people might bee seasoned in all the Heads of the Protestant Religion Not onely of the Christian against Iewes Turkes and Infidels but of the Protestant against the Romane Church The Foundation is in the Catechisme the growth and extention in the Articles and then the Application of all to particular Auditories in the Homilies which if his Maiestie had not named yet had beene implyed in his recommendation of the Articles For the fiue and thirtieth Article appoynts the reading of them both those which were published in the time of Edward the sixth and those which after In the first Booke the very first Homilies are of the Sufficiencie of Scriptures and of the absolute necessitie of Reading them sufficiently opposed against that which hath been sayd in that Church both of the impertinencie of Scriptures as not absolutely necessarie and of the insufficiencie of these Scriptures if Scriptures were necessarie And in the second Booke the second Homily is against Idolatrie and so farre against all approaches towards it by hauing any Images in Churches as that perchance Moderat Men would rather thinke that Homilie to seuere in that kind then suspect the Homilies of declination towards Papistrie Is it the name of Homelies that Scandalizes them would they haue none Saint Cyrills 30. Paschall Sermons which he preached in so many seuerall Easter daies at his Arch-bishoprike of Alexandria and his Christmas dayes Sermons too were ordinarily exscrib'd and rehearsed ouer againe by the most part of the Clergie of those parts and in their Mouthes they were but Homilies And Caluins Homilies vpon Iob as Beza in his Preface before them calls them were ordinarily repeated ouer againe in many places of Fraunce and in their mouthes they were but Homilies It is but the name that scandalizes and yet the name of Homilia and Concio a Homily and a Sermon is all one And if some of these were spoken and not reade and so exhibited in the name of a Sermon they would like them well inough Certainely his Maiestie mistooke it not that in our Catechismes In our Articles in our Homilies there is inough for Posttiue inough for Controuerted Diuinitie For that Iesuit that intended to bring in the whole body of Controuerted Diuinitie into his booke whom we named before desired no other Subiect no other occasion to doe that but the Catechisme of that Church neither need any sober Man that intends to handle Controuersies aske more or go further His Maiestie therefore who as he vnderstands his duty to God so doth he his Subiects duties to him might iustly thinke That these so well grounded Directions might as himselfe sayes bee receiu'd vpon implicite obedience Yet hee vouchsafes to communicate to all who desire satisfaction the Reasons that mou'd him Some of which I haue related and all which all may when they will see and haue Of all which the Summ is His Royall and his Pastorall care that by that Primitiue way of Preaching his Subiects might be arm'd against all kind of Aduersaries in fundamentall truthes And when he takes knowledge That some few Church-men but many of the people haue made sinister constructions of his sincere intentions As hee is grieued at the heart to giue you his owne wordes to see euery day so many d fections from our religion to Popery and Anabaptisme So without doubt he is grieued with much bitternes that any should so peruert his meaning as to thinke that these Directions either restraind the Exercise of Preaching or abated the number of Sermons or made a breach to Ignorance and Superstition of which three scandals he hath been pleased to take knowledge What could any Calumniator any Libeller on the other side haue imagin'd more opposit more contrary to him then approaches towards Ignorance or Superstition Let vs say for him Can so learned so abundantly learned a prince be suspected to plot for Ignorance And let vs blesse God that we heare him say now That he doth constantly professe himselfe an open aduersary to the Superstition of the Papist without any milder Modification and to the madnesse of the Anabaptist And that the preaching against either of their Doctrines is not only approued but much commended by his royall Maiestie if it bee done without rude and vndecent reuiling If he had affected Ignorance in himselfe he would neuer haue read so much and if he had affected Ignorance in vs hee would neuer haue writ so much and made vs so much the more learned by his Books And if hee had had any declination towards Superstition he would not haue gone so much farther then his rank and qualitie pressed him to doe in declaring his opinion concerning Antichrist as out of Zeale and zeale with knowledge hee hath done We haue him now and long long O eternall God continue him to vs we haue him now for a father of the Church a Foster-father such a father as Constantine as Theodosius was our posterity shall haue him for a Father a Classique father such a father as Ambrose as Austin was And when his works shall stand in the Libraries of our Posteritie amongst the Fathers euen these Papers these Directions these Reasons shal be