasion and purpose of his wordes we might sée that they shoulde not be wrested from his meaning Chrysostome vpon these wordes of the Prophet Esay Factum est anno quo mortuâ—…s est Ozias rex It came to passe in the yere that king Ozias died after a Preface made of Priestes mariage taking occasion of the Prophet Esays wife telleth of Ozias presumption Uerum hic Ozias c. but this Ozias when he was a crowned King bicause he was iust waxed hawtie in minde and conceyuing a greater courage than was for his estate entred into the temple And what sayth Esay He entred into the holy of holies and sayde I will offer incense He being a King vsurpeth the principalitie of the priesthood I will sayth he offer incense bicause I am iust But abide within thy bounds And so Chrysostome procéedeth in the sentence cited by you Alij sunt termini The boundes of a kingdome of a priesthood are not al one c. Which sentence ye truly cite til ye come to these wordes VVhen I say to me I vnderstand a priest And there ye strike of mâ—… words of Chrysostam than ye cited Which belike ye do for two purposes Partly for that ye could not abide to heare of any vices or discommendation in priests therfore ye cull out only that which soundeth to their praise dignitie Partly for that this would haue made the purpose of Chrysost playner reprouing them that disâ—…erne not betwene the office the persoÌ„ At which fault your self so late did stuÌ„ble in princes not discerning between Neroes vices a princes office As in Chrysostoms time same despised the office of a priest bicause of the faults of diuerse priests The wordes of Chrysostome folowing those you cite are these Therefore when thou seest an vnworthie priest slaunder not the priesthod For thou oughtest not to coÌ„demne the things but him that euill vseth a good thing Syth Iudas also was a traytor howbeit for this the order Apostolical is not accused but the mind of him Neither is it the fault of the priesthood but of the euill mind And thou therfore blame not the priesthod but the priest that vseth euill a good thing For if one dispute with thee and say seest thou yonder Christianâ—… answere thou but I speak not to thee of the persons but of the things or else how many phisitions haue bene made slaughtermen haue giuen poisons for remedies And yet I dispise not the arte but him that euill vseth the arte How many shipmeÌ„ haue guided euill their ships yet is not the arte of sayling euill but the mind of them If the Christian man be wicked accuse not thou the profession the priesthood but him that euill vseth a good thing These are Chrysostomes wordes which you omit and then followeth as you recite Regâ—… corpora c. The bodies are coÌ„mitted to the king and so forth as ye say til ye come to the knitting vp of the sentence with Ozias which again you omit VeruÌ„ rex c. But that king going beyond his bounds and passing the measure of the kingdom atteÌ„pted to adde somwhat more and entred into the temple willing with authoritie to offer incense VVhat therfore sayth the priest It is not lawfull for thee Ozias to offer incense Behold libertie behold a mind that knoweth not boÌ„dage behold a tong touching the heauens behold liberty that cannot be restrained behold the body of a maÌ„ the mind of an angel behold one that goeth on the grouÌ„d is coÌ„uersant in heaueÌ„ Thou sawest a king thou sawest not a diademe Tel not me it is a kingdom where is the transgression of lawes It is not lawful for thee O king to offer inceÌ„se It is not lawful for thee to come into the holy of holies Thou passest thy bouÌ„ds thou sekest things not grauÌ„ted to thee therfore shalt leese the things thou hast receiued It is not lawful for thee to offer inceÌ„se but this is giuen vnto the priests This is not thine but this is mine haue I vsurped on me thy purple vsurpe not thou my priesthod It is not lawful for thee to offer inceÌ„sâ—… but only for the sons of AaroÌ„ By this it plainly appeareth wherevpon Chrysost. speaketh to wete of the seuerall functions of the spirituall pastor and the prince and that it is not lawfull for the prince to intrude himself into the office of the diuine minister He may not more take vpoÌ„ him to administer the diuine sacraments of christ his church now although he be the prince to the which not with standing you admitted womeÌ„ thaÌ„ might Ozias sacrifice then For as then God had appoynted who should sacrifice so hath he apointed who should now minister his sacrameÌ„ts Now if ye had shewed that the supreme gouernment ouer ecclesiasticall causes the ouersight and direction of the setting forth of Gods true religion the abolishing of false religion and the deposing of Idolatrous Priestes that obsâ—…inately mainteyne errours agaynst the expresse worde of God be the like doing to this fact of Ozias if ye had proued that the Prince hath euer done or doth or claymeth to do the like fact to this of Ozias in ministring the sacrament then had you alleaged this sentence to some purpose else maketh it nothing to the purpose but maketh agaynst your popish mid wiues they rather play the part of Ozias It maketh not agaynst the Q. Maiestie but most of all against your Pope himselfe that thinketh he playth the high priests part and is so farre therfrom that none is more like than he to this vsurper entring into the holyest place and vsurping the priesthood the sacrifice the power and the honour that belongeth onely to Iesus Christe himselfe As for the office of the true minister of God which neyther your Pope nor you his shaâ—…elings arâ—… is in déede as Chrysostom sayth both a distinct function from the princes and hath other boundes and also we graunt surmounteth farre the boundes of the Princes office in respect of his spirituall ministerie of administring the sacraments of preaching the glad tydings of saluation of denouncing to the obstinate sinners the threates of Gods wrath and vengeance to the penitent the most comfortable promises of Gods mercie fauour whose sentence being rightly applyed in earth God hath promised to ratifie the same in heauen And for this cause doth Chrysost â–ª so highly extoll this priesthood referring all his prayses to the dignitie of his ministerie in respect whereof the Princes ministeris is but outwarde and earthly medling nothing with the administration of this high function but onely with the
he was a good king in ouerséeing the Priestes do their dueties and not him selfe intruding into the doing of their duties But of this exaÌ„ple we haue heard somwhat already in answering master Stapleton and we shal haue more agayne in M. Saunders fourth Chapter and therfore I reserue my selfe to the larger answere of it To this he addeth an Item of Iosaphat saying Itemque c. And also Iosaphat the king of Iuda distinguishing both powers sayde to the Leuites and the Priests Amarias the Priest and your Bishop stil gouerne in those things that perteine to god Moreouer Zabadias the sonne of Ismaell who is the captayne in the house of Iuda shal be ouer those workes that perteyne to the office of the king Beholde other thinges perteyne to the office of the Bishop and other to the the kinges office This we haue beholden alreadie in Master Stapletons obiection of the same and there may you M. Saunders beholde the answere And thus muche agayne for the vse of both these powers Now thirdly for the end therof saith M. Saunders Of the ende of both powers not the last but the middle ende that the ciuill power toucheth nought but this lyfe Christ saith Feare not theÌ„ that kil the body but they can not kill the soule And agayne the Apostle willeth vs to pray for kings those that are in authoritie that we may hue a quiet and peaceable life A quiet life therefore is the last ende of the ciuill power dwelling without the Churche But of that which is in the Church it is not the last but yet the proper ende it is VVhyle in the meane time the eccl. power belongeth to the lyfe to come as Christ hath sayde whatsoeuer ye lose on earth shall be loosed in heauen To this distinction of the endes of these powers I answere it is false not only the laste ende as he graunteth but the meaner endes also of the ciuill power in the church of Christ stretche further than this lyfe I appeale to the Princes institution and office Deuter. 17. I appeale to all the doings of the godly Kings Iudges and ciuill magistrates described in the scripture I appeale to Constantine the great that thought religion to be the chiefe ende of hys gouernment Yea I appeale to the places that euen héere M. Sanders citeth for his purpose â–ª manifestly wresting â—… mayming that of S. Paule to Timothie For he sayth not onely Ut quietam tranquillam vitam agaâ—…us That we may leade a quiet and peaceable life and there endeth but he addeth further withall in omni pietate honestate in all godlynesse honestie In which two words chiefly al godlinesse what is included is at large declared against master Stapleton But before this place M. Sanders citeth the testimonie of Christ that the prince can do no more but kill the body I answere Christe makes not the proper ende of the Princes power to kill the body but rather as you said before out of S. Paule to saue it To kill it is an accidentall tude of his power yet Iwisse Christ spake not there onlye of ciuil Princes but as muche agaynst the tyrannie of the highe Priests or any other that woulde persecute the ministers of Christ to death as your Pope you his chaplaynes do But I pray you M. sand may not an ill Prince wrest his authoritie to destroy the soule also with maynteyning Idolatrie false religion In déede he can not kill the soule for properly it can not be killed But that kind of killing that the soule may suffer which is sinne and damnation the rewarde of sinne with the one striken of the deuil by malice and wounded of him selfe by errour with theother striken of God by Iustice and deserued of him selfe by sinne may not the ill Prince make his power be a meane therto and may not an ill priest on this wise kill the soule as wel and sooner than he I wot what your pope Pius 2. was wont to say Malâ—… medâ—…ci corpus imperiti sacerdotes animam oâ—…cîdunt Ill Phisitions kil the body but vnskilfull Priests kill the soule You say your power stretcheth to the life to come In déede M sand the true eccl. power stretcheth to the life to come I feare me yours doth stretch to life as ye say but not to come but onely to the present life of the body but to death of body and soule both nowe and to come for euer Besides al this I appeale euen to your owne selfe M. sand that affirme the ciuil power in the church of Christ to stretch to farre further more proper endes thaÌ„ this life for in your fourth chapter folowing ye haue this quotation Christianâ—…rum regna leâ—…ularia non sunt Christian kingdomes are not worldly Wheron ye haue these words Moreouer the kingdomes of the faythfâ—…ll Princes whose people feare â–ª God are not altogither earthly or worldly for in that parte that they haue beleeued in Chryst they haue as it were lefte to be of the worlde and haue begonne to be members of the eternall kingdome For although the outwarde face of thinges which is founde in kingdomes meere secular be in a Christian kingdome Yet sithe the spirite of man is farre the moste excellent parte of him and the whole spirite acknowledgeth Christ his king and onely Lorde I see nothing why Christian kingdomes ought not to be rather iudged spirituall according to their better parte than earthly And this is the cause why now so long since those which gouerned the people of God were wont to be anointed of his ministers no otherwise than were the Prophetes and Priests For euen the kings them selues also are after a sort â–ª partakers of the spiritual ministerie wheÌ„ they are anoynted Not that they shoulde do those thinges that are committed to the onely priestes hereto orderly consecrated but that those thinges whiche other kinges referre to a prophane and worldly ende these kinges shoulde nowe remember that they ought to directe to an holy ende For when they them selues are meere spirituall it is fitte that they shoulde wyll that all their thinges shoulde also be accounted as it were spirituall Loe M. Saunders in these wordes ye confesse farre other proper endes and farre other estates also in the ciuill power of Christian Princes than this lyfe of the body and the quiet tranquillitie therof And therfore what néede further witnesse when your selfe are not onely contrarie to your selfe but also beare witnesse agaynst your selfe Now wheÌ„ M. Sanders hath thus prosecuted these three differences of these two estates he collecteth his conclusion saying But if the ecclesiasticall power differ from the ciuill in the originall in the vse and in the ende and so well the beginning of the ecclesiasticall power as the vse and ende is farre the more worthy shall they not of wise men be iudged mad which either confounde these powers
