and ordination of Ministers and of theyr disagreement about the same Cap. 16. fol. 183. Of theyr Aldermens ioynt-office with the ministers in binding loosing of sins of their disagreemēt therin C. 17. f. 190 Of the first institution of the old Deacons and of the disagreemēt about the new disciplinary Deacons Cap. 18. fol. 198 Of certayne Widdows which are made Church-officers of the disagreement which is about them Cap. 19. fol. 215. Of the charge to bee imposed vppon euery parish by meanes of the pretended Eldership Cap. 20. fol. 227. Of theyr desire that those thinges which haue beene taken by Sacriledge from the Church might bee restored againe to the mayntenance of theyr Elderships Cap. 21. fol. 233 They take from Christian Princes and ascribe to theyr pretended regiment the supreme and immediate authority vnder Christ in causes Ecclesiasticall Cap. 22. fol. 250. In the oppugning of Princes authoritye in causes Ecclesiasticall they ioyne with the Papists Cap. 23. fol. 258. Their disagreement in suppressing the authoritie of princes in church-causes in the aduancing of their own C. 24. f. 268 In what causes more particularly theyr Elderships are to deale as they pretend Cap. 25. fol. 281. Those things they reprooue as vnlawfull in others they allow in themselues Cap. 26. fol. 298 How they deale with the auncient Fathers Ecclesiasticall Histories and generall Councels when they are alledged against them Cap. 27. fol. 329. Theyr dealing with all the new writers and manye reformed churches when they make against them Cap. 28. fol. 354. Howe they depend vppon theyr owne Synodes and fauourers Cap. 29. fol. 364. How falsely they alledge the auncient fathers for their pretended parish-Bishops and Elders Cap. 30. fol. 381. How and with what disagreement they wrest and misconstrue the Scriptures in the behalfe of theyr discipline C. 31. f. 396. What account the solliciters for this pretended gouernement doe make each of other Cap. 32. fol. 416. Of the prayse disprayse of this pretended regiment C. 33. f. 421 Of theyr disagreement concerning the necessitie of the Consistoriall gouernement Cap. 34. fol. 436. Of the pretended commoditie that the Elderships would bringe with them and of the small fruites that they bringe foorth where they are Cap. 35. fol. 450. FINIS CHAP. I. Howe vnder pretence of the Prophetes loue to Syon some men would gladly set vp their owne fancies THe holy Prophet Esay foreseeing the miserable captiuitie which the Iews for their transgressions were to sustaine vnder the kinges of Babell did thinke it necessary to prepare their heartes to patience by assuring them that the Lord in his due time would worke their ioyfull and happy deliuerance To the which purpose amongst many other most notable perswasions prophecies he vseth these wordes for Syons sake I will not hold my peace and for Ierusalems sake I will not rest vntill the righteousnes therof breake forth as the light and saluation therof as a burning lampe that is donec erigam piorum animos spe futurae salutis c vntill I may confirme the minds of the godly saith Caluin with the hope of their restitution againe so as they may vnderstand and be fully perswaded that God will be the deliuerer of his Church The false Prophet H.N. the moste illuminated father of the family of loue counterfaiting the imitation of the Prophet of God in this place doth take vppon him to tell the world of a farre greater captiuitie not of 70. yeares but of more then a thousand and fiue hundred yeares that is euer since the Apostles times Wherein saith he darkenes of error hath ouershadowed the earth lumen vitae incognitum factum est the light of life hath been made vnknowen and the trueth hath been hid as vnder the maske of Popery vntill this day of loue He turneth the whole doctrine of our saluation into a vaine mysterie an allegoricall conceit of his own leauing the Church no mediator at all besides himselfe He hath framed a platforme or new kingdome and gospell of his owne inuention bearing this title Euangelium regni dei the gospell of the kingdome of God Into this kingdome as Vicegerentes he hath brought for our ministers his seniores sanctae intelligentiae Elders of the holy vnderstanding patres familiae Christi fathers of the family of Christ and for our Archbishops and Bishops his Primates or principall Elders his seniores parentes Elder fathers and I know not how many illuminated and deified gouernours And perseuering in these and in many other such like very grosse fond imaginations he lewdly presumeth to apply the said place of the Prophet to himselfe and his owne conceites for the better animating of his followers to sticke fast vnto him saying O Syon tua causa non silebo c O Syon for thy sake I will not hold my peace and for Ierusalems sake I will not rest vntill the righteousnes thereof breake forth as the light saluation thereof as a burning lampe that is in effect vntill the holy gouernment of the family of loue bee established vppon the earth T.C. a man I confesse not to be sorted with H.N. were it not vpon this occasion wil needs take vpō him likewise the person of the Prophet and to aduertise vs of a wonderfull seruitude that hath continued in the Church of God in effect with H.N. from the apostles times also which yet remaineth as he saith in the church of England From the which seruitude he reckoneth that it shall neuer be deliuered vntill it submit it selfe to be newly reformed again by the aduise of his deepe vnderstanding assisted with those that diligently wait vpon his illuminated deuises after the maner of Geneua To winne himselfe therefore the better credite for bringing this to passe hee laieth about him and would haue al things turned topsie turuie as they say euen the vpside downe Our ministery their callings our seruice our sacraments and all we haue is out of ioint Councels fathers histories they are but dishcloutes