vpon the Church of Sardis as a theife in the night and that they should not knowe vvhat hower he vvould come vpon them And to conclude that he vvould spue the luke warme Laodicians out of his mouth All vvhich greuous plagues in a short time fell vpon thos Churches of Asia And shall vvee escape if now in this great light of the Gospell vve retaine and maintayne any filthines of corruption in our Churches No God is not partiall neither vvith him is any variablenes neither shadowing by turnning Besides heer also it is vvorthly to be noted that among these seaven Churches of Asia representing all other thereis not one word spoken of an Archangel Archbishop or Lord Bishop that might over rule or governe all the rest vvhich in these our times are some of the greatest and most noisome corruptions vvhich doe overflowe all To vvhich purpose I heere set downe the vvords of M. Fox speaking of the first Primitiue Churches his vvords are these Act Mon. p 36 It is evident saith he to all men that haue eyes in their head c. that there was not then any one Mother Church aboue other Churches One Vniversall Church Militāt Invisible but the whole vniversall Church was the mother Church under which uniuersall Church in generall were comprehended all other particular Churches in speciall as sister Churches together not one greater then another but all in like equalitie c. But this ring of equalitie being broken all flewe in peeces Howbeit of this more shall be spoken God vvilling hereafter There remaineth now to speake of the third generall thing vvhich Christ heere commaundeth his servant Iohn to vvrite of namely Revel 1.19 the things that should come to passe cōcerning the Churches of God after the Apostles time to the end of the vvorld And how the Synagogue of Sathan and the vvhore of Babilon by litle and litle should creepe in and vvith her filthines endeavour to envenime the Churches till at the last she should become that glorious vvhore described in the 17. chapter clothed in scarlet and purple guilded vvith gold pretious stones and pearles and having a cup of gold in her hand full of abominations filthines of her fornication sitting upon the scarlet coullered Beast having seavē heads ten hornes and by her glorious power should banish the true Churches of God and make make them flie into the wildernes that is into secret places hidden and vnknowne vnto men But leaving the high estate of the Babilonish whore vvhich is the great Cittie that in Iohns time reigned over the Kings of the earth vvhich all men know vvas the Citie of Rome and now calleth her selfe the Catholique Church Leaving her as I haue said in her magnificence I vvill shew how by litle and litle she crept in and so at the last got vp vnto that her high estate Now this beginnyng of corruption both in doctrine and Discipline made no long delaye after the Apostles time Eusebius Hist Eccle For as Evsebius in his Ecclesiasticall History lib 3. cap 32. saith Vt vero et Apostolorum chorus c. As soone as the company of the Apostles and all that age which had received the hearing of the Lords owne liuely voyce was departed out of this world then as it were into an emptie house the wicked error of false doctrine thrust in and plunged her selfe Which thing also is euident by all Ecclesiasticall Histories as the heresie of Cerinthus sheweth about the yeare of our Lord 70. Which taught that the vvorld vvas not made of God but of Angells and that Circumcision vvas necessary to be observed and that the kingdome of Christ after the resurrection should be vpon the earth And likewise the heresy of the Ebionites about the yeare 85. Which taught that Christ vvas very man both by Father and Mother and that Moses law vvas necessary to be observed Thus daily many heresies and foule corruptions crept in so that by the time that Augustine and Epiphanius lived they vvrote speciall books against heresies to the number of an hundred severall heresies of note cōtayning all of them great corruptions some in doctrine and manners some in Discipline and orders of the Church Which corruption in church-Church-Discipline was often times the cause of the hereticall doctrine And heerin I purpose God assisting me cheifly at this time to insist shewing what the auncient Fathers of the Primitiue Church did practise teach in these pointes of religion now controversied among vs and likwise what the lightes of the gospell the blessed Martyrs of God from age to age since even vnto this day haue also practised and taught touching the same And this I doe the rather because many excellent men haue alreadie by manifold reasons grounded and taken out of the word of God proved that there ought to be a full reformation both in Doctrine and Discipline according to that order in the Church which Christ and his Apostles left Which must be acknowledged to be the onely sure ground of proofe for all pointes of controversie in the Church of God But because the enimyes of ful true Reformation of religion doe yet after the old fashion rest vpon custome antiquitie and auncient Fathers I haue thought good to follow this course before named that it might be plainely seene both how the cheife of the auncient Fathers and also of the principall lights set vp by the Lord in the deapth of the darknes of Antichrist with one