as ye sayde before disposing otherwyse than Christ hath done your Priestes do so but they ought not to do so The Prince can not do it nor he dothe it nor claymes to doe it nor it is ascribed vnto him Yea thoughe you meane by disposing no alteration yet is this an harde phrase to say that Princes or priestes either dispose of the Churche of Christe but rather dispose of matters in the Church of Christ. And this as the Priest may doe in his vocation so may the Prince in his estate Which though it be not expressed by name but comprehended in the newe Testament yet is it euen by name expressed in the olde Testament in diuers places of the disposing of Church matters by Moyses Iosue Dauid Salomon Iosaphat Ezechias c. And since your selfe confesse the one gouernment is a figure of the other And that the gouernment before Christ he neither brake it nor diminished it it followeth that theÌ„ he left it entire and confirmed it And therfore although the Princes disposing of Churche matters be not by name expressed yet is it by your reasoÌ„ necessarilie comprehended and so you answere your selfe Now after he hath thus as he supposeth debarred Princes from all warrant oute of the law of God and the newe Testament he examineth the other lawes saying Except therefore by the lawe of nature the law of nations or the lawe ciuill such power be permitted too the king it is cleare that he hath no power at all ouer these things But certaine it is that those lawes cannot giue to the king any power ouer things that are not subiect to those lawes For no law can establishe ought either of other things or persons or actions than those things that fall vnder the compasse of it But Ecclesiasticall matters do infinitly excede the power of the lawe of Nature of nations and the ciuill For of these three the law of nature is the first and greatest But neither that sith it begaÌ„ in the earth can decree ought vpon the mysteries of Christe which draw their originall from heauen onely For that I may speake nothing of the force of nature being yet entire truely after that the nature of all mankynd by the sinne of Adam was corrupted and death entring by one man passed into al it can not be that from that infected originall any good thing shoulde come forth For an ill tree can not bring forth good fruites neither doth the fleshely man such as we all be by nature perceiue those things that are of the spirite of God. All this labor is a néede not M. Saunders to run for confirmation of a Christian doctrine from the law of God to the lawe of nature and the lawe of man we vse not so to doe Neither desire we anye doctrine to be admitted that is not proued by the lawe of God reuealed in his worde vnto vs it is you the Papists that stand on such proues and grounds not we Howbeit you do iniurie to the law of nature to measure it altogether by the corruption of our nature For howsoeuer we be degenerate from it the law of nature remaineth in it selfe both good and perfect and is called likewise the law of God. Neither can I thinke that euery ecclesiasticall thing as ecclesiasticall things are commonly vnderstoode is infinitely aboue the power of the law of nature By which reason many petit matters would be farre aboue great principles Yea many great Ecclesiasticall matters doe fall within the compasse of the lawe of nature It is true that you say of the corruption of our nature that by the fall of Adam sin hath infected the Masse of all mankinde Death by one man hath entred into all men No goodnesse can come of such a corrupted originall An ill tree can not bring forth good fruite and that the fleshely man perceiueth not the things that are of the spirit of God. All this is true but is it not as much against a Priest as a Prince for the Priest in that he is a man is borne in sinne and dyeth by death the reward of sinne nor caÌ„ bring forth any good fruites nor perceiue the things of the spirit of God. And the prince in that he is a ChristiaÌ„ is washed from his sinne The sting of death hath no power ouer him but is a passage to eternall life He is regenerate by a newe originall from aboue He is a good tree and bringeth good fruits and is become a spirituall man perceiuing and working the things that are of the spirite of God and that perchaunce a great deale better than many a good Priest and without all doubt farre more spirituall than any Popishe priest And therefore that ye speake of the corruption of nature is nothing to the purpose excepte it be to confute your errors of pura naturalia fréewill preparatiue workes c. But Maister Saunders drist is this that onely the Priests are spirituall men and so may onely Iudge of spiritual things and Princes are but naturall fleshely and sinnefull men and so can giue no Iudgement of spirituall matters But howe vntrue this is how presumptuous on his partie and iniurions to all Christian Princes and how contrary to his owne selfe that faith else where Christian Princes are spirituall I thinke anye that haue but meane Iudgement may easily Iudge it But Maister Saunders procéedeth saying But to Iudge of Ecclesiasticall matters is no small good thyng but one of the chiefest that Christe hath gyuen vnto his Church bycause he hath gyuen the power of feeding of losyng and bynding to his Apostles that is to the chiefest Magistrates of hys Churche euen as the greatest gifte VVhich gifte they coulde neuer well exercise but wyth Iudgement eyther goyng before or goyng with it For he that shall binde nothing but that that shoulde be bounde and shall lose nothing but that that shoulde be losed must of necessitie before hande deliberate and decree that this is to bee bounde and that is to bee losed But to decree suche a thing to bee done or not to be done in Christian Religion this is euen that that we call to Iudge in matters of Faith. Syth therfore a power so heauenly and notable can not spring oute of the beginnings of our corrupte nature it followeth that it commeth onely of the free mercie of god But that mercie of God is made manifest vnder the time of the new Testament partlye by the lawe written partly not written but neyther waye anye povver is gyuen to Kyngs in Ecclesiasticall causes This argumeÌ„t M. SauÌ„ders is like the hopping of a reuÌ„d that from the law of the new Testament went about to infirme it by the lawe of nature and so fetching a circumquaque commeth in again with this conclusion that it is not by the law of the newe Testament So that where we thought we had procéeded â—…urder wée are nowe where wée were before But to let goe the
time done 〈◊〉 to the Prince trow you ye neuer did it Did your Pope neuer iniurie to the Emperour did your bishops neuer iniurie to kings did your spiritualtie neuer iniurie to the laytie I thinke for shame you will not denie it If you do you shall haue witnesses inow of your owne side against you Agayne did your Pope neuer suffer iniurie to be done to Princes and might haue helped it and did not denie it you can for shame Moreouer did your Pope his Clergy neuer saynt from iustice and truth you dare not séeke to couer it it is so open and confessed What remedie now to amend these things the gouernors of the Church say you must admonish theÌ„ to decline from euill and do good Who are these gouernors of the Churche that ye speake of our selues say you Why then you must admonish your selues Would to God you had that grace M. San. that you would enter into iudgement with your selues and admonishe your selues But now running headlong in your faults and wil not heare them tolde of any other but thinke you do well he that shal tel you the contrarie you wil tell him he is an heretike if he come in your clawes you will burne him although he were some of your owne companie for so you haue serued diuers that haue rebuked your faults errors yea you are so sotted on your selues that you maintein you can not erre O how roughly wil you admonish your selues how soone shall all the worlde looke for your amendment Is not this a plaine mockerie with the world world is it not more than time for Christian princes that are in déede the gouernors of the Churche to admonishe you I denie not but you may yea ought to admonish the Prince also if he be suche an offender as you imagine But that you oughte to be the onely admonishers of them and not your selues of them to be admonished â–ª you sée the inconuenience And yet there is a difference betwéene admonishing and gouerning and a greater difference betwéene admonishing deposing But by little and little you drawe to wards it But what and if the Prince say you will not amend him selfe And what say I if the Priestes wil not amend theÌ„ selues we must make hast say you to other remedies Yea but not suche haste M. Sâ—… that you break your sâ—…nnes and much lesse such hast that you breake the ordinaunce of god For in such haste is more waste than spéede the end of it neuer wanteth â—…o We graunt you there are remedies in the Church of God for such inconueniences but no such remedies as for the subiect to attempt to depose his Soueraigne and stirre the people to rebellion But if any say you beeing admonished amende not him selfe we are bidden to denounce him to the Church VVho if if he will not heare the Church is to be accounted as an Ethnike or a publicane Are you bidden M. Sanders if he be your Prince to renounce your ciuil polytike obedience that you ought him yea although he were in déede an Ethnike if you find this you come somwhat néerer to the purpose else you do not only wrest this place which is not spoken of Princes but also straggle cleane from the matter in question But now say you if any King not hearing the Church be permitted to holde and administer his kingdome ouer Christians who seeth not all the people ouer whome that King ruleth to come into most certaine danger of losing the faith for that saying is no lesse true than auncient After the example of the king the whole world is framed So while only Ieroboam as I sayd before worshipped two Calues the one in Bethel the other in Dan and appoynted Priestes not of the sonnes of Leui but of the basest of the people This thyng became an offence to tenne Tribes and for the greatest parte of Israell the faythe peryshed The danger and offence is great we graunt of Princes thus offending But for subiects to depose their Princes for these dangers or offences the danger and offence were not remedied but augmeÌ„ted For what Prince were not then in danger if you would lay these offences to his charge were he neuer so giltlesse of them if he neuer so little offended you ye mightâ—… say he did you iniurie or he suffered other to do it he helped you not he foughte not in your quarell agaynst those Princes on whome you woulde haue set him If he swarued at any time from iustice or but spoke a worde awrie yea if he but saynted from those things you woulde haue him do would not acknowledge that he so dyd who you reproued him for it when you tolde it one to another for you call your selues the Church then in all poste haste the prince must be couÌ„ted as an Ethnike or a publicane be deposed froÌ„ his kingdome the people muste rebell In what danger by this doctrine both the Prince the people stand your selues also the teach this dangerous doctrine is apparaÌ„t The exaÌ„ple of Ieroboam is a greater case but as great as it was neither the priests nor the prophets atteÌ„pted to depose IeroboaÌ„ nor the people rebelled agaynst him no nor the tribe of Iuda nor RoboaÌ„ were permitted to war against him for all this great losse danger that the people receiued by him Sithe therefore say you the wisdome of God hathe not lefte the Churche of God whiche is a citie excellently founded and defenced without a medicine which it may giue to suche a disease neither is there any other medicine can helpe than that which taketh away so euill a king from among the people and giueth the kingdome to a better man we muste beleeue that suche power is graunted at the least to the chiefe Pastor of the Churche in these wordes feede my sheepe and whatsoeuer thou bindest in earth shall be bounde also in heauen So that the chiefe Pastor can not onely excommunicate a wicked king but also set his subiectes free from al obedience of him The wisedome of God as you say M. Sanders hathe not lefte the Church of God without medicines for suche diseases Gods worde is euen a storehouse of plaisters as well CoÌ„solidatiues as Corrosiâ—…es for the Ministers of Christs to apply them to any infected members But these medicines that are taken out of the worde of God you despise and reiecte as too base simples vaunt of your owne compoundes There is a medicine in gods word called In patientia vestra possidebitis animas vestras yâ—… shall possesse your soules in patience when a wicked Prince â—…oth vexe them There is another called In fide fundati stabiles beyng founded in faith and stable Another called Ad te leuaui oculos meos I haue lifted vp mine eyes to thee c. Another In Domino confido non