with him he shaketh them off as it were with a shrugge they are indeed as after it shal appeare no body in his handes but he flingeth them here and there at his pleasure He in like sorte with the assistance of his partakers hath framed after the fashion of Geneua a platforme and newe kingdome or rather an infinite number of litle petite kingdomes but yet euery one of them of an absolute power aswell ouer Lordes Earles Dukes Princes Kinges and Kingdomes as ouer the meanest whosoeuer vnder them This kingdome he would impose vpon this land Wherein for our Archbishops Bishops ministers c hee placeth his graund Elders whome he tearmeth pastors his second sort of Elders whome he tearmeth Doctors his third sorte of Elders whome he tearmeth Gouernors ioyning vnto them Deacons to carry their purses and widdows to wash their feete where neede shall require And with this deuise he is so possessed that hee
preaching their exhorting and confirming of the weâ—ke brethren their baptising of children the rest of the duties mentioned as they might be suffered and accepted of wheresoeuer they came Examples of such Deacons and offices as here I haue spoken of we haue in the scriptures deliuered to vs by S. Luke wher he setteth down the actions of Steuen and Phillip both of theÌ„ Deacons how they preached how Phillip baptized and what is sayd of any one of them must be vnderstood of the rest Vnto these examples and for the further proofe of these premises I might adde the generall consent of all the ancient Fathers and the ordinary practise of all Churches either in theyr times or since especially for the continuall practise of the Priestly part of the Deacons office But as in times of dispersion they could not execute the other part consisting in collections distributions so afterwards God blessed his Church in such sort that indeed it needed not For when great men Lords Princes Kings and Emperours had embraced the doctrine of Christ so as men had the Gospell brought as it were home to their doores and might frequent with commendation the publicke assemblies and practise of religion and withall follow their owne trades and particular callings more diligently when also the saide great men Lordes Princes and Emperours besides many other well disposed Christians had prouided for the ministers and for the poor sufficient maintenaÌ„ce for the one partly by the tithes which are due vnto them and partly by other gifts according to their places and for the other that is the poor by setting them on worke such as were able by prouiding of hospitals and such like meanes for those that were impotent that part of the Deacons office became to be in time superfluous And since they haue applied themselues to the more materiall part of their office whereby they might obtaine the other good degree of Priesthood With these points I thought good to acquaint you before I came to the Disciplinary conceits about Deacons For euen now as though there were no prouision made either for the ministery or for the poore they are most instant for I know not what kind of Deacons But as therin they haue cut off themselues from the truth so are they at great disagreement one with another Our Englishe reformers are all of them peremptory that we must haue suche Deacons as they imagin were in the Apostles times But the GeneuiaÌ„ ministers do think their platform of discipline to be the paragoÌ„ of the world although they haue no such Deacons in it There is in Geneua an Hospitall whereof there are foure Proctors and ouerseers and these foure are with them in steed of Deacons For otherwise they haue not so much as the name of Deacons there By which rule if we shall square the pretended discipline we haue such officers already as may serue our turnes for Deacons vz. Proctors of Spitle-houses maisters and ouerseers of hospitals as sufficient honest and fit meÌ„ to execute their places as ther is any I assure my self in Geneua But peraduenture the matter which they shoot at is this They would haue an Hospitall in euery parish And yet there is no such thing at Geneua In al their whole Territory they haue but one hospitall Wel let Geneua therin do what it list our men will needs haue another kind of Deacons what kind is that Surely no such kind as was in the Apostles times But they know not indeed what they woulde haue The Deacons which our men doe require must not inter-meddle for a 1000. li. with any part of the office that belongeth to a minister Their deaconship in no case may be reckned to be a step to the ministery How beit som other meÌ„ as wise as learned as they are do hold a contrary opinioÌ„ First all the ancient fathers are generally against them in both the points mentioned so is the practise of the church of God euer since the Apostles times All the learned meÌ„ in Germanie for ought I find that maintaine the Augustane confessioÌ„ are against theÌ„ Yea what if some of their chiefe Captaines be against them The Deacons in Fraunce were once within these fewe yeares allowed to catechise publickly in theyr reformed Congregations And as yet one parte of their office is to go through families and to catechise them at home priuately To bee a Catechist with our men is the especiall dutie of their Doctor whom they make a Minister of the worde So as then there is no more difference in that respect betwixt their Doctorall minister and the French Deacons sauing that the one doth catechise publicklie and the other priuatelie If all this bee nothing then let vs heare Beza the Consistoriall oracle who turneth himselfe into euerie mans colours Truth is mightie and driueth men to their shiftes when hauing rashly ouershot themselues they will still to maintaine their credits impugne it Heare him I praie you how hee plaieth his prize It is saith hee absurde to thinke that Deacons had the office of preaching committed vnto them But in his confessions