Psal. 37. That the saluation of the righteous men shal be of the Lord he shal be their strength in the time of trouble For the Lorde shal helpe them and deliuer them he shall deliuer them from the wicked shall saue them because they trust in him And they haue such a corage faith in God his goodnes might and mercy that they say Psal. 23. Though I do walke through the valley of the shadowe of death I will feare no euill for thou art with me thy rod and thy staffe they comforte me And they saye also Psal. 48. This God is our God for euer and euer he shal be our guide vnto the death Thus doth the Lorde allure his people to looke for saluation and protection at his hande and for his sauing helpe in all their perills And we reade that Christ our Sauior at his death cried out with a loude voyce Father into thy handes I commende my spirite Luc. 23. and by his example doth teache vs to do the same For God is our protector defender Stephen also stoned to death cried Lorde Iesu receaue my spirite to the Lord Iesus as to his onely protector he doth commende him selfe and by his example he hath taught vs to cōmend our selues to this protector as he did and therfore in Iesus alone let vs rest abide so shall we be most safely kept and protected as the Psalmist sayth Psal. 91. Who so dwelleth in the secret of the most high shal abide in the shadow of the Almighty For truly he that maketh God his defence trust shall perceaue his protection to be a most sure safegard as it is at large set foorth in that Psalme which I wishe the godly reader diligently to reade and marke and he shall learne of Dauid in his holy Psalter that God is his protector But M. Fowler in this his Psalter or rather in this his fiddle assigneth vs to an other protection then Dauid doth in his Psalter whereby the reader may perceaue that these Psalters doe not agree We haue not learned to pray the Lord Iesus by the merites of his glorious passion to graunt such petitiōs as M. Fowler maketh here as that we shoulde offer our selues to the merits of Gods mother and other holy Sainctes and aske their protection The merites of Iesus Christ crucified for vs are of such a merite that for our safety protection saluation we neede no other merite either of the mother of God or of any Sainct but the onely merite of Iesus Christ alone The merites of Iesus Christ alone haue fully merited deserued for vs which do trust in him only seeke at his hande only all our safety full saluation He doth not send vs to seeke the merites of his mother or of any other saincts And this value and force of Christes power merites M. Fowler him selfe semeth to haue found out once againe For in his eleuenth petition he prayeth the Lord Iesus thus Thy power protect me againe thy passiō preserue me from euerlasting damnation and terror of mine enemy In deede these wordes haue some good sauor and sound of truth but he woulde neuer haue mingled the merites protection of Sainctes with the merites and protection of Christ if he had hartily reasted on the protection of Iesus and vpon the merites of the Lord Iesus alone for he shoulde haue founde him selfe so safe in the merites of Christ that he woulde neuer haue sought others as euen now he did And here you may once againe marke a iarre that Fowler in his Psalter maketh not onely with Dauid his Psalter but euen with him selfe also We knowe that Iesus Christ alone is the sufficient protector of his elect they are all giuen vnto him of his father none can take them out of his hand he hath not ioyned with him in this protectinge power any other person neither his mother nor Sainct And therfore the sheepe of the Lord Iesus doe greatly reioyce in this that they may rest protected conducted by Iesus Christ alone wherof the Psalmist doth sweetly singe Psal. 23. In the same eleauenth petition Fowler prayeth That God woulde keepe his mouth from slaunderous speaking lying false witnes bearing c. If this request had bene graunted Maister Fowler had made no such Psalter as he hath at this time in which is much lying false witnes bearing and sclaunderous speaking as in part you haue hearde and yet more shall heare by Gods grace In the twelf petition he hath this In my temptations Lord I beseech thee to helpe me for the tēder loue that thou diddest shew to thy mother she to thee It is well that he prayeth the Lord Iesus to helpe him in his temptations but to require him to doe it for the loue that he did beare to his mother and she to him is a thinge farre featched Why M. Fowler hath not the Lord Iesus borne any loue to you your selfe that is worth the remembring We know that the Lorde Iesus did tenderly loue his mother and she him againe but that loue which he doth beare to mankinde is no lesse and is also of his owne free goodnes Of loue he did giue his life for his sheepe greater loue then this hath no man when any man