voyce agrement taught practised and proved the same both by the scriptures and manifold reasons grounded thereon touching the matters of reformation now desired And heerin I thinke good for example before I enter into the rest to set downe out of Epiphanius the heresie of Audianus which heretickes were afterward called Anthropomorphits who being thrust out of the Church as simple men in time lacking learned teachers fell into a perswasiō and beleife that God was like vnto a man whereof they tooke the name of their heresie Erat autem vir a Mesopotamia oriundus clarus in patria sua c. Epiphanius de Heres Audianus saith Epiphanius was a man by birth of Mesopotamia a famous man in his owne Countrie for the sinceritie of his life and of faith and Zeale towards God which often beholding the things that were done in the Churches he did oppose himselfe against such evills even to the face of the Bishops and Elders and did reproue them saying These things ought not to be soe done these thinges ought not to be soe handled as a man studious of the veritie and of such thinges as are spoken by men which lead a most exacte life and are vsually spoken for loue of the truth Wherefore Audianus seeing such thinges as I haue said in the Churches he was driven to speake and confute it and kept not silence For if he saw any of the Cleargie to seeke after filthy luker whether he were Bishop or
Non a minoritis sed a maioritis incipiendum est For where the Counsell pretēded to make a reformatiō in the Church one stood up and sayd the reformation must begin at the Fryer Minorits that is at the litle ones no sayd the Emperour not at the litle on s but at the great ones meanyng that they ought to begin not at the beggerly Fryer Minors but at the pompous and proud Prelats and Popes And Ieremiah the Prophet speaking of the beggerly sort and great men saith Ierem. 5.45 Therefore I sayd surely they are poore they are foolish for they know not the way of the Lord nor the iudgment of their God I will get me unto the great men and will speake vnto them for they haue knowne the way of the Lord and the iudgdment of their God but these haue altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds And in the 23 chapter he sayth speaking of the Prophets which were the cheifest and in highest degree of all Ecclesiasticall persons in that time Chro. 23 15 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the Prophets behold I will feed them with wormwood and make them drinke the water of gall for from the Prophets of Ierusalem is wickednes gon forth into all the land Now let us heare what M. Bucer saith touching the great livings of the Lord Bishops and the poore estat of the parish Ministers First to the Lord Bishops he saith in his second booke of the kingdom of Christ Agnoscant igitur tādem gravissimam suam culpam Episcopi quod ecclesias tam diu iam tamque horrende non tam neglexerunt quam vastaverunt Let the Bishops at the last acknowledg their most grevous fault that now so long time they haue not onely neglected but violently robbed the Churches And in the 13 chapter he toucheth againe the restoring unto the poore Parishes that which the Bishops by injurie and rob berie had taken from them Si vero parochiis non sit tam multum reliquum vt inde prospici queat fidelibus earum ministris tum certe vti et supra diximus ab Episcopis et ditioribus sacerdotiis petendum erit unde et his despoliatis parochiis consulatur Hic communio sanctorum exercenda erit vt egentibus ecclesiis succurratur ab iis quae abundant If there be not saith M. Bucer so much left unto the Parishes as therof there may be made a sufficient provision for their faithfull Ministers then certainly as we haue sayd before there must be taken from the Bishops and richer benefices where with these parishes that haue been so spoyled may be sufficiētly provided for For heerein the Communion of Saints ought to be exercised that the Churches which stand in need may be helped by them that doe abound And a non after he sayth Valeat itaque Domini lex dignus est opera rius cibo suo et mercede Item duplici honore digni sunt presbyteri qui bene praesunt ecclesiis maxime qui laborant in verbo et doctrina Debent autem hi et suo docere exemplo reliquos Christianos ut cum eis datur quibus alantar et tegantur his sint contenti valeat et lex spiritus sancti vestra abundātia sublevet illorum inopiam et illorum abundantia sublevet vestram inopiam quo sit inter vos aequalitas Therfore let the law of the Lord take his force which sayth the worke man is worthy of his meate and his wages and also the Elders which rule the Churches well are worthy double honor cheiflie those which labour in the word and doctrine And these also ought to teach all other Christians by their example and when there is given unto them foode and rayment with that let them be content And also let the law of the holy Ghost stand in his full force let your abundance vp hold their need that there may be equalitie I neede not to put the reader in any remēbrance what to obserue in these wordes they are playne enough that the Lordly livings of Bishops should be taken from them and they thēselues should not liue like Lords but in a meane estate as well as the rest of the Ministers Bucer in mathew 18.7 And touching the rest of the