thus The office of pastors and Doctors is to preach and saye prayers vnder which duties I doe comprehend the administration of the sacraments and the blessing of mariages according to the perpetuall vse of the Church although oftentimes Deacons did supplye these thinges insteed of the Pastors Againe The fathers and late writers who supposed that the office of preaching did belong to Deacons decepti sunt were deceiued But in his annotations vppon the 1. of Tim. 3.9 That the Deacons must holde the misterie of faith thus DiaconoruÌ„ enim erant nonnullae etiaÌ„ in docendo partes quoties necesse fuisset vt ex Stephano et Philippo apparet the Deacons had also some thing to do in teaching when it was needfull as by the example of Steuen and Philip it is manifest Againe in his booke against D. Sarauia finding himselfe as I suppose to be preiudiced by his said annotation or hauing beene reproued for it by Cartwright c. or fearing some inconuenience that might ensue thereof hee would gladlye get him some startinge hole Cartwright to auiode the example of Steuen the Deacon saith in effect that he was no preacher but an Apologizer But Beza hath not learned that euasion as yet He hath another which is indeed as good as none at all Stephen the Deacon saith hee although hee was most worthy to be apreacher yet in that he was only a Deacon in the Church of Ierusalem he is not sayde to haue taught in the Church but in the Synagogues of the Iewes As it is nowe constantly helde our Church assemblies are the same in effect that the Iewes Synagogues were So as then bee-like Deacons may not preach in Cathedrall churches which I resemble to the temple of Hierusalem but they maie preach in Countrie parishes One of the places which Beza
their followers and that all men both Princes and others would be content to submitte their neckes vnder that yoke Which were to make Princes saith Erastus trulie quasi carniâ—ices as it were the executioners onely of their pleasures quemadmâ—dunâ— in Papatu factum videmus as we see it practised in the Papacy and in truth is nothing els but that I may vse their phrases to banish one Pope and admitte of thousands or to deliuer their Scepters from the tyrannie of the old Pope and to subiect them to the tyranny of these new Popes euen to excommunication as Cartwright with his English crue doe affirme and so consequently to depriuation or death as Buchanan the Scottishe Consistorian teacheth My purpose is only in this place to make it knowne from whence our brotherhood haue furnished themselues with their inuectiues against the authoritye of Princes in causes ecclesiasticall and that whatsoeuer they pretend in words yet they are of the same minde that Viretus is if they durst so plainly vtter it Or if they be not let them confes in print that the premisses cited out of his sayde dialogue are false and then for that pointe let them be credited But that I am perswaded they will neuer doe I am sure if they should that besides their opposition with Geneua they should also recant their owne assertions which directly exclude the ciuile magistrates from dealing in ecclesiasticall causes As for example The whole gouernment of the Church is to be committed to Ministers Elders Deacons The church is now to the worldes end to haue no other offices in it but of pastors Doctors Elders and Deacons They which are no Elders of the Church haue nothing to doe in the gouernment of the same They deuide the Church wherein anye Magistrate King or Emperor is a member into those which are to gouerne vz. Pastors Doctors and Elders and into such as are to obey vz. magistrates of all sortes the people Indeed Beza will haue the ciuile magistrate one of the Church-officers But Cartwright will not consent for his part to yeald them so much For saith he as Pastors cannot bee officers of the common wealth no more can the magistrate bee called properlye a church-officer And in truth what Beza graunteth it is in effect nothing sauing for a shew and to serue their own turnes forsooth vt tranquillitatem ecclesiae procurent â—t tueantur Their office is to procure and defend the peace of the Church whereas else where hee agreeth with Viretus yee may bee sure and in his Booke against Erastus peremptorily affirmeth That Princes haue no more to doe with matters of the Church then Ministers haue with the affayres of the common wealth Which by their doctrine generallie is none at all But saide I hee agreeth with Viretus I might saie rather with Cardinall Allen and Saunders if he bee the author of the Booke intituled Vindicie contra Tyrannos as it was reported For there hee saith that if anie Prince shall challenge to himselfe both Tributes that is authoritie aswell in Ecclesiasticall causes as ciuile as by the circumstances of the place it is euident hee doth as if hee would like the old Giaunts scale heauen and surprise it and is guiltie of treason and doth thereby forfeite his fee that hee holdeth no lesse than a subiect or vassall shall that vsurpeth the kinges royaltyes and in this respect such kinges are very often depriued thereof much more iustlye then a vassall or subiecte maye bee insomuch as there is some proportion of comparison betwixte a vassall or subiect and his Lorde but betwixt God and the king betwixt a wretched man and the Almightie there can bee no proportion at all Furthermore Cartwright and some others with him do affirme that Kings and princes do holde their kingdomes and dominions vnder Christ as hee is the sonne of God onlye before all worldes coequall with the father and not as hee is mediator the heade and gouernor of the Church Whereuppon they doe first builde that all Kinges aswell heathen as Christian receiuing but one commission and equall authoritie immediately from God haue no more to doe with the Church the one sorte then the other as being in no respect deputed for Church officers vnder