bestoweth his life for his freindes This is that great loue which Iesus hath borne to vs the Christians which doe beleue in him harken to his voice And the holy Ghost teacheth vs to learne to vnderstande and to taste howe sweete this loue is wherewith the Lord God our heauenly father and our good Lord Iesus haue loued vs for that loue is our life Of this loue the Lord Iesus doth teach vs saying Ioan. 3. So God loued the worlde that he hath giuen his onely sonne that whosoeuer beleueth in him shoulde not perish but haue life euerlasting The same our louing Lorde Iesus sayth of this his loue towards vs Ioan. 13. As the father hath loued me so haue I loued you And in his prayer Ioan 17. he asketh thus That the loue wherewith thou hast loued me may be in them and I in them Thus are we taught in the holy Scriptures to vnderstande the loue of the father and the loue of the sonne towards vs Nothing is there sayd to teache vs to looke to the loue which his mother did beare to him Yea he sayth Ioan. 10. I am the good shepheard the good shephearde giueth his life for his sheepe And againe therefore doth my father loue me because I lay downe my life And S. Iohn teacheth vs Beholde what loue the father hath shewed on vs that we should be called the sonnes of god 1. Ioan. 5. And againe he sayth In this appeared the loue of God towards vs because he sent his onely begotten sonne into the world that we might liue thorough him Herein is loue not that we loued God but that he loued vs and sent his sonne to be a reconciliation
for our sinnes 1. Ioan. 4. Thus doth the spirite of God lay forth that loue before vs in which lyeth our life Of this loue S. Paule hauing a right good taste wryteth Gal. 2. I liue sayth he by the faith of the sonne of God who loued me and hath giuen him selfe for me In this loue which Christ Iesus beareth to vs is the very life of the faithfull and therfore to it they must they do looke As we reade Apoca. 1. vnto him that loued vs and washed vs from our sinnes in his blood made vs kinges priestes vnto God his father vnto him be glory dominion for euermore Thus are we taught to taste the loue wherewith Iesus Christ hath loued vs our selues howsoeuer either he loued his mother or she loued him In the thirteenth petition he hath put in this patche Make me patiently to suffer iniuries and rebukes in recompense of my disobedient hart to thee To suffer iniuries and rebukes for Christes sake patiently and for well doinge is a blessednes And can not this suffice Maister Fowler but he must also make his patience a recompense to God for the disobedience of his hart Of this his conceipte of recompencing God for sinne I haue spoken before and the lesse shall I neede to speake of it now because M. Fowler him selfe also euen in this same petition belike misdouting his owne recompencinge of God for his own sinnes doth flee to the recompence which the Lorde Iesus hath made for vs and sayeth Let thine obedience recompence for my obstinacy thine abstinence for my superfluity thy meekenes and thy patience for my pride irefull hart enmity thy charity for my malice thy deuotion for my dulnes thy louinge hart for my vnkindnes thy holy death for my wretched life for all my misery These are the words of M. Fowler in this same thirteenth petition in which he doth require the Lord Iesus to make the recompence for all his sinnes and misery And what is it then wherefore he woulde him selfe make recompence by his patience He sayeth for his disobedient hart But for this he prayeth the Lord Iesus to make recompence He seemeth in these wordes not to trust to the value of recompencing by his owne patience but prayeth that the pacience of the Lord Iesus may be a recompence for his owne pride irefull hart and enmity You see nowe once againe how contrary M. Fowler is to himselfe in this petition what a iarre this contrariety doth make in this his Psalter In deede the recompence which he woulde him selfe make by his patience for the disobedience of his own hart is farre out of tune and soundeth vnsauerily in the vnderstandinge of any true christian But this recompence which he findeth that Iesus hathe made for his elect is a sweete sauour of life to the soules of true christians agreeth with the saying of the Prophet Isai 53. He set or made his life for a sacrifice of sinne This recompence which Iesus Christ hathe made that which M. Fowler would himself make can not be coupled together For Iesus alone and only made the iust and full recompence for the sinnes of all them whiche are to be saued In the last that is in the fifteenth petition M. Fowler addeth This inuocation and Psalter of thee by the mediation of thy most entirely beloued mother purchase to me gratious life blessed ending free from debte and deadly sinne I beseech thee and after my bodily death euerlasting life with endlesse blisse and