pregnant euidences for his cōstant zeale to Gods truth and in the meane time as arrowes shot in their eyes that imagine so vaine a thing as a defection in him to their superstition Thus far he is from admitting Ignorance and from Superstition thus far which seemes to be one of their feares And for the other two which concurre in one That these Directions should restraine the Exercise of Preaching or abate the number of Sermons his Maiestie hath declar'd himselfe to those Reuerend Fathers To be so far from giuing the least discouragement to solid Preaching or to discreet and religious Preachers or from abating the number of Sermons that hee expects at their hands that this should increase their number by renuing vpon euery Sunday in the afternoon in all Parish Churches throughout the kingdome that primitiue and most profitable exposition of the Catechisme So that heere is no abating of Sermons but a direction of the Preacher to preach vsefully and to edification And therfore to end all you you whom God hath made Starres in this Firmament Preachers in this Church deliuer your selues from that imputation The Starres were not pure in his sight The Preachers were not obedient to him in the voice of his Lieutenant And you you who are Gods holy people and zealous of his glory as you know from St. Paul that Stars differ from Stars in glory but all conduce to the benefit of man So when you see these Stars Preachers to differ in gifts yet since all their ends are to aduance your saluation encourage the Catechizer as well as the curious Preacher Looke so farre towards your way to Heauen as to the Firmament and consider there that that starre by which wee saile and make great voyages is none of the starres of the greatest magnitude but
with any of those poynts Not that her Maiestie made her selfe Iudge of the Doctrines but that nothing not formerly declared to be so ought to be declared to be the Tenet and Doctrine of this Church her Maiestie not being acquainted nor supplicated to giue her gracious allowance for the publication thereof His sacred Maiestie then is herein vpon the steps of the Kings of Iudah of the Christian Emperours of the Kings of England of all the Kings of England that embraced the Reformation of Queene Elizabeth her selfe and he is vpon his owne steps too For it is a seditious calumny to apply this which is done now to any occasion that rises but now as though the King had done this now for satisfaction of any persons at this time for some yeares since when hee was pleased to call the Heads of Houses from the Vniuersity and intimate to them the inconueniences that arose from the Preaching of such men as were not at all conuersant in the Fathers in the Schoole nor in the Ecclesiasticall Storie but had shut vp themselues in a few later Writers and gaue order to those Gouernours for remedy herein Then he began then he laid the foundation for that in which hee hath proceeded thus much further now to reduce Preaching neerer to the manner of those Primitiue times when God gaue so euident and so remarkable blessings to mens Preaching Consider more particularly that which hee hath done now His Maiestie hath accompanied his most gracious Letter to the most Reueuerend Father in God my Lords Grace of Canterbury with certaine Directions how Preachers ought to behaue themselues in the exercise of that part of their Ministerie These being deriued from his Grace in due course to his reuerend Brethren the other Bishops our Worthy Diocesan euer vigilant for the Peace and vnitie of the Church gaue a speedy very speedy intimation thereof to the Clergie of his Iurisdiction so did others to whom it appertain'd so to doe in theirs Since that his Maiestie who alwaies taking good workes in hand loues to perfect his owne works hath vouchsafed to giue some Reasons of this his proceeding which being signified by him to whome the State and Church owes much The right Reuerend Father in God the Bishop of Lincolne Lord Keeper of the great Seale and after by him also who began at first his Maiesties pleasure appearing thereby as he is too Great and too Good a King to seeke corners or disguises for his actions that these proceedings should be made publique I was not willing only but glad to haue my part therein that as in the feare of God I haue alwayes preached to you the Gospell of Christ Iesus who is the God of your Saluation So in the testimony of a good conscience I might now preach to you the Gospell of the Holy ghost who is the God of peace of vnitie and concord These Directions then and the Reasons of them by his Maiesties particular care euery man in the Ministery may see write out in the seuerall Registers Offices with his owne hand for nothing and for very little if hee vse the hand of another Perchance you haue at your conuenience you may see them When you do you shall see That his Maiesties generall intention therein is to put a difference between graue and solid from light and humerous preaching Origen does so when vpon the Epistle to the Romanes he sayes There is a great difference Inter praedicare docere