Christ otherwise then if they bee good Kinges to maintaine and defende it And secondlye that as God hath appoynted all Kinges and Ciuile Magistrates his immediate Lieutenants for the gouernment of the worlde in temporall causes so Christ as hee is mediator and gouernour of his Church hath his immediate officers to rule in the Church vnder him and those they saie are no other then Pastors Doctors and Elders to whom they ascribe as large authoritie in causes Ecclesiasticall And all this as I take it they haue learned of the Papists For whereas maister Harding saith that the office of a King in it selfe is all one euerie where not onely amongst the Christian Princes but also amonge the Heathen and thereuppon concludeth that a christian Prince hath no more to doe in the deciding of church-matters or in making ceremonies and orders for the Church then a Heathen Cartwright alloweth of his iudgement and doth expresly affirme that hee himselfe is of the same opinion professing his mislike of those who teach another right of a Christian and of a prophane magistrate Whereat Trauerse his scholler aymeth in like sorte when hee saith in effect that heathen princes being conuerted to the fayth receiue no further increase of theyr power whereby they maye deale in causes ecclesiasticall then they had before And lastly it is no lesse agreeable vnto their seconde assertion that whereas the Papists saye the Pope with his Cardinalls and Bishops are a true representation of the Catholicke Church of Christ vnder whom the Pope being Peters supposed Successor is the ministeriall and immediate chiefe gouernour of it here vppon earth now Cartwright and others doe affirme that euerye particular parish hauing such an Eldershippe in it as they desire is a liuelye patterne and representation of the whole and catholicke Church of Christe vnder whom saye they their Pastors Doctors and Elders are the ministeriall and immediate gouernours by right of euery such Catholicke parish-Church vppon earth And thus if I bee not deceiued that playnelye appeareth which was in the beginning of this Chapter propounded vz. that for all their protestations they derogate from Christian Princes and arrogate to their Elderships the supreame and immediate authority vnder Christ in causes ecclesiasticall CHAP. XXIII In the oppugning of Princes authoritye in causes Ecclesiasticall they ioyne with the Papists THere is nothing will lightlye anger our pretended Brotherhood more then if ti be tolde them that they denie in effect with the common aduersaries her Maisties lawefull stile and prerogatiue Royall in causes ecclesiasticall Oâ— saye they wee doe not wee are slaundered wee yealde vnto her Highnes
hands the carefull charge or procuration of Churches as pertaining to their dutie Good Kings and Princes do maintain true religion and by the aduise of their priests vvhen any great defections happen do pull dovvn the false And where Cartvvright doth charge the Papists to constraine their Princes for the keeping of their decrees be they good or bad although it be true in deed that they do so and that those of his owne stampe likewise vvhere they raigne are nothing more fauourable vnto them as farre as their might will reach yet as he doth in this matter prefer himselfe and his adherents before them it is but a meere cauil For the Papists holding this ground that their Councels and Popes in such their decrees and conclusions as it pleaseth them to make cannot erre that being graunted it followeth of necessitie that euery Christian Prince ought to put them in execution and to punish those that shall oppose themselues against them So that vvhatsoeuer they do impose vpon the Church they affirme it is good euen as Cartvvright doth his discipline which he would intrude vpon vs both of them ioining in this point that as wel Cartvvrights new ministery as the popes priesthood will be the iudges of their owne decrees whether they be good or bad and then what leaue they to the Christian magistrat more the one sort then the other Surely this wall riseth very slowly as yet but peraduenture the third part will be higher thē the other two when you haue viewed them iudge Our meaning is not sayth Cartvvright vtterly to seclude the magistrat out of our church-meetings for often times a simple man as the prouerbe sayth the Gardiner hath spoken to good purpose c. He may be assistant and haue his voice in such assemblies Out of question you deale very bountifully with your soueraign But to helpe him in building this part of his wall I will set downe what is the vttermost that he yeeldeth to herein if hee haue not retracted the same as afterward it shall be considered The Prince may call a councell of the ministerie and appoint both the time and the houres for the same The ciuile magistrat is not vtterly to be excluded from such assemblies as do meet for the deciding of church-causes and orders he may be there assistant and haue his voice but he may not be either moderator there nor determiner nor iudge Neither may the orders or decrees there made be sayd to haue bene done by the Princes authoritie And therefore in times past the cannons of councels vvere not called the Emperors but the Bishops decrees Princes may be assistant in councels and ought to defend the same assembled if any behaue themselues there tumultuously or othervvise disorderly the Prince may punish him The Prince ought to confirme the decrees of such councels to see the decrees executed and to punish the contemners of them Thus hereof Cartvvright and now come in the papists It vvas lavvfull in times past for emperors to call councels to appoint both time and place for the same And maister Harding confesseth that princes may do so still by the aduise of the clergie Princes and their embassadors according to their estates haue most honourable seats in all councels may sit there as assistants giue