timebo quid mihi faciat homâ—… I put my confidence in the Lorde I will not feare what man can doe vnto me Another called beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter iustitiam Blessed are they that suffer persecution for righteousnesse And a number of such excellent medicineâ—… there are And in déede there is such a medicine too as you sâ—…y vt auferatur de medio populi that he should be taken from among the people But there is but one Phisition that knoweth the right confection of the strong purgation and that is God himselfe Ministers of diuerse sortes he hath by whom he giueth this medicine but I neuer read that any godly Bishop or Prieste or faithfull subiecte did euer minister it to his Soueraigne The texte that you cite hereto is not as you cite it auferat regem adeo maluÌ„ de medio populi that may take away so euil a king from among the people but auferte malum ex vobis ipsis take awaye the euill from among you not the Prince from among the people For that were to take away one euill with another And how should this euill be taken awaâ—… Ne commisceamiâ—…i fomicarijs c. be you not mingled together or kepe no familiaritie with fornicators He saith not depriue him of hys life or liuing but be not defiled with his wickednesse And the greatest censure that s. Paule speaketh of is excoÌ„munication pertaining properly not to the goods and bodies but to the soules of men Neither speaketh he there at all of Princes but of priuate men and equals in the Church of Christ whoÌ„â—…e calleth brethren For the Kings and Princes at that time were 〈◊〉 Christened And he speaketh of such as they might lawâ—…y sâ—…un their companie such as Lyra calleth Ribaldes or verlets drunkards whorehunters Idolaters but not such as in the Ciuill polycie they muste néedes obey nor those that were out of the Church of Christ. I haue written to you saith he by an epistle that you should not intermingle your selues with fornicators not vtterly from fornicators of this world or couetous persons or rauenous or worshippers of Images else should ye go out of this world But nowe I haue written to you that ye intermingle not your selues If any which is called a brother be a whoremaister or couetous person or a worshipper of Images or a sclaunderer or a drunkerd or a rauener with suche an one we shoulde not eate meate For what haue I to do to iudge them that are without do not you iudge of them that are within as for those that are without God iudgeth Take away the euill from among you Nowe saith M. Saunders that S. Paule speaketh of taking away so euill a King from among the people and this he setteth downe in distinct letters as though S. Paule had ment the Priests should depose an euill King from gouerning the people Where he speaketh not to the Priestes but to the people and would haue them shunne the company of suche false brethren as were among them But M. Saunders will say doth not this stretch to a king so well as to any other if he be a brother in the faith of Christ I graunt it doth in that he is a brother And if he be infected with such vices hée also is so farre forth to be shunned But not to be shunned in that he is a Prince and gouernor of the people muche lesse the people to forsake their obedience to his authoritie bycause they must forsake their obedience to his vices He maye be so shunned priuately as the publique gouernement be not shunned he may be iudged of the faithfull in their courte of conscience concerning his crime but he maye not be iudged in their Courte of Consistorie concerning his worldly power he maye be taken héede of but not taken awaye he maye be euen excommunicated also by the ministers but not by them deposed bicause howsoeuer he deserueth it yet haue they no authoritie that stretcheth so farre That remedie belongeth not to them but vnto God. But now sir what and if the Prince be not onely no such malefactor but goeth about to resorme these malefactours where as other priuate men can but shunne their companie and the ministers of Christ can but excommunicate them which though it be neuer so great a censure yet they estéeme it not and that the Prince will punishe suche malefactors in their goods and bodies yea and take them awaye from among the people by death banishmente prisonment or otherwise as his office requireth he should do to whom the sworde is giuen against the malefactor what now if it fall oute that the Popishe Priestes be the greatest malefactors in these notorious crimes what if they be not only priuate whore maisters but also publike maynteiners of bankes and stewes for whores and dispisers and restrainers of honorable matrimonie what if the Popish Priests be so couetous and rauenous that they haue gotten almoste the wealth of all Christian kingdomes into their fingrings and are neuer satisfied with deuising naughtie meanes to picke mens money out of their purses what if the Popishe Priests be worshippers of Images and causers of them to be worshipped what if manye of them be common drunkardes and all of them drunken with spirituall drunkennesse which is a great deale worse what if the Popishe Priestes be sclaunderers of those that be in authoritie and woulde take the Kings sworde and Scepter oute of his hande and pull his Diademe off his heade and plucke his roabe from his backe and turne hym quite oute of hys throne and Kingdome and byd hym goe shake hys eares and styrre all hys subiectes to rebellion what if all these and an infinite sorte of other horrible crymes were founde in the Popishe priests themselues oughte not this rule of Sainte Paule to take place on them and all Christians to abhorre and shunne them and all Princes to depose and punishe them Nowe whether the Popishe Priestes be culpable in these crimes or no I thinke the crie of Sodome and Gomorre did not more astende vp to heauen than the crie of the Popishe Priests abhomination resoundeth in all the earth And thus this sentence that Maister Saunders thought to wrest against Princes if it be well examined falleth more out against the Priests themselues As for the other two sentences Iohn 21. Math. 16. are no lesse wrested herevnto VVe must beleue sayth he that this power to take away the Prince and giue his Kingdome to a better â–ª is grauÌ„ted at the least to the chief pastor of the Church in these wordes feede my sheepe and whatsoeuer thou bindest in earth shall be bound in heauen also In so muche that the chiefe pastor maye not onely excommunicate a wicked King but also set free his subiectes from all obedience of him And finde you this in these two sentences Maister Saunders we must beleeue it say you that this
power is giuen at the least to the chiefe pastor in these wordes Howe shall we beleeue it Maister Saunders sith these wordes neither say nor import any such matter that Peter to whom they were spoken is the chief pastor of the Church neither at the least nor at the most least of all that in these wordes these things are contained Christ saith to Peter feede my shepe â–ª you expounde these wordes that he gaue him power to take away Kings from their kingdomes and to set the people at libertie from their sworne obedience This is a proper feeding M. Saunders to giue them pappe with an hatchet as they say to spoyle Kings and sâ—…t their kingdomes in the vprores of rebellion â–ª Christ 〈◊〉 not his shepe on thâ—… fashion nor we reade that euer Peter 〈◊〉 them so but with the worde of God and with exhortatioÌ„ of obedience vnto Princes Peter fead the shéepe of Christ on this wise Be ye subiect to euery humaine creature for the Lordes sake whether to the King as excelling or to his rulers as those that are sent of him to the punishment of malefactors and to the prayse of them that do well for so is the will of god For doyng well you stoppe the mouthes of foolishe and ignorant men As free and yet not hauing libertie for a cloake of malice but as seruantes of god Honor all men loue brotherhood feare God honor the king Let seruants be subiect to the Lord with feare not only if they be good and gentle but if they be froward c. And so he entreth into an exhortation of pacience vnder wicked gouernors This is the féeding that Peter fead the shéepe of Christ withall neither did hâ—…uer depose any Magistrate or set at libertie any subiects or vsurpe any kingly dominion but dissuadeth the clergie from it As for the other sentence of authorizing Peter to bynde and lose is so farre from giuing him authoritie to bynde Princes in bondage and captiuitie making theÌ„ to lose their kingdomes and losing their subiectes from their bondage of subiection setting them at libertie to rebell and chose another that if Maister Saunders were not too too shamelesse he would neuer thus apply it And yet he saith we must beleue it â–ª that in this sentence also Peter hath this power gyuen him which neither Christ nor Peter vsed at any time but both of them flat denie it But why shoulde we beleeue this M. Saunders For say you if whatsoeuer Peter or Peters successor loseth in earth is also losed in heauen then verily when he loseth orderly the faithfull subiects from the obedience of a wicked King in earth the subiects are in heauen losed from the obedience of that king Besides if whatsoeuer Peters successor bindeth in earth be bound also in heauen then when soeuer the successor of Peter rightly and well commaundeth anye King to go from his Magistracie which being thus affected he vniustly holdeth or coÌ„mauÌ„deth him by whatsoeuer meanes he can to hinder another King that hindreth the faithful people from eternal life that he should not perishe in doyng wickedly that King is bounde also in heauen that is to saye before God and his Angels to obey the decree of the chiefe Bishop except he will haue his owne sinnes before God to be retained and not remitted Here is your Sampsons poste M. SauÌ„ders that you and your Pope builde vpon for his supremacie that he hath the keyes of heauen and hell vnder his belte but howe grossely and shamefully this spirituall power of bynding and losing consisting in preaching the word of God and pertaining only to the soule of the faithfull beleuer or the vnfaithfull refuser is applied to the body goods of men to be taken from them is wrested to coÌ„maunding of Kings to get theÌ„ packing from their kingdomes to bydding of subiectes take armes against their Princes to bidding of one King by whatsoeuer meanes he can by defying fighting and making warre by shéeding ChristiaÌ„ blood by violating peace by breaking leagues by wasting one anothers couÌ„tries to molest and persecute one another that all Princes nations are bound before God and his Angels to obey his bidding yea althoughe he were such a chiefe B. or the successor of Peter as he craketh is not is so horrible shameful a wresting of Christs saying so euident a contradiction to all other sayings in the scripture so open a gappe to the dissolution of all estates to bring all tumult confusion into the world yea this binding and losing were such a binding vp of all godlynesse and the verie losing of the deuill himself that it is maruaile that euer any Papist professing learning would be so grosse in this age of greater learning thus to expounde it Which exposition was neuer heard of by any godly father till Pope Gregorie 7. set it a broach and Pope Boniface 8. following him set all Christendome by the eares about it And nowe that all the worlde séeth the follie and wickednesse of it M. Saunders so unpudently would renue it But he hathe a shifting restrainte in this exposition to salue the matter When the Pope sayth he duely and orderly loseth the people from their obedience and when he well and rightly biddeth the king giue ouer his authoritie theÌ„ either of them are bound to obey his bidding True Maister Saunders when he doth these things duly and orderly well and rightly theÌ„ it shall be graunted you But how can he do that well and rightly duely and orderly that is most euil and against all dutie right and order can a théefe steale well and rightly can such extreme wickednesse that passeth all priuate thefte and is the open breach of all due order be dulie and orderly done But belike M. SauÌ„ders thinketh if the Pope do it in his consistorie if he haue on his Cope and do it in his Pontificalibus if the belles be roong the candels put out then it is well and rightly duely and orderly done Such toyishe orders vseth the Pope to bleare the simple as though when it is done with booke bell candle it is done well and rightly duely and orderly but before God and his Angels in heauen and before all wise and godly learned meÌ„ in earth as these orders are mere ridiculous so these doyngs are most abhominable But nowe let vs heare his reason for this doyng For if whatsoeuer power any king hath he ought to conuert and applie that wholly to the honor of Christ then he that otherwise doth shall in the day of doome render an account of sin wheÌ„ euen that sword it selfe which in times paste he hath either draweÌ„ out against Christ or else he would not draw for Christ shall accuse him of disobedience If therfore we shall follow reasoÌ„ aright as the Minister of Christ ought not to coÌ„secrate him for Prince whom he seeth not to be a ChristiaÌ„ or a Catholike so neither ought
in these wordes following vnto Pilate after he had denied his kingdome to be of this world when Pilate replyed Arte thou then a King he answered thou saist that I am a king Ne tamen c. vvhiche notvvithstanding saithe Ferus least Pilate should be more offended vvith the name of a King Christe proceedeth to declare his kingdome more plainely as thoughe he shoulde say Pilate vnderstande thou this for troth and cast out of thy mynde all suspition of a vvorldly kingdome or of tyrannie This is the case I vvill not at al denie my spiritual kingdome vvhether it be before thee or before Caesar. Onely knovve thou this thing that it is not my purpose to inuade any man vvith Armes or after the manner of other Kings to raigne pompously but to erecte and establishe in earth the Diuine truth To this purpose vvas I born â–ª and to this purpose came I into the vvorlde that I might beare vvitnesse to the truth Therfore I say came I therfore was I borne not to fight with the svvorde but that I might teach and declare the truth and the Gospell vvhiche is the povver of God to saluation to all that beleeue And as I declare the Gospell so I rule by the Gospell in the heartes of the beleeuers ouer sinne death and the Deuill and for sinne vvill I giue righteousnesse for death life for the Crosse ioye for hell I vvill giue heauen these are feofments of my kingdome Of these things none can be pertaker excepte he heare my voyce and beleeue in his heart I enrich not mine vvith ryches vvith cities and other feofmeÌ„ts but by my vvords I communicate vnto them ioye life peace and to conclude heauen it selfe The Gospell therefore is the Scepter of my kingdome But what are these things against the Emperor of Rome Thus againe we sée that Christe is not such a King nor his kingdome suche as you dreame of Whiche in the ende your selfe contrarie to your selfe confesse that his kingdome is not suche an one that he euer mingled himselfe in earthly things Then Master Saunders those thinges belonged not to his Kingly office nor to his kingdome For in suche things euery King ought not onely to mingle but chiefly to occupie himselfe But strait you haue an exception at hand that he mingled not himself in earthly things except whereas they might be profitable to a spirituall ende and this your selfe before confessed was the finall ende of all the ciuill power and that all faythfull Kings ought to directe all those thinges in their kingdomes vnto spirituall endes bicause they themselues are spirituall And so what letteth but that Christe should haue raigned as a worldly King and gouerned an earthly kingdome But say you This kingdome of Christ therfore both came from heauen tendeth vnto