A man may teach an Auditory that is make them know something that they knew not before and yet not preach for Preaching is to make them knowthings appertaining to their saluation But when men doe neither neither Teach nor Preach but as his Maiestie obserues the manner to bee To soare in poynts too deepe To muster vp their owne Reading To display their owne Wit or Ignorance in medling with Ciuill matters or as his Maiestie addes in rude and vndecent reuiling of persons this is that which hath drawen downe his Maiesties piercing Eye to see it and his Royall care to correct it Hee corrects it by Christs owne way Quid ab initio by considering how it was at first for as himselfe to right purpose cites Tertullian Id verum quod primum That is best which was first Hee would therefore haue vs conuersant in Antiquitie For Nazianzen askes that question with some scorne Quis est qui veritatis prepugnatorem vnius diei spatio velut eluto statuam fingit Can any man hope to make a good Preacher as soone as a good Picture In three or foure dayes or with three or foure Books His Maiesty therfore cals vs to look Quid primum what was first in the whole Church And againe Quid primum when we receiued the Reformation in this Kingdom by what meanes as his Maiestie expresseth it Papistry was driuen out and Puritanisme kept out and wee deliuered from the Superstition of the Papist and the madnesse of the Anabaptists as before hee expresseth it and his religious and iudicious eye sees clearly That all that Doctrine which wrought this great cure vpon vs in the Reformation is contained in the two Catechismes in the 39. Articles and in the 2. Bookes of Homilies And to these as to Heads and Abundaâ—ies from whence all knowledge necessary to saluation may abundantly be deriu'd hee directs the meditations of Preachers Are these new wayes No way new for they were our first way in receiuing Christianitie and our first way in receiuing the Reformation Take a short view of them all as it is in the Catechismes as it is in the Articles as it is in the Homilies First you are called backe to the practise of Catechising Remember what Catechising is it is Institutio viua voce And in the Primitiue Church when those persons who comming from the Gentiles to the Christian Religion might haue beene scandalized with the outward Ceremoniall and Rituall worship of God in the Church for Ceremonies are stumbling blockes to them who looke vpon them without their Signification and without the reason of their Institution to auoyd that daunger though they were not admitted to fee the Sacraments administred nor the other Seruice of God performed in the Church yet in the Church they receiued Instruction Institution by word of mouth in the fundamentall Articles of the Christian Religion and that was Catechising The Christians had it from the beginning and the Iewes had it too for their word Chanach is of that signification Initiare to enter Traine vp a child in the way he should goe and when he is olde hee will not depart from it Traine vp say our Translation in the Text Catechise say our Translators in the Margin according to the naturall force of the Hebrew word And Sepher Chinnuch which is Liber Institutionum that is of Catechisme is a Book well knowne amongst the Iewes euery where where they are now Their Institution is their Catechisme And if wee should tell
some men that Caluins Institutions were a Catechisme would they not loue Catechising the better for that name And would they not loue it the better if they gaue mee leaue to tell them that of which I had the experience An Artificer of this Citie brought his Childe to mee to admire as truly there was much reason the capacitie the memory especially of the child It was but a Girle and not aboue nine yeares of age her parents said lesse some yeares lesse wee could scarse propose any Verse of any Booke or Chapter of the Bible but that that childe would goe forward without Booke I began to Catechise this childe and truly shee vnderstood nothing of the Trinitie nothing of any of those fundamentall poynts which must saue vs and the wonder was doubled how she knew so much how so little The Primitiue Church discerned this necessitie of Catechising And therefore they instituted a particular Office a Calling in the Church of Catechisers Which Office as we see in Saint Cyprians 42. Epistle that great man Optatus exercised at Carthage and Origen at Alexandria When St. Augustine tooke the Epistle and the Gospell and the Psalme of the day for his Text to one Sermon did he think you much more then paraphrase then Catechise When Athanasius makes one Sermon and God knowes a very short one too Contra omnes Haereses To ouerthrow all Heresies in one Sermon did he think you any more then propose fundamentall Doctrines which is truly the way to ouerthrow all Heresies When Saint Chrysostom enters into his Sermon vpon the 3. Chapter to the Galatians with that preparation Attendite diligenter non enim rem vulgarem pollicemur Now hearken diligently sayes he for it is no ordinary matter that I propose There he proposes Catechisticall