their aduises make exhortations to the Bishops to be very circumspect and carefull and in the end may subscribe vvith them to the causes there decreed But they may not sit there as iudges moderators or determiners and therfore in their subscriptions they vvrōt not as bishops did definientes subscripsimus but consentientes Neither vvere the councels called Imperatoria but Episcopalia Princes may be assistant in councels Nay sayth Saunders they may be presidents ouer Bishops in councels ad pacem concordiam retinendam vt nullum fieri tumultum permittant tumultuantem vero custodiae mancipent and cause such assemblies to auoid all delaies All Christian princes ought to confirme the decrees of generall councels to see the decrees executed and to punish the contemners of them Compare these places with Cartvvrights words and tell me what great difference ye find betweene them But what if Cartvvright as I sayd haue retracted these points then it must needs be confessed that the Papists do yeeld more to Christian princes in causes ecclesiastical then the puritans CHAP. XXIIII Their disagreement in suppressing the authoritie of Princes in church-causes and in the aduancing of their ovvn IT appeareth in the latter end of the two and twentith chapter how by a fine distinction of raigning vnder Christ as he is onely God and vnder Christ as he is mediator they first would exclude all Christian princes from their lawfull authoritie in causes ecclesiasticall ascribing no more vnto them then as if they were heathens except it be to execute their pleasures and to maintaine them which they say is the dutie also of all the heathen rulers and secondly how by the same distinctiō they lift vp their own horns as if it were so many popes challenging euery one of them together with their elderships to be Christs immediat vicars for church-causes vpon earth In the substance of which doctrine although they do all agree yet when they come to the particular grounds whervpō they would gladly lay their foundations of it there they are distracted and do confound themselues I meane not to enter here any further into this matter then as cōcerning the sayd distinction with the seuerall branches thereof Cartvvright bestoweth soure leaues to prooue that no ciuile magistrat may be called the head of the particular church within his dominion And his cheefest reasons are drawn from the parts of the distinction mentioned Now when he laboureth so much vpon this word head hee knoweth that we meane thereby nothing els but a chiefe authoritie and he wrangleth of purpose that whereas his opinion is direct that no ciuile magistrat as he is a ciuile magistrat hath any office in the Church he might dazle the eies of his reader as though he could bee content to maintaine the right of the crowne and did only insist vpon the word head But to muster them together about the said distinction Cartvvright sayth that our Sauiour Christ as hee is the sonne of God only or as he is onely the Creator and preseruer of mankind coequall vvith his father he is the gouernour of kingdoms and common-vvealths and not as hee is the sauiour and redeemer of mankind But the humble motioner doth tell vs from Scotland another tale peraduenture vpon the credit of the brethren there Christ sayth he hath all povver and superioritie aboue all principalities either in heauen or in earth he is Lord of lords and King of kings and the Prince of kings in the earth he is Lord of all kingdoms and common-vvealths to dispose and rule them at his pleasure
men had offered in the beginning to the Bishops to performe al due obedience vnto them if they would be content to reforme religion they were now againe constrained to make the same knowen more generally both to the Emperour and to all the sayd Princes still offering for their parts as much as they had done before and that if they would but cease to impose vppon them their intollerable burdens of single life of mens vnlawfull and wicked traditions which they did further specifie and to forbidde them to doe those things which God commaunded they should doe that then they would with all their hearts most willingly yeeld vnto their Episcopall iurisdiction and to the restoring of the same where it had beene abolished Vouchsafe I pray you to heare their owne testimonies to this purpose You shall thereby well perceaue that if they were now aliue in England and should finde their names so vsed as they are against the gouernment of our Bishops they would take it in very ill part and be heartily sory for it Thus the authors of the Augustane confession and all the learned men that haue subscribed thereunto in which nūber Caluin is cōprehended haue professed touching this matter The Bishops might easily retain the obedience due vnto them if they vrged vs not to keepe those traditions which wee cannot keepe with a good Conscience They impose a single life and will receaue none that will not swear neuer to teach the pure doctrine of the Gospell Againe we haue ofte protested that we doe greatly approoue the Ecclesiastical pollicy and degrees in the Church as much as lieth in vs doe desire to conserue them We doe not mislike the authoritie of Bishops so that they would not compell vs to doe against Gods commaundement Furthermore we doe here protest and wee would haue it so recorded that we would willingly preserue the Ecclesiasticall and Canonicall pollicy if the Bishops would cease to tyrannise ouer our Churches This our minde or desire shall excuse vs with all posterity both before God and all nations that it may not be imputed vnto vs that the authority of Bishops is ouerthrowen by vs. Besides I would to God saith Melanchthon I woulde to God it lay in me to restore the gouernment of Bishops For I see what a manner of Church we shall haue the Ecclesiasticall pollicy being dissolued Video postea multo intolerabiliorem futuram tyrannidem quà