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<DATE>2013-08-02</DATE>
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<NAME>Colm MacCrossan</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch Z130410.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="OX" ID="A79175">
<STC T="W">C295</STC>
<STC T="T">E140_21</STC>
<STC T="C">R15924</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99859944</BIBNO>
<VID>112048</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A Me&s;&s;e of POTTAGE, Very well Sea&s;oned and Crumbd. With BREAD of LIFE, and ea&s;ie to be dige&s;ted. Again&s;t the contumelious &s;landerers of the Divine Service, terming it Porrage.</P>
<Q>Brethren, what&s;oever things are true, what&s;oever things are hone&s;t, what&s;oever things are ju&s;t, what&s;oeuer things are pure, what|&s;oever things are lovely, what&s;oever things are of good report; if there be any vertue, if there be any pray&s;e, thinke on the&s;e things. <BIBL><HI>4. Philippians, 8.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<P>Set forth by <HI>Gyles Calfine.</HI></P>
<P>LONDON, Printed in the yeare, 1642. <HI>Being a Yeare of di&s;ciding.</HI></P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="tract">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>A Me&s;&s;e of Porrage very well &s;ea&s;oned and Crumb'd, with Bread of Life, and ea&s;ie to be dige&s;ted.</HEAD>
<P>I Need not make an Appology to the en&s;uing Di&s;cour&s;e; Tis well known to all hone&s;t and di&s;creet Prote&s;tants, how ba&s;ely our Service-Book is tearmed (by the name of Por|rage, a name very frequent in uncivill mouthes) and trampled under foot by unrea&s;onable men, that have neither <HI>Faith</HI> nor <HI>Charity;</HI> and although they be now well fed to the full, and may go from one Church to another to plea&s;e their pallat, and ta&s;te of what plea&s;eth them be&s;t; yet there may a time come, (which I pray God there do not) that they may be glad of the crums which fall from theit Ma&s;ters Table: but let them alone awhile, the thing that I &s;ay is this, That our <HI>Common Prayer</HI> is &s;o abhorred, depraved, dete&s;ted, and de&s;pi&s;ed of by many, as if it were the mo&s;t vile&s;t thing in the World; nay, if the Devill him&s;elfe had compo&s;ed it, it could not be more villified then it is: Tis a &s;hame to &s;peak, and I blu&s;h to heare it, that Men that think them&s;elves &s;uch rare Divines, that people that think they have &s;uch knowledge and zeal, to tearme &s;uch a good thing and &s;uch holy matter as there is, to be <HI>Porrage:</HI> oh fie! where is your judgment? where is your moderation; what, quite lo&s;t? is this your zeale turned to hate? you are &s;urely of a hot and fiery Spirit, contrary to the nature of warme and whole&s;ome <HI>Porrage;</HI> if you knew but the right vertue of <HI>Pottage,</HI> you would not have tearmed the <HI>Common Prayer</HI> &s;o, but your owne Prayers: For do ye not know, That they were godly men that made them; they were not made <HI>ex tempore,</HI> but with delibe|ration, not hand over head, as many do in the&s;e dayes, but &s;eri|ou&s;ly con&s;idered of, and premeditated and do you not know,
<PB REF="3">That the&s;e good men layd downe their lives for this and the Truth? and doe ye not know, That they were e&s;tabli&s;hed and maintained by <HI>Acts of Parliament?</HI> in the Raigne of three Kings and one Queen, and is it now made a laughing &s;tock; &s;urely you &s;hould have more manners then &s;o.</P>
<P>Indeed, is <HI>Parliament</HI> time, and men &s;peak and do what they ly&s;t now, and &s;o do ye; for ye &s;peak evill of Kings, of authori|ty and dignity, and de&s;pi&s;e government, contrary to the Apo|&s;tles rule. Oh the great malice that is one again&s;t another! again&s;t Peere and Pea&s;ant, again&s;t Prie&s;t and People oh envie, thou limbe of the Devill! how rule&s;t thou in the hearts of people, e&s;pecially again&s;t Bi&s;hops; oh how odious is that name to many! but I coun&s;ell you to &s;peake moderately, and judge charitably; if they be &s;tained, let them be pained: they have faults as well as we; yet they are Gods Emba&s;&s;ador, his Stew|ards, his Angels, di&s;po&s;ers of Gods &s;ecrets, disbur&s;ers of his trea|&s;uries; then revile them not, <HI>For tis written, Thou &s;halt not &s;peak evill of the Ruler of the People.</HI></P>