popish reliques he sayth vndoubtedly as there is no agreement at all between Christ and Beliall so sinceare and unfeined christians can by no meanes suffer themselues to be clogged with any whit of Antichrists trash and trumperie c. Wherfore so soone as true godlines and the right worship of God hath been preached and professed of many Antichrists Ceremonies and rites ought by and by to be abrogated and the reformation therof may not be prolonged c. These are indeed saith he over mild and to soft and sober Christians which can beare with such Antichristian trash like unto them who at Corinth knowing that an Idoll was nothing did eat thinges offered unto Idols and boasted as these our men doe in this wise In outward matters we are free What is that to me that another useth those thinges naughtily I will use them well c. Thus do they for sooth provide goodly for the weake ones yea they serue their owne bellies seeking to gratifie such as are either Christs enimyes or else backsliders for no man besids these will earnestly contend for Superstitious Ceremonies this is their modest bearing and delaying whereby they are so far from furthering of the Gospell that by litle and litle they do utterly abolish it Thus you heare M. Bucers judgment that noble light set up by God in Germanie and by King Edward brought into England and made the divinity Lecturer in Cambridg both for the establishing of the Discipline set downe by Christ and his Apostles in the first Churches for the taking away of the Lordly estate of Bishops and for the utter abolishing of all our vayne and beggerly Ceremonies which he calleth Antichristian trash Unto him I will joyn Peter Martyr his combresbyter or fellow Elder P. Martyr brought into England also by King Edward and made the Divinitie Lecturer in Oxford Whose departing from Argentine in Germanie was greatly lamented he was saith Sleidan a man there exceedingly beloved for his sincere judgmēt his great mildnes and modestie and for his incomporable learning In his Epistle to the Lords of Polonia professors of the Gospell and Ministers of the Church there when they began to make the reformatiō of religion in the rite of administring the Sacraments saith M. Martyr That manner is most to be imbraced which shall be most playne and most removed from the Papisticall trifles and Ceremonies and which shall come neerest to the purenes which Christ used with his Apostles Christian minds ought not to be occupied much in outward rites Ceremonies but to be fed by the word to be instructed by the Sacraments to be inflamed unto prayers to be confirmed in good works and excellent examples of life
he would not medle with it not because the thing it selfe was evill or that it was evill don to appoynt those which were indifferent But to shew that he was come and sent of God his Father for greater thinges he left that office unto Cesar and to his officers And was content with that his Father had committed unto him And the same Commission he had in that behalfe he gaue to his Apostles Now one word of Marlorat Agayne saith he what are these reverend Cardinalls Marlorat exp one the Revel cap 17 3 Archbishops Archprelats Patriarks Primats Presidents Deanes Cannons Archpriests Archdeacons Abbots Priors or Masters Cōmendators For like as Antichrist hath his names of blasphemy even so they that be in office under him and are bound unto him by oth haue also names by themselues which the scriptures know not of In deed the Primitiue Church had Ministers Stewards Elders or Overseers Apostles Prophets Evangelists Shepheards and Teachers as you may perceaue by these places 1. Cor 4.1.12.4.5.6.7.8 And Ephe 4.11 But all these were names of service and labour and noe stiles of pride And upon the 9 chapter he hath these words For the tayles of Antichrist are Bishops Officials Commissaries Deanes Registers Chancelours Proctors and Somners which are like unto venemous serpents Now somwhat also touching these matters of Religion and Hierarchie of the Church Beza as they call it out of M. Beza whom M. Peter Martyr and many other learned men not without cause do so greatlie admire for his sinceritie in judgment and excellent gifts as you may read in many of their epistles and workes But I will heere set downe the testimonie of that singular divine and most noble patrone of the Gospell among our English writers D. Fulke who against Gregorie Martin that conning Papist and false accuser defendeth Calvin Beza and Viret by these words The bookes saith D. Fulke of Calvin Beza Uiret keep themselues within the compasse of the holy scriptures Fulk 7. in epist ad Ro◠and hold no blasphemous or other erronious opinions that derogate any thing from the glorie of God or be hurtfull to the salvation of men as your slaunderous and malitious pen supposeth Now therefore let us heare what Beza saith whose books keep themselues within the compasse of holy scriptures and hold no erronious opinions as D. Fulk testifieth First touching the election of Ministers upon this place of the Acts. Acts 1. ◠2 3 And when they had ordained them Elders by election in every Church and fasted they commended them to the Lord in whom they believed where upon in his Annotation he hath these words Paulum ac Barnaham sciamus nihil privato arbitrio gessisse t. Let us