m antea vnquam fuit I doe see that hereafter will grow vp a greater tiranny in the Church then euer there was before Moreouer mira dissipatio erit Ecclesiarum ad posteritatem c. There will be a wonderfull confusion of Churches left to our posterity except they may now bee ioyned together againe and haue certain Bishops who may be enforced to gouerne the church and looke vnto them more diligently then in times past they haue beene looked vnto Againe by what right or law may we dissolve the Ecclesiasticall pollicy if the Bishops will grant vs that that in reason they ought to graunt Et vt liceat certe non expedit And if it were lawfull for vs so to doe yet surely it were not expedient Luther was euer of this opinion whom many for no other cause I see doe loue but for that they thinke they haue cast off their Bishops by means of him and haue obtained a liberty minimè vtilem ad posteritatem which will not be profitable for our posterity For tell me what estate will the Churches be in hereafter if all the olde orders be abolished and that there bee no certaine rulers ordained To the same effect also saith George Prince Anhalt Earle of Ascaine Lord of Sewest and Brewburge vtinam c. I would to God that those which carry the names and titles of Bishops would shew themselues to be Bishops in deede I wishe they would teach nothing that is disagreeable to the Gospell but rule their Churches thereby O quam libenter c. Oh how willingly and with what ioy of hart would we receaue them for our Bishops reuerence them obay them and yeeld vnto them their iurisdiction and ordination c. Id quod nos semper Dominus Lutherus etiam c which we alwaies and Maister Luther both in words and in his writings very often haue professed And Caluin himselfe writing to Cardinal Sadolet concerning the course that had beene held at Geneua as touching the reformation of Religion and in excuse thereof against his challenge doth shew himselfe to be of the same minde he was of when he subscribed to the said confession of Augusta professing that for his part he could haue beene well content that the Bishop there should haue kept his authority and iurisdiction still so that he woulde haue yeelded to the bannishment of Poperye For thus hee writeth Talem nobis Hierarchiam si exhibeant c. If they bring vnto vs such an Hierarchy or Priestly gouernment wherin the Bishops shall so rule as that they refuse not to submit themselues to Christ that they so depend vppon him as theyr only head and be content to referre themselues to him in which Priestlye gouernment let them so keepe brotherly society amongest themselues that they be knitte together by no other rule then by the truth then surely if there shall be any that shall not submitte themselues to that Hierarchy or Priestly gouernment reuerently and with the greatest obedience that may be I confesse there is no kinde of Anathema or curse or casting to the diuell whereof they are not worthy And againe in the same Epistle he vseth these wordes following tending to the great commendation of the authority of Bishops Statue quaeso c. Sette before your eyes I pray you the ancient face of the church as it was amongest the Grecians in Chrys. and Basils times and as it was amongest the Latinists when Cyprian Ambrose and Augustine liued and then behold the ruins of that face as now they are retained in the Church of Rome And there will appeare as great difference betweene them as the Prophets describe vnto vs betweene the excellent estate of the Church that flourished vnder Dauid and Salomon and that Church which in Zedechia and Ioachims dates was fallen into all kinde of superstition and had defiled altogether the purity of the worship of God This Epistle was written by Caluin to the Cardinal 1539. at such time as being remoued from Geneua he remayned at Strasburgh where hauing great acquaintance with Melanchthon Bucer and diuerse other learned men hee carried himselfe in such sort as was greatly to their likings Insomuch as whilest he remained at Strasburgh the Colloquies at Wormes and Ratisbone being appointed by the Emperour for the compounding of controuersies in Religion the learned men that were sent thither for the Protestants reckonned Caluin a meete man to take thither with them Which I thought good to obserue because hereby it will further
alledgeth to shewe the manner of Stephens teaching in the Synagogue is the Example of Christ where hee tooke a place of Esayas and expounded the same in the Synagogue at Nazareth If a man may say that Christ did then preach the same may also bee affirmed of Stephen when as Beza saith hee taught in the Synagogues of the Iewes Whilest you heare Beza driuen thus to his shifts do you not imagine that if his case in this point were good hee could defend it better But now as concerning Cartwrightes confident assertion that the Deaconship is not to be made a step to the ministerie Besides the saide ancient fathers continuall practise of the church for 1500. yeares the chiefe learned men of Heluetia Denmark are flatly against him where they entreate of this place of the Apostle Hee that ministreth well shall purchase to himselfe a good degree Alexander Alexius a Scottishman though in some sort he be a Consistorian yet he is also against him For writing vpon the same place They shall get to themselues a good degree that is saith he digni iudicabuntur officio Episcopi they shall bee iudged worthy the office of a Bishop But Bezaes pretty apish toy I could not chose but laugh at in this place He seeth the streame of all antiquitie to runne for this step to the ministerie insomuch as I am perswaded that neither he nor all the packe of his adherēts are able to shew that ther was euer any one minister since the Apostles times til now of late but first he was a deacon therefore to come as neere the truth as he can misse it he saith that in Geneua when they choose