heauen For both al povver is giueÌ„ vnto â–ª him as he vvas man and died and rose againe that he shoulde rule ouer the lyuing and the deade and that he should be set ouer the vvorkes of the handes of God and that all things should be cast vnder his feete sheepe and Oxen and moreouer the beastes of the fielde And also Saint Cyrill saith that euen the wicked in the laste daye shall arise to their punishement for Christe vvho rose firste and contained as man al men in him self Sith therefore earthly Kings administer those things that pertain to sheepe and Oxen and beasts of the fielde although they remaine Eâ—…hnikes and Infidels yet are they truely vnder Christe the King as the most vvorthy man â–ª that hath receiued the principalitie ouer all thinges of this vvorlde not from the earth but from heauen and for the same shall giue an accouÌ„t to him of their common vveale euil ordered bycause they referred not their kingdomes to a spirituall ende that is to the glorie of one god But Christ so far as appertineth to his humaine â—…atuÌ„re being lesse than Angels seemeth to me to haue receiued that kingdome that Adam first should haue administred among all creatures to the glorie of one God if he had not falne from grace and to haue renued it in himselfe and to haue directed it to a spiritual end that vvhen all things should be subiect to the Sonne of man then should the Sonne also be subiecte vnto him that hath subdued all thinges to him that God might be all in all Sith therefore Christ by his humaine nature is the King of all he truely directeth al things to a spiritual end that is to the glorie of God for God deserueâ—…h glorie yea euen in those that are damned bothe for his povver and for his iustice The effecte hereof is this that God hath giuen to the humain nature of Christ as to the principal of al his creatures al povver iudgement to direct them to a spiritual end that is to his glorie But what is this to the purpose that Christes kingdome is after the fashion of a vvorldly kingdome he gouerneth all creatures we graunt with his power and prouidence yea the sheepe Oxen and cattail that he speaketh on But dothe the kingdome of Christe consiste in these things Numquid Deo cura de bobus hath God saith Sainte Paule care of Oxen in the coÌ„sideration of his heauenly kingdome He telleth vs howe all Kings shall answere for the â—…busing of their kingdomes vnto Christ at the day of dome bycause they referre them not to a spirituall ende But he telleth not howe muche more the Pope shall aunswere for â—…surping kingdomes and abusing the spirituall kingdome of Christe to vvorldly endes But shall this iudgemente of Christ be in a vvorldly coÌ„sistorie He telleth vs how he thinketh that Christe receiued that kingdome that Adam should haue had had he not falne But thinketh he that Christe should haue ruled in an earthly Paradise or that Christ came to restore vs to no better kingdome than Adam was in before he sinned He telleth vs Al things shal be made subiect to Christe and Christe to God and God shall be all in all But thinketh he this kingdome shall be in this worlde and militant Church while the euimies striue and are not yet al subdued he telleth vs the glorie and iustice of Christ shineth in the condemnation of them that are damned But dothe he thinke this is a vvorldly glorie and humaine iustice it is true that the glorie and iustice of Christe shal shine ouer theÌ„ And so shal it in the righteouse condemnation of the Popish Church that séeketh such a vvorldly kingdome and calleth it the spiritual kingdome of Christe to cloake their pryde withall But what can Master Saunders conclude hereon for Byshops to possesse kingdoms to rule Kings to sette vp or to depose them Neither say I these thinges saithe he to shevve herevpon that povver is ouer the vniuersal vvorld giuen to the Bishops of the Chnrch as though they in all things are the Ministers and Vicars
so be depriued of the right of his kingdome that another may in the meane season be of the same Byshop anoynted for King and that from that day forwarde he truely shal be the King whome the Bishop orderly anoynted or other wise did consecrate and not he that being armed with a bande of souldiers occupieth the seate For of such the Prophet saith they haue reigned and not by me the which thing is so true that loâ—…athas the sonne of Saul acknowledged that the Kingdome shoulde fall vnto Dauid after the death of his Father And al that were in nede sled vnto Dauid and he became their Prince and there were with him as it were foure hundreth men and when Achimelech the Priest asked Counsell of the Lorde for Dauid and Saul hauing intelligence thereof commaunded his seruaunts to fall vpon the Priests of the Lorde no man durst execute so cruel a commaundement besides onely Doeg the Idumean The effecte of this reason is thréefolde Firste that the Pope maye depose a King and set vp another Secondly that the King so deposed by the Pope is no longer lawfull King nor to be obeyed but the subiectes ought to go to the other whomâ—… the Pope sets vp Thirdly that althoughe the Pope maye depofe a King yet no King maye depofe or touch the Pope or his Priests For the first point are alle aged these arguments The spirituall power is as greate nowe in the Church since the holy Ghost was sent from heauen as it was before in the Synagog But Kings were then deposed and other set vp by the spirituall power Ergo Kings may now likewise be deposed by the spirituall power and other set vp But the spirituall power belongeth to the highest Bishop The Bishop of Rome is the highest Bishop Ergo the Bishop of Rome maye depose Kings and set vp other The later argument which we vtterly denie and here he proueth not but taketh for confessed that there is in earth a highest Bishop ouer all other and that the Pope is he is belonging to another controuersie To the former argument we graunt the Maior The spirituall power is as great nowe after the holy Ghost was senâ—…e from heauen as it was before in the Synagog But we denie the Minor. That the deposing of Kings and sitting vp of other in their steede was not done then in the Synagog by the spirituall power that is by the spirituall authoritie of the spirituall pastor For proofe hereof M. Saunders inferreth an instance of Saul and Samuel Saul loste his Kingdome bycause he obserued not the precepte of Samuel And therefore Samuel ordayned another King. I aunswere First this facte was not a matter ordinarily belonging to the spirituall power of Samuel but an especialtie of gods singular appointing It was not a thing beloÌ„ging to the Byshops office to depose Kings and set other in their places it was but a particular acte done by gods especiall coÌ„maundement so that it could not nor was euer drawne into any ordinarie rule of their spirituall power then and much lesse is any thing belonging to the Bishops spirituall power nowe which is an ordinarie power and consisteth in setting forth the word of God in administring the sacraments of God and in bynding or losing the conscience of the obstinate or repentant sinner Which things sith none of them pertaine to the deposing of a Prince or any other man from his temporall possessions and worldly estate it is apparant that this extraordinarie doing of Samuel was neither theÌ„ nor now ordinarily pertaining to the spirituall power of pastors Secondly it is false that Saul lost his kingdome for not obseruing the precepte of Samuel For althoughe Samuel pronouÌ„ced it yet it was the Lords precept as like wise the other precepts of which M. Saunders confesseth that he fulfilled not the precept of the Lorde declared by the ministerie of Samuel So that Samuel was but the Minister of declaring it But say you then muste not the King dispise to heare the Lord speaking by the mouth of the highest Bishop We grauÌ„t you M. Sanders the King must not dispise to heare the Lorde speaking by the mouth of any Bishop As for any highest B. besides Iesus Christ we denie And the King ought to dispise to here him which claimeth that highest roome For it is an euident argument that the Lord speaketh not by such a blasphemous month as exalteth it selfe into Christes Bishopprike As for Samuel tooke not vpon him to be the highest Priest or Bishop nor was any B. or Priest at al nor spake any thing at all that he had not the especiall and expresse commandement of God therto Let your Pope and his Bishops shewe the expresse commaundement of God either especiall or ordinary that they be bidden to depose Kings and set vp other or else you wrest this example and doe no lesse abuse God than you would abuse Princes by it Thirdly this is false also that Samuell either deposed Saule or â—…et vp Dauid Concerning Saule he declared to him howe his kingdome should not continue but he deposed him not The wordes of Samuell are these Thou haste doâ—… foolishly that thou haste not obserued the commaundementes of the Lorde thy God that he commaunded thee If thou haddest not done this thing the Lorde had euen nowe established thy kingdome ouer Israell for euer But thy kingdome shall arise no further The Lorde hathe soughte him a man according to his heart and hathe commaunded him that he shoulde be captayne ouer his people bicause thou haste not kepte the thinges the Lorde commaunded thee First héere Samuell referreth all to the Lords commaundement Aâ—…d as Caietanus a Papist noteth thereon This commaundement of the Lorde violated by Saule was not a commaundement of the lawe but a particular commaundement declared to Saule by Samuel An especiall commaundement saith he for that turne Secondly he referreth the punishment not to his remouing of him but to the dooing of god Thirdly he dothe not neither in his owne name nor in Gods depose him at all from his estate but telleth him howe his kingdome shall not continue Vltrate saythe he It shall continue no further after thee Bicause his sonne Isboseth raygned not ouer all Israell neither yet ouer that peaceably and that for a small time And this purpose of God as Lyra nateth although it were then declared by reason of the present demerite of Saule yet was it the Lordes euerlasting purpose The purpose of God saith he is certain infallible It was before ordeined of God that the kingdome should be giuen to the tribe of Iuda as appeareth Gene. 49. The Scepter shal not be taken from Iuda But the Pope can not shew the like purpose of God that suche or such a Prince should nowe be deposed or placed therefore he dothe but wrest this example As for the placing of Dauid Although sayth Lyra this was yet to come he speaketh notwithstanding as
who hauing receiued the power of the sword would haue offred himself to vse it for Elias Or else let vs put the case that it is said of Elias vnto him bycause these souldiors contemne me and in me God whose prophete I am rushe thou on them and kill them Had now that Prince sinned if at the word of Elias he had killed the Kings subiectes eyther else coulde not an earthly sword haue performed the same thing that the ministerie of fire did yelde from heauen Truly with wyse men it makes no matter what is done of those things that are of the same waight and moment If fire be the more noble element than earthe yea or those metals that are digged oute of the earth I see not but that he who called fyre downe from heauen which shoulde satisfie his commaundement muche more coulde haue spoken to a Magistrate bearing the sword that he should pull out and drawe that sword for him against any King. Whatsoeuer you see not Maister Saunders you make all the world to see that you be of a viperous generation and adders broode that cannot créepe forward by lying straight but wynding and crooking in and oute hether and thether Sée howe you sâ—…ill séeke shiftes whereby to procéede when by the directe Scripture your cause will not goe forward You fall to putting of cases once agayne Put case the scripture had sayde thus Put case Elias had done this Put case another had done that What a warbling is this If you will alleage the Scripture take the Scripture directly as it lyes Put no more cases to the Scripture than the Scripture puttes Are you wyser than God or not as false as the olde Serpent that in tempting Eue altered the wordes of God But this argueth that the Scripture it self fitteth not your turne except you may turne and alter it as you will. You pretende it is no matter wyth wise men what is done of those things that are of the same waight and moment As whether these men were kylled by the fire or by the sword sith they were killed But are these punishmentes all one Maister Saunders to haue bene striken with the sworde of a man and to be consumed with fire from God in déede as you saye here is death in both which is the same thing but are their kindes of death and punishmentes of the same waight and moment When the foure Kings slewe the Sodomites and when God raigned downe â—…ire and brimstone from heauen to sâ—…ay the Sodomites when Saul as Maister Saunders sayde before killed the Priests and when God kylled the Priests with fire from heauen is here nothing in these deathes but the difference of the more noble element Surely it séemeth Maister Saunders you haue bene so long in Rome that you are become Inglese Italia nato so worldly wyse that you haue no feare of Gods vengeance that thus measure it by mannes punishment There is a great difference Maister Saunders in the waight and moment of these punishmentes not onely to shewe the heauier wrathe of God but also to shewe that althoughe Elias desired it on suche specialties as is aforesayde yet the punishment was onely from God not from Elias he had not the fire at his commaundemente but God sento the fire vpon them which maketh another greater difference of the case besides other sundry differences that cleane do alter it For it is not likely that Elias woulde euer haue set another Prince vpon his owne Princes subiectes or styrre anye