<P>But as for that which you call <HI>Porrage,</HI> who hatcht the name I know not, neither is it worth the enquiring after, nor the wor&s;e for that name, nor none the wor&s;e that u&s;eth it, for I hold <HI>Porrage</HI> good food; it is better to a &s;ick man then meat; for a &s;ick man will &s;ooner eat <HI>Porrage</HI> then meat: <HI>Pottage</HI> will di|ge&s;t with him, when meat will not: <HI>Pottage</HI> will nouri&s;h the bloud, filles the vaines, runs into every part of a man, and makes him warmer, &s;o will the&s;e prayers do, and work more effectu|ally; &s;et the body and &s;oule in a heat; warme our devotion, works fervency in us, lifts up our &s;oules to God. And many things more it worketh in us, if we had but appetite to them, and tis well &s;tored with hearbs out of Gods Garden, here a lit|tle, and there a little, as appeares in the beginning of the <HI>Com|mon Prayer,</HI> and &s;o forward to the end of it. For there is the hearbs of Gods own planting (in our <HI>Pottage,</HI> as you call it) the
<PB REF="3">ten Commandements, dainty hearbs to &s;ea&s;on any <HI>Pottage</HI> in the world then there is our Saviours form of prayer, &amp; that is a mo&s;t &s;weet pot-hearbe, cannot be denied, then there is al&s;o <HI>Davids</HI> hearb, his Prayers and P&s;almes, help, to make our <HI>Pottage</HI> relli&s;h well; then, S. <HI>Pauls</HI> precepts; al&s;o the Creed, a very faithfull pot-hearbe; and the Song of the ble&s;&s;ed Virgin, a good pot-hearb, &s;o that this porrage hath abundance of choice herbs to &s;ea&s;on it and tho&s;e that will eat no &s;uch porrage as the&s;e &s;o well dre&s;t it is pity but they &s;hould fa&s;t, &amp; as the proverb is, tho&s;e that will eat no porrage mu&s;t eat no meat. Though they be as (&s;ome tearm them) Cockcrowed porrage, yet they are as &s;weet, as good, as dainty and as fre&s;h, as they were at the fir&s;t: The Sunne hath not made them &s;owre with its heat: neither hath the cold winter taken away their vigour, and &s;trength, but they are as whole|&s;om and as well relli&s;hed as at the fir&s;t, and unle&s;&s;e you be &s;ick for novelties, you cannot eate better then the&s;e. Compare them with the Scriptures, and &s;ee if they be not as well &s;ea&s;oned and crumbd: if you find any thing in them, that is either too &s;alt or too fre&s;h, too bitter, or too &s;owre, too little or too great; that herb &s;hall be taken out, and a better put in if it can be got or none at all: And as in Kitchin porrage there is many good herbs in it &s;o there is likewi&s;e in this Church porrage, (as you call it) For fir&s;t in Kitchin porrage, is good water to make them &s;o, on the contrary, in the other porrage, is the water of life. 2. There is &s;alt to &s;ea&s;on them. In the other is a prayer for grace, to &s;ea&s;on our hearts. 3. There is Oatmeal, to nouri&s;h the body: in the other is the words of him, that is the bread of life, which nouri&s;heth our &s;oules and bodies to eternall Life. 4. There is Thyme in them to relli&s;h them, and it is very whol|&s;om: in the other is a whol&s;ome exhortation, not to harden our hearts, while&s;t it is called to day; this relli&s;heth well. 5. There is a &s;mall Onion to give a ta&s;te. In the other is a good herb, called, Lord have mercy upon us, which gives a &s;weet
<PB REF="4">ta&s;te to the &s;oule. 6. There is Ro&s;emary to comfort and re|fre&s;h the body, In the other is comfortable words of Chri&s;t: <HI>Come unto me all yee that are heavie laden, and I will refre&s;h your &s;oules.</HI> 7. There is Marygold leaves, to revive the &s;pirits. And &s;o in the other, there is the <HI>&s;ouls magnifying the Lord, and the &s;pi|rits rejoycing in God our Saviour.</HI> The&s;e and many whol&s;om herbs are contained in it, and all the&s;e boyling in the heart of mans will, make as good porrage as the world can affoord, e&s;pe|cially if you u&s;e the&s;e herbs following for dige&s;tion. <HI>viz.</HI> The herb repentance, the herb grace, the herb faith, the herb hope, the herb love, the herb good works, the herb piety, the herb zeal the herb fervency. the herb ardency, the herb vigilancy, and the herb con&s;tancy; with many more of this nature, which are mo&s;t excellent for dige&s;tion. And tho&s;e that de&s;pi&s;e this porrage of ours, have no appetite to the Lords prayer, the ten comman|dements, the P&s;almes of <HI>David,</HI> and other good matter that is in them, this being contained in the common prayer, mu&s;t be de&s;pi&s;ed al&s;o but me thinks I hear &s;ome &s;ay, they de&s;pi&s;e not tho&s;e What is it then I pray that you di&s;like in this porrage? Oh Sir, I know your meaning by your gaping, this &s;licks in your teeth and &s;poils your &s;tomack. 1. There is, (you &s;ay) too much of the &s;urplice which &s;melleth of the garment of the Whore. 2 There is too much cro&s;&s;ing in <HI>Bapti&s;me,</HI> and that &s;mells (you &s;ay) of the mark of the Bea&s;t, (but of what bea&s;t, I wot not). 3. There is too much bowing, and that ta&s;ts of Idolatry. 4. There is too much ring in <HI>Matrimonie,</HI> and this &s;mells of Super&s;tition. 5. Too much kneeling at the Sacrament, this ta&s;ts of <HI>Antechri&s;t.</HI> 6. Too much &s;tanding up, this &s;mells of vain glorie. 7. Too much glorie be to the Father, and this is &s;uperfluous. 8. There is too much Lord have mercy on us, and this is needle&s;&s;e. 9. Too much Lords Prayer and this is odious in everie ones mouth. 10. There be too many prayers and they &s;avour not of the &s;pirit. And what of all the&s;e, doe they &s;avour &s;o &s;trong in