any to the ministerie they euer prefer their Deacons being meet mē before any other of whom they haue not so good experience So as there to be one of the 4. proctors of their spittlehouse is one good meanes to get into their ministery But I will leaue these spittlehouse-deacons to climbe as they can into their Consist Bishopricks come to another māner of deacons that wold be hardly induced to be thrust either into a spittlehouse or accept of the ministerie It appeareth in the 10 Chapter how prouidently it is ordered at Geneua that none but councellers of the state cā be any Aldermen of their grande presbyterye likewise how Beza a duiseth all other Churches that will receaue their holy platforme to endeuour asmuch as they can that Noblemen princes may take that office vpō thē Which order aduise is thought to be of such importance as it seemeth for the glorie of their Eldership that our English discourser hath thought it meete to extende the same in some sorte to the choise of their Deacons Euery ignorant contemptible person saith hee is not to bee allowed to this office of Deacons but as godly wise and worshipfull as may conueniently bee found in the Congregation maye not thinke themselues too good to minister vnto Christ in his members and in the name of the Church Awaie then with these base Artizans that haue dreamed peraduenture that if the Discipline were vp they should bee I know not what awaie with them I saie these Tailors Shoemakers Mercers Drapers and such like ignorant and contemptible persons and giue place to your betters the wise and worshipfull Gentlemen of the parish Indeed where great Lordes and Princes are Elders forasmuch as Deacons maie chaunce sometimes to be ioyned in Commission with them It is verie meete they should bee men of worship But yet mee thinketh all the partes of this Senate are not fullie sutable For where the Deacons are men of worship where the Elders are Noblemen and Princes what must the Pastors and doctors bee Surelie if proportion bee kept they must bee some bodie the Doctor a king and the Pastor an Emperor What needed the learned Discourser then to suspect that peraduenture some men would bee loth to take the office of Deacons vppon them when they should bee matched in this sorte with such worthie and honorable Collegues A great preferment no doubt for any aspiring minde and few gentlemen ye maie be sure will refuse it But yet his suspition doth rise of some thing For what if these gentlemen Deacons whē their Pastors Doctors and their Noblemen-elders were consultinge together should bee thrust out of the doores notwithstanding their worships I tell you truelie that pointe is not yet resolued Bertrand de Loques a French Disciplinarian affirmeth that although the Consistorie is indeed composed of the Pastors and Elders Yet the Deacons are receaued into it so farre foorth and in as much as they shall iudge it to be expedient and profitable to aduise giue counsell consider of the censures and of that which is requisite necessary for the guiding and gouernment of the Church Well this is some thing for the Deacons but the auncient Councell of Hage which was held as it hath beene saide in the yeare 1586. hath gone much further For there it is decreed That in those places where there are but few Elders Consistorio Diaconi adiungentur the Deacons shall be adioyned vnto the Consistorie Before they were to expect vntill they might be receaued into the Consistorie but now they are of it Before they were but only to giue aduise but now being of it they must haue their voices in it But what shoulde I insist vppon such paltrie proofes You shall heare a Canon of the Ecclesiasticall discipline in Fraunce resolued vppon I know not by howe manie Synodes at Paris Poictiers Orleance Lyons c. There it is set downe for a Law in this sorte The Elders and Deacons doe make the ecclesiasticall Senate or Consistorye wherein the ministers of the worde sit as chiefe And with this French decree the authors of the seconde admonition here in England do fullie accord Where they assure the high Court of Parliament 1572 that the whole regiment of the Church is committed ioyntly to the ministers Elders and Deacons Thus farre then the matter runneth well for our worshipfull Deacons Howbeit now heare what is said to the contrarie You haue heard how the said Councels and admonitioners haue ioyned the ministers Elders and Deacons together but now in commeth another sorte and they will needes disiointe them It would hardlie bee indured by the Ministers of Geneua to haue one of the proctors of their hospitall to sitte by vertue of that office cheeke by iowle with Beza And therefore the generall resolution of all that are there is quight against the Deacons in that behalfe Beza in his treatise against Erastus and else where doth allow of none to be of the Presbyterie but Ministers and Elders Cartwright and all the rest of our reforming sconces except the said Admonitioners do wholie therein agree likewise with Beza So as I shall not trouble you with anie further allegation to this purpose sauing one and that you shall haue because