rebellion against his Prince howe sharpely soeuer he rebuked him for hys sinnes He neither spared King Achab nor Quéene Iesabell nor their sonne Qchozias but boldly reproued them But as for deposing them or mouing other Princes to depose them or to kill either them or their people he neuer dyd it nor euer shewed anye tâ—…ken of lyking suche doyng and therefore we oughte not to presuppose any such thing of him These things he did he killed the Priesâ—…s of Baal eyther by his bydding them to be killed or as Lyra sayth propriamanu he kylled some of them with his owne hande And here he besoughte God take this vengeance on these wicked souldiers and this he dyd by the â—…stincte of god The other that you put the case for we finde no suche dede nor haue any such warrant and without such warrant from God they should sauor of treason to the Prince and so make a great alteration of the case to serue your purpose and wreste the Scripture and therefore are not to be admitted But although saith M. sand Princes of this world see not the power of this spirituall sworde notwithstanding if at the prayer of Elizeus God vouchsafe to open their eyes â–ª they shal see moe armies with the B. thaÌ„ with any Emperor For behold the mountaine full of horses of firie charets round aboute Elizeus But when the King of Israel seeyng the greatnesse of the faâ—…ine sware that the heade of Elizeus shoulde not stande vpon him that daye Elizeus that knewe this othe of the King to be vnlawfull foreseyng in the spirite the messenger to be at hande that shoulde execute the Kings commaundement he sayde vnto the elders that were with him knowe ye not how this murtherers sonne hath sent to take away mine heade take heâ—…de therfore when the messenger coÌ„meth shut the dore and set him not enter Yea Sanctes Pagninus so expoundes these later woordes oppresse him in the dore By which wordes not onely the shutting out of the Kings messenger is signified but also a certayne violence done vnto him All which I haue broughte to this ende that I mighte shewe that the pastors of the Churche haue power not onely ouer the soules of the faythfull but also ouer their bodyes and goods so often as the soules health maye be promoted thereby For we know also that two beares comming out of the woode dyd â—…eare in peeces â—…ortie and two of those Children that mocked Elizeus VVhereby also is declared that all the creatures of God aryse to reuenge their iniuries whome God hath adorned with spirituall power And truely when good Kings wanted that woulde reuenge the contumely done to the pastors of the Churche the element of fire and the wilde beasts toke that care on them We had before the example of Elias and then of Elizeus and then againe of Elias and nowe agayne of Elizeus Of whom three things are here alleaged The first that Elizeus had greater power to defende hym than the Kyng of Syria to oppugne hym The seconde when the Kyng of Israell sente to kill him he caused the messenger violentlye to be kept oute of the dore The thirde when the children of Bethel mocked him he cursed them and straight wild beares destroyed them To the first I answere it is impertinent to the purpose of deposing Princes or seazing on their teÌ„porall goods kingdomes or causing
¶ The Supremacie of Christian Princes ouer all persons throughout their dominions in all causes so wel Ecclesiastical as temporall both against the Counterblast of Thomas Stapleton replying on the Reuerend father in Christe Robert Bishop of VVinchester and also Against Nicolas Sanders his Uisible Monarchie of the Romaine Church touching this controuersie of the Princes Supremacie Ansvvered by Iohn Bridges The Princes charge in his institution to ouersee the direction of Gods lawe DEVTER 17. After he shall be settled in the throne of his kingdom he shal write out for himself in a volume the copie of this Law taking the same of the Priests of the Leuitical tribe and he shal haue it with him reade it al the days of his life that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and keepe the wordes and ceremonies of him which are written in this law c. ¶ PRINTED AT LONDON by Henrie Bynneman for Humfrey Toye 1573. · HONI · SOIT · QVI · MAL · Y · PENSE · E. R ¶ To the moste high and moste excellent Princesse Elizabeth by the grace of God Queene of Englande France and Ireland defender of the Faith of Christ and in earth next vnder God of the Church of England and Ireland in all Ecclesiastical and temporall causes the supreme Head Gouernor ALbeit most Gracious Soueraigne I might be vvoorthily noted of presumption in dedicating these my trauailes to your Maiestie as vvel for the basenesse of my skill calling as for the vnreuerent demeanour of the aduersaries that here I ansvvere vnvvorthie vvhom your Highnesse should deigne to loke vpon yet bothe bicause the matter entreateth moste of a Princes estate and that vpon the chiefest point therof belonging in general to al Christian Princes but in especiall to your Maiestie against vvhom they chiefly direct their malice and in maintenaunce vvhereof your Maiestie direct your gouernement and herein haue giuen a mirror to al christian Princes to folovv and be partakers in their common vveales of the lyke blessings wherwith God hath beautified your Highnesse and established youre authoritie I thought it therfore not vnfit setting my self and them aside with all such by matters as incidently fal out in disputation betvvixt the Bishop and master Feckenham of me these my aduersaries â–ª to conâ—…ecrate this argumente of Supremacie to youre moste excellent Maiestie as to vvhom chiefly in your dominions next vnder Christ it dothe pertaine VVhich your Highnesse so nobly maintaines by practise of godlie gouernment hovve euer we by the vvord and argument do defend it There is no controuersie at this day betvvixt vs and the enimies of the gospel more impughed thaÌ„ this one of the Supremacie nor more bookes compiled more libels scattered more vaunts made of truth on their partie more sclaunders deuised of oure doctrine and your Maiesties Title more secrete conspiracies and open treasons against your Royal person and state of the Realme than our aduersaries make only for this Supremacie Shall Sathan then vse al this double diligence in promoting the pride tyrannie of his Antichrist the man of sinne the foreigne vsurper of all Christian kingdoms and shall the children of god be negligent in defence of the kingdom of Christ of the Lordes anoynted of the dutifull office and lavvfull authoritie of their naturall Soueraigne â–ª Other meanes I graunt may be had to suppresse their furious dealing And God bee blessed therefore that hath furnished your Maiestie vvith povver couÌ„sell authoritie lavv vvisedome learning vertue courage and al other Princely habilities â–ª suffiâ—…iet to maintein your Highnesse Title protect that portion of Christes Church vvhich he hath committed to your most Gracious gouernment in peace and truth prosperously 〈◊〉 your enemies VVherein as your Maiestie hath euer most zâ—…lously sought and set forth the glorie of god â—…e hath so glorified you again as he hath promised 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 glorificabo that your highnesse may say as king Dauid sayd â–ª he hath deliuered you out of your enimies hands and defeated all their purposes he hath established you a kingdom here on earth in peace and righteousnesse and hath prepared in heauen a Kingdom for you in glorie and eternitie Novv although this be so cleeâ—…e that euen the enimies themselues coÌ„fesse God vvorks vvith you God fights for you God hath takeÌ„ your hart into his handes that haue taken his quarel into yours yet sith the 〈◊〉 do mutteâ—… sclander your Highnesse to take suche kind of GouernmeÌ„t on you as vvere not coÌ„petent as the Pope had vvont to do your Highnes is furthest from if this your claime be not proued to be grouÌ„dedon Gods vvord if those enuious be not coÌ„â—…inced by euident argumeÌ„ts of the seripture al the foresaid prosperitie is couÌ„ted but earthly blessings and such as other vvorldly Princes haue All the due authoritie is 〈◊〉 but extorted violence neither is the mouth of the adoersarie stopped neyther is the mind of the subiect satisfied And therfore vvhen al is don â–ª there is no better meanâ—… to may 〈◊〉 this Title than euen by learning 〈◊〉 for to me it to the vttermost and to fight vvitâ—… the vveapon of Gods vvord for it vvhicheâ—…s sharpeâ—… to vvoâ—…nde the aduersaries heart and conscience than any tvvo edged svvord But some vvil say this is sufficiently done by otherâ—… learned labours vvhen both in the dayes of your Maiesties Father of most renoumed memorie euen the best learned of our aduersaries did not only confesse it but vvrote so effectually in defence therof that shamefully aftervvard reuolting their guiltie conscieÌ„cebore vvitnesse against themselues nor they coulde euer ansvvere their ovvne vvritings And also after that in the godlie gouernment of youre Highnesse blessed Brother many other more excellent fathers in vvriting did confirme it And novv lastly in this your Maiesties happie Reigne diuers famous and lerned men to the further confirming of the godlie and confounding the enimie therein haue vvritten vppon this argument Yet sith oure aduersaries haue neuer doone thervvith but sette on a freshe lyke to him that vvhen in vvrastling he was euer cast of pride and vainglorie vvoulde neuer acknovvledge that he had any fall I thought good to make euident to all your Maiesties subiects euen to the enimies themselues the places vvhere they shamefully fel and lie stil in their errour rather than to vvrastle vvith such vvarblers And yet if they start vp again to trie a further pluck vvith them and by the strength of Gods inuincible truth so to ouerthrovv them that as fast as they boast cauill and sclaunder the truth of our cause and the goodnesse of your Maiesties quarell shall shevve it selfe the cleerer although the simplier handled A number of other vvhom I knovve coulde haue done it farre better vvho may also at their discretions further trauaile in it And in deede vvhere the most of this vvas done a good vvhile sith it vvas layde aside thus long expecting if any other vvould attempte it
alleaged c. and all thinges else that is here alleaged yet all will not reache home 68. a. VVhich aunswere of his may satisfie any reasonable man for all that ye bring in here of Constantine or all that ye shall afterwarde bring in c. 68. b. VVhich I am assured all Catholikes will graunt 68. b. Giue to Caesar that belongeth to Caesar and to God that beloÌ„geth to God â–ª which later clause â–ª I am assured doth much more take away a supreme regiment in all causes ecclesiasticall than necessalily by force of any wordes binde vs to pay yea any tribute to our Prince 69. b. VVe plainly say that this kinde of supremacie is directly against Gods holy worde 70. a. VVhat can ye conclude of all that ye haue or shall say to win your purpose 74. a. I say that if Saint Augustine were aliue he woulde say vnto you as he saide vnto Gaudentius 74. b. Neither this that ye here alleage out of place nor all the residue which ye reherse of this Constantine c. can import this superioritie as we shall there more at large specific In the meane season I say it is a stark most impudeÌ„t lie 75. b As I haue at large in my returne against master Iewels fourth article declared 77. b. VVhat honour haue ye got what honour haue you I saye wonne by this or by the whole thing it selfe 78. a. And shal we now M. Horne your antecedeÌ„t being so naught the consequent ye will hereof inferre nay pardie 79. a b. VVell I will leaue this at your leasure better to bee debated vpon betwixt you and master Foxe 80. a. Ye are a verie poore sielie clearke farre from the knowledge of the late reuerende fathers Bishop VVhite and Bishop Gardiner 80. a. That I may a little roll in your rayling Rhetorike hearken good master Horne I walke not and wander as ye doe here c. I go to worke with you truely plainly and particularly I shewe you by your owne Emperour and by plaine wordes 81. b. Hitherto ye haue not brought any one thing worth a good strawe to the substantiall prouse of your purpose 82. a. I am right well assured ye haue not proued nor neuer shall be able to proue in the auncient Church while ye liue 82. b. I walke not in confuse and generall wordes as you do 82. b. To all these facings and crakes though many of them be particularly aunswered as occasion requireth these his owne wordes may suffise for aunswere All men knowe that your great vauntes are but wordes of course to saue your poore honestie 1. Pref. pag. 23. Bicause he quarelleth so much with the Bishop as for other things so for his Rhetorike as also Doctour Harding and his fellowes vpbrayde likewise vnto Bishop Iewell his Rhetorike and master Dorman to master Nowell I haue therefore set downe as one of his chiefest common places a briefe note or two by the way to shewe wherein our master Stapletons flourishing Rhetorike doth most consist His obiections of Rhetorike AS for your Rhetorike ye woorke your matters so handsomly and so perswasiuely c. what a newe Cicero or Demosthenes are you 1. Pref. pag. 6. 