felicity M. Fowler must first proue that this is the Psalter of Iesus before he can thus call and commend it or attribute such force vnto it as he doth And lette the reader marke how M. Fowler him selfe as it were doubting of the value vertue or force of this his Psalter ioyneth to it as a poore help to helpe it forwarde the mediation of the blessed virgin Mary For he woulde haue his Psalter to be of valure to purchase for him by the mediation of the blessed virgin Mary Of her mediation we knowe nothinge as I haue said before we do trust only to the mediatiō of her most gracious sonne our good Lorde Iesus who is the one so the only Mediator betwene God and man For we are taught by S. Paul that there is one God and one Mediator betwene God man euen the man Christ Iesus But M Fowler like a slouēlike apoticary mingleth this his Psalter the mediation of the virgin Mary both together to the ende belike that if the one failed the other might serue the turne And he prayeth that this his medly may purchase first gracious life This tearme gracious which he vseth teacheth vs whatsoeuer he meaneth by gracious life that it is the worke of Gods free grace and therefore commeth not by purchase either of this Psalter or of the mediation of the virgin Mary He addeth that by this mingle he would purchase blessed endinge free from debte and deadely sinne Touchinge the payment of his debtes it may be that M. Fowler thinketh to prouide some poore helpe by printing of this Psalter and that the good vent thereof may be a great helpe to him if he be in debte But it is harde dealing to get the money of true men for false ware It is more hard to lay such snares of deceit to intrappe the simple soules of Christians as M. Fowler doth for getting of money to paye his debtes Whatsoeuer M. Fowler dreameth of payment of his debtes we knowe the payment and satisfaction for al our sinnes is the price which Iesus Christ payed in his most pretious bitter and bloody death suffred on the crosse for vs That onely maketh vs free other freedom purchased either by this Psalter or by the mediation of the Virgin Mary or any other way which M. Fowler and his fellowes can deuise we know none we wil none We doe by Gods grace knowe that freedome into which we are called by Iesus Christ who as he onely coulde so he hath most gratiously made vs free In that fredom by his grace we doe and shall stand By this mingle M. Fowler would purchase also life euerlasting He thinketh but simply and basely of life euerlasting which doth thinke that it may be purchased by such a filthy fiddle as is this Psalter or by such a mingle mangle as Fowler maketh But we haue learned and doe beleue that life euerlasting is as I sayd before the gifte of God thorough Iesus Christ our Lorde It is his gifte it is not by this Psalter nor by the mediation of the Virgin Mary to be purchased We doe giue vnto God the glorie and prayse due of and for the gifte of life euerlastinge by Iesus Christ We will not seeke it by any other meanes nor goe about to purchase that our selues which is thus gratiously and freely giuen vnto vs Thus endeth this Psalter sayth Maister Fowler and yet he addeth an admonition a poynt of
three diuine or Theologicall vertues this he might haue learned in his pops Primer lately printed and haue named them faith hope and charitie Wherein they doe speake more like Diuines then M. Fowler doth either like a Diuine or good Philosopher Amonge the Philosophers them selues he might haue found more vertues then foure He might also haue done somewhat for the helpe of his simple Reader for whose pleasure he hath made this Psalter if he had told him what those vertues were and why they be called Cardinall vertues For a simple man may thinke that they are so called of the Romish Cardinals a sect of men most voyd of vertues as by their particular doings may be easily founde out And to speake of the vertues needefull to a Christian there are many more then foure which a christian is to learne in the blessed booke of God the holy Scripture I meane So M. Fowler in this peece of his Psalter striketh but like a bungeling fidler not cleane not full but striketh very shorte and doth but fumble dally with them whom he would haue daūce after his pipe In his fourth petitiō he teacheth them which are minded to play on his Psalter to say Graunt me the spirite of penaunce contrition confession satisfaction to obtaine thy grace from filthy sinne to purge me Trewe penaunce we doe know and pray that it may be truly practised we do also know those tearmes which M. Fowler doth vse They are the same by which the popishe schoolemen doe set foorth their three partes of their Sacrament of penaunce But this their deuise is already so euidētly vndone and the filthe and forgery thereof so vnfolded by the learned wryters of our age that I will no further meddle therewith