more they are forbidden They make no account of the death of Christ. They are altogether godlesse The Church is made a pray to all men there is such disdain and contempt of the worde in the whole estate Confusion of Church and pollicie doth grow from day to day and threatneth vtter extermination It is the Lord that woonderfully continueth the light amongest vs and that keepeth the face of a ministerie in Scotland There is no good entertainment but a very great pouertie in the most part of all the ministerie The greatest part of our Priestes our Ministers their mouthes haue lost the trueth and their persons haue lost their reuerence the Lord hath made them contemptible in the eyes of men Floudes of iniquitie doe flow ouer great men There is no great man but whatsoeuer liketh him hee thinketh it lawfull The Gentlemen Earles Lordes and Barons they are so dronke with sacrilege that before they part with that geare they had rather part with the life of their soules they had rather loose their soules a hundreth times then bestowe a halfepeny vppon the Church Our owne meane Lordes doe fall into such proud contempt that they are readie to take vp open warres agaynst God so as that Iulian was no greater professed ennemy then they are like to be if they continue The great men in this country are become companions to Theeues and pirates oppressors and manifest blasphemours of God and man ye see murther oppression and bloud is the onely thing that they shoote and marke at The Lord hath no greater enemies then the great men in this country c. They are burning and scalding slaying and murdering vsing all kinde of oppression and raging so as if there were no king in Israel And generally thus This countrey is heauily diseased The sinnes of the land craueth that all pulpits sound iudgement If you looke to the growth of sinne more vgly sinnes were neuer committed The land is ouerburdened with the birth of iniquitie The best haue taken a lothing of the word of God The waight of Gods wrath that hangeth ouer this land is insupportable O vnhappy and wrathfull countrey c the more that knowledge groweth conscience decayeth See ye not slaughter in great measure oppression murther without mercy see ye not all law and equitie trampled vnder foote Is there any cleane place in the countrey c without the cries and lamentable voices of terrible murther oppression and bloud The most part of this countrey is giuen ouer to a straunge delusion to preferre the leauen of the Pharises and dregges of papistry before the word of God There is none that seeth the confusion of this countrey to grow so fast that can looke for anie redresse in his owne time all runneth on to a desolation and miserable confusion Faith is scarsly to bee found yea not faith in promises let be faith in Christ Iesus God hath giuen vs ouer to be deceaued by the mightie power and working of the diuell Hitherto this learned preacher Whereby a man may see that some countries may be in as euill a case that haue the Geneuian platforme set vp amongest them as some other that care not a figge for it But oh say the authours of the first admonition is reformation good for Fraunce and can it be euill for England Is Discipline meete for Scotland and is it vnprofitable for England Againe Surely God hath set these examples before your eyes to encourage you to go forward to a through and speedy reformation And likewise maister Cartwright Whereas maister Doctor would bring vs into a foolish paradise of our owne selues as though we need not to learne any thing of the Churches of Fraunce and Scotland he should haue vnderstanded that as wee haue been vnto them an example and haue prouoked them to follow vs so the Lord would haue vs also profite and be prouoked by their example Whereunto I make no other aunswere but this that I pray vnto almightie God withall my very soule for the long and happy continuance of the blessed example which this Church and realme of England hath shewed in this last age of the worlde vnto all the kingdomes and countries in the earth that professe the Gospell with anie sinceritie and that also of his infinite mercie not onely the kingdomes of Fraunce and Scotland but all other Christian kingdomes and countries may taste so plentifully of his heauenly graces as that they may become dayly better and better examples to stirre vp another to the right and true pathes of all godly vnitie and obedience of heartie and sincere profession of religion and of such righteousnesse and holinesse of life as may be worthy the professors of the same This onely I trust I may say without any offence that as I thinke we haue better causes of incouragement at home to pray for the present forme of Ecclesiasticall gouernment and Discipline that we may haue it still then we can finde abroad the premises of this chapter being true why wee shoulde eyther wish or desire to haue any forraine platformes or practises of I knowe not what kinde of pragmaticall discipline brought in amongst vs. A Discipline deuised at Geneua established there by cunning and obtruded by practises vppon other Churches A Discipline the more it is looked into by the fauourers of it the moe doubtes and imperfections they daily finde in it A Discipline the originall whereof is vnknowne and therefore hath no warraunt in the worde of God A Discipline so lately hatched that as yet it hath no certaine name agreed vpon A Discipline of that nature as they know not well how to bestowe her A Discipline that banisheth such Apostolicall Bishops as Christ appointed admitteth like an adulteresse of those who indeede shoulde serue her to haue an equall commaundement ouer her A Discipline that will haue Doctors of her owne and when she hath them she knoweth not howe to bestowe them A Discipline of such humilitie as forsooth Princes and Noblemen must bee but her inferior officers A Discipline so disdainefull as she forgetteh the very names of her sayde officers or at the least knoweth them not though they be Noblemen or Princes A Discipline that wil needs seeke in the scriptures for those new kind of rulers but she is ignorant where to finde their qualities Whether she would haue them to be Lay-men or Ecclesiasticall shee is not yet resolued A Discipline that when she entertaines her seruants casteth them of againe at her pleasure without anye offence committed by them A Discipline that hauing seruants doth want a warrant for their imployment either in their particular or in their generall offices which she woulde faine assigne vnto them She would haue Lay-menne to make her ministers to be her confessors and to bind and loose her sinnes A Discipline that will needs haue