7. His chiefest floures of Rhetorike partly nothing but copia verboruâ—… an heape of needlesse wordes partly nothing but rolling on a letter With which Rhetorike thou shalt 〈◊〉 his whole booke so poudred that it should be superfluous to trouble thée with any exacter collection of theÌ„ being in effect nothing else but â—…rs bahlatiua Only I will giue 〈◊〉 a light taste thereof throughout his whole volume and the rest thou 〈◊〉 continually finde as thou readest his Counterblast His fift common place of flourishing Rhetorike IT is the Castle of your Profession the Key of your Doctrine the principal Fort of all your Religion the piller of your authoritie the fountaine of your iurisdiction the ankerholde of all your proceedings 1. Pref. pag. 1. Your cause is betrayed your doctrine dissolueth your whole Religion goeth to wracke the want of this right shaketh your authoritie stoppeth your iurisdiction and is the vtter ship wracke of all your proceedings 2. Haue I not grounded this worke c. haue I not posted it c. haue I not furnished it c. haue I not fenced it c. haue I not remooued all c. an outward shewe and countenance a gay glorious glistring face a face I say all is but a face and a naked shewe 3. Most miserably and wretchedly pinched pared and dismembred Most shamefully contaminated depraued and deformed 12. A mishapen lumpe of lewde and lose arguments 5. VVith like good Logike ye lay forth 6. The truth is dayly more and more opened illustred and confirmed 8. T. Turkish trecherie L. Lauashing language 14. B. Bluster and blow F. Fume and freat R. Raile and raue as L. Lowdlyas lewdly as B. Beastly as boldly c. ye B. Bluster not so boysterously as ye L. Lie most lewdly 15. A H. Happie happe for master Horne that happed c. S. Such slender circumstances to M. Minister him matter of such T. Trifling talke 6. b. A prerogatiue appropriate to the Prelate 7. b. You will happly forsake and abandoÌ„ Saint Augustines authoritie with the olde C. Canons and Councels and 〈◊〉 vnder the defence of your B. Brittle Bulwarke 8. b. A pretie legerdemaine played and a leafe put in at the printing which was neuer proposed in the parliament c. what Parliament haue your preachers 9. a. b. O poore and siely helpe O miserable shift c. This is to trouble all things this is as it were to confounde togither heauen and earth 9. a. VVhie good sir make ye such post haste what are you so soone at the ende I see your haste is great VVhat will you leape ouer the hedge ere ye come at it And I might be so bolde I woulde faine demaunde of you the cause of your hastie posting Perhaps there is some eye sore or somewhat that your stomacke cannot beare Grieueth it you to heare Doth it appall you to heare c. Doth it dasell and amase you to heare c. Doe yee take it to the heart Master Horne â–ª Is it a corsey to you Is there yet any other lurking sore priuily pinching your stomack I trow it nipped you at the very heart roote 212. b. 213. a. b. VVhie master Horne can your eares paciently abide all this can your stomacke digest all this master Horne can ye suffer can ye suffer How chaunce we haue not at the least for your comfort one pretie nippe 287. a. A rascall rablement of monstruous hereticall names A rablement of straunge monstrous hereticall names This rascall rablement of huge monstrous names 317. It is so it is so master Horne c. You can not you may not you shall not c. You sawe you sawe master Horne you master Horne 430. Your horrible dissention glistreth so cleare crieth so lowde and blustreth so great that so long as we haue
virgin Marie Quilibet tanque per portam in coelum ascendit Euery man euen as by a gate ascendeth to heauen By these immoderate prayses or rather outragious blasphemies Master Stapleton ye stirred the people quite neglecting Christ to inuocate the Uirgine Marie And ye exemplifie it by fables to confirme the people therein Ye tell vs how an Abbot and his holy Couent sayling in a tempest one called on Saint Nicholas an other on Saint Andrewe and euerie one vppon his peculier Patrone but none called vpoÌ„ God the Abbot chod them all and bad them call on the mother of mercie Which when they did forthwith the Seas were calme Ye tell vs of many other that being vexed with spirites haue sought manye remedies nowe holy water nowe one thing nowe another yea they haue called vpon Christ vpon the Trinitie and haue had so little helpe that they haue rather bene much worse onely when they were taught to lift vp their handes and crie Saint Marie helpe me then forthwith the spirite hath fled away all afrayde as he had beene smitten with a stone and sayde the cursed deuill enter into his mouth that hath taught thee that and so being vanquished neuer came againe Ye tell vs a noble Storie of a Spanish woman called Lucie to whome for saluting the virgin Marie the virgin at the deliuerance of hir childe came and was the midwife and at the Christning the Godmother and Christ the Godfather and the childe was named after the Godmother and called Marianus And how at hir Churching Christ himselfe sang Masse and how at the offertorie Lucie was preferred to go and offer and kisse the Priestes hande before the virgine Marie and what honour the Uirgin gaue hir aboue hir selfe saying This is your day of Churching now I was churched long ago And all for saying the Aue Marie Ye tell vs of a Strumpet that all hir life did no good work saue that she would say an Aue Marie and heare a Masse on Saterday which ye call our Ladies day as Sunday is called the Lordes day and on hir death bed this harlot sayde O Ladie Queene and mother though I did neuer any good yet I trust to thy mercie and to thee I commende my spirite And when the fiends would haue taken hir soule the mother of mercie tooke hir soule from them saying do ye not knowe that shee saluted me dayly and euery Saterday heard a Masse and at hir death commended hir soule to me And when they alleaged hir sinnes I tell you quoth shée that soule was neuer damned that serued mee and commended it selfe to me and so she draue them away and caryed the soule with hir Ye tell vs of a knight that neuer did other good but at morning and Euening say an Aue Marie and by the grace of the Virgin he was saued And hereon ye conclude a rule Quod orandum sit c. That at the poynt of death we must pray mother of grace mother of mercie defende thou vs from the enimie and keepe vs in the hower of death And then we are safe Yea as Anselme sayth Impossibile est vt pereat It is impossible hee should perish syth by the vertue of the Aue Marie the worlde was renued And that Redempturus deus genus humanuâ—… vniuersum precium contulit in Mariam sine ea nihil possumuâ—… sine ea miseri sumus sine ea factum est nihil God going about to redeeme mankinde conferred al the price therof vpon Mary VVithout hir we caÌ„ do nothing without hir we are wretches without hir nothing was made To conclude ye make hir to be all in all And as Albertus Magnus in his booke of hir prayses saith Est autem opus c. The booke of the beginning of the Lordes incarnation describing the mysterie of our redemption to the prayse honour and glorie of the most glorious and alonly truly honorable aboue euery Creature the virgin mother of god By the most speciall confidence of whole helpe we take this worke in hande And in the mercie of hir euen as in the most firme anchore of our hope we looke for the ende of the perfourmance and the rewarde of the labour VVho is the moouer of the wil the cause of the worke and the beholder of the intention Thus blasphemously ascribeth Albertus all these things to hir euen in the Preface of his booke But what excéeding more blasphemies he filleth his volume withall were infinite to recite Looke your selfe M. St. if with shame ye can sustaine to reade them Neither is all this the errours of priuate men but the dooing of all your whole Church For euen in the solemnities of your Masse haue ye not in the Sequences of our Ladies Masses as ye cal them Aue terrarum domina c. Haile ladie of the earth holy queene of heaueÌ„ let the heauens and all the company of saincts bring forth melodie to thee the laÌ„ds the floudes the woods and groaues resound c. By thee mother we craue that the childrens sinnes be abolished and we be all brought to the euerlasting ioyes of Paradise Againe Seda nobis bella Appease thou warres hayle starre of the seas thou mother giue to vs the true peace giue vs help changing the name of Eue. Driue away our euils drawing vs without bitternesse forgiue vs our crimes aske al good things let the Sonne and the Father be giuen by thee O mother c. that which Eue hath taken away thou only O mother giuest Through thee the people recouer their former lost strength thou art the gate of the high King by the which gate we enter into the court c. And againe The ladie of the world c. is the cause of our saluation the gate of life Againe Pray euery man to hir in euery houre and call thou vppon hir defence Sing sing Aue Maria with the force of thy harte â–ª with thy voice with thy vow c. And in the third reason that ye giue why ye dedicate the Saterday to hir as the Sonday to the Lord ye say in redde letters Tertia ratio est c. The third reason is bicause the Saterday is the gate and entraÌ„ce to the Sonday but the Sonday is the day of rest and betokeneth eternall life VVherevpon when we be in the grace of our Ladie we are as it were in the gate of Paradise Therefore bicause euen she is to vs the gate to the kingdome of heauen which is figured by the Sonday we keepe for the solemnitie of hir the Seuenth day which goeth before the Sonday Thus doth your whole Church yea and that in your holy Masse booke ascribe to hir euen as much as any of the other What say ye now to all this M. Stap. haue ye any shifte of descant to runne vnto any distinction behinde to alleage any figge leafe to couer your shame that all this kinde of inuocation may be thought
testimonie that all the shiftes of Proteus can not turne it away Iacobus de Uoragine sayth Secundo est regina coeli c. Secondly she is the Queene of heauen Ierem. 44. Let vs sacrifice to the queene of heauen and let vs powre out drinke offrings to hir and let vs make cakes as we and our fathers haue done and were filled with bread and it was well with vs and we sawe no euill but since that time that we haue ceassed to sacrifice to hir we wante all things we are consumed with famine and sworde But as it is sayde in the ecclesiasticall stories there was a threefolde distinction of the thinges that were offred to God for either they were an offering of beastes and that was called sacrifice or it was of a dry thing as of flowre bread or suche like and that was called oblation or else it was of moyst things that is to wit of wine or oyle and that was called drinke offeringes But this threefolde distinction is touched heere First the sacrifice when it is sayde let vs sacrifice the drinke offering when it is sayde let vs poure out drinke offeringes the oblation when it followeth let vs make cakes But to the queene of heauen we ought to sacrifice oure bodies by the mortifying of vices to poure out our moyst hartes by the compassion of teares and to exhibite cakes that is quiet consciences by our inwarde purification What greater sacrifice can be giuen than this M. Stap. euen to God can we do any more to him than as the Apostle exhorteth vs Obsecro vos c. I beseeche you brethren by the mercies of God that ye giue vp your bodies a liuing sacrifice holy and acceptable to God which is your reasonable worshippe of him And haue not you vnreasonably héere giuen all this worshippe to hir This passeth M. Stapl. the saying of a Masse and yet ye haue diuers Masses of hir also euen as well as ye had of the Trinitie or of the Holy Ghost wherof ye haue heard some of the Sequences But to sée this testimonie I omit here how iumpe ye play those Idolaters partes measuring religion by the belly and tell vs what trouble and scarcitie hathe bene since massing was lefte and what a plentifull worlde it was when the Masse was vp I note it chiefly to shewe both how wickedly and howe fondely ye alleage their sacrificing for the proofe of yours which is bothe condemned flatly of God by the Prophet Hieremie for he alleageth it not that we should followe it or confirme ought vpon it but abhorre it and also Epiphanius crieth out vpon it and vpon them that made an argument therfrom to defende their doings and calleth them wicked and yet do you as did they fette argumentes from thence to confirme your worshippe of hir and both of you making hir Quéene of heaueÌ„ But besides this worship of sacrifice as Epiphanius sayth also she is not Queene of heauen so he sayth God would not haue hir rule in the earth neither And you quite contrary call hir ruler lady Quéene Empresse therof And so it followeth euen in the next words of the author cited Tertiò est Domina mundi c. Thirdly she is the Queene of the world and therefore all other mediators set aside it shal be lawfull to appeale to hir as to the Lady and Empresse if any man be greeued of the diuell or of a tyrant or of the flesh or of the iustice of God. And thus ye are flat agaynst Epiphanius his saying béeing as directly agaynst you as agaynst those in his time Which proueth you all your shifts notwithstanding to be starke heretikes your selues in inuocation that obiect heresie in inuocation to vs Yea whether you be more blasphemous heretikes than euer they were or no let the reader iudge But froÌ„ what iudgement will not you appeale that will appeale euen froÌ„ the iust iudgement of God him selfe to the virgin Mary I can not read that thâ—…se heretikes in Epiphanius time durst euer attribute halfe so muche vnto hir Clere your selues M. S. of these heretical blasphemoê° inuocatioÌ„s theÌ„ proue vs heretikes for denying the same Nowe if your inuocation were grosse much more were your abuses in Reliques lights and ceremonies In which the chiefest part of your religion did consist as ye made the simple people beléeue First to your blessed reliques I answer that christiaÌ„ religioÌ„ nor the worship of god nor our beléefe nor our saluatioÌ„ nor remissioÌ„ of our sins nor any such vertue lieth in clouâ—…es in sticks in bones or stones Which if it did as your LegeÌ„ds tel how miraculously they wroght outward how vertuously inward to those that honored theÌ„ with crouching knéeling kissing â–ª or bearing theÌ„ about and hurt theÌ„ that coÌ„teÌ„ned theÌ„ then would they do much harme now to those that set not by theÌ„ We sée yet many of your blessed reliques extaÌ„t they neither do vs good nor harm They can neither blesse nor curse nor they worke any miracles now If ye say we want faith al consisted in the beléeuer ye make a plain witcherie of theÌ„ blasphemie to god But ye shew how ye abused those that beléeued you making them beléeue the Moone was made of a gréene chéese as they say but were those blessed relikes so good as the chéese paring Were they not such as euen Erasmus said Yea dothe this also pertayne to fayth to kisse a rotten peece of leather and filthy linnen rags c. Especially since it may be that the shoe which they force vs to kisse may not be S. Thomases but some butchers or some bawdes shoe Or as Chaucers pardoner bewrayed them euen at that time that they were in greatest price the olde rotten bones of some Iewes shâ—…pe Frequenter audiuiè doctis saythe Erasmus I haue often times herd say of learned men that went to Hierusalem and probable it is that the certayntie at this day is not knowne where Hierusalem in the olde tyme dyd stande For euen I see it doubted of the learned whether Rome should haue bene there or no where it is nowe shewed to bee Sainct Hierome that lyued in that countrey reckoning vp certayne things which at this day are shewed there to straungers sayth it is reported and they say so VVhat shall we thinke nowe after so many incursions so many mutations of humaine matters that in a thousand yeres and more are wont to chaunce of which sort Veronica the piller of Salomon the chaire of Peter and his sepulchre which are shewed at Rome are sayde to be Shal we now beléeue your LegeÌ„d better than Erasmus but that also is so vncertayne that ye can not tell whether ye haue many of the saincts right bodies or no so by your own false doctrine ye can not tell whether ye commit Idolatrie or no. One of your Churches sayth We haue such a saincts body scalp arme leg or hucklebone That is not