<PB REF="4">your no&s;e, that you dare not peep into the Church. Then I may &s;ay, you &s;avour of an ill &s;mell, and are very ab&s;urd, and you have got a great cold in your feet, and it is &s;umed up into your head, and &s;o &s;tuffes your brain, that you cannot &s;mell at all, and carrion is as good to your &s;ent, as good and whol&s;om porrage is. That which you hold to be the wor&s;t, (as namely) tro&s;&s;ing, bowing, &s;urplice, kneeling, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> is not worth the &s;peak|ing, and he is a mad man that believes there is &s;alvation in them and &s;o of nece&s;&s;itie we mu&s;t u&s;e them: no, they may be left at any time, when authoritie &s;hall command: they are ordered but for decencie &s;ake, and as neare to the <HI>Primitive</HI> times as could be gathered, and if we have no order in our Churches, we &s;hall be a reproch to all people. If we &s;hould be of that mind, as the fa&s;hion is or many people are, we then mu&s;t have a new form of prayer everie yeare, &s;o you would have &s;omething, but you know not what: &s;o that you are neuer content full nor fa&s;ting, neither with porrage nor without.</P>
<P>If Pottage had not been good food, <HI>Jacob</HI> would have made none neither would the Angel of the Lord, have carried <HI>Abbacuc</HI> by the haire of the head, to <HI>Daniel</HI> in the Lyons Den, that he might eat the <HI>Pottage</HI> which <HI>Abbacuc</HI> had prepared for the reapers. Ile warrant you <HI>Daniel</HI> was glad of them, he went not behind the dore to eat them, as many in our daies do &s;tay at the Church dore till the &s;ervice is done, and then come and eat the bread out of others mouthes: but beleeve it, theres no death in this <HI>Pot|tage,</HI> in this <HI>Common Prayer:</HI> though many have preached and &s;aid there is, and that tis meere Popery. If this be the opinion of <HI>Roundheads,</HI> then tis no marvell we are &s;o &s;ubject to change; for marke it alwaies, that that which is round is &s;oone&s;t moved and never con&s;tant, neither in manner, fa&s;hion, or place; their wit is like quick-&s;ilver in a foot-ball, alwaies running, &s;o nothing will &s;tay their humour. Therefore I coun&s;ell you to do as <HI>E&s;ou; Ja|cobs</HI> brother did, who &s;ould his Birth-right for a Me&s;&s;e of <HI>Pottage;</HI>
<PB REF="5">&s;o would I have you to do, to &s;ell your &s;elfe opinions for this <HI>Porrage;</HI> I do not mean that you &s;hould &s;ell your chiefe&s;t Birth-right, <HI>The Word of God,</HI> that unto which you are born, and mu&s;t die for; not to &s;ell this for Ceremonies, not to &s;ell the &s;ub|&s;tance for a &s;haddow, but de&s;pi&s;e the bare conceits of it; and I dare warrant you, that the u&s;ing of this which you call <HI>Porrage,</HI> will never prove your bane neither &s;hall you commit any &s;inne in the lea&s;t degree, provided, that you u&s;e them to no other end, then they were ordered unto, and that is as S. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaks concer|ning the World, <HI>to u&s;e it, as not abu&s;ing it;</HI> for the fa&s;hion of the World pa&s;&s;eth away, to &s;uch end we may u&s;e them, and not abu&s;e them, knowing that it is in the power of the King and Parlia|ment, to alter and change them when they plea&s;e, if in ca&s;e they be corrupted.</P>
<Q><L><HI>You that unto the Fle&s;h are &s;o inclin'd,</HI></L>
<L><HI>And love all meats but Porrage (that's your mind)</HI></L>
<L><HI>Hark in thine eare, what I &s;ay, looke well to it,</HI></L>
<L><HI>For too much Fle&s;h, perchance, will make thee rue it.</HI></L>
<L><HI>Set not thy minde upon the Fle&s;h too much,</HI></L>
<L><HI>Lea&s;t that it prove too hot for thee to touch;</HI></L>
<L><HI>This kinde of diet meat and Porrage filleth,</HI></L>
<L><HI>But too much Fle&s;h alone, the body &s;pilleth.</HI></L></Q>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="postscript">
<HEAD>Po&s;t-&s;cript.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Feare God, Honour the King.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Let every Soule he &s;ubject to the Higher Powers.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Submit your &s;elves to every Ordinance of Man, for the Lords &s;ake, for God is a God of Order, and not of Confu&s;ion.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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