Doctrine of faith and works Come to lower times when Chrysologus makes sixe or seuen Sermons vpon the Creed and not a seuerall Sermon vpon euery seuerall Article but takes the whole Creed for his Text in euery Sermon and scarse any of those Sermons a quarter of an houre long will you not allowe this manner of Preaching to bee Catechising Goe as lowe as can bee gone to the Iesuites and that great Catechizer amongst them Canisius sayes Nos hoc munus suscipimus Wee wee Iesuites make Catechising our Profession I doubt not but they doe recreate themselues sometimes in other matters too but that they glory in that they are Catechisers And in that Profession sayes hee wee haue Saint Basil Saint Augustine Saint Ambrose Saint Cyrill in our Societie and truly as Catechizers they haue as State-Friers as Iesuits they haue not And in the first Capacitie they haue him who is more then all for as hee sayes rightly Ipse Christus Catechista Christs owne Preaching was a Catechising I pray God that Iesuites conclusion of that Epistle of his be true still There he sayes Sinihil aliud If nothing else yet this alone should prouoke vs to a greater diligence in Catechising Improbus labor indefessa cura That our Aduersaries the Protestants doe spend so much time as he sayes day and night in catechizing Now if it were so then when he writ and bee not so still amongst vs wee haue intermitted one of our best aduantages and therefore God hath graciously raised a blessed and a Royall Instrument to call vs back to that which aduantaged vs and so much offended the Enemy That man may sleepe with a good Conscience of hauing discharged his dutie in his Ministery that hath preached in the forenoone and Catechised after Quaere sayes Tertullian and he sayes that with indignation an Idolatriam committat qui de Idolis catechizat Will any man doubt sayes he whether that man be an Idolatrer that catechises Children and Seruants in Idolatry Will any man doubt whether hee bee painfull in his Ministerie that catechises children and seruants in the sincere Religion of Christ Iesus The Roman Church hath still made her vse of vs of our fortunes when she gouernd here and of our example since she did not They did as they saw vs doe And thereupon they came to that order in the Councell of Trent That vpon Sundayes and Holydayes they should Preach in the forenoone and Catechise in the afternoone till we did both they did neither Except yee become as little Children yee shall not enter into the Kingdome of Heauen sayes Christ. Except yee yee the people bee content at first to feed on the milke of the Gospell and not presently to fall to gnawing of bones of Controuersies and vnreuealed Misteries And except yee the Ministers and Preachers of the Gospell descend and apply your selues to the Capacitie of little Children and become as they and build not your estimation onely vpon the satisfaction of the expectation of great and curious Auditories you stopp theirs you loose your owne way to the kingdome of Heauen Not that wee are to shut vp and determine our selues in the knowledge of Catechisticall rudiments but to bee sure to know them first The Apostle puts vs vpon that progresse Let vs learne the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ and goe on to perfection Not leaue at them but yet not leaue them out endeauour to encrease in knowledge but first make sure of the foundation And that increase of knowledge is royally and fatherly presented to vs in that which is another limne of his Maiesties directions the 39. Articles The Foundation of nceessary knowledge is in our Catechismes the Superedification the extention in these Articles For they carry the vnderstanding and the zeale of the ablest Man high inough deepe inough In the third Article there is an Orthodoxe assertion of Christs descent into Hell who can go deeper In the 17. Article there is a Modest declaration of the Doctrine of Predestination who can go higher neither doe these Articles onely build vp Positiue Doctrine If the Church had no aduersaries that were ynough but they imbrace Controuersies too in poynts that are necessarie As in the two and twentieth Article of Purgatorie of Pardons of Images of Inuocations and these not in generall onely but against the Romish Doctrine of Pardons of Images of Inuocation And in the eight and twentieth Article against Transubstantiation and in such tearmes as admit no meeting no reconciliation but that it is repugnant to the plaine wordes of Scripture and hath giuen occasion to many Superstitions And in one word we may see the purpose and scope of these Articles as they were intended against the Romane Church in that Title which they had in one Edition in which though there were some other things that iustly gaue offence yet none was giuen nor taken in this That these Articles were conceiued and published to condemne the Heresies of the Manichees of the Arrians of the Nestorians of the Papistes and others And therefore in these reasons which his Maiestie hath descended to giue of his Directions himselfe is pleased to assigne this That the