carnal sold vnder sinne bicause I wot not what I do For what I would do that I do not but what I hate that I do If I do now that which I would not I graunt to the law that it is good So then now it is not I that do it but sinne that dwelleth in me For I know that in me that is to say in my flesh dwelleth no good thing To will is present with me but I finde no meanes to performe that which is good For I do not that good thing which I would but that euil do I which I would not Finally if I do that which I would not then it is not I that do it but sinne that dwelleth in me doth it I finde then by the lawe that when I would do good euill is present with me I delight in the lawe of God concerning the inwarde man but I finde another lawe in my meÌ„bers rebelling against the lawe of my minde and subduing me vnto the law of sinne which is in my members O wretched man that I am who shall deliuer me froÌ„ this bodie of death I thanke God through Iesus Christ our Lorde So then I may selfe in my minde serue the lawe of God and in my flesh the lawe of sinne Lo M. St. this is all the will that S. Paule felt confessed to be in him selfe while he liued euen in respecte of the inward man But God wot this is farre from free will. If then the will of the Saincts of God be thus hindred by the flesh that it can not freely will nor worke what shall we thinke of the will of the fleshly man forsoth saithe S. Paule Animalis homo non percipit â—…a quae sunt spiritus Dei The fleshly man vnderstandeth not those things that are of the spirite of God for they are follie to him neither can he perceyue them bicause they are examined spiritually But what will hath man in that whereof he hath no perceyuing Yea is he not rather altogither vnwilling to that which séemeth follie to him and for this cause the flesh striueth and rebelleth against the spirite He hath therefore no will to any goodnesse at all Where are then those Pura naturalia the pure naturall qualities of inclination conuersion and wil in man of himselfe to moue God with all that you and your Schoolemen crake so much vppon The question here is this whereas our first parentes before their fall had in them selues free will to haue sinned or to haue not sinned and misusing them selues their free will to sinne lost them selues and their free will to haue not sinned also whether after this corruption of mans nature it hath yet free will will to good or not to sinne as it had before it fell To this question if ye had as I said mounted so high as the Apostle he would haue answered you that we were dead in sinne Cum mortui essetis in delictis peccatis When ye were dead in offences and sinnes but a dead thing hath no will at all When therefore we were dead to sinne we had no will at all to goodnesse He would haue answered you that we are not able of our selues to think any good thought at all but if we haue a will to any good thing we must néedes thinke some thought thereon we are not therefore of our selues sufficient to haue a will to any good thing And if we haue any good will this coÌ„meth not of our selues but of God not of old Adam but of new Adam it is not a naturall vertue of man but a supernaturall gifte of god Deus est enim qui operaturâ—…n vobis velle perficere pro bona voluntate It is God that worketh in you both to will to performe it according to his good will. If then it be Gods gift Quid gloriaris quasi non acceperis why boastest thou O proud Papist as though thou receiuedest it not of God but thou hadst it of thine owne to moue God as thou saist Ex congruo ex parte liberâ—… arbitâ—…ij of congruitie to deserue heauen for thy workes in consideration of thy free will. If ye had mounted thus high M. Stapl. you may sée how S. Paule woulde haue pulled downe this surmounting pride of yours But had ye sâ—…oonke by him neuer so frée and mounted vp to Christ he would haue tolde you in playne speach that ye were but thornes briers ill trées of your selues on which no grapes nor 〈◊〉 nor any good fruite can be gathered That ye were but flesh and that nothing but fleshe could come of fleshe and that flesh and bloud reuealeth not christ He would for your frée will say vnto you as he said to the craking Phariseis â–ª Uox ex patre Diabolo estis desideria patris vestrâ—… vultis facere You are of your father the Diuel and your will is to do the lusts of your father This is all the free will that he ascribeth to man of him selfe And if he haue any better will it is not but of him that saith Sine me nihil potestis facere without me ye can do nothing We can not do nor will ought that good is without him Yea we are before he giue vs a will thereto so vnwilling that we are euen drawne thereto Nemo venit ad me nisi pater meus traxerit eâ—…m No man coÌ„meth to me saith Christ vnlesse my father draw him Omnia traham ad meipsâ—… I will draw all things to me We came not theÌ„ of our own free will if we were drawne to him Ensample of this draught eueÌ„ in S. Paule himself I grauÌ„t our vnwillingnes is changed to an obedient willingnesse to a frée will also We are frée in respect of deliuerie froÌ„ the chaines of darknes bondage of sinne Sâ—… vâ—…s filiuâ—… liber auerit vere liberi erâ—…is If the sonne make youâ—… free then are ye free in deede but this is the fréedome of the spirit the spirit helpeth our infirmities which infirmities yet hinder the fréedome of this will euen in the Saincts of God as I noted in Sainct Paules complaint before Yea euen Christ our Sauiour who tooke our infirmities without sinne in his agonie to his Father sayde Non sicut ego volâ—… sed sicut tâ—… vis Not as I will but as thou wilt subduing his owne will for our ensample to his fathers will and will you wilfull Papistes crake of your free will But if ye let passe Christ also as ye vse to do and fetching a furder race of all mankinds mounting so highe as Adam the first man of all you should there haue founde in déede this your frée will. But there ye should haue séene it lost againe and in his loines all our free willes with all and him selfe and vs also Sauing that a second Adam hath founde vs quickened vs and made vs free againe of
made a King Quéene alone Now to this he addeth out of Esai saying Esai foretolde that kings shoulde bee the nourishers of the Church of Christe and casting dovvne their countenance to the earth shall vvorship hir and streight he adioyneth thou shalt knovv that I am the Lord for this verely is the signe that the Lord raigneth in vs if vve yelde so much vnto his church that the Ministers of Christe are greater than any King or Queene As this sentence is placed both withoute all order and coherencie so the reason is very sclender and standes on this that the Priests are the Churche that Esai here speakes on which as it is apparaÌ„t false so it is not to this purpose For the supreme gouernment of a godly Prince giueth not onely an honour to the Churche but to the Priests also and yet his supremacie safe But sée how this sentence hits him as the rest For if kings and Quéenes be likened to Nourses and Nourses haue charge not onely of féeding but also of gouerning then do Kings Quéenes both féede the Church although not by teching yet by causing the truth to be taught and gouerne the Church also And if by the Church is chiefly ment the priestes then the same kind of Princes feeding and gouerning like to Nourses stretcheth to priestes also and so the similitude makes against him His other argument of dispensing Gods mysteries and Sacramentes to the king is diuers times alreadie aunswered vnto and therefore as superfluous I passe it ouer And thus farre for his argumentes of his Priestes superioritie Nowe secondly to the reasons he sheweth why he thinkes vs deceyued But thus in this case deceiueth many that they see the king is a Christian and gouerneth Christians For they knowe not or at least will not know what difference it is whether a man goueren a Christian bycause hee is a man or bycause hee is a Christian. The king indeed gouerneth Christian men but not bycause they are Christians but bycause they are men And bycause the Byshoppes also themselues are men the kings also in part are aboue Byshops The which hereby goeth cleare away if wee consâ—…ider Christian kings not onely to gouerne Christian men but euen alike oftentimes Iewes now and then Moores and Tartars for this onely that they are kings But Byshops gouerne Christians so as they can gouerne no other as they are Byshoppes Sith therefore the gouernement of the king pertaineth to all men alike but Byshops principalitie is reached to onely Christians and sith the state of our Christianitie excelleth the humaine nature that is in vs with what sence is he endued that preâ—…erreth the gouernoure of our bodily and fleshely nature before the prieste that watcheth for our soules and that either loseth our sinnes if wee make worthie fruites of repentance or bindeth them if we beare about an impenitent heart For the Ministers binding and loosing is an other question Let vs nowe kepe vs to this of the Princes supreme gouernment We are deceyued you say for lacke of considering this difference that the king gouerneth Christians not as Christians but as men and we thinke you arâ—… deceyued your selfe M. Saunders and would 〈◊〉 others for not considering this difference in the king him selfe in whoÌ„ we ought to consider not onely that he is a king but also a Christian king In that he is a king he geuerneth aâ—… his subjects as ye say a like so farre as the likenesse or 〈◊〉 of their sâ—…ates will permit whether they be Christian Iewes Turkes Mores â—…aitars Ethniks or whatsoeuer religioÌ„ they be of not in respecte of their religions nor in the they are 〈◊〉 neither but in respect they are his 〈◊〉 For ther are other men also that are none of his subjectes â—…ra euery man in that he is a man is no subiect to another man but frée Neither in that he is a christian to speake preperly of the abstracte he is vnder any other than Christe in whom there is no difference of countrey state degrée or person as your selfe afterwarde coÌ„fesse in the 4. chapter How â–ª beit as the king himselfe is of the Christianâ—… religion and a Christian king of a christian kingdome as al kings kingdomes ought to be although they be not so hath he an other charge and gouernement of his christian subiectes farre aboue that they be naturall men or this or that cruÌ„trey meÌ„ euen that they be christians committed to his gouernment And therefore this charge was giuen the king of Gods people in his institution Dâ—…ute 17. That he should haue Gods worde alwayes with him and make religion the chiefe end of his gouernement And this your selfe haue graunted alreadie pag. 80 excepte ye will contrary your selfe as ye often doe But this case is too apparant that a christian Prince regardeth further than the body or than the naturall or polytike man For being a christian Prince he regardeth them as christian subiectes and not alike to such subiectes as are Heathen Turkes and Tartars which is a shameful sclander For as the christian Prince hath a speciall regarde to his christian subiectes before his Infidell subiects so they being subiects of vnlike condition he gouerns them nothing a like The one being out of the houshold of fayth although in the housholde of his kingdome The other being of bothe the housholdes and therefore the faythfull Prince hath fuller authoritie ouer them as wel for the religion of their soules as for their goodes and bodies But saye you the Byshoppe bath respecte only to the soule I say still would to God your Byshops had so But doth this hinder the Princes superioriue that hath respect to soule and bodie too The argumentes of Constantine Theodosius and Constantius are somewhat touched alreadie and I reserue the further handling of theÌ„ to the practise and treatise of the stories The 3. part of this chapter is a dissuasioÌ„ from the Princes supreme gouernment by the successe thereof Wherin first he begins with the most famous Prince King Henrie the. 8 the Queenes Matesties father the noblest and moste fortunate king that euer bare crowne in England now when his soule is crouned in the kingdome of heauen with eternal glorie his body with honor interred in his Sepulcher his immortal fame yet fresh liuing in the memorie mouthes of al nations sée these spitefull Papistes will leaue off with more than villanous reproches moste traiterously to rayle vpoÌ„ him Saying that he first called himself the Chief head of the Church of England Ireland immediately vnder Christ Besides that he was neuer the happier but much more vnhappie Upbrayding his wiues vnto him The couÌ„terfeting of the money and the pilling of his subiects â—… wicked Papistes past all shame and grace Howe truely dyd the Apostle Iude prophecie of you that 〈◊〉 â—…ulers and blaspheme â—…hem that 〈◊〉 authoritie Was King Henrie the