know that Paul Barnabas did execute nothing upon their owne private choyse nor exercised any tyrannie in the Church and to be short they did not any such manner of thing as do now a dayes the Romish Pope and his serving men which they call Ordinaries Some had rather referre this unto the laying on of hands which also is necessary and catching this pretence they say that our vocation is voyd because the Ordinaries and defiled with infinit superstitions But som man will say these be auncien things I grant they be auncient but much more auncient is the simplicitie of the Apostles under which simplicity the Church florished And for the signe of the Crosse he saith Whatsoever use was made thereof in the old time it is now but an execrable superstition And touching the questions in baptisme he answereth Itaque sicut Chrisma et exorcismus quantumvis vetusta c. Therefore like as the Chrisme and exorcisme or coniuration although they be very auncient by very good right are abolished so we would wish this interogatiō being not onely vayne but also flolish were left out And towards the latter end of the same Epistle he saith Aiunt quoque excommunicationes et absolutiones in curiis quibusdam Episcopalibus in Anglia fieri non ex presbyterii quod nullū ibi sit sentētiâ etc. They say also that in England excommunications absolutions are done in certaine Episcopall courts and not by the iudgment of the Presbyterie which is not there to be had Whereunto we answer that it seemeth to us almost uncredible to see such an abuse of most perverse manner and example yet to be used in that kingdome where the puritie of doctrine doth florish for it is out of doubt that the right use of excommunication before the Papisticall tyrannie was never in the power of one man but perteyned to the right of the Presbyterie not utterly excluding the peoples consent Heereunto I will agayne anex the testimonie and defence of D. Fulke against the Papists and other which with such contempt reject the sincere judgment and excellent learnyng of M. Beza Whatsoever account you make of M. Beza he shall notwithstanding saith D. Fulke with all godly learned men be accounted as he deserveth Fulke def of the English tran cap 5. One who hath more profited the Church of God with his sincere translation and learned Annotations then all the Popish Seminaries and Seminarists shal be able to hinder it Iangle of grosse and flase Translations as long as you will Thus passing over allmost infinite other lights of the Gospell both of the most auncient and late writers abroad which speake to the very same effect in these poynts of religion with us in question Onely I will set downe further the wordes of Danaeus and Tilenus two famous learned men among the reformed Churches of France which are exceeding many in number and almost excellent in reformation of Christian religion Who according to the judgment of them all Danaeus in Tim. 5.22 doe speake thus of the Election and Ordination of Ministers Ex his omnbus apparet quam nulla sit c. By all this it appeareth that the calling of those Ministers of Gods word or Pastors of the Church is none or not lawfull which are made and chosen by the authoritie letters seales commandement and iudgment of the King onely or Queene or Patron or Bishop or Archbishop That which is yet done agrevous thing in those Churches even in the middest of England which haue notwithstanding and doe follow the pure word of God It is marvaill that the Englishmen otherwise wise wittie and very godly should yet wittinglie and willingly be blind in the acknowledging and tollerating of these relicks of Popish Idolatry and tyrannie Therefore they iudge excellently which condemne or takyng away and would haue taken away out of a Church reformed according to Gods word * Omnem il laem chartulariam et Episcopaticā curionum et pastorū c. all this way of makyng Curates and Pastors of the Church by Bishops and their letters of Orders and the calling of the Ministers of the heavenly word their approbation and their entrance by the onely consent and letters of the
and considerations of worldly wisdome And I doubt not but there were Blanchers in the old time to whisper in the eare of good King Ezekias for the maintenance and to haue no living at their hands For as good preachers are worthy double honor so unpreaching Prelats be worthy double dishonor But now these two dishonors what be they If the salt be unsaverie it is good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden of men By this salt is understood preachers such as haue cure of soules What be they worthy then Wherefore serue they For nothing but to be cast out c. Another dishonor is this Ut conculcentur ab hominibus To be trodden under mens feete not to be regarded not to be esteemed For saith he take away preaching and take away salvation And yet agayne after ward But I say if one were admitted to veiw hell thus and to behold it throughly the Divell would say On yonder side are punished unpreaching prelats I thinke a man should see as far as a kenning Sermon at Paules cross and see nothing but unpreaching prelats And touching Nonresidence he preferreth the Divell before a Nonresident For saith M. Latimer he is ever in his Parish he keepeth residence at all times ye shall never find him out of the