then to referre the reader to the readinge of the fourth chapter of the thirde booke of the Institutions of M. Caluin which if he will diligently read ouer he shall perceaue that in this popish partition is no perfect penance that this peece of worke as M. Fowler doth penne it is vnmeete to haue place in the prayer of a trewe Christian howe meete soeuer it be to be placed in this Psalter of M. Fowler And where he addeth that by this parted Penaunce he might obtaine Gods grace he knoweth not verily what grace meaneth For as the Apostle teacheth If grace be of workes it is no more grace he falleth from grace that doth by his workes thrust on him selfe to gaine deserue merite and gette grace In the fifte petition he teacheth vs to pray thus The catholike obseruances of the church make me to kepe truely What he meaneth by these catholike obseruaunces I dare not take on me to iudge I knowe them not But if he doe by them meane those fiue commaundementes of the church which his frend companiō M. Vaws hath set foorth in his Catechisme in which he doth but bungel and woulde faine imitate the Iesuites in their Catechisme Yf these be the catholike obseruances of the church of which M. Fowler speaketh or if he doe meane those preceptes of the church which his Pope Pius hathe packed together in his newe Primer I aunswere thus First we do deny that they be catholike Then that they be any obseruaunces of the true church of Christ As for that romish church which both hath and doth take vppon her to deliuer such commaundementes as God did neuer giue to his church we doe abhorre that proude harlot and all her commaundementes neither hath a Christian any warraunt of Gods worde to assure his conscience either to make this petition whiche is here sette downe by M. Fowler nor promise to be hearde if he make it and therefore it is to be lefte to the deuisers of it And surely this his petition doth not agree with the first pece of the next petition followinge that is Make my soule obedient to holy doctrine He whose soule is made obedient to holy doctrine doth detest all suche vnholie doctrines and obseruaunces as men doe deliuer out of their owne deuises suche as are the commaundementes and obseruaunces of the catholike churche of Rome and he prayeth God to keepe him from them he can not praye to keepe or obey them In the seauenth petition he hathe put in this for a prayer Thy blessed mother be mediatrice for me and purchase me a contrite hearte for that I haue offended thee You haue heard before howe Maister Fowler hath called the Lord Iesus the Mediator of saluation as though this were all that is in the Lord Iesus ▪ And you haue heard how I haue proued that our Lorde Iesus is the Mediator of our saluation and is also our Mediator of intercession Now Maister Fowler as though Iesus the onely Mediatour did not content him findeth vs out a newe Mediatour the Virgine Marie whome he will haue to be a mediatrice for him and a purchaser for him But we christians do knowe no other Mediator nor purchaser for vs but one euen that one only Lord Iesus the sonne of the virgin Mary for he is the Mediator betwene God and man euen that man Christ Iesus Iesus is as the Apostle calleth him He. 12. the Mediator of the New Testament The Gospell word of the New Testament doth teach vs to know Iesus to be the Mediator of al them which do appertaine to the New Testament are receaued into that couenaunt of life It doth not assigne vs any other Mediator not the virgin Mary not any Sainct nor Angell We dare not take this office from the sonne and giue it to the mother we will not forsake the sonne who is our certaine sure and only Mediator and go to the mother who hath no such office committed vnto her We learne also that a contrite harte is wroughte in the electe by the spirite and word of god We doe not knowe howe the virgine Mary can purchase this for vs Againe in that petition he placeth these wordes All thy Sainctes pray for me that I be not separate from thee and their blessed fellowshippe in the heauenly city Thoughe it be graunted to M. Fowler that the Sainctes in heauen doe pray for vs yet hathe he giuen vs no warrant of the worde of God to assure our cōsciences either to make our prayers to thē or to pray the Lord Iesus to speake to them or to appoint them to pray for vs The Lorde Iesus prayed for Peter that his faith might not faile if it had failed he had bien separated from the Lorde Christ Lette them therefore whiche feare this separation pray the Lorde Iesus to be euen so good to them in this point as he was to Peter For Christ prayed not for the Apostles only but for all them which shal beleue in him truly I pray not for these alone sayth he but for all them also which shall beleue in me through their worde Ioh. 17. We know that the Lorde Iesus him selfe maketh intercession for vs and with that we doe