that the Kyng should be obedient to the disposition of the humaine minister of Christ which is the question nowe in hande And yet whether it signifie this mysterie that you say it onely doth or no may be called into question For if it hath such a significatiō it is a very darke mysterie And me thinks it might more easilye signifie other things For oyle sometimes signifieth mercie sometimes plentie sometimes remedie against poyson sometimes it is referred to the Priesthoode sometimes to the kingdome of Christ somtimes to the mysticall members of Christ as they are Kings Priests with him so that the anoynting with oyle which espetially was vsed to Priests and Kings who therefore are called the sons of oyle is applyed to sundry significations and not onely to the incarnation and humaine nature of Christe And yet is there no suche necessitie of anoynting Christian Kings as was of the Iewishe Kings For they had commaundement so to doe and it was a ceremoniall figure of diuerse things in christ Which commaundement and ceremonies Christian Princes are not bound vnto It is cropen vp of a custome I cānot tel how to imitate the Iewes herein But as for the nature of a Kings estate he is neuer a whit the lesse King if he wante the anoynting with oyle and as the Papistes superstitiouslie doe vse it it were muche better away But the Papistes make a great matter of anoynting Kings with oyle yea sayth Maister Saunders they were wont to be annoynted no otherwise than were the Prophetes and Priestes as thoughe they shoulde be so anoynted still And true it is in one sense that they shoulde no other wise be so annoynted still that is to say neyther of them shoulde be anoynted No say you should not the Priestes be annoynted ▪ We are In deede you be Maister Saunders and all your order But the Apostles and Disciples of Christe were not and therefore your order is differing from theirs and all godly ministers should differ from yours be ye shorne or be ye anoynted But if it be true that you say kings should be no otherwise anoynted than you howe chaunce then ye are anoynted otherwise than kings as your glosse doth reason that vpon the King is powred oile but vpon the Bishop is powred Chrisme Kings are anoynted on the righte shoulder but Byshops and Priestes are annoynted vpon their heads but the heade is better than the shoulder and Chrisme is better than oyle Ergo Bishops and Priests are superior vnto Kings Were not they which anoynted their pamphlets with such greasie argumentes to perch vp their balde crownes aboue the imperiall crownes of their natural Soueraignes worthy by the Princes commaundemente to be well anoynted with vnguentum baculinum to make them acknowledge their due subiection if they rather deserue not sharper instice but let vs procéede vnto M. Saunders other arguments Let vs put the case that Christ himselfe is at this day conuersant in the earth as he was conuersant in times paste Can any man doubt but in that he is man al Christian kings ought to be vnder his gouernment both in all eccl. and in those secular causes that may promote the cause of the Chruche for he shall raigne in the house of Iacob for euer and there shal be no ende of his kingdomes If therefore earthly Kings are parte of the house of Iacob Christ shall raigne ouer them and shall subdue their Kingdomes to hys spirituall Kingdome But whatsoeuer power was necessarye vnto Christe to eternall saluation he transformed the externall and and visible ministerie thereof vnto the Apostles when he said as my father hath sent me so I send you The Apostles therefore and their successors doe no lesse rule in spiritual causes ouer Christian Kings so far as the visible Ministerie than Christ himselfe is in truth ouer them so farre as the holy power of his humaine nature VVherevpon sayth Epiphanius Christ hath giuen a kingdome to those that are placed vnder him that it should not be sayde he proceedeth from little things to greater The throne of Christ abideth and of his kingdome there is no ende and he sitteth vpon the throne of Dauid so that he hath translated the kingdome of Dauid together with the Bishoprike and hath giuen it vnto his seruaunts that is to the Bishops of the Catholike Church Beholde so well the priestly as the Kingly power is communicated to the pastors of the Churche of Christe that by that meanes Christ shoulde be declared to raigne for euer yea euen as a spirituall and heauenly man And this truelye dothe that annoynting testifie that the Kings receyue of Priests The argument is thus If Christ himselfe were conuersant in earth in his humaine nature as he hath bene he shoulde haue ouer all Christian kings all eccl. and secular power in those things that might promote the Church But Christ hath giuen to his ministers in the visible ministerie all the power necessarie to saluation ouer Christian kings that belongeth to himselfe in his humaine nature Ergo he hath giuen his Ministers in the visible ministerie all ecclesiasticall and secular power in those things that maye promote the Church First this argument standeth vpon another presupposal which as it is no lesse false than the other so is it more impossible being flat contrarie to the worte of God and to the will of christ He puttes a case that Christ woulde come againe and in his humaine nature be conuersant vpon the earth as he was from his natiuitie till his death Good Lord M. Saūders is your cause so bad and false that you are still driuen to these shiftes to put the cases of false and forged presupposals if your cause were good it woulde stand of it selfe you might go plainely to worke and neuer reason vpon suche deuised cases as you knowe and beleue shall neuer be true except you be a Millenarie indéede as you gaue before a shrewde suspition of that heresie to think Christ shall come againe and here for a thousand yeares in all worldly might and glorie raigne in the earth and then go dwell in heauen But perhaps you wil say what wil you let me to put what case I lyft when the sky falles they say we shal haue Larkes True M. Saunders we can not let you to put what case you lyst be it neuer so absurde and repugnant to the truth But is this the rediest way to boult out the truth to put the case of an euident vntruth and to imagine that to come that neuer shall be to inferre that vsurpation of your Priestes that is and ought not to be But sée howe sone your argument is ouerturned For if your case be not admitted then is all your labour loste and you haue wonne nothing for your Priestes But the Scripture is manifest that this shall neuer come to passe And that the heauens containe Christ til the day of Iudgement he is neither here
he chooseth out the saying of Christ is Pilate My kingdome is not of this world This he saith we alleage before all things I omit his sclanders that we can not suffer â–ª that the flesh should giue place to the spirit that the spiritual Kingdome should rule the temporal and that we fauour to much the fleshe and the worlde All whiche are but méere sclanders and do fitter serue to reâ—…urne vpon the Papists But let vs come to his answere of this obiectioÌ„ which I graunt is one of our obiections vnto them althoughe not as he saythe the chiefe obiection but suche an one as master Sanders with all his shiftes is not able directly to answer to it First what a worldly kingdome the Pope séeketh and possesseth is apparant in so muche that fewe worldly Kingdomes in worldly mighte and glorie are comparable vnto it Although God be praysed it decayeth dayly notwithstanding al his practises to repayre and vndershore the ruines therof Against this his worldly kingdome we obiect that sithe he pretendes to be the Uicar of Christ and Christ statly denieth his kingdome to be such a worldly kingdome if the Pope he his Minister he can not clayme nor enioy suche a worldly kingdome What fetche now can M. Sand. findâ—… or any in all the worlde to elude this playne argument we must sayth he distinguish of this worde the worlde â–ª which somtime signifieth sâ—…ne darknesse and the reprobate In this sense Christes Kingdome is not of the world Sometimes the worlde signifieth all visible creatures and in this sense it is in the worlde though it be not of the world that is it hathe not his originall of the world but from god But this hindreth not but that beeing in the world worldly kingdomes may be subiect to it And so we sor not marking these distinctions are fâ—…ly deceiued Whether we be deceyued or you M. Sanders or whether we or you would deceiue others all the worlde easily may perceiue We admitte your distinction of beeing in the 〈◊〉 but not of the worlde Neyther disallowe we your significations of the worlde althoughe subtilly you conceale those significations thereof that it oughte to haue béene further distinguished into For the worlde signifieth often times the glorie mighte riches power and pleasures of worldly thinges especially when this worde Kingdome is ioyned to it And this is the very natural sense of a worldly kingdome that is to say a state in or of the worlde excelliâ—… in these worldly thinges Nowe this which is the very naturall sense you â—…yde and runne about the 〈◊〉 with this and that signification to carrie the readers 〈◊〉 awâ—… â–ª from the proper signification of it We denie not that the kyngdome of Christe is in this worlde neyther denie wée that Christian kinges oughte to submitte them selues vnto it But we denie that thys kingdome stretcheth to the worldly gouernment and possession of kingdomes or Realmes to the deposing of Kings and translating the states of Polycies whiche is the proper question now in hande And to shewe that this sentence of Christe without all shifting or shuffling is simply and playnely thus to be vnderstoode I will desire none other besides S. Augustine whome you cite and the auncient Fathers than euen the Papists own iudgements and interpretations on this sentence My kingdome is not of this worlde whiche the Glosse expoundeth thus Quasi decepti estis c. As though he should say ye are deceiued for I hinder not your gouernment in the worlde And so sayth Lyra Non quaerit c. He seeketh not the temporall gouernment of this worlde c. My kingdome is not from hence that is to say so farre as appertaineth to gette these temporall things But agaynst this seemeth that which is sayd in the Psalme 46. God is the King of all the earth but he is very God as he is very man therefore his kingdome is of this worlde VVe must say that according to the veritie of his diuinitie all thinges are subiect vnto Christe notwithstanding so farre as appertayneth to his humanitie he came not in his first comming to gouerne temporally but rather to serue suffer And so it appeareth that he sufficiently excludeth that that was laide to his charge of vsurping the kingdome of Iewry bicause there was no question of him but in that that he was man and for the present state that he was in whiche appertayned to his first comming Ferus expounding this saying My kingdome is not of this worlde Quasi diceret c â–ª As though sayth he he shoulde say I graunt O Pilate and acknowledge my selfe to be a King this is euen that that I haue done this is that crime that is laide vnto me Howbeit vnderstand this thing aright I am in deede a king but so that I neither vsurpe not diminish the power of thy Keysar nor expell any of the Kings or Princes froÌ„ their power or dominioÌ„s And that thou mayst vnderstande the matter it selfe I am not a worldly king but an heauenly in whose handes are the hartes of all Kings although it seeme not so to thee My kingdome that is my principalitie or administration or my kingdome that is my lawes and rightes or my kingdome that is my ministers and subiects is not of this worlde that is not of man but of god I saith he am of him made King ouer his holy mount To conclude it is not of this worlde that is it is not temporall but eternall for the world and the lust therof doth passe away Besides this it is not of this world bycause it is not corporall but spirituall and is administred after another sorte than is a worldly kingdome For this is administred with a materiall sword but my kingdome hath no neede of this sword for the sword therof is the word of god The kingdome of the worlde hath Cities Towers Townes Villages Armies Armor my kingdome requireth onely the harts of men The world ruleth the goods and the bodyes but I rule the hartes and the consciences The world ruleth with a carnall power but it yeeldeth to the spirituall but I rule spiritually against sinne death and hell Thou seest how beautifully Christ describeth his kingdom After the same maner almost doth Zacharias speake of the kingdome of Christe Beholde thy King commeth vnto thee meeke and poore c. Howbeit we must marke that he saith not my kingdome is not in this world For Christ also is the Lorde of the world for all things were made by him all power is giuen to him in heauen and earth now if the kingdome of Christ be not of this world then it followeth that there is yet another worlde And therfore although thou seest not the promises of Christ fulfilled in this world yet despaire not for there is another world in the which is fulfilled whatsoeuer here is not fulfilled Againe bicause the kingdome of Christ is not of this world