way And afterward he saith Therefore ye unpreaching prelats learne of the Divell to be diligent in doyng of your office Learne of the Devill And if ye will not learne of God nor good men for shame learne of the divell Ad erubescentiam vestraÌ„ dico I speake it for your shame If ye will not learne of God nor good men to be diligent in your office learne of the divell And therefore before in milder termes he speaketh thus They haue great labours and therefore they ought to haue good livings that they may commodiously feed their flocke for the preaching of the word of God unto the people is called meate Scripture calleth it meate not strawberies that comes but once a yeare and tarrie not long but are soone gone but it is meate it is no dainties The people must haue meate that must be familiar and continuall and dayly given unto them to feed upon And touching the name of Priest in his answer at Oxford he saith A Minister is a more fitt name for that office for the name of Priest importeth a sacrifice Acts Mo. pag 1624. edit 1570 Serm. 3. bef the King And speaking generally of the remnants and relickes of Popery which yet remained unreformed in King Edwards time Germanie saith he was visited 20 yeares with Gods word but they did not earnestly imbrace it and in life follow it but made a mingle mangle and a hotchpotch of it I cannot tell what partly popery partly true religion mingled together They say in my countrie when they call their Hogges to the swyne trought come to the mingle mangle com pir com pir even so they made mingle mangle of it They could clatter and prate of the Gospell but when it commeth to all they ioyned Popery so with it that they mard altogether they scratched and scraped all the livings of the Church and under a couler of religion turned it to their owne proper gaine and lucre God seeing that they would not com unto his word now he visiteth them in the second time of his visitation with his wrath For the taking away of Gods word is a manifest token of his wrath We haue now a first visitation in England let us beware of the second we haue the ministration of his word we are yet well but the house is not cleane sweapt yet Behold with what odious and opprobrious tearmes this blessed Martyr of God paiÌ„teth out the mixture of religion which is indeed no lesse odious in the sight of God then he discribeth it unto the eares of men We may say with M. Latimer that we haue the first visitation let us beware of the second which is the wrath of God for the house is not cleane sweapt For how can the house of God be sayd to be cleane sweapt where there lyeth on the one side the filthy dounghill of ignorant and scandalous Prelates on the other side a poysoned heape of Nonresidencies on the third side the manifest mischeife of Pluralities on the fourth side a sacke full of rotten and beggerly Ceremonyes and in the middest as the maine post upholding all the rest a pompous estate of Lord Bishops I beseech the Lord Iesus Christ which walketh in the middest of the golden Candlesticks of England to avert and turne away from us the second visitation which M. Latimer speaketh of which also shortly after according to his threatning did theÌ„ fall upon this land Now let us go forwards with some other of the principall lights and blessed Martyrs of God touching these matters M. Hooper of whom our booke of Martyrs saith Of all those virtues and qualities requyred of S. Paul M. Hooper Acts Mo. pag 1675. edit 1570 in a good Bishop in his Epistle to Timothie I know not one saith M. Fox in this good Bishop lacking Which bright starre fixed in the right hand of Christ shineth not onely over England but also beyond the seaes So that Gesnerus that famous learned man in Germanie among other of his prayses saith Aureus Hooperus c. Flammae instar lucens lucebit dum stabit orbis Golden Hooper shining like a flame of fire who shall not cease to shine so long as the world standeth In his Epistle to King Edward likewise as before is said of M. Latimer Epistle to King Edw. speaking of the mingling of popish relicks with the Preaching of the gospel saith Against these minglers patchers of religion speaketh Elias the Prophet the 3. of the Kings 18 How long saith he will ye halt on both sides If the Lord be God follow ye him if Baal go ye after him Even so we may iustly say if the Priesthood and Ministery of Christ with his notes and marks be true holy and absolutely perfect receiue it in case it be not follow the Pope Christ cannot abide to haue the leaven of the Pharisâ—s mingled with his sweete flower he would haue us either hote or cold the luke warme he vomiteth up and not without cause For he accuseth God of ignorance and foolishnes that intendeth to adorne and beautifie his doctrine and decrees with humane cogitations Behold how fearfull a thing it is though the intent be never so good even to adorne and beautifie the institutions decrees and ordinances of God with any device of man without the appoyntment of God in his word Yea it is no lesse abominable in the sight of God then if a man should accuse him of ignorance and foolishnes Sermon 6 And therefore in his sixt sermon before the King speaking of the Communion and Supper of the Lord he saith The outward preparation the more simple it is the better it is and the neerer